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Major fire renders 250 families homeless
Panchkula, April 28
Tragedy came enveloped in flames for 250-odd families of Saketri late this evening when a major fire broke out in the jhuggi-cluster of the village. Though no loss of life was known till the filing of this report, the fire was nothing short of catastrophe for these families with all their belongings reduced to ashes.

Firefighters douse fire that broke out at a jhuggi cluster near Saketri on Saturday night. — Photo by Malkiat Singh

Adviser’s complaint prompted vigilance raid
Chandigarh, April 28
In a typical bureaucratic setup, different officials of the Chandigarh administration are working at cross-purposes, much to the inconvenience of city residents.

Taj serves worms with kebabs
Chandigarh, April 28
Hotel GVK Taj had yet another brush with controversy tonight, with some guests complaining about the presence of worms in a particular snack served to them before dinner at the hotel.

A live worm in the seekh kebab served at Hotel GVK Taj in Chandigarh on Saturday.

REGIONAL BRIEFS

Traffickers
A Tribune Debate

	25 from city make it to IIMs April 28, 2007
	Land owners get BKU support April 27, 2007
	Gave tickets, not visas: Sandal Travels April 26, 2007
	Deported youths name city agent April 25, 2007
	Allotment rules flouted by CII  April 24, 2007
	Principal shoots off letter to admn April 23, 2007
	Bigwigs influence admissions April 22, 2007
	CISF seeks ‘little’ space at Capitol Complex April 21, 2007

Now, NGO targets beggary Chandigarh, April 28 The visitors to sector 17 Plaza were in for a pleasant surprise today. For a change, they were accosted not by beggars, but by young volunteers campaigning against beggary. NO DONATIONS PLEASE: Members of We Volunteers, an NGO, carry out an anti-beggary signature campaign in Sector 17 Plaza on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

Wheat straw burning, threshing dust triggering acute asthma

Burning of straw continues despite ban Chandigarh, April 28 Harvesting season is here with its share of seasonal allergies and respiratory disorders. This time, however, specialists are reporting a very high incidence of asthma triggered by wheat threshing dust. The incidence is reported to be as high as 28 per cent in certain pockets of population in the region. Wheat straw being burnt in a field at Tanda.

COMMUNITY

VILLAINOUS GAIT: Prem Chopra at the Chandigarh airport, before hitting the road for a journey to Ludhiana on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Entry of MNCs
Beopar mandal’s hi-tech plan to save traders
Chandigarh, April 28
Fighting with their back to the wall against the entry of MNCs and major Indian corporates in the retail sector, the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal has decided to take up the cudgels against corporate giants in a bid to safeguard the interest of traditional traders.

ESIC spent Rs 1 cr on treatments last fiscal
Chandigarh, April 28
The regional office of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation in Chandigarh disbursed over Rs 1 crore for the treatment of patients needing super-specialty treatment during the past fiscal.

• Claims belied

JCO says he did not receive any report on surplus ammunition
Chandigarh, April 28
A junior commissioned officer in charge of ammunition of 5 Sikh Light Infantry today stated before the general court martial trying a colonel for alleged misappropriation of ammunition in the Kargil sector that he had not received any report from his unit personnel that 4/8 Gorkha Rifles, the accused’s unit, was holding any surplus or unaccounted ammunition.

In-house training favoured for arbitrators Chandigarh, April 28 Unanimously elected vice-president of the Indian Council of Arbitration at the polls held this week in Mumbai, designated senior advocate P.C. Markanda is in favour of in-house training for the arbitrators. In a one to one with The Tribune over the phone from Nainital where he has gone to argue cases in the Uttrakhand High Court.

P.C. Markanda

92 poor youths imparted training
Chandigarh, April 28
As many as 92 youths from BPL families of Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran, Ram Darbar and Sector 29 have been trained as medical attendant and multiple-purpose worker by the Surya Foundation in collaboration with the municipal corporation under the Swaran Jayanti Shahri Rojgar Yojna during the last two years.

Jawan cremated with full honours Mohali, April 28 Havildar Jarnail Singh, who was killed in a counter insurgency operation in Arunachal Pradesh on April 25, was cremated with full military honours at his native village in Tripuri near here today. According to a press note, jawans of the AAD Regiment, Chandi Mandir, paid respects to the martyr who laid down his life for the nation, along with two others, in an area that falls in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Havildar Jarnail Singh

Woman suffers 100 pc burns
Chandigarh, April 28
A 22-year-old married woman allegedly suffered burns while warming milk on a stove at her Sector 52 residence late last night. She has been admitted to the PGI with 100 per cent burns.

Stale sandwich served on Shatabdi
Chandigarh, April 28
Passengers of the evening 2005 Kalka Shatabdi Express continue to be inconvenienced, with stale food being served on board. The fact came to light yet again this evening when Satinder Kaur, a Chandigarh resident was travelling back to Chandigarh from New Delhi.

Acquisition: admn invites objections
Chandigarh, April 28
Going ahead with its plan to acquire 104 acres for the phase III of the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, Mani Majra, the Chandigarh administration has invited objections from the land owners under Section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act.

• CITCO shed owners thank admn
• Letters

CRIME

Abducted girl reunited with family
Chandigarh, April 28
It took over a month for a poor family to get justice when sleuths of the Chandigarh crime branch handed over their minor daughter, allegedly kidnapped on March 13, yesterday. The crime branch team traced the 14-year-old girl from the police station, Sourav Vihar, Bhadarpur, at New Delhi on Thursday night.

2 killed in road accident
Lalru, April 28
Two persons were killed in an accident between a car and a motorcycle on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway at Sirsini village, near here, early today. According to the police, the accident occurred when the Indica car was trying to overtake motorcyclists Pal Singh and Sakatar Singh who were on their way from Lalru to Dangdehra village.

Film producer in police net Chandigarh, April 28 The police today arrested a Panipat resident, claiming to be a film producer, on the allegations of duping youngsters aspiring to work in films. He was allegedly taking money from them without issuing receipts when he was arrested from a SCO in Sector 40 here, said the police.                                                        Dharamveer Dixit

Man booked for false complaint
Panchkula, April 28
The police today registered a case against a complainant who was found to have misled them. Sunil Dhiman, a resident of Rail Vihar, working with the HDFC Bank, Sector 11, today complained to the police that his mobile was snatched while he was crossing the road dividing Sectors 10 and 11.

6 mobiles, cash stolen from shop
Chandigarh, April 28
Thieves reportedly decamped with six mobile phones and cash from a shop in Sector 32 last night. Sunil Bhasin, owner of Saak Communications, Sector 32 D, lodged a complaint with the police stating that he found his shop ransacked when he opened it this morning. Empty boxes of mobile phones and a sum of Rs 3,500 were missing.

EDUCATION

Two govt schools inspected
Chandigarh, April 28
On the lines of private schools, the Chandigarh education department today carried out inspection of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, and Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, to assess their functioning.

Pvt school staff to come under ESI purview
Chandigarh, April 28
The social security network of the Employees State Insurance scheme is set to be widened with the inclusion of employees of the private schools and medical centres in its purview.

Cancellation of CET
PU syndicate sends report to senate
Chandigarh, April 28
Members of the Panjab University syndicate today referred the report submitted by Justice G.C. Garg on the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the common entrance test last year to the senate for discussion and necessary action.

City schools to introduce NSS
Chandigarh, April 28
“The national service scheme will be introduced for the students of Class IX onwards from this academic session,” announced director public instructions (S) S.K. Setia while addressing the principals of all schools of the city in a meeting held at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, here, today.

Children left unattended
Teachers party during school hours
Panchkula, April 28
Learning no lessons from February’s Aman Luthra fire tragedy, the staff of Sarthak Government Model School, Sector 12 A, today left students unattended yet again in the classrooms during school hours while they partied in the principal’s room.

Diet counselling
Chandigarh, April 28
The education department will organise regular diet counselling sessions under the school health programme. This decision was taken in a specially arranged parent teachers meetings in rural and urban schools of Chandigarh.

From Colleges
CONFERENCE: A national conference on “Grand challenges in the field of electrical engineering” started at the Rayat Institute of Engineering and Technology, near here, on Saturday.

From Schools
SCIENCE QUIZ: Swami Ram Tirtha Public High School, Phase IV, here, organised a social science quiz. Students of Maurya team won the quiz. Yesterday, the school had held an interactive activity on table manners and etiquettes for the Kindergarten section.

COURTS

Judicial Chambers
Advocates opt for self-finance scheme
Chandigarh, April 28
The District Bar Association today decided to opt for self-financing scheme for lawyers’ chamber to come up at the proposed judicial complex in Sector 43 here. Under the scheme, lawyers will have to pay a certain amount each to get the chambers.

CULTURE

Anup owes part success to devotional lyrics Chandigarh, April 28 “No literary work has influenced the socio-cultural life of Indians as much as the Ramayana and Mahabharta epics.   Devotional music maestro Anup Jalota at the Chandigarh airport en route to Baddi on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics enrapture plaza Ecstasy, romance, solitude and passion in their plenitude were perceptible in timeless musical melodies penned by peerless poet Sahir Ludhianvi and presented at the Plaza Carnival in Sector 17, Chandigarh, today. Playback singer Brijesh Ahuja performs at Plaza Carnival, Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

HEALTH

Doc talks on radial angiography
Mohali, April 28
Radial angiography is totally risk free as compared to the conventional transfemoral angiography, stated Dr Rakesh K. Jaswal, senior consultant, interventional cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, at a Friends of Fortis program held here yesterday.

Parents’ initiative to save PID kids
Chandigarh, April 28
Rubby Chawla and Rakesh Chawla of Rourkela in Orissa lost their two sons for the want of general awareness about primary immuno-deficiency disorders. Their children died at the age of nine and four years, respectively, as one of them could not be diagnosed with the disorder, while for the other it got too late.

SPORTS

World Cup Big screens draw zealots out Chandigarh, April 28 The scenario would have been totally different if India would have been there in the title clash of World Cup 2007 at Barbados today. World cup matches had lost their sheen after the disgraceful ouster of India. Cricket fans watch the World Cup final match on a big screen in a restaurant in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Malkiat Singh

Experts appointed by BCCI at zonal camp Working hard behind the scenes
Mohali, April 28 Preparing international cricketers is their job and aim. For this, five experts appointed by the BCCI in different departments of the game have been working hard along with 25 budding players (under-15) at a month-long Zonal Cricket Academy (North zone) camp being held at PCA stadium here.	From left: Rajdeep Kalsi, Munish Bali, Bharti Vij, Vishwas Walavalkar and Abhishek Joshi. — Tribune photographs

Mehjot rocks, Subham props Chandigarh Chandigarh, April 28 The batting of the Chandigarh team was propped up by the seventh-wicket stand of 77 runs between Subham Mahajan (87 runs, 14 fours) and Hitesh Bhutani (31 runs, three fours) on the first day of the three-day final match for the Punjab State Inter-District Under-15 tournament for the Sushil Bali Trophy. The final match between Chandigarh and Patiala in progress during the Punjab State Inter-District Under-15 tournament at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Satluj, St Soldier schools win
Panchkula, April 28
A superb unbeaten knock of 80 runs off 44 balls by skipper Shankar Nair enabled Satluj Public School to beat St Xavier’s Cricket Academy by eight wickets in the Satluj Hot Weather Under-17 Cricket Tournament held at Satluj Public School, Sector 4, here today.

Under-19 cricket trials on May 3
Chandigarh, April 28
Trials for the selection of the under-19 cricket team for the Chandigarh Cricket Association affiliated to the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) will be held on May 3 at 3 pm at the CCA Guru Nanak Cricket Academy, Sector 36, Chandigarh.