Abohar
Honoured: Sukhpal Singh Hayer, a progressive farmer in Chak Kala Tibba village near here, has been honoured with the Chief Minister Award by Punjab Agricultural University for horticultural development, Pushpinder Singh Aulakh, in-charge of the regional station of the PAU here, informed today.

Abohar
Celebrations: Members of the Congress Sewa Dal today distributed sweets among residents of a slum area to celebrate the completion of first decade of Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as president of the Indian National Congress.

AMRITSAR
‘Follow Nanakshahi calendar’: SGPC president Avtar Singh has made an appeal to Sikh devotees to observe Gurpurbs as per the Nanakshahi calendar. “The Samat 539 calendar (2007-08) has been printed by the SGPC and is now available,” he said here on Thursday. He also stated that there were details of almost all auspicious days as per the Nanakshahi calendar and their corresponding dates in the regular calendar.

BANUR
Medical store raided: The district health department on Friday raided a medical store here and recovered a huge cache of scheduled drugs that was reportedly being sold to the customers without any  prescriptions.

BATHINDA
Athletics meet: The annual athletics meet of Guru Gobind Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Talwandi Sabo was held on March 13 and 14 at college grounds. Baljinder Kumar and Gitanjili were adjudged the best atheletes. On the other hand on the final day of the 14th Annual Athletic Meet held at the Government Polytechnic College, here today, E.C.E department won the overall trophy. ITI, Bathinda also won the overall trophy of a zonal cultural function held at the ITI campus last evening.

CHANDIGARH
Kalsi goes to Centre: The services of N.S. Kalsi, an IAS officer of the 1984 batch and currently posted as secretary, Employment Generation, and in addition secretary, Technical Education and Industrial Training, have been placed at the disposal of the Government of India for appointment as joint secretary, Home in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Fazilka
Loans waiving lauded: Tracing back the history of Sir Chhotu Ram who had relieved farmers from debt in 1930, former MP and special invitee member of the Congress Working Committee, Jagmit Singh Brar, described the decision of the UPA government to waive the farmers’ load as a landmark. He was addressing a rural gathering in border villages of Pakka Chisti, Mohammad Pira and Salemshah. He also urged the Union for waiving the loans of small shopkeepers, farm labourers, vendors and small cattle rearers on the pattern of farmers.

Jagraon
CONFESSION OF THEFTS: The police claimed today that Saranjit Singh alias Bagha, one of the accomplices of former sarpanch Raman Kumar alias Titu of Sidhwanbet, has confessed their involvement in about 19 cases of theft of wheat, rice, Khal, paddy from different places and that, while committing theft, they used force which 
caused death of two persons.

Panchayat Secretary Booked: The Sidhwanbet police has registered a case of embezzlement and fabrication against three persons one of whom one is a panchayat secretary, the other woman sarpanch of Gorsian Kadar Baksh village.

Ludhiana
Expansion: Surya Roshni is all set to expand the manufacturing and distribution business of energy efficient light sources. In a press note issued here today, the company said with an investment of Rs 15 crore, it recently commissioned a state-of-the-art new production, which would enable the company to produce energy efficient and eco-friendly CFLs in accordance with European standards and the recently imposed RoHS compliance (restriction of use of hazardous substances). 

Good Home Show: Good Home Show, an exhibition of home appliances, started here today. The four-day exhibition by LG, an electronic goods manufacturing company, is showcasing products like microwaves, refrigerators etc. The company is also showcasing its newly launched range of products at the expo. 

LAUNCHED: Pharmaceutical company Flamingo is targeting to increase its turnover to Rs 500 crore in the coming five years, said managing director of the company Ashwin Thacker. The company announced the launch of its formulations covering analgesics, anti-biotics, anti-infectives, gastroenterologicals and orthocare in Ludhiana here on Thursday. "Punjab accounts for almost Rs 2,000 crore of the India's pharma market. We plan to create a pan India presence for our products by February 2008. We are targeting a four-fold increase through a two-pronged strategy of entry into domestic market and leveraging the export opportunity in contract manufacturing," said Thacker. 

Mansa
Inspected: Rakshawati, who is known for carrying out anti-copying exercise in Mansa area, today inspected different examination centres here with her flying squad team. She said that she visited Heero Khurd, Mohar Singh wala, Bhikhi (boys) and Atla Kalan, Kheeva Kalan, Heero Kalan, and Beeroke Kalan examination centres and found no case of copying. She said that all staff and superintends of these centres were doing their duty with sincerity. Rakshawati had been awarded for her exemplary work by the education department and the Punjab School Education Board.

PATIALA
Annual function: The 63rd annual prize distribution function of Government Bikram College of Commerce was held here on Friday. Dr S.P. Singh, former vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, was the chief guest on the occasion. He exhorted students to work hard to achieve success in today’s competitive world.

SANGRUR
Refund to purchaser ordered: The local District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Nokia India Private Limited and a firm of Malaudh town (Ludhiana district) M/s Singla Telecom either to replace the Nokia mobile set of complainant Rishab Kumar Jain of Malerkotla with a new mobile set of the same model or refund the price amount of the purchased set to the tune of Rs 18,400 to him within 45 days, failing which the complainant would be entitled to an interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from April 22, 2007, till realisation.

DC orders inquiry: DC V.K. Ohri on Friday ordered an inquiry on a complaint regarding the purchase of alleged sub-standard medicines from black-listed firms by the health authorities for a health mela organised here from December 7 to 9 last. He deputed Sangrur ADC Dr Indu Malhotra to conduct the inquiry.

BILASPUR
Cong MLA’s plea: Rajesh Dharmani, Congress MLA from the Ghumarwin constituency, has urged the state government to take difficulties of thousands of tractor owners and labourers seriously. He has also demanded a more acceptable policy as regards extraction of stones, gravel and sand from “khuds”. Addressing mediapersons on Friday, he said total ban on quarrying had led to unemployment among these families. He said the government should go to the high court with a scientific policy and ensure that quarrying is allowed in some “khuds” by turns.

Employees’ demands: Himachal Pradesh State Non-Gazetted Employees Federation’s state president Ram Singh has criticised and rejected the demand of another leader Prem Singh Bharmouria that the cadre of HP secretariat employees should be merged with state cadre employees. He said such a demand should not have been raised without consulting the union of secretariat employees. He assured HP Secretariat Employees Union president Daulat Ram Chauhan and general secretary Rajender Sharma that their organisation would extend all help in getting their genuine demands accepted.

CHAMBA
Buried alive: One labourer was buried alive and another seriously wounded when a landslide stuck a 5 MW Him Kailash hydroelectric project at Tipra near Sahoo in Chamba district on Thursday. They were working at the site at that time. ASP Chamba said here on Friday on receiving information about the incident, the police rushed to the spot. The rescue efforts put in by the police helped in extricating the body of the deceased labourer and bringing the injured to the local civil hospital for medical treatment, the ASP said. The deceased had been identified as Raj Kumar resident of Tikri village falling in the Sahoo area of the district while the injured, Mohd Shamshad, belonged to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. However, the injured was stated to be out of danger, the ASP added.