R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Jalandhar
Ceiling collpase: Inquiry marked: The Municipal Corporation Jalandhar has marked an inquiry into the false ceiling collapse incident that occurred in the corridor of the new complex yesterday. Commissioner MC BS Dhaliwal, in front of whose office the incident had taken place, has marked the inquiry with Assistant Commissioner DP Bhardwaj. Bhardwaj, when asked about any immediate findings, said that he could not comment as of now. “I need to first check the specifications of materials quoted by the contractor with those actually used”, he responded.

Stationery distributed: Stationery was distributed among 22 poor students at Government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, on Friday. Jagir Chand, Chief Manager, Personnel Banking for the school, also distributed 11 fans among the children. Some teachers were also honoured on the occasion.

Temples’ body set up: Shiromani Mandir Parbandhak Committee (SMPC) has been set up to redress the problems concerned with religious places such as temples, ashrams and deras. SMPC general secretary Prof Vipan Jhanji said in a statement issued here on Wednesday that the SMPC would coordinate between the government to provide better facilities for the temples, ashrams and deras. Jhanji said their demands include subsidy on the electricity used by these religious shrines.

HARYANA

JIND
Two held: A racket of black marketing and pilferage of the LPG from cylinders while on the way to distributors and dealers was busted after a raid by a special team of officials set up by the IG and the SP (special staff) on Friday, which recovered as many as 317 cylinders and a truck carrying them. While two persons have been arrested, the police seized some of the equipments used for illegal pilferage of the gas from the cylinders midway.

PANIPAT
Couple held: The district police on Friday arrested a couple with 2.465 kg of opium. The husband-wife duo, who were identified as Daulat Ram and Mandala from Rajasthan, were on their way to Ambala to deliver the consignment, which they had received from Naru.

REWARI
Worker electrocuted: Jogender Singh, who was employed at Chaudhary Motors Works, Dharuhera, was electrocuted when he was at work on Thursday. The police has booked its proprietor Krishan Kumar for causing his death by negligence.

Truck looted: Some miscreants, who were travelling in two separate vehicles, intercepted a truck, which was laden with sand and was going towards Bhiwadi, near Dharuhera, on Thursday night. The miscreants, who held its driver Ghanshyam and conductor Rohtash hostage, dropped them near Nangli Godha village and then fled with the looted truck. A case has been registered.

SIRSA
Trader drowns: A grain market trader from Ellenabad was killed when his car fell into the Rawatsar Branch Canal on Friday. Bansi Lal Jyani, of Thuian in Fatehabad, was going to Thalarka village in Rajasthan on his car when his vehicle went out of control and fell into the canal. Farmers working in the nearby fields rushed to rescue the victim. They rushed the victim to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

CHANDIGARH

MOHALI
Janamashtami celebrated: The spirit of bhakti extravaganza came alive for Janamashtami at Ashmah International School at Sector 70, Mohali. The festival was celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm. The stage was decorated with earthen pots, flowers and paper buntings. Attired in vibrant colours as Radha and Krishna presented cultural items, depicting glimpses of Lord’s life. Students and staff of Swami Ram Tirtha Senior Secondary Smart School and St Soldier School also celebrated Janamashtami.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Sahitya Akademi Award for Aatish: Noted Kashmiri writer and poet Gulam Nabi Aatish’s book “Nov Kehtsha Mentsha” has bagged the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in the best children’s literature category. The award will be conferred upon Aatish, author of over 20 books, in Kolkota on Children’s Day, convener of the Kashmiri Advisory Board Aziz Hajni said in a statement here. The award comprises Rs 51,000, a citation and a robe of honour. “Nov Kehtsha Mentsha”, which means something new, is likely to be translated in over 12 languages.

Arvinder Micky calls on Governor: Arvinder Singh Micky, Deputy Chairman of the state Legislative Council, called on Governor NN Vohra here on Friday. During the meeting, the Governor and Micky discussed various issues relating to development, accountability and governance, an official spokesman said.

Andhra legislators in Srinagar: Members of the Privilege Committee of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, headed by its Deputy Chairman Nethi Vidyasagar, called on the Deputy Chairman of the state Legislative Council, Arvinder Singh Micky, here on Thursday. They discussed with Micky the working of the Upper Houses in the two states and exchanged views and experiences, an official spokesman said. Besides Vidyasagar, the Andhra Pradesh delegation comprised N. Raga Vendu, C. Vijay Kumar and N. Akula Lalitha and it deliberated on the functioning of the Privilege Committee in Andhra Pradesh with Micky.

DEHRADUN

DEHRADUN
Scuffle between student groups: A scuffle between two parties took place during the in-campus canvassing for the students’ council elections at DAV PG College here on Friday. Students allegedly indulged in a scuffle resulting in injuries to two students. The scuffle erupted between supporters of Aryan and Satyam groups on some petty matter. Later, a contesting candidate of the Satyam party arrived there and indulged in a fight. The matter was soon handled by policemen deployed on the premises. No candidate involved in the scuffle has been disqualified from contesting the elections.

Relief for Udhayli village sought: Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has sought relief for Udhayli village in Pauri Garhwal, which has suffered damage owing to landslides. In a letter to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, he said the village had suffered damage due to landslides caused by rain. He has demanded the supply of food and medicines to the affected villagers.

Portion of house razed: A Dehradun Municipal Corporation team on Friday razed the front portion of a house in Viyom Parast on GMS Road here. The corporation had received a complaint that Gulshan Ali had encroached upon the municipal land. But when the team reached the spot, Gulshan Ali protested and showed them some documents in support of their claim. The team said it would verify the facts.

Kumaon Briefs
Sanitation workers’ posts: Chairman of the state Sanitation Workers’ Commission Bhagwat Prasad Makwana has stated that the government is in the process of creating new posts of sanitation staff at the level of local municipal bodies. Speaking at a meeting of executive officers at Rudrapur on Friday, Makwana said steps were being taken to ensure uniform salary to the sanitation staff enrolled on the contractual basis across the state. He ordered the officials to provide solutions to the problems faced by the workers. He underlined that discrimination against and harassment of sanitation workers would not be tolerated.

‘Poisonous’ mushrooms kill 3: Three members of a family in Almora district have died, while two others are serious after consuming “poisonous” wild mushrooms. The incident has been reported from Chausla village in Dhauladevi block of the district. The daughters of one Jagdish Prasad had gathered wild mushrooms from the forest. The children in the family had consumed the vegetable after cooking it. They were taken to the Base Hospital after they fell ill. Three of the children, identified as Ravi (6), Meera (14) and Nitin (3), died while being treated. Two others Chandrakala and Deeksha are still being treated at the hospital. The health authorities in Almora have issued a warning to the people not to consume wild mushrooms.

Body found: The body of a resident of the Dhanachuli area of Nainital district was found under suspicious circumstances. According to sources, the body was found in two parts. While the left leg of deceased Vijay Singh (22) was recovered from the debris near Devnagar village, the remaining body was recovered from the Shiv Gaad area near Devnagar. The matter is being investigated by the Revenue Police. The deceased had left his house on August 13 without informing anyone. He had fallen off a horseback and was admitted to a health centre at Padampuri, from where he had vanished once again.

2 women sustain burn injuries: A woman of Haldwani and her daughter-in-law sustained burn injuries following a tiff at their house. According to reports, Saruli Devi had a fight with her daughter-in-law Kavita over a petty issue at their house in Kathgharia locality on Thursday. Kavita allegedly doused herself with kerosene. When she tried to torch herself, Saruli leapt to save her. Both of them received burn injuries and are being treated at a hospital in Haldwani.

Rain claims 2 lives: Two children died in rain-related incidents in Udham Singh Nagar over the last 24 hours. Sahil of Jadopur village near Khatima drowned in an overflowing nullah. In another incident, Priya (8) was killed when the wall of a house in the Beni area fell over children playing there. Priya died on the spot.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)