R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
FAKE DOCUMENTS: Ten academic certificates and detailed marks cards of matric were found to be fake during the checking of documents at an Army recruitment rally. The six-day rally started here on Monday.

BATHINDA
CONFERENCE: Mr Parminder Singh, Head, Department of Endocrinology, Dayanand Medical College (DMC), Ludhiana, said India would have maximum number of diabeties in the world by 2020 AD. He was addressing a conference organised by the Physicians Forum, Bathinda, on Monday.

PROJECT LAUNCHED: The Divine Eye Research Foundation, a social organisation, has launched a project under the name ‘‘Project Vision’’ under which the eyes of schoolchildren will be examined on November 7, 8 and 9. This was stated by Mr Rakesh Narula, president of the organisation, in a press note issued here on Tuesday.

SCIENCE FAIR: A district-level science fair began at the local Khalsa School here on Tuesday and will continue till November 8. Mr Sohan Lal, District Science Supervisor, is the chief organiser of the fair.

BUDHLADA
RIFT DENIED: Mr Harbant Singh Datewas, in charge of the local unit of SAD and chairman, Market Committee here, who has been facing dissidents from a section of Akali workers, said on Tuesday that some people were strengthening the opposition by creating a rift among party workers. He claimed that there was unity in the party. He was talking to newspersons here.

HOSHIARPUR
VAID SABHA FUNCTION: The Punjab Government will try to solve the issue of allowing RMPs to do practice in the rural areas. This was stated by Ms Mohinder Kaur Josh, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, at a function organised by the District Vaids Sabha on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lord Dhanvantri here on Monday. She said the government had constituted a team comprising doctors and RMP delegates to solve the issue. An exhibition of herbs, ayurvedic literature and desi medicines was also organised.

APPOINTED: Mr Mohinder Singh Kalyan, president, Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes Cell of PPCC, has appointed Mr Harbhajan Dass as president of the Scheduled Caste & Backward Classes Cell of the District Congress Committee, Hoshiarpur. This was stated in a press note by Mr Om Parkash Saini, general secretary of the DCC.

CLARIFICATION: Mr Jagdish Lal Saini, member, state executive committee of the Bahujan Samaj Party, clarified on Tuesday that Mr Kanshi Ram, BSP supremo, had not used derogatory remarks against the Saini community at a public meeting in Langroa of Nawanshahr district. He alleged that the SAD-BJP combine and the Congress were distorting the statement of Mr Kanshi Ram to turn the community against the BSP supremo. He appealed to members of the Saini community not to be misled by SAD, BJP and Congress leaders.

KHAMANO
TEACHERS PROTEST: Unemployed teachers’ representatives, S.K. Alam, Kamal Khamano and some others stated during a talk to press that the Punjab Government had failed to fill thousands of posts of teachers in primary schools which had been lying vacant for the past three years, with the result that over 5000 E.T.T. teachers were unemployed. They said that although Education Minister Tota Singh had promised on October 31 that all unemployed E.T.T. teachers would be given appointment letters soon, but nothing had happened so far. They threatened to gherao ministers of the Akali-BJP government to express their anger.

CHAIRMAN MARKET COMMITTEE: Chairman of the Market Committee, Chamkaur Sahib, Mr Gurdial Singh Bhangu was re-nominated as Chairman of Market Committee, Chamkaur Sahib for the next three years. He is among the 32 chairpersons who have been given extension for the next three years. Their tenure ended on October 14, and the notification for their next tenure was issued on October 18.

KHANNA
NSS CAMP: An NSS camp by the Youth Welfare Department was organised at Hindi Putri Pathshala here for two days which was addressed by a number of educationists, who highlighted the evils of caste, corruption and dowry etc. NSS volunteers also took out a rally highlighting the evils in society.

MONKEY CAUGHT: A big monkey which had been creating menace in the city and in different schools here had been caught by the wildlife department officials here with the use of a smoke gun. Residents had complainted to Pardeep Sabharwal, SDM, who had then directed the wildlife department to catch the monkey. OC JUNIOR BOXING MEET: The Second District Ludhiana sub-junior and junior boxing competition will be held on November 23 and November 24 ,2001 at the stadium of A.S. Sr. Secondary School on Malerkotla Road here. The boxers will be weighed at Modi Pump Store, Malerkotla Road. Winners will be given cash awards according to Mr J.S. Grewal, the boxing coach.

MANSA
WORKSHOP: A workshop under the Sarb Sikhia abhiyan was held in the district at Government Senior Secondary School on Tuesday. The workshop was attended by heads of all primary schools, centre head teachers and block primary education officers in the district. Mr Rajiv Sharma, Assistant Project Director, Sarb Sikhia Abhiyan, Punjab, presided.

OATH ADMINISTERED: Members of the staff, including officers and other clerical staff working in various offices at the district administrative complex and at Mansa tehsil office on Tuesday took pledge not to indulge in corruption. The oath was administered by Mr Krishan Chander Chowdhary, Additional Deputy Commissioner. The function was held as part of the ‘‘Anti-Corruption Week’’. Meanwhile, Ms Raji P. Srivastva, Deputy Commissioner, addressed a seminar organised here by the Vigilance Bureau as part of the ‘‘Anti-corruption Week’’ on Monday.

VACANT POSTS: The candidates selected by the Punjab State Subordinate Services Selection Board for the posts of clerk on May 26 who are still awaiting appointment have urged the government to fill the 53 posts which have fallen vacant in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Fatehgarh Sahib.

PADDY PURCHASE: Ms Raji P.Srivastva, Deputy Commissioner, said on Monday that various government agencies in the district had purchased 3,25,227 tonnes of paddy as against 2,86,159 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. She said that 94 per cent paddy had already been lifted from the purchase centres.

NABHA
STONE LAID: Raja Narinder Singh, local MLA and Public Health Minister, laid the foundation stone for widening the Radha Soami road to 18 feet. He said Rs 35 lakh would be spent on the work.

OLD STUDENTS’ MEET: A meeting of the Old Nabhaites Association (ONA), an association of old students of Punjab Public School, Nabha, was held on the school campus. A large number of old students and their families attended the meeting. Kanwar Sandhu, a renowned journalist, and Mr M.S. Bedi, Headmaster of the school, addressed the participants.

NAWANSHAHR
LEGAL SERVICES DAY: Mr S.K. Sachdeva, Civil Judge (Senior Division) and secretary, District Legal Services Authority, in a press note issued here on Monday informed that a programme in connection with the Legal Services Day would be organised at the judicial complex here on November 9. It would be presided over by Mr B.S. Sidhu, Additional Sessions Judge.

PATIALA
CULTURAL QUIZ: A state-level cultural quiz contest for children was held to mark the Punjabi Language Week celebrations being held at the Punjab Language Department here on Tuesday. Contests were held in three categories and in category `O’, Navjot Thind of Saint Jude Convent School, Nakodar, stood first. She was followed by her schoolmate Puneet Kaur and Navjot Kaur of Senior Secondary School, Ropar. In category `A’, Amardeep Singh of Guru Nanak Dev Public School, Bassi Pathana, stood first while Vikas Goel of Saint Farid Public High School, Hoshiarpur, stood second. Kushaldeep Kaur of Summerfield Public High School got the third position. In category `E’, Ramandeep Kaur of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Khalsa College, Pandiala, stood first and Arpinder Kaur of DAV college, Batala, stood second. The third spot was bagged by Gurpal Singh of Government Ranbir College, Sangrur. The quiz contests were presided over by Mr Hans Raj, Additional Secretary, Higher Education and Languages, Punjab. The week-long Punjabi Language Week celebrations will conclude on Wednesday.

THEATRE WORKSHOP: The National Theatre Arts Society (NTAS) has launched a theatre project ‘Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh’ envisaging the prepation of a Punjabi musical play on the life of the Maharaja which has been directed by Pran and Sunita Sabharwal. The chief guest on the occasion, Mr Vijay Kumar Goel, who is honorary vice-president of the Patiala District Red Cross Society, inaugurated the workshop. The function was presided over by Shiromani Sahitkar Jigar Jalandhari. 

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised by the Association of Punjabi University Students (APUS) in collaboration with the Sony Blood Donation Club. As many as 75 students donated blood on the occasion. The function was presided over by Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia who presented mementoes to the organisers of the function.

BHARAT JYOTI AWARD: Former Government Mohindra College Principal and President of the Punjab Government College Principal’s Association, Dr S.S. Chohan, has been presented with the Bharat Jyoti award by the International Friendship Society, New Delhi, for his contributions to the academic field. The award has earlier been given to personalities like Mother Teresa, Sunil Dutt and R.S. Sarkaria.

AIDS AWARENESS RALLY: The Lions Club International, Patiala Region, is organising an AIDS awareness rally at Patiala from November 11 involving all Lion and Leo Clubs, NGOs and volunteers, its Director Publications Col (retd) G.B. Singh said. The rally would assemble at Phul cinema and move in an organised way to Fountain Chowk and from it to the Railway Station through the Mall road, he added.

PATHANKOT
BAN ON CRACKERS: The District Magistrate, Gurdaspur, Mr Kulbir Singh Sidhu, has banned the storage and sale of crackers during Divali. Ms Bhawna Garg, SDM, convened a meeting of SHOs here on Monday and directed them execute to the orders.

CORRUPT OFFICIALS: Mr R.K. Sharda, SP (Vigilance), Amritsar range, said on Tuesday that during 2000-2001, the Vigilance Department had apprehended 33 officials of various departments while they were accepting bribes. He was addressing a function organised in connection with the observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week here. He said Rs 4.25 lakh had been given as reward to 17 persons who helped the department to nab corrupts officials.

STONE LAID: Master Mohal Lal, Higher Education Minister, Punjab, laid the foundation stone of Dr Shyma Prasad Mukerjee Market here on Tuesday. The market will have 55 shops and it will be developed by the local Improvement Trust.

PHAGWARA
CANE-CRUSHING: The local Wahid-Sandhar Sugars Ltd on Tuesday commenced its cane-crushing season with a target of crushing 45 lakh quintals of cane till March 15 next year. Mr Jarnail Singh Wahid, chairman-cum-MD of the mill, and Mr Arun Bhagat, chief executive-cum-director, said a wet scrubber had been fitted in the plant at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.

GRANTS FOR DALITS: Besides allotting five-marla plots free of cost to Dalits, the Punjab Govt has decided to grant them Rs 40,000 each for the construction of houses. The state government has got Rs 40 crore from the Centre for the purpose. This was stated by Punjab Tourism Minister Chaudhary Swarna Ram at a public function held to distribute cheques amounting to Rs 48 lakh among 37 panchayats of Phagwara block for development projects. Sanction papers of pension were also given to 325 beneficiaries on the occasion, an official press note said on Tuesday.

SAMRALA
SEMINAR: On the instructions of the Supreme Court a meeting of the local Free Legal Services Committee was held here on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of Mr Ravinder Kumar Condal, Civil Judge (Junior Division-cum-Judicial Magistrate). It was decided to highlight the free legal aid service and Lok Adalats for which a seminar would be held on November 9 on the premises of the local Tehsil complex. Panches, sarpanches, lambardars and other prominent personalities would attend.

MEETING: A meeting of intellectuals and social workers was held here today at the local Civil Rest House under the chairmanship of Prof Behari Lal Saddi. Noted Punjabi writer Hamardvir Neushehervi and other speakers appealed to the Punjab Government to ban smoking at public places.

CHANDIGARH

ORIENTATION COURSE: Ms Shashi Bala, Honorary Secretary of the Indian Red Cross Society, Haryana State Branch, inaugurated a two-day orientation course for junior Red Cross workers. She garlanded portrat of Henry Dunant, noble prize winner and founder of the Red Cross Society. He stressed on the need to enroll more volunteers and impart training in rescue operation. The Course Director, Mr Rabhubir Singh, said in this course about 60 delegates from Haryana were participating to discuss the role and responsibilities in mitigating human sufferings and principles of Red Cross. TNS

HARYANA

AMBALA
BAN ON SMOKING HAILED: The president of the Citizens Council of Ambala Cantonment, Dr N.C. Jain, on Tuesday hailed the directive of the Supreme Court imposing ban on smoking in public places. He opined that it is a welcome decision to check environmental pollution and man-made health hazards. He said smoking renders smokers and passive smokers prone to serious ailments. The use of crackers and fireworks during the festive season, mainly in northern states of the country, resulting in smoke and pollution should also attract the attention of the government, he added.

DANCE COMPETITION: A Boogie Woogie dance competition was held during the children’s fair at Ambala City. In the junior group of 5-10 years, M. Khanna of SD Public School was first, Neeraj of Street Children Project was second and Simran of Daya Nand Public School was third. Special prize went to Manhar Preet of DAV Public School. The consolation prizes went to Radhika Malhotra of SA Jain Senior Model School, Sonali Sharma of St Joseph School and Shaina Gulati of St Joseph School. In the senior group of 10-16 years, Nalin Swami of Air Force Public School was first, Anchal Gulati of St Joseph School was second, Shalin Bhola of Bell Toll Public School was third. Special prize went to Naincy of DAV Public School. Consolation prizes went to Navdeep of SA jain Senior Model School, Pawan of Surya High School, Pooja of SK Model School and Ramanpreet of PKR Jain Girls Senior Secondary School.

ARMYMAN STABBED: An armyman was stabbed by another army personnel on Monday. The incident took place when a Subedar was stabbed by another armyman over some matter. The victim has been admitted to the military hospital. The matter is reportedly being looked into by the Army authorities. 

SONEPAT
PRIZE DISTRIBUTION: The Haryana Government is committed to providing modern educational facilities. This was stated by Mr Bahadur Singh, Minister of State for Education, while speaking at the annual prize distribution function of a girls college here on Monday. Earlier the minister inaugurated the computer wing at Government High School in Rohat village.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
BAN: The District Magistrate, Mr Rajeev Shanker Sharma, has banned the sale, storage and use of crackers in certain parts of the district from November 7 to November 14. The valid licence holders, however, will be allowed to sell crackers. The use of fireworks is prohibited in the main bazaar from mini-secretariat to the hospital and from petrol station to Bhota Chowk, in the bazaars of Nadaun, Sujanpurtira, Bhota, Mahre-Barsar, Jahoo and Boranj 30.

SHIMLA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the HP Khadi and Village Industries Board Employees Union: president — Mr L.S. Mokta; vice-president — Mr S.L. Verma, general secretary — Mr Prem Verma; joint secretary — Mr J.R. Thakur; treasurer — Mr Chain Ram Sharma and advisers — Mr Milap Chand and Mr Lekh Ram Sharma.