Chandigarh
Farmers plan stir on July 12: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) has appealed to the farmers to stage dharnas outside the offices of the Powercom executive engineers across the state on July 12 to protest against the "erratic" power supply to the agriculture sector. In a statement, union general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan alleged the farmers were not getting eight-hour supply, as promised by the state government. Kalan said as a result, the farmers were being forced to spend huge amount on diesel for their tubewells.

602 staff nurses recruited: Mittal: Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal on Monday said 602 staff nurses had been recruited on a regular basis in the recent past. In a statement, Mittal said the selection of nurses would be followed by selection of doctors and other supporting staff. He said the infrastructure was being improved and that ultra-modern health services would soon become a norm in the state. He said additional posts had been created for running de-addiction centres, besides other sensitive departments, in Punjab. He said the department had also finalised the list of 21 psychiatric social workers who would be posted in various de-addiction centres.

Govt rescues 408 child labourers: As many as 408 children engaged as labourers were rescued during the Child Labour Eradication Week observed in Punjab from June 17-23. In a statement, Labour Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani said teams under the leadership of deputy commissioners were formed for the purpose. As many as 8,964 raids were conducted and 337 offenders were challaned, he said.

Ludhiana
Thieves nabbed: The police has nabbed two persons for committing a theft at a house located in Chitty Colony, Ladhowal. The owner of the house, Girish, said the thieves decamped with Rs19,500 and three mobile phones.

Moga
Awareness event launched by PEDA: The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) along with the local administration has launched an awareness campaign to promote renewable energy concepts and highlight the potential to harness solar energy. It has launched an initiative to educate people to adopt renewable energy systems and devices, mainly solar-powered ones, to reduce the dependence on conventional energy sources. A district administration spokesman said the PEDA has opened Aditya Akshey Urja Shop in Moga at Zira road to apprise the people about various schemes.

Patiala
Man has scuffle with kin, dies: A man named Amar Singh died after having a scuffle with four of his relatives in Hasanpur Prota village on Monday. The police has registered a case against Kuldeep, Gurwinder Singh, Jaswinder Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur on the complaint filed by the victim’s son Harjeet Singh. The victim and the four accused supported rival groups in the recently concluded panchayat elections. This strained their ties.