Chandigarh, August 6
Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, has been given the nod to upgrade its incinerator. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting here today. The administration has asked the hospital authorities to submit afresh the proposal to upgrade the incinerator.

The meeting was attended, among others, by the finance secretary, Chandigarh, the member secretary, Chandigarh Pollution Committee, and the Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMCH.

Earlier, the proposal to set up the new incinerator at the hospital was rejected by the administration. It cited provisions of the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, which said the installation of individual incinerator by a hospital should be discouraged. The hospital authorities were told that the Central Pollution Control Board allows incinerators at common biomedical waste treatment facility only.

All apprehensions and misgivings of the pollution committee were addressed and the GMCH would submit its fresh proposals within the next couple of days for upgrading the incinerator to treat the biomedical waste with a capacity of 200 kg per hour, said the hospital authorities.

In fact, the GMCH was not setting up any new incinerator, said the authorities. It just needed to increase its capacity as it was able to treat hardly 10 kg of waste per hour. As the hospital with a capacity of 600 beds produce around 250 kg of waste every day, it was not possible to treat the waste in this plant and the incinerator at the Sector 16 hospital was being used to treat the remaining waste. Hence there was need to upgrade the plant, added the authorities. 

Chandigarh, August 6
Riding high on the hat-trick by Ben William, hosts St Xavier's (Yellow)-44 thrashed Delhi Public School (DPS), Pinjore, by 5-0 on the opening day of the St Xavier's six-a-side football tournament (u-13) at the school ground, here, today.

The win for the hosts came despite wasting many clear chances. Ben William scored the first goal in the fifth minute. He again struck in the 15th minute, taking advantage of the weak defence line of the rivals.

Ben William completed his hat-trick in the 25th minute.

The fourth goal came in the 28th minute from Vikas. Mohit sealed 5-0 victory in the 30th minute.

In another match, Baptist stunned St Soldier's team by 4-0. With his hat-trick, Amit Kumar guided the team to victory. Amit netted in the 10th, 25th and 28th minutes of the match. The last goal came through Karan Chabbra, who hit in the 38th minute.

Other results

St Xavier's Green-44, b St Xavier's, Panchkula, 1-0; Guru Nanak Public School-36, b St Mary-46, 6-0; Little Flowers Convent School, Panchkula, b St Joseph's-44, 2-1; St Kabir-26 b Shishu Niketan-22, 4-0;

Five matches ended in walkovers. St Soldiers w/o Shivalik Public School-41; Baptist w/o Anchal-41; GPS-36 w/o DAVP-15, St Marry-46 w/o AKSIPS-41 and St Xavier's, Panchkula, got walkover from DAVP-15.

Panchkula, August 6
Satluj Public School (SPS), Sector 4, won various positions in the lawn tennis tournament concluded at the Gymkhana Club, Sector 6, here today.

The tournament was held under the aegis of the Panchkula Inter-School District Sports.

Results

U-19 boys: Reekrit Sarai and Siddhant Jain of SPS b Hansraj Public School 2-0; u-14 boys: Sachit and Prashant of SPS b CL DAV Senior Secondary School 2-1; u-17 girls: Aastha Thakur and Sugandha of SPS b Hansraj Public School by 4-1.

Chandigarh, August 6
Anshul Garg of Uttar Pradesh clinched three titles - men's singles, young boys’ singles and junior boys’ singles - in the Prof R.S. Mehta Memorial North Zone Invitation Table Tennis Championship. The championship concluded at Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall, here, yesterday.

In the men's singles final, Dev Saini and Anshul Garg had an easy round. The paddler from Uttar Pradesh raced to a 2-0 lead (11-9, 11-8) before local paddler Dev Saini won the third game at 11-9.

After that, Anshul again had an edge over Saini and grabbed the fourth and fifth games, sealing the fate of the match 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Anshul Garg and Dev Saini also figured in the junior boys’ singles final. Playing a consistent game, Anshul beat Dev 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.

Anshul bagged his third title as he defeated Hitesh Dogra from Jalandhar 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10 in the young boys’ singles final.

Nadia Saini of the GGS College for Women, Sector 26, beat Manisha Sharma of Patiala 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 and 11-9. The junior girls’ title was bagged by Meghna of Sacred Heart-26, who got the better of Sadhika Kaushal of Government Model-16 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7.

Results

Women’s singles: Quarter-finals: Manisha Sharma (Pat) b Meghna (SH-26) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5, Nadia Saini (SGGS-26) b Barbie Nagpal (DAVOS-8) 15-17, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, Kalyani (MM-21) b Bhawna (GM-16) 11-4, 11-9, 1-11, 13-11, 11-7, Sadhika Kaushal (GM-16) b Naina (DAVPS-8) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9; semi-finals: Nadia Saini (GGSCW-26) b Sadhika Kaushal (GM-16) 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, Manisha Sharma (Pat) b Kalyani (MM-21) 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 12-14, 11-6; final: Nadia Saini (SGGS-26) b Manisha Sharma (Pat) 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9.

Men's singles: Quarter-finals: Dheeraj Arora (J-K) b Vikash Mahajan (AG Punjab) 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 7-11, Dev Saini b Sumit Chaudhary (AKSIPS) 11-5, 12-10, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-1, Pankaj Sharma b Sahil Mattu (Asr) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4, Anshul Garg (UP) b Vikas Sharma (AG Pb) 11-3, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6; semi-finals: Anshul Garg (UP) b Pankaj Sharma 14-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, Dev Saini b Dheeraj Arora (J-K) 11-8, 12-10, 11-13, 11-8, 5-11, 9-11, 11-3; final: Anshul Garg (UP) b Dev Saini 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Young girls’ singles: Quarter-finals: Nadia Saini (GGSCW-26) b Yashpreet (Pat) 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, Kalyani (MM-21) b Sunanda Mahindra (NPS-18) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, Meghna Kakaria (SH-26) b Naina Suri (DAVPS-8) 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6; semi-finals: Manisha Sharma (Patiala) b Meghna Kakaria (SH-26) 11-5, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8, Nadia Saini (GGSCW-26) b Kalyani (MM-21) 11-6, 11-4, 11-3, 11-6); final: Manisha Sharma (Patiala) b Nadia Saini (GGSCW-26) 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5.

Young boys’ singles: Kamalajit (Pat) b Piyush 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, Hitesh Dogra (Jal) b Rachit (PU) 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6, Anshul Garg (UP) b Sahil Sharma (Ldh) 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, Dev Saini (NPS) b Vandit Salwan (Jal) 11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8; semi-finals: Anshul Garg (UP) b Dev Saini (NPS) 11-3, 7-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7, Hitesh Dogra (Jal) b Kamaljit (Pat) 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9; final: Anshul Garg (UP) b Hitesh Dogra (Jal) 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10.

Junior boys’ singles: final: Anshul Garg (UP) b Dev Saini (NPS) 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.

Chandigarh, August 6
It is the excitement of freely hitting a ball towards a wall with a racket that is attracting most players towards squash. For them, hitting the ball with passion relieves stress and also gives a feeling of exhilaration, which perhaps no other sport may offer. Moreover, it is a less technical game.

Earlier called “the elites’ game”, squash is now getting an increased number of players and lovers in the city. The graph of players of this British game is now inclining day by day as around 60 players have already started to turn up at the squash court of the Lake Club daily.

“Squash a stress-relieving game, in which anyone can get enjoyment from the day first as there are not many techniques to be followed by the beginners,” says squash coach at the Lake Club. Another thing is that it is ‘injury-prone’ game. As the squash courts have wooden floors, there are chances of injuries to ankles, knees and even to the spine.

Although there has been a rise in the number of squash lovers, but no player from the city has won laurels in the game at the national level. It may be due to lesser number of courts for public use. Accepting this, coach of the Lake Club Khushwant Singh said, “Players need more than one-and-half-hour daily practice to get the density, but they are lagging behind due to lack of courts.”

On why the game is less popular among the common people, player Maninder Singh said, “Most of the courts in the city have no seating arrangement for spectators, but here at the Lake Club now, the glass wall is proving to be a plus point for grabbing the interest of the public in the game as they can now watch the game even from outside the court.”

At present, there are two squash courts at the club with facilities matching with international standards. Looking at people’s interest and time’s demand, there is need of more courts. “The club allows each player only 30 minutes’ practice a day. There should be more courts in the club as we have to wait for our turn,” said Gurnihal Singh, a budding player.

“There is only one coach and when he takes leave or goes out of the city with the team for any tournament, we have to practice on our own without any guidance,” rued a player.

Even after getting a substantial number of votes in the category of new games, which were to be entered in the list of Olympic Games of 2008, it could not make it to the final list due to some reasons .

Chandigarh, August 6
Fine contribution by Guru Nanak Cricket Academy, Sector 36, defeated Mohali Cricket Academy by 36 runs in the u-11 Chandigarh Inter-Academy Invitation Cricket Tournament being organised by DP Azad Academy at St Stephen's School, Sector 45, here yesterday.

Guru Nanak Cricket Academy won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Nipun Bhargav and Pranshu gave a solid start as the opening wicket stand contributed 43 runs. Raman and Shubham contributed 22 and 13 runs, respectively. GNCA made 108 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Mohali Cricket Academy could muster only 72 for eight wickets in the allotted overs. Sahil Sharma and Abhimanyu were the main scorers for the team. Parvesh Sharma, Harpreet Singh and Abhishek bowled well, taking two wickets each for 19, 18 and 6 runs, respectively.

Brief scores

Guru Nanak Cricket Academy: 108 for 5 in 20 overs (Nipun Bhargav 27, Pranshu 21, Raman 22, Shubhum 13, Arunam 1 for 13, Mandeep 1 for 20, Abhimanyu 1 for 16); Mohali Cricket Academy: 72 for 8 in 20 overs (Sahil Sharma 26, Abhimanyu 13, Parvesh Sharma 2 for 19, Harpreet Singh 2 for 18, Abhishek 2 for 6). 

Ambala, August 6
Challenger Club defeated the Jarot XI by 24 runs in Ambala Cricket Cup, which concluded here today. President of Ambala Congress Committee, Arun Garg, was the chief guest on the concluding day. While addressing the players he said they should play the game with sportsman’s spirit. Cricket coach Surender Pankaj and municipal councillor Ajay Saini were also present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, August 6
If one goes by its achievements, the Handball Coaching Centre at the Sports Complex, Sector 42, is definitely a ‘centre of excellence’.

After being set up in 2003, the centre has been instrumental in preparing several players for national and international tournaments.

Kamini Gautam, a product of this centre, was part of the Indian handball squad at the Asian Games held in 2006 at Doha. With this, Kamini became the first girl from the region to touch such heights in the game.

Rooman, another girl player from the centre, also made it to the India camp (senior) held at Gandhinagar (Gujarat).

In the boys’ section, Hukum Singh represented the country at the Junior Asian Handball Championship held in Thailand last year while Anil Kumar participated in the Youth Championship at Hiroshima (Japan) in 2005.

Ravneet, Rajwinder, Nirmala and Anita are other players from the centre who have made it to national camps. Ravneet and Rajwinder were probables at a senior national camp while Nirmala and Anita attended the junior national camp. Apart from this, the centre’s team has been winning the state championship since its existence.

Citing the reasons for this success, Iqbal Singh, the coach, said, “Regular attendance and practice are the main reasons for our success. Over 50 players come here regularly for practice.”

“Although the game is popular in the city, there is still a lot that needs to be done to enhance it,” said Iqbal, who was awarded with the ‘State Award’ this year for his services.

“The first thing the authorities should do is increase the number of handball tournaments held as only a few competitions take place here. Besides, indoor courts with terra-flex flooring should be built. While competitions at the international level are held in indoor stadiums on terra-flex floors, we practise on cemented or ‘kaccha’ (soil) courts. This makes a lot of a difference,” added Iqbal.

Despite producing good results, the players, especially girls, are unhappy with the facilities at the centre. “There is no toilet here. Even drinking water is not provided here. For the purpose, we have to go to the main building of the complex, which is over 200 metres away. We do not even have a changing room,” the girls rued.

Wild growth all around the two cemented courts poses another problem. “The undergrowth is full of dangerous reptiles and insects. We have seen snakes and scorpions here. This is very dangerous as, at times, we have to search for our ball in this wild grass. The authorities should pay immediate attention to our problems,” they added. 

Chandigarh, August 6
The administration has released a list of officers appointed as protection officers for exercising powers and discharging duties in their respective areas under the provisions of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, in the UT.

In a notification issued here, the tehsildar (district revenue) will look into the cases falling under the police station (North) covering from Sector 1 to 10; Kaimbwala; the police station (Central) covering Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23; the police station (West) covering Sectors 11, 12, 14, 15, 24 and 25, Lahora, Khuda Jassu, Sarangpur, Dhanas and Khuda Alisher.

The tehsildar (colonies and enforcement) will look into the matters of the areas falling under the police station, Sector 26, covering Sectors 7, 26, 27, 28, Grain Market, Bapu Dham colony and Transport area; the police station, Sector 19, covering from Sector 18 to 21; and the police station, Sector 31, covering Sectors 31, 47 and 48, Bairmajra, Karsan, Halloomajra, Gagarmajra, Behlana, Jhumra, Industrial Area (Phase II), Airfield and Ram Darbar.

He will also look into the matters falling under the police station, Industrial Area, covering Sectors 29 and 30, Industrial Area (Phase 1), Colony no. 4, Raipur Khurd and Daira; and the police station, Manimajra, covering Manimajra, Kishangarh, Bhagwanpura, Railway colony, Mauli Jagran, Raipur Kalan, Indira Colony and Modern Housing Complex, Mani Majra.

The tehsildar (land acquisition) would deal with the cases relating to the police station, Sector 34, covering Sectors 32, 33, 34, 44, 45, 46, 49, Burail, Colony no 5 and Nizampur; the police station, Sector 36, covering Sectors 35, 36, 42, 43, 52, 53, 56, 61 Kajheri and Atawa; and the police station, Sector 39, covering from Sector 37 to 41, 55, Daddu Majra, Shahpur, Butrela, Badheri, Palsora and Maloya.