The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

MAILBAG

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

Regional potpourri

Researchers, get set for site-seeing
Paper planes to fighter jets
Beauty queen and concerns green

PUNJAB

Bassi Pathana
PROTEST: Hundreds of persons belonging to the Balmiki community, led by Brij Lal, chairman of the Punjab Balmiki Sabha, carried out a protest march against the killing of a young Dalit man in Gohana, here on Saturday. They raised slogans against the Haryana Government and also burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Batala
SHO suspended: Taking action on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Batala Senior Superintendent of Police R.N. Dhoke suspended Civil Line SHO Gurbinder Singh here on Sunday. The high court has ordered the SHO to file a reply to the court with in a stipulated period in connection a case. However, on his failure to submit the same, the court has directed the SSP to take action against the SHO.

BCCI camp call: Maninder Singh Sidhu, a class 10+1 student of Kirpal Sagar Academy has been selected for under-19 cricket team by BCCI. Sidhu has been asked to attend the base camp scheduled from September 1 to 20 in Chennai.

BATHINDA
Cash looted: About Rs 25 lakh was looted from employees of a private finance company, located on the Bathinda-Goniana main road here, by unidentified accused on gunpoint late Saturday evening.A case in this connection has been registered in the city police station.

Killed: Gurdeep Singh and his wife Sukhwinder Kaur were crushed to death by a speeding bus near Katar Singh wala village on Sunday morning when the couple was coming back from Talwandi Sabo after meeting their daughter, a student.The victims died on the spot as one of the front tyres of the bus crushed them.

16 injured: About 16 persons were injured when the canter by which they were travelling went upside down near Jodhpur village on the Bathinda-Dabwali road on Sunday.All injured were getting treatment in the local Civil Hospital.

Kapurthala
Tank collapse leaves boy dead: A 10-year-old boy Raj Lav was buried alive when an old water tank located in Farid Sarai village in Sultanpur Lodhi sub-division collapsed here on Sunday. Another boy Ajay Kumar was injured in the incident, said Sultanpur Lodhi SHO Lakhwinder Singh. The boys were drinking water from a tap fixed under the tank at the time of incident.

PATHANKOT
Body found: The body of a 22-year-old boy of Mirthal village,Arjun, who had gone missing since Saturday from his shop at Dianpur village, was found on the bank of the Chakki river Sunday morning.Though the police has initiated inquest proceeding in the case under Sections 174,IPC, the family, however, suspects the hand of local residents behind Arjun's murder.His father lodged a complaint regarding missing of his son in Mirthal police post.

Patiala
PROGRAMME: The Life Insurance Corporation of India held a programme on the occasion of its 51st anniversary, here on Saturday. On the occasion, all the employees of the corporation assembled on the office premises and pledged to work with utmost sincerity.

BLOOD DONATION: Friends Welfare Club, Sanaur, with the help of Nehru Yuvak Kendra, organised a blood donation camp, here on Sunday. About 101 volunteers donated blood at the camp. A team of doctors from Government Rajindra Hospital, under the guidance of Dr Harpal Singh, conducted the camp.

FUNCTION: A function was held at the State Bank of Patiala, Kauli branch, here on Sunday. R.C. Baldua, general manager of the bank, presided over the function. Baldua thanked the Don Bosko Institute of Rural Development for its help in forming self-help groups. He asked farmers to avail of easy loans at low rate of interest from the bank.

Samrala
Experts lay stress on diet control:In connection with the celebrations of the National Nutrition Week, a meeting of the prominents of the Samrala city, along with neighbouring villages, was held in the local civil hospital on Saturday, under the chairmanship of Dr Harvinder Singh, SMO, Samrala. Dr Satinder Singh. MD (medicine), briefed about the complete and good food for health.He also stressed upon building a good body, including precautions and diet control to avoid deceases like diabetes, blood-pressure etc.

Nagar Kirtan: On the eve of the first Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib, a nagar kirtan was taken out in the city under the leadership of Jathedar Kirpal Singh Kheernian, member SGPC, in which many Hindus and Muslims also participated. The local MLA Jagjeewan Singh Kheernian, congratulated the Samrala sub-division citizens and appealed them to follow the foot steps of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The nagar kirtan started from gurdwara Vishkarma Ji and ended in the main chowk, Gurdwara Guru granth Sahib.

SANGRUR
Dharna: About 150 sacked Home Guards and SPOs staged a protest dharna for about three hours in front of the residence of MP from Sangrur and secretary general of the SAD Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa here on Sunday.They were demanding their reinstatement on their respective jobs as per the promise made to them in its manifesto by the SAD during the last Assembly elections.The dharna was led by state president of Sacked Home Guards Welfare Association, Punjab, Nasital Singh. However, Dhindsa was not present in the house as he was away to England.

Protest: The ETT Teachers Union has decided to observe Teachers’ Day as “black day” on September 5. District president of the union Sukhvir Singh said on Saturday here that they would wear black badges and put up black flags in their schools to protest against the SAD-BJP government as it had failed in fulfilling its promise that the schools handed over to the Zila Parishads would be transferred to the Education Department.

Robbed: On pistol-point three unidentified robbers first kidnapped and later robbed close relatives of the Rampuraphul SDM near Gurdaspura village on the Sangrur-Dhuri road Saturday night. The robbers looted gold ornaments and took away the car from them in which they were travelling from Sangrur to Dhuri.However, the car was recovered by the police in an abandoned condition near Bahadurpur village, near here, Sunday morning. A case has been registered under Sections 364 and 392, IPC, and 25,27,54, 59, Arms Act.

CHANDIGARH

MEET: Dr Renee Brar took over as the president of Carmel Ex-Students’ Association in the annual general body meeting held at Hotel Aroma, here yesterday.The AGM was to call out the new executive committee for the year 2007-08, which saw good attendence of ex-carmelites not only of the recent past but as long back as 1966. Meanwhile, Jagdeep Bains and Navita has been elected as vice-president, Namrita Sehgal as secretary, Aneesa as joint secretary, Malini as treasurer, alongwith an 8-member executive. They chalked out details and made suggestions for the upcoming events in the year such as the Run for Carmel, Treasure Hunt and The Annual Party.

Panchkula
100 motorists challaned:In yet another move to prevent traffic violations, the local police set up nakas and challaned over 100 persons, here today. Fines amounting to Rs 13,500 were collected and two vehicles were also impounded during the drive.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Transfer policy: The district unit of the Himachal Pradesh State Employees Federation has welcomed the high court direction to the government to finalise and release the transfer policy for employees in two months. Unit president Kesh Pathania, general secretary Anil Chadda and press secretary Bhupender Pal Dogra said the step would make life easy for the employees. They also urged the government to scrap the contributory pension scheme introduced by government for newly recruited employees and those regularised after 2003.

CHAMBA
One killed: Om Prakash was killed due to the bursting of a tyre of a JCB machine at Baira-Siul power station in Surangani on Saturday. A resident of Danoon village in Chamba, he was sitting on a tyre and filling air in it with a compressor. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. General manager of the Baira-Siul project, S. Kalgaonkar, has expressed condolences to the bereaved family.

Hamirpur
Dharna: The Hamirpur district CPM committee held a dharna in front of the DC office here on the call of the central committee of the party to oppose the Centre's policies of globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation. The party activists also raised slogans against the central government. Secretary of the district CPM Kashmir Singh said these policies have led to an increase in prices, besides multiplying the miseries of the common man. He said the party had launched a campaign throughout the country from August 15 to 30 to oppose these policies of the UPA government.

Cut opposed: The Himachal Pradesh Science Teachers Federation has opposed the government decision to decrease the promotion quota from 60 per cent to 50 per cent for promotion from headmasters to principals. In a press statement secretary of the federation Manoj Parihar has urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to review this decision and also fill 2692 posts of headmaster in elementary education.

KANGRA
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Himachal Pradesh Technical Teachers (Gazetted) Association. President- Deepak Angra; senior vice-president- Pankaj Kishore; vice-president —J.D. Sharma; general secretary- Lekh Raj Rana; joint secretary — B.D. Abrol; finance secretary — Gulab Singh; organizing secretary-Puneet Sood and press secretary — Tanmay Kapoor.

KUMARHATTI
Houses flooded: Heavy rain has brought misery for residents of Ganeri village falling under Nalagarh tehsil. Some houses suffered damage as rainwater entered the village on Sunday morning. The Pinjore-Swarghat highway was also damaged. Rain also caused damage to the Parwanoo-Kamli road on Saturday night.

Regional potpourri

Researchers, get set for site-seeing

Dr Sunil Phougat

A former research scholar of the Department of Economics at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, Dr Sunil Phougat, has created a website for the benefit of new researchers.

Dr Phougat, who is also the founder president of the MDU Researchers Association, has more than 20 research publications to his credit. He has put all information regarding his research work on the website and now plans to put published research papers on it.

The former researcher has himself designed the web pages of his site, www.sunilphougat.cabanova.com. He did not have to pay for the site either as it was created through a free Internet space provider. The website was launched recently by Dr Surender Kumar of the Department of Economics, MDU.

Apart from championing the demands of research scholars, Dr Phougat has been writing articles in newspapers on various issues related to agriculture, economics and the WTO regime.

At present, Dr Phougat is serving as a lecturer in economics at BRCM College of Engineering and Technology, Bahal village in Bhiwani district. He feels that other research scholars should also come forward and put their research works on the Internet for sharing vital information with fellow researchers.

Paper planes to fighter jets

Gaurav Pathania

His childhood passion for flying planes, even if paper ones, has now turned into a reality.

Gaurav Pathania (22), son of a fruit grower Subash Pathania of Jachh, a tiny village of Nurpur subdivision in Himachal Pradesh, who qualified in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam held last year, is now being groomed as a real pilot.

He is reportedly the lone candidate from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh who could clear the test. An alumnus of the local DAV Public School, he had a penchant for flying paper aircrafts during childhood.

Gaurav, undergoing training at the IAF academy in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, is keen to become a fighter pilot.

His friends and classmates, who once made fun of his habit, now feel proud that Guarav will fly fighter planes of the Indian Air Force (IAF) after one year.

Always a brilliant student, he did B.Sc. in computer science from A.B.College, Pathankot, last year. He was also adjudged as Mr Handsome in the college. Guarav says his inspiration was his grandfather, the late Mahinder Singh Pathania, who too had served in the IAF, while the blessings of his parents and teachers helped him achieve the goal.

Beauty queen and concerns green

Winners of the AAWA Queen contest held in Ferozepore recently

An AWWA carnival was organised at Ferozepore recently in which Reena Pal from Arty brigade was adjusted the Golden Arrow AWWA Queen, whereas Deepa Joshi (Infantry Brigade) and Parvinder Kaur(Arty Brigade) were declared the first and second runners-up.

Shashi Sibal, President, Golden Arrow AWWA, felicitated the winners and gave away the prizes.

Lauding the efforts of AWWA, Sibal stated that with its inspiring credo of “Asha, Vishwas, Astha”, AWWA has been rendering yeoman’s service to ensure that the soldiers’ families are taken care of while they go to the frontier for the call of the duty.

The week-long AWWA carnival saw a lot of activities, including a tree plantation drive, mehendi competition, quiz contest, lectures on stress management and health check-up camp in which hundreds of women and children from various schools took part.

More than 500 saplings of various kinds were planted in and around the cantonment and workshops and educative lectures held on topics like the conservation of water and electricity, childcare and parenting and environmental health.

Contributed by Sunit Dhawan, Rajiv Mahajan and Anirudh Gupta