PF bank draft stolen
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 11 — A bank draft worth Rs 2.27 lakh issued as provident fund payment of an employee of the Punjab Irrigation Department, has been allegedly stolen by someone and encashed on the basis of a false account.

Mr Kuldeep Singh, a draftsman in the Ranjit Sagar Dam project, was to be given the bank draft. Mr R.L. Mehta, Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department, has lodged a complaint with the police.

The draft was drawn on SBI, Sector 7, and it was encashed through a false account opened in the Bank of India, Rajpura. A case under sections 406 and 420 of the IPC has been registered.

Dead: Lal Bihari, a resident of the slum colony in Sector 31, died at the PGI today. He had received shock while climbing a pole yesterday. He was admitted to the PGI.

Liquor seized: Varying quantities of liquor have been seized from three persons in separate cases. Tang Raj of Mauli Jagran was nabbed while he was carrying 18 quarters and 6 halves of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Sanjay Kumar and Harish Kumar of Karnal were nabbed with 200 and 150 pouches of country- made liquor from the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT), Sector 17.

Eve-teasing: Harminder Singh and Raju Sharma of Sector 43 were arrested from the same sector for allegedly indulging in eve-teasing.

Arrested: Karam Singh of Hallomajra village was arrested for allegedly throwing a burning kerosene lamp on Charanjit Singh, a resident of the same village. A minor quarrel had reportedly preceded the act. A case under section 307 of the IPC has been registered.

Robbed: Two persons travelling on a scooter were allegedly attacked and robbed of a sum of Rs 20,000 by the occupants of a truck near the CTU workshop in Industrial Area.

Baljit Singh, a resident of Mani Majra,said he was travelling on a scooter along with Rishpal when occupants of the truck stopped them. One of them started talking to Baljit Singh while the others attacked Rishpal and snatched the money.

PANCHKULA

Two injured: Two persons were injured in two separate incidents in the district during the past 48 hours.

A scooterist, Mr Om Parkash, was injured after he was hit by a mini-truck ( PB-01-5813), driven by an unidentified person near Chandimandir. The police has registered a case against the truck driver under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC on a statement given by Mr Jagdish Kumar, a resident of Chandi Kotla.

In another case, a cyclist, Mr Jagdish, a resident of Hari Singh Gajra, complained to the police that he was injured after being hit by a motor cycle, driven by Gyan Singh near Paploha village in Kalka. A case of negligent driving has been registered.

Labourers injured: Mr Ramesh Dass, in a complaint lodged with the police, said a Maruti Zen car ( PB-48-A-1805) driven by an unidentified driver injured labourers of PWD who were working on a road site in Raipur Rani on Tuesday. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.

Arrested for gambling: Seven persons have been arrested by the police in two separate cases for allegedly gambling at a public place in Bhainsa Tibba village, near here.

According to the police, Chotu Lal, Dharmendra, Kaulu Ram, and Ganga were arrested for gambling. A total of Rs 470 have been recovered from them.

In another case Som Pal and Dharmapal were also arrested for gambling and Rs 530 recovered from them.

Theft: Burglars broke into a house in Sector 15 here while the occupants were away and decamped with cash and jewellery. The police has registered a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the owner of the house, Mr R.S. Bhalla.

Roll numbers for exams despatched
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 11 — The roll number cards for Gyani, Prabhakar and other modern Indian languages examinations, scheduled to commence from May 15, have been dispatched to the quarters concerned. In a press note issued today by the Joint Controller of Examinations, Mr Ashok Raj Bhandari, it was announced that students who did not receive their roll number cards by May 12, should visit his office on May 13 and May 14, between 9am and 5pm. The students should bring along with them, an attested photograph, a written request and adequate proof of the dispatch of examination form and deposit of full examination fee, for obtaining duplicate roll numbers. The duplicate roll numbers would be issued only on the payment of Rs 20 in each case.

Working hours changed: The working hours of the Panjab University administrative offices, including the Construction Office, the Directorate of Sports and teaching departments will be from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm without lunch break. This will be effective from May 31 to July 10.

This was revealed in a press note issued today by the Registrar of the University, Mr Paramjit Singh. The press note also added that these offices would revert back to the five-day week schedule from July 12.

Teachers allege misleading: The All-India Federation of University Teachers' Associations (AIFUTA), today, in a press note alleged that the misleading clarification issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on March 24, regarding the implementation of revised pay scales for university and college teachers violated the agreement reached at on September 5, 1998.

According to Dr P.P. Arya, President of the AIFUTA, during the negotiations between the striking teachers and the HRD Minister, Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, it was made clear the Career Advancement Scheme would be co-extensive with the date of the revision of the pay scales. The press note added that postponing the date from January 1, 1996 to July 27, 1998 and then to November 6, 1998 would be unjust and disastrous for teachers.

Uncertain exam schedule : The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad expressed concern for the students of the honours school, who it said were uncertain about the schedule of examinations, which will commence on May 15 for regular and reappear candidates.

It said students were in a fix on account of the non-declaration of results of the reappear examinations held in January and February this year, more so with three days to go for the subsequent chance to reappear.

The ABVP, on behalf of these students demanded that the B.Sc I (honours) examination be rescheduled, since a large number of students of ten departments were awaiting their result. Even if the university declared the results in the next two days, the students would get no time to complete all formalities for appearing in an examination.

"Every year the university authorities bring in chaos from nowhere because of inefficiency of staff or carelessness. Concern for the students is the last thing they are interested in,'' said Harinder Bir Singh, spokesperson of the ABVP.

Representation submitted : The President of the Panjab University Students' Council, Mr Dyal Pratap Singh Randhawa, submitted a representation to the PU authorities which he claimed, to have received from all residents of Sarojini Hall, a girls hostel.

The representation spoke of the harassment, the residents faced, along with those visiting them, at the hands of the police personnel deployed at the hostel. The letter stated, "The practice should be stopped immediately and we are no longer ready to swallow the humiliating inquiries that the policemen make from us and visitors."

Exhibition worth a visit

CHANDIGARH, May 11 — The announcement of the arrival of Dr Kiran Bedi as Inspector-General of Police of Chandigarh was rife with hopes and expectations. The common man was optimistic that he would see some good policing in the form of law enforcement, reduction in crimes, polite and courteous policemen, orderly parking and some improved traffic sense of four-wheeler and two-wheeler drivers which was recently going haywire.

Yes, the difference is being felt by everyone. Now smartly turned out policemen, minus the paunches, can be seen with walkie talkies in their hands covering the beats efficiently. What is more noteworthy is the practice of accepting bribes has gone down considerably, in a way it has stopped altogether. And mind it this is straight from the horse’s mouth.

This ‘one man army’ in the form of Kiran Bedi has inspired many to do better things and be better persons. The kind of work she has done for Tihar Jail is not hidden from anyone. She is a person who commands respect and awe from everyone around her. Even the reputed local artist Satwant Singh could not escape from her magic.

After watching her talk on the BBC and listening to her views he felt inspired to make cartoons and caricatures on her authority and efficiency and hold an exhibition. These cartoons are being presently displayed at IndusInd Bank Art gallery till May 20. Here the artist has taken the Chandigarh Police Force to task besides commenting on the changes that have come about. Even the VIPs and their ‘betas’ have not been spared. The list goes on endlessly.

This is one exhibition which deserves at least one visit.

Dimple, Sujit win sub-jr wrestling
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, May 11 — Dimple and Sujit clinched the girls' and boys' titles, respectively, in the below 40 kg and 42 kg categories, respectively, in the final of the Chandigarh State Sub-Junior Wrestling Championship which concluded at the Wrestling Coaching Centre, Sector 30, here yesterday.

Winners will attend a coaching camp after which the best wrestler will be selected to participate in the National Sub-junior Wrestling Championship to be held at Nidani in Jind district of Haryana from June 2 to 7.

The results of the competition are as follows: Boys' section: Below 42 kg — Surjit (WCC-30) 1, Rajeev (Ram Darbar School) 2 and Brij Pal (RD School) 3; below 46 kg — Anup (WCC-30) 1, Naresh (RD School) 2 and Pardeep (RD School) 3; below 50 kg — Sajid (SD College-32) 1, Deepak (RD School) 2 and Sumer (WCC-30) 3; below 54 kg — Sanjeev (WCC-30) 1, Anil (Kapishwara Akhara) 2 and Arvind (RD School) 3; below 58 kg — Jasbir (WCC-30) 1, Rakesh (WCC-30) 2 and Parveen (WCC-30) 3; below 63 kg — Sohan (WCC-30) 1, Charna (WCC-30) 2 and Harjinder Singh (WCC-30) 3; below 69 kg — Jasmer (Hallo Majra) 1, Dharamvir (SD College-32) 2 and Satinder (WCC-30) 3; below 76 kg — Ramesh (WCC-30) 1, Surinder (WCC-30) 2 and Om Parkash (WCC-30) 3; below 85 kg — Sanjay (WCC-30) 1, Naresh (Hallo Majra) 2 and Balbir (Hallo Majra) 3; above 85 kg — Vinod (Bhim Akhara) 1, Baljit (SD College-32) 2 and Ravi (Bhim Akhara) 3;

Girls' section: Below 40 kg — Dimple 1 and Sucheta 2; below 43 kg — Sunita 1 and Sarina 2; below 46 kg — Kulwinder 1 and Rajinder 2; below 49 kg — Chetna 1 and Shweta 2; below 52 kg — Ekta 1 and Vidya 2.

Mr M.S. Chopra, Senior Vice-President of the Chandigarh Wrestling Association gave away the prizes.

Vast difference in prices
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 11— Much to the confusion of city residents, the prices of most vegetables differ in different city markets.

During a survey of the Sector 20 and Sector 22 markets today, it was observed that there was a vast difference in the prices of vegetables in the two markets. For example, if a kg of capsicum was priced at Rs 40 in the Sector 22 market, the same was available in Sector 20 for Rs 32. The wholesale price of the vegetable was Rs 150 and Rs 130 per five kg in the two markets, respectively.

Similarly, a kg of bittergourd was priced at Rs 30 in the Sector 22 market, while the same was available in the Sector 20 market for Rs 24, where the wholesale price of the vegetable was Rs 100 per five kg. Likewise, if one could purchase a kg of 'pahari' variety of cucumber for Rs 16 in the Sector 20 market, the same could be fetched in the Sector 22 market after paying Rs 14. There was, however, no difference in the price of the local variety of the vegetable as it was available for Rs 6 a kg in both markets.

The case of squash gourd (tinda) too, was not different as if the vegetable was available in the Sector 22 market for Rs 20 a kg, it could be had in the Sector 20 market after paying Rs 24. The wholesale price of the vegetable was Rs 80 and Rs 100 per five kg in the two markets, respectively.

Commenting on the difference in the prices of vegetables in different markets, Ms Usha Devi, a housewife, said it was always confusing, " You never know that the price you are paying for a vegetable in one part of city was applicable in the other. So much so, that sometimes prices double by the time you go from one Sector to another," she added demanding that a system should be evolved to ensure uniformity in the prices in different markets.

Similarly, a kg of tomato, which was priced at Rs 8 a kg in the Sector 22 market, could be purchased in Sector 20 for Rs 6 a kg. In case of gourd, the difference was of Rs 2 as it was priced at Rs 12 and Rs 10 in Sectors 22 and Rs 20, respectively. The difference in the price of beans was also glaring, as if a kg of the vegetable was priced at Rs 28 in Sector 22, it could be purchased for Rs 20 in Sector 20. Similarly, a kg of lemon was priced at Rs 40 in Sector 22 and at Rs 48 a kg in Sector 20.

There was, however, no difference in the prices of some vegetables at both places. A kg of cauliflower and cabbage was available for Rs 20 and Rs 8 at the two places. Similarly, brinjal, garlic and ginger was priced at Rs 12, Rs 32 and Rs 60 a kg in the two markets. Potato was priced at Rs 4 a kg in the two sectors.

On the other hand, If a kg of onion was available at Rs 8 in Sector 22, it was priced at Rs 10 a kg in Sector 20.