R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
REMOVED: The Guru Gobind Sahib Shiromani Dhadi Sabha at a meeting at Tarn Taran, on Friday, ousted Gurmej Singh Badal from the sabha. It was alleged that the ‘dhadi’ had misused funds in the name of the sabha. The meeting was attended by Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar, SGPC, chief.

‘HARASSED’ HUSBANDS: Men allegedly harassed by their wives met the Deputy Speaker, Prof Darbari Lal, the DIG and the SP (City) on Saturday. The delegation said some women were misusing the Anti-Dowry Act to harass husbands. The women also sometimes hired men to harass their husbands.

GURDASPUR
ASSOCIATION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Punjab Jail Guard Association: president — Mr Jaswant Singh Sona; vice-president — Mr Sukhdev Singh; general secretary — Mr Randhir Singh; and treasurer — Mr Baljit Singh Kahlon.

HOSHIARPUR
GRANT RELEASED: To provide compulsory education to children between the 6-14 age group a grant of Rs 64.9 crore has been released to all districts in the state. Out of this Rs 461.10 lakh have been given to Hoshiarpur district. According to Mr Kirandeep Singh Bhullar, Deputy Commissioner, the grant would be distributed through block and district education committees which had already been constituted.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: Dr D.B. Kapur, secretary-general, World Council of Alternative Medicines, has said that retired doctors and para-medical staff of services should be provided help for establishing clinics, laboratories and nursing homes. The Central Council of Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), Government of India, New Delhi, was in the process of recognising naturopathy, yoga and alternative systems of medicines. The government was appointing a special commission for the promotion of these systems, but allopathic doctors were opposing these moves.

KHAMANO
ARHATIYAS: A deputation of arhatiyas met Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, MLA, Samrala, on Sunday and demanded that payments for paddy purchased should be made either on the spot or through the local bank. Mr Surinder Kumar, who led the deputation, said they had to go to Sirhind for receiving payment. Mr Dhillon assured the deputation that he would meet Mr Lal Singh, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, on Monday in this regard.

TEMPO IMPOUNDED: An official of the Transport Department has impounded a tempo and challaned three drivers for not travelling with full documents. The official has appealed to people to carry full documents while driving vehicles.

POWER THEFT: A vigilance team has detected power theft through kundi connections in Jatana Ucha village and imposed heavy penalties on consumers indulging in it, according to a spokesman for the Electricity Department.

POWER CUTS: The local people are sore over unscheduled power cuts as they are receiving power supply for about 8 hours daily. They have threatened to stop payment of bills if regular power supply is not resumed to their area.

KHANNA
BAL SAMAGAM: Students of the local Lala Sarkaru Mal Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir has bagged the first prize at the Bal Samagam Programme organised by the Sarv Hitkari Education Society at SAS Nagar. According to a press note issued by the Principal of the school, Ms Anju Bhatia, more than 5,000 students from various Vidya Bharti schools participated in the programme. In the group song competition the school bagged the first prize. Madhvi of Class VII and Heena bagged the first prize in English and Hindi calligraphy competitions, respectively, while Rahul Dhiman of Class VII secured the first position in the drawing competition. In the fancy dress competition Vitin Jindal got the second position.

STUDENTS HONOURED: The Alumni Association of A.S. College, Khanna, organised a function to honour students who got the first and second positions in the board examinations held last year at the local A.S. Senior Secondary School on Saturday. Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, MP, Ropar, who was the chief guest, announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the primary wing of the school. Guest of Honour B.S. Sandhu, Commissioner, Income Tax, Ludhiana, lauded the role of Mr Buta Singh, president of the association, and said the establishment of a book bank would help the needy students.

LUDHIANA
MUSHAIRA: A mushaira was organised by the Navrang at the Panjabi Bhavan here on Saturday. Mr Mohammad Mustafa DIG, was the chief guest while Dr Kewal Dheer was the guest of honour. Poets from Shimla, Malerkotla, Una, Dehra Dun, Ambala and some other places participated. D. K. Sachdeva compared the show. Nami Nadri, Shabad Lalit, Sagar Sialkoti, Narang, Sam, Rajneesh, Rupa Saba, Namrata Soni, Khalid Kifayat and Muflis were among those who participated. The DIG gave away mementos to the participants.

LECTURE SERIES: The Shabadlok an organisation of literary people, will organise a lecture series in the memory of Baba Sucha Singh from Tuesday onwards. The first memorial lecture will be delivered by Mr Amarji Singh Grewal on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the local Punjabi Bhavan. The topic of the lecture is ‘Kaal’ (death/time). Noted Punjabi poets and scholars from various countries will participate. Dr Satinder Singh Noor will preside over the function.

KULBIR NITE: Kulbir Nite was organised at Guru Nanak Bhavan here on Saturday evening. Sarabjit Mangat, Sarvjit Kaur and Randhir Bath entertained the audience. The Inspector General of Police, Mr Chander Shekhar, was the chief guest. The show did not attract a big crowd.

CELEBRATIONS: The Ek Jot Welfare Society will organise a function on the birthday of Kamal Bir Singh, a story writer, on October 16 at Government School, Manjit Nagar. Needy students will be given free shoes, copies, pens etc.

EXHIBITION: An exhibition by Dyalbagh Manufacturers began at Kashmir Palace here on Saturday. Mr Gurcharan Singh, regional president, Punjab Radhasoami Satsang, was the chief guest of the function. The exhibition aims at making available quality products of daily necessity at economical rates. such exhibitions are held throughout the country once or twice a year. Shawls, hosiery goods, cosmetics, candles etc are on display here.

DATE EXTENDED: The last date for getting enrolment forms for the gurdwara voters’ list has been extended till February 28, according to SDM Pritam Singh.

CHANDIGARH

BHOG CEREMONY: The “Bhog Ceremony” of Hav Bhagat Singh (36) of 8 Sikh LI, who died in a road accident near Batala last week, was performed on Sunday at his native village, Lakhamipur near Ropar.

HARYANA

AMBALA
WORKSHOP: The AIMT, Ambala City, organised a workshop on “Practical aspects of selection and performance appraisal — with special reference to pharmaceutical industry”. The workshop was conducted by Mr Sanjeev Dutta, Personnel Manager, Wockhaedt Ltd. Mr Anil Chandok placement coordinator of the institute, said the institute would organise another workshop on October 28 and 29.

FATEHABAD
SENTENCED: The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Darshan Singh, on Saturday sentenced Pahlad Singh to life imprisonment for killing his brother-in-law over some financial matter. The judge has also fined him Rs 10,000, failing which he would have to serve another year in jail.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

PAONTA SAHIB
MERIT HOLDERS: Eight students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School here were placed in the merit list of matriculation examination conducted by the H.P. Board of School Education, Dharamsala, held this year. The examinees are Nidhi Sharma (76th position), Abhilasha (84th), Naha Saxena (89th), Ruchika Gill (92th), Jasvinder Narang (95th), Neha Sharma (96), Gulistan (99th) and Rupali Aggarwal (100th).