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TOP STORIES

Phokat culture a st(r)ain on City Beautiful
Chandigarh, January 10
Is Chandigarh a city of freeloaders? Is the current agitation against the introduction of paid parking in parts of the city not symptomatic of a deeper malaise which has come to afflict the residents of City Beautiful? Has it not laid bare what many in Chandigarh had always suspected: the deep roots that the phokat culture has struck in Chandigarh?

Traders’ stir triggers mudslinging
Chandigarh, January 10
The BJP today announced its support for traders agitating against paid parking, while Congress President B.B. Bahl is reported to have told them that he will be the first to court arrest to oppose the system. The stir by traders and a section of employees today failed to evoke much response.

Patronising bogus voters
SAS Nagar, January 10
While political parties cry foul about the deletion of names of some voters from the electoral rolls in their strongholds during a recent revision, leaders of different political parties seem to be patronising bogus voters.

Election of 2 Congress councillors challenged
Chandigarh, January 10
The election of the Congress Deputy Mayor and Ward Number 19 Councillor Balraj Singh and its another Councillor from Ward Number 7 Gita Rani were today challenged through election petitions.

Infant with tail draws 'devotees'
Kharar, January 10
Thousands of residents thronged Shri Jwala Mukhi Mandir here this afternoon to pay obeisance to an 11-month-old male infant having a tail, considered to be an avtar of Lord Hanuman. The devotees, majority of whom were women, offered money after having “darshan” of the child. Long queues of women and children could be seen outside the temple.

Ten-month-old ‘Baba Bajrang Bali’, as he is called by the devout, has become an object of worship, thanks to his “tail”, in a Kharar temple. — Photo Parvesh Chauhan

4 die in mishaps due to fog
Chandigarh, January 10
Four persons died and six were injured in different accidents reportedly caused due to poor visibility by fog early this morning at Phagwara even as minimum temperatures rose by a few degrees in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, giving the people much-needed respite from the chilly weather.

COMMUNITY

Residents’ forum opposes govt move on house tax
Chandigarh, January 10
A joint forum of all residents welfare bodies of Panchkula have strongly opposed the move by the Haryana Government to impose a house tax in Panchkula and declared that it was not only arbitrary but also illegal. They have also raised objections to the manner of assessment of the house tax for each unit.

KNOW YOUR COUNCILLORS
He knows his ward’s problems well
Chandigarh, January 10
Rajesh Gupta, ward number 12 councillor from the BJP, could not hold his luck long enough — he won the councillor’s seat but lost the Deputy Mayor's election held on January 1.

Drive launched to fix reflector stickers
Chandigarh, January 10
The Lions Club Chandigarh Supreme is affixing 2,000 reflector stickers on the rear of cycle rickshaws for preventing accidents at night. The exercise is being undertaken at the Labour Chowk here.

CRIME

One held on theft charge, motor cycle recovered
Chandigarh, January 10
The local police has arrested a resident of Nehru Colony, Mangal Chand from Kajheri village, The police also recovered a motor cycle, five bicycles, a car stereo and a CD player from his possession. The motor cycle, which is almost new, was stolen from Sector 61.

Taxi driven away at gunpoint
Lalru, January 10
An unidentified taxi occupant drove away a car from a local taxi driver at gunpoint near Malwa village in Ambala district on Wednesday afternoon. According to sources, the occupant hired the taxi (DL-2C-7999) for Rs 500 from Lalru taxi stand to Malwa village near Jansui in Ambala district.

EDUCATION

General pool seats at PEC doubled
Chandigarh, January 10
Aimed at giving a more national (rather than regional) character to the Punjab Engineering College, the Chandigarh Administration has decided to cut down seats allotted to the UT pool from 85 to 70 per cent.

Saying it with flowers
Chandigarh, January 10
The Students Centre of Panjab University saw a heavy rush at a stall set-up by the Panjab University Campus Students Council selling flowers on the occasion of “friendship day”.

ALL FRAGRANCE AND SMILES: With beautiful roses in hands, the girls at Panjab University flash vibrant looks on the celebration of flower day organised by Panjab University Students Council on Thursday.
— Tribune photo Pradeep Tewari 

PU panel to look into Ajaib election case
Chandigarh, January 10
Panjab University has constituted a committee to “further advise” on the case of the Senate pertaining to approaching the Supreme Court regarding the election controversy in the graduates constituency.

Students get 2 yrs to submit fee for result card
Chandigarh, January 10
A committee of Panjab University has decided to give a maximum of two years to students whose results have been withheld due to non-submission of fee.

258 DHMS students awarded diplomas
Chandigarh, January 10
As many as 258 students of homoeopathy received their DHMS diplomas at the annual state-level convocation organised by the Council of Homoeopathy System of Medicine Punjab at the PGI here today.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Incinerator must for 5 lakh-plus towns
Chandigarh, January 10
A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the governments of the two states to take appropriate steps for ensuring the installation of at least one incinerator for waste disposal in every city and town with a population of over five lakhs.

• Order in Dangi case reserved
• Directive to SP

CULTURE

Akademi awards for Gurmeet Bawa, Gursharan Singh
Chandigarh, January 10
Gurmeet Bawa, Baba Pokhraj and Gursharan Singh will receive the third annual Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi awards at a special function to be organised on January 17.

Babus showcase dancing, acting skills
Chandigarh, January 10
Taking time off from their work, members of the Central Government Welfare Coordination Committee, Chandigarh, presented a variety programme, showcasing their dancing and acting talents, at Tagore Theatre in Sector 18 here today.

Pammi’s album reflects richness of folk music
Chandigarh, January 10
Pammi Bai, alias Paramjit Singh Sidhu whose name is synonymous with Punjabi folk dances is back with his third album “Nach Nach Pauni Dhammal”, a collection of eight songs based on rich ‘boliyan’ of Punjab. Produced by HMV (Sa Re Ga Ma) company , the cassette has been released only four days ago.

NEW RELEASE
Esha Deol is young and beautiful — a dream girl of the 21st century, who shall soon be yours, too, with the release of Surinder Kapoor and Boney Kapoor presentation ‘Koi Mere Dil Se Poochche’. The film opens today in Batra.

HEALTH

Hospital gate rally hampers work
Chandigarh, January 10
As many as 150 Class IV employees of General Hospital, Sector 16, held a gate rally lasting more than two hours, causing inconvenience to patients in the lunch and post- lunch hours here today.

SPORTS

MCM girls rout GCG team
Chandigarh, January 10
MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36, outplayed Government College for girls, Sector 11, 16-6 in the Panjab University Inter Zonal Handball (Women) Tournament played here at the PU grounds, Chandigarh.

ADMINISTRATION

PUDA anti-encroachment drive catches people offguard
SAS Nagar, January 10
Occupants of housing board’s flats were caught offguard when a demolition squad of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) started removing encroachments in front of the houses at around 2 pm here today. By evening, 90 unauthorised structures were removed in front of the HE and HB category of the housing board flats.

The front boundary wall of a housing board flat being demolished by a squad of PUDA in Phase-I of SAS Nagar on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Repatriated