Protest: Consumers at Kandhwala village, Amarkot, have protested over the inflated telephone bills which were reportedly five to six times higher than the previous bills. The village sarpanch said the exchange here had been upgraded recently which could have led to inflated bills. An inquiry has been sought into it.

AMRITSAR
Sales tax: The district Chemists Association at a meeting held here on Saturday cautioned the Punjab Government that in case the government failed to reduce the sales tax on medicines from 8.8 per cent to 6.6 they would be forced to give a call for an indefinite strike. The President of the association, Mr Deepak Sehgal, said a deputation of the chemists had met the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister in this regard.

BATHINDA
Shop rates: Tenants of shops and shop-cum-flats at the local Gandhi Ground Market owned by the municipal council on Sunday said it had decided to sell them off on the rates approved by the committee constituted by the Punjab Government. The decision was taken after considering the facts that the council had been spending more money than it collected from the tenants.

GURDASPUR
Exam dates: Resentment prevails among candidates appearing for various tests which are being conducted on the same day. Tests for panchayat secretaries in the Directorate of Rural Developments and Panachayats Inspectors in the State Insurance Corporation and career agents (urban) in the L I C are being held on the same day. The candidates have requested the authorities concerned for a change in the dates to enable them to appear in these exams.

HOSHIARPUR
Pensioners: The annual identification of ex-servicemen, civilians and widow pensioners, who draw their pensions from bank through DPDO, for 1999-2000 will be done on the following dates — Bham on August 6 Hariana on September 6, Bhunga on September 7, Januari on September 8 Mahilpur from October 4 to 6, Garhshankar on November 3 and 4 Binewal on November 5 and Balachaur from December 1 to 3. This was stated by the District Sainik Welfare Officer.

Special drive: To implement the traffic rules according to the instructions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the District Transport Department has started a special campaign in this regard from July 1. Mr Harminder Singh, District Transport Officer, here said as many as 120 persons were challaned during checking and Rs 10,000 were collected as fines.

PATIALA
Blood donors: The Deputy Commissioner-cum-President, district Red Cross Society, here has urged the youth to donate blood for the Army personnel. He has requested all individuals as well as voluntary organisations, offices, colleges and other institutions to send the list of voluntary blood donors.

New road: Mr Harkesh Singh Sidhu, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, here has given an assurance to a women's delegation from the local Harbans Theatre lane that a new road with a raised level connecting Rajbaha road and Sewak Colony would be built soon with a proper sewerage system.

PHAGWARA
Biannual exams: Dr Livtar Singh Chawla, Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, has assured the IMA College of General Practitioners that the university will try to conduct biannual entrance examinations for postgraduates to enable them to start their courses from January 1 and July 1. This will solve the problem of students and interns who had to wait for six months for these tests, claimed Dr Raman Aggarwal, Honorary Secretary, State College of General Practitioners, IMA.

SAMRALA
Appointed: The following have been appointed office-bearers of the All-India Dal (youth wing) Circle here: Circle Presidents — Mr Surinder Singh Dhillon, Khanna, Mr Amarjit Singh Mangewal, Payal, Mr Gurnam Singh Khalsa, Machhiwara, Mr Kalkiat Singh Dayalpura, Samrala, and Mr Gurmit Singh, Khanna (rural).

Suicide: The bodies of Jasbir Singh (35) and Jasbir Kaur (20) from Machhiwara were brought here at the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination on Friday. According to police sources, the deceased had consumed poison.

Effigy burnt: Members of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee led by its General Secretary, Mr Gurbachan Singh, on Sunday burnt the effigy of the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, in protest against the intrusion in the Kargil-Dras sector and for launching a proxy war against India. Later, all those present observed a two-minutes silence as mark of respect for the Kargil heroes.

Medical day: The districts unit of the Indian Medical Association celebrated Medical Day on the occasion of the birthday of its founder president Dr B.C Roy on Saturday. The unit honoured Dr Bhisham Chander, a senior doctor, for his services on the occasion.
Water tanks: Resentment prevails among residents here against the usage of water tanks as swimming pools by local boys. They have sought a ban on this and asked the authorities concerned to prevent the nuisance.

FATEHABAD
Law and order: The district police on Saturday claimed to have brought the activities of drug trafficking, illicit liquor smuggling and gambling under control. This was stated by the Superintendent of Police, Mr Rajbir Deswal. A number of arrests have been made in this regard.

HISAR
Murder: Satyavan (27) was allegedly murdered with an axe by his two brothers, Ramesh and Suresh, at Sighwa Ragho village on Saturday over a family dispute. A case has been registered under Sections 302 and 34, IPC.

KALKA
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Northern Railway Men's Union here: President — Mr Gurbaksh Singh Munshi; Vice-Presidents — Mr Prithvi Chand and Mr Gian Chand; Secretary — Mr Surinder Kumar Johny; and Treasurer — Mr Som Nath.

PANIPAT
Gang busted: The district police has claimed to have busted a gang of robbers which was involved in a number of cases of murders and dacoities. It was operating in Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Jind districts for the past four months. The arrested culprits have been identified as Rajesh and Rajbir of Phurlak village in Karnal district, Raj Kumar of Seenk village, Surender Kumar of Jeetgarh village and Birender, alias Billu, of Nimbri village in Panipat district. Two motor cycles, three revolvers and eight cartridges were recovered from them.

Telephone facility: The district President of the Indian National Lok Dal, Mr Dharam Pal, has demanded that all police posts in the town should be provided with telephones. This facility will improve the police functioning, he added.

REWARI
Birth anniversary: A function was organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of late Raman Kant Munjhal and the foundation day of Raman Munjhal Vidya Mandir at the Raman Munjhal Vikas Kendra complex in Sidhrawali, 18 km from here, on Friday. The OPD wing of the Raman Munjhal Hospital was also inaugurated.

SONEPAT
Rape charge: A case has been registered under Sections 323,452 and 376, IPC, against Dharamvir of Machhola village in the district on the charge of allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman on June 25 and 26.

Body recovered: The body of Attar Singh (30) of Jatheri village was recovered by the police from GT Road near the Kalinga cable factory, 18 km from here, on Saturday. The body bore multiple injuries inflicted by some sharpedged weapons. A case has been registered.

Demonstration: Residents of Nagar village on Saturday blocked traffic and held a demonstration in protest against the non-supply of power for the past four days. Officials of the civil administration and the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) rushed to the site and negotiated with the irate villagers. They also assured that the power supply would become normal from Tuesday.

Cheque presented: The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, has presented a cheque for Rs 35,000 to Ms Mukhi Devi of Berry Darolan Behnajattan village near here as insurance money of her husband, Ganga Ram, who was a fisherman. This was given under a scheme launched jointly by the state and the central governments.

NURPUR
Skeleton found: Dehra police found a human skeleton in a forest near Jindbra village on Friday. It was later identified to be of Bhindhuram (75) of Sadwan village.

SHIMLA
Workshop: A three-day workshop on "Living Effectively amid Diversity" concluded at Himachal Pradesh University on Saturday. It was jointly organised by Himachal Pradesh University Academic Staff College and the Asian Centre for Organisational Research and Development.