R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Bathinda
Death anniversary of Cong MLA’s father observed: The 33rd death anniversary of Arjan Singh, the father of Congress MLA from Nathana, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, was observed at the Model Town gurdwara here today. On the occasion, Congress leaders paid tributes to Arjan Singh.

Educationist’s death condoled : Members of the Retired Teachers' Association of the DAV College Saturday mourned the demise of Padma Bhushan GP Chopra, president of the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi. President of the Association Prof ML Arora and general secretary professor Rajnish Kumar, in a press release issued here said GP Chopra was a visionary who played a vital role in spreading education in India and abroad. Prof NK Gosain, press secretary of the association, said the void created by the death of Chopra would not be filled. Members of the association prayed for peace to the departed soul.

Painting competitions held: Students of various private and government schools took part in painting competitions organised at the Teachers' Home here on Saturday. The topics of the competitions were ‘Save water’ and ‘Save energy’. In the 'Save water' painting contest, Jaspreet Singh of Virk Kalan stood first while Gurpreet Kaur of Bathinda got the second position and Rajinder Kumar of Gehri Devi Nagar stood third. In the 'Save energy' competition, Harpreet Kaur of Chugge Khurd school got the first position, Champa of Guru Nanak Pura school stood second and Sanjay of the Civil Station and Bobby of Chandsar School were placed third.

Fatehgarh Sahib
2 electrocuted: An employee of municipal council, Mandi Gobindgarh, died on the spot, whereas another was critically injured while putting up flag poles near Bhagwan Parshuram Mandir at GT Road Mandi Gobindgarh.

Phagwara
Body found: A decomposed body of an unidentified woman was found in the fields of NRI Shama Ram near Bhakhriana Village here today. Bahadur Singh caretaker of the land noticed some bad smell and found the decomposed body. The police has registered a case and sent the body to local civil hospital for post-mortem examination.

CHANDIGARH

Mohali
Grandparent’s Day celebrated: Grandparent’s Day was celebrated at Small Wonders School here. Grandparents played various games.

Seminar at school: Manjeet Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax, Akhilesh Gupta, Assistant Commissioner (headquarters), Rajesh Patwal, Income Tax Officer, Ward 6 (iv) , Ved Parkash, Income Tax Officer, Ward 6 (iii), Harmesh Lal, Income Tax Officer, Ward 6 (ii), visited Gian Jyoti Public School and conducted a seminar on “Income Tax Awareness”.

DEHRADUN

Students’ results to be out soon: The results of 2,500 students of DAV PG College, Dehradun, will soon be declared by the university. The Vice-Chancellor of HNB Garhwal University, Professor S P Singh, has invited the Principal of the college, Dr Devender Bhasin, for a formal talk on Monday to resolve the case in the students’ interests.

MP meets Rlys GM: Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj on Saturday held talks with the Northern Railways authorities for laying of Rishikesh-Karanprayag line in Uttarakhand. In a statement issued today, Maharaj said Northern Railways General Manager SK Budhalakoti assured him that the line at the Rishikesh-Karanparayag route would be laid in the next five years and pointed out that the Railways had allotted a huge amount for the purpose. Maharaj said the Rishikesh-Karanparayag railway line would cover a distance of 128 kilometres and have 81 tunnels en route. Satpal Maharaj also disclosed that the GM had assured him that the Haridwar Link Express would start its operations at the earliest.

UKD’s meeting: The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal on Saturday held a meeting to discuss October 16 slated for district convention of the party. UKD Dehradun president NK Gusain disclosed that the in the district convention of the UKD various state agitationists would be honoured. The meeting also expressed concern over the delay in exposing those behind 56 scams that took place during the Congress rule. The speakers held that the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand should not just go for lip service against corruption.

Kumaon Briefs

Proposal on more polling stations: District Election Officer, Almora, DS Garbyal has said that a proposal has been sent for the addition of seven more polling stations in the district. He said if seven more stations are approved, Almora would have a total of 784 polling stations. Garbyal said there were nine polling stations for which buildings had been changed. These include two such stations each in Dwarahat and Someshwar, one each in Salt and Almora along with three in Ranikhet.

Work plans for schemes: Almora District Magistrate DS Garbyal has asked officials and representatives of various NGOs to prepare work plans under various schemes and submit the same to the relevant office for further approval from the state government. These instructions were given at a meeting of the District Navachar Committee. Garbyal said work plans might be prepared with regard to schemes pertaining to rural technologies, local importance, local educational institutions and for promoting research and medical set-up.

Workshop on disaster management: Personnel of the North Eastern Railways posted across Kumaon participated in a day-long workshop on disaster management in the event of a rail accident. The workshop was held at the headquarters of the Izzatnagar Railways Division under which the entire railway set-up of Kumaon is covered. It was related that rail accident-assistance vehicles used for restoration after accidents have been deployed at Kasganj in Bareilley and the Lal Kuan station in Nainital district. Well-trained personnel are available at these stations to start restoration works immediately. The officials underlined that under Vision 2020, Railways personnel must strive to achieve the goal of zero accidents.

Child dies from snakebite: A four-year-old child died after being bitten by a snake while he was bathing in a canal in Kishenpur Bakuliya village near Mota Haldu. Aniket died while he was being taken to Bazpur by his family for treatment. His father, Sonpal, is a farm laborer. The incident took place when he was gathering tomatoes from a farm while his son was bathing in a canal flowing along the fields. Just close by, a snake and a mongoose were engrossed in a battle for survival. All of a sudden the snake freed itself from the grip of the mongoose and tried to flee. While fleeing, it bit the child.

Two held with charas: The Mukteshwar police has arrested two persons and seized 1.5 kg of charas from their possession. Those arrested have been identified as Mohan Singh Deupa and Ganesh Singh Rana. The duo was trapped during a routine check being carried out by the police near Dhanachuli Bend. Investigations are on in the matter.

Poor medical facilities: Residents of the Okhalkanda and Dhari areas of Nainital district have once again approached the district administration on the issue of poor medical facilities in their area. They have demanded that if the administration does not have doctors to be deployed in their areas, it can at least post some pharmacists there so that people can at least avail first aid facilities. They have threatened to launch an agitation if things do not improve on the health front in their areas soon. (Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)