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Big chill: City records 0°C
Coldest day in Chandigarh in past 35 years
Chandigarh, January 6
Freezing conditions gripped the city and the adjoining areas as temperatures continued downward slide today. Chandigarh, which recorded the coldest day yesterday in the past five years, witnessed more chill today, with the temperature touching zero degree. No wonder the day was the coldest day in the past 35 years. It was seven degree below normal.

Early morning icing in green belt of Chandigarh’s Sector 37 on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Vinay Malik

Canadian cousin to Picky’s aid
Chandigarh, January 6
A Canada-based maternal cousin of Picky Panwar’s, a cancer patient on deathbed whose Sector-10 house is locked in a bitter battle of possession, has come to the rescue of her sister.

FLIGHT OF FANCY An old couple seem to think how time flies. — Photo by Vicky Gharu

Worms found in a bottle of soft drink bought by a resident of Sector 46, Chandigarh.—  A Tribune photograph

	Will it be Anu or Harjinder? January 6, 2007
	CVM joins hands with BJP, SAD January 5, 2007
	Eight days on, Jaswal booked January 4, 2007
	Misinformation, UBS style January 3, 2007
	Ex-cop suspects Pandher behind his son’s disappearance January 2, 2007
	Tricity pops the cork on ’07 January 1, 2007
	Two run over by train near Sec 47 December 31, 2006
	SHOs to check hooliganism on New Year’s Eve December 30, 2006
	BMW car driver alleges implication in accident case December 29, 2006
	Glass bottles of glucose stage comeback in city hospitals December 28, 2006

Fraud by cheque: Woman held
Chandigarh, January 6
The local police arrested a woman working as an accountant in a private firm on the charges of duping the firm of over Rs 40 lakh by fraudulently withdrawing money using stolen cheques.

Noida killings: At last, police to identify missing
Chandigarh, January 6
Struck by the gravity of Noida killings case, the Chandigarh Police has started reopening files of missing children in the city. They also seem to be reacting to the mounting rush of parents of missing children who have been thronging alleged accused Moninder Singh Pandher’s house in Sector 27 in the hope of getting some clues.

Moninder loves kids, can’t be killer: son
Chandigarh, January 6
Even as businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, the prime accused in the Noida serial killings case, has revealed vital information during psychological profiling and tests conducted on him, his Canada-educated son today said his father “loves children and could not be their killer”.

It’s official: Anu vs Harjinder 
Chandigarh, January 6
With suspense finally over, battle lines were drawn today with former mayors Anu Chatrath (for the Congress) and Harjinder Kaur (for the BJP-SAD-CVM alliance) filing their nominations for the post of Mayor.

Former mayors Anu Chatrath and (right) Harjinder Kaur accompanied by leaders of the SAD-BJP-CVM alliance file nominations in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photographs

Man charred to death
Chandigarh, January 6
In a freak accident, a 25-year-old truck driver was charred to death this morning at the Railway Station after he came into contact with overhead high tension wires while unloading cement bags from a goods train. According to the Railway Police, the driver has been identified as Lal Chand of Himachal Pradesh. The incident took place at around 10 am and he died on the spot.

Watch Out
Munish Kumar of GGDSD College, Sector 32, will demonstrate his yoga skills on Sunday at the 14th International Yoga Festival being held at Pondicherry. Munish brought laurels to the country by winning the “Best Artistic and Rhythmic Yogi” title at the International Yoga Competition held at Japan in August 2006. He also clinched the top honours in the national tournament besides bagging the state championship six times.

In Town
Mr F.S. Kang, a Dubai-based promoter, will be in Chandigarh on Sunday to scout for Punjabi singers for his Baisakhi shows in the UAE. Mr Kang, who released "Shaukeen Gabbru", an album of the noted Punjabi singer Sunita Bhatti at the Chandigarh Press Club on Friday, has played a major role in propagating the rich Punjabi musical heritage in Arab world.

COMMUNITY

Mohali MC fails to decide on Madanpur’s development
Mohali, January 6
The Municipal Council has adopted an indifferent attitude towards the development of Madanpur village here, the rehabilitation scheme of which was approved over five years ago.

More shopkeepers join protest against barricades
Panchkula, January 6
Joining issue with the businessmen of Sector 7, the market associations of other sectors have also demanded the removal of barricades put up by the police on the entry point between two sectors.

Tension brews between Sec 17 traders, parking contractors
Chandigarh, January 6
Tension is building up between traders and some of the contractors of paid parking in Sector 17. Reason: the contractors, who have taken up the new contractors, are demanding three times more money to issue the monthly parking passes. “Against Rs 55 being charged for a month by the previous contractor, the new contractor of the CMC parking is demanding Rs 150 for a monthly pass”, said the general secretary of the Traders Association of Sector 17.

Generators make Mohali fail pollution test
Mohali, January 6
All 16 samples taken by the Punjab Pollution Control Board from two different areas for monitoring noise levels created by the use of generator sets here have failed tests as the noise levels recorded were almost double than the specified limits.

Members of the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association, Leh-Ladakh, stage a peace march in support of their demands in Sector 37, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Vicky Gharu Women participate in a scooter rally to promote the use of helmets organised by the Chandigarh Traffic Police as part of the ongoing 18th Road Safety Week. At least 100 women participated in the rally which began at the Children Traffic Park and ended at Sukhna Lake. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Residents body threatens stir
Mohali, January 6
Members of the Plot Allotment Sangarsh Committee, Sectors 76-80, have demanded that they should be given possession of plots allotted to them at the earliest failing which they would be compelled to launch an agitation against the Congress party from January 14.

E-Sampark Centre inaugurated
Chandigarh, January 6
The UT Administrator, Gen S.F.Rodrigues (retd), inaugurated the e-Sampark Centre in Sector 40, here on Thursday. He also launched the sale of stamp papers in all the nine sampark centres located in different parts of the city. Another new service-the receipt of deposits of the Chandigarh Housing Board(CHB) has also been introduced in the sampark centres.

Washermen oppose  demolition of ‘dhobi ghat’
Chandigarh, January 6
The work to modernise the existing ‘dhobi ghats’ began today among much opposition by the washermen of the old Dhobi Ghat. High drama was witnessed which lasted for more than three hours when the Municipal Corporation staff went to Sector 15 to demolish the old ghat.

Air Commodore Sud AOC, 12 Wing

Chandigarh, January 6 Air Commodore M. Sud took over as Air Officer Commanding (AOC), 12 Wing, here yesterday. The outgoing AOC, Air Cmde T.K. Venugopal handed over the charge to him at an impressive parade held at the Air Force Station. Air Commodore M. Sud (left) takes over charge as the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), 12 Wing, from Air Commodore T.K. Venugopal at the Air Force Station in  Chandigarh on Friday.

6,500 liquor bottles  emptied near Ghaggar
Panchkula, January 6
The District Excise and Taxation Department, today, destroyed confiscated liquor recovered during its various drives. As many as 6500 bottles were first emptied near the Ghaggar river and then broken to pieces in the "stock clearance" drive of the department.

Woman hurt in fall from first floor
Chandigarh, January 6
A 27-year-old woman was seriously hurt after having allegedly fallen from the first floor of her Sector 20 residence here, this morning. According to the police, the woman might have hurt herself by accident. However, her statement is yet to be recorded.

Date for expenditure return extended
Chandigarh, January 6
Candidates, who contested the recent Municipal Corporation elections, can file their expenditure return till January 8. Today was the last date for the candidates to file their returns. Officials stated that since today was a holiday, they had extended the date till Monday. According to the rules, the candidates have to file the details of their election expenditure within fifteen days of the declaration of the results.

CRIME

Orchestra group involved in flesh trade busted
Chandigarh, January 6
With the arrest of three girls and two men, the local police today claimed to have busted a flesh trade racket being run under the garb of music and orchestra group from a shop-cum-office in Sector 22.

EDUCATION

Coming up: Schools at Panjab University
Chandigarh, January 6
Panjab University will introduce the system of schools to bring departments working in similar fields together for sharing resources. The university is likely to bring all science departments under one roof of the science school while others will be schools of social sciences, languages and laws, besides others.

Duties of Grievances Redressal Officer extended
Chandigarh, January 6
The Panjab University Vice-Chancellor has extended the duties of the Students’ Grievances Redressal Officer to include the grievances of the university’s non-teaching employees, as well.

‘Deranged’ man takes schoolkids for a ride
Chandigarh, January 6 A flutter was caused in Dadu Majra Colony today when an alleged deranged person took hold of a rickshaw carrying schoolchildren and drove it away. The man, however, did not cause any harm to kids and instead took them to their school.

Free Urdu classes
Chandigarh, January 6
The Chandigarh office of the Language Department, Punjab, has started free Urdu Classes with effect from January 1, 2007. The classes are being held on all working days at the GGDSD College, Sector 32 here, from 5.15 pm to 6.15 pm.

Brig Jaswal gets interim bail
Chandigarh, January 6
Brig J.S. Jaswal (retd), Director, Sainik Welfare, Punjab, was today granted interim bail by the Additional District and Session Judge (ADSJ), Mr B.K. Mehta. While granting him interim relief till January 11, the court directed him to appear before the investigating officer of the Chandigarh police. It may be mentioned that the local police had registered a case of criminal intimidation and outraging the modesty of a woman on a complaint lodged by Raj Kaur, who was working as a clerk in the Sainik Welfare office.

COURTS

Motherhood vindicated in court
Chandigarh, January 6
For over a year, Santosh Gupta battled the trauma of being called the kidnapper of her own son. Her woe was compounded by the fact that she was charged with the crime by her former husband - man she once loved.

CULTURE

Chandigarh, January 6 The rising young stars of the Punjabi folk music from Moga graced the first carnival of the New Year with a captivating spell of dazzling dances and melodious songs from their maiden album ‘Dhadkan’ at the Plaza here today. The weekly musical bonanza was organised by the Centre for Carnival Arts with the Tribune group of newspapers as the media sponsor. Lucky Bhinder performs during a Punjabi musical evening at the Plaza in Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

HEALTH

Prof post in PGI’s Cardiology Dept a bone of contention
Chandigarh, January 6
The post of Professor in the Cardiology Department of the PGI has been a bone of contention for the past many years. The ongoing tug-of-war between the two senior most cardiologists of the department has not only been impeding the way of junior doctors in sharpening their skills but also inconveniencing patients.

SPORTS

Local lad loses final at CLTA courts 
Chandigarh, January 6
The defeat of local hero Vijayant Malik in the final match was a setback for the home crowd, which turned up to see him play. It was Russian Alexey Tikhonov, who lifted the men’s singles trophy beating Vijayant 6-3, 6-1 in the final match of the Sunny Enclave ITF Junior World Ranking (Grade 3) Tennis Tournament at the CLTA courts, Sector 10, here today.

St John's to take on Victoria Park in final
Chandigarh, January 6
The hosts St John's Cricket Academy will take on Victoria Park (VP), Meerut, in the final of the second St John's Trophy (U-14), at the school premises tomorrow. In the semifinal matches, St John's Academy beat Chandigarh Cricket Association-19 (CCA) by 9 wickets while VP defeated Guru Nanak Public Cricket Academy-36, by 53 runs.

L.B. Thokal wins gold in scull championship
Chandigarh, January 6
L.B. Thokal won a gold medal in the boys’ single scull event with a timing of 8:15.72. In the doubles, pairing with Rajbir, the duo grabbed another gold medal in the double scull (7:18.63) during the Chandigarh State Senior and Sprint Rowing Championships for Men and Women. The event was held at the Lake Club (Sukhna Lake), here today.

Sumit wins snooker championship
Chandigarh, January 6
Sumit Talwar, the defending champion, won the senior snooker title at the 23rd Chaudhary Vishnu Pal Singh Memorial Chandigarh State Snooker Championship, being held at the Sector 22 Chandigarh Billiards and Snooker Centre, here.

Vinay fashions AirTel win
Chandigarh, January 6
A fine knock of unbeaten 61 runs studded with 10 fours by Vinay enabled AirTel to beat Dell by six wickets in the inaugural InterMedia/Government/Corporate/Institutions Twenty-20 Cricket tournament held at the DAV College Ground in Sector 10, here today.

Guru Nanak Girls College emerge champion
Chandigarh, January 6
Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana, emerged champion beating GGS College for Women 3-2 in the Panjab University Softball (women) Championship 2006-07 at the PU Campus, here today.

Veterans’ TT at Patiala
Chandigarh, January 6
The Mall Road branch of the State Bank of Patiala will sponsor the sixth Patiala District Veterans’ Table Tennis Championships to be held on January 14 at DAV Public School, Patiala.