R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Abohar
2 held in kidnapping case: Paramjit Kaur and her husband Sukhdev Singh were held by the Government Railway Police (GRP) for allegedly kidnapping two teenaged girls. The GRP said Neha Rani (14) of Aujla Phatak and Ismile (13) of Phauji Camp area in Kapurthala were allegedly kidnapped from Kapurthala. They were rescued by the GRP in Hanumangarh on Saturday.

Engineer tries to end life: An Assistant Engineer of the Power Board in Sriganganagar reportedly tried to commit suicide by consuming insecticide. Doctors said engineer RS Mazok (58) tried to kill himself at his official residence in Padampur. His family initially shifted him to the local Civil Hospital, where the doctors referred him to Sriganganagar. He has been kept in the intensive care unit, doctors said.

Bathinda
Hike relief for farmers, says Zira: Inderjeet Singh Zira, chairman of the Kisan Khet Mazdoor Cell, Congress, Punjab, on Sunday demanded that the kin of farmers, who committed suicide, should be given relief of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Zira then criticised the state government's decision to levy VAT on diesel. He argued that the move would add to the woes of farmers as they need diesel to run tube wells.

Muktsar
DIG raids police stations: Amar Singh Chahal, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Bathinda range, on Saturday night paid surprise visits to all police stations in the district. The DIG said higher authorities had directed him to conduct the raids. "There was no major shortcoming found at any police station. Those who did not follow the rules were warned of disciplinary action," said Chahal.

Sangrur
Teachers protest near Dhindsa’s residence: Members of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shikhsha Abhiyan (RMSA) Teachers’ Union, Punjab, today staged a dharna near the residence of Finance Minister Parminder Dhindsa. They demanded that their wages for the last three months be paid; their services be regularised; and cases against their colleagues at Bathinda be cancelled.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
RS byelections on Dec 5: The bypoll for two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana will be held on December 5. Sources said the last date for filing nomination would be November 25 and the scrutiny would be held on November 26. The last date of withdrawal would be November 28. The polling, if necessary, would be held on December 5 and counting would be held on the same evening. The two seats fell vacant after Congress’ Birender Singh quit on August 28 to join the BJP and Ranbir Singh Gangua (INLD) quit the Upper House to retain his Nalwa Assembly seat.

Karnal
Alumni meet: Air Marshal PS Bhangu (retd), who presided over an alumni meet at Sainik School, Kunjpura, today called upon the students to work hard as it was the only route to success. The chief guest and other dignitaries paid homage to the War Heroes at the Sai-Kunj memorial by laying a wreath. Group Captain LN Sharma, principal, welcomed the dignitaries.

Panipat
NFL registers Rs 80 cr profit: National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has reported a standalone net profit after tax of Rs 80 crore for the first half of this fiscal. India’s largest PSU urea manufacturer, the NFL witnessed a year-on-year increase of 26 per cent in its income from operations that reached to Rs 4,486 crore from Rs 3,564 crore. The company has produced 18.40 LMT of urea in this period.

Rewari
‘Make RTI Act effective’: Panchari Sena, a social outfit raising public interest issues, has written to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to make the RTI Act more effective in the state so that people do not face any problem in obtaining information.

Sonepat
7-yr jail for rape accused: Additional Sessions Judge Ashu Sanjiv Tinjan has sentenced Sumit of Devipura in Gohana to seven-year imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl of his colony. A fine of Rs 25,000 was also imposed on him. Geeta and her husband Suresh of the same colony have also been awarded two-year imprisonment each for helping the accused elope with the girl and raping her.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHANDIGARH
Army organises trekking expedition: A 10-day trekking expedition was organised from McLeodganj to the Chamba valley via the Indrahar Pass by a team of the 3rd Battalion of the Madras Regiment recently. The team consisted of one officer and 16 other ranks. The expedition was flagged off by the General Officer Commanding, Gurj Division. The team traversed a distance of 150 km, passing through the Chamba valley along the foothills of McLeodganj at heights ranging from 1,643m to 4,370m.

MANDI
Manali resident held with charas: The police arrested a resident of Manali with charas at Pandoh here on Sunday. The police said Pankaj Thakur of Vashisth village in Manali tehsil of Kullu district was arrested with 240 gm of charas. The police said a case under the NDPS Act was registered at the Sadar police station and further investigation was on.

UNA
IAF ex-officers to address social issues: The District Service Association of former officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and soldiers met at a municipal park here on Sunday. They met under the chairmanship of their president Harish Chander and state president of the All-India Ex-Servicemen Service Society Yash Pal Thakur. The members resolved to work for the cause of ex-servicemen and their families, besides addressing social issues, in their local areas. The vacant posts of district executive were also filled on the occasion. Air Force retiree and former HPAS officer Tek Chand Thakur was elected chief adviser and Sqd Ldr YR Sharma (retd) adviser to the district body.

CJM appeals for use of mediation centres: Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Ranjit Singh on Saturday appealed to people to make use of mediation centres for the speedy and cost-effective redressal of their disputes. He was addressing a legal literacy camp organised at the district courts by the District Legal Services Authority for the promotion of the alternate dispues redressal mechanism. Senior advocates Varinder Dharmani and ML Sharma, besides District Attorney NC Ghai, spoke on dispute redressal through mediation.

DEHRADUN

dehradun
District status sought for Kotdwar: The Uttarakhand Congress has sought the district status for Kotdwar. In a memorandum sent to the Chief Minister, Uttarakhand Congress secretary JP Pandey said there had a long pending demand for making Kotdwar a separate district. He sought prompt decision on the part of the state government in the matter. Meera Raturi, Dr Amar Singh, RS Manral and Vijay Bhandari were among the signatories to the memorandum.

Power substation gets operational: A newly constructed power substation at Augustmuni has become operational. The Augustmuni power substation was washed away in floods. According to Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited sources, residents of Augustmuni, Vijaynagar, Jawahar Nagar, Silla, Margaad, Chandrapuri, Ganganagar and Basukedar would benefit from the power station.

Theft at lawyer’s house: Thieves reportedly broke into a lawyer’s house in the Doiwala area of Dehradun. According to police sources, lawyer Virendra Prasad Gairola, along with his wife, had gone to the market for shopping on November 13. On back home they found the front door open and the TV, set top box and other articles missing. The police have registered a case.

Sansthan Director dead: Hyat Ram Arya, Director, Jadi Booti Shodh Sansthan, Srinagar, died after a prolonged illness. Arya was 52. He is credited with undertaking research work linked to herbs and shrubs found in Uttarakhand. He motivated people of Uttarakhand to take to cultivation of herbs.

PCS preliminary exams: Admit cards will be issued to all applicants of the PCS preliminary examinations on November 16. According to State Public Service Commission sources, the PCS preliminary examination is to be conducted in the state on November 30. Meanwhile, the commission has cancelled forms of as many as 105 applicants, who had filled the forms twice.

Differently abled protest: The differently abled persons, under the aegis of the Nanda Devi Nirdhan Viklang Kalyan Association, staged a protest at the Parade Ground here on Saturday. The protesters pledged to continue with the protest till their demands linked to jobs were met.