R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Sangrur
6 killed, 5 hurt in wall collapse: Six persons, including five labourers and owner of a rice shelling mill, died and five other labourers were injured after a 22 feet wall they were constructing collapsed in Duggan village along the Sangrur-Barnala road here on Friday. Paramjeet Singh, SP (D), who reached the spot, said mud was being used for the construction of wall, which led to the incident. A case has been registered.

CHANDIGARH

Cycle expedition: To jointly commemorate the 64th anniversary of Paratroopers Training School (PTS) and silver jubilee of Akash Ganga Skydiving team, the Air Force is undertaking a “Go Green Ride” cycle expedition from Ladakh to New Delhi. A 12-member team led by Wg Cdr Jai Kishan from the PTS began their expedition from Marsimik La Pass, located at an altitude of 18,632 feet near the Pangong Tso Lake and arrived here after covering a distance of about 1,100km. About 800km were in hilly terrain during which they crossed seven of the world’s highest mountain passes.

HARYANA

Rewari
Protest held: Members of the Rewari district unit of the Haryana State Government Computer Teachers and Lab Assistants Association, along with functionaries of the district unit of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, held a demonstration at the district secretariat, seeking acceptance of their demands here on Sunday. Their demands included provision of a minimum monthly salary of Rs 15,000, security of job and cessation of the contractual system of recruitment. 

Jeweller held: The police has arrested Bharat Bhushan, proprietor of Gayatri Jewellers, in connection with the purchase of four stolen gold chains from two chain snatchers, recently. He was produced in a local court on Saturday, which remanded him in judicial custody. ASI Shri Bhagwan said the two chain snatchers had confessed that they had sold the stolen chains to Bharat Bhushan.

Four arrested: The police has arrested four persons, Satbir and his brother, Rohtash, as well as Rohtash’s two sons, Rakesh and Mukesh, of Bharangi village, in connection with the murder of an engineering student, Yash Pal, who was done to death at Bharangi village on Wednesday. SHO Ami Lal said while they would now seize the weapons from them, which were used in the crime, further interrogation of the accused would also be conducted to elicit the names of the remaining accused.

Youth killed: Vikas Kumar of Mandi village, who was riding on a motorcycle, was killed while Satyabir of Dublana village, who was also riding on another motorcycle, was injured when they were hit in a quick succession by a dumper on the Narnaul-Rewari road on Friday night.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
973 examined: A total of 973 patients were examined and treated at a free daylong health camp organised by social organisation, Chetna, in collaboration with the Medical Department at Kutheda near Ghumarwin, 30 km from here, on Saturday. Specialist doctors from Fortis Hospital, Chandigarh, and the Regional Hospital, Bilaspur, examined the patients. Chetna volunteers distributed free medicines and Kutheda Beopar Mandal fruits to the patients. DC Ritesh Chauhan, Chetna general secretary Mallika Nadda and District Medical Officer Jitendra Saxena were present at this camp.

DEHRADUN

Boy’s eye damaged in fight: An eye of a 13-year-old was damaged by a DL Road resident with an iron rod following a fight. The brother of victim Neeraj, Radhe, had a fight with Rohit over some dispute. The two were fighting when Neeraj intervened to stop them. Following this, Rohit’s brother Chanderpal attacked Neeraj with an iron road. In the incident, an eye of Neeraj got damaged and he was admitted to a local hospital. Circle Officer Premendra Dobhal said the accused had been arrested 

Polio campaign: Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri today launched the Pulse Polio campaign at District Women Hospital here. He urged people to come together and join hands in eradication of the disease from the society and give our children a better future.

Condolence: Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri has expressed his condolence for the deceased of aircraft accident at Nepal. He prayed to the almighty to give peace to the departed soul and to their families.

Probe sought: Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has sought a probe into scams that have taken place in the state for the past one decade, including the excise scam of earlier ND Tiwari government. In a statement issued on Sunday, Maharaj reminded that Chief Minister BC Khanduri had himself described excise scam as one of biggest scams of Uttarakhand.

Kumaon Briefs
Leopards stray into human habitat: Residents of Pampapuri and the adjoining areas had sleepless night intervening Friday and Saturday on account of two leopards who had strayed away from the Jim Corbett National Park and has settled in the bushes near the human settlement. The attempts by the residents to scare them away with crackers and fake gun shots proved futile. Meanwhile, the Forest Department is mulling clearing the hedges that have come close to human habitat.

Dengue case comes to light: The Sushila Tewari Memorial Hospital, Haldwani, claims to have made arrangements to deal with cases of Dengue, if the disease is confirmed on suspected arrivals. The hospital authorities have made arrangements to carry out tests on suspected patients and make blood platelets available whenever required. Reports say that one positive case of the disease has been reported at the hospital. The patient is being given the required treatment at the hospital.

Scarcity of water: The areas around Ramnagar continue to grapple with the problem of scarcity of water. The schemes supplying water to areas like Dhela Punjabpur, Tedha, Laldhang, Gabuva, Kanchanpur, Semalkheliya have also been devastated. The alternate arrangements made by Jal Sansthan and Jal Nigam are proving inadequate. Besides, the water that is being supplied is unclean. The people of the region have demanded that tube wells, hand pumps and other sources of water be repaired at the earliest so that they can get access to clean water.

5 horse-cart owners nabbed: A team of Forest Department officials has nabbed five horse-cart owners involved in transportation of illegally mined material from the Gaula riverbed. According to sources, they nabbed while the officials were on their daily patrol. The carts were loaded with illegally mined sand. Till now, officials have nabbed 31 vehicles involved in transportation of illegally mined material from Gaula river alone. They claim to have recovered a fine of Rs 3 lakh from the violators of the law.

Drive to check oil pilfering: The personnel of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and police have undertaken a drive to check pilfering of oil from the tankers parked outside the oil depot of the IOC at Lal Kuan. Instances of pilferage of oil and diesel had up recently from the tankers parked outside the depot. This led to an increase in vigilance and subsequent raids at suspected spots. The police is learnt to have advised the IOC authorities to get the tankers parked within their premises

Pithoragarh
Man held from restricted area: Shakti Pad Jan, an Indian-citizen, found wandering at Nabhidhang after crossing into the Indian territory from Tibet on Saturday, was today produced before a court by Dharchula police and charged under Section 3/6 of the IPC and Criminal Amendment Act 1961. He was found wandering at Gunji without any valid documents. He crossed the territory restricted for Indians and was taken into custody by the Chinese security personnel and was later pushed into the Indian territory from where he reached Nabhidhang,” said NA Bharane, SP, Pithoragarh. — OC

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)