HIMACHAL PRADESH

KULLU
One killed: Kali Ram of Bhupen village in this district was feared to be murdered when his blood stained body was found in mysterious conditions near his villa ge on Sunday. The SP here said his brother brought the matter to their knowledge.

Man goes missing: Sher Singh was feared to be washed away in the Tirthan river in Banjar subdivision on Monday. Police sources confirmed that the wife of the deceased reported the matter to them. She said near the Shilla bridge her husband went to the riverside to attend to nature’s call and did not returned. The police had initiated a search in the river, but the body could not be traced. 

NURPUR
Mill inspection: Industry Minister Kishan Kapoor on Monday made a surprise visit to the sick Nurpur Silk Mill at Bodh, near here. The minister said the Industry Department would formulate a working plan to revive the unit as its silk produce was famous for its quality.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Leader flays admn: A local leader, RS Pathania contested last year’s Assembly elections, on Sunday said the local administration was ignoring the development of the Ramnagar Majalta areas of the constituency. He alleged that around two thirds of the population of the Assembly segment was affected by the erratic water and power supply. Pathania also blamed the authorities for shortage and black-market of government ration.

Pilgrim dies of heart attack: A pilgrim died after he suffered a heart attack while he was on his way to the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra late last night. According to police, Inder Dev (64), a resident of Bihar, suffered a heart attack near Sameer point enroute the cave shrine. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead, the body has been handed over to his relatives after conducting the postmortem. 

Srinagar
Action against engineer ordered: Dismayed over the poor quality of work executed on Chobian link road in Baderwah, Minister for Roads and Bridges GM Saroori has ordered a stringent punitive action against the assistant executive engineer concerned, and stopped the payment to the executing agency. He said engineers and the executing agencies found indulging in execution of poor quality of work and using substandard material would be dealt with severely. 

Digitalisation of records: The Jammu and Kashmir Women Development Corporation Office (JKWDC) today interlinked its office processes with modern office automation system to digitalise its records for early disposal of the cases. The system was inaugurated by Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo. The Minister said the government had initiated numerous innovative steps for streamlining the functioning of the welfare departments and corporations for socio-economic transformation of the people living below the poverty line. 

Focus on farming practices: Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir has asked the agencies concerned to make agricultural appliances available to farmers at the earliest so that they don’t face any difficulty while mechanising their farming practices. Chairing a meeting of officers, he asked the agencies to gear up and clear the bottlenecks if any in mechanising the farming practices. He said the government was seriously pursuing it and this year’s budget had provision for 25 per cent subsidy on thrashers and other appliances.