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St Stephen’s boy tops ICSE exam in city
70 students secure 90 pc marks or above
Chandigarh, May 18
At least 70 students of six schools in the city, Mohali and Panchkula have secured 90 per cent marks or above in the ICSE Class X examination, of which the results were declared today.

Scoring high nothing new for topper Raghu
Chandigarh, May 18
Scoring high marks is nothing new for Raghu Mahajan, a student of St Stephen’s School, Sector 45. It is his passion to meet one challenge after another, be it an examination or a quiz contest.

Mother and grandparents of Raghu Mahajan, who stood first among students of Chandigarh schools in the ICSE Class X examination, celebrate his success (Left); and Neetika Saini, who stood second in the city, is offered sweets by her mother in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — Tribune photos by Parvesh Chauhan

YPS student tops in ISC medical stream
Mohali, May 18
Maheep Singh Sangha has stood first in Yadavindra Public School (YPS) in the medical group of the ISC examination by securing 82.4 per cent marks, the result of which was declared here today. Only YPS follows the ISC examination pattern in the town.

Speaking out
Sonia’s vacillation evokes extreme responses
Chandigarh, May 18
Sonia Gandhi’s vacillation over the acceptance of the prime-ministerial post has sparked off extreme reactions among local people. While a section of the people have hailed her for the sacrifice for the nation, others have accused her of running away from the responsibility thrust upon her by the people and her alliance partners.

BJP to go it alone in Assembly poll, says Kataria
Panchkula, May 18
Blaming the “Chautala factor” for the defeat of the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state, a former Ambala MP, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, today announced that the party would go it alone in the next Assembly elections.

When the going got tough, he killed his child
Chandigarh, May 18
Rajesh Kumar killed his two-year-old son because he couldn’t take care of him. The infant was an impediment in his attempt to earn a livelihood. Rajesh allegedly choked Pawan Kumar to death with a piece of cloth on May 14. He then carried the body several kilometres to the Sukhna choe, near Makhan Majra, and abandoned it. He did not return home after committing the crime.

Plan to have research clinic on stem cells
Chandigarh, May 18
The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, (PGIMER), here plans to have a functional research clinic on stem cells within the next six months to explore the new frontiers of the medical science.

Guesthouse owners asked to submit fresh building plans
Chandigarh, May 18
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed owners of "illegal" guesthouses running from commercial sites in the city to submit fresh building plans to the UT Administration for taking permission to change the plans and also change land use.

Indian sailors, officers achieve new feat
Chandigarh, May 18
A team of young officers and sailors from the Navy today set a new record by conquering Mount Everest using the North face route, making it the first Navy in the world to achieve the feat.

Those who couldn’t vote — 8th list

COMMUNITY

Encroachments removed Zirakpur, May 18 Following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the National Highway Authority of India, the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat and the Punjab police for the removal of a large number of encroachments along the busy Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway, the authorities concerned today launched a major demolition drive and removed scores of encroachments from the Zirakpur market today.

Heat wave to persist unless weather gods intervene Chandigarh, May 18 The sun continued to shine with a vengeance for the 10th day in succession today. Dry, dusty conditions aggravate pollution Chandigarh, May 18 The rising mercury level is not the only disturbing environmental factor as of today. Even the pollution levels in the city have been rising as the summers progresses. Worn down by intense heat, a passerby takes some time off to relax in the shadow of an Amaltas tree in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

Child sustains burns in fire
Mohali, May 18
A child was badly burnt when four jhuggis were destroyed in a fire which broke out in Udham Singh Colony here today. The child, who was sleeping in one of the jhuggis, was taken to the PGI, Chandigarh, in a serious condition.

Completion of NSSN forms by Tribune employees

CRIME

Moga Cong leader gives city cops the slip
Chandigarh, May 18
The district president of the Moga Congress Committee, Mr Tara Singh Sandhu, today gave the city police the slip when it attempted to arrest him in his village in connection with a case of dowry and bigamy registered against him. His wife is a Senior Lecturer at the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, here and resident of Sector 7.

Satta racket busted, 7 held Dera Bassi, May 18 The police claims to have unearthed a gang allegedly running a satta racket against the sale of Punjab State Lottery tickets in Zirakpur. The police has also arrested seven persons allegedly involved in the racket from lottery stalls located near the traffic-light point in Zirakpaur. A sum of Rs 1,35,961, 12 mobile sets, some calculators and other documents relating to their racket have also been seized from them. Police personnel count money and inspect other goods seized from a gang running a satta racket from Zirakpur in Dera Bassi on Tuesday.

Shopkeeper hurt in assault, one held
Chandigarh, May 18
A group of eight or 10 persons, armed with swords and sticks, allegedly assaulted a shopkeeper in Ram Darbar when he refused to pay protection amount of Rs 5,000 last night.

Youths snatch woman’s purse
Chandigarh, May 18
Two scooter-borne youths today snatched a purse from a woman near Guru Nanak Public School. One of them was caught by Amit Aggarwal of Sector 36 after a chase.

Gold, cash stolen
Mohali, May 18
Thieves decamped with gold and cash from a house in Phase IV here while the family was away to work today. Mr Vinod Krishnan told the police that the theft took place while he had gone to Ambala and his wife had left for work at Punjab Tractors Ltd here.

BUSINESS

Coop bank Board of Directors removed
Chandigarh, May 18
The Board of Directors (BoD) of Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank Limited was removed today and the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Inderjit Singh Sandhu, was appointed Administrator to manage the affairs of the bank.

EDUCATION

Make datesheets well in time, HC tells PU
Chandigarh, May 18
A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Panjab University, Chandigarh, to prepare the datesheet of all semester examinations well in advance and display these at least three weeks before the commencement of the examinations. PU was also told not to change the datesheet once notified, unless there were compelling reasons.

Services of Registrar of Nursing Council terminated
Mohali, May 18
The services of the Registrar of Punjab Nurses Registration Council have been terminated. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the members held yesterday.

Spanish, Japanese classes for IT professionals
Chandigarh, May 18
Professionals in the information technology sector will be able to learn Spanish and Japanese in the city itself. The Society for Promotion of Information Technology in Chandigarh (SPIC), under the aegis of the Department of Information Technology of the UT Administration, today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Inlingua (International School of Languages) for starting Spanish and Japanese courses for IT and ITES professionals in the city.

COURTS

High Court
Revised zoning plan of Sector 38 sought
Chandigarh, May 18
A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the UT Administration to inform it whether any advertisements had been ever brought out regarding the allotment of sites for educational institutions in the past five years. It also asked the UT if the sites were specifically meant for educational institutes and whether they had been allotted through open auctions.

LIFESTYLE

Fitness Trail
Cool fruits can take the sizzle out of summer
Summer with its scorching heat is rightly called the sizzling season when from blood to temper everything boils past the boiling point. But if nature fries everything under the sun, it has also provided some great bounties to beat the heat. With its basketful of summer fruits — hydrating, cool, rejuvenating — nature has provided some great chill-outs naturally!

Market Pulse
Summer collections for fun, comfort
Buddy Davis, a name synonymous with fun, fashion and style, makes the summer splash with three cool and exciting collections under the labels of Desert Trail Energy and Romantica in the form of fresh menswear and womenswear range. Available in colour combinations like browns, olives, khakis, whites and brighter hues like fuchsia, turquoise, greens and yellows and pastel shades, the ‘04 summer collection speaks of comfort, refinement and functionality.

Hi-tech laboratory for quick check-up

HEALTH

More than 550 examined at medical camp
Mohali, May 18
More than 550 patients were examined at a free medical camp organised at Gurdwara Sahibzada Ajit Singh in Phase II here yesterday in connection with the 500th birth anniversary of Guru Angad Dev.

SPORTS

Summer camp for Vivek students
Chandigarh, May 18
Active Sport (India), a group into sports promotion under the Australian Sports Commission, will train children at a summer camp to be held on the grounds of Vivek High School, Sector 38, from May 24.

ADMINISTRATION

MC to launch sanitation drive
Chandigarh, May 18
The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) is all set to launch a major sanitation drive. To solve the problems posed by lack of proper health and sanitation facilities in the colonies of Chandigarh, Mayor Ms Kamlesh today directed officers of some MC departments to prepare a base document in this regard.