R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BATHINDA
BLOOD DONATION: The United Welfare Society, a local NGO, organised a blood donation camp at the local Sirki Bazaar on Sunday. The camp was dedicated to the memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. In a press note issued here on Monday, Mr Vijay Bhatt, president of the society, said Dr Gursharan Singh, a heart specialist, was the chief guest and Dr Jagjit Singh of the DMC, Muktsar, was the guest of honour. He added that 16 persons donated blood during the camp.

NSS CAMP: Shaheed Sipahi Sandeep Singh Government Senior Secondary School here organised a one-day NSS camp on Sunday. In a press note issued here on Monday, Mr Hans Singh, programme officer, said 100 volunteers of the NSS cleaned the school campus and presented a cultural programme on the occasion.

CABLE OPERATORS: Residents of ward number 1, Joganand Road and Dhillon Nagar here in a written complaint to Mr R. Venkatratnam, Deputy Commissioner, have urged him to direct the local cable operators to work lawfully. They alleged that the cable operators were imposing undue charges adding that they were openly violating the Consumer Protection Act.

FUNCTION HELD: The city unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP) on Sunday organised a function ‘‘Guru vandan chatar abhinadan’’ at DAV School here to honour the best teacher and students of the school. In a press note issued here on Monday, Mr Lalit Sachdeva, general secretary of the parishad, said Mr S.R. Prabhakar, Principal of the school, presided over the function and Prof Karam Singh Gill was the chief guest on the occasion.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
U-19 GAMES: The district-level winter games for under-19 school boys and girls would commence from October 3 at Government Senior Secondary School, Fatehgarh Sahib. according to Mr Adhiatam Parkash, press Secretary of the tournament committee, Mr I.S. Randhawa, SP, would inaugurate the games.

LUDHIANA
MEETING: A special meeting was held by the members of Sirjan Dhara at Punjabi Bhavan on Sunday evening. The chief guest, Mr Y.P.S. Walia, spoke at length about how through creative writing the importance of health can be focussed on. He further said literature should make the readers aware of the ills prevailing in society. It should also give knowledge of how to make society a better place to live in. The general secretary of Sirjan Dhara, Mr Kulwant Singh Jagraon, spoke about the creativeness of the members of Sirjan Dhara in the field of literature. Mr Karamjit Aujla, President of the society, said, “Our motto is to reform society through our writings.

DEALERS’ VISIT: The Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilisers Limited organised a dealers’ visit from Punjab and Haryana to the company’s plant, which has been awarded with ISO-14000 certification.The company’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Mr Deepak Verma, Director (Marketing), Mr U.S. Jha, Director (Technical), Mr H.P.S. Sinha, Executive Director, Mr T.R. Raghuraman, and Deputy General Manager, Mr J.P. Wargale, welcomed all the dealers who gave various valuable suggestions for increasing the sale of the company and also discussed the feedback from the farmers to the dealers. The company’s top management assured their full cooperation to the dealers and customers and also discussed future expansion projects of the RCF. Mr Deepak Verma informed the delegation that the company has received many rewards in recognition of its products’ quality from the government of India in regard to environment protection and quality control.

NSS CAMP: The 10-days NSS camp concluded here at Master Tara Singh (MTS) College for Women on Monday. The MC Mayor Mr Apinder Singh Grewal, presided over the concluding function and also the foundation stone of the stage of the college auditorium. Function started with the shabad gayan. Mrs Kuldip Randhawa, home science teacher read the report of the camp activities. Some of the NSS students also shared their experiences with the audience during the camp. An exhibition of paintings and other handicrafts made by the students during the camp was also inaugurated. Ms Amandeep Kaur and Ms Hardeep were awarded best organisers of the camp and Jaswinder Kaur, Alka Gupta, Anita Verma, Neetal, Kulwinder, Bhav Kiran and Neetu Sharma were also awarded for their creations and services during the camp. About 136 students of the college participated in the this camp under the guidance of Ms Kuldip Randhawa, home science lecturer. Ms Randhawa said the main aim of the camp was to inculcate cooperation and coordination among the students.

CULTURAL FESTIVAL: Koshish-2001, a cultural week for students of the Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), entered its second day with clay modelling contest on Monday. Two students from each batch of BCA, BBA and MBA classes participated in the contest. Contests for photography and sketching were held on Sunday after the inauguration. Contests for flower arrangement would be held in the college on Tuesday. Dr K.N.S. Kang, director, said that 32 competitions would be held during the week and prizes would be declared on the concluding day.

MEETING: To discuss their problems with Mr R.S. Sandhu, Education Secretary, the Association of PSEB Affiliated Schools, Punjab, held a meeting on Wednesday. Stating this in a press note, Mr Rajinder Sharma, president, said the association would be demanding that Class V students of the schools be given exemption from appearing in SCERT examination as the books in English medium have not been published as yet. The association would also be demanding that the schools be exempted from paying road tax for school buses and their case be sent to the Transport Department and electricity board.

SEMINAR ON VALUE EDUCATION: The All-India Association of Educational Research (AIAER) will organise a seminar on value education at the Malwa Central College of Education for Women on October 6. Delegates from over 24 colleges of the state would participate in the seminar, said Dr Ravinder Kaur, Principal. She said eminent scholars from different universities would address the participants, discuss and share research experiences.

STUDENTS EXCEL: The BCA second semester students of the Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Civil Lines, have secured top positions in examination conducted by Punjab Technical University in June this year. Supriya Jain has topped the university with 622 marks of the total 700 marks, Perry has stood third with 599 marks and Ela Sharda has secured fifth rank with 592 marks. Anjali Bhatia with 581 marks, Jasleen with 572 marks and Maneet Kaur with 567 marks have obtained sixth, ninth and eleventh rank, respectively. Mr Gunwant Singh Dua, in charge of the institute, congratulated the students of their success.

MALERKOTLA
“KAVI SAMMELAN”: A “kavi sammelan” was organised at K.M.R.D. Jain College for Women here on Saturday. Renowned poets from all over the state and from Lucknow participated in it. Mr Nusrat Ali Khan Bagga, Cabinet Minister, was the chief guest, while Mr Gurlovleen Singh Sidhu, SDM, presided over the function.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
TAC DISSOLUTION: Former members of the Telecom Advisory Committees held a meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Harvinder Khanora, here on Monday. They criticised the decision taken by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to dissolve the TACs. Mr Khanora termed the decision as anti-people, against the spirit of democracy and a step towards dictatorship’. He said that now common people would not be able to highlight their grievances, and the Department of Telecommunication would be at the mercy of bureaucracy. He expressed his apprehension that this decision might set a precedent for other autonomous bodies to dissolve their advisory committees.

DAL CONFERENCE: A meeting of the All-India Rangretta Dal, Bhadson, near here, was held here on Monday. It was decided at the meeting, chaired by Mr Lal Singh, president of the Dal, Patiala district, to hold a conference to celebrate the birth anniversaries of Bhai Jeeta, Baba Jiwan Singh and Baba Sangat Singh on October 6 at the Veterinary Hospital, Bhadson. In a press release, Mr Lal Singh stated that Mr Joginder Singh, national president of the Dal, would address the conference, which would be chaired by Mr Bharpoor Singh, president of the Dal, Bhadson. OC 
HOSHIARPUR

COMPENSATION: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed United India Insurance Company to pay Rs 1,70,596 to Hoshiarpur Doaba Transport Company Limited along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of repudiation of the claim till realisation of the amount. The forum found the insurance company guilty of deficiency in service as it had illegally repudiated the claim.

LOK ADALAT: A lok adalat was held at Garhshankar on Saturday which was headed by Ms Ramesh Kumari, Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division. A total of 53 cases were fixed for hearing, out of which 25 cases were settled of by way of compromise. An amount of Rs 2,40,370 was awarded to the claimants. A seminar on free legal aid was also organised at Janauri village.

NAWANSHAHR
SEMINAR: Amardeep Singh Shergill Memorial College, Mukandpur, organised a seminar on “Terrorist attacks on the USA and its repercussions” on Saturday. Mr Sadhu Singh Shergill and Dr Amarjit Singh, office-bearers of the college managing committee, presided over the seminar. Dr Surjit Singh Bhatti, Principal, and a number of staff members and students read their papers on the occasion.

DISTRIBUTED: Mr Swarna Ram, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister, on Sunday unveiled the statue of B.R. Ambedkar at Banga, 13 km from here. He distributed cheques for Rs 1 crore among the village panchayats falling under the Banga assembly segment for carrying out various development works, utensils worth Rs 20 lakh among 160 Dalit dharamshalas and shagun cheques for Rs 5 lakh among 100 beneficiaries, on the occasion.

PATHANKOT
CONVICTED: Mr Harish Anand, Judicial Magistrate First Class, on Monday convicted Mangal Dass of Chela Amda Shakargarh village and sentenced him to an imprisonment for 18 months and also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 for committing sodomy on a 6-year-old boy on August 15, 1999.

COMPETITIONS: Essay writing and on-the-spot painting competitions were organised on Saturday at K.L.M. International School here. In the painting competition, junior group, Arushi, Uparna and Ruchika stood first, second and third, respectively. In the senior group, Vikram, Anu Kumar and Abhishek, stood, first, second and third, respectively. In the essay writing, Aparna, Apoorva and Gaurav Aggarwal stood first, second and third respectively, in the junior group. Priyanka, Diwakar and Akshay Majahan stood first, second and third, respectively, in the senior group. Ms Bhawna Garg, SDM, gave away the prizes.

ONE DEAD: Udit Sharma (19) died in a road accident here on Saturday. According to the police, the accident took place near Mission Road. A case has been registered in this regard.

PATIALA
FREEDOM FIGHTER DEAD: Tamra Patra awardee and veteran freedom fighter Bawa Manmohan Singh died here on Sunday. He took active part in the Quit India Movement and spent many years in jail during the Independence struggle. He is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters.

SEMINAR: The Kisan Club, Chapar, organised a seminar on feeding and management of the Dairy animals in collaboration with the Animal Husbandry Department, Patiala and the Don Bosco Institute for Rural Development, Kauli. Mr Manvesh Singh Sidhu, ADC (Development ), Patiala, was the chief guest. Apart from discussing the latest technologies, experts in the field also discussed common diseases.

ELECTED: Mr Tarsem Lal Singla has been elected president of the Shri Radha Krishan Mandir Committee during a general body meeting held here on Monday. Other office-bearers are vice-president — Mr Relu Ram; secretary — Mr Bishan Das; and assistant secretary — Mr Shusheel Singla.

LITERARY SOCIETY: Pooja Kumra of BA final stood first in the Hindi poetical recitation competition organised by the Hindi Literary Society of Patel Memorial National College at Rajpura, about 32 km from here, on Monday. Dr Suresh Kumar, Head, Department of Hindi, PMN College, said, as many as, 15 students participated in the competition organised to mark the Hindi Divas. The function was inaugurated by Dr R.N. Pal, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, while Shiromani Hindi Sahityakar, Dr Manmohan Sehgal, presided over the function.

BLOOD DONATION: A large number of accidents and an increasing number of Thalassaemia and cancer patients has led to a huge demand for blood. This was stated by Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner, while inaugurating a blood donation camp on the occasion of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day held at Red Cross Hall here on Monday. The camp was organised by the District Red Cross Society in association with the Inner Wheel Club, the State Bank of Patiala, ITI and Guru Nanak Foundation Public School.

MANDIR COMMITTEE: Mr Jamna Dass Bhanot has been elected Chairman of the Shri Prachin Khera Shiv Mandir Committee during the general body meeting held here on Monday. Other office-bearers are: president — Mr Vinod Kumar Mittal; vice-president — Mr Satpal Goyal; secretary — Mr Kirti Sharma; and assistant secretary — Mr Mohan Lal.

CULTURAL CENTRE: The North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) will celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the premises of the NZCC headquarters here on Tuesday. A painting competition for children will also be held on the occasion. A special group of mentally retarded and handicapped children will also participate in the competition.

NURSES ASSOCIATION: The Punjab Government has taken on initiative to provide basic amenities to nurses and has neither accepted any of their demands put forth by the Punjab Nurses Association from time to time. Stating this here on Monday, the association President, Ms Jeevanpreet Kaur, said a meeting of the association members would be held on Wednesday at Chandigarh.

SANGRUR
LOK ADALAT: A state-level lok adalat was held at the District Judicial Complex here on Sunday, under which 19 courts were constituted. Mr Justice Ashok Bhan of the Supreme Court, along with judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, took round of the courts. As many as 1525 cases were taken up at the lok adalat out of 625 were settled on the spot.

SAS NAGAR
CAMP: The Industries Welfare Association, Phase IX, and the Lions Club, Supreme, Chandigarh, jointly organised a blood donation camp on the premises of the Punjab Anand Lamps here on Monday. The camp was inaugurated by Mr S. Talwar, MD, of the Punjab Anand Lamps. As many as 100 persons donated blood.

MEDICAL CAMP: A free medical camp for asthma patients was organised at Gurdwara Bibi Bhani ji, Phase VII, on Sunday. The patients were distributed medicines free of cost. 

TARN TARAN
MASS MARRIAGES: Marriages of 24 poor and needy girls were solemnised at a function organised here on Sunday by the local Citizen Council. Mr Daljit Singh, president of the council, said Dr Inderjit Kaur, president of the all-India Pingalwara Society, Amritsar, blessed the newly-wed couples.

HARYANA

RESENTMENT: Resentment prevails among the residents of the villages falling under the jurisdiction of Murthal subdivision of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam against the erratic power supply. Representatives of various farmers’ organisations on Sunday demanded a high-level probe into the complaints of the farmers.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
ASSAILED: Residents of Chamba and Banikhet are up in arms against the recent closure of three subdivisions of the Public Works Department (PWD) at Chamba, Banikhet and Barangal in the district. The residents alleged that this step of the government would adversely affect the development of the district. The Chamba Welfare Association also assailed the government for closing down the subdivisions.

TRAINING CAMP: The production of vegetables in the district is very low as compared to other districts of the state despite the fact that the climatic conditions and soil are suitable for the growth of vegetables here, stated Dr C.D. Thapa, in charge of the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), while conducting a three-day training camp on vegetable production technology for officials of different departments at Saroo village, near here. Dr Thapa emphasised the need for increasing the use of scientific techniques of vegetable production in the district.

MANDI
ROAD MISHAP: A Tata-407 mini-truck fell into the Beas on Saturday night near Aut, 41 km from here. The three occupants of the min-truck had a providential escape. One arm of the driver, Mr Kartar Singh, was broken, according to the police. The vehicle was coming from Ludhiana and was on way to Lahaul.

NAHAN
POLICE RAID: In a raid conducted on Sunday, the Paonta police found an illicit liquor still in a forest, about 70 km from here. Chet Ram was arrested and the liquor still was seized by a police party led by ASI, Mr Shyam Lal, in the Chungurua Khud in Shillata forest, near Danda Kala Amb village. The police also recovered 15 bottles of illicit liquor and 150 litre of “lahan” from the accused.