R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Tarn Taran
Woman kills self: Sukhwinder Kaur (23), a married woman, committed suicide by consuming poison at her in-law’s house at Maniala Jai Singh village on Wednesday. The deceased had been under depression over the harassment meted out to her by her in-laws. The Bhikhiwind police have registered a case under Section 304 B IPC against Satnam Singh (husband), father-in-law Darshan Singh and mother-in-law Kashmir Kaur of the deceased.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
Clarification: The government has clarified that conveyance allowance to blind and orthopaedically handicapped government employees will be admissible at the rate of 10 per cent of the pay plus grade pay subject to a minimum of Rs 1,000 and a maximum of Rs 2,000 with effect from June 1. It has also been clarified that dearness allowance will also be admissible with effect from June 1 on conveyance allowance as per rate in existence from time to time.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NURPUR
Tehsildar gets judicial remand: The Judicial Magistrate, Indora, sent Jailpal Khera, local Naib Tehsildar, Sanjay, a documentry writer, and Arvinder Kumar, a witness, in judicial remand till August 24 on Tuesday for allegedly executing forged documents in a child marriage case.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Moderate quake hits Valley: A moderate earthquake rocked the Kashmir valley on Thursday, but there were no reports of any damage. “An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale occurred at 5.22 am,” Coordinator, Natural Disaster Management Cell, Aamir Ali said.

Miscreants injure 3 of family: Two armed men barged into Ghulam Mir’s house in Sopore on Wednesday and attacked his son, Aijaz Ahmad Mir. Ghulam’s sisters, Shamima and Kulsuma, were also injured.

DEHRADUN

Woman dies: A woman accidentally hanged herself to death when she attempted to stop her sons from fighting in the Lakkhibagh area here, the police said today. Rejendra Kaur (40) threatened her two sons, aged 10 and 13 years, that if they did not stop fighting with each other, she would hang herself from a ceiling fan. When the children didn’t pay heed to her, she pretended to hang herself from the fan with a dupatta. Suddenly, the stool on which she was standing slipped and she died. Hearing the cries of her children, neighbours rushed to the spot and took her to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead.

Football: 60th Lala Nemi Dass Memorial Dehradun Football League, Pavilion grounds, 2.30 pm

Kumaon Briefs
Don’t eat wild mushroom: CMO: The health authorities in Almora district have appealed to the people not to consume wild mushrooms. In a statement issued at the district headquarters on Thursday, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr RS Shahi, has stated that during monsoon, there is an abundance of wild mushroom in the area that is consumed by certain sections of the population as vegetable. He has stated that wild mushroom is not fit for human consumption and is life threatening. He has asked people to desist from consuming the wild mushroom.

Blog in Udham Singh Nagar launched: Carrying on with its innovative methods aimed at reaching out to the media and the people, the Information Department in Udham Singh Nagar district has launched a blog on which it is posting its releases and photographs on a daily basis. The name of the blog is www.iprusnagar.blogspot.com. Officials at the department say that the administrative releases and photographs are being put on the blog besides being sent to media personnel by e-mail. They say that the information provided on the blog can prove to be handy for weekly, fortnightly and monthly publications apart from those who are interested on getting information for academic interest. The officials have sought suggestions to further improve the quality of the blog.

Water shortage in Haldwani: Despite the ongoing incessant rain, Haldwani is reeling under immense scarcity of drinking water. The reason behind the scarcity is the water treatment plant of the Gaula river becoming non functional on account of the heavy silt that is coming along with the river from the hilly regions. The administration has been making alternative arrangements in the residential localities and water is being supplied to the people with the help of tankers. However, the erratic timing of the tankers and the continuing downpour has made fetching of water a tedious task for the masses in the most populated urban centre of Kumaon.

Woman commits suicide: A 24-year-old woman resident of Tunakot village near Ranikhet ended her life by consuming a poisonous substance. According to information available, Tulsi Devi of Manarsa village in Ranikhet was the wife of Sunder Singh. Sunder is employed in Delhi. The cause of the woman resorting to the extreme measure is said to be maternal discord. Reports say that there had been tension in the family.

Cinema halls business down: A large number of cinema halls in Udham Singh Nagar have shut down over the past five years. According to reports, there were 16 cinema halls in the district in 2005 that were doing brisk business. But the spread of cable networks and the arrival of the Direct-To-Home (DTH) telecast facility has spelt doom for almost 50 per cent of these enterprises. Ironically, this has happened despite the fact that there was a reported reduction in the entertainment tax ordered by the state government during this while.

Temple damaged due to rain: The famous Thandi Sadak which is a walkers delight in Nainital was shut down on Thursday on account of falling of boulders from the Raj Bhawan road because of the incessant rain. The Shani temple located on the road has been badly damaged by the heavy boulders that fell on it. Administrative officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has ordered that boards should be put up on both ends of the road to warn people of the lurking danger of rock falls on the road.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)