Abohar
Cheques distributed: Balluana MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana last night visited some Dalit families in village Ramsara, Bhagsar and Bhagu to hand over a cheque for Rs 15,000 each under the Shagun Yojna. The families had got their daughters married some six months back and had almost lost the hope of receiving the money. Earlier, some cheques were delivered by him at his local residence to residents of other villages, under the scheme.

AMRITSAR
Make ‘Jodhaa Akbar’  tax-free: Mann: SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann here on Tuesday said PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari had no right to say that the Kashmir issue should be put on the backburner for now. Addressing a press conference, he said it was an international problem and people of Kashmir should decide for themselves on the contentious issue. He also demanded that the film, “Jodhaa Akbar,” should be given tax exemption in Punjab as politicians can learn a lot from it, especially about the age-old ties between different communities.

BATHINDA
Holiday on Shivratri: A press statement issued by a member of the State Bank of Patiala employees union regretted the Punjab government’s decision not to declare a holiday on Shivratri (associated with Lord Shiva). Jujhar Singh, who issued the release, demanded a holiday on March 6 so that everybody could celebrate the festival.

Athletics meet: Guru Gobind Singh College of Education held its athletic meet yesterday. Shingara Singh won in 400m race. Shotputter Priyanka Bhandari threw the iron ball to the winning distance. Bindarpal was first in 200m sprint and Navdeep was the fastest among girls. Virpal Kaur was champion in discuss throw. Harpreet Baba, an international kabaddi coach, distributed prizes among the winners, a press release from the college claimed.

Hoshiarpur
One dies, 5 injured in accident: A woman died on the spot, while seven other passengers were wounded when a mini-bus of a private transport company (PB-07 L-7457) overturned near Bhatrana village, 20 km from here, on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Rani of Harmoe village. The injured were admitted to the local civil hospital.

Chain snatched: Two unidentified motorcycle-borne youths snatched a gold chain weighing about one-and-a-half tolas from Usha Aggarwal, resident of local Guru Nanak Nagar, here on Tuesday afternoon.

Jalandhar
Sahara One holds ‘Mata ki chowki’: Sahara One organised a ‘Mata ki chowki’ at Shri Krishna Mandir near Dana Mandi in Jalandhar on March 3 before the launch of “Mera Sasural,” a new show in praise of Bawewali Mata, also known as Goddess Kali. Produced by Arjuna Sood of In House Production, the show would be telecast from Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm from March 10.

Mansa
Tree plantation: Senior superintendent of police M.F. Farooqi and his family members planted saplings to start a tree plantation drive in Mansa on Tuesday. The SSP planted different types of saplings at Bhikhi near the police check-post. His mother Jaueda Farooqi, wife Aavidha and son Vilal planted saplings near Bal Bhawan. The SSP laid stress on motivating people to participate in the tree plantation drive.

Action sought: CPI (ML) district secretary Bhagwant Singh and co-convener of Radical Peoples Forum Jaspal Singh said that money lenders have been exploiting the poor by getting their signatures on documents with the intention of extracting money. “Moneylenders fill the amount in the documents according to their wishes and exploit the poor people in this way,” they added. They also demanded stern action in this regard. The demand has come in the wake of debt trap among farmers.

Nawanshahr
Medical camp: The Dilbagh Singh Memorial Trust organised a free medical check up camp for persons suffering from mental ailments, at the trust premises here on Saturday. A team of doctors comprising Dr Sukhjit Singh, Dr Shabhu Dass and Dr Amarjit Kaur examined about 50 patients.

CHANDIGARH
Environmentalists to  take pledge: Over 20 lakh environment protection lovers from all over the country will rededicate themselves to the noble cause by taking a pledge at the samadhi of Guru Jambheshwar at Mukam in Bikaner district, Rajasthan, on Friday, when a large number of Bishnois will gather to pay tributes to their guru. The guru was a saint of the 15th century, who taught his followers to protect wildlife and trees even at the cost of their life. His followers, known as Bishnois, till date zealously protect the environment.

Claims rubbished: President of the youth wing of the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) Jai Bhagwan Sharma on Monday rubbished all claims about former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal or any of his family members owning ‘benami’ property in SEZ zone of Gurgaon. In a statement issued, he said working president of the Congress Kuldeep Sharma should refrain from issuing such immature statements, adding that he was willing to quit politics if the latter could substantiate his claims. Bhajan Lal was one leader who brought the Congress party to power single-handedly in Haryana.

Prof’s term extended: The Haryana government has extended the term of professor Nawal Kishore, chairman of the department of applied physics, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, for another two years to serve as chancellor’s nominee on the Finance Committee of Choudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa.

Jhajjar
ATM service launched: The Haryana Gramin Bank (HGB) has become the first rural bank in the country to launch ATM service for its customers with the inauguration of the ATM centre in its Bahadurgarh branch in Jhajjar district on Tuesday. Punjab National Bank (PNB)-sponsored HGB is the tenth largest bank out of 92 gramin banks in India. General manager of Punjab National Bank S.K. Ray handed over the cards to some of the bank’s customers.

YAMUNANAGAR
Maya’s remarks criticised: Chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati has come under sharp criticism for remarks that if the BSP would come to power in the state, it would ensure that a non-Jat becomes the Chief Minister at a rally in Karnal on Sunday. Suresh Pal Banchal, state president of the Rashtriya Jat Mahasangh, has said she was trying to create a caste divide in the state. “The country is yet to recover from the remarks of Raj Thackeray and now Mayawati was trying to create a rift in Haryana,” he added.