R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following were elected office-bearers of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Punjab on Thursday: District presidents — Mr Surinder Walia (Ferpzepore), Mr Prem Dhaliwal (Muktsar), Mr Piare Lal Naseen (Gurdaspur). Mr Roopinder Singh Dhillon state secretary; Mr Beant Lal Sharma and Mr Baldev Singh vice-presidents (Amritsar urban), Dr Jagtar Singh Nahar — general secretary (Amritsar urban) and Mr Rakesh Kumar Rinku — secretary (Amritsar urban).

SEMINAR: The District Congress Committee Amritsar (Rural) will organise an all-party seminar on August 21 on the abrogation of water treaties by the Punjab Assembly. Participants will be farmer-leaders, university experts and political leaders.

FARM CREDIT: Punjab National Bank will increase agriculture credit two times in the next three years and enhance it by 30 per cent in the current year, said Mr Chand Singh, AGM, Punjab Zone, at a seminar here on Thursday. At least 100 farmers would be covered by every rural and semi-rural branch, he added.

Barnala
APPOINTED: Mr Prem Chand Kaushal has been appointed general secretary of the Sangrur District Congress Committee. He had been a member of the Sangrur District Planning Board and of the Sangrur District Redressal of Public Grievances Committee.

Malout
DHARNA: Shopkeepers of the Indira Road protested outside the office of the Municipal Council here and demanded repair of the road. They alleged the road had been dug for laying sewers but was not repaired even after the pipes were laid. President of the Municipal Council Satgurudev-Pappi said a proposal had been sent to the Local Bodies Department and repair of the road would start when it was cleared, he added.

Pathankot
PROTEST: Organisations of Christians here on Thursday organised a protest march against the Punjab Government’s order decreasing quota for Christians in Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana.

Phagwara
TEACHER BOOKED: The police has booked schoolteacher Harish Sharma on the charge of fraud and breach of trust on the complaint of Mr Kishan Singh and NRI Joginder Singh.

CHANDIGARH

triplets born: Ms Kavita of Sector 40 here gave birth to triplets through a caesarean at the GMCH, Sector 32, on Friday. Her two sons and one daughter weigh around 1.5 kg each and are in good health.

Panchkula
OPEN DARBAR: The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Neelam P. Kasni, has directed all district officers to give priority in solving the problems of people received during the open darbar. She was addressing officers during the open darbar organised at Basola village near Pinjore today. She stressed on the need for maintaining the authenticity of the open darbar by ensuring that all complaints received are solved at the earliest.

Ceremony: The investiture ceremony for students of DAV Senior Public School, Surajpur, was held on Friday. The ceremony began with the introduction by Ms Shashi Gupta, Dean, CCA, who apprised the students of the traits of a true citizen of the nation. The ceremony included the honouring of budding students of the school for excelling in various activities . The ceremony concluded with the Vedic mantras and ‘shanti path’.

DC’s appeal: The Deputy Commissioner has asked for strict compliance to various power regulatory measures. Ms Neelam P. Kasni has instructed that the streetlights remain switched off for the next one week, air-conditioners in government offices remain off and lights on neon sign borads be off. She also asked the labour department to ensure that all shops close at 8 pm, and appealed to all categories of consumers to avoid wasteful use of electricity.

HARYANA

Bhiwani
BMS PROCESSION: The Akhil Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh here submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. Earlier, they marched in procession to the Mini Secretariat raising slogans against the government. The Anganwadi Karamchari Sangh criticised the retrenchment of employees.

CASE: The district administration has recommended action against Sumer Singh, a former sarpanch of Kheri Batar village, for embezzeling Rs 3.44 lakh development funds.

Jhajjar
WATER THEFT: Mr Jagdish, an official of the Irrigation Department, was shot at and injured by some villagers who allegedly were stealing water from a canal in Mandothi village of the district on Thursday.

Rohtak
FIVE DETAINED: Security personnel of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences here apprehended five persons from the office of Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Amarjit Rathi and handed them over to the police on Wednesday evening.

Sonepat
ARRESTED: The Civil Lines police on Friday arrested four persons for entering forcibly into a factory near the local railway flyover and attempting to occupy it. The factory belonged to Mr Vijay Chaudhary, president of the DCC (Urban), who was shot dead by his younger brother Virender, alias Mannu, on Sunday.

THIEVES FLEE: A group of thieves entered the house of Mr Nanha of Chhinauli village, about 15 km from here, on Thursday night but failed to commit the crime as the residents woke up and raised an alarm. A large number of villagers arrived on the scene and chased the thieves, but they failed to apprehend them.

CLASHES: At least five persons, including two women, were injured in clashes between two rival groups in different villages of the district on Friday. All injured persons were immediately hospitalised and they were stated to be out of danger.

SNAKEBITE: A youth, Deepak of Adarsh Nagar, was hospitalised on Friday after being bitten by a snake. His condition is stated to be serious.

TRANSFERS: Dr M.S. Chaudhary, CMO, has been transferred to Kurukshetra. He will be replaced by Dr Veena Chugh, CMO, Jhajjar. According to another report, Mr Hari Singh, Executive Engineer (Operation) of the UHBVN, has been transferred to Safidon.