BATALA
Cultural night: Sanskar Bharti a cultural wing of the RSS, organised a cultural programme here on Thursday to pay homage to Punjabi poet late Shiv Kumar Batalvi on his 26th death anniversary. Several poets participated.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
Farmers' camp: Seeds of maize and soyabean will be imported from USA for Punjab farmers. This was disclosed here by Mr S. Gurdev Singh Badal, Minister for Agriculture and Forest, at a district-level training camp for farmers at Bassi Pathana district. He said regular power supply for eight hours would be provided to farmers growing the paddy crop.

HOSHIARPUR
Scooter recovered: The police has arrested Raghubir Singh of Bohan village and recovered a stolen scooter from his possession. The SSP stated in a press note here on Thursday that the Tanda police had arrested three proclaimed offenders — Surista Rani of Tanda, Surinder Singh of Tahli and Balbir Singh of Kahnuwal.

KAPURTHALA
2 held: The Phagwara police has arrested two persons on a charge of fraudulently taking away Rs 55,000 from two persons. The accused have been identified as Fauji Ram and Surinder Paul, both of Phagwara, and a case has been registered against them.

PATHANKOT
Dharna: Members of the Council of Junior Engineers, PSEB, Gurdaspur circle, on Thursday held a dharna in protest against the alleged misbehaviour of the SDO (East) with his juniors. In a memorandum to the state government, they have demanded immediate transfer of the SDO.

PATIALA
Driver operators: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Punjab State Electricity Board Driver Operators Union: president — Mr Sukhdev Singh; senior vice-president — Mr Gurmail Singh; vice-president — Mr Karnail Singh; general secretary — Mr Jit Kumar; and treasurer — Mr B. Singh.

SAS NAGAR
Best performance: The local DAV Public School, Phase VI, won the overall trophy for the best performance in an inter-school on-the-spot painting and poster making competition organised in connection with the World No Tobacco Day. As many as 1000 students of 12 schools took part in the competition organised by the Generation Saviour Association on April 29.

KURUKSHETRA
Writers' association: The following have been elected as office-bearers of the Documents Writers Association, Thanesar (Kurukshetra): patron — Mr Babu Ram Gupta; president — Mr Raghbir Chand Gupta; vice-president — Mr Madan Lal Chugh; secretary — Mr Surender Kumar Singla and treasurer — Mr Mihan Singh.

ROHTAK
Dowry case: The police has registered a dowry case following a complaint lodged by Mamta, alleging that her husband Sandeep and her in-laws had been harassing her for bringing less dowry. A case under Sections 498 A, and 406 -B has been registered against the accused.
Blood donation camp: The District Rotary Club, the Rotaract Club, the Residents Doctors Association of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science and the Blood Bank will organise a blood donation camp here on Saturday.

SIRSA
Injured: Mr Gurdial Singh, a supporter of Maharaj Bir Singh, head of Namdhari Mission was injured in a scuffle with supporters of Sutguru Jagjit Singh, head of another sect, when he was returning to Rania town from Jiwannagar village in this district on Thursday. A case has been registered.
Doctor held: Dr Diwan Chand Mehta of Talwara Khurd village in Sirsa district was arrested on Thursday on a charge of beating up Ms Parveen Rani in the fields on April 26. A case under Sections 447,324 and 326, IPC, was registered against the accused following a complaint by Madan Lal, husband of the victim, who alleged that his wife was seriously injured by the doctor over a land dispute.
Nominated: Mr Sukhdev Singh, HVP leader, has been nominated chairman of the Market Committee, Kalanwali while Mr Raj Kumar Jindal, Mr Krishan Kumar and Mr Sushil Kumar Jindal have been nominated its members.

SONEPAT
Scooterist killed: Mahavir of Kilorad village was killed on the spot when his scooter was hit by a tanker here on Wednesday. A case has been registered.
Stabbed to death: Sukhdevi (55) was allegedly stabbed to death at Ahulana village, 20 km from here, on Wednesday. A long-standing dispute over a piece of land is stated to be the reason behind the murder. A case has been registered.
Suicide: Vijender (20) reportedly committed suicide by taking insecticide tablets in his house at Basodi village, 16 km from here, on Wednesday. A family feud is stated to be the reason behind the suicide.

HAMIRPUR
Open darbar: As many as 20 cases were put up before an open darbar here on Thursday in which Mr Kamlesh Kumar Pant, Deputy Commissioner presided. Five cases were settled on the spot. Meanwhile, the district administration has set up control rooms at Hamirpur, Nadaun and Barsar to monitor the drought problem.

JWALAMUKHI
Thekri pehras: The administration will introduce thekri pehras in the area to detect forest fires. This was stated by Mr S.S.Chambiyal, SDM, Dehra, while addressing a gathering at Pragpur 15 km from here, on Friday.

UNA
Fire incidents: Mr D.P. Sharma, SP, has directed all police stations to register FIRs of fire incidents in their respective areas. He said from January 1 to May 5,53 incidents of fire took place in this district and FIRs were registered under Sections 285,435, and 436, IPC.

NURPUR
Residents' plea: The local municipal council has reportedly been functioning without an executive officer since November, 1997. Residents have been facing difficulty in getting certificates which can only be issued by an executive officer. The Executive Officer of Dharamsala has been given the charge. But the residents have demanded that either the vacant post is filled with regular appointment or temporary charge rendered to the SDM, Nurpur.

SOLAN
IMFL seized: The police seized 150 bottles of IMFL worth Rs 25,000 from a house in Kather locality of this town on Thursday. The owner of the house, Madan Lal, has been arrested under the Excise Act.
Prostitution racket: Avtar Singh, Vijay Mohan, Anoop Kumar and Gulab Rai and three women, all from Chandigarh, were arrested from Jabli, 26 km from here, on Thursday. The SSP, Mr M.L, Negi, told newspersons that all seven had been booked under Sections 41-2 and 109, CrPC for allegedly running a prostitution racket.