Chandigarh, November 28
Cracks developed in the CVM-SAD-BJP alliance today with Mr Harmohan Dhawan, president of the Chandigarh Vikas Manch (CVM), announcing an end to their month-long alliance formed for the upcoming Municipal Corporation elections.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Dhawan announced that the CVM would no longer be contesting the elections as a part of the alliance, saying “We will contest from all 26 wards”.

Mr Dhawan informed that the alliance had been called off in light of the fact that they were not being given a fair share of seats.

“We had asked for 12 seats initially, however we were offered only four. We would have settled on six also. However, as the BJP was not ready to compromise, we have decided to back out. We were even ready to fight on their symbol. However, it was not enough for them,” added Mr Dhawan.

According to sources, efforts are still on to reach a compromise. Sources informed that the BJP high command in Delhi too was keen that the matter should be resolved.

Some even went to the extent of stating that the announcement of the ‘break-up’ was just pressure tactics being adopted by the CVM to get their desired number of seats.

Meanwhile, talking to TNS, Mr Satya Pal Jain, ex-MP, stated that one could not beat the Congress without the BJP.

“A few days back, Mr Dhawan met our leaders and expressed his desire to join us in our struggle against the Congress. We met him several times and gave him some options. We were to meet today again, however, unfortunately he unilaterally announced certain decisions. Our doors are still open to all those who are keen to join.”

According to sources in the BJP, the Akalis are most probably going to get four of the 26 seats. Talking to TNS, Capt Kanwaljit Singh said, “Our alliance is strong. Breaking away from the alliance is the CVM’s prerogative. They should reconsider it.”

The seat-sharing between the CVM-SAD is expected to be finalised tomorrow. The final announcement is expected to be made not before Thursday 30 evening.

Chandigarh, November 28
It is again going to be a three-cornered contest among the Congress, the BJP-SAD alliance and the Chandigarh Vikas Manch(CVM) in the December 20 elections to the municipal corporation.

With short honeymoon of the CVM chief, Mr Harmohan Dhawan, with the BJP-SAD combine over today, the battlelines are drawn for an interesting triangular contest among the parties. In fact, new equations and permutations are likely to emerge in the next couple of days, with smaller parties and influential leaders set to play a crucial role.

Even a senior BJP leader, Mr Satya Pal Jain, underlined the role of the non-Congress parties in the scheme of things. Mr Jain said BJP’s doors were still open to all parties, which wanted to defeat the Congress. It was Mr Dhawan, who approached the BJP to “oust” the Congress from the civic body and it was his “unilateral” decision to leave the alliance though he was given “certain options” on seat-sharing, Mr Jain claimed.

However, a sure fallout of the breaking up of the alliance is the division of the non-Congress votes among various political parties. Even the BJP general secretary, Mr Arun Jaitley, sounded upbeat during the a combined BJP-SAD-CVM rally here on November 26, claiming that for the first since 1977 the opposition parties had united. And needless to say, it is a big setback for the alliance ahead of the crucial poll.

In fact, the break-up of the alliance, which was “dubbed” as the marriage of convenience by the Congress, has not surprised political observers. While the leaders had joined hands, there was apparently no meeting of the hearts of the party workers. The differences were apparent during the November 26 rally, when the CVM supporters virtually formed separate blocks.

“It was doomed from the very start as there was no meeting ground between the two parties. The ego clash between the leadership of both parties ultimately proved to a hot potato for them to handle,” Mr Pradeep Chhabra, representative of Mr Pawan Bansal, Minister of State for Finance, for MPLAD scheme, said.

This, coupled with the ticklish question of seat-sharing, was virtually the flashpoint. With scores of aspirants for ticket in both parties, making everybody happy proved to be beyond the capacity of both parties, leading to the collapse of the alliance. The exhortations of Mr Jaitley to the alliance partners to abide by the “coalition dharma” and make “sacrifices” fell on deaf ears.

Now all eyes are focussed on the distribution of ticket by the parties. The denial of ticket to the ‘deserving” candidates may lead to emergence of rebel candidates. And in a multi-cornered contest, the importance small parties and the rebel candidates cannot be overemphasised. Meanwhile, hectic lobbying will be witnessed in the run-up to the filing of nominations till December 1and thereafter, during the campaign period.

Chandigarh, November 28
Educating your child in any reputed private school in the city is no child’s play. Ask any middle-class family and the statement would be the same. This is the plight of a majority of residents of Chandigarh, which is generally known as a city inhabited by service-class people.

After overcoming the first hurdle of getting the child admitted in a “school of repute”, a majority of parents are faced with the problem of paying the exorbitant and arbitrary fee (admission, tuition and other charges) levied by these schools.

Investigation by a team of The Tribune found that there is no policy devised by the Education Department to monitor the fee structure and admission rules of private institutions in the city. Every school has its own age limit for nursery admissions, with annual admission fee starting from as high as Rs 20,000 to 30,000, monthly tuition fee ranging from Rs 2,750 to Rs 4,000 per month etc. Some schools are even demanding Rs 5,000 as “caution money”, which is stated as refundable in their brochure. But to know all this, shell out another Rs 500 for getting a copy of the prospectus only.

To top it all, private schools do not adopt uniform policy regarding the age limit at the time of admission. For example, St Anne’s School-32 is admitting only children born between August 1, 2003, and January 31, 2004, for the nursery class. St Kabir demands children born after March 31, 2004, for the pre-nursery class. Kundan International-46 is seeking two-year plus age kids, as on September 30, 2006, for admitting in the pre-primary class.

For the nursery class, some schools like St Peter’s and Strawberry Fields are demanding three-year-old children, while others are asking for three-and-a-half-year-old kid. There are some private schools like St John’s and Carmel Convent who prefer four-and-a-half-year-old children.

City-based golf coach Jesse Grewal is acting as one of the observers at the 2nd PUNJAB Cup underway at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Club, Pakistan.

Jesse, himself an accomplished golfer and class 'A' teaching professional, has been conducting talent hunt programmes at the Chandigarh Golf Association (CGA) from time to time. He has also been committed to the CGA's mission of producing professional golfers from amongst the caddies and has been providing free coaching for the caddy golfers at the CGA range.

Najeeb-Ur-Rehman, a leading hairstylist of the country, will be the centre of attraction at the formal launch of the Schwarzkopf Professional Salon in Sector 44 on November 29.

The salon will be a part of the Femina Plus. Mr Rehman, National Technical Manager of the salon, is coming for the launch of the world-famous German chain of hairstylists.

What brings you to the city?

Like every Punjabi settled in alien lands, I too admire the City Beautiful as a confluence of tradition and modernity. The cultural scene is the added attraction, which I really miss there.

Do you find any change in the attitude of British nationals towards Indians since 1948 when you migrated to Liverpool?

Yes, there were certain problems on ethnic issues during the fifties, but a substantial change occured after 1970 as India built a status in the comity of nations.

What are your observations on the progress in educational, cultural and industrial areas you are associated with?

There is a massive influx of foreign students, a majority of them from India and China. Believe me, in Liverpool itself, there are more foreign students than Cambridge University. By the end of 2008, Liverpool city will be crowned as the “European Capital city of culture” and huge money is being pooled from Europe for creating buildings and infrastructure.

Do you anticipate any problem of water scarcity?

Yes, it exists even today as we depend mainly on water reservoirs for water.

But, sometimes inadequate rains create a problem and certain rivers are tapped to replenish the scarcity.

Back home how do you see the development in India?

Marvellous, in all spheres of life, but the poor are getting poorer, that hurts me.

— SD Sharma

Chandigarh, November 28
Dr Khalid Aftab, the first Vice-Chancellor of Government College University, Lahore, says there is a need to combine manpower planning and planning for education in Pakistan. A leading economist of the country, he was talking to The Tribune here today.

“Right now these departments are separate and I believe that unemployment can be reduced if planning for education is done keeping in view the manpower requirements of the country,” he said.

Stating that the government in Pakistan had increased the budget for higher education, Dr Aftab said more finances were required to give a push to social sciences, arts and languages.“The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is giving due importance to science and technology, but at the same time I believe that higher education overall should be promoted,” he said.

A PhD in economics from the UK, Dr Aftab taught in the Economics Department at the college and became its Principal in 1993. When the college was given the status of university in 2002, he took over as its first VC.

“The university will be retaining its old campus which houses the college but we are likely to get 500 acres of campus on the GT road. I am not in favour of affiliating colleges but intend to have constituent colleges. We plan to have an engineering college, a law college, and a medical college,” he said.

“Affiliating colleges is nothing but a means for the university to earn money by holding examinations. A university with colleges at far-flung places cannot monitor the quality of education being imparted and this leads to dilution of the system,” he said.

Asked to comment on Pakistan’s economy, Dr Aftab said the country was witnessing an unprecedented growth. “We are expecting to hit 8 per cent growth rate in the coming years. While we are on the right path, we have to prepare our country for competition from India and China in the long run.”

In the city on the invitation of the Old Ravians, an association of Chandigarh-based former students of Government College, Lahore, Dr Aftab will be in Panjab University tomorrow and will deliver a lecture at the Centre for the Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) on December 1.

Himself an alumnus of Government College, Dr Aftab believes that old students of the college (a university since 2002) can play a major role in the development of their alma mater, “not just in terms of goodwill that old students spread, which is very important in itself, but also in terms of help.

“We have created the GCU endowment fund which is looked after by a trust to streamline donations which the university gets from its well-wishers,” he added.

Chandigarh, November 28
The Air Force Station (AFS), Ambala, has been adjudged as the overall best station in the Western Air Command (WAC).

The Pride of the Western Air Command Trophy was received by the Air Officer Commanding, 7 Wing, Ambala, Air Cmde H.H. Patel from the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, during the ongoing WAC Station Commanders' conference in New Delhi today.

During the conference, which will conclude on December 1, all the operations, maintenance and administrative aspects of the IAF bases under the WAC would be reviewed by Air Marshal A.K. Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WAC.

The conference was addressed by the Air chief today, according to a statement issued by the IAF.

The conference, held annually, gives an opportunity to the field commanders to interact with all senior officers of the command.

This forum is also used by AOC-in-C to familiarise all commanders with future plans and strategies of the Air Force.

Besides discussing operational and professional matters, welfare activities also feature on the agenda.

Three fighter squadrons based at Ambala also bagged top honours in various events organised as part of the Eklavya 2006 Team Championships.

The top prize in dive bombing was bagged by No 3 Squadron, which was also declared as the best fighter squadron.

In addition to bagging the Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee Trophy for being the overall champions of Eklavya 2006 No.14 Squadron bagged the top position in LDA bombing as well as in night dive bombing.

No.5 Squadron won the MLAR bombing event, while Ambala airbase also stood first in gunnery (staff), besides bagging the Maintenance Trophy.

The Air Force Station, Leh, was the runners-up for the best overall station and the 23 Wing based there was declared as the best helicopter operational base, while the 34 Wing at Bathinda was declared as the best operational fighter base.

The trophies for the overall best transport squadron and helicopter unit went to No 41 Squadron and 131 FAC, respectively. The Command Sports Trophy was lifted by the 28 Wing based at Hindon.

Chandigarh, November 28
The Chandigarh Administration has directed landlords/owners and managers of paying guest accommodation to inform their respective Station House Officer regarding the paying guests staying in their accommodations.

The order issued under Section 144 of the Cr PC made it clear that the offenders, who will not follow this order, will be liable to be prosecuted under Section 188 of the IPC.

Meanwhile, the District Magistrate has asked the residents of the UT not to employee any domestic servant, helper without furnishing their particulars to the Station House Officer concerned.

The order said that antecedents of domestic servant should be verified in the pubic interest. This order will be applicable to all landlord, tenants and those running commercial establishments.

Chandigarh, November 28
The Haryana Roadways Workers Union today held a rally in the Industrial Area protesting against the alleged dictatorial attitude of the General Manager (GM).

The Press Secretary of the union, Mr S. Tarlochan Singh Manka, stated that the authorities had not paid any attention to their demand letter presented to the GM on June 14, which led to a series of agitations. However, the authorities were rigid on their stand.

The representatives of the union threatened that they would intensify the stir if the authorities did not change their attitude

Chandigarh, November 28
Alleging that the police acted in a biased manner in the Sector 35 dispute between a woman and her in-laws, the woman and her neighbours today lodged a complaint with the UT Inspector-General of Police (IGP), asking him to look into the matter and transfer of the case to the CIA.

Ms Monalika, the woman, in her complaint, alleged that the police did not initiate action against the accused and was not ready to lodge a case. She further alleged that the police made it a case of property dispute while it was a dowry harassment case.

The neighbours, who also lodged a complaint with the IGP, alleged that the police acted as a mute spectator when Ms Monalika and her mother were being attacked. Raising questions over the police role, they alleged that the accused were let go by the cops.

Talking to mediapersons, Ms Monalika’s mother alleged that she was assaulted by the in-laws of her daughter, who put a pistol on her head, in an attempt to kill her. Municipal councillor Harjinder kaur, who was present, asserted that police action was biased as it ignored what the neighbours were saying. It did not arrest any one of the accused, who attacked the women.

Denying the allegations, the SHO of the Sector 36 police station, Inspector Ishwar Singh Mann, said the police took action as per the law. The local court has issued summons for Wednesday to both parties. Ms Monalika came to the police station today and said she suffered injuries on Monday. She was taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital for medical examination.

He further stated that the medical report did not mention any external injury. However, she was admitted by the doctors.

Chandigarh, November 28
With all big agri retail chains in the country making an entry in the tricity, buying your fruits and veggies will never be the same again.

Though ITC is the first one to set up shop in the city with Choupal Fresh, other agri retail majors like Reliance Fresh, Godrej Agrovet's Nature's Basket and Subiksha are all set to offer the choicest and high-quality fruits and vegetables in the air- conditioned and clean environs of a showroom, without causing a dent on your household budget. By the beginning of year 2007, the city will see a complete transformation in the food retail sector.

Other than the high quality local fruits and vegetables, exotic vegetables like red cabbage, yellow and red capsicums and all imported fruits, too, will be available at most of these stores. These stores will source their supply from the farmers in the vicinity after the company officials have given them technical guidance for sowing and cultivation of the produce.

Officials in Reliance Retail informed TNS that they have already earmarked four sites in the tricity--- in Sectors 19 and 38 in Chandigarh and Sectors 14 and 20 in Panchkula---for setting up their exclusive fruit and vegetable stores."These stores will not just stock fruits and vegetables but also dairy, grocery and poultry products. These stores will be opened within the next two months," he said, while adding that each store will be spread over an area of 1500--5000 sq feet.

Subiksha, too, is all set to open 22 agri retail stores in this region. It is learnt that while 17 of these stores will be set up in Chandigarh, the Tamil Nadu- based company was planning to open five stores in Panchkula. Godrej Agrovet, too, is mulling the idea of expanding its Nature Basket stores and opening one in Chandigarh. Mr C K Vaidya, Managing Director of Godrej Agrovet, had recently announced that they were planning to open a Nature's Basket store in the city.

Other than Reliance Fresh, almost all other companies are testing the markets in North India by opening their flagship stores in the North in the city. The reason, say company officials, is that the city is perfect for testing waters in North India because of its cosmopolitan image and individuals with high disposable incomes. Reliance Fresh, however, is first planning to open its stores in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

Officials in Choupal Fresh, the only agri retail chain that has started its operations here, said that based on the success of Choupal Fresh store in the city, they would look at their expansion plans in the region. Started a month back, the retail footfalls to the store here have been increasing, with the average footfalls a day rising to 250 now."The concept is good as one is saved the botheration of going in the dust and grime in mandis, or face a lack of choice by buying from vegetable cart vendors," says Ms Neerja Singh, a resident of Sector 5, who was picking up her veggies from Choupal Fresh.

Chandigarh, November 28
You would have dismissed it as just another scene pulled out of a Bollywood blockbuster. But if some of the hoteliers across the city are to be believed, so many residents are escaping the payment of bills by planting hair in the dishes even in five-star joints.

If the practice is resulting in hair-line fracture in the relationship among hoteliers and customers, these 'real-life thugs' are just not bothered about it.

The hoteliers claim that until recently the performance was limited to roadside dhabas. And the performers were, more often than not, students.

But now even the young couples are displaying their flair in dimly-lit dining rooms full of light music and sweet perfumes, making the hair of the hotelier stand on end.

Only this week, a couple dining at a five-star hotel in the city offered silky strands on a platter, instead of paying the bill.

The hotel staff says the couple, along with a child, first created commotion and confusion by spilling salt all over the table.

And then when the waiter arrived with the bill, they flatly refused to oblige him on the ground that there was a hair in the dish.

To top it all, they threatened to call the media. In fact, they had several numbers of media organisations stored in their cellphones.

“The only problem with their story was that the strand of hair was pulled out of paneer-tikka,” says a senior member of the hotel staff.

“The dish is prepared at very high temperatures in an oven and there is no way a strand can survive the heat. Had it fallen during the process of conveying the dish from the kitchen to the table, the piece of hair would have been on the surface, and not within,” he adds.

Hoteliers claim such incidents are not uncommon even in the joints enjoying three-to-five-star status. In fact, the problem has attained the proportions of a menace.

The President of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Chandigarh, Mr Man Mohan Kohli, says: “As most operations are carried out manually in the hotel industry, the possibility of slip-ups cannot be ruled out, despite best preventive care.

“As such, some complaints received by the restaurant or hotel staff are indeed genuine in nature. But taking advantage of the situation, some miscreants use it as a tool to obtain freebies.”

The fact that the guests more often than not find problem with the last dish they have ordered, and prefer to negotiate the bill instead of rushing to the doctor for medical check-up and assistance provides a testimony to this effect, he asserts.