R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

PHILLAUR
Villagers block traffic: Hundreds of villagers blocked vehicular movement on the national highway to protest against the police inaction in a hit-and-run case. They also staged a dharna outside the DSP’s office. The protesters said the police had failed to nab driver of a three-wheeler who had hit village sarpanch Parkash Ram near Ramgarh Octroi post. The blockade was, however, lifted when SHO Sarwan Singh Bal told the agitators that the accused had been arrested. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy.

HARYANA

HISAR
2 criminals held: With the arrest of two youths, the local police on Thursday has busted a gang of criminals responsible for several instances of firing at public places in the city during the past few weeks. While seven of the suspects had been arrested earlier, two suspects, Raj Kumar and Sunny, were arrested on Wednesday evening from Mirzapur Chowk.

KARNAL
Irate villagers block traffic: Villagers of Jaisinghpura in Assandh blocked the Karnal-Hisar road on Thursday for more than three hours in protest against the delay in arresting three persons of Rangruti Khera for lodging a false complaint. The blockade was lifted around 12.30 pm after the police persuaded the protesters to restore movement of traffic. The protesters relented only after the police handed over the case to the CIA.

PANIPAT
Patwari nabbed: Sleuths of the Vigilance Bureau arrested a patwari while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a local resident on Thursday in lieu of preparing documents for loan against property. Ashish Dua had approached the bureau with a complaint against patwari Manglu Ram, alleging that the latter had demanded Rs 5,000 from him for signing the requisite documents. Vigilance officials asked him to strike a deal with the patwari. When Dua went to hand over the money, the officials nabbed the patwari and recovered the money.

SIRSA
Two killed in road mishap: Two persons were killed and one was injured when a Maruti car collided with a tree near Bajekan village on Thursday night. The victims, Joga Singh and his brother-in-law Dalbir Singh, were coming to Sirsa when the driver lost control over the vehicle, making it hit a roadside tree. Cops on duty at a nearby barrier shifted the three injured occupants of the car to the General Hospital. Joga Singh and Dalbir Singh later died there.

SONEPAT
Gang of vehicle looters busted: With the arrest of four miscreants - Sandeep, Joginder and Praveen and Rajesh - the police on Friday busted a gang of vehicle looters and recovered two Innova cars from their possession. According to a police spokesman, the miscreants had looted the car at a gunpoint from driver Harbhajan Singh of Barwala in Panchkula district on the intervening night of last Saturday and Sunday. The gang would be produced in the court on Saturday.

‘Khap’ screening: The owners of local Anand cinema hall on Friday stopped the screening of the controversial film “Khap” just after one show of the film after receiving advisory from the police that there was resentment among people against this film. The cinema hall employees removed the posters of the film pasted on the walls of the hall.

Man dies in mishap: Jai Narain (60), of Salimsar Majra village, died on the spot and five others were injured when the Wagon-R car in which they were travelling overturned near Badwasni village on Sonepat-Gohana road on Friday. The injured were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Security for Navratra fair: DC-cum- District Magistrate Ritesh Chauhan has enforced a ban on carrying and keeping of any types of arms, ammunition, weapons and explosives within the territory of the Kot police station in this district from July 31 to August 9. A Notification issued here on Friday said these prohibitory orders have been necessitated with a view to keep peace and tranquility and safety of devotees and others during the 10-day annual Navratra fair commencing at the Naina Devi shrine in this district from July 31. Another notification puts a ban on carrying of any passengers or devotees by tempos, trucks, trolleys, or such large vehicles with a view to avoid untoward incidents. Devotees can only be carried to the shrine in buses.

SHIMLA
Result Framework Document: Various government departments will formulate a Result Framework Document (RFD) to strengthen governance by September 30. While addressing the inaugural session of the two-day workshop on RFD, organised by the Planning Department, here on Friday, Chief Secretary Rajwant Sandhu, said under the Performance Management Evaluation System (PMES), such a document was essential for focusing upon medium and long-term goals of departments for each financial year. Dr Prajapati Trivedi, Secretary, Performance Management, GoI, provided an overview of international experience and lessons for designing a Results Framework.

Logo contest: The government has decided to organise a contest to select the logo for the State Disaster Management Authority through public participation. An official spokesperson said here on Friday that the logo could either be handmade or computer designed and the design had to be high resolution. The logo would be required and accepted in soft copy only at sdma-hp@nic.in <mailto:sdma-hp@nic.in> or splsecy-rev-hp@nic.in <mailto:splsecy-rev-hp@nic.in>. The entries would be adjudged by a committee and best entry to be put on the website for public suggestions and a final decision would be taken after the period of trial was over and public observations taken into consideration. The final entry would be given a cash prize of Rs 10,000. The last date for receipt of entries is August 15, 2011.

DEHRADUN

DEHRADUN
Hemlata is tax Commissioner: Radha Raturi, Secretary (Finance and Election), has been relieved of the charge of Secretary, Finance, Commissioner and Trade Tax. But she will continue to hold the charge of other departments. Hemlata Daundiyal, Secretary, Finance, Women and Child Development, will hold the charge of Commissioner, Commercial Tax.

One killed in mishap: One person was killed while another sustained injuries during a landslide at Junglechatti in Uttarkashi. The police rushed them to a local hospital where one was declared brought dead. 

Blood donation camp held: The IMA Blood Bank of Uttarakhand organised a voluntary blood donation camp at Career Launcher, an educational institute, here on Friday. The main aim of the camp was to encourage young students to donate blood. The camp was organised by Amit Mittal, centre head, Career Launcher. A total of 24 persons donated blood.

State boy wins nationals: Dhruv Pal of Uttarakhand won boys’ singles under-14 final beating Prishikshit Somani in the national super series under way at Guwahati. He beat his rival in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 to claim the title. Dhruv has made the state proud by winning matches at the national-level competition. Coaches here congratulated him on his success.

Kumaon Briefs
Kanwariyas pelt cops with stones, 2 hurt: Kanwariyas blocked the Sitarganj-Chorgalia road after a brawl with some persons on Thursday evening, disrupting traffic for several hours. They also allegedly pelted policemen with stones following which two police personnel sustained injuries. They also allegedly beat up policemen, including a circle officer. The problem started when some persons allegedly abused Kanwariyas who were on their way to a Shiva temple.

Shopkeeper gets 5-year jail for adulteration: A local court on Thursday sentenced a shopkeeper to five years imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him for selling adulterated pulses. The prosecution said after testing the samples of the pulses taken from Vijay Kumar’s shop, they were found adulterated.“The samples were taken in the presence of the then Chief Medical Officer, Dr BS Pangti, and were tested at a government laboratory at Lucknow,” said Chief Food Inspector RS Kathayat.

Two killed in head-on collision between motorcycle, truck: Two persons, including a schoolteacher, were killed in a head-on collision between a truck and a motorcycle on the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh highway on Friday. The deceased have been identified as motorcyclist Pratik Adhikari and pillion rider Gita Pandey. A case has been registered.

7 Mansarowar pilgrims unfit to travel further: Seven Mansarowar pilgrims of the seventh and eighth batches will have to come back from the Gunji camp of the ITBP as they have been found unfit to travel further. “Of these, four pilgrims are from the seventh batch and three from the eighth batch,” said V. Anand, an ITBP officer. They will be sent back with the returning batches.

More villages to be included in palika territory: The Bageshwar Nagar Palika Parishad Board on Thursday passed a resolution to include some more villages in the palika territory and develop infrastructure in these villages. “The areas to be included in the palika jurisdiction include villages near Benimadhav ward where the offices of the Chief Development Officer and the District Magistrate are situated,” said Subodh Lala Shah, chairman of the parishad.

113 treated at free eye check-up camp: A total of 113 eye patients were treated during a six-day free eye check-up camp jointly organised by two NGOs from Nainital and New Delhi. “Now, such camps will be organised in interior villages for which the district administration has also assured of all help,” said DS Garbiyal, District Magistrate (Almora).

(Compiled by BD Kasniyal)