R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Pathankot
PO arrested: The Gurdaspur police has arrested Rakesh Kumar, resident of Gurdaspur, who had been declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by the local court. The SSP, Varinder Pal Singh, said Rakesh Kumar was wanted in a case registered under the Gambling Act. The police arrested him near the Bata chowk on Sunday during a naka. The court remanded him in police custody till August 4.

DEHRADUN

DEHRADUN
Land demanded for graveyard: A delegation of the Christian community under the leadership of Babita Sahotra, BJP councillor for the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Chief Executive Officer Sushil Kumar. They requested him to provide them the space for a graveyard as soon as possible. Father Victor Charlie said the place allotted to them for the graves was already full and they were facing trouble in providing space to the deceased now. He requested the official to allot them a land at any particular place as soon as possible. Kumar told them that he would present their request before the Mayor who would then take up the matter at a board meeting and it depended on him whether the land should be provided or not.

Three illegal houses razed: A team of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation on Wednesday razed four illegal houses located in Mayur Vihar on Sahastradhara Road. An official said people had constructed strong walls with a teen shed. On receiving a complaint, they removed the encroachment.

Marital disputes resolved: As many as 136 cases related to marital disputes and other family matters were resolved at a mega lok adalat held under the District Legal Services Authority here on Wednesday. Besides, accident cases were also solved.

Kumaon Briefs
Vayu Rath Mahotsava from August 9: The annual Vayu Rath Mahotsava in Champawat district will be held from August 9 to August 13. According to officials, teams from the Directorate of Culture, Dehradun, the Song and Drama Division of the Central Government and the North Central Cultural Centre, Allahabad, would be presenting songs and dances at the annual event that would be held in the Sui Pau area of the Lohaghat block. The teams performing under the Directorate of Culture would be from the Uttarakhand Parvatiya Kala Kendra, Almora, the Darpan Kala Manch, Pithoragarh and the Maa Sharde Lok Kala Samiti, Almora. The state government would be using the event to publicise the schemes and plans launched by it for the development of the state.

Two siblings die of snake bite in US Nagar: Two siblings residing in the Shaktifarm area of Udham Singh Nagar reportedly died of snake bite. The incident took place in the Arvindnagar locality. The deceased have been identified as five-year-old Rajiv and eight-year-old Ranjeeta. It is learnt that the children were sleeping when Ranjeeta complained of a severe pain in her ear. Bite marks were detected on her ear and her parents saw a snake in the room. They were rushed to a private hospital in Bilaspur where they were declared brought dead.

15 schools to have Internet facilities: The Udham Singh Nagar administration has decided to provide the Internet facilities to 15 schools where computers have been installed. This facility is to be provided as a part of the Computer Aided Learning Plan (CALP) under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. Over the past eight years, computers have been installed in 158 schools across the district. A total of 10,232 boys and 12,674 girls are being imparted computer education in these schools. It has been observed that the dropout rate in these schools is less as compared to others.

Incidents of viral fever on the rise in Pithoragarh: A large number of villages in the Didihat area of Pithoragarh village have reported a number of viral fever cases. The people are irked over the failure of the administration to ensure the presence of doctors at the health centres of this area. The worst affected villages are Bhagichaura, Pathrauli, Udma and Garkha. According to reports, people are being forced to go to primary health centres at Bhagichaura where pharmacists have also been refusing to disburse medicines to them in the absence of a doctor.

Sheela Mount Club win soccer tournament: Sheela Mount Club won the Lando League Soccer Tournament that was being held at the Flats Grounds in Nainital over the past one month. The club team defeated its rival, Killers Football Club, by a single goal margin to win the trophy in a thrilling final played on Tuesday evening. The lone goal was scored by Govind Bora. Lando League is among the oldest football league tournaments in the country. The popularity of the sport in Nainital can be gauged from the fact that as many as 41 teams had participated in the event this year.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)

haridwar Briefs
Traders oppose VAT on cloth: Traders have come out in the open opposing VAT on cloth. A delegation of traders met state Commercial Tax Adviser Pankaj Sehgal and submitted a nine-point memorandum to him. Ravi Dhingra, chief of the Nav Durga Vyapar Mandal said, by imposing VAT on cloth, the government was putting an additional burden on traders.

Students submit memo to ADM: Students of Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlala Nehru College (SMJN) submitted a memorandum to Additional District Magistrate SN Pandey seeking his intervention to ensure that the students’ union elections are held this session. The college management has banned the holding of the elections for three years and this decision has not gone down well with students.

Camp for farmers held: The district Agriculture Department organised a camp for farmers in Gandhikhata, where they were given information about new and better methods of farming ranging from the use of pesticides to the insurance of crops. An official said farmers were also given forms for agriculture research instrument on the occasion.

(Compiled by Sandeep Rawat)