The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

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CHANDIGARH

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

PUNJAB

Batala
Unhappy Akalis: The Akali workers in Sri Hargobingpur and its adjoining areas have expressed strong resentment over non-inclusion of their MLA Balbir Singh Baath into the state cabinet. The SAD (B) activists, said despite winning thrice in a row, Baath, was being given a step-motherly treatment.

Jalandhar
Pannu is new Jalandhar DC: Ajit Singh Pannu, took over as Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar on Monday. He said all arrangements regarding wheat procurement had already been made and farmers would not face any type of problem in the mandis. “The residents of the district would be provided transparent and corruption free administration,” he said.

Nawanshahr
Power crunch: The farmers and arhtiyas are sore over the erratic power supply at Behloor Kalan Focal Point here. Maan Singh Neelowal of Arhtiyas’ Association said that the association had deposited a sum of Rs 25,000 with the PSEB for bringing the Focal Point under 24-hour power supply, last year. But, nothing concrete had been done so far.

Land trouble: Residents of Urapur village on Monday submitted a complaint to the DC accusing a woman panchayat member and her husband of encroaching upon village land for their personal use. They have urged the DC to conduct a probe.

Phagwara
Porn CDs seized: The police have arrested two Mehli Gate shopkeepers and seized 2,312 pirated CDs, including five porn films, from their possession during a raid . An official of the Shemaroo company GS Bhullar had filed a complaint alleging that Star Music Centre and Saini Music Centre of Mehli Gate were running an illegal business Jatinder Kumar and Harjinder Singh have been booked under the Copy Right Act.

Samrala
Appeal: Amrik Singh Dillon, former MLA from Samrala, has appealed to the farmers to bring clean and dry wheat to the local grain market. Dhillon had come to the grain market to inaugurate a shop.

Demise: Many teachers of the Samrala area attended the cremation of Jaswant Rai (85) father of Principal Chaman Lal, at Gharkhana village, 5 km from here, on Sunday evening. Jaswant Rai was suffering from illness for the past more than two years. Principal Chaman Lal is now serving in Government Senior School, Bhaini Sahib.

Demand: Amarjeet Singh, president of the Punjab Lambardara Union, Block Samrala, appealed to the state government to release the second installment of honorarium amounting to Rs 500 per month.The honorarium installment has been due since December, 2006. In another statement Amarjeet Singh demanded enhancement of the honorarium from 500 per month in view of high prices.

Prize distribution: President Mehma Singh Kang and general secretary Gulzar Mohd Roria of the Adhyapak Chetna Manch Samrala told mediapersons that a prize and scholarship distribution function would be held at Shahi Palace to felicitate meritorious students of the different schools. The function will be presided over by Dr Jagtar Singh Khattra, DPI(S), Punjab. Other dignitaries, including local MLA Jagjiwan Singh Kheernia, chairman Bhupinder Singh Benipal, Commandant Raspal Singh, Principal Dr Parminder Singh and noted writer Prof Hamdardvir Nausharvi will also attend the function. Ajmair Singh and Vedparkash Chopra would also be honoured on the occasion.

CHANDIGARH

Office-bearers: Following have been elected office-bearers of the managing committee of the Residents Welfare Society, Sector 42-B, Chandigarh: chairman - M.S. Batra; president - G.S. Walia; vice-president - J.C. Sharma; general secretary - Madal Lal; joint secretary - V. Sood; treasurer - N.R. Saini; auditor - S.P. Nagpal; executive members - R.D. Goel, Vinod Kaushal, G.K. Girdhar, B.S. Bedi, and Dr Sunil Bajaj.

Mohali
Honoured: Educationist Dr Harjinder Singh Majhail has been honoured with the Avantika Sukriti Award - 2007 for his contribution in nation building, social welfare, environment protection, education and promotion of art, culture, dance and music. The award was presented at India International Centre, New Delhi, on April 14.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Body found: The body of Mukesh (32), alias Pooja, a eunuch connected with Pasha Magic Show Company, was found hanging with a nylon rope at the cremation ghat on the banks of the Sutlej on Monday morning. Balbir Thakur, SP, said Mukesh belonged to Uttarakhand and had come here with the company that was giving performances in the district. The body was taken to the district hospital for a post-mortem examination. A case has been registered.

Liquor policy supported: The District Wine Contractors’ Association has unanimously supported and hailed the new liquor policy of the Himachal government and has assured its full support to make the policy a success. Praveen Sharma, president of the association said in the meeting of the general house, that this new policy would give an opportunity to the common people to come forward to compete in this trade and would break the monopoly of a few individuals. It demanded the government to fix the lowest rates of liquor as it fixes the lowest quota also and demanded 4 per cent VAT on liquor, based on the Punjab pattern. The association elected Sher Singh as president, Shyam Lal as vice-president, Balwant Singh as general secretary, Inder Singh as treasurer.

Guidelines for fruit sellers: Rajender Singh, district magistrate-cum-deputy commissioner has totally banned the storing and selling of rotten, overripe, unripe and other such unsafe and unhygienic fruits like vegetables, eatables, sweetmeats, meat, fish, ice-cream etc. with immediate effect to control diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, gastro-enteritis, cholera, hepatitis and water-borne diseases during the current season. The notification which was issued today stated that all sellers and dhaba owners should ensure dust free and fly free eatables, and must use clean utensils and chlorinated water for cooking and serving customers. The order shall remain in force up to December 31, 2007.

Nurpur
INTUC calls off stir: The congress party’s frontal organization, Himachal Pradesh Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC), which had launched agitation on April 7 against the alleged mismanagement of the state Agro Industries corporation by holding gate meetings and wearing black badges to protest against the poor state of affairs of its units, the HIMAGRICO at Jachh and Honey processing unit at Kandrori in this subdivision. The workers and employees of these units had not been getting their salaries since December 2006. They under the banner of state INTUC had scheduled chain hunger strike on April 17, which has been deferred, as the management in a fax message informed the salaries of the workers for two months had been released and assured to make the units viable.

Shimla
Govt focusing on female literacy: CM: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said here on Saturday that special attention was being paid towards improving the female literacy rate in the state. Addressing a public meeting at Samoli in Rohru subdivision here, he said the government was paying added attention towards education of girls and specific programmes had been launched in the areas with low female literacy rate. He said girls education had been made free of cost from lowest to highest standard to encourage them pursue their academics without any financial burden. He said efforts were being made to bring female literacy rate on a par with the male literacy rate in the state.

Shimla play wins first prize: “Dagyaali Ki Raat”, a radio play produced by Akashwani Shimla, has won first prize in the All India Radio Play Competition 2006. Directed by Kunj Kishore Rohal, the play is based on a short story by S.N. Joshi. The play has been woven around the superstitious belief among the hill folks that on the dark night of Bhadon, witches and devils roam about in the open and gobble up any beautiful looking human being. Director of Akashwani Shimla, Tej Krishna Rawal, said it was for the first time that a play produced by the Shimla station had been adjudged the best in the country for programme and technical excellence.