R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
EXHIBITION: A five-day exhibition-cum-sale of garments prepared by students of the dress designing course under the Adult Continuing Education and Extension Department of Guru Nanak Dev University was inaugurated by Mr G.S. Bal, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), at the Working Women’s Hostel on the campus here on Monday. More than 170 students have designed garments for the exhibition, informed Ms Satnam Kaur Sekhon, Assistant Director of the department.

IRRIGATION SYSTEM: The Punjab Government would spend Rs 2.75 crore to improve irrigation system and enable the water to reach the tail-ends in the Khemkaran area where the subsoil is saline. This was stated by Mr Gurchet S. Bhuller, Minister for Irrigation, while addressing a gathering of farmers after inaugurating the re-modelled Khemkaran distributary.

BATHINDA
2 HURT: A man a child were injured in road accidents in the city on Monday. The man got hurt when his car was hit by vehicle on the Bathinda-Dabwali road on Monday. He has been identified as Major Singh, a transporter of the city. In another incident a 12-year-old-child, Kaku, got hurt after falling down from a water tank while playing with other children. Both of them were admitted to the local Civil Hospital.

FEROZEPORE
TAMPERING OF RECORDS: The Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepore, has asked the Panchayati Raj Department to take stern action against Vinod Kumar Yadav, Junior Engineer of Mamdot for allegedly tampering with the records. The Deputy Commissioner said there were complaints against the JE for not passing the estimates of the construction work in various panchayats.

LUDHIANA
COUNSELLING: Counselling for admission to masters’ programmes in agriculture engineering, civil engineering and computer sciences engineering would be held on August 1 at Punjab Agricultural University. According to Dr S.S. Chahal, Controller of Examination, the admissions would be made on the basis of merit of entrance tests conducted on July 19 and 20. He said that the results would be displayed on the notice board in Thapar Hall. 

CONDEMNED: Condemning the eve-teasing incident at Government Randir College, Sangrur, the Government College Teachers’ Association has demanded immediate arrest of the accused. According to Prof Jaipal Singh, president of the association, such incidents were common and the law and order in other colleges would suffer if the culprits were allowed to go scot free. 

MEHNDI CONTEST: Students of Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, participated in mehndi contest on Monday. In the senior group, Pooja Sharma got the first position, Sharanjit Kaur second and Pooja Dogra. In the junior group, Divya was declared first, Neha stood second and Sujata third. Amanpreet Kaur and Jai Kaur won consolation prizes. Ms Asha Sharma, Principal of the school, gave prizes to the winners.

SUNDER KAND: The Marwari Mitter Sangh held a recitation of ‘‘Sunder Kand’’ here on Monday. Among those present on the occasion included Mr Sunil Aggarwal, Mr Surinder Tank, Mr Kishan Singh Rajpurohit, Mr Vinod Chaudhery, Mr Bhanwar Lal and Mr Kamal Navlakha.

VYAS PUJA UTSAV: Vyas puja utsav would be held on Wednesday at Shri Siddh Peeth, Civil Lines. The puja would start at 11 a.m with ceremonial puja at the ‘‘ samadhi sthal’’. Later, satsang would be held from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Vyas puja would also be held at the Shri Anant Prem Ashram in Indira Nagar from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. under the supervision of Sant Prem Darshanand. The Amritwani Satsang Dharmarth Trust would also hold Guru Purnima samaroh at Shriram Sharnam Ashram in Civil Lines from 8 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. The function would be presided over by Swami Narkewal Bedi. Similar functions would also be held at Shri Sai Baba Mandir in Ranjit Nagar and at the Satsang Ashram near Laddowal from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

JAGRAN: The Jai Durga Club held its eighth annual jagran in Meena Baazar Nadian mohalla on Sunday. The poojan ceremony was performed by Mr Sunil Nagpal, president of the club, Mr Amarjit Singh, Mr Mahesh Dhingra, Mr Amit Verma, Mr Karan Chawla, and Ms Kamlesh Rani. Some members of the audience were honoured with mementoes on the occasion.

NEW MODEL: The Kinetic Motor Company Limited (KMCL) organised a privileged customers' meet for their new model in the city. Speaking at the occasion, Mr Navneet Mehra, Regional Manager, said that no manufacturer offered such a high mileage in the automatic scooter segment as the KMCL. He said the storage space under the seats was adequate to store two helmets.

DHARNA: Demanding reinstatement of Mr Dharampal Singh, a sacked employee of the Vocational Rehabilitation Training Centre, members of the Handicapped Institution Employees’ Federation sat on dharna for the eighth day on Tuesday. Mr Raj Kiran Pandey, secretary of the federation, accused the management of foul play in terminating the services of Mr Dharampal Singh. He said all allegations levelled against him were baseless. Members of the National Federation of the Blind and the Punjab Sangharsh Samiti for the Blind are also supporting VRTC employees.

MALERKOTLA
TWO INJURED: Two persons were injured when their scooter collided with a car near Plaund village on Tuesday. According to information, Pyara Singh and Lakhwinder Singh were coming to Malerkotla on their scooter when the car hit them. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital where they are stated to be out of danger.

QUIZ COMPETITION: A quiz competition was organised by Youth Club, Quila Rehmatgarh, at the local community centre on Monday. Twenty teams from various schools participated in this competition. Perteek Rai, Samuel and Shivam Dhir stood first in the competition. S.S. Jain Model High School team stood second while Government High School (Boys) stood third.

NAWANSHAHR
ARRESTED: Dr Naresh Kumar Arora, SSP, said on Tuesday that Surjit of Ludhiana and Bansho, alias Rani of Garhshanker were arrested for snatching gold ornaments from Ms Rachhpal Kaur of Behram village on June 11 at Dosanjh Kalan village.

DHARNA: The Berojgar Adhiyapak Front, Doaba zone, staged a dharna in front of District Education Officer’s office to press the government to recruit the remaining 3,311 ETT teachers and to withdraw its decision to abolish the vacant post in schools. This was stated by Mr Rupinder Singh, senior leader of the front in a press note issued here on Tuesday.

FEE HIKE: Mr Kulwinder Singh Chahal, general secretary, Punjab Students Union, in a press note issued here on Tuesday said ETT students of DIET, Naura, criticised the recent hike in fee. The PSU leaders warned the fee government to face a stir if the hike was not withdrawn.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Punjab State Education Department, Ministerial Staff Association: president — Mr Kashmir Singh; senior vice-president — Ms Kulwinder Kaur; vice-president — Mr Gurdip Singh; general secretary — Mr Ramesh Kumar; joint-secretary Ms Sandip Kaur and treasurer — Mr Jasvir Singh.

MEETING: Mr Kulbhushan Kanwar, Mr Harnek Singh Mavi and Mr Prem Kumar Rattan, Chairman, Senior Vice-President of the state unit of the Ministerial Staff Union and President of the district unit, respectively, in a joint press statement here on Tuesday said a joint meeting of all associations would be held at Kisan Bhavan in Chandigarh on July 24 to constitute a joint action committee to oppose the anti-employee policies of the state government.

SAMAYIK DIVAS: The local unit of the Mahavir Jain Yuvak Mandal observed “nivi varat” and “samayik divas” here on Tuesday at Jain Sathanak to mark the inauguration of “chaturmasa“. It was presided over by Sarvdharam Divakar Ramnik Muniji Maharaj.

PATIALA
CONDEMNED: The Council of Junior Engineers, PSEB, has condemned the deduction of 25 per cent pay of PSEB employees for the months of July and August. Demanding full payment of salary the general secretary of the council, Mr Davinder Singh, stated in a press note on Tuesday that the council would hold protest rallies on July 25 and 29 at the subdivisional level against the deduction. 

SAMRALA
KILLED: Two labourers, Khaleem Khan (35) and Kishan Dev Dass (25), were killed on Tuesday near the Kapila petrol station, near here, when their cycle was hit by a Jeep. The driver is absconding but the Jeep has been traced by its registration number. The deceased were the residents of Bhanglan village. The bodies have been sent to Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination. A case under Section 279,304-A and 427 of the IPC has been registered. 

OFFICE-BEARERS: Following have been nominated office-bearers of the management committee of Nankana Sahib Public School: additional secretary—Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, member, SGPC ; senior vice-president — Mr Amarjit Singh Balion; and junior vice-president —Mr Sohan Singh Guron Machhiwara. These appointments have been made by Jathedar Kirpal Singh Badungar, President, SGPC.

HARYANA

AMBALA
CAPT ATUL SOMRA: The Army has decided to name a colony in Ambala Cantonment in the memory of Capt Atul Somra, who attained martyrdom in the Kashmir valley. This was stated by Brig D.C. Katoch, Commander, PH & HP (I) Sub-Area. He said they were planning to hold troop interaction with the family members of the officer who had made the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

FOUNDATION DAY: The Uttar Railway Karamchari Union observed its foundation day at the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh office here on Tuesday. A function was held to mark the occasion. Among others Mr Aswani Kumar, Narottam Walia and secretaries of the branches from Rajpura , Sirhind, Chandigarh, Ropar, Saharanpur and Kalka were present.

BHIWANI
FAST: The local women wing of the Congress has decided to support the proposed demonstration and fast to be observed outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner by the District Congress Committee on July 25. The local unit president of the wing, Ms Premwati Goyal, said on Tuesday that the district was in the grip of draught and grave shortage of electricity and water had paralysed the life of common man. The DCC president, Dr Vasudev Sharma, said residents of the town would participate in the proposed dharna to be held in the state under leadership of the HPCC president, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on August 1.

INJURED IN ATTACK: Rajbir Singh of Sai village sustained head injuries when four to five persons of the same village attacked him with lathis. He has been admitted to the local Civil Hospital.

COMPENSATION: The Congress has urged the Central Government to give Rs 5,000 per acre compensation to the draught-affected Haryana. Addressing a public meeting at Kharak Kalan village, 18 km from here, the district Congress (Rural) President, Mr Sandeep Singh, said the undeclared power cuts and scarcity of drinking water had made the common man’s life miserable. The Congress legislator, Mr Dharmbir Singh, said the state government should take steps to give relief to people. A former MLA, Mr Dharmpal Sangwan, the NSUI state president, Mr Verender Singh, the state Vice-President of Youth Congress, Mr Bhupinder Faugat, were among those who present. In a separate statement, the HVP General Secretary, Mr Surender Singh, has demanded Rs 2,000 crore package from the Central Government.

WATER SCARCITY: The BJYM has expressed concern over the arrest of its activists who were demonstrating for restoration of drinking water supply at the local Dadri gate. The district president of the Morcha, Mr Jogender Singh Advocate said the police arrested morcha’s former district secretary Ramesh Saini while he was leading a demonstration. Later, Mr Saini was released on bail, he added.

STIR CONTINUES: The chain fast being observed at the mini secretariat by the employees of Haryana Karmchari Mahasangh entered ninth day on Tuesday. The employees raised anti-government slogans and urged the government to adjust the retrenched employees in other departments. They reiterated that the agitation would continue till the reinstatement of sacked employees.

FATEHABAD
COMMERCIALISATION OF EDUCATION: The students Federation of Idnia has accused the Central Government for commercialisation of education. Mr Sharma Chand Lali, vice-president of the state unit of the SFI, while addressing the students in the local MM College and Government College for Women during the federation’s membership drive said the trend of ‘paid seats’ was increasing day-by-day in all professional colleges. Mr Lali called upon the students to unite under the banner of the SFI so that they could give a ‘befitting reply’ to the government for its wrong policies.

HIT BY VEHICLE: A 60-year-old man was killed when he was hit by vehicle at Rattia in this district on Monday. According to reports, Daljit Singh, the victim was a resident of Ludhiana. The police has registered a case.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
SEED VARIETIES: As many as 10,000 farmers were provided 7,983 quintals of high-yielding varieties of seeds to farmers in 2001-2002, on which a subsidy of Rs 44 lakh was extended under the ongoing programme of the distribution of better seeds to farmers. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Onkar Chand Sharma, here on Sunday.