CHANDIGARH

Discussion: A discussion on “Chandigarh’s future: real problems and potential opportunities” will be held at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, on March 27. Patsy Craig, co-author of the forthcoming book “The Chandigarh Catalogues”, said Pawan Kumal Bansal, Union Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Science/ Technology, and Earth Sciences, would be among the invitees to the discussion.

HARYANA

Fatehabad
Dera follower killed in road accident: A Dera Sacha Sauda follower was killed and eight others were seriously injured when the Tata Ace vehicle carrying them skidded off the road and collided against trees near Khunan village in this district today. The dera followers were going towards Sirsa when the driver lost control over the vehicle. Amandeep (18), a student of Class XII, died on the spot, while eight others sustained serious injuries. Three of the injured persons have been shifted to Hisar in vies of their critical condition.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Bilaspur
DIET student  tops exam: Kanchan Thakur of DIET centre, Jukhala, stood first in the second year JBT final examination. This examination was held in September last year by the HP School Education Board, Dharamshala. DIET centre Principal Mahender Singh Chandel said here on Friday that 8 other students of this centre got positions in the state merit list out of a total of 10 students. 119 students from this centre took the examination and all of them got first division.

Youth held: Amit Kumar of Karote village was arrested for allegedly raping a 27-year-old married woman of the village. According to the reports, the youth entered the house of the woman in the absence of her husband at night and raped her. The police registered a case under Sections 452 and 376 of the IPC and under Sections of the Scheduled Caste Atrocities Act. The accused was remanded in police custody for a day.

Hamirpur
Budget for Hamirpur passed: The Hamirpur Nagar Parishad has passed its budget for the 2011-12 at its meeting held here on Thursday. The estimated income in the budget has been increased from about Rs 2 crore to Rs 5,40,41,500. The major areas from which the income to the Nagar Parishad will be generated are house tax (Rs 80 lakh), building construction fee (Rs 5 lakh), rent from its buildings (Rs 40 lakh), tehbazari fee (Rs 12 lakh), token fund (Rs 6 lakh) etc. The estimated expenditure during this period is going to be Rs 4,52,50,000.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Warrants against drug peddlers: The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, on Thursday issued warrants under the Public Safety Act against two persons involved in the trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The accused have been identified as Mohammed Akbar Wani of Chursoo, Pulwama and Balraj Singh of Natwal village in Gurdaspur, Punjab, at present residing at Awantipora in Kashmir.

Udhampur
Colleges sought at Paddar, Dachhan: The Youth Congress unit of Kishtwar has demanded two more degree colleges in far-flung areas of Paddar and Dachhan on the lines of a degree college for the Marwah area in Kishtwar district. Welcoming the government decision to open a degree college in Marwah, the Kishtwar Youth Congress leader, Sheikh Nasir Hussain, said on Friday that the government should extend the facility of a college for women at Kishtwar and degree colleges in other remote areas of Paddar and Dachhan in the district.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Student caught cheating in exam: A regular students appearing for Class X State Board Examination in Pauri district was held cheating here on Friday. According to the information given by the officials of the State Education Directorate, the student was caught for using unfair means during the science examination by the flying squads at Dabri, Bokhal. However, including him, the overall number of the students caught cheating during the examination in the high school and intermediate has now reached 13.

UKD launches ‘pol khol’ drive: The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), led by Trivender Singh Panwar, launched its on-foot campaign of “pol khol” in the city on Friday, and proceeded towards Mussoorie. Senior leader Promila Rawat said the campaign was started to expose the anti-public policies of the BJP and the Congress governments in the state. “People feel ditched on seeing the very objectives behind the formation of the state getting defeated. The sacrifice of the state fighters seemed sheer wastage,” said Rawat, and called upon people to vote for the UKD which she assured will provide jobs to the unemployed and fulfill all its promises. Those who participated in the campaign included Geeta Bisht, Anju Mittal, Jagdeshvath Panwar, Asha Bhandari, Anita Shah, AK Gusai, Bahdur Rawat and Shishpal Bisht.

Homoeopathy workshop held: Principal Secretary, AYUSH, Rajeev Gupta said the government was committed to promoting homoeopathy as an effective line of treatment in the state. He was speaking at a workshop on how to combat lifestyle disorders and respiratory diseases with homoeopathy organised by the State Homoeopathy Department and the Government of India here on Friday.