PUNJAB AND HARYANA ROUND-UP

OPIUM ------- Ludhiana(Pb): Police today seized 13 kg of opium and arrested three persons, including two women, in this connection at Kainth canal bridge near here today. During a checking drive on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road, the police seized the contraband from a car and arrested its occupants, identified as Jaswant Singh, his wife Gurmit Kaur and Suman, ACP Gurpreet Singh Walia said. -------------------------------------------------------------- SHRINE --------- Phagwara(Pb): About half dozen unidentified armed youths robbed a shrine of Rs 1 lakh cash and other valuables, besides inuring its head and a 'sevadar' at village Manak in the district, police said today. The incident took place on the intervening night of February 12-13 when the miscreants, on the pretext of meeting the shrine head Baba Dev Nath attacked him and a worker and looted the booty. Further probes are on, they added. ------------------------------------------------------------ CONGRESS --------- Chandigarh: A meeting of presidents of district Congress Committees has been called on February 18 in Pradesh Congress Committee Office here by state party chief Phool Chand Mullana. Madusudan Mistry, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee will attend this meeting and later on have a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in New Delhi, a party spokesman said here today. ------------------------------------------------------------- HOUSING ---------- Chandigarh: In a major move, Haryana government has proposed to come out with a new housing policy to provide accommodation to about 3.50 lakh economically backward people in both urban and rural areas. Besides the state government pumping in Rs 1,650 crore for its ambitious scheme, the commercial banks have agreed in principle to provide financial support of Rs 1,000 crore to it.