Abohar
Raw cotton gutted: Raw cotton weighing more than 25 quintals was gutted due to the fire that broke out reportedly due to sparking during the ginning process in Narayan Dal and cotton oil mills located near the railway level crossing in Sadulshehar, 30 km from here on Sunday. Timely detection of smoke emanating from the ginning unit resulted in quick fire extinguishing exercise. Power supply was suspended immediately and fire was controlled within an hour, sources said.

Hanumangarh/Abohar
Peela Panja: Rajasthan education minister Bhanwar Lal Meghwal and water resources minister Mahi Pal Maderna jointly released ‘Peela Panja’, a collection of short stories penned by noted poet and fiction writer Roop Singh Rajpuri during a brief ceremony at Rawatsar near Hanumangarh on Sunday. Lok Sabha member Bharat Ram Meghwal and district Congress president Prithvi Pal Singh Sandhu were present on the occasion. A function to review his work will be held on November 1 at Kotputali. Noted critics including Nand Kishor Acharya, Devinder Issar, Tej Kumar Pareek and Vikas Dave will be key speakers.

Sriganganagar/Abohar
Spread of malaria: “There had been panic over spread of swine flu for the last few months. However, of the total samples collected in the state, about 14,000 tested positive for malaria," officials of the health and medical department informed Rajasthan education minister Bhanwar Lal Meghwal, water resources minister Mahi Pal Maderna and agriculture marketing minister Gurmeet Singh Kunnar during a function in Sriganganagar on Sunday.

Bathinda
Body of PSEB SDO found in GNDTP lake: Surinder Singh (45), SDO, PSEB, was found dead in the lake number three of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant here on late Saturday evening. The Thermal police is investigating. Volunteers of the Naujwan Welfare Society, who claim to have found the body, said the kin of the deceased had informed them that Surinder was missing since Saturday morning.

Meeting held: A meeting of the Government Classical and Vernacular Teachers’ Union, Punjab, led by Barjinder Singh Pulla, was held at the Teachers’ Home here on Sunday. During the meeting, a list containing 22 demands was discussed. Vice-president of the union Hardarshan Singh Sohal and CEd teachers also participated in the meeting.

Dental check-up camp held: Activists of the Mahanagar Swarankar Seva Sangathan organised free dental and children check-up camps on the Ram Bagh road in the city. Kartar Singh Jaura, vice-president of the Swarankar Sangh, Punjab, and municipal councillor Raj Kumar Sood inaugurated the camp. In a press release, activists of the organisation said close to 500 persons were examined at the camp.

Man crushed under train: A 37-year-old man, reportedly in an inebriated condition, was crushed to death when he was passing under a stationary train, which moved suddenly, here on Sunday. Confirming the facts, volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva said the body was identified as of Raj Kumar of Gopal Nagar. The GRP police, Bathinda, is investigating.

Demolition drive: The district administration, with support of officials of the Archeological Department, demolished a roof of a shop located behind the Quila Mubarik here on Sunday. Officials informed that the shop was in the restricted area and the owner of the shop had recently changed the roof without the permission of the department concerned.

Fazilka
Youth buried alive: One person was buried alive in a well as earth caved in, in village Katehra of this sub-division. As per the details available, Raju (29), a resident of village Bodiwala Pitha and his companion Gokul were uprooting the old pipes from 12 feet deep well. All of a sudden, the earth on the bank of the well caved in. Resultantly, Raju was buried under the mud and died on the spot while Gukul was injured. The postmorterm of Raju was conducted at the local civil hospital on Sunday.

Mandi Gobindgarh
88 children get new shoes: The Salasar Sewa Samiti today distributed shoes to poor schoolchildren of Government Elementary School, Nasrali village, here. Nearly 88 children were given shoes by the samiti. Office-bearers of the samiti said they would also distribute warm clothes to these children.

ROPAR
Man booked for  killing wife: Ram Lochan (25) from Railon Khurd village has been booked for killing his wife in an inebriated state on Saturday night. The incident took place when Lochan, a daily wager, returned home drunk. He entered into a heated argument with his wife who objected to his drunken state. Enraged at being objected, he picked up a wooden log and repeatedly hit his wife Phoolwati on head. She died on the spot. The couple has an 18-month-old son. Lochan is absconding.

Baby found abandoned: A three-month-old infant was found abandoned in shrubs close to a restaurant, near Ghanauli village on Sunday morning. An employee of the restaurant, Chaman Lal, was coming towards the restaurant when he heard a child crying. He found the baby girl abandoned in shrubs. He informed the police. The child was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ropar, and given medical care. The police has registered a case of abandoning the child against her unknown parents.

PANCHKULA
House burgled: Thieves broke into a house at Sector 2 and decamped with cash and valuables worth Rs 50,000 here on Sunday. It was learnt that the family was out of station since Friday. According to the police, the owner of house No. 743, Ashok Sharma, was in Phagwara with his family when the neighbours noticed that his house was burgled. On his return Sharma informed the thieves had taken away more than Rs 20,000 cash in addition to two digital cameras and a wrist watch, said the police.