R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Batala
Motorcyclist injured: A youth was injured when the motorcycle he was riding hit a bicycle. The incident took place when Amarpal Singh, a resident of Cinema Road, Batala, was coming from Gurdaspur. When he reached a square, his motorcycle collided with a bicycle. He sustained serious injuries while the cyclist had a miraculous escape. The injured was rushed to a hospital. 

Jalandhar
Naib tehsildar suspended: The Punjab government has suspended naib tehsildar, Phagwara, Raj Kumar Nanda on the charge of dereliction of duty with immediate effect. An official spokesman further stated that the office of the Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner would be the headquarters of Nanda during his suspension period. 

HARYANA

Hisar
Woman commits suicide: A woman committed suicide in a house on HAUcampus here last evening by hanging herself from a fan. Indira Gupta was reported to be in acute depression for the past few months after her son committed suicide. Meanwhile, Renu, a student of the university, who had consumed insecticide by mistake died in a private hospital here last evening. She was living in a girls hostel. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Nationwide stir: All petrol pump dealers would hold a one-day protest on April 23 on the call of the All-India Petrol Pump Dealers Confederation. All 380 petrol pumps of the state would join this strike that day. This was said by HP State Petroleum Dealers Association state president Sukumar Singh Chandel while talking to mediapersons here on Friday. 

HAMIRPUR
Foundation day: The Institute of Biotechnology and Environment Science, Neri, celebrated its first foundation day on Friday. The function began with an interaction session between farmers and scientists in which farmers raised different queries related to farming and scientists from the institute and the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, shared new findings for better crops. Vice-Chancellor of Dr YS Parmar Horticulture University Dr KR Dhiman was the chief guest. 

KANGRA
Man dies: A 33-year-old man succumbed to his burn injuries at the DRPGMC, Tanda, early on Friday. The police said Kewal Krishen of Samra Bathri village, Chamba, under Dalhousie police station, had received 85 per cent burn injuries when his bed caught fire at his residence. The body after postmortem was handed over to his relatives. 

NURPUR
Logs seized: The police stopped a truck coming towards Rehan during night patrolling on Thursday. The truck was loaded with wooden logs of khair allegedly being transported without any legal document. DSP Rajinder Jaswal said the police had impounded the truck and seized the khair logs. The truck driver, Parkash Chand, of Bhaloon has been arrested. The accused was produced in the court on Friday and the court granted him to a four-day police remand.

SHIMLA
Annandale row: Asserting that the Army had every right to have its installations at places it considered of strategic importance and in national interest, RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya has urged the Centre to ensure that it remained the guardian of the Annandale, keeping in view the ground realties. In a letter to the Union Defence Minister, he has stated that Annandale was transferred to the Army after the Defence of India Act came into existence in 1935. 

Books released: Chief Minister PK Dhumal released a book entitled “Sufi Sant Sai Bulle Shah” written by well-known litterateur Dr Om Prakash Saraswat, here on Friday. He appreciated the effort of the author in bringing out an important book to provide an insight into the life and creativity of Punjabi Sufi poet Bulle Shah. Chief Minister PK Dhumal also released a book titled “Rashtriya Chetna Ki Chunauti” on Thursday, authored by Dr Kuldeep Agnihotri and brought out by the Himachal Research Institute. Dhumal appreciated the efforts of Dr Agnihotri in bringing out a book on such an important subject and draw the attention of right-minded people to debate and deliberate upon the vital subject of nationalism. 

Pension benefits: While welcoming the decision of the government to grant social security pension to all inmates of old-age homes in the state aged above 60 years, Umang Foundation, a Shimla-based public welfare trust, has underlined the need to extend the facility to differently abled persons. Chairman of the foundation Ajai Srivastava has urged the Chief Minister to extend the pension facility to inmates below 60 years, who would not be entitled for the benefit. 

DEHRADUN

Kumaon Briefs

Mishap victim succumbs to injuries: A motorcyclist who had sustained injuries in a road accident near Bhimtal on late Wednesday night succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in Haldwani on Thursday evening. Rajendra Verma (29), a resident of Lohaghat in Champawat, was on his way to Haldwani from Ranikhet along with two of his friends when he lost control over his vehicle, which fell down the hill slope. The trio was going to participate in a marriage party in Haldwani. His friends, Manni and Sahil, have been admitted to a Haldwani hospital.

Tractor-trailer overturns, 1 killed: The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed when the vehicle overturned near Kaladhungi on Wednesday night. The tractor-trailer was laden with wheat. The deceased has been identified as Bhagwati Ram (20), a resident of Vidrampur village. The accident took place when the tractor and trailer got disengaged while negotiating a ditch. This led to the driver losing control over the vehicle.

Shortage of LPG cylinders: Residents of villages in the Patlot area of the remote Okhalkanda block, Nainital, are agitated over the failure of the authorities concerned to supply them LPG cylinders on time. Reports coming in from the area say that there has been no supply of cooking gas to the area for almost three months. The residents claim that more than 200 consumers are affected by the shortage of LPG cylinders. The worst affected villages are Patlot, Dalkanya, Devli, Jhargaon, Sal, Kodar and Pashya. The villagers have demanded immediate resumption of LPG cylinders supply.

Farmers gherao Irrigation Dept’s office: Farmers of villages in the Halduchaur area of Nainital are agitated over two tubewells meant for providing water for irrigation lying defunct. In protest, they gheraoed the Irrigation Department's office in the area on Thursday. They said the delay in repairing the tubewells is proving detrimental for the sugarcane crop in the area.

New variety of paddy launched: A new variety of paddy, Arise 6444, was launched in Rudrapur on Friday. It was launched by the agricultural science wing of WIRE organisation. Farmers from Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were present at the launch ceremony. It was pointed out that with the land under crop production is decreasing in the country and there is a need to promote hybrid variety of crops to meet the demand of foodgrains.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)