R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Ludhiana
Presentation: A presentation on “Research and Teaching Methods in Mathematics and Science” was given by Dr Philip L Balcaen, faculty of education, University of British Columbia, Canada, at Guru Nanak Girls College on Saturday. HS Mamik, chairperson, Association of Private Schools of Chandigarh, accompanied him. Principal Dr Charanjit Mahal welcomed the guests and said the lecture aimed at polishing students’ knowledge and help them become precursors of their respective fields. Dr Philip L Balcaen gave a comprehensive and detailed presentation on education opportunities available at University of British Columbia.

NABHA
Three held: The police has arrested three residents of Samana - Yash Chhabra, Santosh Chhabra and Ashok Chhabra - for allegedly harassing Yash’s wife for bringing inadequate dowry. The victim, Rashmi, alleged that she was married to Yash on December 10, 2009, and soon after their marriage, her husband Yash, mother-in-law Santosh and her husband’s uncle, Ashok, started harassing her for bringing inadequate dowry. They asked her to bring Rs 5 lakh and a car from her parents. However, when she refused to meet their demand, she was allegedly thrown out of the house.

NEW DELHI
Documentary on Dhindsa: A filmmaker will make a documentary on the life history of veteran Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Director Jatin Gurudev said it would cover his entire life starting from his village in Sangrur. The “mahurat” shot was filmed on Wednesday at Dhindsa’s residence in the national capital. Baba Sukhdev Singh Bedi, the 16th descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, gave the “mahurat” shot. The documentary will be named “Siyasat Da Olympian” and will be available in Hindi, English and Punjabi.

Pathankot
Cops honoured: The policemen who busted members of Topi gang of highway robbers were honoured by Punjab Director General of Police P.S. Gill at here today. Those honoured were Dorangla SHO Yoga Singh, Dinanagar SHO Sukhpal Singh and Surjit Singh Buter, In charge CIA staff, Gurdaspur.

Phagwara
One killed in road mishap: Amritpal Singh of Adampur was killed, while Sandeep Singh sustained serious injuries when the motorcycle they were riding on collided with a heavy vehicle near Rihana-Jattan village on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road last night. The police has registered a case against unknown vehicle driver who sped away along with the vehicle after hitting the motorcycle. The body of Amritpal Singh was handed over to the family members after post-mortem examination. The injured was admitted to the Civil Hospital.

Tarn Taran
Warning for panchayats: Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, warned the panchayats against using substandard material in the development works carried out in the villages. Any panchayat found guilty of using substandard material would face action, he added. He was addressing a rural gathering at Bath village, eight kms from here today. The minister said grants for the development of the villages were released without any discrimination and the state government was committed for providing basic facilities to the village at par with the towns. The minister also released grants worth Rs 15 lakh for the overall development of the village and a grant of Rs 31,000 to the village health club. The minister also highlighted the different development schemes of the state government.

Stray animal claims life: Twenty two-year-old youth lost his life in an accident involving a stray animal near Sarhali village, 25 km from here, late last evening. Jatinder Singh, a resident of this town, lost control over his motorcycle in panic when a stray animal appeared from nowhere. He was declared brought dead by the doctors at the hospital. A report under Section 174 of the CrPC has been lodged at Sarhali police station.This is the fifth such incident in one and a half months involving stray animals. Six persons have died in these mishaps.

CHANDIGARH

CHANDIGARH
Road Safety Week to be observed: Road Safety week will be observed from January 1 to 7, 2011, in all cities and towns of the state. This was stated by Punjab Transport Minister Mohan Lal at a meeting of the Road Safety Council held here recently. Officials of the Departments of Home, Health, Police, Transport, Education and Finance were among those present.

HARYANA

Hisar
CM announces grants for village: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced the construction of a park, a community centre, a minor canal and upgrading of a girls’ primary school to the middle level at Nalwa village in this district. He was speaking at a public meeting organised here recently to pay tributes to industrialist-turned-politician, the late Om Parkash Jindal, who hailed from the village. Hooda also announced development grants worth Rs 2.51 crore for the village. He said all projects would be named after Jindal. He said he had always equitably distributed development funds among all districts of Haryana.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Bangladesh national held near LoC: Security forces arrested a Bangladesh national close to the Indo-Pak border in Samba district here on Sunday. Sources said BSF jawans spotted a person roaming under suspicious circumstances near the LoC in the Katli border area of Samba district. He was immediately taken into custody.

Srinagar
Govt directed to probe youth’s killing: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the state government to order a magisterial probe into the killing of a youth in 2005, as various wings of the police had submitted conflicting reports about the deceased. Indicating that Ghulam Hassan Mir was killed in a staged encounter, SHRC member Abdul Rashid Khan directed the Chief Secretary to conduct a magisterial enquiry into the incident. Mir, a resident of the Akhal area in Ganderbal district, went missing from the Uparsh area of the district on April 29, 2005. His body was handed over to his family on May 1, 2005, as the police in Anantnag district had claimed that he was killed in an encounter in the Pahalgam area a day earlier.

Lt-Gen BS Jaswal visits Valley: The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Udhampur Northern Command, Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, arrived on a two-day visit to the Kashmir valley on Sunday. He was received by Lt-Gen SA Hasnain, GOC of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army. The GOC took the opportunity to release a Coffee Table Book,titled “Shri Amarnath Shrine Yatra”, compiled and published by the CIF (K).

Udhampur
Students end fast: Bowing to the demand of the Panthers Students’ Union, who were on a fast for the past three days, the authorities of Jammu University on Sunday assured to start the construction work of the new building of the university campus here. The five striking students, including Aijaz Sumbria, the district unit president of the union, ended their fast after being assured by university campus rector Naresh Padha that their demand would be met.

DEHRADUN

Mussoorie
DM Kurve apprised of lawyer-SDM row: A bar member delegation, led by Vinay Kumar Gupta, yesterday met Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) Sachin Kurve. They apprised him of the ongoing row between the lawyers and the Mussoorie SDM, in which a bar member had accused the latter of unruly behaviour a few days back. The DM advised the representatives to sort out the matter at the local level and conduct a meeting with the Mussoorie SDM.