R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Chandigarh
Half-day holiday: The state government has declared a holiday for the second half of the day on Wednesday in its offices and offices of boards and corporations and in educational institutions located in Chandigarh and Mohali to facilitate the participation of its employees in nagar kirtan processions on the eve of the Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Ravi Dass. Such offices and institutions in Punjab will remain closed for the second half of the day on February 17.

Jalandhar
Clash averted: A tussle over the presidentship of the Petroleum Tankers Association saw two groups brandish swords and guns at Suchi village here today. The police, however, avoided any untoward incident by deploying a heavy force at the spot. Kishan Lal, member of a group, alleged that certain armed members of their rival group barged into their office and threatened of dire consequences. Dharmender Rana, of the opposite group, however, claimed that he was elected as a president by his supporters, almost a fortnight ago. Lal and his men reached his office today while they were celebrating, he alleged. As the situation got tensed, senior police officers reached the spot with heavy police force and pacified both the groups. 

LUDHIANA
Presentations: It was a heartening experience for parents of LKG students of Kundan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, when they saw their little ones on stage today. The tiny tots danced on different themes like vegetables, seasons and festivals. The parents thoroughly enjoyed the presentations. School counsellor Manisha Gangwar gave a presentation on the topic “Parents are teachers too”, wherein the parents were acquainted with simple parenting methods to be adopted while handling small kids. These tips were aimed at understanding the children’s behavioural patterns.

Patiala
Seminar: A two-day national seminar on “Recent Advances in Chemistry and Their Impact on Environment” commenced at the department of chemistry, Punjabi University, on Tuesday. B Jayaram, head, department of chemistry, School of Biological Sciences and Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, IIT Delhi, spoke on “Drug in Silico: Physico-Chemical Glimpses into Biology.” 

HARYANA

Chandigarh
IRB’s diet money up: CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accorded approval to increase the diet money of the personnel of India Reserve Battalion (IRB) from Rs 600 to Rs 840 per month, on par with that of the Haryana Armed Police. Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said about 2,670 employees and officers of the IRB would be benefited. 

Selection grade to 11 IPS officers: The state government has granted selection grade to 11 IPS officers. The officers are Hanif Qureshi, AS Dhillon, Sanjay Kumar, Vikas Kumar Arora, Saurabh Singh, Bharti Arora, Ram Singh, Sultan Singh, Hardeep Singh Doon, Rajender Kumar and Yoginder Singh Nehra. 

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Noted painter to attend art camp: Noted local painter KK Gandhi will attend an art camp being organised by Tata Steel Ltd at Raipur on February 24. The selection was in recognition of his work displayed at a similar camp held at the Jamshedpur.

Srinagar
93 promoted as head constables: The IGP, Kashmir range, SM Sahai, has issued promotion orders of 93 selection grade constables to the rank of head constable. The Departmental Promotion Committee had earlier approved their inclusion in the promotion list subject to their passing of the pre-promotion course. All the 93 constables have now qualified the test and have been promoted to the rank of head constable in the pay scale of Rs 5,200-20,200 plus Rs 2,300 grade pay. 

Mehbboba visits Maloora village: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti visited Maloora village on Tuesday and expressed condolences to the bereaved family of the three children, who died in a blast. Mehbooba said it was sad that the children in their innocence mistook explosives for toys as a result of a grave mistake of the government which did not secure the area after some recent gunfights. 

DEHRADUN

Alva greets people on Milad-un-Nabi: Governor Margaret Alva greeted citizens of the state and the country on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi and conveyed her best wishes to them. In a message on the eve of the auspicious occasion, Alva said, "I extend my greetings on the auspicious occasion of the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. The message of compassion, tolerance and service to humanity preached by the Holy Prophet has great relevance in today's world.” 

14 year old raped in Vikasnagar: A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man near the Yamuna in Vikasnagar. The accused has been arrested. He has been indentified as Islam, alias Toori, a resident of Jivangarh in Vikasnagar. In his complaint to the police, Zeeshan, brother of the victim, alleged that on Sunday at 9 pm, Islam forcibly took the girl to the river from outside her house and raped her. The victim returned to her house crying and narrated the incident to her mother. The girl’s brother on Monday lodged a complaint with the police and the accused was arrested from his house. Families of the girl and the accused are daily wage labourers at Jivangarh. 

5-day ear checkup camp from today: The Eye and Ear Care Centre will organise a five-day ear checkup and awareness camp from Wednesday at the EC Road office.A team of doctors will examine patients and also inform them about the hearing aids and machines available in the market. 

Ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh stolen: Ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5,000 cash were reported stolen from the house of BSNL project manager at Trimurti Vihar on the Turner Road in Patelnagar. Manager Arshad Iqbal said he had gone to Aligarh and on returning yesterday, he saw the lock of the door broken and valuables were missing from the place. A case under Section 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. 

Dharna enters second day:Landless people of Kashipur Tehsil continued their dharna on the second day in front of the CM’s residence here today. They submitted a memorandum to the CM yesterday. They are demanding distribution of 409 acres out of 1,089 acres that has been declared additional during the sealing among the landless.