R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
One held under NDPS Act: The CIA staff team led by Inspector Talwinder Singh has arrested Balkar Singh, alias Sattu, son of Mr Dilawar Singh, resident of Sodhi Nagar, under Ghal Khurd police station, under Section 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act. SSP Arpit Shukla said 50 grams of smack was recovered from the accused. He revealed that his nephew was also engaged in drug trafficking in Faridkot since long.

Drugs destroyed: Eight quintals of poppy husk and a large quantity of drugs seized in three districts, was destroyed by the divisional high-powered committee of the Punjab police here, according to an official spokesman on Thursday. The operation was carried out in the presence of Mr Ishwar Chander DIG, Mr Arpit Shukla, SSP, Ferozepore and Mr Nageswar Rao, SSP Muktsar, Mr Kashmir Singh Gill SP (D) and Station House Officers of all police stations.

AMRITSAR
Dr Neki made ‘peer reviewer’: Dr N.S. Neki, Professor of Medicine, Government Medical College, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, has been appointed as ‘peer reviewer’ of Journal of International Medical Sciences Academy, JIMSA. He is reportedly the only doctor from Punjab to have been given this prestigious assignment in the advancement of medical field.

HOSHIARPUR
Move to check female foeticide: To check the increasing menace of female foeticide and drug abuse, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.K. Tiwari, has instructed government officers to constitute village and block-level committees within 15 days in the district. The BDPOs, CDPOs, SMOs, Medical Officers, Aanganwari workers, ANMS, members of NGOs, Panchayat Secretaries, Gram Sewaks, numberdars and sarpanches will be members of these committees.

SANGRUR
Rice mill owners hold meeting: A rice mill owners’ and commission agents’ meeting was organised by the Bhawanigarh branch of the State Bank of Patiala (SBP) at Bhawanigarh on Wednesday. As many as 30 rice mill owners and commission agents participated. Mr Vinod Kumar Kochhar, Assistant General Manager (AGM) of the SBP, told the participants about the new rice sheller policy.

Grant given to school heads: The Sangrur Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.L. Ladhar, distributed cheques to the tune of Rs 4.20 crore, at a meeting to the heads of primary, middle, high and secondary schools to construct new rooms in their respective schools. According to an official spokesman here on Thursday, this amount has been distributed under the Sarva Abhiyan scheme at the rate of Rs 1.70 lakh per room.

SAMRALA
Mushroom cultivation: Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Samrala , organised a five-day vocational training course on mushroom cultivation, which concluded here on Saturday. Twenty farmers/farm women participated in the training course under Dr R. K. Dhall, Assistant Professor (Horticulture). On this occasion, experts from Punjab Agriculture University also shared of their knowledge about mushroom cultivation with the trainees.

Condolence: A meeting of members of the Press Club Samrala held under the presidentship of Mr Ravinder Singh Makkar expressed grief at the untimely death of Manjeet Singh (37) in London (UK), younger brother of Amarjeet Singh Thind, a journalist in The Tribune. A two-minute silence was observed on the occasion. The bhog ceremony of Manjeet Singh will be held on October 4 at Ramgarhia Bhawan, Gurdwara Sahib, Sector 27-C, Chandigarh.

Meeting: A meeting of the Tehsil Complex Welfare Association Samrala was held under the presidentship of Mr N. K. Vashishat and Mr J. S. Kler. Members of the association demanded that no area of villages of Samrala tehsil should be transferred to Chamkaur Sahib sub-division. They demanded that adjoining villages like Kot Gangurai, Katan Begowal, Rampur, Kohara should be attached with the Samrala sub-division, as already some villages have been transferred from Samrala tehsil to Khanna and Khamanon sub-division.