The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, October 31, 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

AMRITSAR
VOTERS’ I-CARDS: The voters lists in the district are being prepared, stated the Election Officer, Ms Usha R. Sharma, while addressing a meeting of the returning officers here on Monday. She said the Election Commissioner had announced that no voter would be allowed to exercise his franchise without a voter identity card. She said voting registration officers had already been deputed to carry out the task of preparation of identity cards from October 18.

“SADBHAVNA SAMAROH”: A “sadbhavna samaroh” was celebrated at DAV College of Education for Women here on Monday. The function was presided over by Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, the local MLA. Ms Chawla donated Rs 2 lakh to the college out of her discretionary quota.

NURSES’ DEMANDS: The Punjab Nurses Association has alleged that the attitude of the government towards their profession was discriminatory. In a press note, Ms Jiwanpreet, president, and Ms Gurcharan Kaur, general secretary of the association, alleged that the conceded pay scale of Rs 5,800-9,200 had been revoked by the government.

GURDASPUR
INAUGURATED: Mr B.K. Mittal, president of the district unit of the BJP, inaugurated the construction work of a tubewell here on Tuesday. The cost of construction of the tubewell will be contributed in the ratio of 70:30 by the MP LAD fund and the municipal committee here. The first instalment of funds has been released.

KHAMANO
PADDY PROCUREMENT: The arrival of 74568 metric tonne of paddy crop till Sunday has been reported of the purchase by which various govt agencies was: Warehouse 41,983, Punsup 10,249, Markfed 18813, FCI 3,240 and 783 MT for private agencies.

RSS MARCH: An RSS route march was held here on Sunday by the district body of the RSS. The march was convened by Mr Krishan Arora, vice president of RSS Punjab, in which over 180 workers participated. The march passed through the bazaar and ended at Sarvhitkari School.

SPORTS FESTIVAL: A sports festival will be organised at Khant village from Tuesday to Thursday. Singer Babbu Menn would perform in a cultural programme on the occasion. The festival would be inaugurated by Mr Vikas Pratap, DC Fatehgarh Sahib.

LUDHIANA
DECISION HAILED: Joginder Kumar, president, of the Federation for Tiny and Small Industries of India, has hailed the decision by the Small Industries Development Bank of India to create corporations fund of Rs 100 crore for the promotion of biotechnology industries. Mr Kumar pointed out that the light engineering industry could not withstand global competition/liberalisation in the current scenario and there was an ample scope for the development of Agro-based and bio-technology industry in Punjab. The Punjab Government was planning to set up an agro industry promotion park at Sirhind.

GENERAL BODY MEETING: The annual general body meeting of the Uttranchal Kumaon Vikas Parishad was held here, which was chaired by Mr M.S. Rawat, on Monday. Over 300 members of the parishad attended the meeting. The body discussed the annual income and expenditure of the Parishad, and views and suggestion given by various members. According to Mr D.S. Manral, press secretary, a cultural function based on culture and folk of Uttranchal, Kumaon would be organised in Ludhiana on the eve of Annual Day celebration. The Parishad would honour the meritorious children of Kumaoni descent residing in Ludhiana. The parishad would bring out a souvenir on the eve of the annual day. The meeting was also addressed by Mr B.S. Aswal, president and Mr Bhupinder Kandpal. The body congratulated Mr Bhagat Singh Koshiary for taking over as Chief Minister of Uttranchal.

STATE-LEVEL SANGAMA: The first state-level Sangama of south Indians is being organised by the Sree Ayyappa Sewa Sangam on Saturday 3 at PUDA Ground, opposite. Sree Ayyappa Temple, Focal Point. The objective is to integrate all south Indians under one umbrellas as the state has more than three lakh south Indians. The public meeting would be inaugurated by Mr. Ramesh Chennithala, M.P. at 5 p.m. The cultural programme would start at 6.30 pm. The highlights include of mimics parade and music by TV artists of “Cochin Padamshree.” Capt Amarinder Singh would be the chief guest on the occasion. Temple would also distribute clothes among the poor and destitutes.

AFFIRMED: Mr Darshan Singh Shivalik, a former member of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, on Tuesday, said he continued to be associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) and that he had never switched over to the Tohra group. Reacting to a report published in the newspaper, Mr Shivalik said at no stage had he parted ways with the SAD (B). He said he had nothing to do with the party led by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

PATHANKOT
HUSBAND HELD: The Pathankot police has arrested Narinder Singh and Santokh Singh of Sunder Nagar here for allegedly demanding dowry from Ms Neelam Kumari. According to the police , Mr Hem Raj, father of the girl, lodged an FIR alleging that Narinder, her husband, and Santokh Singh, her father-in-law, used to harass her for bringing inadequate dowry. A case under Sections 498-A , 506 and 406 of the IPC has been registered.

WATER PROJECT: The Higher Education Minister, Mr Mohan Lal, said here on Tuesday that the state government had sanctioned Rs 9 crore for drinking water project for Kandi and semi-hill areas of Dhar subdivision. He said the project would be launched shortly and would also be financially assisted by Nabard.

2 WOMEN HELD: The police has arrested two women from the area falling under Sujanpur police station and reportedly seized 525 litres of illicit liquor from them. They have been identified as Leelo and Sawarni of Sujanpur. A case under Section 61 of the Punjab Excise Act had been registered against them.

PATIALA
EXHIBITION: Students of the Department of Line Arts of Punjabi University organised an exhibition of paintings, ‘Rhythm of life’. Mr Hari Gautam, Chairman, University Grants Commission, performed the lighting ceremony. Most of the paintings represented forms in various moods and modes.

PROTEST: The Forum Against Imperialist Globalisation will organise a march on November 12 at Jalandhar and November 13 at Patiala against the World Trade Centre meeting held at Doha (Qatar) recently. In a press note, Mr Raminder Singh, state president of the forum, said organisations like the Kirti Kisan Union, BKU (Ekta), Punjab Students Union, Pendu Mazdoor Union, All-India Peoples Resistance Forum and Milkmen Union would take part in these protests.

TRAINING CENTRE: The IAS and Allied Services Training Centre at Punjabi University here will start the second batch for ‘personality development-cum-interview preparation’ course for those candidates who have qualified for the PCS (Judicial). The course will start from November 1. Dr G.S. Bajwa, Director of the Centre, said mock interviews would be held at the end of the course. Interested candidates are required to report at the centre at the earliest.

SAMRALA
SEMINAR: A seminar on “Baba dera politics and problems of general people” was held in Shahi Palace on Monday that was organised by the BKU. Mr Baldev Singh Mianpur, district president, presided over the function. Scholars from Panjab University, Punjabi University, AS College Khanna, Malwa College Bondli-Samrala spoke in the seminar. Most speakers condemned the increase in dera politics in Punjab.

BOOK RELEASED: A short story book ‘Kalian Mirchan’ by Baldev Phhelopuri was released at Sanghol near here on Tuesday by the Panjabi writer, Mohan Bhandari. Mr Prem Gorkhi, Prof Hamdardvir Nausheharvi, Mr Jaswal, Mr Sarwan Pahla and Mr Lal Singh Dill spoke on the occasion. Later a kavi darbar was also held.

ONE KILLED: Har Raj Singh (18), son of Mr R.P.S. Randhawa, Senior Xen PSEB, was killed in a road accident on Tuesday. The scooter, which the deceased was riding, collided with a friend’s motor cycle. The PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC), TSU and JEs council have expressed grief over the demise of the youth. OC

WORK ASSESSED: The Deputy Chief Engineer, PSEB, Ropar circle, Mr Surinder Paul, on Tuesday, assessed the works undertaken under the 24 hours electricity supply scheme. He directed subordinate officers to accelerate the work. Meanwhile, Mr H.L. Sofat, SDO, PSEB, Samrala city subdivision, said he had linked Dhande village under the scheme. Four more villages, Ladhran, Chahlan, Ro and Jhakraudi, would soon be connected to the 24 hours supply lines, he added.

ORDINANCE CONDEMNED: In an emergent meeting of the Punjabi Lekhak Manch, held at Kavita Bhavan on Tuesday under its president, Mr Mohinder Singh Manupuri, various scholars, including Prof Baldeep, Prof B.S. Pannu, Dr Parminder Singh and Dr Surjit Vishad, condemned the ordinance, POTO, which curbs democratic freedom of the people under the pretext of terrorism. All members appealed to the Members of Parliament to reject the bill when it comes before the Parliament.

SUGARCANE PRICES: While talking to mediapersons at the local Civil Rest House, Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, national general secretary of the BKU, said the Punjab Government had not declared the price for sugarcane crop for this season. Mr Rajewal said the government had kept the sugarcane price constant during the past four years at Rs 100 per quintal while it was Rs 110 in Haryana. He said the payments to the farmers had been withheld by the sugar mills who were already under debts. He demanded the government to immediately announce the sugarcane price linked to wholesale price index with 1967 as base year.

CHANDIGARH

SEMINAR: Different modules to disseminate sex education and related problems among students were discussed at a seminar organised by the Population and Development Education, State Institute of Education, here on Tuesday. The seminar titled ‘Advocacy programme and adolescent education for school principals’ was addressed by Dr N.M. Sharma, Project Director, State AIDS Control Society, and Dr C.L. Narang, Programme Co-ordinator, NSS, Panjab University. Dr Sharma highlighted the need to educate the students about such diseases. Nearly 30 Principals from Chandigarh and it’s surrounding areas participated

FAIR: The Maharishi Valmiki Ashram and Dharmshala Parbandhak Committee, Dadu Majra Colony, will organise a two-day fair in the colony from Wednesday in connection with Valmiki’s ‘Prakat Divas’, which falls on Thursday. On the eve of the birthday a satsang will be held on Wednesday night. This was informed by Mr Jaipal, chairman of the committee, in a press note.

PLEA: The Mazdoor Sudhar Sabha has urged the UT Administrator to reduce the hike in water tariff for EWS houses in Sector 32, as these units have only a single room and a kitchen. Mr Ram Avtar, president of the sabha, in a press note said the present tariff (Rs 260 per house) for the houses should be brought down to Rs 100.

APPOINTED: Mr Saleem Khan, a resident of Badheri village, has been appointed president of the Muslim wing of the Minority Cell, Chandigarh Nationalist Congress Party, according to Principal Gurbachan singh, president of the Chandigarh unit TNS

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Sector 8 house holders welfare association: president — Mr Dalip Singh Sandhu; senior vice-president — Mr Chandan Singh; vice-presidents — Mr Piara Singh, Mr T.R. Arora and Dr Baljit Singh; general secretary — Mr Bawa Chanchal Singh; secretary — Lieut-Col Gurdev Singh; treasurer — Mr J.C. Kapur; auditor — Mr Ravi Inder Singh; and legal adviser — Mr A.C. Jain.

PANCHKULA
RESOLVED: The House Owners Welfare Association, Sector 10, has unanimously resolved not to pay more than Rs 150 per month to the cable operators. In a press note, Mr K.N. Gulati, and Mr M.L. Gulati, both office-bearers of the association, said the services provided were unsatisfactory. They said the rate of cable services had been hiked from Rs 125 to Rs 150 only two months back. They said the demand for raising the fee by another Rs 15 was unjustified in a short span of time. They said they would also approach the district administration.

FLAYED: The Residents Welfare Association, Sector 20, has expressed its resentment against the hike in water tariff. In an open letter to the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Administrator, HUDA, members said the hike by over four times had caused a lot of concern among residents. They said, “In case of housing societies that are not completely occupied, the authorities should charge the water bill by considering individual flats and not by considering the society as a single unit”.

SAMMELAN: The Panchkula Naagrik Parishad is organising a Hasya Kavi Sammelan on the eve of Haryana Divas, Wednesday. Dr S.K. Punia, president of the parishad, informed that the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora, will be the chief guest. He said noted poets from all over the country, including Dinesh Raghuvanshi, Mahendra Ajnabee and Ramesh Gupta, would be participating in the sammelan.

HARYANA

AMBALA
CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised by the Lions Club Ambala City (Supreme) at Ambala city. Ms Indira Vij, Principal, Government Polytechnic, inaugurated the camp. According to the spokesman of the club, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, 172 units of blood were donated. A team of doctors from the PGI, Chandigarh, collected the blood.

KILLED: Neelu, a resident of Ambala city, was crushed to death by a train. According to information, the victim, who was admitted to a private nursing home, had gone to railway lines for a call of nature.

FATEHABAD
VEIL SHUNNED: A function to celebrate the Women Empowerment Year was organised jointly by the District Women and Child Development Council and the district police at Haroli village in this district on Tuesday. The chairperson of the Block Samiti, Rattia, Ms Inderjeet Kaur and the village sarpanch, Ms Kavita Devi, were persuaded to shun their veils and attended the function with an uncovered face. The SDM, Rattia, Mr S.K. Setia, was the chief guest on the occasion. He said being educated was the biggest source of empowerment for women.

SONEPAT
“OPEN DARBAR”: A one-day “open darbar” was held by Mr Jeet Singh Mehra, SDM, at Ganaur, 16 km from here, on Monday. Residents of Rajlu Garhi village alleged that the officials of the UHBVN had failed to install the new electricity transformer in the village in place of the one stolen on October 8. This has caused inconvenience to the farmers as their tubewells were not working, they added. Residents of Pugthala village complained against a patwari and his family members who were obstructing the installation of a new electricity transformer in the village.

SANCTIONED: The local municipal council has sanctioned Rs 1.50 lakh for improving the streetlights in different parts of the city. According to official sources the work on repair of the streetlights would start soon.

YOUTH STABBED: Rajesh was seriously injured when he was attacked with a knife allegedly by some youths at Krewri village, about 10 km from here, on Monday. The police has registered a case against the alleged assailants.

SHOP GUTTED: Goods worth thousands of rupees were reduced to ashes in a fire which broke out in a shoe shop in the Mandi area here on Monday. According to a report, the municipal fire-brigade engines brought the fire under control.

VIRAL FEVER: Many villages in the district are in the grip of viral fever. According to a report, there was a rush of patients suffering from viral fever in the private hospitals. Lack of drugs in the civil hospitals, dispensaries and primary health centres was the main cause for the rush in the private hospitals.