R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Abohar
Truck carrying onions looted:A truck carrying 10 tonnes of onion for delivery in Ludhiana was allegedly looted in a neighbouring area in Rajasthan, the police said on Saturday. Driver Baldev Raj of Raniwala village in Muktsar told the police that six armed assailants intercepted the truck that had been loaded at Madhania, Rajasthan. With its prices soaring above Rs 70 a kg, onions have become a prised commodity of late. 

Fatehgarh Sahib
Man held with sedatives:The Sirhind unit of the railway police has arrested Rajesh Kumar of Khanna after recovering 3,500 banned capsules during a routine check at the Mandi Gobindgarh railway station here on Saturday. Railway police in charge Inderjeet Singh said a case had been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act.

hoshiarpur
Pathankot man robbed:A Pathankot resident was robbed of his car on Friday night. The police said Sushil Gupta was returning from Ludhiana in his car when he was stopped and beaten up by five youths near Kurala Puli. They took his car away at gunpoint. The Tanda police has registered a case.

Ex-serviceman abducted:Ravinder Minhas (45), an ex-serviceman from Jhingla, was allegedly abducted two days ago. Sources said Ravinder closed his shop at Pandori village on Thursday but he never reached home. After a search, his family found the keys of his shop near a canal bridge on the Jhingla-Pandori road. They claimed it was a case of abduction. The police has registered a case.

Jalandhar
2 students do LPU proud:Two students have done the Lovely Professional University (LPU) proud by claiming the Google Student Ambassador title for the current academic session. Pursuing B.Tech (Honours) at the LPU, Khageshwar Ijardar and Bishal Sapkota will, by earning the title, participate in various Google training sessions for a year, a statement issued by the LPU said.

Moga
Woman commits suicide:A 29-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence at Bambiha Bhai village in Baghapurana sub-division on Friday. Bachittar Singh, the deceased’s father, alleged that Veerpal Kaur was being tortured for dowry. The police has registered a case against her husband Gurpreet Singh and father-in-law Gurtej Singh.

Phagwara
Bandh in Phagwara:Tension gripped Phagwara town when a few miscreants demolished a boundary wall that was being constructed on land adjoining a cremation ground. Police personnel were attacked when they went to book those who demolished the wall on Friday evening. The Market Committee was building the wall on the instructions of ADC, Kapurthala.

CHANDIGARH

Teachers' meet on August 31:The Government Teachers' Union will hold a teachers' conference on August 31 at Moti Ram Model Senior Secondary School to discuss academic issues of UT government school teachers. Union president Dr Vinod Sharma said the conference would have experts speaking on the modern challenges faced by the teaching community.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
LTC facility for industrial workers:The Haryana Government has introduced a new scheme to provide financial assistance to industrial workers in the form of leave travel concession (LTC) of Rs 1,000 to visit religious places. Under this scheme, the LTC facility will be provided to workers during each block year. This was disclosed by Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, here today.

KURUKSHETRA
BA part-I result:Kurukshetra University (KU) declared result of the BA (part I) examination of women candidates (private) and correspondence courses, which were held in April 2013. The result has been uploaded on www.result.kuk.ac.in.

Detained for gambling:The police arrested four persons under the Gambling Act, who were caught while playing cards near Ravidas Chowk, Thanesar, here today. The arrested were identified as Surender Kumar alias Monu, Kala, Jitender and Tinku - all local residents. The gambling amount of Rs 1,140 was also recovered from their possession.

SONEPAT
Eye campL: As many as 909 students were examined at a free eye camp organised by Jain Milan in two schools, near the Old Grain Market of the town, today. A spokesman of the orgnisation Veer Vimal Prasad Jain said around 67 students were found to have weak eye sight after being examined by eye specialists.

DEHRADUN

Policemen try to persuade MNREGA employees who were taking out a procession to highlight their demands in Dehradun on Saturday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Dehradun
MNREGS staff seek contractual employment: Demanding contractual employment, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Workers Association on Saturday took out a protest march against the state government in Dehradun. The protest march that started from the Old Raipur bus stand took the Darshan Lal Chowk-Clock tower-Ashley Hall route before culminating at the Old Raipur bus Stand. Rajendra Prasad Nautiyal, Dwarika Prasad Devli, Ramesh Gadiya, Vimal Rana and Bhanu Prakash Uniyal were prominent among the protesters.

Trade tax staff boycott work for 2 hours:The Trade Tax Ministerial Staff Association on Saturday observed a work boycott for two hours in Dehradun, demanding a separate set of service rules. The protesting association members alleged that during the Uttar Pradesh days, the trade tax employees had a separate set of service rules, but that was withdrawn in Uttarakhand in 2010. They said that they have been demanding reinstatement of separate service rules for them but their concern is still to be redressed.

Suspension of Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra opposed:The Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Ardh Sainik Sanyukt Sanghatan has criticised the state government for suspending the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra. Addressing the foundation day of the sanghatan in Dehradun, president SS Pangtey said the suspension of the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra would affect the morale of people residing in the Uttarakhand hills in the aftermath of the rain disaster. Pangtey said the people in the hills faced a major challenge of employment as loss of tourism due to the disaster had directly affected their livelihood.

Trees palnted in Kaulagarh goverrnment college: BJP workers led by Dehradun MLA Harbans Kapoor planted trees at Government Girls Inter-College, Kaulagarh. Harbans Kapoor stressed on collective efforts towards restoring the greenery of Dehradun. Mahanagar BJP leader Neelam Seghal, Saurab Thapliyal and other BJP leaders were present on the occasion.

Haldwani
1,065 pilgrims to go on Haj: Pilgrims from Uttarakhand will go on Haj on September 9. Out of 3,500 applicants from the state, 1,065 persons have been selected to undertake pilgrimage this year. “These persons were selected in a draw of lots by the Uttarakhand Haj Committee. The Central Haj Committee has denied permission for more pilgrims this year. Now, only 1,065 pilgrims from the state will go on Haj,” said Hazi Rao Sher Muhammad, chairman of the state Haj Committee.

Nainital
Crime probe methods:The Nainital High Court has asked the state Home Secretary why people of hill regions, which have only revenue police, are being deprived of scientific methods of crime investigation. It took cognisance of a petition filed by Shakuntala Rautela of Haridwar, who had questioned investigation into her husband’s death on the ground that the revenue police was not adopting modern methods of investigation. She said this way the state government is violating the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution. The Principal Secretary was directed to file a reply to the question.

Tanakpur
Record rain in Champawat:Plains of Champawat district have received 1,699 mm of rain till date compared to 808 mm of rain last year. According to the Met Department, about 300 mm of rain is expected in the coming months. “The rainfall led to a record-breaking level of water flow in the Sharda river. The water flow in the Sharda was 5.44 lakh cubic metre per second on June 17 and 18 night, while the water level during the same period last year was 34,951 cusecs,” said Jagdish Srivastawa, an attendant at the Sharda canal at Banbasa.

Champawat
Khushi Ram’s statue unveiled:A statue of Khushi Ram, a Dalit social reformer from the Kumaon region, was unveiled at Devidhura on Saturday. The ceremony was organised on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of the Shilpkar Sudharini Sabha that was formed by Khushi Ram. “Khushi Ram is known as the first Dalit social reformer from Kumaon, who led society towards mainstream Hinduism by dispelling several taboos among the Dalits about Hindu society. He initiated these efforts 100 years ago to empower the Dalit community,” said Sanjay Kumar, acting district president of the Shilpkar Sudharini Sabha.

Kashipur
Police meeting:Police officials from Ramnagar, Jaspur and Kashipur of Udham Singh Nagar district on Saturday held a meeting with their counterparts from adjoining districts of Moradabad and Rampur of Uttar Pradesh. They decided that the police from both states would cooperate in arresting criminals who flee to the other state after committing a crime. “We have also agreed that the police from both states will keep a record of incidents of arson, vehicle theft and robbery committed after 2005. They will also compile information about criminals,” said PC Arya, Circle Officer, Kashipur.

(Compiled by BD Kasniyal)