Jalandhar, August 20
Enthusiasm writ large on the faces of over 12,00 army officials, their wives, children and other persons, who participated in a ‘Run for Fun’ organised at the Katoch stadium today by the Vajra Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) to commemorate its 40th Raising Day.

Though ‘Run for Fun’ was of five km for men and three km for women and children, but all of them kept flashing smiles and displayed a good degree of zeal and gusto. The ‘Run for Fun’ was flagged off by Lt-Gen Noble Thimburaj, General Officer Commanding, Vajra Corps.

AWWA, the organiser of the event, was registered as an NGO with the Registrar of Societies at New Delhi in August 1966 and it aimed at the holistic development and well-being of Army wives and children, besides working for the rehabilitation of war widows. The event concluded with Ms Anita Thimburaj, president, Vajra AWWA, giving away the prizes.

Jalandhar, August 20
The third ‘Bharat Nirman Campaign’ of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Jalandhar, would begin tomorrow from Bajwara village in Hoshiarpur district.

Hoshiarpur has been identified under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

The five-day campaign will begin from Swaran Farms on the Chandigarh bypass in Bajwara at 11 am tomorrow.

The campaign aims at highlighting the Centre sponsored Bharat Nirman Programme covering roads, housing, drinking water supply, electrification, telephony and irrigation besides certain other flagship programmes of Central government in rural areas, including the mid-day meal scheme.

Special emphasis will be given to the National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (NREGA) so that more and more people of the district benefit from it.

Other units of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, namely the Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP), Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), Song & Drama Division, besides Doordarshan and All India Radio, were also coordinating with PIB in the Campaign, a PIB spokesperson said.

The stalls of different Central and state government departments, PSUs, NGOs and voluntary Organisations, displaying various themes of the flagship programmes, would be put up at the venue.

During the campaign, to be inaugurated by Rana K.P. Singh, the Punjab Parliamentary Secretary, the Song & Drama Division would present various thematic skits, humorous items, musical and dance programmes highlighting social evils and how to get rid of them.

Two photo exhibitions on ‘HIV, AIDS’ and ‘Safe Motherhood’, will also be put up by Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), Chandigarh, at the venue.

Jalandhar, August 20
The Jahnavi ‘abduction’ case took a new turn today after the Jalandhar police arrested the minor girl’s uncle Happy, a resident of Harnamdas Pura locality, on the complaint of her father Deepak Kumar, a resident of Shiv Nagar.

Deepak Kumar, in his complaint to the police, had alleged that his brother-in-law Happy had tried to ‘abduct’ his daughter Jahnavi, a student of Class I, on August 8, but the alleged attempt was “foiled” when Jahnvi raised an alarm.

The sister of the complainant, Rajni, in her early thirties, had been living with his brother’s family due to a marital dispute with her husband Happy that happened about one-and-a-half years ago.

Acting on the complaint, officials of the Police Division No. 1, arrested Happy under Sections 364 and 511 of the IPC.

Phagwara, August 20
Daily wagers in Punjab have demanded regularisation. There are nearly 15,000 daily wagers in the state.

“Punjab government should not delay in regularising its daily wagers,” Mr V.P. Sharma, general secretary of the PWD Mulazam Sangharsh Committee, said today.

He informed that 3,587 daily wagers were working in the PWD and if the government regularised them, there would be an extra burden of Rs 3.37 crore on the state.

“Workers had sat in dharnas many a times, but the government has not heard our voice. Now we have decided to intensify our agitation and the workers will stage demonstration at tehsil headquarters of the state on August 28,” Mr Onkar Singh and Mr Sukhdev Singh, both employee leaders, said.

Jalandhar, August 20
Infertility patients from different parts of the region would be able to consult the renowned Israel-based infertility consultant, Dr Ron Hauser. The expert will in the city for a two-day international free consultation being organised by the Virk Hospital in Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar on August 25 and 26.

Dr Ron Hauser, according to Dr S.P.S. Virk, the scientific director of the hospital, would be accompanied by Dr Gautam Allahabadia, one of Asia’s leading infertility and Invitro fertilisation experts.

“This is indeed a golden opportunity for patients of the northern region to interact with one of leading infertility specialists in the world. They can also discuss their plan of treatment with Dr Hauser after prior and free registration,” Dr Virk said.