Illegal tree felling in McLeodganj: High court directs officials to appear in court

The Himachal Pradesh high court on Monday directed the secretary (forests), principal chief conservator of forests and the conservator of forests, Kangra, to appear before it on June 2 in a matter pertaining to felling of a large number of deodar trees in McLeodganj for commercial activities.
A division bench comprising chief justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed these orders on a petition taken up suo motu by the court as public interest litigation on a letter written to the chief justice by one Ghazala Abdullah.
The petitioner has alleged a large number of deodar trees were being felled in McLeodganj in Dharamsala for the purpose of commercial activities and when she approached the police, district administration, forest and panchayat authorities, no action was taken. The court directed the respondents to file a report on the damage caused and listed the matter for June 2.
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Madhya Pradesh civic polls: 1st phase of voting in 44 districts today
Polling across 44 districts for the first phase of elections to urban bodies in Madhya Pradesh will begin at 7am today. A total of 1.04 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in the first phase of polling, an official informed news agency PTI. Voting will go on till 5pm, he added. Votes will be cast for municipal corporations including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Chhindwara, Ujjain, Sagar, Singrauli and Satna.
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PSEB Class-10 results: Mohali rises in ranking, slips in pass percentage
Even though Mohali district rose by two spots from last year's ranking in the PSEB Class 10 exams, its pass percentage dropped from 99.91% to 99%. Last year, Mohali was placed 17th among the 23 districts. This year, it improved its standing to 15th, with Gurdaspur district bagging the top spot. As many as 9,401 students from 109 Mohali schools appeared in the exams and 9,307 passed.
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32-year-old doctor ends life in Mohali’s Phase 2
A 32-year-old doctor allegedly ended his life by injecting himself with a paralytic drug used in anaesthesia at his rented accommodation in Phase 2 on Monday night. The doctor, who hailed from Rupnagar, was living alone in the rented house for the last three months and worked at a private hospital in Sector 34, Chandigarh. The autopsy will be conducted at the Phase-6 civil hospital on Wednesday.
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Sippy Sidhu murder: Kalyani’s judicial custody extended
A local court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Kalyani Singh, an accused in the murder of national-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh, alias Sippy Sidhu. Lodged in Model Jail, Sector 51, since June 21, Kalyani, 36, was produced in court via video conferencing. On Monday, she had applied for bail before a local court. Her plea will be taken up for hearing on July 8.
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Haryana miffed over Chandigarh hiring medical officers from Punjab, other states
The UT administration's decision to appoint 33 medical officers (MOs) on deputation from Punjab, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, and none from Haryana has not gone down well with the Haryana government. Highlighting its displeasure through a letter, the Haryana government has urged the UT administration to maintain the 60:40 ratio between Punjab and Haryana while filling up the vacant posts of MOs and dental surgeons. Till then, Haryana had not sent any panel of doctors.