R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Two booked for cyber crime: Madan Lal and Ashok Kumar of Amarpura village, have been booked under the IT Act and the IPC. Subhash Bhaati and Ram Rattan, managers of private schools in Amarpura village, and Bhagu village panchayat member Sandeep Kumar had alleged on August 6 that the two youths had uploaded on Facebook a false story of a woman teacher's gangrape.

Chandigarh

School vacation declared: The State Government has declared winter vacation in all schools across the state from December 25 to January 1, 2014. An official release said the schools would now open on January 2.

Hoshiarpur

Youth run over post-fight: A youth was crushed to death by the driver of a tractor trailer after a quarrel over a petty issue at Sadarpur village near Dasuya on Saturday. Victim Gurpreet Singh was returning home in his vehicle around 6.15 pm when it was hit by the trailer driven by accused Gurdev Singh of Ganga Chakk village. A fight ensued, which led to the killing.

Polytechnic student booked: The polytechnic student, Arjun Bagga, who allegedly drove a jeep over a college lecturer on Friday, has been booked for attempt to murder. He has been arrested and sent to a one day police remand. Meanwhile, the critically injured lecturer, Prof Chawla, has been shifted to DMC Ludhiana, where he is stated to be stable.

CHANDIGARH

X’mas celebrated: The British Council celebrated Christmas here today. All the members were invited to the celebrations. Several games and events were held for children and adults. Children were in for a surprise when Santa Claus came over and distributed gifts among them. A cake-cutting ceremony was also held.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu

Sikh body supports Gurbaksh Singh:The Jammu and Kashmir Sikh United Front, Jammu, today extended its support to the ongoing hunger strike by Punjabi novelist Gurbaksh Singh to secure the release of Sikhs, who were languishing in jails even after the completion of their sentences.

DEHRADUN

Yoga teachers seek jobs: Unemployed trained yoga teachers continued with their dharna for the 35th day on Saturday in support of their demand for permanent jobs. They said they would continue their agitation all over the state till the government gave them permanent jobs. “The state Finance Secretary has assured a delegation of unemployed yoga teachers of clearing our cases in 10 days. We hope that we will get some justice form the government in the coming days. But we have decided to continue with our agitation till the process of clearing files is over and we get appointments,” said Nandan Nagarkoti, district president of the Yoga Trained Unemployed Teachers’ Union, Almora.

dehradun

Body of tigress found: A body of tigress was recovered from Ampokhra range of Terai West forest division in Uttarakhand on Saturday. The tigress was stated to be around 3 to 4 years old. The body has been sent for a post-mortem. A few days back, clutch wires were recovered by the forest authorities from the area. However, the exact reason of the tigress death will be confirmed after the post-mortem report.

Malik appointed chairman of media committee: Ajay Malik has been appointed as the chairman of media committee for 40th Junior National Volleyball Championship to take place in the city from January 8 to January 14. Chowdhary Avadhesh Kumar, president of the Uttarakhand Volleyball Association, confirmed the appointment. He said the media committee will help provide much needed publicity to the games. 

SFI convention organised: A convention of Students Federation of India took place at Shri Guru Ram Rai Degree College in the city on Saturday. Addressing the gathering, Lekhraj, SFI state vice-president criticised the UPA Government for promoting privatisation of education. 

U-17 cricket tourney from December 25: The RR Pal Cricket Academy is organising the Inter-District Under-17 Cricket Tournament at the Gular Ghati ground from December 25. Twelve teams from the district are participating in the tournament. Zila Panchayat president Hema Puruhit will inaugurate the tournament. 

Haldwani

Leopard rescued: Forest officials on Saturday rescued a leopard trapped in dense bushes at Lamachaur in Haldwani and released it into forest after treatment. “After hearing a roar of the animal, the Range Officer informed DFO Parag Madhukar Thakate. The DFO inspected the site and called a team from Nainital to tranquilise and catch the leopard. The leopard was tranquilised, treated and later released into a nearby forest,” said RP Hingwan, Range Officer, Haldwani.

Jaspur

Sanitary workers protest: Sanitary workers of the Jaspur Nagar Palika on Saturday protested against their attachment to ward sanitary committees. They said due to their attachment to the ward sanitary committees their income had gone down, causing economic hardships to their families. Twenty-three sanitary workers, who have been attached to these committees, are not in a position to pay the school fees of their children. As a result their children are forced to leave studies. “We have no alternative but to sit on a dharna with our children, who have been expelled by their schools for non-payment of fees,” said Manoj Kant, secretary of the Safai Majdoor Congress, in Jaspur town.

Pantnagar

More agriculture output: Farmers of the state have been advised to use the protected agriculture method as scrapped land holdings in hill districts have become unviable for mainstream crops. The extension directorate of Pantnagar Agriculture University organized a training programme on the techniques of vegetable production. Experts said there was a need to have more agriculture production as land holdings had reduced due to a rise in population of the state. “Hill farmers can have more than twice or thrice production of vegetables by adopting off season techniques,” said Dr YPS Davash, director of the extension directorate.

Rudrapur

Arms licences: The Udham Singh Nagar police have decided to cancel arms licences of persons who have been involved in land disputes. According to the police, the step is being taken to prevent crimes in the district. “We have sent a letter to the District Magistrate enlisting 49 persons under the category for the cancellation of their licences as they have either involved in land disputes with others or have been released by courts on the bonds of different values,” said Rithim Aggrawal, SSP, US Nagar.

(Compiled by BD Kasniyal)