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TOP STORIES

Two Deputy Mayors elected unopposed
Chandigarh, December 28
Mr Kuldeep Singh Kajheri and Ms Geeta Rani of the Congress have been elected unopposed for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, while Mr Subhash Chawla of the Congress and Mr Rajesh Gupta will be locked in a straight contest for the post of Mayor. The annual elections for the post of Mayor are scheduled to be held on January 1.

Candidates put Panchayat Samiti poll on hold
Withdraw names in protest against land acquisition

Chandigarh, December 28 In a novel way to protest against the acquisition of land for the proposed Chandigarh IT park, all eight candidates contesting the Panchayat Samiti elections in Kishangarh and Mauli Jagran today withdrew their nominations and put the election on hold.

Villagers of Kishangarh and Mauli Jagran protest against the acquisition of land by the Chandigarh Administration on Saturday. — Tribune photoParvesh Chauhan

Criminals regrouping: cops
Chandigarh, December 28
Information exchanged by police officials of Chandigarh, Ropar, Patiala, Shimla, Solan, Ambala and western Uttar Pradesh has revealed that organised gangs of criminals are “continuously” regrouping themselves.

PU dons need wake-up call
Chandigarh, December 28
Panjab University needs to overhaul the entire academic infrastructure, at least its academic bodies, to promote deliberations on upgrading existing courses and pick intelligently from among the range of new introductions.

Town planners bemoan haphazard growth
Chandigarh, December 28
Lack of political will and institutional framework have resulted in haphazard growth of most of the cities in the region. Despite elaborate master plans, prepared by the town planning departments, cities like Ludhiana, Delhi and even Chandigarh are fast emerging as centres of unplanned growth, surrounded by slums and land mafias.

• ‘Need for integrated development plan’

3 more octroi points on border with UT
SAS Nagar, December 28
The Municipal Council here will establish three more permanent octroi collection points on the borders of the township. These points were demarcated by the Executive Officer, MC, during a joint visit with his other officers to various border roads being used to enter SAS Nagar.

COMMUNITY

Sampat accuses Cong of double-speak
Panchkula, December 28
Has the Congress any right to oppose the state government’s proposal to set up casinos in the state to fetch tourists when its own government in Goa has started casinos even in motels and boats, Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, Haryana here today.

NEW YEAR EVE PLANS
Cheemas plan private bash
Chandigarh, December 28
Impressive club parties on the New Year’s eve are a big “no, no” for Principal of St John High School Pushpinder Cheema and her family. They plan to organise their “own private little party” for enjoying the evening with “faces they so well know”.

Help set up night shelters, says Jacob
Chandigarh, December 28
The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd.) today underlined the need for adopting a coordinated approach by various non-government organisations in evolving schemes to alleviate the suffering of the under-privileged.

Seminar on life of MS Randhawa SAS Nagar, December 28 “An Academic Chair be floated at Panjab University, Chandigarh, in the name of Mr M.S. Randhawa to commemorate the role he played for the development of Punjab,” proposed Mr Ajit Sailani during a seminar held at Sant Isher Singh Senior Secondary Public School here today. Organised by the Punjabi Cultural and Welfare Society, the seminar was on the life of Mr M.S. Randhawa and the role he played for “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat”. Mr Gulzar Singh Sandhu speaks at a seminar on M.S. Randhawa in SAS Nagar on Saturday.

Panel for privatisation of street-lighting
Chandigarh, December 28
The Electricity Committee of the Municipal Corporation here has recommended the privatisation of street-lighting in the city.

READERS WRITES
NBFCs have failed to return public money
THIS has reference to report “Raids on three marketing companies” (Chandigarh Tribune, November 28). The Economic Offences Wing of the UT Police had raided three multi-level marketing companies following a complaint. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its telephone number to the public for making complaints about such companies. The RBI in Chandigarh has been flooded with such complaints.

• Telephones out of order

• Noise pollution

• This is harassment

CRIME

Burglars break into shop
Chandigarh, December 28
Goods worth lakhs were stolen from an SCO in Sector 22 last night. According to information, the burglars sneaked into the showroom after breaking open a ventilator window. The owner of the shop, in his complaint to the police, said stitched suits, blankets, some documents and Rs 1700 in cash were stolen from the shop. A case under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC has been registered.

BUSINESS

Book exhibition fails to attract visitors

Chandigarh, December 28 The book exhibition which started with a bang at Lajpat Rai Bhawan on December 24, with the release of K. Natwar Singh’s book “Heart to Heart” by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh amid much fanfare and media hype, turned out to be a disappointment for organisers who could not attract much visitors after the inaugural day.
Visitors browse through books at a book exhibition at Lajpat Rai Bhavan, Sector 15, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Winter Trade Fair
Chandigarh, December 28
The ongoing 10-day Winter Trade Fair and Kids Carnival being organised by Exhibition Movers and Future Plus at Parade Ground in Sector 17 here will conclude tomorrow.

EDUCATION

Eminent physicists present papers
Chandigarh, December 28
Four eminent scientists invited for talks presented their papers on the third day of the symposium on “Solid state physics”, being organised by the Department of Atomic Energy at the Panjab University here.

Aeronautical engineers pass out
Chandigarh, December 28
Nine aeronautical engineers and around 1,000 technicians and logisticians passed out from the MiG 23/27 Technical Type Training School (TETRA) at the Air Force High Grounds, near here, on completion of their training that varied from two weeks to six months.

‘Ekta’ regales audience
Chandigarh, December 28
Ekta, a cultural programme on the theme of national integration, was organised by the Bharat Vikas Parishad at the two-day Zonal conference which was inaugurated at MCM DAV College, Sector 36, here today.

DAV drama team wins laurels

CULTURE

‘Bhangra boys’ dazzle audience

Chandigarh, December 28 “Bhangra boys” — they are affectionately called by friends and acquaintances. The reason behind their re-christening is not very hard to see. At age less than 12, Amarinder and brother Karan have bagged a large number of prizes for their performances in bhangra. Each time they receive a dazzling cup, tears of joy, and pain, roll down their cheeks.

Amarinder Karan

New Year mood at Plaza Carnival

Chandigarh, December 28 Keeping up with the New Year mood of the residents, Centre for Carnival Art organised a two-hour non-stop dance programme at Plaza Carnival in Sector 17 here today. About 45 dancers between the age group 15 and 25 danced continuously to the tunes of popular Hindi and Punjabi peppy numbers, pulling a huge crowd to the venue. Participants at Plaza Carnival in Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — Tribune photos Parvesh Chauhan.

FILM REVIEW
A wasted effort
‘Chalo Ishq Ladaayen’ (Nirman) is a wasted effort at film making as is evident from the gaping holes in the overall presentation that gives nothing more than a shabby look. Aziz Sajaawal in the director’s chair has thrown all worth appreciating logical and emotional ingredients in a decent production to the wind and taken for granted Govinda’s mass appeal.

HEALTH

Neuro Dept gets ambulance
Chandigarh, December 28
The Department of Neurology at the PGI has been donated an ambulance by Mr K.C. Gupta. The ambulance shall be instrumental in helping patients of stroke to reach the PGI Emergency and relieve treatment by the brain attack team.

SPORTS

Sabeeha Dhillon gets gold Chandigarh, December 28 Sabeeha Dhillon of Punjab secured the gold medal in the sports rifle (ISSF) prone in the senior womens’ section by scoring 560/600 on the penultimate day of the 27th Northern India Shooting Championship here today at Patiala ki Rao shooting ranges, in Sector 25. Karanjeet of Punjab takes aim at the kneeling event of the 3 position Rifle section of the 27th Northern India Shooting Championship at Sector 25 Patiali Ki Rao shooting ranges on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

City roads to be recarpeted
Chandigarh, December 28
The Road Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh held its last meeting of the year under the chairmanship of Pardeep Chhabra here and approved the recarpeting of several roads.

800 cops for New Year Eve
Chandigarh, December 28
New Year revellers beware. Over 800 cops of the Chandigarh Police will be on roads to check hooliganism on the New Year celebrations in the city. A special watch will be kept on the geri routes in northern sectors, which have witnessed violence in the past.