Plea to CM
Mr Mool Chand, former sarpanch of Sayyedwala village, has urged the Chief Minister, the Home Secretary and the DGP to initiate action against the city police for not arresting those allegedly responsible for kidnapping his son Rameshwer on July 9. Mr Faqir Chand Bansal, vice-president of the municipal council, had alleged five persons led by Amit, son of Mohinder Kumar Sokhal, former sarpanch, kidnapped Rameshwer. The others were identified as Sat Pal, Pritam and Prem Chand, sons of Duli Chand, and Girdhari Lal, son of Gopi Ram.

AMRITSAR

Tenants' allegation
Mr Ripudaman Singh, president of the Punjab Kiraidar Sangarsh Samiti, alleged the state government was again forcing upon the tenants the pro-landlord and anti-tenant Rent Act, 1995, which was opposed by tenants during the Congress regime. The then government had been forced to withdraw this Bill. Now the Akali-BJP combine was again resorting to enforce this Bill to please the landlords, he added.
Inauguration
The Mayor, Mr Subhash Chander Sharma, inaugurated the work of laying of CC flooring at Bazar Munshian at an estimated cost of Rs 3.50 lakh. Mr Madan Lal and Mrs Poonam Suri, councillors, and other distinguished people were present on this occasion.
Four-laning work
Mr B.K Chopra, general secretary of the Nagrik Welfare Forum, has urged the government to undertake the work of four-laning of Jalandhar-Amritsar-Wagah road on top priority basis.

HOSHIARPUR

Appointed
Mr Nipun Sharma, president of the district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, has appointed Mr Rajiv Kumar Arora president of the Garhshankar unit of the morcha, Mr Satish Thakur Baba president of the rural unit at Hoshiarpur,Mr Amit Kumar president of Hoshiarpur (urban) and Mr Rajesh Bhargav president of the Sham Chaurasi unit. This was announced in a press note by Mr Sanjiv Tyalwara, general secretary of the morcha, here on Wednesday.
Paddy procurement
Mr Hans Raj Ganger, Additional Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies Department, Punjab on Wednesday visited Hoshiarpur and reviewed the paddy procurement arrangements. He said 1.76 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured in Hoshiarpur district last year at the procurement centres. He hoped 1.90 lakh tonnes of paddy would be procured this year. He said 62 new ration depots would soon be opened in the district.

KAPURTHALA

Janata Yuva Dal
Mr K. Balasubramanian, president of the Janata Yuva Dal has reconstituted the Punjab Pradesh Janata Yuva Dal, according to a press note here on Thursday. Mr Surinder Sharma of Kapurthala has been appointed state unit president of the yuva dal.

LUDHIANA

Car recovered
The Ludhiana police has arrested four persons in two separate incidents and recovered a stolen Maruti car (registration number PB-10-L-4389) and a Bajaj Chetak scooter (engine number 06 E1078952). The police on a tip-off arrested Sunil Kumar and Suresh Kumar from the Salem Tabri area. A Maruti was recovered. The two accused also confessed their involvement in a robbery in Bhagat Singh Nagar. In another incident, the police arrested Mr Karamjit Singh and Mr Raj Kumar from Jamalpur. Money stolen from the post office and a scooter were recovered from them.

MALERKOTLA

CMO's transfer
The Punjab Government has again transferred Dr V.P. Goyal, Chief Medical Officer, to the Malerkotla Civil Hospital. Dr Goyal joined duty at the Civil Hospital here on Tuesday.
Lions Club
The following have been elected office-bearers of the Lions Club, Ahmedgarh: president — Mr Jai Mahesh Ashri; vice-presidents — Mr Rakesh Dhand, Mr J.L. Mittal and Mr Rajesh Gupta; secretary — Mr M.S. Cheema; and treasurer — Mr R.P. Gupta.

PATHANKOT

Dental programme
An oral health programme organised by the Indian Dental Association and a toothpaste company was inaugurated at MCM DAV Public School here on Tuesday under the presidentship of Dr C.D Sharma. The objective was to improve oral health consciousness among school children. The SDM, Mr R.R Garg, was the chief guest.

PATIALA

'Upgrade' school
The Punjab Rural Education Society has urged the state government to upgrade the primary school at Chotti Rauni village to at least the level of a middle school. The society held a meeting with the villagers on Wednesday and announced the setting up of a free stitching and training centre for girls at the village. It also decided to provide a typewriter to the students.
Sanskrit department
The Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor has appointed Dr Ravinder Kaur, Professor, Head of the Department of Sanskrit for three years, according to a press note of the university here on Wednesday.
Sanskrit programme
The Punjab Language Department will organise a state-level Sanskrit programme at Saraswati Sanskrit College, Khanna, on August 8. In a statement, the Director, Language Department, Dr Madan Lal Hasija, said minister Balramji Das Tandon would preside over the function.

PHAGWARA

Memorandum
The Senior Citizens Council general secretary, Mr I.D. Chawla, on Tuesday submitted a 12-point demand charter to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during the latter's Phagwara visit . A social welfare board should be set up for the benefit of 20 lakh senior citizens of Punjab, the memorandum demanded.

Power theft
A case of power theft amounting to Rs 2.8 lakh has been registered against M/s Goel Cold Store at Barara on a complaint lodged by the SDO, HSEB, Barara.
Killed
A young businessman, Mr Ravi Batra, was killed when his scooter was hit by an unidentified vehicle on the Ambala-Jagadhri road on Tuesday night. A case has been registered in this connection.

BHIWANI

No-confidence motion
Mr Gunlal Sharma, chairman of the Tosham block samiti, was defeated in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday. Out of 29 members, 25 voted against the chairman. Charge has been conferred on Mr Yudhvir Singh, vice-chairman, till the election of the new chairman is held.

FATEHABAD

Saplings planted
The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar Gupta, planted a sapling at Daya Ram Public School here on Tuesday as part of vanamahotsava in the district. In all, about 250 saplings were planted in the school by the management, staff, students and their parents. Mr Gupta called upon the people to plant trees for the protection of environment. He said the trees helped in keeping the temperature under control and avoiding sand winds.
Open durbar
Residents of Ratta Khera village in this district appeared before the Deputy Commissioner, Mr P.C. Bidhan, during an open durbar here on Wednesday and complained they were facing acute shortage of irrigation water as it failed to reach the tail-end of the canals. Residents of Marh village of Rattia tehsil complained the Forest Department had encroached upon their land. As a result, their paddy crop had been damaged. Residents of Dhani Chhateria alleged they had been receiving incorrect power bills time and again.

HISAR

Refresher course
At a valedictory function of the 10-day refresher course on "Competency development on financial and administrative management" held at Haryana Agricultural University here on Wednesday. Dr P S Lamba, former Vice-Chancellor, gave away the certificates to the participants. Organised by the Academy of Agricultural Research and Education Management of the university for participants from the state Department of Horticulture, the refresher course was attended by all those involved in the development of horticulture and its management at district headquarters and office superintendents.

PANCHKULA

Conference
The local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad will organise a regional conference of the parishad at the Parishad Bhavan in Sector 12-A here on August 2.

PANIPAT

Ornaments robbed
Two unidentified youths looted ornaments worth Rs 30,000 at gunpoint from a jeweller's shop in Sanjay Colony here on Tuesday evening. The Model Town police registered a case on a complaint made by Vijay Kumar, under Sections 392, 342 and 34 of the IPC.
Power connections
The city division of the HSEB, Panipat, has given 184 new power connections in the current financial year. These include 175 general, three industrial and six tubewell connections. According to Mr Anuraj Rastogi, Deputy Commissioner, Panipat.
Traffic blocked
Residents of Binjhol village blocked the Gohana road for several hours on Tuesday night to protest against the power cuts being faced by them for the past few days. The irate residents blocked traffic, leading to a large number of vehicles being lined up on the road. The DSP, Mr Rattan Singh, and officials of the HSEB arrived on the scene to pacify the residents who then lifted the blockade.

SHAHABAD

Cremated
Mr Sushil Kumar Garg, a prominent petrol station owner of Shahabad, who died of heart failure here on Tuesday, was cremated in the local Swarg Ashram on Wednesday. He was the brother-in-law of Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Minister for Food and Supplies, Punjab. Hundreds of mourners joined the funeral procession.
HVP appointments
Mr Ravinder Chadha has been appointed secretary of the Shahabad unit of the Haryana Vikas Party. This information was given by the president of the HVP unit here, Mr Virendra Dawar, on Wednesday. Another party worker, Mr Ishwar Chand Aggarwal, has been appointed member of the Telephone Advisory Committee of the Karnal circle, according to Mr Dawar.

Suicide
Sheetal (25) of Banjua village under Jwali subdivision allegedly committed suicide, by taking some poisonous substance on Tuesday night. According to the police, Sheetal had been married to Puran Chand, a petrol station employee in Ludhiana, six years ago. She was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition where she breathed her last. The police has arrested her husband and mother-in-law and registered a case under Sections 306 and 498 of the IPC.

KANGRA

Gang busted
The Kangra police on Wednesday busted a gang of pickpockets from Punjab which was active in this district during navratra melas with the help of its local contacts. The district police chief, Mr K.C. Sadayal, said gang members were arrested while picking the pockets of pilgrims at Dheera. They have been identified as Rakesh Kumar, Bimal Kumar and Balbir Singh, all from Jalandhar.
Died
Roshan Lal, a factory labourer, on Wednesday died under suspicious circumstances while he was working in the factory at Dhamtal, the police said here. The district police chief, Mr K.C Sadayal, said Roshan Lal's body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. Investigations are in progress.