In Brief

‘Reinstate HIV positive outreach workers ‘

Various organisations gave a memorandum to Health Minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawla through DC Rahul Tiwari on Wednesday,urging her to re-instate the outreach workers in the integrated counselling testing centres. As many as 15 workers in Ludhiana and Amritsar were removed from their jobs from March 31,2010 onwards. These workers were HIV positive,who went to the field to interact with other HIV-positive patients,so as to bring them to the counselling centres. Satnam Dhaliwal from the Universal Human Rights Organisation said,“The programme was running successfully. The workers were given Rs 3,000 per month,but all of a sudden they were been told to go because of fund shortage.”

Accidental firing causes panic in Shimlapuri

Panic gripped in Partap Nagar and Shimlapuri area when an accidental firing happened from the gun of Bhupinder Singh of Khanna. Singh had come to get the license of his gun renewed from the Deputy Commissioner’s office but later he realised that it was a public holiday day due to Gurupurab. He then went to meet his uncle in his factory located in Partap Nagar gali,number 6. Bhupinder was cleaning his gun as per his version and it was accidentally shot in the air. The gun shot spread panic in the entire area as people gathered thinking that some gang war is happening. The near by factory owners called up police. SHO Gurtej Singh reached at the spot and after investigation it was found that nothing has happened and the panic was created because of the gun shot in the air. “ We took no action against Balwinder Singh,it was found that he had licensed arm. But at the same time cautioned him that cleaning of gun should not be done in the streets as it may lead to a mishap”.