CHANDIGARH

INAUGURATED: Amartex Industries opened its 69th store in Ludhiana on Ferozepore Road today. The store will stock groceries,home furnishings, textiles, ready-made garments and fashion accessories. 

MOHALI
Batteries stolen: Batteries of some vehicles parked near the PTL Chowk in Phase V were stolen during the wee hours of Monday. Bhag Singh, president of the mini truck union, said around 10 persons fled in two cars after the alarm was raised. In another case, the window pane of a car parked in phase V market was broken by a child with an intention to commit a theft. He was handed over to the police.

Cheques distributed: Around 13 NGOs from various parts of Punjab, working as project partners of Help Age India, were distributed cheques to the tune of Rs 12 lakh by Help Age India at a special workshop cum function organised at WWICS’ Asian headquarters here today. 

HARYANA

AMBALA
Hunger strike: The staff of ITI, Ambala City, observed a hunger strike on Monday in protest against the decision of the department to adjust the staff of vocational education in ITI cadre. President of Haryana ITI Technical Employees Welfare Association Mukesh Bhardwaj demanded that a common seniority list of ITI and vocational education staff should be prepared so that the promotion are not overlooked. 

Chandigarh
Minister hails Rahul: Haryana finance minister Birender Singh termed the decision of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to not to join the union cabinet as historic and in accordance with the principles of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The minister said in spite of requests by party chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul refrained from joining the union cabinet and preferred to serve the party. He said by his activities, Rahul had given the message that the Congress would like to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor.

Health check-up: Health check-up of all schoolgirls below the age of 18 years in Sirsa district would be conducted. Stating this on Monday, an official spokesman said a campaign would be launched to make people aware about diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and protein-energy malnutrition. Global climatic changes were adversely affecting the public health and there was a need to make people aware, he added.

Rewari
Fire destroys goods: Domestic goods and cash were allegedly destroyed in a fire that broke out in Attar Singh’s house in Chhawwa village near Kosli on Monday. The fire broke out when the all members of the family had gone for harvesting. Attar Singh, whose daughter’s marriage was to take place next month, has sought relief from the district administration.

Yamunanagar
Checks on burning straw: Surprise checks would be carried out in the state to check the burning of wheat and paddy straw that kills farmer friendly insects and destroys land fertility besides causing pollution, said Dr Krishna Pandit, local MLA and parliamentary secretary, while addressing a public gathering here on Monday. She cautioned people against global warming and said if it was not checked there would be rise in natural disasters. 

Anti-malaria drive: The malaria department has advanced its anti-malaria and anti-dengue activities by two months. More than 600 cases of malaria have been reported in the district in the past three summer seasons. Besides taking preventive steps like destroying mosquito nests, the department will also start an awareness drive. An official said villagers would be involved in creating awareness about malaria and dengue. Fogging to check the mosquitoes would also be started soon, he added. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
Electronics shop gutted: Electronics goods worth Rs 6 lakh were reduced to ashes as fire broke out in Nahar Electronic shop near Civil Hospital in Paonta on Sunday evening. As per information, the fire suddenly broke out in the shop and within few minutes it engulfed the whole showroom causing big loss to shopkeeper Inder Pal Singh, a local resident. Flames were brought under control by the fire fighters and further loss to adjoining market could be averted. Paonta SDM Sandeep Kumar visited the spot and sanctioned Rs 5,000 as immediate relief to the shopkeeper. The Paonta police has registered a case. The cause of fire could not be known immediately.

Khair wood, vehicle seized: Divisional forest officer Sushil Kumar of the Paonta forest division said the forest staff with the assistance of the Paonta police had succeeded in seizing 15 quintal of khair wood and a pick up vehicle owned by a resident of Kolar village. It was used for transporting the illicit timber cut from the government forest along the Yamuna river on Saturday. He said the department had received a tip off that nearly eight persons had cut five khair trees on the bank of the river during night hours. The market cost of the wood recovered is over Rs 40,000, the DFO said. 

3 fined for illegal mining: DSP Paonta V.S. Thakur disclosed that during a campaign launched by the Paonta police against the illegal mining in the area, it nabbed three tractors at Bangran village on Sunday loaded with limestone extracted illegally from the Bhatrog and other areas. He said the three tractors were owned by Raghubir Singh of Salwala and Jeewan Singh and Sunil Kumar of Poka village. The tractors were challaned and impounded under the Mining Act and a fine of Rs 30,000 was recovered from them, Thakur added. 

JAMMU & KASHMIR

JAMMU
Lalu, Rabri visit Vaishno Devi: Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav along with wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi paid obeisance at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi on Sunday. Yadav was here to flag off the first “Garib Rath” train from Jammu to Kathgodam and later flew to Katra along with his family, sources said. “After offering prayers at the shrine, Yadav along with his wife and two children returned to Jammu and later left for Srinagar by air,” sources said.

Pilgrim dies: A pilgrim who was on his way to Vaishno Devi shrine, died on Monday, official sources said. Mohini Devi, a resident of Agra, on her way to Vaishno Devi, collapsed at Charan Paduka area in Katra. She was shifted to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

1 held with charas: The police on Monday arrested a drug peddler and recovered 5.5 kg of charas from his possession in Udhampur district, official sources said. The police intercepted a vehicle at Karal Nallah on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and on searching recovered 5.5 kg of charas. The driver has been arrested.

SRINAGAR
Anganwari workers : The process to engage 13,422 anganwari workers and helpers in the Kashmir valley was launched on Monday by social welfare minister Abdul Gani Vakil. “Application forms for these posts would be issued and received from today up to 10 days,” he said. He also distributed Rs 20 lakh among 200 beneficiaries of Rafiabad and Sopore tehsils under the National Family Welfare Scheme. He also laid the foundation stones for twin parks at Mazbug and Nowpora villages.

2 held for bribe: The State Vigilance Organisation on Monday caught red-handed two officials, while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 from a contractor for releasing a pending bill of Rs 1 lakh, pertaining to some construction work in Pulwama district. The arrested were identified as Sami ullah Naik, assistant engineer (rural engineering wing), block development office, Kakpora, Pulwama and Mohammad Yousuf Bhat. 

Parliamentary board: The PDP on Monday announced that the party’s political affairs committee (PAC) would also serve as the party’s parliamentary board for the upcoming Assembly elections. The parliamentary board has been entrusted with the job of selecting candidates for the Assembly elections, a PDP spokesman said.