R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

Regional potpourri

• Hisar’s peek into heritage
• Neta’s Net-working
• Tireless teacher

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Probe ordered: Mr Harpal Singh, legal advisor to Baba Gurpinder Singh, former caretaker of Gurdwara Gurusar Satlani, claimed that the DGP Mr. S.S. Virk had appointed an inquiry committee under ADGP Mr Chandershekhar to probe the firing incident at the gurdwara on October 22 in which two persons were killed and several injured. The committee would submit its report within 15 days.

Commerce fest: The Department of Commerce and Business Management of DAV College held a commerce festival ‘Com-fest’ at its campus here on Saturday. Nearly 30 corporate houses put up their stalls which included segments from telecom, finance, travel, tourism, education and household appliances. Dr Avtar Singh, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon and his wife Dr Amandeep Kaur, spoke on the occasion. The Principal Mr Dhani Ram, gave detail account of the college activities.

Batala
Suicide: Kanwal Jit (25), a resident of Kaler-Kalan village near Dhariwal committed suicide by throwing himself before the running train coming from Jammu on Saturday. The deceased was married on November 23, 2005. He was a trained electrician and was doing a computer course.

BATHINDA
Safety award: The local unit of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), one of the largest producers of nitrogenous fertilizers in the country with brand name Kisan Urea, has won the Suraksha Puraskar for developing and implementing very effective occupational safety and health management systems and procedures and performing well by National Safety Council of India for 2004. The unit had also been awarded Yogyata Praman Patra for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Hoshiarpur
Lok Adalat: Under the directions of Executive Chairman Punjab Legal Services Authority, Chandigarh, a quarterly Lok Adalat was held in the Sessions Court complex here on Saturday in which 2 benches were constituted. The total of 155 cases of different categories viz motor accident, Hindu Marriage Act, civil appeals, civil suits, rent etc. were taken up. As many as 67 were disposed of amicably and a sum of Rs 13,50,591 was disbursed. Mr G.K. Rai, District and Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur, said that in this Sessions Division so far 115 Lok Adalats had been held the sessions division in which 16825 cases have been settled amicably.

Jalandhar
Hunger strike: The ongoing dharna and chain hunger strike by the Bawa Shoes’ Workers Union entered its 55th day on Sunday. According to a press release issued on Sunday, the dharna would continue till the workers’ demands were met.

Kapurthala
One held: The police on Sunday raided a chemist shop at Shalimar Bagh here and arrested its owner on charges of unauthorised selling of sedatives. The police said Baljinder, the shop owner, was selling sedatives in the form of capsules, syrups and injections. He had earlier been challaned by the police for selling the same. Baljinder has been booked under Section 188 of the IPC. As per an order of the Deputy Commissioner, sedatives can neither be sold nor kept in stock by any chemist without a proper authorisation, records and prescription slips from Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs).

Four arrested: The police here claims to have arrested four persons behind the attack on a 65-year-old NRI, Mr Surjit Singh,on September 9 this year. Those arrested are Joga Singh, a resident of Talwara, Tajinder Singh, alias Tinni, a resident of Lakhan Ke Padde village, and Paramjit Singh, alias Doctor, a resident of Boparai village. The fourth accused, Mandip Singh, alias Manna, a resident of Nadala, had on Friday surrendered in the local court. But two other accused, Gurdip Singh Shanna and Gurjant Singh Janti are still absconding, said Bholath DSP Amrik Singh Powar.

Nawanshahr
Case registered: A case under MTP Act-2002 has been registered at Banga police station against Dr Poonam of Banga for her allegedly terminating the pregnancy of Manjit Kaur w/o Avtar Singh of Jabbowal village. The case has been registered on the basis of the report submitted by the civil surgeon, Dr Dalip Kumar to the Banga police. Under a drive launched against female foeticide by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Krishan Kumar, the ultra sound scan centres are being minutely examined in the district.

Blood testing: The local Blood Donors Council (BDC) organised a free blood grouping and Hb testing camp here today at Government Senior Secondary School on Saturday. Mr Iqbal Singh, principal, inaugurated the camp, where blood testing of more than 200 students were done. The students were issued laminated cards, informed Mr. Pushap Raj Kalia, founder secretary of the BDC.

Road accidents: Three persons, including a four-year-old girl, were killed on the spot and six persons were injured in two separate road accidents here. One road accident occurred at Nawanshahr, Jalandhar road near Kahma village. Narinder Kumar 24-year-old car driver and Visakha (4) died on the spot and Sachin Kumar, Seema Rani and Anju received injuries when their car rammed into the sugarcane-loaded tractor trolley. In another accident a Maruti Zen reportedly collided with a bus and then rammed into a tree near Jabbowal canal, while trying to overtake the vehicle. Inderjit Kaur Gill of Mohali was killed on the spot and Hari Singh, Kirandeep Kaur and Pahul received injuries.

School function: The 26th annual prize distribution function was held in Red Rose Public School, Nawanshahr. Ivan Preet, Anurag and Amanpreet were given all round best actress, best dancer and the best artist awards respectively. Ms Swarn Sikka, Director and Ms Manjinder Kaur, Head Mistress, addressed the gathering and presented the school progress report. The school students presented a cultural programme.

Phagwara
Lok Suvidha: The Kapurthala district administration organised the 7th Lok Suvidha Camp at Athouli village near here on Saturday for providing various facilities to 44 villages at one place. The Punjab Agro and Foods Corporation Chairman, Mr Joginder Singh Mann, inaugurated the camp, a press release issued on Saturday said. Mr Mann gave away a cheque of Rs 10 lakh for the development of 13 villages, including Athouli.

Sangrur
Seminar held: A seminar on cancer and AIDS awareness was organised on the occasion of NCC Day celebrations by the NCC unit of the Desh Bhagat College, Bardwal (near Dhuri) on the college campus. The seminar was presided over by Lt. Col. P.S. Sarna, Admn Officer, 14 Pb Bn NCC, Nabha. Dr Sanjiv Kalia, Principal of the college, welcomed the guests. The NCC Day was celebrated under the command of NCC Officer Lt. (Dr) Balbir Singh. Dr Sarit Sharma, Assistant Professor, DMC, Ludhiana, and Dr Rajiv Sharma from Modi College, Patiala, enlightened the students about cancer and HIV/AIDS diseases.

Machine sealed: Dr Narpal Singh, Civil Surgeon, Sangrur-cum-District Appropriate Authority for the implementation of the PNDT Act, on Saturday sealed ultrasound machine of a dental clinic at Longowal village, about 20 km from here. Dr Narpal Singh said the machine had been sealed for three months in view of the violation of the PNDT Act. Registration of the ultrasound centre had also been suspended for three months.

HARYANA

SONEPAT
Youth robbed: A youth, Gaurav of Tara Nagar, was allegedly robbed of Rs 15,000 and a motor cycle by a group of armed youths near the railway flyover in the industrial area here on Saturday night. According to a report, all the armed robbers, however, escaped immediately. The city police has registered a case against them.

25 honoured: As many as 25 government servants and representatives of various social and voluntary organisations were honoured at a function organised by the district administration here on Saturday evening. Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Revenue and Irrigation Minister, who presided over the function, gave away commendation certificates to all of them for their contribution in the work of economic survey conducted by the state government.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
NCC students: Hundreds of NCC students led by Cdr. PS Chaudhary (Jiwan Raksha Padak) Commanding Officer number 1-(HP Naval Unit NCC), Naval cadets from Post-Graduate College Bilaspur, Govt. Senior Secondary Schools (boys and girls) Bilaspur and Govt. Senior Secondary School Kandraur, near here, took part in an “NCC Week Celebrations rally taken out through bazars here on Saturday to large number of NCC cadets of other colleges and schools also joined them. They also participated in tree-plantation programme.

Seminar held: “University Grants Commission cell” of local Govt. Post-Graduate college here on Saturday organised a seminar on “Study and Vocation in Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom” in College premises under the chairmanship of Principal SP Sharma. Amarman Chanda Director Marketing, AIMS, Global Education, in his keynote address explained the various opportunities and avenue available to the students in the above three foreign countries.

DHARAMSALA
Award: Dr Arvind Sharma, a surgical specialist at Veterinary Polytechnic, Shahpur, has been given the Best Field Veterinarian award by the Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery, Bareilly. Dr Sharma was given the award at the 29th annual Congress and National Symposium of the Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery held at Bareilly recently for his field-based clinical work on incidence of tumours in domestic animals.

KULU
Mother’s Day: Under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mother’s Day was celebrated in Government Primary School, Mohal, about 4 km from here on Saturday. Mrs Ishra Devi, up pradhaan of Mohal Panchayat, presided over the function. She stressed on literacy for female children. An educated mother is a source of education for full family, she added. Centre head teacher, Mr Khoob Ram, encouraged the children to participate in such cultural activities and thanked the guests and parents of the wards who had come for the function.

mandi
Probe sought: The District Congress Minority Unit chairman Mr Rajpal on Saturday requested the Chief Minister Mr Virbhadra Singh to order a probe in the tearing of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib bir at Barohra in Mandi district as it has hit the sentiments of the community.

Reserved seats: The Deputy Commissioner on Friday released a list of over 263 panchayats reserved for SC, OBC and women in 10 development blocks and a list of 36 wards reserved for the Zila Parishad elections in the district. Officials said the reservation was on the basis of a formula provided under the Panchayati Raj Act. The seats were reserved on rotation basis.

SHIMLA
Vijay Rattan award: The Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur, was conferred “Vijay Rattan” award by India International Friendship Society at New Delhi on Saturday. The award was given to Mr Thakur by former Minister and Governor, Mr Bhisham Narayan Singh, in New Delhi for his distinguished services in the field of social service, poverty alleviation and women upliftment during the last one decade.

SOLAN
Farewell: Brig S.S. Sambyal, Commandant 14 Gorkha Training Centre, Subathu, and the out-going vice-chairman of the Army Public School, Dagshai, was given a warm send-off by the students and staff of the school. The staff members said during his two-year tenure the school made tremendous strides in various fields.

Regional potpourri
Hisar’s peek into heritage

AS part of the World Heritage Week celebrations, an exhibition of paintings and graphic material of various historical monuments, sites and recent discoveries was organised at the Ferozeshah Palace (commonly known as Gujri Mahal) in Hisar from November 19 to 25.

The palace was built in 1356 by Ferozrshah Tughlaq, who laid the foundation of the city, originally named Hisar-e-Feroza. The remains of the palace are located in the fort, where underground apartments have been preserved till date. It also houses the famous Lat ki Masjid.

The exhibition was organised by the Chandigarh circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which was set up in 1985 and is responsible for the care of cultural heritage in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

According to ASI officials, the exhibition aimed at evoking the interest of the people, especially students, in the country’s glorious heritage. Hundreds of schoolchildren and others visited the exhibition and evinced a keen interest in the photographs and other graphic material displayed.

The highlights of the exhibition were photographs of world heritage monuments in India, Harappan and Buddhist structures, apart from other important historical sites of Punjab and Haryana.

Neta’s Net-working Former Ambala Cantt MLA Anil Vij has launched a website which caters to the needs of different sections of society. Vij says that the new website is called ‘indianet.co.in’. “I have worked hard for the last six months to launch this website. After I lost the election, I decided to utilise my time to launch this multi-purpose website,” he says. The site offers various kinds of information. “Earlier I was not computer literate, but now I have learnt to use the laptop,” he says. The website has 22 categories and a large number of sub-categories. There is a scientific goods category, which, Vij hopes, will be useful for the manufacturers of Ambala. Some of its features are: quote of the day, weekly poll, weather, astrology, Indian dishes, cartoon corner, news, ‘Ghar ka Doctor’ and jokes. There are several important links including Indian Railways and BSNL. An earlier website launched by Vij, anchorplus.com, too is linked to this new site.

Tireless teacher

A noted Kangra educationist,Dr R.D. Sharma, will retire on November 30, 2005, after serving for 43 years in Himachal Pradesh’s Education Department in various capacities.

Having done a Doctorate in School Education, MA Economics and Diploma in Distance Education, Dr Sharma joined the Education Department in 1963 as an untrained teacher. Later, he served as a lecturer, a District Education Officer and is at present serving as the Deputy Director of Education. He received different awards during his career, including the National Award for Best Teacher from the President of India in 1988, National Award from the NCERT in 1989, Best Citizen of India award in 1999, and the Himotkarsh Award.

He undertook programmes to educate over 2000 students in 99 schools of the state against drug abuse. He introduced the log book system in 1742 primary schools and also strengthened the inspection machinery.

Dr Sharma has authored nine books and several articles. Four of his books, ‘Prerak Prasang’, ‘Education for All’, ‘Primary Teacher is a Spiritual Representative of the Nation’ and ‘Teaching of Economics to Secondary Classes’, were approved by the HP Education Department.

Even after retirement, Dr Sharma wants to work in the field of education and bring the students of this hill state on a par with the best in the country.

Contributed by Sunit Dhawan, Ashok Raina and Rahul Das