R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
STRIKE: Members of the All-India Employees Union (Class III) held a strike in front of the exchange premises on the Albert road here on Wednesday against the decision to give the MTNL the charge of the Telecom Department.

RESENTED: The district Congress committee resented issue related to autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir in a press note here on Wednesday. Members said this could lead to the revival of terrorism.

BARNALA
SEIZED: Mr Ajaib Singh Kaleke, Senior Superintendent of Police, said in a drive against antisocial elements the police seized six bags of poppy husk worth Rs 72,000 from Baldev Singh and Satnam Singh of Dabwali in Haryana.

REMANDED: Four suspects involved in the Meenu, a lecturer, dowry death case, who were produced before Mr Gurjant Singh, Magistrate, at the local Civil Courts on Wednesday, were remanded in judicial custody till further orders.

FARIDABAD
Stone laid: Maj-Gen S.K. Awasthi, Army Commander of the Delhi area, laid the foundation stone of the Rs 5-lakh canteen complex here on Tuesday. Earlier, Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman of the District Sainik Board, said an ambulance facility had already been provided at the health centre.

GURDASPUR
BANNED: Mr B. Vikram, District Magistrate, on Wednesday banned the plying of private vehicles having the same colour as those of the security forces. These orders would remain in force till August 20.

HOSHIARPUR
NOMINATED: The Punjab Government has nominated Mr Tajinder Singh Sodhi as Chairman of the Improvement Trust, Hoshiarpur, according to official sources here on Wednesday.

JALANDHAR
POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The Nurmahal police on Tuesday seized 180 kg of poppy husk allegedly from madi of Lakhanpal village and arrested him under the NDPS Act.

PATIALA
POWER CUTS: The PSEB has decided to impose power cuts in the state, according to a press note of the board. The power cuts will be in force because two generation units each of 210 mw capacity of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, and one generating unit of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bhatinda, are out of order due to maintenance work.

NZCC WORKSHOP: The North Zone Cultural Centre will organise a workshop for girls on folk dances from July 1 to 10, according to a press note. Various forms of folk dances, including mayuri, panhari and reevar will be taught by renowned Mumbai-based artiste Anila Sunder.

POWER TARIFF HIKE RESENTED: The Patiala Chamber of Industries has requested the Punjab Government to reconsider its decision regarding hike in power tariff. The small-scale sector in Punjab is fighting for its survival and the present hike will affect the small firms, said a press note issued by the chamber on Thursday.

PHAGWARA
CONTROL ROOM SET UP: A round-the-clock control room with telephone No 60794 has been set up here as part of the flood-control measures. This was stated by the SDM, Mr Pritam Singh, at a meeting held here on Wednesday to discuss steps for controlling floods.

CHANDIGARH

CONSUMER FORUM: A group of 25 members of the Consumer Forum on Tuesday took part in the ongoing “shramdan” at Sukhna Lake. Col Sarwan Singh (retd), secretary-general, urged the senior members of the forum to bring youngsters from their families for the “shramdan”.

KHARAR
CLEANLINESS DRIVE : Mr Devinder Singh, SDM, Kharar, on Wednesday inaugurated a cleanliness fortnight being launched by the Municipal Council of Kurali (Kharar subdivision). The campaign started from Bangala Basti.

HARYANA

AMBALA
WIDOW RAPED: Residents here are agitated over the beastly act of a person allegedly raping a 60-year-old widow in a slum area, behind Canal Rest House here on Wednesday. The woman in an FIR has named Paramjit Singh for committing the crime.

SYL ISSUE: Mr Om Prakash Malik, convenor of the Haryana Sangarsh Samiti, has said that only hollow promises have been made by politicians regarding the SYL canal issue. Mr Malik said that now in Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal is the CM, while Mr Om Prakash Chautala is the CM in Haryana. “Both are partners in the Central government of the NDA headed by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and people of Haryana expect from them that the issue should be solved,” he said.

KAITHAL
PISTOL SEIZED: The police seized a .315-bore pistol along with a cartridge from Dharampal, alias Bali, of habri village here on Wednesday. A case has been registered under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act and he has been arrested.

REWARI
CANCER CENTRE: A district-level cancer cure centre and an intensive care unit with the assistance of the Government of India will soon be set up here. This was announced by the Haryana health Minister, Dr M.L. Ranga, while addressing the annual function of Dr S.S. Yadav Ram Bhagwan Charitable Institute of Cancer Management and Research at Mirpur on Tuesday.

DIED: Amrik Singh died in a head-on collision between a truck and his Jeep on the Rewari-Delhi road near Jaunawas village, about 8 km from here, on Tuesday. Amrik Singh, a businessman of Tughlakabad, Delhi, was returning home when the mishap occurred.

ROHTAK
MANHANDLED: A person carrying messages for the police was allegedly beaten up by a constable at the Police Lines here on Tuesday. According to information, Constable Jai Singh, said to be under the influence of liquor, reportedly refused to accept the message from the person. When he insisted on handing over the message, the constable allegedly tore off the message and manhandled him. The SSP, Mr P.K. Agrawal, said the constable had been suspended and a departmental inquiry ordered.

SIRSA
DIRECTED: The Sirsa Consumer Redressal forum has directed HUDA to return the money deposited by a consumer with interest along with Rs 1,100 as litigation expenses. According to the information received on Wednesday, Mr Pyare Lal had lodged a complaint with the forum on February 5, 1999, alleging that he had deposited money for a plot but was not given the plot.

SENTENCED: Mr B.S. Chauhan, District and Sessions Judge, here has sentenced Mohinder Singh, alias Mohinder Kumar, and Lekhram, both residents of Sayoia village, near here to life imprisonment and fined them Rs 2,000 each for murdering Dhiyanaram over a dispute regarding the construction of shops.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
HONOURED: The Himachal Pradesh State Education Department Class IV Employees Union honoured former NGO Federation state president Ram Singh, who is now chief adviser to the Himachal Pradesh State Employees Confederation, here at a conference on Tuesday.

CHAMBA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Teaching Staff Association: president — Mr Jeet Ram; vice-president — Mr Hem Prakash; general secretary — Mr Ajay Vijalwan, organising secretary — Mr Kishan Chand; and treasurer — Mrs Champa Devi.

DHARAMSALA
WORKSHOP: A three-day workshop was held at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, to explore the possibility of developing a sustainable medicinal and aromatic plant industry in Himachal Pradesh. It was inaugurated by Prof V.L. Chopra.

NURPUR
TEACHERS UNION: the following have been elected office-bearers of the Kangra District Government Teachers Union: president — Mr Onkar Rana; general secretary — Mr Susheel Kumar; and treasurer — Mr Ramesh Sharma.

SHIMLA
CHARAS SEIZED: The police seized 1.65 kg of charas and arrested Manoj Kumar and Hira Singh Rawat in this connection in the Dhami area of the district on Wednesday. They were carrying the contraband in a Maruti van. The SP, Mr A.N. Sharma, said one occupant of the vehicle managed to escape.