R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Mourn: Mr Satya Pal Dang,a leader of the CPI, and Mrs Vimla Dang, President, Punjab Istri Sabha, on Saturday mourned the death of Mrs Geeta Mukherjee, a veteran Communist leader.

FEROZEPORE
Foundation stone: The Punjab Irrigation Minister, Mr Janmeja Singh Sekhon, on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a bridge at Ghalkhurd village, near here. The bridge will be build over Fidda drain by the Department of Drainage. The minister said farmers who wanted to get water supply from the Sirhind feeder should apply to the Department of Irrigation.

KHANNA
Plea: Students of the local A.S. College for Women have urged the SDM, Khanna, to impose a ban on the use of loudspeakers in the town, according to Harjot Kaur, secretary of the student union.

MOGA
Poppy seized: The Dharamkot police has seized seven bags of poppy husk from a house at Kili Kandhra village, near Fatehgarh Panjtoor. The owner of the house, Nachhattar Singh, however, escaped.

LUDHIANA
Adulterated kerosene: The police on Friday arrested Harinderpal, a trader of Sahnewal village, and recovered 400 litres of adulterated kerosene from him, according to Mr Joginder Singh, in charge, CIA.

MALERKOTLA
Four held: With the arrest of four miscreants, the police claims to have busted a gang of thieves. The arrested persons have been identified as Shaukat Ali, Nadeem, Mohammed Naeem and Akhtar Ali, according to Mr Arpit Shukla, SSP. The goods worth Rs 55,000 were recovered.

PATIALA
Vulgar literature: Shri Satguru Jagjit Singh, Head Namdhari Darbar, on Sunday advised the masses to stay away from vulgar literature and live a life of high virtues and ideals for making the earth a better place to live. He was speaking at a function organised by a vernacular daily, Ashiana, to inaugurate a new printing press. A number of political personalities, district officials and mediapersons were present on the occasion.

PHAGWARA
Inaugurated: The Punjab Tourism Minister, Mr Swarna Ram, inaugurated a link road between Uchapind and Nathewal village on Saturday. He announced that the Punjab Government had decided to issue identity cards to handicapped persons which would be issued by the District Social Security Officers on the basis of certificates issued by the Civil Surgeon.

ROPAR
Protest: Workers engaged through contractors in Ropar Thermal Plant held a rally in protest against the contract labour system in the plant. The workers were demanding abolition of contract labour system. Mr Raj Kumar Tiwari, President, Ropar Thermal Project Contractor Workers Union, said the workers would hold a rally on Monday in case their demand was not accepted.

TARN TARAN
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Chabal unit of the All-India Youth Federation: president — Mr Jagtar Singh Jagga; secretary — Mr Gurbinder Singh Sohal; assistant secretaries — Mr Rupinderjit Singh Bhakna; and Mr Gurpal Singh Sodhi; press secretary — Mr Amarjit Singh Manna; and treasurer — Mr Rakesh Mohan.

CHANDIGARH

Bharat Vikas Parishad: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bharat Vikas Parishad (West) : President — Mr Ashok Goyal; Vice-Presidents — Dr Ravinder Pandhi, Mr Ajay Dutta and Mrs Chandra Seth; Secretary — Mr M.K. Gupta; Joint Secretaries — Mr Y.P. Tiwari, Mr S.P. Goyal and Mr V.K. Verma; and Treasurer — Mr Pawan Sharma.

Eye camp: As many as 140 persons were examined at a free eye camp in Glory Public School, Nayagaon, on Sunday. The camp was organised by the Lions Club, Chandigarh in association with the school. More than 10 cataract patients were operated upon and free medicines were distributed among them. Mrs Satwant Kaur, a Punjab Cabinet Minister, announced a grant of Rs 5,000 and a sum of Rs 1 lakh for construction of a dharamshala in the village.

40 operated upon: A four day eye operation camp organised by the Lions Club Chandigarh (Host) was inaugurated on Sunday. More than 40 surgeries were performed by a team of doctors consisting of Dr Jai Singh and Dr Sarabjit Singh. As many as 30 patients were referred to hospital for advanced surgery. The patients will be provided free medicines, besides free board and lodging facilities. Even free conveyance has been provided to take them back home.

Worshipful Master: As a token of goodwill and reciprocity, a memento bearing biographic data of the Grand Masters of Grand Lodge of British Columbia, Canada, and sent by Sir Lee E Anderson was presented to Dr K.S. Thind, Worshipful Master of Lodge Yadvindra. Mr Ch S Budwall came as a special emissary to make this presentation. Many freemasons, including Mr P.S. Multani, a founder member of the Lodge Yadvindra, graced the occasion.

Tribute to Grewal: The Aalmi Punjab Parivar, an NGO, has paid rich tributes to its General Secretary, Mr Albel Singh Grewal, who passed away recently in the USA. A former Punjab minister, Mr Harnek Singh Gharuan, on Sunday described him as a high-ranking official of Doordarshan and committed social worker. He lauded his work on better Indo-Pak relations through his newspaper writing.

Magicians perform: Performances by Sunita Bhatti and Fakir Chand Patanga Plaza Carnival, Sector 17, on Saturday were appreciated by the audience. A local magician, Capt Asa Singh, also performed some tricks. At the artists’ corner, students and a teacher participated in painting activities.

Rotary training: As part of the training programme of the presidents-elect of the Rotary International District 3080, the Rotary Central Chandigarh has organised a seminar-”Pre-PETs”. Presidents-elect of about 55 clubs of the region were imparted training on various issues relating to performance of their duties, like how to conduct the meetings and how to keep record. It was followed by an interactive session, in which the participants’ questions were answered by panellists, including the past presidents and the district governors.

PANCHKULA

Medical camp: The Rotaract Club organised a free medical chack-up camp at Kailashpati Mahadev Mandir in Mahadevpur on the occasion of Shivratri. A total of 250 patients were examined and medicines worth Rs 3,000 distributed.

SAS NAGAR

Housing society: The Working Friends Cooperative House Building Society, which owns 15 acres in Sector 69 here, on Sunday met to chalk out an action plan to get the land released from the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA). A spokesman of the society in a statement said a memorandum had been given to the Chief Minister of Punjab.

HARYANA

AMBALA
Vehicles checked: The Rotary Club, Industrial Area, Ambala cantonment organised a pollution checking camp in Rai Market, here on Sunday. Of the 715 light vehicles checked, 15 per cent were found polluted. Representatives of Bharat Petroleum were also present on the occasion.

SIRSA
Two held: The police has arrested Gurtej Singh and Banta Singh, a former sarpanch of Sukhchain village, on a charge of abduction of a minor girl in 1998, the SSP, Mr K.K. Mishra, said on Sunday.

YAMUNANAGAR
Distributed: The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr B.S. Malik, distributed saris and suits among inmates of Gori Shankar Kushth Ashram, here on Saturday.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Nominated: The BJP state president, Mr Suresh Chandel, has been nominated member of the Senate of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Camp: A five-day "yuva manual development programme camp" organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra in collaboration with the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Yuvak Mandal concluded at Tuin village, 45 km from here, on Friday. Members from six mahila mandals and yuvak mandals of adjoining areas participated.