R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
Three thieves arrested: The police has arrested three members of an inter-state gang in connection with a burglary committed in January at the residence of a leading jeweller. DSP Narinderpal Singh Waring said on Sunday that a police party intercepted three persons on the Sriganganagar bypass here and recovered gold ornaments weighing more than 18 tolas and 1.68 lakh in cash.

Gamblers held: The police on Saturday smashed a major gambling den on the Malout road here. Sources said three parties of the city police raided the Truck Operators’ Union Complex and caught 10 persons under the Gambling Prevention Act. Those arrested included Manmohan Singh, accounts clerk of the union, Vivek Sharma, Gurdas Singh, Amarjit , Subhash Chander, Jeet Singh, Prince Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Raj Kumar.

Tarn Taran
Nagar kirtan: A nagar kirtan dedicated to the 400th death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev was organised here on the concluding day of the two-day national samagam of the Sri Sukhmani Sewa Societies on Sunday.

Jalandhar
Dharna staged: Women residents of the Model House area took to the streets in protest against the opening of liquor vend near a temple in the area on Monday. The women staged a dharna and blocked traffic by burning tyres on the road. The protestors demanded from the administration that the vend should not be allowed to be opened near the temple to maintain the sanctity of the religious place.

Boat club: For the recreation of its personnel and their family members residing in Group Centre CRPF, Jalandhar campus, a boat club was inaugurated in the fish pond here on Saturday. Ms Farzana Ali, wife of Mr M.S. Ahmed Ali, Additional Deputy Inspector General Police, inaugurated the club. On this occasion, children were given free rides in double-paddle boats.

Job letters: The Minister for Local Government, Labour and Employment, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, gave appointment letters for Class III and Class IV jobs to 59 persons at a function held here on Monday. Handing over the letters to the persons, the minister said the government had provided jobs to them to help them be economically independent.

Heart surgery: BBC Heart Care Centre, on Monday, claimed to have successfully conducted a coronary bypass surgery on a fully-conscious and awake patient. In a press conference here, Dr C. S. Pruthi, managing director of the centre, said a patient, Sudesh Kumar (43) from Jandiala Manjki village, had been operated upon with the technique on Friday. He said the patient had a severe blockage in one artery of his heart, along with its dilation. Dr Pruthi said the patient was unfit for balloon angioplasty, and bypass surgery had to be performed. Dr Sushant Srivastava, who conducted the surgery in the centre, claimed that the patient had recovered fast, as there was “minimum invasion”.

CHANDIGARH

Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Technical Teacher’s Training Institute Workers Union, Sector 26: president — Mr S.C. Shukla; vice-president — Mr M.R. Goyal; general secretary — Mr Basantu Ram; joint secretary — Mr Parkash Chand Dogra; cashier — Mr Udai Raj Yadav; chief adviser — Mr Jasbir Singh; organising secretary — Mr Shammi; propaganda secretary — Mr Mehant Ram; and executive members — Mr Sukh Ram, Mr Mukhtiar Ansari, Mr Ram Both, Mr Avtar Singh and Ms Laxmi Devi.

Navratra meal: KFC has introduced special Navratra meals for its customers. The fast-food outlet in Sector 8 offers a choice between vegetarian- thali meal and vegetarian-feast meal. These special meals are available for Rs 75 each, a company press note said.

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
Staff found absent: Mr Bajrang Dass Garg, Chairman Federation, of Consumer Cooperatives Wholesale Stores Limited (CONFED), on Saturday paid a surprise visit to the local office and found two senior officers absent from duty. Mr Garg has sought their explanation and written to the CONFED Managing Director for initiating suitable action against them.

JHAJJAR
Villagers protest: Hundreds of residents from Mehandipur Daboda, jakhoda and Mandothi villages on Sunday called on the Bahadurgarh MLA, Mr Rajender Singh Joon, to lodge their protest against Hindustan Petroleum’s move to compensate farmers at lower rates . The villagers led by Mr Prem Singh Dalal, alleged that the oil company had been laying the pipelines through their fields. He said even though the farmers could not sell their land or construct houses on the land which was being used by the company, the HP was giving only mere 10 per cent of the price of the land at by fixing it at Rs 3.20 lakh per acre.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

MANDI
Ex-Services League: The following are the members of the HP Ex-Services League: president — Capt Ganga Singh; senior vice-president — Capt D.D. Sharma and Hav. Munilal Sharma; and treasurer — Capt Kharak Singh.