R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Meeting: A meeting of the Sanjha Morcha, comprising People's Party of Punjab (PPP), the CPI, the CPI (M), and the SAD (Longowal), for Bhucho Assembly constituency will be held on November 22 at Gobindpura in Bathinda. The rally will be addressed among others by Manpreet Badal. As per Rupinder Singh Brar, a leader of the PPP, a big rally by the Sanjha Morcha will be held  on December 15 at Maur Mandi.

Ludhiana
Science day: To mark International Geospatial Science Day, various events were held by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre today. Students of more than 16 schools visited the centre. Quiz, educative games and demonstration of GIS system were held. Dr R K Mahay, Registrar of PAU, was the chief guest.

400 examined at camp: Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, organised a cardio vascular check-up camp at Samana. Around 400 patients were examined during the camp. The camp was held in collaboration with the Registered Medical Practitioners’ Association, Samana. All patients underwent a thorough examination by specialists along with blood tests.

Phagwara
Two run over by trains: Two persons were run over by trains in two incidents in and around the town on Tuesday night. In first incident an unidentified sadhu was run over by a running train near Goraya. In another case, an unidentified person was crushed under the wheels of a train near local Satnampura railway crossing. Railway police has sent the bodies to Civil Hospitals for postmortem examinations.

Car snatcher caught: The police has arrested a car snatcher identified as Anil Kumar of nearby Pharala village and impounded the snatched Bolero car. He was nabbed during a nakabandi on Phagwara-Banga Road. DSP Sandeep Sharma said the accused had snatched the car from a Jalandhar resident Ranjit Kumar a few days ago. The accused was produced before the local judicial magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.

Seven injured in clashes: Seven persons sustained serious injuries in three different violent clashes in the town on Tuesday. All injured were admitted to local Civil Hospital. Minor disputes were said to be the cause of clashes, said the police.

CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh
66 challaned: The UT traffic police conducted a special drive against minor drivers at various places in the city yesterday. At least 66 offenders were booked for various traffic violations, including 16 for minor driving. Besides, 18 vehicles were impounded.

Panchkula
Gold chain snatched: Two youths riding on a Honda Activa snatched a gold chain from a Sector 21 resident here today. Victim Robin Garg was walking towards Mansa Devi Temple at the time of incident. Garg said it was 6.15 pm when he crossed Shakti Bhawan Chowk when two youth riding on Honda Activa snatched his gold chain and sped away.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Block Development Council poll soon: In order to ensure effective decentralisation of power, the government plans to hold elections to the Block Development Councils soon. This assurance was given by the Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, while addressing a gathering of panchs and sarpanches of Kulgam and Anantnag districts at an interaction programme in Anantnag yesterday.

Govt okays Rs 1.84 cr for militancy victims: The state government has sanctioned Rs 1.84 crore ex gratia relief for the families of the victims in 54 militancy cases in Kupwara district, officials said today. The decision was taken yesterday at the Kupwara District Level Screening Committee meeting, chaired by District Magistrate M S Rather.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Couple sustains burns: A couple sustained burn injuries in the morning on Wednesday at Pattawala in Panditwari when a gas cylinder burst in the kitchen of a house. They had been admitted to Coronation Hospital with 30 per cent burns. Surender suffered burns when he tried to save his wife Guddi when she was engulfed in flames after turning on the gas stove which led to a sudden blast in the kitchen. The burner remained open throughout night due to which the gas leaked in the kitchen. Both were rushed to the hospital by the neighbours.

Foetus found: A four-month male foetus was found in the bushes near a restaurant at Bindal pul. The passers-by raised the issue when they saw the foetus lying there. The police has not been able to nab the accused in the case.

Kumaon Briefs
Soon, Volvo bus service between Haldwani, Chandigarh: Haldwani will soon be connected with Chandigarh by the Volvo bus service which the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation plans to start. The bus service is expected to be launched from mid-December. The decision to introduce the service on this route has been taken in view of a high demand for the luxury bus connectivity. As of now, AC and hi-tech buses are being run between Chandigarh and Haldwani via Rudrapur which run to full capacity.

National Press Day celebrated: National Press Day was celebrated across Kumaon on Wednesday. Several programmes, including lectures and discussions, were held at various institutions and offices across the region to mark the occasion on which the Press Council of India (PCI) came into being. Mediapersons came together at information offices in various districts to express their views on the topic, “Media-A tool for public accountability”. In Nainital, a one-hour session saw journalists presenting their views from the perspective of both the common man as well as media professionals who are under various pressures.

Officials told to open library on RTI Act: Secretary, State Information Commission, (SIC) MS Kundra has stated that the commission is serious with regard to publishing an updated information manual. At a meeting held in Rudrapur on Wednesday, he asked information officers of various departments to update and upload the latest information with regard to the manual in the next fortnight. They have also been asked to open a library on the Right to Information (RTI) Act in their respective offices. He underlined that continuous efforts must be made to ensure that the RTI Act was implemented in letter and in spirit across the state.

Meeting of Udyog Mitra: The Champawat administration has ordered officials of the District Industries Centre (DIC) to take immediate steps to resolve the issues being raised by entrepreneurs who have set-up their units in the district. At a meeting of the Udyog Mitra held at Champawat on Tuesday afternoon, Additional District Magistrate Deepti Singh said the DIC prepared proposals on behalf of entrepreneurs willing to set up production units and submit the same to the office of the District Magistrate at the earliest for clearance.

Honesty is the best policy: Setting an example before society, a restaurant owner from Ramgarh deposited the wallet of a customer that he had found lying in his shop at a police station in Bhawali. Tara Dutt Bhatt found the wallet of a woman customer that she had forgotten at his restaurant. The wallet contained Rs 3,100 in cash, a gold mangalsutra and some silver ornaments. The police is trying to locate the owner of the wallet.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)