R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

1 dead, 19 hurt in bus-truck collision: A man died and 19 others got hurt in a road accident as a mini bus collided with a truck near Mahmu Joian village in Jalalabad subdivision of Fazilka district on Monday. Jalalabad SDM Parmjit Singh said of the 19 inured, 8 were shifted to Medical College Faridkot and Civil Hospital, Mukstar. Bus passenger Hardayal Dargan (48) succumbed  to his injuries.

Muktsar

Warring: Govt wasting tax-payers’ money: Congress MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today flayed the government for giving Rs 3.5 crore to Jatti Umra, Pakistan Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif’s ancestral village. He questioned the “huge spending” on lunch for the Sharif family at Badal village. “Where was the need to hire five Mercedes cars and four choppers? Tax-payers’money is being spent by the Badals for their own entertainment,” he said. 

Nawanshahr

Nawanshahr pvt schools stay shut over property tax: The non-aided private schools here remained closed on Monday in protest against property tax on the institutes. Representatives of the private schools submitted a memorandum, addressed to the Punjab CM, to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, demanding exemption from property tax. They sought exemption from road tax for school buses, and that electricity and water supply to be charged as per the domestic rates.

Surprise checks at various schools: A team of the district Education Department comprising Deputy District Education Officer Kartar Singh and District ICT Coordinator Harjinder Singh Gill conducted surprise checks at various schools in the district on Monday. They checked primary, high and senior secondary schools at Garhi Kanugo, Mehandpur and Balachaur. The  team examined the attendance and finance records of the schools.

Pathankot

School inks pact with Canada-based institute: Dalhousie Public School, Badhani, near here has tied up with a Canada-based aviation institute, Island Flying School, Toronto, to train students in the art of flying. School director PS Grewal made the announcement during the institute’s founder’s day celebrations yesterday. 

Patiala

Villagers protest against emissions from paper mill: Residents of over a dozen villages of the Dakala block held a protest outside the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) office on Monday, alleging they were facing health problems due to fly ash deposits from a nearby paper mill. The protesters said the fly ash was getting deposited around their houses and many villagers were falling sick due to it. PPCB officials said they would conduct checks and take strict action if the mill was found to be violating norms.

Patwari caught accepting bribe: The Vigilance Bureau have arrested patwari Balwinder Kumar at Chailala village for taking bribe. The VB officials said the accused had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 4,000 from Chailala resident Harpreet Singh for issuing some land documents. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered.

Sangrur

Farmers protest, demand action against arhtiya: A large number of farmers staged a dharna outside the Dirba police station on Monday. They held an arhtiya from Dirba responsible for the death of a farmer from Kamper village and demanded legal action against him. Gurmail Singh (50) had allegedly "consumed" a poisonous substance and died on November 28. The arhtiya had filed a case against Gurmail, demanding Rs 32 lakh.

Tarn Taran

Water supply workers burn state govt's effigy: Workers of the state Water Supply and Sanitation Contract Workers Union on Monday burnt an effigy of the State Government in protest against its anti-employees policies. They also staged a dharna outside the XEN's office. District union president Kulwant Walipur demanded the services of the workers be regularised. They later presented a memorandum of their demands to the authorities.