R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

GARHSHANKAR
CRITICISED: Prof P.S. Bansal and Dr Jaswinder Kaur, President and General Secretary, respectively, of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, Hoshiarpur, in a statement issued on Tuesday criticised the Punjab Government for not releasing salary grants amounting to Rs 34 crore as a result of which employees of government-aided private colleges have not been paid salaries for the past three to five months. They urged the government to release the salary grants immediately.

MALERKOTLA
KILLED: A cyclist was killed in a road accident near Bhogiwal, 3 km from here, on Monday. According to information, the cyclist, Atma Singh, was returning from work when he was hit by a Maruti car. A case has been registered.

CIVIC FACILITIES: Residents of Shastri Nagar and Mahavir Nagar have forwarded a representation to the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council to provide them with the basic amenities. There are no sewers, roads on streetlights in the locality and residents have to walk long distances to fetch water.

LADY DOCTOR: The post of lady doctor at the 100-bedded Civil Hospital has been lying vacant for the past five years as a result of which Women patients are facing problems. Mr Bimal Pahuja, president, Malerkotla Welfare Association in a letter to Health Minister demanded immediate the filling of post.

MOGA
ROBBED: A scooterist was robbed of cash, valuables and his scooter near Gholia Khurd village in this district on Monday. A complaint has been registered.

PATIALA
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX: The foundation stone of a new residential complex for the teaching and administrative staff of Punjab School, Nabha, was laid by Lieut-Gen G.S. Brar (retd) who is President of its executive committee. According to the headmaster, Mr M.S. Bedi, the first phase of this complex, comprising eight flats, would be completed in about one year, incurring an approximate expenditure of Rs 37 lakh, including the cost of roads, sewerage and street light. Mr Bedi said the school management had taken many steps to provide more facilities for the students which included inducting coir mattresses for the boarders and better toilets for the boarding houses.

CHANDIGARH

200 DONATE BLOOD: The local Thalassaemic Children Welfare Association organised its third blood donation camp in a series of six camps on Saturday. The camp was organised by Dr Joginder Singh, Director, Health Services. More than 200 donors donated the blood.

HEALTH CAMP: The Voluntary Health Association of Punjab in collaboration with the local State AIDS Society organised a family health awareness camp at Poly-Clinic, Sector 45, here on Tuesday. The camp was held to create awareness about the sexually transmitted diseases. As many as 250 patients visited the camp.

SAS NAGAR
CONGREGATION: A three-day congregation of Baba Ramji at Rupalhadi, near Fatehgarh Sahib, is being held from June 11. One of the organisers, Mr Nagar Singh, said religious discourse, bullock-cart race and wrestling would be the main events during the function. On the closing day a cultural programme would be presented by Faquir Chand and Sunita Bhatti.

HARYANA

AMBALA
FACTORY GUTTED: A wooden furniture factory situated in the Industrial Area Ambala cantonment, was gutted in fire on Sunday evening. The loss has not been calculated. The owner of the factory said that the factory caught fire around 9.30 p.m. but the fire engines did not reach by 10 after repeated calls. Fire engines from Ambala city were also summoned. The fire could be controlled after two hours. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

DHARNA: The district unit of the Congress staged a dharna in Ambala city on Monday to protest against the imposition of new taxes by the State Government. The President of the district unit, Mr Balwant Gupta, urged the Chief Minister to roll back the new taxes. They submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner.

FATEHABAD
MURDERED: Following a scuffle over the right of way, Rajbir, a farmer, was beaten to death allegedly by three farmers at Gorakhpur village in the district on Monday. According to reports, the victim was standing in his fields when Ishwar, Raj Kumar and Suresh came on a tractor and, after a verbal duel, the three beat him to death. The police has registered a case against the accused who have absconded.

SONEPAT
MAN KILLS BROTHER: A dispute over money led to the alleged murder of a man by his elder brother at Sardhana village, about 25 km from here, on Monday. According to a report received here, the victim has been identified as Anand Singh. The alleged assailant Chand Singh managed to escape immediately after committing the crime and throwing the body into the nearby Western Yamuna Canal.

TRAFFIC BLOCKED: Several hundred irate residents, including women held up the movement of traffic on the Sonepat-Rathdhana road near Banderpur village about 3 km from here on Monday in protest against inadequate and erratic power and drinking water supply to Bayyanpur village. According to a report, the traffic remained jammed for almost five hours and a large number of vehicles were lined up on both sides of the road. After negotiations, the irate residents lifted the blockade.

ARRESTED: The Kharkhauda police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested four miscreants who looted Rs 70,000 at pistol point from Gopal Dass, an arhtia of subzimandi at Kharkhauda town on June 1. The SSP Mr K P Singh told mediapersons that they were identified as Sandeep of Ghewra village, Sooraj alias Rajesh, Sunderpal alias Kala of Titsar village and Sanjay alias Paramjeet of Jaintri village. The police also recovered the looted cash from their possession.

CAR THIEVES: With the arrest of three persons, the city police claimed to have busted a gang of auto-thieves operating in Sonepat district and its neighbouring areas. The SSP, Mr K. P. Singh, told mediapersons here on Tuesday that the arrested persons had been identified as Vikas, alias Chunki, and Brijesh, both of Ahulana village, and Charan of Raina village in UP. The police also recovered a car allegedly stolen from the Mini-Secretariat on May 26.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
EMPLOYMENT: Mr Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Chairman of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Cell of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, on Tuesday urged the government to create employment avenues for the tribesmen living in the border areas of Chamba district adjoining Jammu and Kashmir where they have been deprived of their traditional vocation owing to the killings during the past two years.

JAWALAMUKHI
PROTEST MARCH: Workers of the Congress and the Youth Congress took out a protest march at Dehra, 10 km from here, on Tuesday in protest against the Central Government’s decision to hike prices and cut fertiliser subsidies. They passed through the main bazars of the town and held a rally outside the SDM’s office, raising slogans against the government.

TWO COMMIT SUICIDE: A 15-year-old girl, Sudesh Kumari, of Pragpur village in Dehra sub-division of Kangra district, and Sunil Kumar of Thana Bangra village, near Daulatpur, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. It is alleged that they took this extreme step after having failed in the matriculation examinations. The police is investigating.

TOURIST FOUND DEAD: A British national was found dead in his room under mysterious circumstances at Bhagsunag in Kangra district. Mr K.C. Sadyal, district police chief, said two British nationals who were staying in a rented room had drinks on Monday evening. One of them was found dead on Tuesday morning by his friend. The deceased has been identified as Hoell David Harmony, 40. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. A case has been registered.

KUMARHATTI
TIMBER SEIZED: As many as 26 logs of wood were seized from a truck (HP-11-3017) at Subbathu, 22 km from here, on Monday. According to police sources, the truck was coming from Narkanda in Shimla district. All five occupants of the impounded vehicle were arrested and a case was registered against them. Those arrested are Jaipal from Renuka in Sirmour district, Kesar Kumar from Darlaghat, Sunil Kumar from Shimla, Kishan Lal from Kasauli and Jeet Ram from Theog in Shimla district.