R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

abohar

Archer felicitated: Sub-Divisional Magistrate Charandeep Singh on Monday felicitated Simran Sandhu, a class X student of LRS DAV Senior Secondary School, in Abohar. In the recently held National School Archery Championship in Andhra Pradesh, she won the gold medal in the 60 m category, the bronze medal in the 50 m category and the overall second-runner up trophy.

Two get 20-yr jail: A special court dealing with drug trafficking cases at Sriganganagar on Monday sentenced two persons to 20-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Those convicted are Rajveer Singh of Chak-17GB village (Srivijaynagar) and his accomplice Prem Singh of Bawanpur. In May 2008, 28 packets of heroin weighing one kg each were seized from their truck on the Abohar-Sriganganagar highway.

Legal Literacy Clubs formed: Legal Literacy Clubs have been formed in DAV College, Gopi Chand Arya Mahila College and DAV College of Education here. The clubs will spread legal literacy and awareness in the neighbourhood and act as a bridge between people in need of legal services and the State Legal Services authorities. At a seminar in this regard on human rights in DAV College on Monday, Panjab University senator DR Sanjeev Kumar Arora said students should identify people in their neighbourhood who deserve legal assistance. 

Chandigarh

Additional charge: Dipinder Singh, secretary, Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board, and Director, Colonisation, has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Lokpal, an official press release said here on Monday. Amarpal Singh, Additional Secretary, Transport and NRI Affairs, has also been given the charge of Chief Executive Officer, Punjab Energy Development Agency. Kuldeep Singh Vaid, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Phagwara, has been given the additional charge of Additional Chief Administrator, GLADA (Ludhiana).

CEO takes over: Punjab cadre senior IAS officer VK Singh on Monday assumed the charge of Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab. VK Singh, a 1990 batch IAS officer, was earlier posted as Finance Secretary with the Chandigarh administration.

Fatehgarh Sahib

Two drug peddlers held: The police have arrested two drug peddlers and seized 18-gram smack from them. SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said the policemen stationed at a barricade signalled two persons on a motorcycle to stop, but they fled. After a chase, they were intercepted, the SSP said, adding that during search, the police recovered 18-gram smack from them. The accused have been identified as Krishan Kumar alias Sukhdev and Gurmeet Singh alias Tamati, both from Samrala.

Hoshiarpur

Inmate held with narcotics: The city police have booked an inmate, Paramjit Singh of Panjaura, after jail warden seized 3.1 gm of narcotic powder from his possession. In other separate cases, Vikram Singh of Ravidass Nagar was held with 560 gm of narcotic powder while Jaswinder Kaur of Denowal Khurd was arrested with 3 kg of poppy husk.

Youth held for rape bid: Satnam Singh of Kasel village, 25 km from here, has been arrested for his attempt to rape a teenaged girl of his village. The girl in her complaint to the police said Satnam entered her house last night when she was sleeping and attempted to rape her. She said he ran away when she raised an alarm. Sub-Inspector Rajesh Kumar, Investigating Officer, said the accused was produced in a court, which sent him to judicial custody.

Jalandhar

Free eye check-up camp organised: The eye-care unit of the district Health Department organised a free check-up camp at the industrial area here today. According to Civil Surgeon Dr RL Bassan, 310 patients were checked up and 25 were operated upon during the camp. People were also made aware about proper eye-care routine. The Health Department also distributed free medicines and porridge to the patients who visited the camp.

LUDHIANA

Bookies arrested: The city police arrested three bookies who were betting on a cricket match in Chhabra Colony at Pakhowal Road here today. The accused were identified as Sanjeev Kumar, Keshav Ram and Ashok Kumar. The police raided a house in Chhabra Colony and recovered Rs 1.48 lakh, laptop, LCD TV and 22 mobile phones.

Heroin seized: The city Police has arrested three persons with 15 gram heroin in two separate cases. The Salem Tabri Police arrested Ajay Sahota with 10 gm heroin near Chand Cinema. Two other persons were arrested with 5 gm heroin in Ladhowal area. The accused were identified as Malwainder Singh and Rashpinder Singh. A case had been registered under the NDPS Act. 

Lecture delivered: A Continuing Medical Education (CME) was held on neurological update in Indian Medical Association House. Dr Jeyaraj Durai Pandian, professor and head of the Department of Neurology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, delivered a lecture on ‘Approach to patient with peripheral Neuropathy’. Dr Manikant Singla, associate professor, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, apprised doctors of ‘Current concept and treatment of diabetic neuropathy’. More than 125 IMA members attended the CME.

Habit-forming drugs seized: The Health Department conducted a raid at Aviv Pharma Agency at Khud Mohalla. The team, led by drug inspector Sukhbir Singh, seized 43,000 habit forming drugs worth Rs 56,000. The owner had allegedly failed to produce the purchase record.

February 4 declared holiday: The Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, Rajat Aggarwal, said the Punjab government has declared February 4 as a holiday on account of parkash utsav of Satguru Ram Singh. “He was the one who started the non-cooperation movement,” said the Deputy Commissioner.

Sound and light show till Feb 6: A sound and light show is being held at Dusshera Ground of New Shimlapuri at 6.30 pm daily. The show was inaugurated by the Union Minister, Manish Tiwari. The programme will be shown till February 6.

Vidyarthi Sahayata Programme: Yog Sewa Parivaar presented a cheque of Rs 20,000 to principal of DD Jain College on Monday. The organisation has been giving scholarships to students under Vidyarthi Sahayata Programme. This was the fourth installment given to the college students under this scheme.

Grants for village development: Punjab is the only state in the country that is providing free-of-cost power supply to farmers and underprivileged in the state. This was stated by the speaker, Vidhan Sabha, Punjab, Charanjit Singh Atwal, while distributing grant cheques for the development of Ghudani Khurd village. The state government is also providing atta dal to underprivileged and giving ‘shagan’ to needy brides under different schemes, said Atwal. He said Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest in the next Lok Sabha polls. The grant of Rs eight lakh was given by Atwal on the occasion. Around Rs three lakh each has been given for solar project in the village and for unanimously elected village panchayat and Rs two lakhs have been granted for the development works of the village. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Raghvir Singh Saharnmajra, Akali Dal local leaders and some villagers were also present on the occasion.

Teachers hold protest: The activists of SSA/RMSA Teachers Union held a protest outside the office of District Education Officer against the arrest of 58 teachers. The police had arrested the teachers while they were holding a peaceful protest at Grain Market, Jalandhar Bypass. The activists said they would intensify the stir, if the government failed to initiate action in this regard. They urged the authorities concerned to ensure release of the arrested teachers at the earliest. 

Videocon d2h crosses 10 million connections: Videocon d2h has crossed 10 million connections. The latest entrant to the DTH industry went pan India in 2010 and has grown tremendously in the last four years. On celebrating the success story of 10 million connections in a very short period of time, Videocon d2h credited the growth and popularity of the brand to the wide range of channels and services, high definition services and impeccable focus on customer service and satisfaction. For Videocon d2h, the encouraging response from the customers is an ample testimonial to the trust placed on the brand and its superior performance. Videocon d2h has also firmly established itself as the leader in the high definition category.

Star India licenses digital distribution rights of IPL: Star India has licensed the digital distribution rights for IPL 2014 from Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group. Star India will offer streaming and video on demand on starsports.com, the Star Sports app, and on mobile operator services powered by Star Sports. Times Internet will distribute IPL streaming and video on demand on its cricket destination on web and mobile, powered by a starsports.com video player. Both companies will market the joint proposition, and Star India will be solely responsible for monetisation, including advertising sales. Last year, IPL online witnessed a 56 per cent growth in unique visitors, with over 200 million video views. This year, India's largest media houses will co-distribute IPL, offering unparalleled reach and viewership.

Zonal office of Dena Bank inaugurated: Ashwani Kumar, CMD-cum-managing director, Dena Bank, inaugurated the zonal office of Dena Bank. Speaking on the inauguration he said this Zonal office will serve the masses from entire Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. He said the bank has fully-operational 28 branches in Punjab and two branches in Jammu and Kashmir. All the branches have an ATM facility. He further added that to facilitate the consumers new branches at Ludhiana, Amritsar and Kharar are also being opened. Approval for 14 new branches has also been granted to the bank. Now bank will expand its work area in Jammu and Kashmir. Rakesh Goyal, director, Dena Bank, said the addition of agriculture, education, home loans, SME schemes in the list of priorities will benefit the consumers with easy loan facilities. Explaining about the favorable schemes initiated by bank, he said the bank has decided to start some new schemes with a growth target of 16 per cent. He said at present our privileged customers from Ludhiana are Oswal, Trident and other corporate consumers. 

Moga

Man gets 10-yr jail for rape: Additional District and Sessions' Judge Gurjant Singh on Monday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a mentally challenged Dalit woman.