C H A N D I G A R H

Top stories | Community | Crime | Education

Courts | Culture | Health | Sports | Administration

TOP STORIES

Tax collection a shade below target
No need to worry, say officials
Chandigarh, December 4
Tax collection in the city, during the ongoing financial year, has been just below target but the shortfall will be covered up by March next year. Till October a sum of Rs 368.30 crore has been mopped up by way of revenue as against the revised target of Rs 658 crore to be met by March 31, 2002.

‘Unwritten’ records led to Dr Nagi’s dismissal?
Chandigarh, December 4
Did the newly-appointed PGI dean lose his job because the PGI does not maintain due records of the deliberations of its committee meetings, including those of the governing body and the institute body? Is the PGI also misinterpreting its own rules and regulations in the matter? The answer seems to be, ‘yes’.

Fans throng stadium to watch their heroes
SAS Nagar, December 4
“Aaisa lag raha hai jaise England valon ne apni ‘B’ team bhej di hai, taki India khush ho jai” (It seemed if England has sent its ‘B’ team so that India could feel happy), remarked a retired bank officer, Mr S.K. Dhawan, who had come from Jalandhar to watch the match.

 

Indian fans in action at the India-England Test on Tuesday and (right) a young spectator displays the banner ‘advising’ Indian players. — Photos Manoj Mahajan

 

A providential escape Dera Bassi, December 4 A resident of Rador in Yamunanagar, Sushil Arya, had a miraculous escape here late last night when he escaped without a scratch after his car was completely run over by an army truck on the busy Chandigarh-Ambala highway in Jawaharpur village, about 1 km from here. Mr Sushil Arya shows the place in his car from where he was extricated by some passersby and army men. The car was crushed by an Army truck on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway near Dera Bassi on Monday night. — Photo Karam Singh

MC cuts sorry figure before bank
SAS Nagar, December 4
Anxiety gripped the employees of the SAS Nagar Municipal Council today when a cheque of around Rs 13 lakh, meant for disbursing the salary for the month of November, could not be cashed as there was reportedly around Rs 8 lakh in the civic body’s account in the State Bank of Patiala.

YOUNG VOICE
A matter of spirit and service
FOR Reetika Khanna, life is a matter of spirit and service. During the past nine months she has earned a greater introduction than “the wife of Vineet Khanna, the man behind Pustak”, who has left many tasks undone. As his better half, Reetika could not have taken over his regime better than she actually has. It has only been nine months since she took over the charge of the Youth Technical Training Society, the organisation dedicated to the empowerment of disabled street children in the city.

BJP, SAD focus on national issues
Chandigarh, December 4
The BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine today moved further to focus on national issues in the December 8 Municipal Corporation poll against the Congress national-cum-local and the Chandigarh Vikas Manch’s purely local.

Candidates registered as voters at 2 places
Chandigarh, December 4
Two Congress candidates for the forthcoming MC poll are suspected to have committed an offence of being registered as voters at two places at the same time.

Bhattal has dig at BJP

Chandigarh, December 4 Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Chief Minister of Punjab, today said the BJP came to power by making false promises to the people. It has not honoured any of the assurances it gave to the public. Mr Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former CM, Punjab (second from left), Mr Tahkur Ram Lal, Major Mohini Sharma and Mr O.P. Rattan wave to the crowd at Congress candidate Lalit Joshi’s campaign rally in Colony No. 4, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

JD-U promises free water, power
Chandigarh, December 4
The BJP partners in the NDA government, the Janata Dal-United), and the Lok Jan Shakti Party, fighting the December 8 municipal elections, today promised to remove taxes in the city despite Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s repeated appeals not to depend on the Centre for funds.

Not many hopes from candidates
Chandigarh, December 4
Residents of ward number 6 may be facing problems like erratic power supply, bad condition of roads, lack of parks but when it comes to reposing their faith in the future municipal councillors, the senior citizens of the area are a sceptical lot.

COMMUNITY

Uphill task for Golden Forest investors
Chandigarh, December 4
Hundreds of investors from all over India who had invested large amounts in several schemes of Golden Forests companies are approaching the UT Permanent Lok adalat, the only place where they can hope to get their dues back. But it might be a long time before they get justice.

Unauthorised constructions continue
Mullanpur-Garibdas (Kharar), December 4
Unauthorised constructions continue in the periphery of Chandigarh despite warnings and demolitions by the Punjab Urban Development Authority. A large number of structures have come up in the Naya Gaon area over the past one month.

Customer sold ‘damaged’ car ?
Chandigarh, December 4
Mr S.K. Malhotra, a resident of Panchkula, has complained that he was sold a “damaged” Palio ‘ÉL’ car by M/s Anbros Motors of Industrial Area, Chandigarh. In a communication, he said he had booked the car by depositing a sum of Rs 50,000 vide receipt No.Veh/01223, dt 10.10.2001.

Navy Day celebrations
Chandigarh, December 4
A traditional cake-cutting ceremony and a photo exhibition on naval activities marked the celebrations of the Navy Day by the Naval Liaison Cell at No.3 Base Repair Depot here today. The theme of Navy Day-2001 is “Flag Bearers Across the Oceans”.

Membership of British Library opens
Chandigarh, December 4
The British Library in Sector 8 here is going to add 1,500 members to its existing list for the coming session. “There has been tremendous pressure from the people here to expand our membership strength,” said Mr Sushant Banerjee, manager of the library.

DC holds meeting to assess progress
Panchkula, December 4
A meeting of various district officials was called by the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora, yesterday to discuss the progress made in identifying a place for setting up a dairy complex.

Looking for ‘phoren’ pastures
YOU just can’t miss her nostalgic charms. She is a glamour girl in one moment and an earthy beauty in the other. It is this versatility of Raveena Tandon which has brought some plum assignments her way. It would be highly unfair to state that Raveena has consciously diverted to the art circuit because she did not do very well in the commercial cinema. The fact of the matter is actually otherwise.

• A clarification

CRIME

7-yr-old crushed to death

Chandigarh, December 4 A seven-year-old boy, Jatinder, was reportedly crushed by a truck in Palsora colony here this evening. According to the police, the deceased, a resident of the same colony, was crossing the road when a half-body truck carrying bricks hit him. He died on the spot. Policemen examine a booth in Chandigarh's Sector 23 where a robbery took place on Tuesday morning. — A Tribune photograph

EDUCATION

17 PCCTU members arrested

Chandigarh, December 4 Seventeen members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union were arrested from outside the Punjab Secretariat, here today, to protest against the non-implementation of the pension-cum-gratuity scheme by the Punjab Government. Members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union raise slogans against the Punjab Government outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — A Tribune Photograph.

Students confused as Dec exams put off
Chandigarh, December 4
The usual examination fever — last minute revisions, cramming answers before they made their way into examination halls and the mounting tension with the clock ticking away — was conspicuous by its absence at the private-aided colleges of the city where examinations were scheduled to begin today.

Girls wait for their turn to participate in an annual prize distribution function of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 47, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Agarwal memorial lecture
Chandigarh, December 4
The destruction of the Buddha image at Bamiyan, Afganistan, (identified as Maitreya Buddha by scholars) by the Taliban, is just a single example of vandalism in an attempt to wipe out the traces of the spread of the Indian culture in Afganistan and Central Asia.

PTA’s annual prize distribution function
Chandigarh, December 4
The annual prize distribution function organised by the Parent Teachers Association was held at Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 47-D today. The SDM, Mr Pirthi Chand, was the chief guest. The District Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Kalia, presided over the function.

• Science congress exhibition opens

HIGH COURT
Record orders on cases withdrawn, Haryana told
Chandigarh, December 4
Taking up public interest litigation seeking to expose the “politico-criminal” nexus in Haryana, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the state to Haryana to place on record the judicial orders allowing the withdrawal of cases involving serious offences.

PUDA told to file report on encroachments
Chandigarh, December 4
Directing the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority to file a status report on the removal of illegal encroachments by December 11, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has fixed December 14 as the next date of hearing for considering certain vital issues pertaining to the township, including the allotment of extra land to corner plot-owners, besides the policy to permit beautification by individual plot-owners.

MC chief told to appear in court
Chandigarh, December 4
Taking up a public interest litigation seeking directions to the state of Punjab and other authorities to provide uninterrupted power supply, besides other amenities, in Banur town, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the President and the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council to appear in the court along with the relevant record giving details of the “total receipts and expenditure”.

Former Mayor withdraws case, accused acquitted
Chandigarh, December 4
A local court yesterday acquitted the accused, Billu and Mukesh Mittal, in a case of attempt to murder registered against them on the complaint of former city Mayor Gian Chand Gupta.

CULTURE

Colours in perfect harmony
Chandigarh, December 4
Neeraj Mittra’s ‘Blues’ - a series of about 25 paintings on display at the Indusind Arts Gallery in Sector 8 could be best described as masterpieces of simplicity. The series, based on two themes, human form and horses, could have easily been labeled as monotonous had it not been for expert strokes of colour application which lent a variety to these creations.

Mysticism breathes in his works

Chandigarh, December 4 An exhibition of works of art by J.S. Yadava opened at the Panjab University Fine Arts Museum today. Liberation is the word for him and he plays with it through a million images...all free and flowing. There is no specific theme on display. Mr J.R. Yadav (right) explains his paintings to visitors at Panjab University’s Fine Arts Museum in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

HEALTH

Doctors’ protest hits work
Chandigarh, December 4
More than 50 doctors of General Hospital, Sector 16, held a protest rally in the hospital complex here today, crippling the normal work of the hospital for over two hours.

Meeting on HIV surveillance
Panchkula, December 4
A two-day regional meeting on HIV Sentinel Surveillance for northern region began here today. The meet is being chaired by Mr R.K. Bhullar of the Haryana AIDS Control Society.

CME on paediatric rheumatology
Chandigarh, December 4
A continuing medical education programme in paediatric rheumatology will be organised in the Advanced Paediatric Centre, PGI, on December 6, 2001.

• Blood shortage at PGI

SPORTS

J.R. Sharma memorial cricket from Dec 6
Chandigarh, December 4
Orient Shipping Agency of Mumbai led by former cricketer Abhey Kuruvilla will take on Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association XI in the opening match of the All-India J.R. Sharma Memorial Cricket tournament at the JR Institute of Cricket Technology, Barwala, near Panchkula, to be played from December 6.

Radio commentary still popular with diehard fans
SAS Nagar, December 4
Sitting in one corner of the VIP block, adjoining the main pavilion of the PCA stadium, a diehard cricket fan of the bygone era catches the attention of the spectators on the second day of the India-England Test match. The voice of the commentators booms on a pocket radio glued to his ear.

ADMINISTRATION

Admn allowed to outsource software development
Panchkula, December 4
The state government has permitted the district administration to outsource the software development of the much-hyped model development centre. Sources inform that at a high-level meeting of officials held at Ambala last evening, the administration has been allowed to invite tenders for development of this software during this fortnight.

• Move to delink NOC