R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
KILLED: Bagga Singh (40), a resident of Sappanwali village, was killed on Friday when a heap of sand collapsed burying him alive. Sources said he was trying to connect two tubewells in the fields reportedly owned by Mr Niranjan Rai.

DEMONSTRATION: The Technical Services Union of Punjab State Electricity Board took out a flag march from Sub-Division No 2 to the town. The workers raised slogans, staged a dharna and held rally to air their grievances. Senior leaders of the union demanded that the Electricity Act 2003 be scrapped, 50 per cent DA should be merged with the basic pay, privatisation process for the PSEB be stopped.

APPOINTED: Mr Madan Lal Kapoor, president Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, has been appointed general secretary by Mr Sanjay Sethi, president, All-India Beopar Mandal. A communication to this effect was received here on Saturday.

PULSE POLIO: Dr G.R. Garg, senior medical officer, in charge of the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital, here, convened a meeting of the NGOs and discussed future plans to make the Pulse Polio programme a success. He exhorted the workers to bring awareness among the masses, especially in slum areas.

BODY RECOVERED: The body of Pawan Goel, a hosiery merchant, was found in the sub canal near Koelkhera village here. Pawan Goel had left the house on Thursday morning. A suicide note alleged that some persons, including Midha, had been harassing him for the past few days as he had not been able to pay the interest on the money borrowed from them.

Amritsar
Rally: On a call given by the Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), teachers of Hindu College held a rally here on Friday. Prof D.K. Walia, president, PCCTU, Hindu College, expressed concern over the attitude of the Punjab Government in delaying the payment of teachers.

Hindi Divas: Guru Nanak Dev University will celebrate Hindi Divas on September 28 under the aegis of its Hindi Department in Guru Nanak Bhavan. Prof Darbari Lal, Deputy Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, will preside over the function, while Dr Manmohan Sehgal, Hindi scholar, will deliver the key-note address.

Topped: Nisha Chabra, a student of Department of Psychology of Guru Nanak Dev University, has topped MA Part-II examination held in April, 2004 by scoring 722 marks out of 900 (80.2 per cent), according to a press note here on Friday.

Enrolment forms: Candidates desirous of appearing as private candidates in BA-I, II and III and MA/MSc (Mathematics) part-I and II examinations of Guru Nanak Dev University to be held in April, 2005 can submit their forms without late fee by Thursday. In a press note here on Friday, Dr R.S.Bawa, Registrar, said last date for form submission with late fee of Rs 100 up was October 15 and with late fee of Rs 200 was October 31.

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Freedom Fighters’ Council: patrons — Dr Hans Raj Sharma, Mr Gursharan Singh Gill, Mr Hazara Singh Buttar and Mr Partap Singh; president — Mr Chaman Lal Pehlwan; and office secretary — Mr Lakhbir Singh Ghuman.

Appeal: Mr Sandeep Singh, joint secretary, Amritsar Rubber Industries (ARI), has appealed to the Prime Minister for immediate implementation of special economic zone, as the industry in the district was passing through a crucial phase.

BATHINDA
MEETING: The local branch of the State Bank of Patiala, organised a doctors' meeting on Friday. It was attended by more than 60 doctors of the region, including Dr Amrit Sethi, president, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Bathinda, Dr J.S. Romana, secretary, IMA.

Ludhiana
Medical camp: A free medical check-up camp was held at the USPC Charitable Hospital in Sunder Nagar here on Saturday. As many as 700 persons were examined by a team of 25 doctors. The camp was held to commemorate the birth anniversaries of Acharya Atma Ram ji Maharaj and Shri Shukal Chand ji Maharaj, according to a spokesman for the Acharya Atma Ram Jain Swasthaya Sewa Samiti. Twenty-five patients were diagnosed for eye operations, who would be operated upon by Dr Pankaj Singal. Earlier, the camp was inaugurated by Mr Dheeri Ram Jain. Among others present on the occasion were Mr Ramesh Jain, Mr Satish Jain, Mr Pawan Kumar, Mr J.R. Jain, Mr Ram Kumar Jain, Mr Rajinder Pal Jain and Mr Bharat Bhushan Jain. A langar was also held on the occasion.

Heart check-up camp: To mark the World Heart Day, the Gee Ess Heart Centre, in association with the Hero DMC Heart Institute, is organising a heart check-up camp at the Amarson Palace, Baba Than Singh Chowk, on Sunday. Eminent cardiologists like Dr Gurpreet Singh Wander, Dr Naved Aslam and Dr Gursharan Singh will examine the patients. Tests like ECG, echo and blood tests will be done free of cost for the needy patients. Special patient education leaflets will be distributed to the people.

MOGA
BOOKED: A travel agent has been booked for duping a resident of Rs 7 lakh under the pretext of sending his son to Canada. Gursher Singh, wanted to send his son Jagga Singh, to Canada and had given Rs 7 lakh to the travel agent, Kulwant Singh. But neither did he send him abroad nor returned his money.

Nabha
TRAINING: A two-day training programme for parents and siblings of mentally challenged children concluded here at Kali Devi Mandir on Saturday. The programme was organised by Jivan Jyoti Public School in association with the Government Institute of Mentally Retarded Children, Chandigarh.

Phagwara
BLOOD DONATION: Fortyfive students donated blood at a blood donation camp held at local Guru Nanak College here on Saturday, according to a press note by College Principal Mr Inderjit Singh. Local DSP Jaspal Singh inaugurated it. 

SAMRALA
Opium seized: The Samrala police has seized 500g of opium from Gurmeet Singh of Salaudi village and Gurmakh Singh of Gaggarwal village, according to Inspector Balwinder Singh. Both accused were riding a motorcycle when they were stopped at a naka and on search opium was seized from them. A case has been registered.

Elected: The Youth Welfare Sports Ottalan at a meeting held under the presidentship of Mr Dharminder Saddi, general secretary of the body, elected Mr Baldev Singh as vice-president of the club. The president of the club, Mr Major Singh, is out of the town and is expected to return next month. This decision was taken in view of a big tournament, which would be held from December 10 to 12. Kabaddi, athletics, hockey, horse races, dog races would be the main events of the tournament.

Strike: Teachers of Malwa College, Bondli-Samrala, observed a strike for two periods in protest against the non-payment of their salaries on Friday. Prof Baldeep Singh, a spokesman for the college Teachers’ Union, said that the Punjab Government had not released grants to government-aided colleges for the past six months.

Injured: Mr Tilak Raj of Ludhiana was injured grievously in a road accident when his scooter was hit by a truck near Ladhran village, 3 km from here, on Saturday. He was referred to a Ludhiana hospital after first aid at Civil Hospital.

HARYANA

Ambala
ANNUAL DAY: Air Force School, Ambala Cantonment, celebrated its annual day at Kharga auditorium on Saturday. Air Officer Commanding, Ambala Air Force station, Air L.K. Malhotra, was the chief guest. Ms Anuradha Malhotra, President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association, distributed the prizes. 

Sonepat
2 killed: Two persons were killed in an accident on the GT Road near here on Saturday. The deceased were identified as Ram Jas (34) and Mohammad (31). The highway police has sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.

assaulted: A youth, Naresh, was beaten up by his wife and her sister at Bhanderi village, about 50 km from here, on Saturday. He was taken to a hospital. A family feud is said to be the reason behind the incident.

suicide: An aged man, Daya Singh, reportedly ended his life by hanging himself at Butana village, about 50 km from here, on Saturday. According to a report, he took the extreme step due to prolonged illness.