R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
Killed: Two women were killed and more than 11 persons injured in separate accidents in this subdivision during the past 24 hours. Pushpa Devi was crushed to death by a jeep. The sadar police has registered a case under Sections 304, 337 and 209 of the IPC.

NAWANSHAHR
Salaries: Resentment prevails among school teaches as they have not received their salaries for December. Mr Bhupinder Singh Waraich and Mr Vijay Kumar Dutta, presidents of the local units of the Democratic Teachers Front and General Category Welfare Federation, respectively, criticised the government for not paying the salaries.

Lauded: Mr Chiranjilal Garg, Cabinet Minister, while presiding over a district-level annual convention of the NRI Sabha at Baradari on Sunday, lauded the contribution of the NRIs towards the infrastructure development in the field of education and health in the state. Mr B.K. Srivastava, Commissioner of Jalandhar Division-cum-Chairman, NRI Sabha, said that the sabha was constituted with a view to strengthening the NRIs ties with their motherland.

PATHANKOT
Arrested: The police has arrested Pappu, son a Gujjar resident of Paloor Chamba, on the charge of possessing 1.26 kg of charas. The SP, Mr Mohinder Singh, said the accused had been remanded in police custody.

PATIALA
Office-bearers: The District Taxation Bar Association of Patiala has unanimously elected the following office-bearers for the year 2000, in its meeting held here recently: President — Mr H.R. Saldi; Vice-Presidents — Mr Rajesh Malhotra and Mr Vinod Aggarwal; General Secretary — Mr K.K. Singla; Secretary — Mr Rakesh Cajla; Auditor — Mr Ajay Alipuria.

PHILLAUR
Rail service: The Railways on Monday introduced a new biweekly Amritsar-Darbhanga millennium express. Railway sources said this train would leave Amritsar every Monday and Thursday and depart from Darbhanga every Sunday and Wednesday.

CHANDIGARH

Hailed: The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, at a meeting held here on Monday, hailed the action taken by the Indian Government during the hijack crisis involving an Indian Airlines aircraft. A statement issued here said that due to the wisdom of the government and the negotiating team the lives of about 150 passengers and the aircraft crew were saved.

Freedom fighter dead: Maqsudan Singh Bains, a freedom fighter, died here some days ago. He was 87. He leaves behind four sons and a daughter. The bhog ceremony will be held on January 8.

Found: A large quantity of cloth and some sarees, which were lying scattered on a road between Patran and Samana on January 3 and picked by staff of Haryana Roadways, have been deposited at the Chandigarh office of Haryana Roadways. The owner may contact Transport Commissioner, Haryana, 30 Bays Building, with details of the items.

Suspension hailed: Mr Avtar Singh Joga, Director of Markfed and a Congress leader, on Monday hailed the suspension of Mr Bir Devinder Singh from the primary membership of the Congress. He said Mr Bir Devinder Singh had been speaking the language of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Celebrations: The birth anniversary of Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya was celebrated by the Sector 37 Shree Sewa Samiti. Kirtan and a cultural programme were held.

SAS NAGAR
63rd day of strike: The agitation by the Godrej-GE Employees Union entered its 63rd day on Monday without any signs of a solution to the standoff between the employees and the management. The General Secretary of the union, Mr Vikas Sharma, alleged that the management was trying to create a rift between the agitating employees. He said the agitation would continue till the terminated employees were taken back on duty.

New-Year function: The Residents Welfare Society of Sector 61-B organised a function to welcome the new year. A cultural programme and a poetry recitation function were also organised on the occasion.

Nagar kirtan: A nagar kirtan was taken out by managements of different gurdwaras in the town on the eve of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh here on Monday. The procession began from Phase I and culminated at the Phase XI gurdwara. Sweets and other eatables were distributed to the devotees on the occasion.

HARYANA

JIND
Day care centre: The Senior Citizens Council at a function held here on Sunday announced its plan to start a day care centre for elderly people. Mr Inder Singh Bhardwaj, General Secretary of the council, urged the Haryana Government to provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh for setting up the centre and also demanded a piece of land for the purpose.

SONEPAT
Prabhat pheri: Students of the NSS unit of the local Government Senior Secondary School organised a ‘prabhat pheri’ on Monday. They shouted slogans like, “Hum sudhren ge, yug sudhre gaa” and “Ek bar nek bano”. They marched through the main bazaars of the city.

Theft: Thieves are reported to have looted a shop in the Model Town area here on Sunday night. They decamped with a coloured television set and other goods worth several thousands. A complaint has been lodged with the police.

Kidnapping: The Gohana police has so far failed to achieve any breakthrough in the case of kidnapping of Deepak, a class V student of a private school in Garhi Ujale Khan village in this district. Mrs Ram Kaur, a widow and the mother of the child, has alleged that her son was kidnapped on November 23 last and though she had approached the authorities, no action had been taken so far.

Arrears sought: As many as 200 octroi employees of the municipal committees of Sonepat, Gohana, Kharkhauda and Ganaur on Monday urged the authorities concerned to take immediate steps for the release of the arrears due to them. They threatened to launch an agitation if the arrears were not paid before their transfer to other departments.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

MANALI
Suicide: Jeet Ram, a Nepali resident, allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison here on Monday. He was engaged in manufacturing iron trunks here. The local police has sent his body for a post-mortem examination.

UNA
Bail refused: The bail applications of Gurbax Singh and Karam Chand in a rape case were rejected by Mr J.N. Barowali, Sessions Judge, here on Monday. The Santohgarh police had arrested the two accused on the charge of gang rape of a mentally retarded woman.