Body found hanging from tree
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 22 — The highly decomposed body of a newly married Punjab government employee was found hanging from a tree in the woods, north of the Kansal forest lodge this morning.

The deceased was identified as Jodh Raj, who was employed in the ministerial staff of the Punjab Civil Secretariat. He had got married last month.

According to police sources, he had left his home several days ago after a reported tiff with his family, which had lodged a ‘missing complaint’ with the police.

The body was found this morning by some forest employees. The police was called in and an identity card was found in his pocket. The body has been sent for a post-mortem.

Booked: The police has booked a woman and a few others for allegedly trespassing and threatening the owner of a restaurant in Sector 46. The restaurant owner, Mukhtiar Singh, reported that Mrs C.D. Singh, along with some other persons, arrived at his place and threw out articles of his restaurant and fled.

A case under Sections 448, 452, 506 and 34 of the IPC has been registered.

Case registered: The Manager of a unit in Industrial Area, Phase I, has reported that the wall in his portion of the building had been allegedly knocked down and the area encroached upon by one J.P. Verma.

The police has registered a case under Sections 380 and 448 of the IPC.

Car theft: A Maruti car (CH-01-K-4820), owned by Satinder Pal Singh of Sector 37, was stolen from outside a hotel parking in Sector 35. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered.

Arrested: The police claims to have nabbed an alleged bicycle lifter and recovered 10 cycles from him. The police arrested Anand Kumar of Maloya Colony in this connection.

PANCHKULA

Duped: An aged woman of Sector 4 on Tuesday became the seventh victim of a couple, which poses as follower of a religious sect and dupes its victim of jewellery. The victim, Kaushlaya Rani, was on her way to home when she was duped of her jewellery.

Cheating case: A resident of Sector 15 here has been booked by the police for allegedly cheating Naresh, a resident of Majri of Rs 20,000.

In a complaint lodged with the police, the complainant, Naresh, alleged that Chander Ram, alias Chander, had cheated him of money and roughed him up and threatened with dire consequences. The police has registered a case under Sections 323, 420 and 506 of the IPC.

Car stolen: Ms Maggi, a resident of Sector 10 here, in a complaint lodged with the police said her Maruti car had been stolen on the night of June 20. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC.

VC approval on B.Com admissions
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 22 — The Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University has, subject to and in anticipation of the approval of the Syndicate, approved that the admissions to the B.Com course with effect from the 1999-2000 session be held college-wise strictly on merit as per the eligibility and merit criteria prescribed by the university and in accordance with the reservation policy of the state.

The practice of holding centralised admissions to the B.Com course introduced in the 1998-99 session in cities where there are three or more colleges has been dispensed with, a press note issued by the Registrar, Prof Paramjit Singh, said here today.

Rally planned: Seven associations and unions of non-teaching employees will hold a mass protest rally against the “indifferent and adamant attitude of the university authorities towards their long-pending demands. The rally will be held in the basement of the PU Administrative Office on Wednesday at 7.30 a.m.

The demands include payment of fixed medical allowance at par with the Punjab Government, implementation of pension scheme, promotion policy of the non-teaching staff, representation of non-teaching staff to the Syndicate and Senate, abolition of contract system, appointments against regular posts, creation of additional posts, availability of a doctor in the health centre in case of emergency among others.

A press note issued by the president of an association, Mr Dharam Paul Sharma, said there was widespread resentment among members of the non-teaching employees federation due to lack of basic amenities in the office despite the Board of Finance having sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for the improvement of the office. He said improvements were made only in the office of the Registrar and the Controller of Examination and that the federation would chalk out further line of action if the demands are not settled amicably.

Mess closure resented: A delegation of the Haryana Students Association, led by Mr Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi, met the officiating Dean Student Welfare, Prof BS Ghuman, and apprised him of the inconvenience being faced by the hostel residents on account of closure of the mess and canteen of the hostels.

Mr Bhuppi requested that the canteen and mess should be opened because a large number of residents were preparing for various examinations of the university and the closure of canteens at this point was unjustified. He warned that if the issue was not taken up immediately, the organisation would be forced to start an agitation.

Prof Ghuman, however, assured the delegation that a decision to re-open the canteens would be taken at a meeting scheduled for June 24.

Meeting: A delegation of the Confederation of Librarians Association of north India met Prof MM Puri, Vice-Chancellor, and urged him to organise refresher courses at the Academic Staff College of the university for librarians of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the city.

The delegation informed the Vice-Chancellor that a large number of librarians working in universities and colleges of the region were required to attend two refresher courses before December 2000. Since there was no arrangement for the courses at the Academic Staff College, the librarians were getting impatient because time was running out.

In response, the Vice-Chancellor called a meeting of the Director, Academic Staff College and the Dean University Instruction to sort out the problem and assured the deputation that a favourable decision in the matter would be taken very soon and got approved from the UGC.

He also agreed to look into their demand for to the introduction of library science as one of the optional subjects at the under-graduate level in the colleges affiliated to the university.

Tributes paid: The executive committee of the Panjab University Teachers Association met here on Tuesday to pay tributes to Kargil martyrs and those fighting in Kargil for the country.

A decision to donate a day’s salary towards the creation of an educational endowment in the university for the children of the soldiers was also taken. The executive committee also appealed to all faculty members to donate a day’s salary towards the endowment. The idea was to create an endowment of Rs 4 lakh by the end of June.

The PUTA executive has appealed to the governments at war to understand that the more constructive way of resolving the conflict was through dialogue and not war.

Well adapted short stories
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 22 — The Sandli Pairan Kala Kendra in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Affairs, Haryana, today staged “Rasbharian”, a dramatisation of four Punjabi short stories, at Tagore Theatre.

Designed and directed by Vimmi Jaggi, “Rasbharian”, was the presentation of four simply told stories, without any frills and fancies, on the stage. The delightfully adapted stories included Amrita Pritam’s ‘Jungle Butti’, Kulwant Singh Virk’s ‘Rasbharian’, Surya Bala’s ‘Sanjhwatti’ and Kartar Singh Duggal’s ‘Dhukhant’.

With Raman Dhillon and Anita, two well-known faces on the Chandigarh stage, playing the lead in ‘Jungle Butti’, Amrita Pritam’s story about the discovery of what love is all about was exhibited in a charming manner. Anita playing the innocent village belle who believes that love happens only if a man makes you eat the ‘jungli butti’ was quite believable, but her dialogue in Hindi did sometimes divert the attention from the otherwise crisp presentation.

The second production of the day, “Rasbharian”, told the humorous story of how a lawyer is unable to find time for himself and his family, and then sends his wife and little daughter to spend the summer vacations at Dalhousie, only to find on joining them the disloyalty of his wife! The young couple was played by Harman and Manisha Bhalla, a television presenter.

The adaptation of four short stories for stage by Vimmi Jaggi kept the freshness of all stories intact, and the simplicity of the entertaining production had the rapt attention of the audience, which failed to fill the theatre today.

Earlier in the evening, a lamp was lit by Mr S.P. Jain, Member Parliament, Chandigarh, the chief guest of the day. Mr Kewal Kishen Addiwal, Mayor, Chandigarh, was also present on the occasion.

Compensation demanded
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH— The three Congress councillors — Ms Kamlesh, Ms Sunita and Mr Raj Kumar Goyal — have demanded compensation for the residents of the rehabilitation colony in Mauli Jagran whose houses were damaged following flooding of the colony due to rain on June 19 and 20.

They also thanked the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd) and the Adviser, Ms Vineeta Rai, for taking personal interest in the drainage of water from the colony and levelling of the area.

Meanwhile, men of the civic body drained out water from the colony and levelled the area with more than 300 truckloads of sand.

Vegetable prices fluctuate
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 22 — Most of the commonly used vegetables have witnessed a fluctuation in their rates in the local market during the past two days.

During a survey of the local market, it was found that the prices of a number of seasonal vegetables, including bittergourd, capsicum, sqashgourd and beans, have increased during this period.

If one kilogram of bittergourd was available at Rs 10 two days ago, it cost Rs 16 today. The wholesale price of the vegetable has gone up from Rs 40 to Rs 60 per 5 kg during. The hike was said to be owing to poor arrivals in the market due to rain.

Similarly, the price of capsicum has also increased. A kg of the vegetable, priced at between Rs 8 and Rs 10 two days ago, was available at Rs 16. Its wholesale price has jumped from Rs 30 to Rs 60 per 5 kg. According to traders, the price has increased due to lesser arrivals of the vegetable from different parts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

The price of squashgourd has also witnessed an upward trend. A kg of the vegetable, available at Rs 10 two days ago, could be bought at Rs 14. The wholesale price has increased from Rs 35 to Rs 45 per 5 kg.

Cucumber has also become dearer. A kg of cucumber, priced at Rs 5 a few days ago, was available at Rs 8. The wholesale price has increased from Rs 20 to Rs 30 per 5 kg.

Like other vegetables, beans, too, have become costlier due to lesser arrivals in the market from Himachal Pradesh. A kg of the beans, priced at between Rs 16 and Rs 20 a few days ago, was available at Rs 24. Its wholesale price has increased from Rs 60-70 to Rs 100 per 5 kg.

On the other hand, a number of other vegetables have become cheaper. A kg of tomato, available at Rs 10 two days ago, was available today at Rs 8. The wholesale price has come down from Rs 40 to Rs 30 per 5 kg. Potato has followed the suit by registering a fall in its price. A kg of the local variety, available at between Rs 5 and Rs 6 two days back, could be had at Rs 4. The wholesale price of potato has decreased from Rs 22 to Rs 16 per 5 kg.

The major fall was recorded by ginger as its price has come down from Rs 100 to Rs 70 per 5 kg. Its wholesale price has come down from Rs 400 to Rs 300 per 5 kg. Traders attributed the fall to the enhanced supplies in the market which virtually remained without the vegetable for two days. Onion was stable at Rs 8 a kg in the retail market and at Rs 30 to Rs 35 per 5 kg in the wholesale market.

The prices of both cauliflower and cabbage have increased from Rs 12 to Rs 14 and Rs 8 to Rs 10 a kg, respectively, while lemon was stable at Rs 20 a kg.