R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AHMEDGARH
GRACE MARKS: BA I students of Panjab University have urged the authorities to award grace marks in paper of Punjabi (compulsory) which was held on Wednesday. Sheekha Bharti of the local Khalsa College for Women and Deepika of the Janta College for Women said a question was asked on Principal Teja Singh whereas his life history was not included in syllabus prescribed by the university.

AMRITSAR
COMMUNAL HARMONY: Shahzada Nand College for Girls hosted an interactive session on communal harmony here on Wednesday. Prof Mumtaz Ali Khan, a member of the International Association for Religious Freedom, Bangalore, headed a team of 18 members of various communities for interaction on communal harmony.

BATALA
FUNCTION: The 32nd annual prize distribution function of Government Polytechnic College, Batala, was held on Thursday at the college. The state Minister for Health and Employment, Mr Ashwani Sekhri, was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr Virsa Singh, Additional Director, Technical Education Board, Punjab, presided over the function.

GURDASPUR
INAUGURATED: Brig Gurpal Singh, Station Commander, on Thursday inaugurated a clinic for armed forces at Type-A, 172 Military Hospital, Tibri Cantonment, under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme. The clinic will provide medical facilities to dependents and parents of ex-servicemen. Brig Gurpal Singh highlighted the benefits of the health scheme.

KAPURTHALA
ARRESTED: The police on Tuesday arrested a youth carrying 2 kg of opium. Dr R.N.Dhoke, SSP, in press note here on Tuesday identified the boy as Sanjay Kumar. In another case the Talwandi Choudhrian police arrested Karam Chand, a resident of Saidpur in Sultanpur Lodhi on the charge of possessing 35 kg poppy husk.

AWARDED: Kapurthala district has been adjudged the best district in the Jalandhar police range in the good policing competition-2002 held recently. Dr R.N.Gupta, SSP, received the trophy from the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh.

KHANNA
RESIGNS: Secretary of the local A.S. College Jaswant Singh Lotey resigned from his post in protest against the registration of an alleged false criminal case against a member of the college management. Mr Lotey said in his written resignation that the management had failed to protect the interests of their member Krishan Murari Bedi. Mr Murari was supporting an independent candidate, Mr Dinkar Kalia, against Mr Ashok Tewari of the Congress.

LUDHIANA
AWARD: Mr R.L Gupta of the local Rotary Club has been conferred upon Heartbeat International Humanitarian Award for his contribution to the service of humanity. Mr Gupta was instrumental in setting up Ludhiana Rotary Pacemaker Bank in 1986 in collaboration with Heartbeat International, USA. According to Rotarian K.K. Dhir, the award was presented to Mr Gupta at a workshop held in Chicago.

KILLED: Kamaljit Kaur and her son (15) were killed when their motor cycle collided with a cycle near Milan Palace,on the Talwandi road.While the woman died on the spot, the boy succumbed to his injuries on the way near Sudhar.

TEXTBOOKS: Book sellers are making hay while the sun shines. The are affixing stickers carrying enhanced price on the price printed on textbooks printed and published by the Punjab School Education Board. Parents have demanded action against the erring book sellers.

WOMEN POLICE CELL: Mr S. M. S. Chheena, SSP, Jagraon, reconstituted a women police cell for the redressal of grievances related to dowry cases and matrimonial disputes, under the supervision of Mr Jarnail Singh Dhariwal, SP (Headquarters). According to the information, the reconstituted cell shall hold its meeting on every Saturday.

SEMINAR: The Advance Scientific Homeopathic Association will celebrate its first anniversary by organising a homeopathic seminar on Sunday at Lions Club, Udham Singh Nagar. Speakers at the seminar will be Dr Kulwant Singh , Dr Ravinder Kochhar, Dr A.S.Man, Dr Tarun Choudhry, Dr Sushil Chalhotra and Dr Nirdosh Kumar.

CONFERENCE: A business plan conference was organised at Hotel Nagpal Regency by Indian Overseas Bank. All branches were given budgets for the year 2003-2004. Mr Prem Singh Antall, Senior Regional Manager, addressed managers of different branches of the bank.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
SELECTED: Twenty MBA students of the local Punjab Institute of Management and Technology have been selected by a bank promoted by a well-known financial institution. This was stated by Dr O.P. Sahni, Director of the institute. In earlier batches, the placement record of the institute had remained 85 per cent, he added.

NAWANSHAHR
PROTEST: Activists of the district unit of the DYFI on the call given by its state body took out a protest march against the US attack on Iraq in the town. Effigies of US president Goerge W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were burnt at Ambedkar Chowk here on Thursday.

THEFT: Miscreants reportedly broken into Beco Auto Sales, a retail spare-parts shop on the Banga Road here on Wednesday night, and decamped with valuable spare parts. The police has registered a case.

ASSAULTED: As many as three unidentified persons reportedly entered the house of a Manila-based NRI, Manjit Singh, in Bhatti Colony on Tuesday and attacked his wife, Hardip Kaur, and her nephew, Gagandip Singh, with a knife. The SHO City, Mr Surinder Mohan, when contacted on phone, said it was a case of personal enmity. The police had registered a case.

SAMRALA
CHARGE TAKEN: Mr Jasvir Singh Jassi took over the charge as President of the Nagar Council here on Thursday. He said he would start sewerage work on a priority basis. The local MLA, Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, was also present along with councillors, panches and sarpanches.

INAUGURATED: Mr Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, MLA, Koom Kalan, along with Mr Kirpal Singh Kheernian, member SGPC, inaugurated a link road at Harion Khurd village on Thursday. Mr Atwal said an amount of Rs 5 lakh would be spent on the road. Mr Joginder Singh Seh, Mr Kartar Singh Mehdoodan and Mr Jasmel Singh Bondli were also present.

HARYANA

AMBALA
DHARNA: The local unit of the HVP organised a dharna in front of the Ambala City Municipal Council in protest against the enhancement of the house tax recently. HVP workers were prevented from pitching a tent in the lawn of the council by the authorities. They later pitched the tent outside the council premises. The district president of the youth wing of the party, Mr Darbara Singh Lota, while addressing the workers said it was unfortunate that most of the councillors had not been opposing the anti-people decision of the government. The senior vice-president of the local unit, Mr Rajeshwar Saini, district media in charge Mr Raj Kumar, and senior leaders including Mr Rakesh Goel, Mr Sukhwant Mathri, Mr Kulwant Garg, Mr Tajinder Singh Panokhra and Mr Vipin Kapoor were present.

PWD WORKERS: Members of the All-India Haryana PWD Mechanical Workers Union staged a dharna outside the office of the Commissioner, Ambala Division, here on Thursday. The dharna was held on a call given by the Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh. Employees working in the Public Health, Irrigation and PWD departments from Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, and Yamunanagar took part in the dharna. The state president of the union, Mr Fateh Singh Rana, said their long-pending demands included regularisation of technical employees and other daily wagers who had completed 240 working days. Addressing the workers, union general secretary, Mr Ved Vyas Arya, condemned the anti-employees policies of the Central and state governments. 

AWARDED: Ambala Railway Division was adjudged as the best performing division in Northern Railways. According to a statement, the shield for best all-round performance was awarded to Mr Keshav Chander, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, by Mr R K Singh, General Manager, Northern Railways at a function in Delhi on Thursday. Besides the coveted shield, the other departmental shields for accounts, personal, bridge, operating, signal maintenance, carriage and wagon were also presented to Ambala division. Individual awards for outstanding contribution during the year 2002-2003 were awarded to five officials — Mr R C Gupta, Mr Mohair Singh, Lajpat Rai, Mr P C Rana and Mr Bir Sen Singh.

FATEHABAD
DISTRIBUTED: The Deputy Commissioner, Dr R.B. Langyaan, on Wednesday distributed school bags, school uniforms, shoes, socks, toilet soap and fruits among slum children studying in a school run under the street children project. The District Red Cross secretary, Mr Naresh Jhanjra, and the District Child Welfare Officer, Mr Harpal Singh, were present.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
DEMANDED: The Education Minister, Mrs Asha Kumari, has asked the Public Works Department (PWD) authorities to give a detailed report on the utilisation of amount funded to these departments by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and also by the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for the construction of roads in the area. This was directed by the Education Minister while presiding over a meeting of district officers of various departments here on Wednesday.

APPOINTED: The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee has appointed Mr D.N. Pardesi adviser and spokesperson for its Chamba district unit with immediate effect.

MANDI
MEETING HELD: The general body meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Diploma Engineers’ Association at its meeting at Sundernagar on Wednesday expressed concern over stagnation prevailing in the cadre and urged the government and the HPSEB authorities to take immediate steps to mitigate the hardships of diploma engineers who were getting retired within months of their promotion.

NURPUR
FIRE: Goods worth Rs 3 lakh were destroyed as a fire broke out in the premises of LML Vespa Scooters Agency M/s Sudhir Automotives, Jachh, near here on Wednesday night. A short circuit was reported to be the cause of the fire.

SHIMLA
APPOINTED: Mrs Vidya Stokes, PPC chief, has appointed Dr Nand Lal Kaundal, chairman of the doctors’ cell of the party. Dr Kaundal remained general secretary of the state Medical Officers’ Association for over 10 years.

CONCERN EXPRESSED: The state Housing Board Employees’ Association has expressed concern over the mushrooming of engineering wings in various boards, corporations and department and urged the government to ensure that construction work is entrusted only to the specialised agencies.

SOLAN
STRESSED: Mr Sat Mahajan, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, on Wednesday stressed the need for the uplift of the poverty-ridden weaker sections of the state. He said his ministry was working at innovative schemes.