The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, October 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AHMEDGARH
SCIENCE FAIR: The Block Education Office organised an inter-school science fair at local Guru Nanak Kanya Mahavidyalaya on Monday. The fair was inaugurated by Mr Barjinder Sharma and presided over by Mr Ashok Bhalla, District Education Officer. About 100 students from over 38 primary schools in the block participated in the fair. Out of 34 students who participated in the science quiz contest, Prabhjot Singh and Harsh Dhir of local Sanatan Vidya Mandir bagged the first prize. Forty six students had prepared models depicting states of matter, properties of liquids and gases, phenomena of light, electricity, magnetism and movements of earth. Sandeep Kaur and Amandeep Kaur of GPS were adjudged first in the contest. In the chart-making contest, Simran Kaur of Kundan Kanya Vidyalaya won the first prize.

AMRITSAR
MINOR RAPED: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two persons. Constable Gursharan Singh, alias Raju gave a lift to the girl who was alone and on way to Jalandhar. he drove to deserted place where he was joined by a dismissed constable and the two allegedly raped her near Mehta Chowk. A case under Section 376 has been registered against the two.

DOCTOR BOOKED: Dr Guriqbal Singh, working in the medicine department of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here has, been booked for allegedly preparing a false medico-legal report. Mr Rajesh Jaisal, SP (City) said a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, had been registered in this regard.

RESOLVED: The Amritsar Fire Works Dealers Association has resolved that they will sell only packed fireworks. They have urged the administration to extend cooperation to them.

PENSIONERS’ DEMANDS: The Punjab State Pensioner’s Confederation has urged the state Chief Minister to concede their demands, including an increase in fixed medical allowance and observance of pensioners day every year on December 17.

BARNALA
INCOME TAX DRIVE: The Income Tax Department here has launched a drive to motivate the locals to file their income tax returns. This was stated by Mr Sukhdev Singh, Income Tax Officer, here on Monday.

ARRESTED: The police has arrested Balwinder Singh of Dhaula for allegedly being involved in illegal poppy husk trade. This was stated by Mr Kanwarjit Singh Sandhu, SSP, here on Monday.

VACCINATION CAMP: The local Engineers Club organised a hepatitis-B vaccination camp at Government High School for Boys here on Sunday. Mr Paramjit Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) inaugurated the camp.

BATHINDA
CLASS IV UNION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Class IV Government Employees Union, Bathinda: president — Mr Sham Sunder; vice-president — Mr Jagdish Kumar; general secretaries — Mr M.S. Negi and Mr Prem Kumar; finance secretary — Mr Baisakh Singh; and press secretary — Mr Arjan.

ETT TEACHERS: The unemployed ETT teachers will hold a meeting at Ludhiana on October 17 (Wednesday) to discuss the delay of appointments of primary teachers, according to Jagpreet Singh, co-convener of the Union of Unemployed ETT Teachers on Sunday.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: A blood donation camp and a seminar on safe blood transfusion was organised at SSD College here on Monday. Mr R. Venkatratnam, Deputy Commissioner, presided over the camp organised by the NSS unit of the college.

LUDHIANA
MELA: The Sood Samaj would hold an exclusive mela for the Sood fraternity on November 18 at the School for the deaf Children, opposite Kitchlu Nagar, according to Mr Satish Sood, general secretary of the samaj. The decision to hold the mela was taken at a meeting of the samaj here on Sunday which was presided over by Mr Om Parkash Sood. Punjab Minister for Excise and Taxation, Tikshan Sood would be the chief guest on the occasion. Matrimonial registration would also be done at the mela, added Mr Satish Sood.

SEMINAR ON HEALTH AWARENESS: A health awareness seminar organised by the Lion Club Royal was held at the Government College for Women. The speakers on the occasion were Dr J.S. Walia and Dr Neelam Sodhi, who delivered lectures on AIDS and female foeticide. Dr Walia in his lecture said it was unfortunate that India was in the grip of HIV/AIDS. In India this disease was detected in 1985. He emphasised that there was a need to spread awareness regarding the disease, among the masses in the country. Dr Neelam Sodhi while speaking on the occasion said women were their own worst enemies. She said that female foeticide had affected the sex ratio of the country. Amongst present on the occasion were Ms Inderjit Kaur Gill, Principal, of the college, and Dr Gurdial Singh, president of the Lions Club Royal.

FREE TB CAMP: A free tuberculosis detection-cum-treatment camp was organised at Kapoor Nursing Home recently. About 352 patients suffering from chest disease were seen by the various doctors during the camp. Dr Naleem Bassi, Civil Surgeon, inaugurated the camp. Dr Anil Kapoor, director of the nursing home, explained do’s and donot’s of the TB by showing a documentary film.

SEMINAR ON COPYRIGHT LAW: Kaka Bhagwant Rai Memorial Social Welfare Society, in collaboration with the District Bar Association, will hold a seminar on Copyright Law for industry and users at the Sutlej Club here on Saturday and Sunday. Mr Justice G. S. Singhvi of Punjab and Haryana High Court will be the chief guest on the occasion. Besides him, Chairman of the Bar Council, Advocate General and Legal Remembrance of Punjab, president of the High Court Bar Association, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Deputy Commissioner and District and Sessions Judge of Ludhiana will speak on a wide range of subjects. Those interested in attending the seminar can get themselves registered with Mr Ajay Kumar Jindal, Advocate, District Courts, Ludhiana. He may be contacted on phone nos 420984 and 447106.

PAINTING CONTEST: The students of Baba Isher Singh Public School participated in a painting contest held here on Monday. The students were divided into three groups according to age. In group A, Sarabjit Kaur stood first, followed by Ramandeep Kaur and Gurjeet Kaur, Amanpreet Kaur won the consolation prize. In group B, Kirandeep was declared first, Harbir Kaur got second prize and third prize went to Mithu. Shefali was given consolation prize. In group C, first prize went to Rajinder Kumar, Harmeet Kaur won the second prize and Sandeep Kaur was declared third. Tejinder was given consolation prize. Ms Veena Sehgal, principal, distributed the prizes. Parvinder Kaur, art teacher, organised the contest.

MALERKOTLA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Leo Club Malerkotla: president — Mr Puneet Dhingra; secretary — Mr Sandeep Bansal; treasurer — Mr Amardeep Modi.

EYE CAMP: Nearly 200 patients were examined during an eye camp organised by the Samaj Seva Club, 4 km from here on Monday, according to the president, Mr Lakhwinder Singh. Medicines were distributed free of cost to the needy patients.

MANSA
PADDY PROCURED: Ms Raji P. Srivastva, Deputy Commissioner, said various government agencies had so far purchased 1,06,884 metric tonnes of paddy in the district. She said 82 per cent of paddy had been lifted from the purchase centres and a payment of Rs 27.65 crore been made to the farmers.

SUPPORTED: The Punjab Radical Students Union has supported the students of various engineering colleges in their struggle against the enhancement of fees and other issues by Punjab Technical University. This was stated by Mr Amarjit Raju, state president of the union, here on Monday.

APPEALED: The Deputy Commissioner has appealed farmers not to burn paddy straw left after harvesting paddy in the fields as it damages the minerals. Moreover, the practice poses a serious threat to the health of people, she said.

ILLEGAL TAXI STAND: Residents of Ward No. 11 here have protested against the parking of jeeps and cars on the opposite side of railway station near their houses. They said the cars and jeep owners plied their vehicles as taxies and had been using the said site as a taxi stand which had become a great nuisance to them. The residents alleged that the drivers indulged in eve-teasing and gambling. They demanded that this illegal taxi stand be shifted else where.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Rotary Club, in coordination with the Rotaract Club, organised a skin diseases treatment camp here on Sunday. A team of doctors, led by Dr Radha Rani Mittal, Head of the Skin and VD Department, Government Rajindra College and Hospital, Patiala, examined nearly 400 patients on this occasion. The patients were provided medicines free of cost by the organisers.

OLD-AGE PENSION: The Deputy Commissioner on Monday said old-age pensions had been sanctioned to 7,110 persons. She said bank accounts of 4,285 beneficiaries had been opened in various banks and they would be paid pensions through banks. She said bank accounts of the remaining 2,825 beneficiaries were still to be opened.

NAWANSHAHR
ACCUSED: Mr Kirpal Singh Malla Bedian and mr Satnam Singh Sujjon, senior leaders of the All-India Sikh Students Federation (Joint), in a press note issued here on Tuesday accused the convener of the AISSF (Joint), Mr Manjit Singh Bhoma, of arbitrarily constituting a 20-member policy framing committee. They demanded that the committee should be dissolved by October 18.

SEMINAR HELD: The SC and BC Welfare Department, Punjab, and Amardeep Singh Shergill memorial College, Mukandpur, organised a seminar on “Status of Dalits in Punjab” at Mukandpur, about 20 km from here on Monday. The speakers called upon the people, especially, youth to come forward to launch a movement against the social discrimination on the basis of caste and creed etc.

CHETNA RALLY: BSP workers led by Mr Ram Kishan, an aspirant of the BSP ticket from the Nawanshahr Assembly seat, took out a “Chetna Rally” in a number of villages, including Naura, Bhaura, Sujjon, Surapur, Palli Jhikki, Palli Uchi and Kajla here on Monday.

PATHANKOT
MUSIC SHOW: the local chapter of the Rotary Club organised a musical programme here on Sunday. Pop singer Bhupi Chawla was the guest of honour on.

PATIALA
APPOINTED: A notification issued by Punjabi University has stated that Prof Ajit Singh Bhatia of the Department of Economics, has been appointed Dean Students’ Welfare and Prof R. K. Chowdhary as Head, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. He will also act as Senior Warden for boys hostel. In another notification, it was stated that Dr Manju Verma of the Department of Political Science (Correspondence Courses) has been appointed Senior warden for Girls hostel.

REFRESHER COURSE: A large number of participants from colleges and universities are expected to take part in a three-week UGC sponsored refresher course on ‘Spectroscopic methods and recent trends in chemistry’ which was inaugurated at the Senate Hall of Punjabi University here on Thursday. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, while inaugurating the course said information technology had advanced to a level from where inter-disciplinary and multi-dimensional projects could be undertaken in the field of research to obtain optimum results. He stressed the need for shifting from laboratory to field approach in research. Head of the Department of Chemistry, Dr Jagtar Singh, Dr K.K. Singal, Dr K.C. Kalia and Dr Harbans Singh Kohli also spoke on the occasion.

TARN TARAN
INTER-STATE FESTIVAL: The three-day inter-state youth festival organised by the Diocese of Amritsar church of North India concluded here on Monday. More than 250 youth from Himachal Pradesh, jammu and Kashmir and Punjab participated. Mr Alwinder Pal Singh Pakhoke, senior vice-president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), distributed the prizes. Mr P.K. Samanta Rai, Bishop of Diocese of Amritsar, presided.

COUPLE BOOKED: Ranjit Singh and Narinder Kaur, the husband and wife, respectively, residents of Sakkain Wali village, have been booked under Sections 406, 420 of the IPC for defrauding Harjit Kaur, a resident of Mandala village. harjit Kaur has stated in her complaint that she purchased a Maruti car (No. CHK 995) 1986 model about four months ago. The couple took away the car and its papers, saying that they would pay the tax. Instead, they sold the car.

HARYANA

AMBALA
VLCC CAMP: The VLCC organised a camp on menopause in Ambala Cantonment. About 40 women attended the camp. They were given free counselling regarding menopause by Dr Kamlesh Dutta and Dr Neena Chaudhary. Clinic manager, Harveen Kathuria informed about body composition fat analysis and how nutrition is related to health, a statement said.

ADHYAPAK SANGTHAN: A state-level delegation of the Haryana Vigyan Adhyapak Sangathan, under the presidentship of Mr Devendra Gautam, met secretary of the Haryana Vidyalaya Shiksha Board recently. A number of issues concerning the teachers were taken up by the delegation. The issues included pay, daily allowance, paper setting, science curriculum, re-checking and building and teachers welfare fund, press secretary Ramesh Bansal said. Mr Bansal said the delegation was informed about the proposed change in the Class IX science syllabus. Directions have also been issued that those teachers who were not teaching science should not put on science duty.

BHIWANI
ANTI-GRAFT CONVENTION: The Akhil Bhartiya Brashtachar Avrodhak Samiti held its second state-level convention at the Neki Ram auditorium here on Sunday. The national convenor, Mr D.S. Gil, appointed Mr S.N. Jindal as the national executive chairman of the samiti. Ms Nirmala Saraf, Mr Jiwan Singh Jain, president, Haryana Annuvrat Samiti, Mr Surender jain, Dr Vinod Sharma and Mr Jai Kumar Singh president of Hisar and Rohtak units of the samiti, respectively, spoke. Workers from Orissa, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh also took part. Journalists Shree Bhagwan Vashisth and educationist Mr R.K. Aggarwal also spoke.

ARREST DEMANDED: The panchayats of Legha Hetwan, Legha Bhanan and Jitanwas have demanded immediate arrest of the accused of murder of Jail Warden Manphool Singh. The panchayats have also sought a CBI enquiry into the murder of Manphool Singh and threatened that a demonstration would be staged at the district headquarters on October 29, if the police did not arrest the accused.

SONEPAT
BURN INJURIES: Five persons sustained serious burns when a youth allegedly sprinkled petrol on them and set their clothes on fire at Bhainswal Kalan village, 25 km from here on Monday night, according to police sources. The injured were hospitalised and the condition of four of them is stated to be serious, the source add. The police has registered a case. A family quarrel was stated to be the cause of the incident.

TRADER LOOTED: Five unidentified armed miscreants snatched a bag containing Rs 2.30 lakh in cash from a trader of narela (Delhi) when he was entering his house here on Monday night, according to police sources. All miscreant, however, managed to escape in their car immediately after snatching the bag, sources add. The police has registered a case.

SCHEME INAUGURATED: Mr Dev Raj Dawan, inaugurated a Rs 2.50-crore scheme for the facelift of the district headquarters. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Dewan said the State Government has already allocated special funds for undertaking various developmental works and repair of roads in the city.

DEMONSTRATION: A large number of residents of Bhatgaon Malayan village staged a demonstration in front of the office of the superintendent of Police here on Monday to press their demand for tracing Mr Jeet Singh, a former sarpanch of the village.