R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Hoshiarpur
Succumbs to injuries: Puran Singh of the local Mohalla Sheikhan succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital on Tuesday night. Puran Singh was seriously wounded when the scooter he was riding on was hit by a car (PB 06 K 6989) near  Corporation Bank, Court Road.

Nawanshahr
1 dies as bikes collide: Amarjit Singh of Chahalan village was killed and Kulwinder Singh and Sukhwinder of Paniali village were injured when their motorcycles collided with each other near Paniali Khurd village on the Nawanshahr-Chandigarh highway in the district on Wednesday. The injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital, Ropar.

Inspection teams: Deputy Commissioner Shruti Singh, in a press note, said as 10 teams, comprising senior officials, had been constituted in the district for conducting sudden inspections of the various government departments, schools and hospitals, anganwaris, ration depots, etc, to ensure proper attendance as well as efficiency in delivery of services. So far, the teams had conducted sudden inspections of 92 schools, 42 hospitals/health centres, 43 anganwari centres, 24 ration depots and two cooperative societies in the district. The action would be taken against the errant officials after thorough persusal of the reports submitted by the checking teams, added the DC.

Police workshop: With a view to equipping the police officials with the latest know-how to tackle with the economic offences, a range-level one-day training workshop was organised at Community Police Resource Centre here on Wednesday. Gurpeet Deo, DIG, Ropar Range, presided over the workshop in which police officials of Ropar, Mohali and SBS Nagar districts participated. R.S. Kataria, Assistant General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, in his key note address made the police officials aware of the norms set by the RBI for regulating the activities for various non-banking financial institutions. The SSP, Narinder Bhargav, SP (Operation), and Dharam Singh Uppal, also spoke.

CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh
Chief Administrator: In exercise of the powers conferred under clause (e) of Section 2 of the Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, the Chandigarh administration has appointed Home-Cum-Finance Secretary, Chandigarh administration, Ram Niwas as Chief Administrator with immediate effect, according to a press note issued here today.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
Road Safety Week: To make people aware of road safety and traffic rules, the Haryana Government has decided to organise Road Safety Week from January 1 to 7 next year.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Kullu
Seven kg of charas seized: Following a tip-off, the vigilance police today seized 7 kg of charas near Kamand village in the Lug valley of the district. SP Abhishek Dullar said Mool Chand of Thach village was arrested as the contraband was found from his possession while he was coming on foot from his native village. The accused has been arrested under the NDPS Act.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
‘Probe admissions by pvt college’: Activists of the Jammu Youth Morcha (JYM) on Tuesday demanded an inquiry into the violation of the calendar of Jammu University by a private college affiliated to it. JYM president Sanjay Sharma, in a press note issued here, stated that while the university had made it compulsory for all colleges to follow its calendar for admissions and holding examinations, a college affiliated to it was giving admission to the MA (English) course in the off season. He demanded probe into the matter.

Foreign scholars visit Natrang: Two international scholars visited the Natrang studio here on Tuesday. Nvard Grigoryan from Yerevan, Armenia,and Herbert Kigozi from Kampala, Uganda, were felicitated by Natrang director Balwant Thakur.

Man killed: A man in his mid-thirties was crushed under a train in the Channi area late last night, the police said. The Channi Himmat Police has started investigations.

52 militancy victims to get ex-gratia relief
Srinagar:The district-level screening-cum-coordination committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo here on Tuesday. In the meeting, cases of victims of militancy-related activities were discussed and 52 cases were considered for sanction of ex-gratia relief and cash compensation and for entitlement of benefit under SRO-43, an official spokesman said. Ex-gratia sanctioned in the meeting was to the tune of Rs 36,35,000. Ex-gratia relief was also sanctioned in favour of the persons who had got injured in different incidents. — TNS

Coffee table book of Uniform Force 
Jammu: Lt-Gen JP Nehra, GOC of Nagrota-based White Knight Corps (16 Corps), visited the headquarters of the Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform) at Reasi here on Wednesday and released a coffee table book of the Uniform Force there. The book highlights the rich culture and heritage of the region and the yeoman service rendered by brave hearts of Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform). — TNS