R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
LINEMAN HELD: The Vigilance Bureau has arrested Amrik Singh, lineman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), for taking a bribe of Rs 500 from Mr Sawinder Singh of Kotli Naseer Khan village that falls under Chheharta police station. Mr Dilbagh Singh SSP, VB said here on Friday that the accused was caught taking the bribe for fixing new wiring for a tubewell connection of the complainant.

PAINTING CAMP: The BJP cultural cell organised a painting camp on ‘India shining’ at Indian Academy of Fine Arts here on Friday. Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, state vice-president of the BJP inaugurated the camp. Artists from various parts of North India are participating in the camp.

Five booked: The police on Friday booked five persons for smuggling narcotics and fake currency from Pakistan to India. A case under Sections 411, 414, 489 (A), 489 (B), 489 (C) of the IPC, 21/61/85 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 3,34,20 of the Indian Passport Act and 14 of the Foreign Act has been registered against Hardeep Singh of Jalandhar, Davinder Singh and Amritpal Singh of Narli village, Charanjit Singh of Baggopura village and Bobby Nai of Bhikhiwind.

WHEAT PROCUREMENT: All arrangements for a smooth procurement of wheat has been completed by the district administration, the Food and Supply Department and other agencies in all 110 mandis and purchase centres. This was stated by Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, at a meeting with district heads of the procurement agencies and departments concerned to finalise the arrangement here on Friday. He said the administration was expecting the production of 17.60 lakh tonnes of wheat.

Kapurthala
DEFENCE COLLEGE TEAM: A delegation of National Defence College, Delhi, on Friday visited Rail Coach Factory here to see the new German design coaches being manufactured at the factory. The factory has recently made three rakes of such high speed coaches for the New Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani train.

LUDHIANA
Mazdoor Sangh: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) observed the martyrdom day of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi at a function organised at Municipal Corporation headquarters here on Thursday. Presiding over the meeting Mr Kewal Krishan Marwaha, vice-president of the BMS, focussed on the role played by the martyr in 1931 communal riots in Kanpur, where Vidyarthi had laid down his life while rescuing people of the two communities. Mr Nageshwar Singh, organising secretary of the BMS, Mr Lovely Pal Disawar, Mr Balwant Rai Mattu, Mr Pritpal Singh, Mr Ram Sukh, Mr Diwan Singh, Mr Dina Nath Yadav and Mr Hari Shankar were present on the occasion.

Special counters: The local Income Tax department will set up special counters in the Aaykar Bhavan at Rishi Nagar for acceptance of returns from those assessees who come under the purview of ‘one by six’ scheme. According to a spokesperson of the IT Commissionerate, form No. 2-C were being distributed free of cost at designated places in different parts of the city. It was mandatory to file returns for those covered under the scheme by March 31 and failure to do so might entail a penalty of Rs 5,000.

Sikh morcha: The Democratic Sikh Morcha has hailed the Punjab Government’s to arrest Mr Simranjit Singh Mann before he could disrupt the rath yatra being undertaken by the Deputy Prime Minister Mr L.K. Advani. Mr G.S. Midha, general secretary of the body, said the failure of the government to intervene in this sensitive issue could have snowballed.

Meeting: Members of the Ludhiana Motor Parts Manufacturers Association held a condolence meeting to mourn the death of their president, Mr Jagat Singh, at a hotel on Friday. Members of the executive committee unanimously elected Mr Gurpargat Singh Kahlon of Bharat International as its president and Mr Surinder Singh, son of late Mr Jagat Singh, as vice-president. Mr Manjit Singh Khalsa was appointed as joint secretary of the association.

Medical camp: The Bhai Ghanaya Ji Seva Sanstha, Haibowal Khurd, will organise a free medical check-up camp at Bhai Ghanaya Ji Charitable Hospital, Golden Avenue Colony, Hambran Road, on Sunday. A team of doctors from Dayanand Medical College will treat patients suffering from eye, skin and gynaecological ailments. Needy patients in the camp will be helped in getting free hearing aids, spectacles, dentures and other required items.

Malerkotla
SHOP ATTACKED: The police has registered a case under Sections 307, 452, 324, 323, 427, 506, 148, 149 of the IPC against five persons, including local Youth Congress president, for attacking the shop of Mohd Anwar, a journalist.

KARATE CAMP: A karate camp was organised in New Delhi Public School, Naudhrani Road, near Thandi Sadak, here on Thursday. According to Mr Neeraj Azad organiser of the camp, karate training was given to about 200 children by experts.

HARYANA

Kurukshetra
AWARENESS CAMP: An entrepreneurial awareness camp conducted by the North India Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd (NITCON) was organised at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here on Thursday. Speaking on the topic, “Excellence models for entrepreneurs in the changing socio-economic scenario”, Dr M.M. Goel, an economist, said the main objective of the camp was to introduce the concept of entrepreneurial education among the youth and motivate them to consider self-employment and entrepreneurship as one of the career options.

Sirsa
CAMP CONCLUDES: It is time the youth realise their inner potential and utilise it to develop an integrated India. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner D. Suresh at the concluding function of a national integration camp organised by the local Nehru Yuva Kendar on Friday. The best teams were given away prizes. District Solan and Agra teams won first prize, Karnataka remained second while the third prize went to the teams from Patiala and Bilaspur. A cultural programme was also held.

SMUGGLER HELD: A narcotic smuggler was arrested near bus stand of Rori village and two-and-a-half kg of opium was seized. District police chief Mamta Singh said here on Friday that the police got suspicious about the activities of Harish Singh and searched him. It found in his bag two and a half kg of opium. In another case, at a check post, near Kurangawali village in the district, a Maruti car was abandoned by its driver. On search the police found 40 kg of poppy husk in it. 

Yamunanagar
2 KILLED: Two persons died in different road accidents in Yamunanagar. According to reports, Harpal Singh of Henori village of Karnal district, was going on a motor cycle on Thursday when he was hit by a bus near Damla village , about 10 km from here. He died on the spot. In another accident, Baldev Singh (35) who was working in Jagadhri workshop, was coming to Yamunanagar on his motor cycle when he was hit by another motor cyclist on Wednesday night. He was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Yamunanagar, where he succumbed to injuries. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Bilaspur
Notification: District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner Subhasheesh Panda has issued a notification fixing speed limits of all vehicles in five stations of Bilaspur district, Bilaspur town, Ghumarwin, Barmana, Suharghat and Namhole at 25 km per hour. He has warned that violation of speed limits would be dealt with sternly.

Chamba
One killed: Prem Das was allegedly murdered by seven members of a family following a land dispute in Riaynee village in the Bhattiya subdivision of Chamba district, according to a report received here on Thursday. The police has registered a case and arrested the seven accused.

Urged: Residents of the Salooni belt in Chamba district have urged the state government to upgrade the proposed 7 MW Chakoli hydro-electric project to 45 MW capacity. The project is proposed to be constructed on the Siul river, a tributary of the Ravi. They have demanded that the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) be invited to undertake the construction of the project.

Demand: Residents of this region are demanding that the state government should undertake the construction of a 132-KV sub-statio at Karian near Chamba to mitigate the shortage of power and low-voltage problems. According to sources, about 20 bighas were purchased by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) at Karian about a decade back but no construction work had started on the spot so far.

Kangra
Case registered: The police has registered a case of kidnapping against a youth of Mangoat village in the district, who was allegedly kidnapped by another youth six months back. The whereabouts of the kidnapped youth were not known, the police said here on Thursday. Kangra district police chief S. Zahoor H. Zaidi said Suresta Devi, a resident of Varuna village, had lodged a report that Sunder Singh, a resident of Mangoat village, had abducted her son Arjun Singh six months back under the garb of giving him a job.

Kumarhatti
Narrow escape: Fifteen passengers had a narrow escape when a Pepsu Roadways bus skidded off the road and hit against a tree on the Kalka-Shimla national highway, near Barog, this morning. According to eyewitneses, the driver lost control of the bus. However, the tree prevented the bus from rolling down the hill.