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TOP STORIES

Free engineering seats for economically deprived in PU: on paper or reality?
Chandigarh, August 16
Where are the much-publicised specially created seats to benefit the students from the economically weaker sections in the newly-commenced at the Panjab University Institute of Engineering and Technology from the current session onwards?

Talent that India can’t afford to lose
Chandigarh, August 16
Parents of Arti, 13, a national-level hockey player with a brilliant academic record, had dreams for their talented daughter, but they had never imagined even in their worst nightmare that her heart valves would need replacement.“

PGI to have bone bank soon
Rs 5 crore sanctioned for the project
Chandigarh, august 16
In order to cater to the bone demand of patients from the adjoining states, the Orthopaedics Department at the PGI will soon set up the only bone bank of the northern region at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

Yamuna floods 100 villages
Incessant rain claim 23 lives
Chandigarh, August 16
The Yamuna river, in spate, has flooded over 10 villages along its banks in Yamunanagar district of Haryana following heavy rains in its catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh two days ago and excessive release of water from the Tajewala headworks there.

BJP to focus on Punjab, HP
Chandigarh, August 16
Several BJP and Samata Party ministers and leaders would be visiting Punjab in few days to lend moral support to their long-time alliance partner, the SAD, in “retaliating repression let loose on both SAD and BJP leaders and workers by the ruling Congress in the state”.

MC heading for another financial crisis
Chandigarh, August 16
The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh seems to be heading for another financial crisis. Its goal of collecting Rs 7 crore from tax on commercial and government property may not be achieved. Only Rs 1.5 crore may be realised, requiring the corporation to hike the rate to 5 per cent. This was revealed in a tentative survey of Sectors 7, 9, 17, 34 and 22.

Vigilance men to pay or face FIRs
Chandigarh, August 16
The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has told parking contractors to file the FIRs against vigilance officials of Punjab and Haryana who, allegedly, do not pay the parking fee in Sector 17 here. The MC working group on paid parking issued this order at a meeting convened by the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, here today.

Admn notifies land rates
Chandigarh, August 16
The Chandigarh Administration has notified rates for allotment of land to various bodies with a few changes in qualifications under various categories. According to the fresh classifications, governments will mean Central and state governments.

Colonel thrashed for herding  off cattle
Panchkula, August 16
A Sector 12 based ex-serviceman was allegedly thrashed and then dragged for a long distance by some residents of Ralley village for herding off their milch cattle from the area this morning.

COMMUNITY

Lawyers contest police claim against ‘Shanidev’
Chandigarh, August 16
In order to protect the right to livelihood of a ‘Shanidev’ who was caught by UT police on charges of begging, three city advocates have decided to contest the police case claiming that ‘Shanidev’ was falsely implicated in the case under the Begging Act and police personnel had forged the documents presented in the case in the court.

SHSAD for experts’ panel on dry spell
SAS Nagar, August 16
The SHSAD today demanded the setting up of a committee of agricultural experts to prepare a report on the effects of the dry spell so as to get Punjab declared a drought-hit state.

UT begins book binding for Juvenile Home inmates

Chandigarh, August 16 To initiate self-reliance among inmates of the Juvenile Home, Sector 15, the UT Administration has started a book-binding project. The project, initiated by the UT Social Welfare Department, started after the inmates successfully completed a book-binding workshop organised by social activists in the city in collaboration with the Juvenile Home, earlier this month.

Inmates of Juvenile Home, Sector 15, engaged in book binding. — A Tribune photograph

Dharam Singh Thakur dead
Chandigarh, August 16
Mr Dharam Singh Thakur (80), popularly called the “Father of Pond Water Fisheries Culture”, died here today following a massive heart attack. Mr Thakur joined the Department of Fisheries in joint Punjab and continued to work and serve the Government of Haryana in senior positions till 1977 when he retired.

SP meets immigration consultants
Chandigarh, August 16
The Chandigarh police today asked immigration consultants in the city to get a licence from the Protector of Immigrants before promising jobs outside the country. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the immigration consultants called by the SP (Operations), Mr H.G.S. Dhaliwal, here today.

Telephones not working in Sec 48
SAS Nagar, August 16
The senior citizens of Sector 48-C, here are facing inconveniences since the telephones in the sector have not been functioning for last seven days. Members of the Senior Citizen Welfare Association said this is the second time that telephone wires had been cut or stolen by some miscreants.

• Artillery shell found in nullah

CRIME

SI accused of breaking in
Chandigarh, August 16
Owners of an industrial plot in Industrial Area, Phase 1, in a complaint to the Inspector-General of Police, Chandigarh, today alleged that a Sub-Inspector posted at the Industrial Area police station had misused his position to break the lock of their premises to provide possession of the place to their tenant.

Suicide note fails murder theory
Chandigarh, August 16
A case of murder registered seven days ago by the Chandigarh police at the Sector 3 police station today turned out to be a case of suicide. The police today found a suicide note in a diary of the 27-year old-woman whose body was found floating in the Narwana Canal, near Rajpura, on August 7 last.

Report confirms rape of HP girl
Chandigarh, August 16
In the case of alleged drugging and kidnapping of a girl in her twenties, who was abandoned near the Sector 33 petrol pump, the medical examination of the victim was done at the Sector 16 General Hospital here today. Source said the medical examination had confirmed that the victim had been raped.

Brothers held in Bahadur murder case
Dera Bassi, August 16
After a gap of three days, the police has succeeded in arresting two persons in the Bahadur Singh murder case late this night. Sources in the police said that Rajinder Singh and his brother Gurvinder Singh, residents of Nagla village, were arrested by a police party from near Dera Bassi.

Resident helps catch chain-snatcher
Chandigarh, August 16
A resident of Sector 16, Mr Hardyal Singh, helped the police in nabbing a chain-snatcher near Sector 10 yesterday. The suspect, Haneef (21) was chased through Rose Garden, Sector 16, before being overpowered by cops at a naka near Leisure Valley in Sector 10.

• Snatching incidents

EDUCATION

Presentation by fashion designing students
SAS Nagar, August 16
Students of fashion designing course at the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT) gave a presentation of their work on craft documentation here today.

Scheme for reserved-category students
Chandigarh, August 16
Under a new scheme of the Union Government, the Chandigarh Administration will provide students of various reserved categories with assistance for taking competitive examinations for joining a number of services.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Second wife’s plea maintainable
Chandigarh, August 16
A second wife, unaware of her husband’s first marriage, will be considered an aggrieved party and her complaint alleging bigamy will be maintainable, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held in a crucial judgement.

Produce record in petrol pump case

Sarpanch’s suspension quashed

Police remand for murder accused Kharar, August 16 Mrs Preeti Sahni, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today remanded Baldev Singh of Khurd Raipur village in police remand till August 18 who was arrested by the Sohana police on a charge of murdering his two sons.

CULTURE

Talking patriotism through theatre

Chandigarh, August 16 Crucial questions related with the consequences of hard-earned freedom were raised in the three shows of “Shaheed Ki Vaapsi”, a street play directed by Rajiv Mehta. Earlier staged about 400 times while the Kargil war was on, the play evoked the deepest sentiments of people who watched its shows in Sector 17, Rock Garden (Phase III) and again at Sukhna Lake last evening.

A scene from ‘Shaheed Ki Vaapsi’, staged by Theatre Arts at the Sukhna lake in Chandigarh.

Sarasbani — soaring on the wings of melody

Chandigarh, August 16 Music is a refuge, it has always been. And more than the refuge it has been a medium of social refinement. Only by introducing the young to great music can we open to them the possibilities that lie within the human spirit — enable them to see visions and dreams. It is this very cause of music which Pandit Debu Chaudhary has been serving for the last 58 years. Renowned sitarist Padma Vibhushan Pt. Debu Chaudhary was in the city to formally launch city musician Subhash Ghosh’s creation “sarasbani” at hotel Aroma on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Best singer award for Harbhajan Mann
Chandigarh, August 16
Punjabi singer, Harbhajan Mann, will be honoured with best singer award for the year 2001; Jarnail Basota, a director of various TV programmes, will receive media award, 2001, and a leading sportsman of Canada, Keser Singh Poonia, will receive best sportsman of the year 2001 award in a function to be organised on August 25 at Wood Wine Venkat and Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada.

SPORTS

Basketball meet from August 19
Chandigarh, August 16
The Chandigarh Youth Basketball Championship for boys and girls will be held from August 19 to 22 at Shivalik Public School, Sector 41. According to Mr D.S. Bedi, president of the association, the four-day meet will be held for the below-16 age group.