The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

MAILBAG

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Memorandum submitted: The Printing Packaging and Allied Industries Association on Saturday submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal highlighting the problems faced by the industries in the border district. President Pritam Singh Kalsi has urged the Chief Minister for setting up a special zone where the infrastructure according to the needs of the industry. He also urged him for helping small-scale industries by giving them interest free loans to install hi-tech machines in their factories.

Batala
Free textbooks: As many as 240 deserving students of different schools were given free textbooks at a function organised by the Sri Sukhmani Sahib Sewa Society here on Saturday. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagdish Sawhney was chief guest.

Hoshiarpur
Case against travel agents: ASI Tirath Ram posted at Dasuya police station has lodged an FIR against two travel agents for duping a person of Rs 3.55 lakh in the name of sending his son abroad. The police has booked Karnail Singh and his brother Jagat Singh, both of Uchhi Bassi, under Section 420 of the IPC.

Purse snatched:Two motorcycle-borne unidentified youths snatched a purse containing Rs 10,000 from Ananakvir Kaur daughter of Parshotam Singh of Mona Kalan, Saturday. According to police the incident happened between Fadman-Mona Kalan link road when the victims were going to their house on a scooter. A case has been registered in this connection.

8-bed hospice: Shri Ram Charit Manas Parchar Mandal (SRCMPM), a religious and social NGO, has decided to set up Shri Ram Narula's hospice at Chand Nagar. Mahant Raghbir Dass of Pandori Dam, laid the foundation stone of the 8-bed hospice. Harish Saini, president of SRCMPM, said it was decided to set up an 8 beds hospice for making their last journey peaceful.

Foundation stone laid: The Shri Ram Charit Manas Parchar Mandal (SRCMPM), a religious and social NGO, has decided to set up Shri Ram Narula's Hospice for the service of terminally ill patients at Chand Nagar here. Mahant Raghbir Dass of Pandori Dam laid the foundation stone of the eight-bedded hospice on Saturday. Sham Narula, president, Lions Club, Hoshiarpur, performed the bhoomi puja and announced financial assistance for the completion of the hospice. The mandal has already introduced a mortuary van to ferry corpses free of cost and a hi-tech ambulance-cum-mobile hospital.

Family arrested: The Mahilpur police, on a tip-off, raided a mango orchard at Bachhoi village, about 25 km from here, on Saturday and arrested family members Majnu, Lachhman Singh and his wife Guddi, Sohan Singh and his wife Gotmi, all of Chohal, while Chhota Singh son of Lachhman Singh and Mohinder Singh son of Babu Singh managed to escape. SSP, Antia Punj, Hoshiarpur, said as many as 50 cows had been recovered from them. She said they used to collect cows and calves and later sold them to slaughter houses. Chhota Singh and Mohinder Singh are said to be absconding. A case under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Cow Slaughter Act has been registered.

MANSA
3 held with 110 kg opium:The district police on Saturday arrested three persons involved in smuggling of narcotics and recovered 110 kg of poppy husk from them. SSP Ram Singh said police personnel arrested two persons, Harnek Singh and Gurcharan Singh, and recovered 76 kg of poppy husk from them. In another case, Baljinder Singh was arrested with 34 kg of poppy husk.

PATHANKOT
Joint placement drive held: The Sri Sai College of Engineering and Technology, Badhani, conducted a joint campus placement drive in which 15 colleges from Amritsar, Rohtak, Gurdaspur, Sirsa, Jalandhar, Dera Bassi, Ludhiana, Jammu, Patiala, and Pathankot participated. The camp was organised by Life Business Project Pvt. Ltd on May 4 and 5. A team from the company interviewed students and offered them packages of Rs 2.4 lakh per annum. Students had to go through three rounds - aptitude test, technical and HR round.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
Burning of CM’s effigy flayed: The Hamirpur district committee on Saturday held a public meeting at Gandhi chowk here to counter the BJP’s allegation against the party for creating violence at Kangra. Addressing the meeting, Congress leaders said it were the BJP workers who provoked Congressmen and indulged in violence. While they criticised the BJP workers for burning the effigies of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and other leaders they also blamed BJP’s former MP Suresh Chandel for not only indulging in corruption in ‘cash for question’ scam which resulted in Hamirpur parliament seat by-election.

MANDI
Two-day job mela: The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) Industries Association and the CII organised a two-day job mela here. Industries minister Kuldip Kumar said there was a need to change the mind-set of unemployed youth who had craze to join government jobs. He said “Private sector has emerged as a better employer, as compared to the shrinking and limited government sector in the state”. The private sector had emerged as a better employer in the state which had provided 3.14 lakh jobs in over 8,883 units that had come up in the state. Over 50 companies had come here to recruit over 2,400 persons.

Legal-aid awareness camp: Mandi District and Sessions judge A.S Dogra said the legal-aid clinic would be set up here which would provide free-legal aid to the needy, including women seeking justice in the court. He was addressing a legal-aid awareness camp organised for women by the Himachal Manav Seva, an NGO, in association with the state women commission here.

Army recruitment rally: IPH minister Kaul Singh Thakur has urged the Defence Ministry to raise the Army recruitment quota for Himachal Pradesh. He was addressing a gathering at the Army recruitment rally at Pandoh.

Shimla
BJP condemns frequent cancelling of exams: State BJP spokesman Randhir Sharma has criticised the Virbhadra Singh government for frequently cancelling examinations and interviews conducted for filling vacant posts in various departments. In a statement issued here , he said the government was exploiting the emotions of the unemployed youth by denying them employment opportunities. He said over the past few months interviews for appointment as forest guards, aanganwari workers and helpers and ayurveda pharmacists had been cancelled. The government had failed to give reasons for the cancellation of the interviews, which had put a question mark on its intentions. He opposed the decision regarding the appointment of forest guards through Nauni University. He insisted that the examinations of forest guards be conducted by the state subordinate service selection board.

22-KV control point stone laid: Chief Minister Virhadra Singh laid the foundation stone for a 22- KV control point at Dhanudhar in Nirmand on Saturday. The HPSEB has decided to construct this control point under the rural electrification state plan scheme at a cost of Rs 91 lakh to enhance the power supply reliability and quality to consumers in Nirmand and the surrounding areas. Besides resolving the low voltage problem, the control point reduce the transmission and distribution losses in the area.

BC panel meeting:A meeting of the National Commission for Backward Classes was held here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Justice S. Ratnaval Pandian. The meeting was held to invite suggestions and views to decide on the inclusion of popo Brahman, nai, jhiwar, jheur, jheer, kumhar, ghumar, ghumhar, nadaf, nadaaf, bujhru, dakaut, sanyasi, gujarati, vyas, pumba, maha Brahman, acharj, charj, acharaya, hadi and saini in the central list of OBCs. Members of the commission S.K. Purkayastha and Subbha Somu, social justice and empowerment principal secretary Bhimsen, social justice and empowerment director Anuradha Thakur, among others, attended the meeting.

Scrutiny of nominations over:All 28 candidates from 25 wards are in the fray for the MC poll to be held on May 23, as no nomination paper filed for the elections were decleared invalid during the scrutiny of nominations on Friday. It is after the last date of withdrawal on May 7 that the final list of the candidates will be displayed. The counting of votes will take place on May 25.

SUNDERNAGAR
Foundation stone laid:Mr Justice D.D. Sood of Himachal Pradesh High Court laid the foundation stone of the second court room here on Saturday. The function was organised in the court complex which was attended by members of the Bench and the Bar. Justice Sood said Rs 20 lakh would be spent on the construction of the building which would be completed within a year.