Two killed in accident
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, June 1 — Two scooter-borne persons died on the spot, while a pillion-rider was seriously injured after being hit by a speeding truck near Bataur village on the Panchkula — Naraingarh state highway late last night.

According to the information available, the three persons — Sushil Kumar, Ram Pal and Karambir — were coming from the Barwala side and the truck was coming from the Mauli side. In the accident, Sushil and Ram Pal died on the spot, while Karambir sustained serious injuries.

The Chandi Mandir police has registered a case of negligent driving against the truck driver, Khushi Ram. The vehicle has been impounded by the police.

Injured: A Haryana Police constable, Chander Kant, was injured after the scooter he was riding was hit by a car driven by Chaman Lal near Ramgarh on Monday.

A case under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC has been registered on a complaint lodged by Puspinder Singh.

CHANDIGARH

Suicide bid: A man, who tried to commit suicide by pouring kerosene on himself and setting himself on fire, was saved by timely intervention of his family members. Sudershan Gupta, a resident of Colony No 5, tried to commit suicide last night in his home.

A case under Section 309 of the IPC has been registered and Gupta has been arrested.

Motorcyclist hurt : A motorcyclist, Rohan Chopra of Sector 18, was injured when his motor cycle (CH-01-A-4243) collided with a car (CH-01-X-6243) driven by Naveen Aggarwal of Sector 19. Chopra was admitted to the PGI, while a case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered.

In another accident, Jung Bahadur, a resident of Ram Darbar, was injured when a truck (HR-37-6651) hit him. He was admitted to the PGI.

Signature forged: Two residents of Mani Majra, Nirmal Singh and Sucha Singh, have been arrested for allegedly forging signature of an industrial plot owner to claim a power connection. A case under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC was registered in the Industrial Area police station a few days ago.

SAS NAGAR

Engineer held: Vijay Kumar Kalra, an Assistant Executive Engineer of the Punjab State Electricity Board, posted at Ropar, was arrested by the Sohana police near here on Monday night, following seizure of eight bottles of liquor from him.

According to the police, bottles of liquor were seized from the Maruti car of the accused during a nakaa laid by the excise authorities near the bus stand to check smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh to Punjab.

A case has been registered under Section 61(1) and (14) of the Excise Act at Sohana Police Station.

Fresh survey of roads by MCC
By Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 1 — With a view to fixing up priorities for the recarpeting of roads, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has undertaken a fresh survey of the roads in the city.

In the survey, the roads have been divided into five categories — very poor, poor, satisfactory, good and very good. The recarpeting of the roads was likely to be undertaken after fixing up priorities by the Road Committee of the civic body.

The fixing up of priorities was likely to pose some problems since the priorities of the MCC officials and the municipal councillors were different. While the officials had been trying to recarpet the roads according to the conditions of the roads, the priorities of the councillors, particularly the elected ones, had been the V-6 roads — the roads in front of the houses in the sectors.

At a meeting of the house on May 28, some councillors had criticised the corporation authorities for ignoring the priorities fixed up for the recarpeting of all V-6 roads. The out-of-turn recarpeting of V-3 roads between sectors 45-46, 41-42, 49-55 and 54-55 leading to SAS Nagar, because of the cricket match between India and Pakistan on April 1, had also come for severe criticism at the hands of the councillors.

The civic body had done a similar survey in 1997. Though a number of roads in the southern sectors, which were not recarpeted for a long time, were recarpeted, the road-repair work could not be done according to the survey. Politicsm rather than the condition of the roads, determined the recarpeting work in case of some roads.

Meanwhile, data with the MCC revealed that since the beginning of the year, at least 34 roads had been recarpeted by the corporation. These included 10 V-3, 4 V-4, 7 V-5 and 10 V-6 roads and 3 roads in Mani Majra. Certain V-3 roads, which were in a very bad shape and had not been repaired, were also recarpeted. These included the roads between Sector 31 and Industrial Area, Sectors 45 and 46 and roads leading to the railway station, till Darua village, and leading to Burail Jail.

Similarly, the V-4 roads in Sectors 11, 40 and 43 and V-5 roads in Sectors 33, in front of the Police Lines in Sector 26, in front of the Central Polytechnic in Sector 26 and in Sector 24 were also relaid during this period. Roads in Shanti Nagar, behind Durga Nursery and Rain Basera in Mani Majra were also recarpeted.

Last year the corporation recarpeted over 27 roads, including 3 V-3, 1 V-4, 3 V-5 and 18 V-6 roads, besides 2 roads in Mani Majra. The emphasis on V-3 roads this year was deliberate since much attention could not been paid to them last year. Since they separated sectors and had heavy trafffic, they needed recarpeting sooner than other roads.

Slump in cricket goods market
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, June 1 — Notwithstanding the celebrations of Indian team's scintillating entry into the World cup Super Six stage, the sale of cricket goods here has nearly come to a standstill.

Dealers attribute this slump to soaring temperature, examination fever, summer vacations in teaching institutions and television and radio addiction of cricket lovers.

The recession-hit market does not seem to have any bearing on the price of cricket kits. The ordinary cricket kit for adults is priced at Rs 3,000, while the kit for children upto 10 years is available for Rs 1,000 and that for youths from 10 to 15 years for Rs 1,500.

The prices of cricket goods vary according to the popularity of the brand name and its demand in the market. The prices of the 'RS', 'SG' and 'SS' cricket bats for adults vary from Rs 400 to Rs 5,800, while 'SG' Sunny Tonny bat costs Rs 4,800.

Ordinary cricket bats for children upto 5 years and from 5 to 10 years cost Rs 50 and Rs 150, respectively. Bats for youths between 10 and 15 years cost Rs 200.

Mr Amrit Lal Kathuria, a cricket goods manufacturer and member of the Sports Goods Exports Promotion Council, alleges that well-known companies such as Reebok, MRF, Wills and Four Square cash in on their popularity by sticking their brand names on the Indian-made cricket bats.

A pair of batting pads for children below 10 years is priced at Rs 100. For youths between 10 and 15 years, the cost varies from Rs 120 to 200. Likewise, for adults the same is available for between Rs 150 and Rs 1,000. A pair of wicket-keeping pads for adults is priced from Rs 80 to Rs 900.

A pair of batting gloves ranges from Rs 40 to Rs 75 and from Rs 50 to Rs 1,100 for youths and adults, respectively. Similarly, a pair of wicket-keeping gloves was available for between Rs 90 and 800.

The price of a leather cricket ball varies from Rs 40 to Rs 425. A leather ball which can be used in international matches is priced at Rs 425, while a ball used in Ranji trophy matches is available for Rs 240. The price of a leather ball for practice varies from Rs 70 to Rs 100 and a tennis ball used in cricket is priced at Rs 20. A thigh pad costs between Rs 50and Rs 175.

The price of a helmet varies from Rs 160 to Rs 550. A pair of cricket shoes costs between Rs 200 and Rs 700. A cricket shirt and trousers are priced between Rs 170 and Rs 300 and from Rs 100 to Rs 400, respectively. An ordinary cricket safety guard, a pair of bells and a wicket are priced at Rs 15, Rs 10 and Rs 30, respectively.

"Like adults, the demand of helmets has increased among children and youths due to awareness about safety of the head," says Mr H. Kumar, a cricket goods dealer. He adds that prices of cricket goods increase by 2 to 5 per cent in April every year.

"The official World cup dress for the Indian cricket team is in great demand among cricket fans, but due to its non-availability, cricket lovers are unhappy," a dealer says.

It remains to be seen whether the cricket goods market overcomes the recession or not. All dealers and wholesalers are hopeful that their business will go up from August.

Council to honour players
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, June 1— The Chandigarh Sports Council will honour players of the Union Territory who have won positions at various national and international events during the session 1998-99, according to Mr Inderpal Singh, Assistant Secretary of the council. The eligible sportspersons may apply by June 15 along with attested copies of the certificates at the office of the council.

Junior TT

The Chandigarh Junior Table Tennis League-cum-Knockout Tournament for below 17 years (boys and girls) will begin tomorrow at the Sector 23 TT hall. Nearly 120 players in three events — under -12, under-14 and under-17— will vie for top honours in this three-day tournament which is being organised by the Chandigarh Table Tennis Association. In the morning , the cadet events will be conducted both for the boys and girls sections.

Chandigarh win

Chandigarh won the inaugural match against Jalandhar by 153 runs on the basis of first innings lead in the Punjab Inter-District Cricket Tournament being played at the PCA Stadium, S.A.S. Nagar. In reply to yesterday's Chandigarh score of 311 for seven in the first innings, Jalandhar were bundled out for 158 runs in 51.1 overs.

Rajiv Jolly contributed 58 runs for the visiting side and other batsmen who put their efforts included opener Vivek Mahajan and skipper Vikram Rathore who scored 32 and 29 runs, respectively. Sahil was the most successful bowler for the winners as he claimed three wickets for just nine runs. Harminder Kaku took two wickets for 12 runs while Sanjay Dhull too bagged two wickets by giving away 57 runs.

In the second innings,Chandigarh made 160 runs for the loss of three wickets. Yuvraj Singh scored a brilliant unbeaten 112 runs which included 14 boundaries and four sixes.

Billiards training

The Chandigarh branch of the YMCA will hold a training workshop for youngsters in billiards from June 6, according to Mr B.K. Arora, Chairman, YMCA Billiards Club. The camp will be held under the supervision of national champion Alok Kumar. Interested players may send their names to Mr Shashi Karan, YMCA,Sector 11 by 5 p.m. on June 5.