R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Faridkot
FLAYED: Mr Pawanpreet, general secretary of the district unit of the CPI, has criticised the Central Government for enhancing the price of diesel. Describing the hike another blow to the economy of farmers, who are already under a heavy debt, he said the hike would lay another burden on the farmers.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
EMPLOYMENT SCHEME: The Sampooran Gramin Yojna will be started shortly to provide employment and rural development in the district. The district administration has received the first instalment of Rs 1.3 crore which will be spent on various development schemes in villages.

Kapurthala
ELECTED: Ms Baljinder Kaur Kalra has been elected president of the local Lions Club (Greater) for the year 2004-2005. Her election as president was hailed by Dr J.S. Thind, District Governor, and Mr Ashok Kalia, a former Mayor of Derby, in the UK.

Malerkotla
FIVE INJURED: Five persons were injured when their car was hit by a truck on the Khanna road here on Wednesday. The injured are Joginder Pal, Lakshman Singh, Jaggi Singh, Hamel Singh and Ram Kumar.

CAMP: A free dental check-up camp was organised at New Delhi Public School, Thandi Sadak, on Wednesday. According to Mr Munish Jindal, incharge of the camp, nearly 300 patients were examined by Dr Mohd Shabbir, CMO, Dental, Civil Hospital, Malerkotla.

SEMINAR: A seminar on TB was organised by the Indian Medical Association at the Civil Hospital here on Wednesday. The district TB officer, Dr O.P. Khangwal, the incharge of District TB Clinic, Dr Surinder Singla, and Dr Gurwinder Singh made patient aware of the disease. Nearly 1,000 patients attended the seminar.

Moga
TWO KILLED: Two persons were killed and eight injured when a minibus met with an accident near the drain bridge at Bughipura village on the Moga-Barnala road on Wednesday.

BODY FOUND: The body of a missing youth was found at Ghalkalan village, near here, on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Rode village. Sources said the youth was mentally ill and had visited a hospital in Moga. Gurcharan had gone missing after he reached the city. The police has registered a case.

Nawanshahr
MAN MURDERS WIFE: Jagtar Singh, a resident of Karimpur village, allegedly killed his wife Manjit Kaur (37) by hitting bricks on her head on the village link road on Wednesday. The police has registered a case on the statement of Ms Bhajan Kaur, mother of the victim, against Jagtar Singh, his parents, Ajaib Singh and Gian Kaur, and sister Sukhdev Kaur under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC.

PATIALA
POOR MAINTENANCE: Residents of Urban Estate Phase I are sore over the non-maintenance of roads of the area. The residents alleged that there was just one drain pipe in the locality which usually remains blocked. Despite several efforts, PUDA has failed to take any concrete step in this direction, they added.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP : The local Guru Arjun Kirtan Mandal organised a blood donation camp at Amar Ashram here on Thursday. As many as 104 persons donated blood on the occasion. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Tejveer Singh, inaugurated the camp.

CHANDIGARH

TRAINING FOR WOMEN: A social organisation — Sant Nirankari Mandal — has set up 50 tailoring and embroidery centres all over the country for widows and underprivileged women. Functioning in the city since 2001, it imparts training in tailoring and embroidery for a year free of cost.

HARYANA

Yamunanagar
BODIES FOUND: A youth allegedly jumped in front of the goods train near the Jagadhri workshop on Tuesday night. Another body was found along the railway line here.

Sirsa
ARRESTED: The police has arrested Krishan Lal, a resident of Bhuda Bhana village, on the charge of keeping a pistol without a licence. A case under the Arms Act has been registered.

RECOVERED: The district police has recovered 15 kg of poppy husk from the possession of Harbans Lal. Following a tip-off by the CIA staff, the police laid a trap at Dabwali and arrested the accused from Rori village. A case under the NDPS has been registered.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Chamba
ASSOCIATION’S PLEA: The Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department Ministerial Staff Association has urged the state government to merge 50 per cent of the additional dearness allowance (ADA) into the basic pay of employees with effect from April 1, 2004. Mr Dildar Ali Shah, district president of the association, said since the Punjab Government had already merged the ADA of its employees into the basic pay, the Himachal Government should follow suit. Mr Shah demanded compensatory allowance for Chamba-based employees on a par with employees posted at Palampur and Rampur.

Dharamsala
ARMY RECRUITMENT: The recruitment of Army personnel will be done by the Army Recruitment Office, Hamirpur, for candidates from Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur from July 1 to 7. The recruitment will be done on the Lehnu grounds in Bilaspur. The medical examination of the applicants will start on July 1, said a press note issued on Wednesday.

Kangra
ATTACKS ON PRIESTS: The Sanatan Dharam Math Mandir Suraksha Samiti chief, Mahant Swami Virendranand Giri, has expressed concern over the rise in the number of attacks on sadhus and priests of temples in the state and demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the matter. Swami Virendranand said in a statement here on Wednesday that he had called on the Chief Minister at the Circuit House in Dharamsala during his tour to the district on Tuesday and urged him to direct law-enforcing agencies to take steps for the security of sadhus and priests.

Nurpur
3 HELD FOR MURDER: The Jawali police on Wednesday arrested three persons on the charge of murdering Pyar Chand (70) of Dhanuna village in Fatehpur tehsil. His son, Malkiat, daughter-in-law, Vaishno Devi, and their driver, Jasbir, were arrested. The police has registered a case under Sections 201, 302, 120 B and 34 of the IPC. Pyar Chand was a retired chowkidar at the Pong Dam and had been missing for the past fortnight.