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Regional potpourri
Dr Khush donates Rs 3.50 cr prize money to alma mater

PUNJAB

Abohar
Megh Rishi memorial to be inaugurated: The memorial for Megh Rishi would be inaugurated on February 19. The decision was taken during a meeting of the state unit of Meghwal Samaj Sangh held at the Nehru Park here on Sunday. State president Om Parkash Manda presided over the meeting. Those present included chairman Ravi Kant Parihar, vice-chairman Deen Dayal Bhatia, vice-president Maninder Pal Megh, secretaries Ram Partap Panwar, Khajanchi Ram and Ram Lal Samria. Swami Ram Parkash Jodhpur would perform the unveiling ceremony. Acharya Guruparsad, founder president of the NGO, would preside over the function. National
president Hanuman Singh Nirbhay would be among the special guests.

Abohar/Sriganganagar
Annual sports meet concludes: The two-day annual sports meet concluded in Bihani Children Academy with prize distribution by veteran guests Satish Jain, Narender Bihani and Savita Bihani. Gobind Saksena presided over the function. The winners in different events included Gurveet, Gurkirat, Shubham, Sukhpreet, Diwakar, Mohak, Shantanu, Navjyot, Aastha, Ayushi, Muskan, Jasan Singh, Siddhartha, Nikhil, Sumit, Ankit, Jaiveer, Anish, Harjot, Prateek, Prachi, Rishibh, Naman, Himanshu, Hoshiar Singh, Anchal, Archita, Surinderveer Singh, Lov Sharma, Ankur, Ajit Brar, Preeti, Amita and Rupal and Kavintka.

AMRITSAR
Gold medal for Shipra: Shipra Sharma of DAV Public School here has won a gold medal at the National Poster-making Competition-January 2009 on Road Safety Education held in New Delhi. Neera Sharma, principal of the school, said the competition was organised by the Union Home Ministry and the Bureau of Police Research and Development in collaboration with the Delhi Traffic Police to create awareness of safe driving. She was awarded Rs 2,500 and a trophy.

Varsity alleges bias: Guru Nanak Dev University has lodged a protest with the Association of Indian Universities alleging that Panjab University, Chandigarh, has proclaimed itself as winners of the North Zone Inter-university Youth Festival that was held in Chandigarh last month. The varsity also alleged that PU had pronounced Punjabi University, Patiala, as runners-up, but according to judges, GND varsity should have been declared runners-up. Registrar of the university RS Bawa stated that the matter had also been taken up with the government.

CHANDIGARH
CBI probe sought: A group of Ayurvedic and homoeopathic practitioners in Punjab have sought a CBI inquiry into the appointment of director (Ayurveda) made “in violation of norms” and “in connivance of the minister concerned”. In a written statement here on Monday, Dr PS Ranu, national president, Sehajdhari Sikh Federation and member of the Central Council of Homoeopathy, has supported a CBI inquiry and asked the Chief Minister to personally look into the matter.

Jalandhar
One killed: One person was killed in a road accident on Sunday morning when a car driven by a youngster hit him in the Urban Estate locality. The deceased has been identified as Lachhman Dass of Sabowal village, near Urban Estate.

Auxiliary Bishop: Father Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar Diocese has been appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Delhi. The announcement came from Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City, said Diocese spokesperson Dr Kurian C. Muttathupadam. He had got the job on the basis of his thesis “Theological investigation into moral teachings of Guru Nanak Dev from Catholic perspective” which he did during PhD programme in Rome.

Mansa
Library inaugurated: The Sabhyachar and Samaj Sewa Manch Mansa launched its fourth library at Kheewa Kalan village in the district on Saturday. Manch had already launched 3 libraries at Mansa, Maujian and Khokhar Khurd. Manch president Rakesh Garg said the Manch had started a campaign to bring youths on the right path, following which libraries were being opened to create awareness among them. On this occasion, former MLA Sukhvinder Singh Aulakh was also present. Speaking on the occasion, he hailed the manch for carrying out social welfare activities in the region and creating awareness among the youth.

Nawanshahr
Press Club protest: Members of the Press Club led by its president Dinesh Bhardwaj on Friday submitted a memorandum to deputy commissioner Nilkanth Avhad in protest against the central government’s move to amend the Cable TV Network Rules, 1994.

Students excel: Students of the Guru Nanak College of Nursing have excelled in the BSc nursing (first year) examination conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Of the 50 students appearing in the examination 35 had got distinctions in different subjects. Simranjit Kaur, Simran Kaur and Amarjit Kaur got the first three positions, respectively.

Awareness rally: The Human Right Manch organised an awareness seminar at Bakhlaur village to make the people aware of their rights here on Friday. Deputy commissioner’s wife Prajakta Nilkanth presided over the function.

SANGRUR
2 baratis die in accident:Two members of a marriage party died on the spot, while four others sustained injuries when their car rammed into a roadside tree on the Sangrur-Barnala road near Badbar village here on Friday. The Dhanaula police said Arshdeep Singh and Varinder Singh, residents of Rai Majra village (Patiala), were killed on the spot, while Harmanjit Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Karamveer Singh and Harpreet Singh sustained injuries in this road mishap. All were going to Moga from Gagrol village (Patiala) as members of a marriage party.

De-addicted persons: Sangrur Central Cooperative Bank will give loans on simple terms and conditions and at less rate of interest for starting business to those persons who will get themselves de-addicted at the local Red Cross Drug De-addiction Hospital. This was stated by the district manager of the bank Gurdip Singh Bindra while addressing drug-addicted persons at the drug de-addiction hospital here on Thursday. Project director of the hospital Mohan Sharma, medical officer Pardeep Kumar, an officer of the postal department AP Singh and social worker Naib Singh also spoke on the occasion.

Grievances committee: A local arhtiya Pardeep Singla and a senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal Garja Singh Khandebad from the Lehragaga area have been nominated as members of the district Grievances Redressal Committee, Sangrur, by the Punjab government.

100 families get ration: The Shah Satnam Green S Welfare Force and followers of Dera Sacha Sauda on Sunday distributed ration (domestic food items) among 100 poor families of 29 nearby villages at the local Naam Charcha Ghar of the Dera Sacha Sauda.

HARYANA

CHANDIGARH
HUDA to launch portal: Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) will soon launch a dynamic portal with payment gateway and registration of complaints through SMS to ensure more transparency in its working and quick redressal of grievances of the people. A spokesman for HUDA on Sunday said the decision of HUDA to stay connected with the stakeholders through its website had proved to be highly successful. He said the website of HUDA had become the first website among all websites of Haryana government departments or boards or corporations to have achieved the milestone of 1 million hits within a short span of less than one year.

SI test postponed: The Haryana Staff Selection Commission has postponed the written test for the post of Sub-Inspector of Police (Male and Female) to February 8. A spokesman for the commission on Sunday said the test had been postponed due to inclement weather prevailing in the state. He said the call letters, places of test and the time of examination would remain unchanged.

GURGAON
Session on newborn care: An interactive session on mother and newborn care was organised by Columbia Asia Hospital at the DSOI Club in Palam Vihar here on Sunday. The session focused on how one could take care of mother and child during pregnancy and after birth. Around 60 couples participated in the session, in which hospital’s senior obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatrician addressed all issues related to pregnancy, delivery and after birth. The discussions were followed by a question and answer session with doctors. The couples were also made aware of infection transmission after birth.

Two attacked : Two persons from Jacombpura alleged that they were attacked by two extortionists - Pucchi and Sindhu - with a knife here on Saturday. Sanjay, a cloth merchant, and Arun, who sells coconut water in Jacombpura, claimed that the two used to ask for extortion money on weekly basis, which they refused to pay. However, Pucchi and Sindhu visited them on Saturday and allegedly attacked them with a knife and took away all cash they had. Sanjay and Arun have been admitted to the Civil Hospital here. The police has registered two cases against Pucchi and Sindhu.

KAITHAL
Car theft case solved: The police on Saturday solved a case of car theft, which was committed more than two years ago. SP Sultan Singh said Ram Chander, an employee with HAFED from Fatehabad, had complained to the Kaithal police that his car was looted from Kaithal when he had come to participate in an employees’ rally on November 11, 2006. The police registered a case and reported the stolen car as untraceable on February 6, 2007. However, the police during nakabandi on Friday found the car, which the accused had been driving using a fictitious number plate. The police arrested the accused. He was later produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

KARNAL
2 killed in accident: Two persons were killed when the motorcycle they were riding on was reportedly hit by an unknown vehicle near Sector 6 crossing on the GT road on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Hari Prasad of Hari Colony and Rinku of Arjun Gate. A case has been registered and efforts are on to nab the culprits.

Kidnapped woman found: A retired principal, Vimla Kapoor, who was allegedly kidnapped by two persons from her house on January 16 was recovered by the police here on Sunday. The 85-year-old woman, who used to live alone in Sector 13, was allegedly kidnapped by two persons, including a woman, in a car. The police has arrested the woman identified as Dulari of Traveri village and the driver of the car, Pawana, a resident of Shiv Colony in Karnal.

2 booked for rape: A middle-aged married woman of Sikheri village here has alleged that she was raped on January 14. The 35-year-old victim named Jai Kumar and Jai Karan of Jhumedhi village in Kurukshetra district as accused. She alleged that the duo came to her house on January 14 and took her to their village on the pretext of getting her a job. She said while Jai Krishan left them in his vehicle in the fields in the village, Jai Karan raped her. A case under Sections 376, 367, 373, 506 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the accused and a manhunt has been launched to nab them.

REWARI
Teenager killed: Raja Ram (19), a resident of Taoru area of Gurgaon district, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding on was reportedly hit by a Rajasthan Roadways bus on the Delhi-Jaipur highway at Kasaula Chowk, 8 km from here, on Saturday. The mishap occurred when Raja Ram was on his way to Bawal while the bus was going from Jaipur to Delhi. The police has registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the bus driver.

SIRSA
UGC team to visit varsity: A seven-member team of the University Grant Commission will visit Chaudhary Devi Lal University on Monday to carry on inspections for the purpose of its affiliations under Section 12-B of the UGC Act. The team will remain here for the next two days and inspect the infrastructure and teaching facilities in the university. The university has recently appointed some new senior teachers to comply with the minimum specifications required for an affiliated university. The university has already succeeded in getting the affiliation of the Association of Indian Universities and Distance Education Council for its distance courses.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Bilaspur
1 found guilty of rash driving:Judicial Magistrate (first class) Sidhartha Sarpal has found one Ravinder Kumar of Diara guilty of rash, negligent and wrong side driving. Fines of Rs 1,000 under Section 279 of the IPC and Rs 500 under Section 337 of the IPC have been imposed on him. Earlier, Assistant Public Prosecutor Joginder Saukta told the court that Ravinder allegedly hit a truck coming from the opposite side during the night of November 15,1999. He was rashly driving his Maruti van on the national highway. An FIR in this regard was lodged by truck driver Jagdish Kumar.

Rape alleged: The Suharghat police has arrested Vijay Kumar, alias Baggu (22), of Thapna village on charges of rape with a minor girl of the area. The victim is said to be a student of Government Senior Secondary School at Kathla. Sources said when she was returning from the school, the accused allegedly took her behind bushes and raped her. The matter was reported to the police, which arrested the accused and registered a case in this regard.

CHAMBA
BJP assailed: DP Malhotra, co-spokesperson of the Indian National Congress for the Kangra parliamentary constituency, has alleged the ruling BJP government in the state not only failed to fulfil its election manifesto, but also worked contrary to it. In a statement issued here on Sunday, Malhotra censured the BJP government for scraping the Tribunal on July 8, 2008, resulting which employees were now feeling harassed, as they had to engage new advocates and go to Shimla. Malhotra also lashed out at leaders of the BJP for misleading people regarding schemes launched by the UPA government at the Centre. He applauded Chander Kumar, MP, for getting an allocation to the tune of Rs 130 crore from the Central Road Fund for the Chamba-Salooni-Bhadarwah inter-state highway linking Chamba district with Jammu and Kashmir.

DALHOUSIE
NHPC executive director: SK Agrawal has taken over as executive director of the NHPC’s Region-II at Banikhet in place of Nain Singh, who has been transferred to the NHPC’s corporate office as executive director (Design E&M) at Faridabad in Haryana. Earlier, he was working as general manager in the Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation’s 1000 MW Indira Sagar Power Station, a joint venture of the NHPC and the Government of Madhya Pradesh. He will be overall in charge of Baira-Siul, Chamera-I, Chamera-II, Chamera-III projects in the state and Sewa-II project in Jammu & Kashmir.

Hamirpur
Efforts on to bring parity in society: MLA : MLA Urmil Thakur has said that the state government is committed to bring parity among all sections of society. She said this after distributing 22 dish antennas to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) families in the Hamirpur assembly constituency today. Under a special development plan, SC and ST families were being provided direct to home (DTH) dish antennas in a phased manner, she added. “In the very first year of its term, the Dhumal government has tried to provide road, health, education facilities to the people and also made effort to make them self-reliant,” she claimed.

Ex-teachers call on minister: A delegation of retired national development service instructors called on education minister ID Dhiman at Bhoranj recently and demanded that they should be given arrears of retirement benefits taking into account the three increments that were not granted to them in 1986. The demand comes after a judgment of the state high court in favour of some teachers of the same category. In a representation submitted to the education minister, they had said as the matter pertained to his department, he should personally intervene in it, said their representative Dev Swaroop Sharma.

KANGRA
3 held for smuggling: Three persons were arrested for allegedly smuggling sandalwood from Jawalamukhi on Saturday. The police said sandalwood worth Rs 50,000 had been recovered from their possession. The accused have been identified as Dharashan Singh, Share, alias Kaloo, both residents of Jawalamukhi, and Neeraj Sharma, a resident of Drang. Dehra subdivisional police officer Kulwant Singh said after a raid in the ward 4 of Jawalamukhi temple, the police arrested the accused and recovered 25 kg of sandalwood from their possession. A case has been registered in this regard.

NURPUR
1 held on theft charge: The local police nabbed a motorcycle lifter during patrolling at Harnora Ghat, near here, on Sunday. The police also recovered Yahma motorcycle (HP-48- 2406) from the possession of the accused. According to DSP Bidhi Chand Verma, the accused has been identified as Rahul Sharma, son of Raj Kishor of Ward No 7. He had allegedly stolen the bike on Saturday, which was parked on the house premises of Sanjay Kumar of ward No 6. A case has been registered against him.

Shimla
1 killed in accident: One person was killed and four were injured when a Maruti car (PB 10A-9373) met with an accident in New Shimla here on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Rohit Dewan of Patiala. The injured, Mahesh Kumar, Kulwinder Singh, Ashok Kumar and Gurinder Singh, have been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Mega cultural festival: The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in collaboration with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, is organising a two-day mega cultural festival here from Monday. Academy secretary Zafar Iqbal Manhas said that over 200 prominent artists from all three regions of the state would take part in this festival, being held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of India's First War of Independence. Christened as "Dhanak-II", Zafar said this festival was expected to further strengthen the cultural bonds among the Kashmiri, Dogri, Ladakhi, Pahari, Gojri and Punjabi-speaking communities.

Regional potpourri
Dr Khush donates Rs 3.50 cr prize money
to alma mater

Dr Gurdev Singh Khush

To repay debt of gratitude to his alma mater, Dr Gurdev Singh Khush, noted rice breeder, donated Rs 3.50 crore to Punjab Agricultural University. This amount is the prize money he received from various organisations for the development of agriculture and increasing food production in the world. Dr Khush was in Ludhiana to participate in the convocation of the university held on January 17. Dr Khush addressed the convocation of the college of agriculture of the university.

Dr Khush said he and his wife had decided not to use the prize money for personal use .They decided to donate it to Punjab Agricultural University which provided him with know-how to achieve distinction as rice breeder.

Dr Khush had worked at the International Rice Research Institute, Phillipines, Manila for more than 35 years and the institute developed 330 varieties of rice under his leadership.

Dr Khush feels the alumni of PAU should help this agricultural research institute. There are more than 1,000 alumni of the PAU settled abroad and he would appeal to them to donate for their alma mater.

Dr Khush wants to meet Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and urge him to give grant to Punjab Agricultural University to restore its glory.

Dr Khush has supported recommendations of the SS Johl committee for a cess on rice and wheat to help the university. He appealed to the Punjab farmers not to oppose the cess as they had benefited much from the research in PAU.

PAU vice-chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang described Dr Kush as father of rice varieties in the world. Dr Kang said for his contribution to world food security Dr Khush had been honoured with awards like Borlaug award (1977), World Food Prize (1996). This award is equivalent to the Nobel Prize, Rank Prize (1998) and Wolf Prize (2000) besides Padma Shri by the Government of India. He had also been honoured by China, Iran, Thailand and African countries.

Dr K.S.Aulakh former Vice-Chancellor, PAU and Dr D.R.Bhumbla fomer Vice-Chancellor, Haryana Agriculture University also lauded Dr Khush’s contribution in ushering Green Revolution in India and raising rice production in the world.

Settled in the USA Dr Khush is Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Davis. He is working in honorary capacity.

Contributed by ssK. S. Chawla.