Husband knocks down wife
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — The reported friction between a husband and wife manifested itself on a city road when the husband, in a fit of rage, knocked down the scooter of his wife, injuring her in the process.

According to police sources, Mrs Prabhdip Kaur, a resident of Sector 40-D, lodged a complaint with the police that she had been knocked down by her husband, who was on his scooter, near the Sector 23/35 roundabout. Not content with this, he reportedly thrashed her on the road itself, ignoring her injuries and pleas to get her some medical aid.

The police has registered a case against Amrik Singh, her husband, under Sections 341, 307 and 506, IPC. Further investigations are in progress but no arrests have been made.

Suicide bid: Pawan Kumar, a resident of Sector 38, reportedly tried to commit suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. He has been admitted to the PGI and further investigations by the police are in progress.

Abduction case: Mr Ganga Parshad, a resident of Ram Darbar, Phase II, has lodged a complaint with the police that his neighbour Babloo has abducted his minor daughter. The police has registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 A.

Harassment alleged: The police has arrested Gopi Chand and his wife Kishna on the basis of a complaint lodged by their daughter-in-law yesterday, accusing them of harassing her for bringing inadequate dowry.

Truck driver held: The police has arrested Kuldeep Singh, a truck driver who had knocked down a scooterist near the Sector 26 petrol pump. The injured Narinder Singh has been admitted to the PGI.

In another incident, the police has arrested Bal Krishan, a truck driver for knocking down and injuring cyclist Mohan Lal, near the Hallo Majra roundabout.

Chief guest delays play
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — A historic-religious Punjabi play, 'Tati Tawi Da Saka', based on the sacrifice of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev, who had compiled Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, was staged today at the Tagore Theatre.

The play was organised by the GGS Cultural Centre in collaboration with the Creative Film and Theatre Institute, Mohali.

The play which was scheduled to be held at 6.30, started at least two hours late, since the organisers refused to start it before the chief guest, a Punjab minister, arrived. And it was only after the minister's long speech that the play finally began. He said that theatre people were the real treasure of any nation, since they did not belong to any caste or religion.

Today's production was directed by Guru Pandit Ratan Shankar and written by Vinod Kumar. Those in the lead included T.S. Gill as Chandu, Vinod as Suleiman, Vijay as Prithi Chand, Rupinder Pal as Badshah, and H.S. Billing as Miya Meer.

A disappointing musical evening
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — As part of its weekly Thursday cultural programme, the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi organised a musical evening here today with Punjabi singer Manpreet Akhtar of 'Kuch-Kuch Hota Hai' fame. The programme was held at the Punjab Kala Bhavan, Rose Garden, Sector 16.

It was a disappointing show, with Manpreet Akhtar unable to lift the mood of the audience. She sang some popular fast-paced Punjabi numbers. The audience started sending requests from the beginning of the show.

Beginning the evening with the foot-tapping 'Duma-Dum Mast Kalandar', she went on to sing the much-heard 'Mera Laung Gawacha'. Poor acoustics, accompanied by amateurish and jarring music, added to the non-inspiring musical evening.

Punjabi singer Manpreet Akhtar performs at Punjab Kala Bhavan, Sector 16, Chandigarh, on Thursday.

‘Dasehri’ dominates market
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — More arrivals, low price and high popularity among residents has seen 'dasehri' variety of mango dominating the local fruit scene and registering its presence in every part of the city.

After a survey of the market, it was found that almost the entire city roadside was dotted with 'rehris' selling 'dasehri' variety, particularly those coming from Saharanpur, at a price between Rs 12 and Rs 20 a kg. The wholesale price of the fruit was Rs 75 to Rs 100 per 7 kg pack. 'Dasehri' variety coming from Lucknow was priced at Rs 20 to Rs 22 a kg in retail and at Rs 100 to Rs 150 per 10 kg pack in the wholesale market.

According to fruit sellers, a majority of buyers prefer 'dasehri Saharanpuri' for its juice and sweetness. Another peculiar quality of the variety is that unlike 'dasheri Lucknavi' it does not become overripe in a short period.

The other all time hot favourite variety of the fruit available in the market was 'chausa', priced at Rs 20 in retail market and at Rs 130 per 9 to 10 kg pack in different parts of the city. "It is 'chausa' which generally rules the hearts of mango lovers for its lesser fibre content. But, its best quality is yet to arrive in the market, hence, a higher demand for 'dasehri' variety," said Ganpat Rai Hans, a Sector 26 wholesale fruit dealer.

'Kupi', another juicy variety of the fruit from Lucknow, was priced at Rs 20 a kg in the retail market and at Rs 100 per 9 kg pack in the wholesale market. The variety is popular among those who prefer more sweet and juicy content in the fruit.

According to sources, the market is receiving more fruit as compared to the last year. "If during last year we were getting between 12 to 15 truckloads daily, nowadays, the market is getting 25 truckloads of the fruit and 60 per cent of it is 'dasehri' variety," said another wholesaler. He said, the sweet-sour 'langra' variety, priced at Rs 15 a kg, was also finding a large number of buyers in markets. "Those who do not like much of sugar, go in for 'langra' variety," said a Sector 20 trader.

Enquiries with traders also revealed that the fruit was cheaper in the market than the last year due to more arrivals, owing to a good crop in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. "Almost all varieties are cheaper by Rs 5 a kg this year," said a trader. He said the prices were likely to increase after a fortnight as the arrivals were likely to decline.

Inter-school meets in August
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 8— The Chandigarh inter-school sports competitions will begin in August with matches for girls on August 20 and 21 and matches for boys from August 24 to 26 , according to sources in the the Education department and the Chandigarh Administration . The disciplines include wrestling ( boys), gymnastics, swimming, judo and carrom ( all for boys and girls). Competitions in boxing will be held only for boys. Also, competitions will be held in two groups —under 19 and under 14 .

The last date for the receipt of entries for all the above disciplines is August 18.

The month of September will have tournaments for boys from September 24 to 27 and for girls from September 28 to 30. The Pre-Nehru Hockey Tournament for boys and girls in the age groups of under-17 and under-15 will be followed by competitions in lawn tennis, badminton and table tennis for both boys and girls in the under -9 and under-14 sections.

The matches in basketball, handball, hockey and kabaddi in under-19 and under-14, both for boys and girls, will be organised in October and also of football for boys in the under-19 and under-14 sections will be conducted. This month will also see competitions in football for girls in the under-19 section . The matches for boys will be held from October 19 to 23 and for girls from October 27 to 29. This month the inter-school events in volleyball and kho-kho for both boys and girls in the under-19 and under-14 sections would also be organised.

In November the boys competition would be from the third of the month while for girls it will be from November 9 to 12. Cricket for boys in the age groups of under-19, under-16 and under-14 would be organised this month followed by cricket for girls ( under-19 ), and karate (boys and girls) . the last event of the month will be ball badminton for boys and girls.

The games for the primary school children will also be organised from November 23 to 25.

The last month of the year will have the inter-school competitions in athletics for boys and girls from December 20 to 23.

Funds for Kargil martyrs
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — In the continuing gesture for the Kargil martyrs, the employees of the Sports Department , Chandigarh Administration, and of the Chandigarh Sports Council have together contributed a sum of Rs 24,750 and Rs 2,550, respectively, for the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, according to Mr J.P.S. Sidhu, Joint Director ( Sports ), Chandigarh Administration.

The amount by way of a demand draft for Rs 27300 was handed over to the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Director, Sports , Chandigarh Administration, Mr Ramsekhar.

Death mourned: The UT Cricket Association has deeply mourned the death of former Indian batsman and a key figure in Indian cricket, M. L.Jaisimha, who passed away on Wednesday at Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. In the condolence message the Secretary of the association, Mr S.S. Bawa said: " It is a big loss to Indian cricket in general and Hyderabad cricket in particular".

By another resolution, the association has resolved to give full support to the stand of the former Indian captain Kapil Dev for severing cricketing ties with Pakistan until the problem of insurgency in Kashmir is solved, said the release.

Selection trials: The Chandigarh Women's Hockey Association affiliated to the Indian Women's Hockey Association will hold the selection trials to select the UT women's hockey team for the Federation Cup Women's Hockey Championship to be held at Tirupati from July 19, according to a press release of the association. The trials will be held at Hockey stadium,Sector 42, on July 12 at 5 p.m.

Naveen leads in city chess
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 8 — Naveen Jain with two points was leading at the end of the second round of the 10th Chandigarh Chess Championship which began here today at the Sector 42 sports complex.

In this championship, 42 players are taking part. Prominent among them include Abhinandan Vohra and Naveen Jain. On the basis of this championship, four top players will be selected to represent Chandigarh in the National Chess Championship to be held at Mumbai from August 17 to 31.

The point-position at the end of the second round is as follows: 2 points — Naveen Jain, Titus Verghese, Sanjeev Biswas, Ajay Jaswal, Naveen Bansal, Vipnesh Bhardwaj, Devender Singh, A.N. Dey, Sanjeev Kumar.

1.5 points — Kanwar Sandeep Singh, Abhinandan Vohra.

1 point — B.N. Prasad, Karmaangdui, R.S. Tiwari, B.S. Rawat, P.R. Kansal, C.M. Sharma, Anil Raina, Rohit Chodha, Varun Khullar, K.S. Nanda, Nitin, Dr Rikhi, Deepak Verma, Vipin Negi, Arinder Malik, Chetan Vikas, S.S. Bhullar, Shweta, Manmohan Singh, Simranjeet Kaur. 0.5 point — Harinder Pal Singh, Joy Bhatia.