R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
DHARNA: The Church Bachao Sangharsh Committee (CBSC) held a dharna in front of the shops at court Road here on Wednesday. It was alleged that the shops had been illegally occupied by some influential persons. The committee threatened to gherao the house of the Chief Minister next month in protest against the illegal occupation of the church property. Mr Ratan Lal, Mr Immanudin Gill, Mr Daniel Mal, and Mr Veenu Sharma were present on the occasion.

PROJECT: Dr G.S. Virk and Dr Avinash Nagpal of Department of Botanical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University and Dr A.A. Zaidi of Plant Virology Division, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, have been awarded a research project involving an amount of Rs 18 lakh by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. The project involves identification and elimination of viruses affecting know orchards.

BATHINDA
ONE DEAD: The volunteers of Sahara Jan Sewa (SJS) had found a person lying on Malgodown road here. He was got admitted to a local hospital in a serious condition. He died due to his illness on Thursday. He was cremated after his post-mortem examination.

PAPER READING: Pooja and Archana won the paper reading contest on topic of ‘corruption’ held here on Wednesday. The local branch of the State Bank of Patiala organised the contest at the local SSD Girls College. Mr Manohar Lal Gupta, president of the SSD Sabha, was the chief guest and Mr Naurang Lal Gupta, president of the SSD management committee, was the guest of honour.

FARIDKOT
STIR THREATENED: The Safai Sevak Union, Punjab, has appealed to the state government to accept the long-pending demands of karamcharis by November 20, failing which it threatened to launch a statewide stir. In a letter to the Director, Local Bodies, Punjab, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, state general secretary of the association, has urged him to look into the matter at the earliest. The demands include abolition of the contract system, recruitment against vacant posts and a five-day week.

CRACKERS BANNED: Mr A. Venu Prasad, District Magistrate, has banned the use and storage of all kind of explosive material and crackers with immediate effect in the district. The orders will remain in force till December 21. He has also directed that all restaurants and dhabas should close by 11 p.m., liquor vends in the urban areas by 9.30 p.m. and in rural areas by 8.30 p.m. This order will remain in force till January 3, 2002.

KAPURTHALA
ARRESTED: The police has arrested Mehal Singh, a notorious criminal wanted in a murder case and two poppy husk cases, according to Ms Gurpreet Deo, SSP. In a press note issued on Wednesday, Ms Deo said Mehal Singh of Dhundha village in Tarn Taran had been declared proclaimed offender.

GANG MEMBERS HELD: The police has arrested two members of an inter-state gang of car robbers, according to the SSP here. In a press note issued on Wednesday, the SSP said a stolen Maruti car, two electric weighing machines and Rs 28,000 were recovered from them.

KHANNA
MEETING: A meeting of SAD workers was organised at Kalgidhar Gurdwara here. It was presided over by Mr Daya Singh, district president. Mr Bachan Singh Cheema, MLA, Khanna, appealed to the worker to attend the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with strength. Mr Gurcharan Singh Raikhy and Mr Majir Singh Palla were also present, among others.

CASE REGISTERED: The Payal police station on Wednesday registered a rape case against Balwant Singh, alias Banti, of Fatehpur village and four others, according to a press note of Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, Khanna. A case under Sections 366, 376, 382, 342, 506 and 149 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27 and 54 of the Arms Act against them.

KHAMANO
EMPLOYEES’ PLEA: A meeting of the Panchayat Secretary and Samiti Employees Union, Khamano block, was held under the chairmanship of Mr Santokh Singh. The union warned the Punjab Government that they would observe ‘black Divali’ if their salaries were not released. Employees said they would participate in the proposed state-level dharna in Chandigarh on November 20.

LUDHIANA
CONTEST: The Divisional Forest Department, Ludhiana, organised a quiz contest at Tagore Public School on Wednesday. Over 55 teams from various schools and colleges participated in a written test, in which six teams qualified for the finals. Various questions related to various aspects of environment were asked. The team from Government College for Women won the first prize and was given a cash award of Rs 1,000. Mr A.K. Sinha, ADC (Development), was the chief guest. Mr D.S. Bangali, DGM, State Bank of India, planted trees on the occasion. Mr D.J. Jain, president of the school, and Mr Amrit Lal Aggarwal, manager, were present on the occasion, among others.

PAINTING CONTEST: The Talent Search India will organise an inter-school painting contest on November 11 at Hardy’s World. Over 4000 children from 60 schools of the city are likely to participate. Free rides, refreshment, lucky draw and cultural show by students would be other attractions, said Mr Deepak Baweja of Talent Search. He said the motto of the contest would be ‘Catch them young’ as promising artist.

MALERKOTLA
MURDERED: A boy, Sharan Jit Singh, was murdered allegedly by his own father and grandfather at Ladda Issapur village here on Tuesday. A land dispute was said to be the reason behind the murder. A case has been registered.

MOGA
AWARENESS DRIVE: The Power Grid Corporation of India launched a massive public awareness drive throughout the country on Thursday for development and reforms in the Power sector as well as for energy conservation. About 2,000 road shows have been organised throughout the country, according to reports. The corporation has decided to supply power to all villages in the country by 2007.

NABHA
BOOKED: The police has registered an FIR against Mr Prem Chand, president, Jeewan Jyoti Special School for Mentally Challenged Children, for the violation of court’s order on a complaint filed by Mr Jagmohan Singh Jassa.

NAWANSHAHR
SALARY NOT PAID: Teachers and other employees working in middle schools, newly upgraded schools and under the operation blackboard scheme have not received their salaries for the past three months. Teachers’ union leaders have urged the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to organise sangat darshan programmes to ensure regular payment of salaries to the teachers.

SEMINAR HELD: The Life Sciences Department of Kirpal Sagar Academy, Rahon, about 15 km from here, organised a seminar on anthrax on Wednesday. Mr M. Ramachandra, Principal of the academy, presided over and Mr T. Kanan, Head of the department, compered the seminar in which 10 students read their papers on anthrax.

IDENTITY CARDS: Mr Jagjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer, in a press note issued here on Wednesday said the photo identity cards of voters of the Banga assembly segment in the district would be prepared from November 9 to 19.

PHAGWARA
REDRESSED: Two out of eight complaints were redressed at a meeting of the subdivisional grievances committee presided by Mr Amarjit Paul, SDM, here on Wednesday. Six pending and three fresh complaints were referred to the departments concerned, according to a press note.

PHILLAUR
FOUR HELD: The Goraya police arrested four persons near Indhna-Kalaske village on Wednesday. The DSP, Phillaur, Mr Satinder Singh, said the police seized 12 bags of poppy from their possession and their Tata-Sumo was impounded.

SAMRALA
BAIL: ASI Sukhwinder Pal Singh, in charge, Hedon police post, has been granted bail. A case against him was registered in the Samrala police station for allegedly beating Randhir Singh of Mushkabad village.

DHARNA: The Punjab State Land Mortgage Union has decided to stage a dharna in Chandigarh on November 21. This was stated by Mr Baljit Singh Kumbra and Mr Romesh Chander Chhandran, state general secretary, and vice-president of the union, respectively, here on Thursday.

SANGRUR
MOCK EXERCISE: A mock fire exercise was conducted by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at the Kandla-Bathinda pipeline IOC terminal on Sangrur-Mehlan road, near here, on Wednesday under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP here.

HARYANA

AMBALA
FANCY DRESS COMPETITION: A fancy dress competition was organised in Ambala city on Thursday in Bal Bhavan. Shivali was first, Vishavjeet was second and Ruchita was third. In the junior group, Hiteshika was first, Sonali Sharma and Ruchika Sambhi were second and Gagandeep and Vabhav Sharma were third. Sunny, Sahil, Mansi, Tushar and Ankit Sharma won the consolation prizes. In the senior group, Silky was first and Parnav was second. The third position was shared by Param Noor and Gurpreet. The consolation prizes were won by Arun, Ankush, Shikha and Charu.

INAUGURATED: The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhary, inaugurated the new block of the MM College of Dental Sciences and Research, Mullana, on Thursday. Mr Chaudhary said the recession in the IT industry has had an impact on education with lesser demand for IT courses as compared to last year. He said electronics and communication, civil and mechanical engineering are some of the courses which were in demand this year. “However, there is scope for IT courses, especially in the corporate sector,” he said. The Chairman of the MM Education Trust, Mr Tarsem Garg, said the college has capacity of 100 students. “The laboratories are well equipped and general hospital is equipped with latest instruments,” he said. 

FATEHABAD
LEGAL AWARENESS: The District Legal Services Authority will organise an awareness programme on legal matters on Friday on the court premises. The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Darshan Singh, will preside over the function, informed the secretary of the district authority and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr R.N. Bharti. A Lok Adalat will also be held on the same day, he added.

SIRSA
MEMORANDUM: A non-government social organisation, Jagriti, has submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner and the district police chief requesting them to check menace of noise pollution in the city within 15 days, failing which the organisation would be forced to move the court. The organisation quoted a judgement of the Supreme Court in this connection. An 11-point proposal to contain noise pollution was enclosed with the memorandum.

SONEPAT
THEFT: According to a report, goods worth lakhs were stolen from a cycle shop at Mehlana road here on Wednesday night. The thieves reportedly set the shop on fire before making good their escape.

CLASH: Three persons were seriously injured in a clash between two rival groups at Shahzadpur village, near here, on Thursday. According to a report, a dispute among the children was the cause of the clash.

RESIDENTS PROTEST: Residents of 8-marla colony called upon the Deputy Commissioner here on Thursday and protested against the illegal occupation of Sheetla Mata Mandir by some antisocial elements of the area. They claimed that it was the property of a trust and urged the Deputy Commissioner to take steps for their eviction.