R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Mandi Gobindgarh
Debate: A debate on “Role of Doctors in Present Scenario” was held at Desh Bhagat Ayurvedic College and Hospital here. Students of BAMS final year participated in the contest. Doctors were honoured on the occasion.

Phagwara
14-day judicial remand: Dimple Sethi, who was arrested for forcing her daughter into prostitution, was sent to 14-day judicial remand today after she was produced before the local judicial magistrate. Her accomplice Rani, who was a partner in the flesh trade racket could not be nabbed.

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
‘Use Punjabi’: Sukhchain Singh Bhandari, Director of the Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, on Saturday demanded that the state government should increase the use of Punjabi on noticeboards, hoardings, milestones on highways and other publicity materials of the government. Bhandari said the Hooda government had given Punjabi language the status it deserved. But, he said the government should use Punjabi with Hindi and English, which were being presently used on noticeboards, hoardings and milestones.

KAITHAL
2 women drowned: Two women drowned in a pond near lepers' colony on Saturday. Rago (18) and her niece, Kajal (20), had gone to the pond to wash clothes on Saturday morning. Rago's brother said while the two were in the midst of their job, one of the clothes was swept away by water current. Kajal descended into the pond to redeem it but was trapped into the mud. Rago, on seeing her struggle to come out, also jumped into the pond to save her. Both of them drowned after struggling for sometime.

REWARI
Man arrested: The Dharuhera police has arrested a man, Pal Singh, a resident of Alwar district in Rajasthan, who allegedly raped a 25-year-old woman (wife of a company employee and old acquaintance of the accused) in Rani Santosh Colony at Dharuhera on the night of June 23. Pal Singh was on Saturday produced before the vacation judge here, who remanded him in police custody for a day.

SIRSA
‘Obscene’ T-shirts: A police team has gone to Delhi after T-shirts with an objectionable message written on them were recovered from a local shopkeeper. The message was not only obscene in nature but could have also incited communal problem. Bajrang Dal activists had noticed a youth wearing such T-shirt and lodged a complaint. The police had arrested a shopkeeper in this connection and had recovered more such T-shirts from his shop.

SONEPAT
Girls’ hostel: A girls’ hostel named after renowned space scientist Kalpana Chawla was inaugurated by her father, Banarsi Lal Chawla, on the premises of the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology on Friday. Jai Tirth, Rai MLA, presided over the inaugural programme. The hostel constructed at a cost of Rs 8 crore has 95 rooms.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Retd SP dies after fall from stairs: Retired SP Jaipal Singh of Raura sector died after a fall from the stairs of his house here on Friday. Jaipal Singh had sought an early retirement from the HP police and started his own business house on the top floor of his residence on the National Highway No. 21. He was rushed to the Regional Hospital here, but declared brought dead by the doctors. His funeral here on Saturday at the Luhnu Ghat on the bank of the Sutlej was largely attended.

KANGRA
3 killed in road accidents: Three persons were killed in road accidents during the past 24 hours in this subdivision, Kangra District Additional Police Chief Sanjeev Gandhi said here on Saturday. Subhdra of Manjool Palampur, who had been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, succumbed to her injuries on the way at Dehra. Pedestrian Surender Kumar of Balol village was crushed to death by an HRTC bus on the Kandi road near Dhaulatpur Chowk. Painter Btoo of Birta village was hit by a jeep on the Dharamsala-Hoshiarpur road at Birta. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to the PGI.

MANDI
Tributes paid to C Mishra: CPI state leaders paid tributes to Chaturanan Mishra, former union minister who died in Patna on Saturday. In a statement here on Saturday, state president Des Raj said Mishra was instrumental in starting the Crop Insurance Scheme for farmers and enhancing the budget for agriculture sector during his tenure with the then United Front government. He was a freedom fighter and a major kisan leader from Bihar.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
IIM Managing Director untraced: Prathap Oberoi (42), the missing Managing Director (Marketing) of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, who was on a Char Dham Yatra in the state, could not be traced even on Saturday. He had come with his two nephews for the yatra. They had reached Devprayag on June 30 and all of a sudden, the Professor went missing from the guesthouse where he was staying. His nephews looked for him around. When he could not be found, the matter was reported to the police. His mental condition is reportedly not stable.

Rape bid: A woman has alleged that the person in charge of the Dhara police post tried to rape her. According to reports, thieves had barged into her house and when she came to the police post to lodge a complaint, its person in charge allegedly tried to rape her. The police said it would investigate the matter. Meanwhile, she has also filed a complaint with the State Women Commission.

Valuables stolen: Thieves barged into a house on Turner road on Friday and decamped with valuables. Sahil Siddqui, the owner of the house, said a camera, jewellery watches, a cellphone etc had been stolen. The police has registered a case of theft at the Clement Town police station.

Cheating case: A miscreant allegedly withdrew Rs 75,000 through the ATM card of the owner of a hotel in Tapovan, Muni-Ki-Reti. A case under Section 420 of the IPC has been registered against the miscreant. The police said on the basis of CCTV footages, investigation had been started.

Kumaon Briefs
Villagers seek relief for damaged crops: Residents of Chukam village have again raised their voice over their security during the monsoons. The villagers have pointed that their village has been cut off following the first heavy showers of the monsoon. They have demanded a compensation for their agricultural losses on account of heavy rains. They said an increase in the level of the Kosi river had resulted in villagers taking a detour by walking 10 km to reach Mohaan town. This route is just one-kilometer stretch when undertaken after crossing the Kosi. The administration has ordered its officials to undertake a survey of the village and come up with a report on the prevailing situation. The relocation of residents of Chukam, a small village on the borders of Nainital and Almora districts, has snowballed into a major contentious issue. Residents of the village have been constantly demanding relocation and freedom from the annual misery that surrounds them during the monsoons every year. Reaching the village during these days is a miracle in itself. Last year as many as 15 houses were destroyed by the water of the Kosi, which also washed away a large tract of the fertile land.

Van Mahotsava begins: The annual Van Mahotsava programme organised by the Forest Department has started in Nainital district. The Forest Department in collaboration with Mahindra and Mahindra Limited initiated the tree-planting programme in Haldwani. The department aims to plant 50,000 saplings. In Nainital, the range falling within St Mary's Convent was chosen as the site for plantation. Under the programme, 250 plants were planted at the Botanical Garden in Narayan Nagar. In Ramnagar, a similar programme held near the Bannakherea road. Members of the Rotary Club participated in the event that took place in State Veterinary Hospital compound. The Horticulture Department at Bhimtal has also announced its intention of planting 1,00,000 fruit-bearing trees during the Van Mahotsava.

Bhawali-Almora NH reopens: A lull in the rains has resulted with the reopening of the Bhawali-Almora National Highway after being blocked for over 30 hours. The Shaheed Balwant Singh Marg in Betalghat, the Betalghat-Garjia road and the Bhujan-Reechi road have also been opened for vehicular traffic. However, the Ratighat-Betalghat and the Bhujan-Betalghat roads continue to remain closed. The roads in the region had been devastated due to the rain-related disaster that had hit the region last year. The failure of the administration to come up with repairs and a long-term remedy for the annual malady is once again leading to the frequent closure of traffic flow on these roads. The worst-hit road continues to be the Bhawali-Almora stretch. The locals are asking for reasons for the failure of the government to repair the stretch over the past 10 months.

Surprise check at gas agency: Vice-Chairman of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) Ravi Mohan Aggarwal carried out a surprise visit to a LPG agency at Lohaghat on Saturday. He has said people be given a guaranteed supply of LPG cylinders after every fortnight instead of every 21 days. He also interacted with consumers present at the agency during his visit. He accepted that there was no shortage of gas cylinders, but the fault lies with the management. He announced that 250 new connections would be allocated across Champawat district, out of which 60 would be for the Lohaghat region.

Sports Dept to hold events: The Sports Department has announced to organise various sports events at the Sports Stadium in Rudrapur over the next few days. According to district sports officer SC Pandey, a handball tournament for girls below the age of 18 years would be held on July 5 and 6. This would be followed by athletics events for students below the age of 20 years on July 12. A football tournament for students below the age of 20 years would be held from July 15. Those persons who want to participate in the events have been told to bring a certificate specifying their age from the Principal of their respective educational institutions.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)