R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Jalandhar
Crafts bazaar: A craft bazaar organised at the Ruby Palace concluded here on Monday. As many as 90 craftsmen from various states exhibited their handicrafts. Chander sarees from Madhya Pradesh, cotton suits, baag print suits and phulkari dress materials were displayed during the bazaar.

CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh
Seminar: A national-level seminar on “Challenges for Education in Changing Socio-Cultural Scenario” was organised by International Divine College of Education, Ratwara Sahib, and Council for Teacher Education, Punjab and Chandigarh chapter. Key speakers included Dr Pritam Singh, Dr Usha She Guha, Dr Satinder Dhillon, Dr GS Mishra and Pramod Sharma. Dr Tirlochan Singh, director, IDCE, Ratwara Sahib, threw light on the subject.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Hamirpur
Talk on kidney diseases: A talk was organised on Thursday at the local regional hospital on World Kidney Day to create awareness among people. Dr Satish emphasised that since heart and kidney diseases had a close link, the slogan for this year was “save your kidney save your heart.”

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Pak violates ceasefire in KG sector: In violation of the ceasefire, Pakistan troops opened fire at at least two forward posts of India in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Wednesday night. The firing continued for nearly two hours, Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of 16 Corps, Brig S Cheema told The Tribune. The Army, as a precautionary measure, also responded appropriately. However, no casualties were reported on the Indian side.

Srinagar
Soz hails regularisation of hotel staff: State PCC president Saifuddin Soz has thanked Air India for regularising the services of more than 60 employees of the Centaur Lake View Hotel, Srinagar, after 15-17 years of service there. In a letter to Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Civil Aviation, Soz thanked him for his intervention leading to the decision by the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Air India to regularise the services of these employees. He also suggested to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to accept the proposal of the state government for taking over the management of the Centaur Hotel along with its property.

3 children hurt fiddling with explosives: Three children were injured, including one seriously, while fiddling with an explosive device in Kupwara district on Thursday. The police here said three children were injured when an explosive device went off at their home in the Lalpora area of Kupwara district. The injured children have been identified as Mashook Ahmad Khan (15), Naza (10), and Adil Ahmad Khan (7), all children of Sharief Ahmad Khan. Naza was injured seriously. They were taken to the District Hospital, Kupwara, from where they were referred to a hospital in Srinagar.

DEHRADUN

DEHRADUN
Nagpal is youth wing chief of  mahasabha: Social worker and councillor Santokh Nagpal has been nominated youth wing president, Dehradun unit, Uttaranchal Punjabi Mahasabha, in a meeting  on Thursday. During the meeting Mahanagar president PS Kochar, general secretary Harish Narang, Harpal Sethi, Amarnath Ahuja, Major Surjeet Singh, Harinder Bangiya, Jagjit Singh, Satish Kapoor and Kishan Lal Ahuja were  present.

DM passes orders for Doon transfers: Jharna Kimthan, SDM, Vikasnagar, will be Deputy Collector, Dehradun, while Hansa Dutt, Deputy Collector, Dehradun, will be SDM, Chakrata and Kalsi. Ila Giri, SDM, Chakrata, and Kalsi have been shifted to Vikas Nagar. The Dehradun District Magistrate has also transferred Vikas Nagar Tehsildar Shalini Negi to Rishikesh, while Hari Giri, Tyuni Tehsildar, has been transferred to Vikas Nagar. The orders were passed by the DM here on  Thursday.

Boy’s body devoured by dogs: An unidentified boy’s body was found being devoured by dogs, near Amiwala Gurdwara under the Nehru Colony police station area, here on Thursday. The police buried the body saying he was dug out from a cemetery by the dogs and could not be identified. Some locals had spotted the body of the boy. The cops rushed to the spot thinking it as a murder or a missing case.

Kumaon
Workshop on observational astronomy under way: A four-day national workshop on Observational Astronomy-2011 is being held at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences here in which 24 persons are taking part. The participants are from prestigious institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the National Institute of Technology (NIT). The event was inaugurated by ARIES Director Ram Sagar, who, along with other scientists, introduced the participants to various techniques of observing the cosmos, including those by using the 104-cm telescope. The purpose of the workshop is to make students aware of the research avenues in astro physics so that international-level research initiatives can be taken up.

Pant varsity gets 3rd place in Jr Research Fellowship contest: The Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology at Pantnagar has been honoured by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for getting the third place among all the agricultural universities of India in the Junior Research Fellowship competition conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The award was received by university Vice-Chancellor BS Bisht in the presence of Union Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat and Director-General of ICAR S Ayappan. The Pantnagar University has won 28 places in this competition. In the competition for the recruitment of agricultural scientists, conducted by the Agriculture Scientist Recruitment Board, the university has secured the second place. This was announced by Board Chairman CD Mayee.

Nainital Holi celebrations to begin from today: The Holi celebrations in Nainital organised every year by the Ram Sevak Sabha are set to take off from March 11. The main attraction of this year’s celebrations will be a Baithaki Holi singing competition for women. The singing of thumris in their original classical formats is the hallmark of the Holi celebrations in the Kumaon region. From Friday onwards till Dulhandi, such renditions will be held daily at the sabha premises. Meanwhile, the cultural organisation Yugmanch which has played an important part in the revival of the Kumaoni Holi has decided to dedicate this year’s Holi Mahotsava to the memory of Bollywood actor Nirmal Pande and poet-cum-social and cultural activist Girish Tewari, who is fondly remembered as Girda. Both these personalities belonging to Nainital had passed away during the past one year.

UKD to join cultural artistes’ struggle for getting auditorium: The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) has promised to join the struggle of cultural artistes from the region in getting a proper auditorium and place for opening a performance arts academy. This was stated by UKD legislator from Dwarahat Pushpesh Tripathi who was here to participate in the two-day theatre festival organised in the memory of Nirmal Pande. Tripathi promised to do everything possible to promote talent that is present in the region. Artistes from Nainital in particular have been seeking a decent auditorium for several years and all that they have got till now is empty promises.

Ramnagar mediapersons to approach Jairam Ramesh: Mediapersons from Ramnagar and its adjoining areas have decided to approach Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh for being allowed inside the Jim Corbett National Park without going through the formalities of seeking permission from the Forest Department. A spokesperson of Ramnagar scribes told The Tribune that this was essential for bringing out factual reports from the wildlife zone. He said as of now the mediapersons were dependent only on the feedback given by the Forest Department which was very often one-sided and did not give the true, holistic picture of the developments taking place inside the national park.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)