R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Bathinda
ELECTED: Mr Harbans Singh Sidhu has been elected president of the local unit of the General Categories Welfare Federation. Mr Labh Singh Brar and Mr Baljeet Singh Sidhu have been elected general secretaries; Mr Tara Singh spokesman and Mr Pushpesh Kumar and Mr Mewa Singh Sidhu press secretaries.

Jalandhar
POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The police has seized 240 kg of poppy husk in the Nurmahal area in this district on Monday evening. However, seven drug traffickers who were carrying the contraband on two wheelers succeeded in giving a slip to the police, SSP Ishwar Singh said here on Tuesday.

Nawanshahr
CONDEMNED: Dr Ashwani Dhir, a local BJP leader and president of the Ram Satsang Samiti (Chhotte Murari Bapu), in a press statement has condemned the militant attack on Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He dubbed it an attack on the sovereignty of the country.

BLOOD DONATION: The local unit of the Revenue Patwar Union, Punjab, organised a blood donation camp at the Blood Donors Complex here on Tuesday. Mr Krishan Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the camp in which 35 units of blood were collected.

BEST ENTRIES: The entries of five students of the local Government Senior Secondary School — Navpreet Dhillon, Mandeep Kaur, Neha Sharma, Amandeep Kaur and Harpreet Singh — have been selected among the best in a state-level essay competition organised on World Biodiversity Day by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology.

Phagwara
RECORDS CHECKED: A Vigilance team on Tuesday checked the records of the Civil Hospital. It was learnt that the Vigilance Department had received complaints about certain irregularities in connection with the alleged charging of fee from patients for operating generator sets. The DSP Vigilance, Mr Manjit Singh, confirmed that complaints had been received.

Sangrur
KILLED: Surjit Singh, a veterinary pharmacist, posted at Kakkarwal village, near Dhuri, died near ‘Shahi Samadhan’ here on Monday. It is learnt that a stray bull hit him and his motor cycle, and fell down, suffered a head injury and died on the spot.

HARYANA

Bhiwani
WEBSITE: The Board of School Education Haryana has provided 20 new frequently asked questions (FAQs) on its website www.hbse.nic. A board spokesperson said on Tuesday that the FAQs and their answers had been prepared in both Hindi and English.

Panipat
TWO DEAD: Two persons have been killed in separate incidents. While Banarasi Chohan, a resident of Khushi Nagar, UP, died in a road accident near the IOCL refinery, the body of an adolescent was found on the railway track here on Tuesday. The bodies have been sent to the Bhim Sen Sachar Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Rewari
SUICIDE: Tej Pal (25), a jawan of the Indian Army, reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison at Jant village, about 10 km from here, on Monday night. After taking poison when his condition became critical, he was admitted to a private hospital here where he died. He was on a month’s leave and was to resume duty on Wednesday.

YOUTH DROWNED: Jitender (18), a son of Prabhu Dayal, was drowned while taking a bath in the pond at Raliawas village, about 10 km from here, on Monday evening. It is stated that he went into deep water and was drowned as he did not know how to swim. He was rushed to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Sirsa
CRITICISED: The national secretary of the ABVP, Mr Mantri Srinivas, has criticised the proposal to reserve 50 per cent seats in Aligarh Muslim University. He said the move was aimed at dividing students. Talking to reporters, he said the Congress governments in different states were adopting appeasement policy instead of concentrating on education. He said the Andhra Pradesh Government was also trying to reserve a quota of 5 per cent for the Muslims, which was objectionable.

Sonepat
CRUSHED TO DEATH: A cleaner of a truck was crushed to death by his own vehicle in a san dunes at Janti Kalan village, about 25 km from here, on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Jamshed, a resident of Loodinga Khurd village, falling under the jurisdiction of Punahand police station in Gurgaon district. The police has registered a case against the truck driver and sent the body for a post-mortom examination.

THEFT: Thieves are reported to have entered two houses at Rohna village, about 20 km from here, on Tuesday night and decamped with a bicycle, a tape-recorder and a CD player. The owners of these houses, Mr Ranvir and Mr Sukhvir, have lodged complaints with the Kharkhauda police in this connection.

Yamunanagar
BLOOD BANKS: The Haryana Red Cross Society has recommended to the Governor to put a check on private blood banks from holding blood donation camps. All blood banks in the state would be connected to one another through the Internet. The society is also proposing to post details of all blood donors of the state on a website.