R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Mandi
2 held in royal property case: B.R. Thakur and Joyoti Parkash, a clerk and a typist, respectively, posted at the district revenue office were arrested in connection with the multi-crore benami royal property deal on the charge of not properly fulfilling mandatory formalities in the case. While the clerk was today released on bail, the typist was remanded in police custody for three days by a local court. They were arrested from their houses yesterday night. — TNS

NURPUR
Dance competition: An inter-DAV schools dance competition was organised here at DAV school, Bagni, on the occasion of Mahatma Hans Raj Aryan Youth Festival. Around 12 teams from different schools of the state took part in it. The competition was held for Himachali folk and classical dances. In Himachali folk dance - DAV schools at New Shimla, Bagni and Gohju (joint) and Lakker Bazar, Shimla, stood first, second and third, respectively. In classical dance - DAV school at Lakker Bazaar, New Shimla and Palampur were adjudged as first, second and third, respectively. — OC

SHIMLA
Conference: The Indian Institute of Advanced Study will hold a conference on “Special Economic Zones: Economic and Social Perspectives” from September 18 to 20. — TNS

Olympic bhawan: The Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association has decided to construct an Olympic bhawan here that will be completed by 2010. The decision was taken at the meeting of the association held under the chairmanship of its president J.P. Nadda. Offices of about 30 sports association will be housed in the complex. The association has decided to give a reward of Rs 1 lakh to the players, who will win medals in the national tournaments. — TNS

Widening of road: Horticulture minister Narendra Bragta has directed officers of the PWD to start the widening work of the Theog-Hatkoti road, keeping in view the restricted working season in the hilly areas. He said the area attracted many devotees from all over the state and it was important from religious tourism point of view. Besides, it would also benefit fruit and vegetable growers of the area. — TNS

ABVP protest: ABVP activists on Monday staged a demonstration in Himachal Pradesh University. They demanded the arrest of SFI activists, who attacked its members on September 13. The ABVP activists, led by campus president Ashish Chauhan, demanded that strict action should be taken against the SFI activists, who beat up students and other inmates of Tagore hostel. He said the police must arrest the culprits as the medical of the students confirmed that they were drunk. — TNS

Demonstration: DYFI activists staged a demonstration in support of their demands outside the deputy commissioner’s office here on Monday. The activists observed a ‘demand day’. They submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister listing various demands pertaining to the youth. They also demanded that the government should ensure right to education and employment to every youth in the country. — TNS

JAMMU & KASHMIR

JAMMU
Jawan sustains injuries: A BSF jawan of the 91 Battalion received serious injuries at Chamliyal, close to the international border, in the Ramgarh area of Vijaypur in Samba district on Tuesday. The jawan was identified as head constable R.N. Sawant Rai, a native of West Bengal. Official sources said Rai was on guard duty when he fell down from a post at Chamliyal. He was admitted to the Government Medical College and his condition was stated to be critical. However, unconfirmed reports said Rai tried to commit suicide as he had some domestic feud back home. — TNS

Panel to select VC: The state government has set up a panel to select the new vice-chancellor (VC) of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture, Science and Technology (SKAUST), official sources said on Tuesday. “A five-member panel headed by Mangla Rai, director, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), has been set by Governor N.N. Vohra to select the new VC,” they said. The post fell vacant after Naginder Sharma's term ended. S.L. Bhat, financial commissioner, planning department, is the acting VC for the timebeing. — PTI

Poetic symposium: Adbi Kunj - a literary organisation - held a poetic symposium to observe the fourth death anniversary of a local Punjabi poet Avtar Singh Chandan. The symposium was conducted by Susheel Begana and presided by Nargis Sitara. Paying tributes, president of the organisation Sham Talib, threw light on Chandan’s life and his literary contribution. He attributed Chandan as poet of mysticism and Sufism. — TNS

2 SPOs die in mishaps: Two special police officers (SPOs) died in different incidents in Kathua and Doda districts on Tuesday. Police sources said SPO Rinku, posted in the crime and railways police in Lakhanpur area, was killed and his two associates were injured after their motorcycle was hit by a tractor near Lakhanpur on the Jammu-Punjab border. At the time of the mishap, Rinku was on his way back to Basantpur village. Rinku received multiple head injuries and died, while being shifted to the hospital. His two associates were admitted to the district hospital at Kathua. Meanwhile, SPO Ghulam Rasool died under mysterious circumstances, while on his way back from Kishtwar to Padder in Doda district. However, residents of the area alleged that Ghulam was allegedly killed by his colleagues and have sought an inquiry into the incident. — UNI

Bullet-proof jackets: The police and the Army will be provided light-weight bullet proof jackets, head-gear and sniper suits ahead of the state Assembly elections. “The Northern Command headquarter, looking after the operational area in the state, has issued tenders to purchase bullet-proof jackets, head-gear and hand-held thermal imagers to provide its troops body security apparatus during the elections”, defence sources said. “These would replace the old heavy-weight bullet proof jackets in a phased manner”, they said. Hand-held radio sets with location indicator would also be procured by the Army in the Northern Command Sector in the state. — PTI

LEH
Karmapa preaches peace: Gyalwang Karmapa, the second highest spiritual leader of Buddhists after the Dalai Lama, on Tuesday urged Buddhist monks to work for the betterment of humanity. Speaking at a religious function, Karmapa said a clean mind, fine thinking and good deeds were very important for universal peace and harmony. “Every citizen of should take responsibility to ensure a peaceful, secure and prosperous future of the world,” the Karmapa said. Karmapa, who is on 10-day visit to the Ladakh region, has expressed pleasure over the well-protected centuries-old Buddhist culture in the region. — UNI

RAJOURI
Rajouri to get 5 hostels: Rajouri district will soon get five hostels under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme to facilitate boarding and lodging for girl students of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes. This was stated by project director of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) A.K. Raina during his tour, here on Sunday. The project director after visiting the proposed sites in Khawas, Doongi, Thannamandi, Moghta and Manjakote education zones told the engineers associated with the SSA to take up execution of these projects immediately. — TNS

Srinagar
Leh festival concludes: A three-day festival on “3rd CMS Vatavaran - 2008 - Environment and Wildlife Travelling Film” jointly organised by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), the World Wide Fund for Nature India and the State Department of Wildlife Protection on climate change concluded at Leh on Saturday. Seminars, symposiums, panel discussions, film screening, climate change exhibitions, expert talks and competitions based on the festival theme were held for creating awareness among the general public about the issue. — TNS

DD golden jubilee: Doordarshan Kendra (DDK), Srinagar, commemorated its golden jubilee to mark the 50th year of Doordarshan. Several stalwarts, veterans and retired employees of the kendra were remembered for their services on the occasion, here on Sunday. Exchanging their high and low moments with Doordarshan, employees and private producers associated with DDK, Srinagar, cherished the moments spent with the institute and participated in a live two-hour interaction programme with a panel of experts. — TNS