Injured man dies in hospital
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 — A man aged about 82 years died at the PGI today due to injuries he received in an road accident here this afternoon.

Meanwhile, two persons have been injured in separate accidents during the past 24 hours.

The old man, R.D. Sharma, a resident of Sector 40, was hit by a Maruti car near his house this afternoon. He was rushed to the PGI where he died in the evening. A case has been registered against car driver Ajay Dutta.

Mr Vikas Alam of Sector 41 was riding his scooter (CHP-4500) when he was hit by a car (PB-27-1408) near the Sectors 36, 37, 41 and 42 roundabout. The car driver sped off leaving behind the car that has been impounded.

Meanwhile, an unidentified cyclist was hit by a car (PB-24-1181) on the road dividing Sectors 36 and 37. He was admitted to the General Hospital, Sector 16. The car driver sped off. Separate cases have been registered

Vehicles stolen : A mini truck and a car has been stolen in separate incidents in the city. A mini truck (CH-01-M-8878) has been stolen from Sector 32. A complaint was lodged by Mohinder Singh. A white Maruti van (CH-01-Q-8020), owned by Mr Banarsi Lal Khanna. was stolen from his residence in Sector 47. Mr Khanna said he had parked his van around midnight.

Besides this, two car stereos have been stolen in separate incidents. A stereo was stolen from the car (CH-01-P-0333) of Ms Kavita Maria in Sector 16. A stereo was stolen from the car (CH-01-U-6945), owned by Mr Dinesh Kakkar of Sector 47.

Complaint : A woman living in Sector 28 , Saroj Bala, has alleged that her in-laws were maltreating her. A case under sections 406, 498-A and 34 of the IPC has been registered against Sanjeev Goyal, Tarsem Goyal and Sunita Goyal of Sector 38.

Youth hurt : A youth, Ammi Raghu, living in general hostel Sector 15 was injured when he fell off the roof of the hostel last night.

Burn injuries : A resident of colony No 4 , Savitri Devi , received burn injuries at her home this afternoon. She was admitted to the PGI.

House burgled : A house in Sector 44 was burgled yesterday afternoon as the occupants were out . Mrs Sarojini Masih reported that the theft took place between noon and 2 pm. The family says it lost nearly Rs 1 lakh in cash.

Animals stolen : Two buffaloes and a calf were stolen from the residence of Ram Pratap in Kishangarh Village located on the northern side of the union territory. A case has been registered under Section 380 of the IPC.

Man assaulted : Two persons travelling in a Maruti (HR-05-F-4349) allegedly assaulted and threatened Mr K.N. Dutt of Modern Housing Complex, Mani Majra. The car fled away and a case under sections 452, 341, 323, 506, 427 and 34 of the IPC has been registered.

PUTA asks teachers to do exam duty
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 —The Panjab University Teachers Association has appealed to the teachers through its newsletter to volunteer for examination related work to generate goodwill among the public which seems to believe that the disruptions in the education system are the doing of the teachers.

The appeal comes after a letter issued by Dr Sodhi Ram, Controller of Examination, to PUTA President, Dr S.P. Gautam, seeking his help in the conduct and evaluation of answer-books on account of college teachers being asked to report for election duty.

Elected : Prof B.B. Goel of the Department of Correspondence Studies from the Department of Public Administration, co-opted as a member of Haryana School Education Board, has been elected member of the governing council of Indian Society for Studies in Co-operation based at Pune.

The society is engaged in promoting and propagating ideals, philosophy and policy developments in India and abroad besides undertaking consultancy and action research programmes.

Meeting: In a meeting of the members of Panjab University Students Union, it was decided that in case an extension is given to Dean Student Welfare, Dr R.S.Grewal, PUSU will launch an agitation and prevent him from entering office.

It also appealed to the Syndics that the fee hike should not be more than 25 per cent and there should be 80 per cent reservation for the graduates in the M Pharma course.

In a press note issued here today, PUSU highlighted the paucity of water in the various hostels and the complete failure of the overhead tank systems recently installed. It has appealed to the authorities to take action on the complaints at the earliest.

Hike in prices of cold drinks
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 —The cold drink lovers will be a bit uneasy as all brands of cold drinks have witnessed a considerable increase in their prices during the past two days.

During a survey of the local market, it was found that it was for the first time during the past one and a half years that the prices of cold drinks had been revised by the companies concerned. The last time the prices were increased in 1997. The hike, Re 1 per 300-ml bottle, was uniformly implemented throughout the country. The hike was being attributed to no relief in excise duty. Another factor was the recent hike in the transportation charges owing to an increase in the prices of diesel. The excise duty of 40 per cent on cold drinks was the highest in the world, trade sources said.

According to trade sources, the retail price of a 300-ml bottle of a cold drink has increased from Rs 8 to Rs 9. Similarly, the wholesale price of the commodity has increased from Rs 168 to Rs 192 per crate of 12 bottles. As far as the price of a one-litre bottle was concerned, it has increased from Rs 20 to Rs 24. The wholesale price of the same has gone up from Rs 109 to Rs 127 per crate of six bottles. The hike was effected by Coca Cola and Pepsi from April 22 and 21, respectively.

Meanwhile, the hike has generated discontent among the traders and the consumers as they said the hike was unjustified. Mr Ishwant Singh, a Sector 22 trader said with the hike the profit margin of the retailers had decreased from 14 to 12 per cent. "Earlier, we were getting a 300-ml bottle for Rs 7 and now we have to shell out Rs 8 per bottle. Similarly, a one-litre bottle, which was priced at Rs 18.50 earlier, will be available to us in the wholesale market for Rs 21.50 now," he added.

Mr Parminder Singh of Sector 20 said that as the hike was considerable, he would have to make a cut on his monthly purchase from four crates to two. Similarly, Shipra Berry, a college student, said the hike would affect her monthly pocket money budget as she consumed at least one bottle per day during summer.