R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
holder dead : Mr Beli Ram Sharma, (80), agency holder of The Tribune group of newspapers, died here on Monday night, following a massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife and two sons. His cremation was held on Tuesday.

Cultural programme: A cultural programme was presented by campus children under the aegis of the Ladies Club of Guru Nanak Dev University on the occasion of the 59th Independence Day. Prof Jagjit Kaur, president, Ladies Club, said that this was an annual feature of the club. Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, presided over the function.

Takes charge: Mr Amardeep Singh Cheema formally took charge as the market committee chairman of Sri Hargobindpur, Gurdaspur, at a function held on Monday.

Jagraon
11 boxes of liquor seized: The local police signaled a car (PB 07 E-1840) to stop in Hathur village and seized 11 boxes of country liquor containing 132 bottles from it. It also arrested Sukhdarshan Singh of Bilaspur. A case under the Excise Act has been registered and the car impounded.

House burgled: The house (2537/010) of Shriram Agwar Gujran of Jagraon was burgled of gold and silver ornaments and Rs 10,500 cash. The loss is estimated to be above Rs 72,000. A case has been registered, but no arrest has been made.

Opium seized: The local police has arrested Gurpreet Singh of Mullanpur from bridge canal akhara and seized 250 gm of opium from his possession. A case has been registered.

2 booked for murder bid: Sukhwinder Singh and Paloo, both of Mullanpur village, have been booked for assaulting Jagdish Singh of the village with sharp-edged weapon with an intention to kill. A family dispute is stated to be the cause behind the assault. No arrest has been made, so far.

Kharar
HONOURED: Dr Manjit Singh Bhatia, Medical Officer at Government Homoeopathic Dispensary, here, was honoured for serving society. Mr Malkit Singh Birmi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary honoured Mr Bhatia at the Independence Day function held on Monday.

Ludhiana
Cool weather cheers up residents: Heat-oppressed residents of the city on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief, as they woke up to a cloudy and breezy morning. They had been experiencing excessively hot and humid conditions for the for more than week in addition to the unscheduled and long power cuts. As it was a perfect day to be outdoors, roads and streets were full of commuters out to enjoy the clouds and a cool breeze.

NAWANSHAHR
Drive against drug addiction :Deputy Commissioner Krishan Kumar has initiated efforts to motivate the social and educational institutions and intellectuals to join hands to launch a drive against the menace of drug addiction. He has convened a meeting of various NGOs and principals of schools and colleges to chalk out an action plan to make the drive successful. 

PHAGWARA
Encroachment attempt: Nagar Council officials prevented the City Club here from an alleged encroachment attempt on Sunday. According to sources, club officials, whose president is Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner, were trying to erect an unauthorised door after demolishing the wall of the club.

CHANDIGARH

celebrated: The Bharat Vikas Parishad, Chandigarh, celebrated Independence Day in Government High School, Sector 34. The Headmistress, Ms Geeta Verma, hoisted the flag. Children and parishad members delivered speeches. The Headmistress congratulated the students. Sweets were distributed among students. 

HARYANA

Ambala
EXHIBITION: The Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Mr S.S. Sehrawat on Tuesday inaugurated cluster-level social science exhibition at Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, Ambala Cantt. The school principal, Ms Urmila Sharma, said a group dance as well as group song competition was held. The judges were Ms Paramjit Kaur, Mr Gyan Chaurasia, Mr Dinesh Verma and Mr Malwinder Singh. Twelve Kendriya Vidyalaya’s, including schools from Karnal, Harsinghpura, Nahara, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Paluwas participated in the competitions. 

SONEPAT
Youth held with stolen bike: The police has arrested a youth, Dinesh, following recovery of a stolen motor cycle from his possession. Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar Rao told mediapersons here on Tuesday the motor cycle was stolen from the level crossing, Jhajjar Road, Rewari, on July 11 last. He said that the youth had changed the number plate of the motor cycle and had written “police” on it.

Unscheduled power cuts : Widespread resentment prevails among the residents of this city and its suburbs against the unsheduled power cuts enforced by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN). According to a report, the long spells of power cut have paralysed the normal life of the people. Water supply and the other essential services like hospitals were the worst-hit.

JHAJJAR
Bodies found : The bodies of two unidentified women were found floating in the Jawaharlal Nehru Canal near Akehari Madanpur headworks on Tuesday. The bodies were in a badly decomposed condition. On the hand of one of the women was inscribed Bhateri.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DHARAMSALA
Programme: A cultural programme was organised by students of Army School, Yol Cantonment, here, on Monday to celebrate Independence Day. The Chief of Staff of the 9 Corps Headquarters, Major-Gen R.S. Mehta, was the chief guest.

KULU
MINOR GIRL RECOVERED: The Punjab police on the information of the Kulu police has recovered a minor girl, Radha (name changed), who was abducted from Khratal village, near Raison, 20 km from here. Sukhwinder Singh, son of Swaroop Singh of Mana Talwandi in Kapurthala district, and Taranjeet Singh, son of Tikra Singh of Malia village, near Kartarpur, in Jalandhar district, have been arrested. A case under Sections 363 and 66 has been registered.

4 injured in road mishap: Four persons were seriously injured at Bajaura, about 15 km from here, on the national highway while a Maruti van hit them. The victims were identified as Jitender Rai, Govinda and his brother Panta, all from Jharkhand, and Chet Ram of Gohar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.

KUMARHATTI
Tourist opens fire in air: A scuffle broke out between a group of tourists and hotel staff in Mandhodhar village on the Dharampur-Kasauli road here on Monday. The fight began when the hotel staff got irritated over the preference of the tourists to stay in a guest house. After the staff members allegedly started manhandling, one of the tourists fired in air with his licensed pistol. A case has been registered.

NURPUR
Resentment: Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Graduates Association has criticised the Ayurveda Department for dilly dallying the appointment of 85 ayurveda doctors who were interviewed in May this year. Mr Sanjiv Guleria, state president of the association, in a statement here on Tuesday said the state Cabinet had approved 85 posts of ayureda doctors to be appointed batchwise on contract basis but the Directorate of Ayurveda had failed to issue appointment letters to the candidates so far.

Illegal liquor vends opposed: The Local Bar and Restaurant Owners Association is up in arms against the mushrooming of illegal liquor vends in the rural areas in Nurpur subdivision allegedly in connivance with the police and the department of excise and taxation. Mr Keshav Singh, president of the association in a statement here on Monday alleged that there was a nexus between the police and L-2 wine contractors in the area, resulting in mushrooming of small illegal liquor vends in the village. He said the illegal vends ruined the trade of bars and restaurants which had been paying hefty amounts of licence fee and sale tax.

UNA
Diploma for mentally weak: The Prem Asharm Institute for Mentally Retarded Children run by Sisters of Jesus and Marry here has started diploma in special education for mental retarded. The diploma has been started with the help of the National Institute for Mentally Handicap, Secunderabad (AP) with 20 seats. Ms Anita Tegta, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the diploma course.