Tribuneindia...Regional Briefs

	REGIONAL BRIEFS	Thursday, April 29, 1999
weather n spotlight today's calendar	........

ABOHAR
Bodies found: The body of a young resident of Ludhiana was found floating in a canal minor near the Punjab-Rajasthan border on Monday. The police recovered a purse and identified the body to be that of Niranjan Singh of Ludhiana. Another body of an unidentified young girl packed in a jute bag was found in the same sub-canal last week.

Protest: The Technical Services Union on Monday resolved to organise meetings at the subdivisional level on April 29 to express resentment over the "indifferent attitude" of the Executive Engineer, PSEB. Condemning the authorities for not accepting their demands. The union said protest rallies would be held daily from May 16 to June 15.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
Postal stamp: Mr Jagmeet Singh Sahota, a Congress leader has welcomed the decision of the Canadian Government to print emblem of 'Khanda' on all postal stamps of Canada till 2001 to mark the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa. In a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada he said that this gesture would strengthen relations between the two countries.

HOSHIARPUR
Suspended: Mr Daljit Singh, District Food and Supplies Controller of Hoshiarpur said here on Tuesday that licences of two commission agents of Mukerian were suspended for irregularities committed by them in the procurement of wheat. He said that 55184 tonnes of wheat was procured by various government agencies and traders at 57 procurement centres in the district till April 25.

Burglaries: Cash and jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh was reportedly stolen in two thefts in the district on Tuesday, the police said. While cash of Rs 2.50 lakh was stolen from a house at Jagowal village under Garhshankar police station. In another theft, cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.29 lakh was stolen from the house of Mr Varinder Kumar in Prahlad Nagar in the city. The family was away to Patiala when the theft occurred. The police has registered cases.

Mill sealed: The Punjab Government sealed the Dasuya Sugar Mill on Monday becuase of the failure of the mill to pay the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation ( PSDC) Rs 33.63 crore due to it. The mill was sold to a private company in 1997 for Rs 45 crore. The company paid the PSIDC Rs 11.27 crore as the first instalment but so far it has not paid the remaining amount.

JALANDHAR
One killed : Karam Chand (56) of Ashok Vihar, near Maqsudan, was run over and killed by a train near Surransussi railway station on the city outskirts on Tuesday, the police said. His body was sent to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem.

LUDHIANA
Performance: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Santoor Maestro, will perform in the city on April 30. Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, President of Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam and Chairman CII, Northern Region said here on Tuesday.

Arrested: The police has arrested two smugglers and recovered 5 kg of opium from their possession. Rajinder Singh and Raghbir Singh, the two accused, were caught on April 25. An FIR under Sections 18,61,85 of the NDPS Act was registered against them.

Writers' association: The annual elections of the Young Writers Association of PAU here will be held at its meeting on Thursday on the university campus.

MALERKOTLA
Dead: Imam Hussan Lakhnavi died here on Monday after a brief illness. He was 35 and belonged to Lucknow. He is survived by his wife and two children.

MANSA
Appointed: Mr Gurdev Singh Lalli of Kharak Singh Wala has been appointed Organising Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee by Capt Amarinder Singh, President, PPCC.

PATHANKOT
Rotary club: The Rotary International has accepted an amendment and changed the name of Rotary Club, Damtal, to Rotary Club Pathankot (Central).

SANGRUR
Ban : Mr Anirudh Tewari, District Magistrate, has imposed a ban on all kinds of processions, assembly of five or more persons, and carrying of arms and firearms at public places within the limits of the district under Section 144 of the Cr PC. These orders shall remain in force till June 14.

Elected: The following have been elected the office-bearers of the Indian Air Force Civilians Employees Union, Chandigarh, under the chairmanship of Mr Som Ashwani Kumar, Secretary of the MES Workers Union, Chandigarh: President — Mr Madan Mohan; Vice-President — Mr Jagdish Chander; General Secretary — Mr Brij Bhushan Sharma; Joint Secretary — Mr Ashwany Kumar; Organising Secretary — Mr Bishan; and Cashier - Mr Walik Sahni.

Condolence meeting: To commemorate the services of Ms Sudha Sen, the first principal of Government College for Women Ludhiana, towards the cause of education, the Teachers, Old Students’ Association of the college will organise a condolence meeting on April 29 in Sector 16 here. According to Ms Pooja Khanna, a spokesman of the association, a prayer meeting will be held in house number 589, Sector 16, here in memory of Ms Sen, who died on April 16.

BHIWANI
Child development programme : Under the Integrated Child Development Programme, over 1 lakh small children and pregnent women were provided mental and physical healthcare through 1106 Anganwadis in the district during 1998-99. Stating this, Mr K.S.Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, said that 46,000 children were given pre-school education.

Potable water: Mr K.S.Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, has directed the officers of the Public Health and Irrigation Department to ensure that people got proper supply of potable water in summer. He also directed the officers concerned to fill the village ponds up with canal water so that there was no shortage of water for cattle.

FARIDABAD
Deaths: A 29-year-old farmer, Khushal Singh, was killed when he was hit by a tanker near Asavati village on Tuesday. In another case, a 28-year-old youth committed suicide near Ballabhgarh by consuming poison.

FATEHABAD
Installation ceremony: The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vineet Garg, has said service to the mankind was the true service. He was speaking at the installation ceremony of the office-bearers of the local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad here on Tuesday. He said the government has started a number of welfare schemes but the implementation was not possible without the active help of the social welfare organisations. The parishad also distributed free books among poor students on this occasion.

SIRSA
One arrested: Bahadur Singh of Thobaria village in the district was arrested by the CIA staff under Section 302, IPC, on Tuesday. According to police sources, he was arrested for allegedly murdering Major Singh . The police seized a sharp-edge weapon from his possession. In another incident, the police registered a case under Sections 323, 325 and 34, IPC, against five miscreants of Shahpur Begu village for allegedly assaulting Harbans Singh.

Janata darbar: As many as 57 complaints have been settled in a "janata darbar" held at the local Janta Bhavan. The ADC, Mr Arun Gupta, presided over the darbar. Later, he asked officers to take personal interest in the redressal of the problems of the public.

Open darbar: Over 57 cases received at the weekly open darbar held at the local Patwar Bhavan, were settled on the spot on Monday. Speaking on the occasion , Mr Arun Gupta, Additional Deputy Commissioner, urged senior officers of various departments to redress public grievances on priority .

Medical camp: A free medical camp was organised by the Rotary Club here in collaboration with the local police on Monday. Patients were examined by a team of doctors and medicines were distributed among them. Speaking on the occasion , Mr B.S. Sandhu, SSP, lauded the services of the club and assured full cooperation to it.

SONEPAT
Smuggling: The Sadar police intercepted a car and seized 1,500 pouches of liquor from it on Monday evening. The police also arrested driver Gladwin alias antheni, and registered a case under the Excise Act against him. The SSP, Mr K Selvraj said here on Tuesday that the police had taken steps to check the smuggling of liquor. Round-the-clock vigil was being kept by the police in the villages bordering Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Woman raped : A young woman was allegedly raped by two persons at Jatheri village, 8 km from here, on Tuesday. According to preliminary reports here, the woman was working in her house when both raped her. When she raised alarm, the duo managed to escape. Meanwhile, the Rai police has registered a case against them.

BILASPUR
Cases settled: The administration held a "prasashan janta ke dwar shivir" at Soldha, 50 km from here, on Monday. As many as 93 of the 145 cases were solved on the spot. The shivir was presided over by Mr Roshan Lal Rana, SDM. He said the remaining cases were referred to the departments concerned.

Forest fire: A fire at Bandla hill on eastern side of new Bilaspur town in Sheeda area, near here, on Monday destroyed forest wealth worth lakhs of rupees, wild animals and rare birds. This is fifth fire during past four weeks.

HAMIRPUR
Theft: Thieves broke into a shop of a jeweller and decamped with jewellery worth Rs 35000. The police has registered a case in this connection.

JWALAMUKHI
Cases decided: Fortyeight cases were decided on the spot in an open "darbar" held at Tihri village near here on Tuesday. Presiding over the function, Mr S.S.Chambial, SDM, Dehra, called upon the villagers to participate in these "darbars".

Regional potpourri

Temple town lacks amenities

Kangra, the centrally located business town of Himachal Pradesh, is best known for Bajreshwari temple dating back to the Mahabharata era and its unique fort.

Every year during Navratras, lakhs of pilgrims rush to have the darshan of its deity, a reincarnation of Parvati. Legend has it that when Daksha Prajapati, the father-in-law of Lord Shiva, did not invite the latter to a function at his house, Parvati insulted her father by jumping into the "agni kund". Lord Shiva lifted her burning body with his trishul and sent it towards the north. Thereupon, Lord Vishnu struck his chakra against Shiva's trishul, and pieces of the burning Parvati fell at far-flung places: her tongue fell at Jwalamukhi, her eyes at Naina Devi, her feet at Chintpurni and breast at Kangra, where temples have come up.

Besides being an attractive tourist spot, Kangra is now an educationally progressive town. It not only has a degree college, but also a medical college, a polytechnic and numerous public and private schools imparting multi-faceted education.

But this town lacks certain facilities. There is no public park. Recently five shops adjoining the hospital had caught fire but the fire brigade from Dharamsala reached here after the shops were burnt to ashes. Hence there is need for a fire brigade as well.

Though fresh big water tanks have been constructed on the top of the Mission Mount, the water supply in certain localities is untimely and inadequate. The electric voltage in certain areas is low and tubelights seldom work, while streetlights on the SDM Court Road rarely work. Here leopards prowl at night and it is dangerous to walk on this road, which unfortunately is the only broad one in the town where one can have morning and evening walks without obstruction.

The town has a serious sewerage problem. In the locality adjoining Gita Bhavan and the SDM Court, the drain has been blocked by a private owner who has built a wall, thereby obstructing the natural flow of water.

The traffic problem in this town is the worst. There is a single narrow road which is the entry point for vehicles from Delhi, Chandigarh Shimla, Hoshiarpur and Jwalamukhi etc. Commonly known as Hoshiarpur road, it bears the brunt of the traffic which remains jammed most of the time. The town badly needs a bypass.

Two of family get Khalsa award

The Samundri family is the only family which got two "Order of Khalsa" (Nishan-e-Khalsa) awards during the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations in Anandpur Sahib.

The father-son duo of Teja Singh Samundri and Bishan Singh Samundri (both deceased) were among the 84 prominent persons awarded the Order of Khalsa.

Mr Teja Singh Samundri, an eminent freedom fighter, a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the SGPC, remained dictator of the Guru ka Bagh Morcha in which Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya also participated. It was reported to Mahatma Gandhi that India had won the "first battle" of freedom by this morcha.

Mr Teja Singh Samundri mortgaged his land to file a case in the Privy Council in a gurdwara property dispute. The SGPC head office at the Golden Temple complex was renamed after him after his death at Lahore Central Jail, when he was just 46.

Prof Bishan Singh Samundri, a keen sports lover, was founder Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University. He remained at the helm for nine years. During his tenure the university won many top prizes in sports, especially in hockey and athletics.

The awards were received on their behalf by Mr Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the professor's youngest son, who is First Secretary (Political) at the Indian Embassy in Washington.

Rare surgery done on brain

A rare and complicated brain surgery has been successfully performed at Aggarwal Hospital in Yamunanagar.

A sixty-two year old woman, a resident of Naraingarh (Ambala), was brought to Aggarwal Hospital in a serious condition. At home she had been complaining of severe headache, giddiness and inability to walk. She was first taken to the PGI, Chandigarh, where she was diagnosed to be suffering from a tumour in a crucial part of the brain. A date for the operation was set but as her condition had deteriorated, she was brought to Aggarwal Hospital, where Dr Anil Aggarwal performed a long and complicated operation on her brain. But even then success could not be expected.

After the operation she regained consciousness and now walks normally. Besides, her eyesight has been restored. She has since been discharged from the hospital. Dr Aggarwal has been honoured by state and national awards for his extraordinary services to surgery.

Contributed by D.C. Sharma, Sarbjit Singh and Ashwani Dutta.