R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

3 child labourers rescued: Three shopkeepers have been challaned under the Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act, 1986, in the district under the ongoing 'Child Labour Elimination Week' so far. Deputy Commissioner Anindita Mitra said under the special drive in this regard, three child labourers had been rescued. The errant shopkeepers will have to give a penalty of Rs 20,000 each besides giving Rs 20,000 each for the Children Welfare Corps Fund. 

Handball championship: Students of Sardar Tara Singh Kahma Red Cross School clinched the State Handball Championship in the 16th Special State Olympics held in Ludhiana.

Cong workers protest against property tax: Congress leaders and activists on Wednesday took out a protest march and burnt an effigy of the Punjab Government to protest property tax and regularisation fee. The protesters raised slogans against the government. They later submitted a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Pal, demanding withdrawal of the taxes. Those present included Congress Banga MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh, district party president Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki, panchayat samiti chairman Harmesh Virdi.

Phagwara
Mahila Congress activists burn state govt's effigy: Pradesh Mahila Congress activists burnt the effigy of the state government at Goal Chowk here on Wednesday. They later submitted a memorandum to the local tehsildar. Mahila Congress chief Malti Thapar said they would launch a state-level agitation against the government from December 4. She said the alleged involvement of Akali leader Maninder Singh Aulakh in the multi-crore drug racket had proved the government was corrupt. 

Sangrur
Two persons held with stolen vehicle: The local police on Wednesday held two persons with a stolen Tata 407 tempo. They were produced before a duty magistrate, who remanded them to one-day police custody. A case has been registered. The police said the two have been identified as Naseem and Dilshad of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh.

Tarn Taran
Man booked for molestation: Gurbaj Singh of Dulchipur village, 15 km from here, has been booked under Section 354 of the IPC for molesting a teenaged girl of the same village. The girl, who is a class X student, in her complaint to the police stated that she was taking a bath in her house when the accused forcibly entered her house and molested her. She stated that the accused ran away when the girl raised an alarm. The incident occurred four days ago.

3 booked in dowry case: Three members of a family of Gilwali (Guruwali) village in Amritsar district have been booked in a dowry case. They have been identified as Jagjit Singh, his father Sukhchain Singh and mother Gurmit Kaur. The complainant, Daljit Kaur of Jodh Singh Wala (Patti) village, stated that the accused had started harassing her both physically and mentally for dowry soon after she got married. The couple had tied the knot three and a half years ago. 

CHANDIGARH

Industrial collaboration: The Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Panchkula, Industries Association of Chandigarh (IAOC), Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, Derabassi, Industries Association and Mohali Industries Association (MIA) have again joined hands with Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of the largest and oldest engineering trade fair organiser, Deutsche Messe AG, Germany. The partnership is set to explore new avenues of growth for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana industries through various joint activities. 

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Srinagar to have sports hall on Polo Ground: Minister for Medical Education and Youth Services and Sports Taj Mohi ud Din on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of a multi-purpose sports hall on Polo Ground. The hall, to be built at a cost of Rs 1.82 crore, will have facilities for various indoor games. The J&K Sports Council will complete the multipurpose hall project in six months, he said. 

Army Public School celebrates Children’s Day: Army Public School, Srinagar, celebrated Children’s Day on Wednesday as November 14 was observed a holiday on account of Ashoora Muharram in the school. Colourful programmes, including skits, Kashmiri folk, songs, poems and riddles, were presented by teachers and students.

DEHRADUN

NSUI demands sacking of professor: National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) workers on Wednesday held a protest at Graphic Era University demanding the termination a professor's services for allegedly sending an obscene video clip to female students and professors of the university. NSUI district president Vineet Prasad Bhatt said a case should be registered against the professor for insulting female professors and students through his act. The protesters said the university management should ensure that the victims were not pressurised into suppressing the matter. “The NSUI will not tolerate such behaviour against women. We will intensify the stir if the administration failed to take action against the accused professor,” said Bhatt. 

Meeting on panchayat poll: District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam on Tuesday chaired a meeting to address problems being faced by various departments in the smooth conduct of the forthcoming panchayat elections. Representatives of various blocks, including Chakrata, Kalsi and Vikas Nagar, took part in the meeting. During the hearing, the Vikas Nagar block president registered one objection while the Chakrata block president raised two objections. On the issue of reservation in the panchayat elections, 23 objections were received from the Chakrata block, 27 from Kalsi, 56 from Vikas Nagar, 195 from Sahaspur, 117 from Raipur, and 62 from the Doiwala block.

Blood donation camp: The Dolphin Student Welfare Committee and the NSS unit of the institute organised a blood donation camp on the Indian Medical Association campus here on Wednesday. Arvind Gupta, chairman of the institute, was the first to donate blood. He emphasized the need of holding such camps on a regular basis. Dr Abhishek Bauntiyal from Doon Hospital said blood was regularly in demand for patients suffering from hemophilia and thelisemia.