Patiala: The Lions Club organised the third free eye camp at Karhali village near Dakala, where eye surgeon Dr. Sukhdip Singh Boparai and his team examined 117 cases and performed 12 operations. All the patients were given free medicines and food. A medical check-up by the Patiala District Homoeopathic Practitioners Association was also arranged, wherein 91 patients were examined and free medicines were distributed.

Contest
Patiala: Kaka Yashdev Singh Memorial inter-school declamation contest was organised by the Rotary Club, Patiala, which was won by the Senior Modern Higher Secondary School for the fifth consecutive year. Harleen of Victoria Girls Higher Secondary School won the first prize, while Surbhi and Neha Malik of Senior Modern Higher Secondary School won the second and third prizes, respectively.

Patiala: A colourful function was organised here at Sri Aurobindo International School to celebrate the birthday of Mother Mira, spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. V. P. Katyal, joint secretary of the Central Board of Secondary Education, regional office, Chandigarh, was the chief guest. Katyal released 121 balloons to commemorate the 121st birthday of the mother. An inter-school flower competition was organised.

Office-bearers
Patiala: A meeting of the Bhartiya Itihasa Sanakalp Samiti, Patiala, was held under the presidentship of northern India organising secretary Sher Singh. The following have been elected office-bearers -- President: Rajesh Syal; vice presidents: Arun Sood and Raj Kumar Vashishtha; general secretary: Rakesh Kapoor; secretary: Tejinder Singh; cashier: Rajesh Sharma; executive members: Ayodhaya Prasad, Sandeep Gupta and Shani Vashishta.

Memorial lecture
Patiala: The Department of English organised the annual Dr. B. R. Rao memorial lecture at the Punjabi University Senate Hall here yesterday. Professor Som P. Ranchan spoke on the relevance of other disciplines to literature and dwelt on the symbiotic relationship between various disciplines. Department of English chairperson Ranjit Kaur Kapoor touched upon the need to understand literature with relation to other disciplines.

Flayed
Patiala: The Institute of Multicultural and Sikh Studies have condemned the recent atrocities on Christian tribals and Dalits in Orissa, Gujarat and Bihar. Dr Gurbhagat Singh, president, Dr Mehar Singh Gill, general secretary, and Dr Deepinder Jeet Randhawa, secretary of the institute have stated that India's cultural diversity should be preserved not only for internal harmony and growth but also as a model for the world in which minority cultures are under threat of fascist forces.

Puta demand
Patiala: The Punjabi University Teachers' Association (PUTA) has sought immediate intervention of the chief minister for redressal of the teachers' grievances. PUTA president Dr Surinder Singh Khaira and joint secretary Prof Manjit Singh took exception to the "dilution of the UGC notification" issued by the Punjab government, saying it should have been adopted by the government in toto.

Erratic phone service
Kharar: Phone service in Kharar and sorrounding villages will return to normal after another two days, officials have said. Over 3,000 telephone subscribers have been complaining of erratic service for the past three days. An official said the problem had arisen as the Remote Line Unit (RLU) of Kharar, which was earlier connected to the Sector 34 exchange in Chandigarh, was being attached with the newly-established E-IOB exchange at S.A.S. Nagar. They said the process would take two more days to complete.