R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Residents protest against MC: Residents of ward no. 25 under the banner of Mohalla Sudhar Committee continued their fast for the third day outside the Mayor's office here on Wednesday in protest against the lack of basic amenities in their locality. Mr Harpal Singh, member of the area committee, said the residents would intensify the agitation if development works were not initiated.

Bandh call on Sept 5: The Principal Federation of Non-government Aided Colleges of Punjab has decided to extend support to the education bandh call given by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union for September 5. In a joint press note, Ms P.P. Sharma and Mr Dhani Ram, president and general secretary, respectively, said irregularity in disbursement of grants had been a cause of concern.

Religious test results: Girls got the top three positions in the religious examinations conducted by the dharam prachar committee of the SGPC. Scholarships worth Rs 14.3 lakh were distributed among 741 students.

HOSHIARPUR
Voters’ list to be reviewed: Mr D.K. Tiwari, District Election Officer, said on Thursday that fresh electoral rolls would be prepared in the district. A house-to-house enumeration will take place from October 20 to November 21.

KAPURTHALA
Travel agent held: The police on Wednesday arrested Manjit Singh, a travel agent, under Sections 420 and 406 of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act. DSP Amrik Singh Powar said a resident of Mansurwal Bet village, Amar Singh, had lodged a complaint alleging that he had paid Rs 6 lakh to the accused and his brother Satnam Singh and Major Singh last year to send his son to Spain, but the accused failed to keep the promise. 

Gang of thieves busted: The police on Wednesday arrested three persons allegedly indulged in chain snatching and robberies in the area here. According to information, Ravi Pal and Jasvir Singh, alias Kala, both residents of Nav Jyoti Colony, near Jinda village, and Arun Kumar of Sarai Khas village had allegedly robbed Kulwant Kaur of Ramidi village of Rs 2,000 and snatched her gold chain. A case has been registered.

PHAGWARA
Mother Teresa award: The Lions Club Phagwara on Friday presented Meena Aggarwal with the Mother Teresa award for her social services by the president of the club, Mr Brij Joshi, on the club premises here. 

TARN TARAN 
Office-bearers of JE council: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Council of Junior Engineers (Punjab State Electricity Board): president — Mr Santokh Singh; senior vice-president— Mr Pawan Kumar; general secretary — Mr Gurmukh Singh; joint secretary —Mr Raj Kumar; treasurer — Mr Harjit Singh; and press secretary — Mr Kanwal Preet. 

CHANDIGARH

Dental camp: The Inner Wheel Club, Chandigarh, organised a free dental camp for students on the premises of Government Model High School, Sector 20, here on Friday. A “smile competition” and “teeth competition” for students of 3-6 years and 8-11 years age group, respectively, were also organised by the club on the school premises.

Panchkula
WOMAN DIES: A 28-year-old women died of severe burn injuries sustained at the PGI on Thursday. The victim, Kiran, had received injuries at her home at Kalka on Wednesday while she was cooking dinner. 

SELECTED: Kanav Goel of Manav Mangal School, Sector 11, Panchkula, has cleared the National Talent Search Examination and been selected for the NCERT scholarship. He will be getting this scholarship till he completes his education. Kanav became eligible for appearing in the National Talent Search Examination after clearing the state-level Talent Search Examination held in November last year.

TRAINING PROGRAMME: A two-day training programme of state resources persons in connection with the celebration of International Year of Physics 2005 concluded on Thursday. The workshop was organised to celebrate the completion of 100 years of the enunciation of the Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein. This was organised by the Haryana State Council for Science and Technology.

CONCLUDED: The two-day workshop on sex education, organised by Panchkula branch of the FPAI, concluded on Wednesday. Ms Veena Monga, president of the FPAI, briefed the participants on gender discrimination. She stressed on the women’s right to health, human rights and paucity, violence against women and girls. Mr Aswani Kumar, project coordinator, and Dr Sangeeta Pandita, Medical Officer, also spoke on the occasion. 

Pakistani detained: The police detained a Pakistani national, reportedly in his mid thirties, from Khangesara village on Friday night. Police sources say that the man was working as a driver, and villagers had complained to the police about his alleged suspicious movements. The Ramgarh police rushed to the village and rounded him up. Till the time of filing of this report, he was not arrested formally. The police investigation was on.

OPEN DARBAR: An open darbar was held at the HUDA Complex, Sector 6, to redress the complaints of the residents on Friday. A number of residents participated in the darbar, chaired by HUDA Administrator Neelam P. Kasni and Estate Officer S.P. Arora. Residents came up with complaints about low water pressure, non-functional trafficlights on certain roundabouts, etc. 

HARYANA

BHIWANI
Compensation sought for crops: The Youth Club, Kirawas, has sought compensation from the state government and the Deputy Commissioner for the crop damaged due to the rains in the village. It said water had accumulated in about 60 acres of low-lying agricultural land and damaged standing crops.

Explosives seized: The police on Thursday seized explosive material from a person in a raid at Khanak under the Tosham police jurisdiction. The police has registered a case but no arrest has been made so far. Ten safety fuses and 10 electronic detonators were seized. These materials are used to explode mines and are issued by the District Magistrate.

KAITHAL
Man sentenced to life: The Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Neelima Shangla, on Thursday sentenced Surinder, a resident of Pai, to life imprisonment for the murder of Rai Singh of the same village in 2003. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the convict. 

REWARI
BSF jawan cremated: A BSF jawan, Rajender Singh (36), was cremated with state honours at Dhani Kolana village, about 20 km from here, on Thursday. He had laid down his life in an encounter with militants in the Bandipore area of Jammu and Kashmir on August 31. Haryana Irrigation and Revenue Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav placed a wreath on the body on behalf of the state government. 

SONEPAT
Life sentence: Mr. C.B. Jaglan, District and Sessions Judge, on Thursday sentenced Mandeep, alias Kala of Harsana Kalan village, to imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs 3,000 for murdering his elder brother, Sanjeev, on March 21 last year. According to the prosecution, Sanjeev was married to Kavita of Thana Kalan village about 10 years ago. Both the brothers had a quarrel two days before the day of killing as the elder brother suspected that his younger brother wanted to have illicit relations with his wife. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DHARAMSALA
Action sought against Cong leader: The Jawalamukhi Block Congress Committee at a party meeting held here on Wednesday passed a resolution against Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, a former minister and veteran Congress leader, in view of his letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking replacement of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr Inder Mohan Walia. The committee demanded strict disciplinary action against the leader.