R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
Gatka c’ship for women in Amritsar: The Punjab Gatka Association would organise the first-ever state-level gatka open championship for women at the Central Khalsa Orphanage here on March 11. Gatka Federation of India general secretary Harjeet Singh Grewal said the championship will see women teams from every district of Punjab participate in age categories of 14, 17, 19, 21 and 25 years. The winning teams would be awarded with trophies and certificates.

Chandigarh
Record wheat harvest likely: Punjab was set to touch a record wheat production of 167 lakh tonnes this year if weather remained favourable, said Agriculture Department Director Dr Mangal Singh Sandhu. The maximum wheat production recorded over the past four decades was 164.72 lakh tonnes. Dr Sandhu said during the current season, 35.15 lakh hectares area was under wheat cultivation while in 2010-11 the area was 35.10 lakh hectares. He said the season would also witness an increase in yield to more than 47 quintals per hectare. He said rains in mid-January proved beneficial for the crop.

Nabha
Undertrial escapes from custody: An undertrial lodged at the newly built jail here escaped after deceiving the jail wardens on Wednesday night. The Jail Department has suspended three wardens in this connection, besides registration of a case against them. Paramjit Singh, convicted of killing Zora Singh (a constable in Malerkotla), fled after opening the main gate. Jail Superintendent Manjit Singh Kalra suspended all the three wardens and lodged an FIR at Nabha police station.

Phagwara
Three hurt in firing  in Phagwara: Panic gripped the town Thursday evening when three persons sustained injuries in a firing incident between two groups at local Chadha Market. Those injured, including Rajeev Chahal, brother of BJP leader Sanju Chahal, flower seller Prem Kumar and Harpal Singh, were admitted at various hospitals. SHO (City) Sarwan Singh Bal confirmed the incident and said assailant Harpal fell of the jeep while his accomplices managed to flee.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DALHOUSIE
Police seizes 2 kg of charas: The police seized 2 kg of charas from the possession of Prem Raj near the Chhana Mor, 20 km from here, on Wednesday, according a report received here on Thursday. The police party intercepted pedestrian Prem Raj when it was on a patrol near the Chhana Mor. A case under Section 20, NDPS Act, has been registered and accused Prem Raj arrested.

Mandi
Mandi SP takes charge: Abhishek Dular, Superintendent of Police (SP), Mandi, said on Thursday that the police would make an all-out effort to improve the transport system and strengthen community policing in the district. While talking to mediapersons after assuming the charge here, the SP said the police would strengthen the community policing. Abhishek, who was earlier serving as SP, Kullu, took over as the new SP, Mandi, from DP Prasad.
                                                                             Abhishek Dular

Cop arrested on bribe charge: The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau, Mandi, on Thursday caught Head Constable Dina Nath Shashtri posted at Bali Chowki police post red-handed with a bribe of Rs 1,000 that he allegedly had taken from Puran Chand of Nagwani, Mandi, for settling a case booked against him at the panchayat level. This was stated by SP, Vigilance, Central Range, Mandi, Virender Sharma. The Vigilance team, led by ASP Arvind Chaudhary, laid a trap and caught the cop.

Panchayat official held with charas: The Mandi police on Thursday arrested Puran Chand, assistant secretary, Bahawa gram panchayat, Gohar police station, under the NDPS Act after recovering 500 gm of charas from his official cupboard in his office. According to the police, they checked the secretary’s cupboard on a complaint and recovered the charas from it.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Dr Jasola Graphic Era varsity’s VC: On the recommendation of representative committee of the Governor of Uttarakhand, Professor (Dr) Sanjay Jasola was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the Graphic Era Hill University here today. He took charge at a simple ceremony. After completing B Tech, Jasola pursued his M Tech from IIT Roorkee and Doctorate from the JNU. He also served in various universities of India and worked as educator in Taiwan, Fiji, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Dr Jasola is a recipient of gold medal for innovation in open and distance learning progamme, Edusat.

Kumaon Briefs
Lok adalat in US Nagar on Mar 14: A mega lok adalat would be held in Udham Singh Nagar on March 14 as per the directions of the state High Court. According to secretary of the District Legal Services Authority Reena Negi, besides the cases pending in various courts of the district, matters pertaining to the offices of the District Magistrate, tehsildars, Additional District Magistrates and Forest Department would be taken up for resolving through mutual consent. Negi has appealed to litigants to come forward and avail the opportunity provided by the lok adalat for finishing off with pending matters through mutual consent. She has stated that for more details, interested parties can call at 250405 and 250769.

Foundation day of pensioners’ body: The Pensioners’ Association in Rudrapur will be celebrating its foundation day on February 17. According to secretary of the association Leelambar Bhatt, a programme would be held at the Janata Inter College at 11 am where District Magistrate PS Jangpangi would be participating as the patron of the association. He has appealed to the pensioners to turn up in large numbers to make the event a success.

Training programme for sugar mill officials: The Sugarcane Development and Sugar Industries Department held a one-day training programme for the management and officials of sugar mills in Kashipur. The programme had been organised by the Sugarcane Farmer Institute and Training Centre at Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. Commissioner, Sugarcane and Sugar, Dr Vikramajit Tewari was the chief guest during the training session. The participants were told about the various schemes and programmes being run by the department. The trainees were also provided with the know how of sowing and harvest of sugarcane. Dr Tewari said the production of sugarcane in Uttarakhand was 607 quintal per hectare while the national average was 686 quintal per hectare. A total of 350 participants had enrolled for the training session.

1-year-old girl killed: A baby girl was killed when the motorcycle on which she was being taken by her parents collided with a tractor trolley in Haldwani. The incident took place near Gaula Gate. Pan Singh of Bagjala village in the Gaula Par area was returning home on his motorcycle along with his wife Indra Devi and one-year-old Bhumika when his vehicle collided head on with a tractor trolley. The girl died on the spot while her mother was seriously injured. The police investigations are on in the matter.

Woman consumes poison: A woman resident of Kitcha in Udham Singh Nagar committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance. 25-years-old Rani Mandal consumed a poisonous substance at her house in Maharjpur village on Tuesday night. She later died while efforts were being made to save her. The reason why she resorted to the extreme measure is yet unknown. The police are learnt to have taken her husband, Amir Mandal, in custody for questioning. Further investigations are on in the matter.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)