CHANDIGARH

Vivek K. Arora CA body chief: Vivek Kumar Arora was elected as the chairman of Chandigarh branch of the Northern India Regional Council of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (NIRCICA) for 2008-09. OPK Singla and Pushpinder Duggal were elected as the vice-chairman-cum-secretary and treasurer, respectively. They were elected in the executive body meeting of the NIRCICA.

Nominated: Dr C.K. Jerath, honorary secretary, CABA, and vice-president, IABF, has been nominated technical official for boxing event in the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held at Pune from October 12 to 18, which is being conducted under the aegis of the Commonwealth Games Delhi, 2008.

Officers transferred: The Haryana government on Wednesday transferred one IAS and four HCS officers with immediate effect. C.G. Rajini Kaanthan, ADC-CEO, DRDA, Panipat, has been posted as the ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA, Fatehabad, against a vacant post. Ashok Sangwan, secretary, Utkrash Society, Panchkula, and deputy secretary, secondary education department, has been posted as additional director (administration), public relations-II, against a newly created post. Arun Sharma, chief executive officer, Shri Mata Sheetla Devi Shrine Board, Gurgaon, has been given the additional charge of joint commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon. S.K. Setia, who was awaiting his posting order, has been posted as secretary, Utkrash Society, Panchkula and deputy secretary, secondary education department. Anju Chaudhry, zonal administrator, Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board, Gurgaon, has been posted as joint commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon.

HARYANA

JIND
1 killed in mishap: A person was killed and four others, including two children, were injured when the van they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck near Nara village on the Jind-Panipat road on Wednesday. 

KURUKSHETRA
Prohibitory orders: District Magistrate Pankaj Aggarwal in an order under Section 144 of the CrPC promulgated here on Thursday has prohibited the entry of all people except examinees and staff, including police personnel, on duty. Carrying of arms/fire arms and other weapons of offence, mobile phones within 200 meters from the examination centres have also been prohibited. This order has been passed keeping in view the School Teachers’ Eligibility Test (STET) being conducted by the Board of School Education, Haryana, in the district from October 11 to October 12. 

REWARI
Havan organised: Residents participated in a havan organised on the occasion of the Dussehra festival in Sector 3 here on Thursday. While the principal organiser and district attorney B.D. Yadav made a plea for re-establishment of old values in life, Swami Sharnananda exhorted the participants to eschew rising materialism and return to the spiritualistic path of life to attain real and lasting happiness in life. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
One dies in mishap: Ishwar Dass (62) died after falling from a moving bus near Belag on Wednesday evening. He was a resident of Lagmani. After getting injured in the incident he was taken to the Government Hospital, Bhoranj, where he succumbed to injuries. The police has arrested Raj Kumar, driver of the private bus, and booked him under Sections 279, 304 of the IPC. 

Woman commits suicide: Archana (26), wife of Sunil Kumar, allegedly ended her life by hanging herself on Wednesday night in Jijhwien. She was found hanging in her house. Ishwar Dass, father of the deceased, a resident of Bijahd, has filed a complaint against Bhag Singh, father-in-law of her daughter, for allegedly misbehaving with Archana after getting drunk in the past. The police has arrested Bhag Singh under Sections 498 and 306 of the IPC.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

JAMMU
2 officials held with drugs: Two government officials were arrested on Thursday for smuggling drugs in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. A police team intercepted a car and during the search, hree big cans of Bisleri filled with Corex, a banned drug, and other contrabands were recovered. The two had smuggled the drugs from Punjab. They were identified as Dault Shah of the Agriculture Department and Saleem Mohammad of the Sheep Husbandry Department. Both were suspended from their respective departments.

Holidays not to be curtailed: The Directorate of School Education has decided not to curtail holidays during the ongoing festival season to make up for the losses suffered due to the Amarnath land agitation. Director, school education Zahaida Parveen Khan said the department had earlier decided to curtail holidays to complete pending syllabus. "The syllabus is being completed as per schedule and we don't feel any need to curtail the holidays anymore," she added.

State awardees felicitated: Abdi Kunj, a literary conglomerate of writers, on Thursday held its weekly meet here. The occasion was marked by recitation of poems and reading of short stories. The meet congratulated nine writers who were recently accorded state awards for enriching literature. Those who read out their literary works included Muni Lal Puri, Rakesh Sharma, M S Kamra, Talib Kashmiri, Ayodhya Rani, Reshma Kour, Rajeev Kumar, Sardar Rissam and Jaswant Singh.

SRINAGAR
2 killed, 20 hurt in mishaps: Two persons, including a woman, were killed and 20 others injured in separate road accidents in the Kashmir valley on Thursday, official sources said. A 45-year-old man was mowed down by a truck at Sonamarg on the Srinagar-Leh highway. He died on the spot. In a separate incident, 20 passengers were injured when two buses had a head-on collision at Hanjiwera in Pattan area on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway. Fatima Begum, a resident of Rambagh, was killed after being hit by a bus at Jehangir chowk.