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Mayor questions poll panel on code
Development work halts
Chandigarh, November 20
Imposition of the model code of conduct and the subsequent suspension of development work in the city has developed into a confrontation of sorts between the Congress-led municipal corporation and the state Election Commissioner

Vehicle population causes chaos on city roads
Chandigarh, November 20
Having the highest ‘vehicular density’ in the country, Chandigarh is fast heading towards a traffic disaster. City roads, especially, those within sectors, are nearly choked with moving and parked vehicles.
High vehicle density in Chandigarh is behind traffic chaos on roads. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Colonel Bains, son arrested
Chandigarh, November 20
The local police today arrested Col. Manmohan Singh Bains and his son Vikram Bains from near the Raj Bhavan. The police said they received an information that both of them were going to the Raj Bhavan.

Battered widow meets Gen Rodrigues
Chandigarh, November 20
India's first woman pilot and widow of Air Vice-Marshal Harjinder Singh, Beant Kaur, who was allegedly tortured and maltreated by her nephew, today called upon the Governor of Punjab, Gen S. F. Rodrigues (Retd) at the Raj Bhavan here.

Ms Beant Kaur (right) and her sister, Ms Satwant Kaur, come out of Punjab Raj Bhavan after meeting the Governor, Gen S. F. Rodrigues, in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Roadways employee shot at
Mohali, November 20
A 47-year-old Punjab Roadways employee was shot at twice by a person at Phase VIII bus stand here late last night. The victim, Mewa Singh, a resident of Dharamgarh village, was admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, in serious condition. The accused fled away after committing the crime.

Stay on brigadier's trial vacated
Chandigarh, November 20
The Delhi High Court has vacated the stay imposed by it earlier on the trial of Brig Iqbal Singh by a General Court Martial (GCM) in the Tehelka case. The GCM commenced at Patiala on November 18.

Witness deposes in Tehelka case
Chandigarh, November 20
Though the chargesheet against Col Anil Sahgal, who is being tried for professional impropriety in the Tehelka case states that he had asked his assistant, P. Shashi to hand over 27 documents to the Tehelka team, only 16 documents were handed over by Shashi when the sting operation was being carried out. The remaining 11 were made available to the witness by army officers during the court of inquiry.

An artificial heart designed
Mohali, November 20
Two years from now, India’s first artificial heart would be available for thousands of patients across the country who are waiting for a heart transplant surgery. The indigenously designed and manufactured artificial heart would probably be the cheapest in the world, costing less than Rs 3 lakh. Currently, the most economical heart assist device or artificial heart is available for Rs 15 lakh, every component of which has to be imported from either the USA or Europe.

PIL filed in sexual harassment case
Chandigarh, November 20
The High Court on Saturday issued notice of motion for December 8 on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a thorough probe into the recent alleged incident where two lady schoolteachers had alleged that their Principal had sexually harassed them.

COMMUNITY

Bharat Thakur — a new age yoga guru
Chandigarh, November 20
An iconoclast and entrepreneur par excellence. That’s the new age yoga guru, or rather exponent — Bharat Thakur. From taking the message of the yogis meditating in the Himalayas to the creme de la creme of the society, Thakur’s artistic yoga has become a fashion fad for the well- heeled.

India has edge over China in knowhow: Agarwal
Chandigarh, November 20
India has a clear advantage over China when it comes to technology and qualified manpower, said Mr S.C. Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Government of Punjab, while inaugurating a seminar-cum-exposition on recent trends in cutting tool technology at CII today.

Trenches on internal roads prone to mishap
Panchkula, November 20
The Citizen’s Welfare Association has decried the lack of coordination between Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Municipal Council (MC) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which has led to digging of trenches on internal roads in Sector 15 here.

Sonia behind seer’s arrest, alleges VHP
Chandigarh, November 20
Giving a new twist to the ongoing controversy over the arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today alleged that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leader and Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, was behind the whole show.

• Local BJP unit protests against seer’s remand
• Bandh call to protest against seer’s arrest

Four committees to oversee sanitation, streetlights
Panchkula, November 20
Deputy Commissioner Panchkula district Ms Neelam P. Kasni has formed four committees of officers to assess sanitation conditions and streetlight maintenance in Panchkula.

Red Cross approves scheme for senior citizens
Chandigarh, November 20
The managing committee of the UT Red Cross Society today approved a scheme for helping senior citizens in depositing their electricity and telephone bills, provide medical treatment, legal assistance and upgrade their computer skills to correspond with their near and dear ones.

Sikh jatha leaves for Pakistan Mohali, November 20 An 85-member jatha of Sikhs from Mohali today left on a ten-day tour of Pakistan. The jatha was flagged off by Mr Hardeep Singh, member, Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Mohali, from the Amb Sahib gurdwara, Phase VIII, here this morning. A Sikh jatha leaves for Pakistan from Sri Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Phase VIII, Mohali, on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Shobha yatra to be organised today
Mohali, November 20
A shoba yatra is being organised by Shri Vaishno Seva Mandal in the town tomorrow.

Readers write Improve health scheme T he Central Government Health Scheme launched in Chandigarh in 2001 has failed to take off. There is only one dispensary for the entire Union Territory and the satellite towns of Mohali and Panchkula. Even this lone CGHS dispensary (in Sector 45) is not fully equipped to handle even a fraction of the task assigned to it. The number of doctors and dispensary staff is inadequate and they are overworked.

Balconies Naming sports complexes Plying of trucks

Encroachments Bus queue shelters

CRIME

Cash, valuables stolen from Sector 12 house
Panchkula, November 20
A .32-bore pistol, about 20 cartridges, gold ornaments and some cash were stolen from a house in Sector 12 here last night. The owner of the house, Ms Shashi Prabha Aggarwal, advocate, was away to be with her son in Ujjain and the house was locked.

Two held for stealing mobile phone
Chandigarh, November 20
Two persons were caught red-handed while trying to steal a mobile phone from a shop and two houses are reportedly burgled, according to the information released by the police, here today.

4 truckloads of consumer items seized
Mohali, November 20
The police raided a house in Balongi village, near here, today and seized four truckloads of consumer goods and other utility items which the owners had claimed were to be sold at half the cost. The police suspected that those running the business, amounting to crores of rupees, would have fled duping customers of their money.

Flesh trade racket busted
Chandigarh, November 20
The local police today busted a flesh trade racket by arresting a pimp and two girls allegedly involved in it. A decoy customer was sent by the police with marked currency notes to nab them.

Minor abducted
Chandigarh, November 20
A resident of Janta Colony filed a complaint that Mehak Singh, a resident of the same locality had abducted his minor daughter on October 25. The police has registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC in Sector 11 police station.

Woman’s chain snatched
Panchkula, November 20
A cycle-borne youth snatched a gold chain from a woman in Sector 10 late this evening. The police say that the woman was standing outside her house in Sector 10, when a cycle-borne youth approached her with a visiting card on the pretext of knowing an address. As the woman’s attention was diverted, the cyclist snatched the gold chain and eloped, informed the victim’s husband, Mr Pramjit Singh.

BUSINESS

Big city units keep away from trade fair Chandigarh, November 20 A large number of big industrial units of the city have kept away from the India International Trade Fair at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan even as Chandigarh has been allotted its own pavilion for the first time. The Chandigarh pavilion at the India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. — A Tribune photograph

EDUCATION

Engg college magazine released
Mohali, November 20
A quarterly magazine, Milestone, was launched at Chandigarh Engineering College (CEC), Landran, yesterday. The magazine was released by Ms Poonam Malhotra, head of department, Worldwide Product Services India (WPSI), Quark Systems and Sayantani Dasgupta, member, WPSI.

From Schools Institute for Blind celebrates Children’s Day Chandigarh, November 20 The students of the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, celebrated Children’s Day in the institute here today. A student of ‘Institute for the Blind’, Sector 26, sings during the Children’s Day celebrations at the institute in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Photo by Manoj Mahajan

Tibetan students end fast
Chandigarh, November 20
Tibetan students protesting against the decision of the Chinese government to execute Tibetan religious leader Lama Tulku Tenzin Delek ended their weeklong fast today.

Students of Mount Carmel School present bhangra during a function organised in their school on Saturday. — A Tribune photo

IT Dept to conduct test on Nov 28
Chandigarh, November 20
The Chandigarh Training on Soft Skills (C-ToSS) programme which was started by the Department of Information Technology will be conducting its first test on November 28.

Career counselling at ‘College Panorama’
Chandigarh, November 20
On the second day of “College Panorama” of Government College, Sector 11, nine institutes from different parts of the country provided career guidance and counselling to the students. The most sought-after careers were tourism, future management, business management, computers, air hostess and cabin crew training.

Sec 20 Govt school holds blood donation camp
Chandigarh, November 20
Students of Government Model High School, Sector 20 D, celebrated the National Integration Week by donating blood.

CULTURE

Remixes darkest phase of music, says Ravi
Wedding ambience will certainly be incomplete without a sprinkling of fun. ‘Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai’ or the soulful ‘vidai’ music of ‘Babul ki duaen leti ja’. Times have changed but many children still derive a lot of delight by humming ‘Chanda mama door ke’ or ‘Hum bhi agar bache hote’.

Anwar Hussein to be honoured today
Chandigarh, November 20
Anwar Hussein, a singer, whose voice resembles that of Mohammad Rafi will be honoured tomorrow at Rafi Memorial Nite to be organised at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18.

50 artists take part in exhibition
Chandigarh, November 20
The sixth annual art exhibition of Bama Academy of Fine Art, Panchkula, opened today at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10. The unique thing about this exhibition is that one can view three paintings in one frame. About 50 artists from Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali and Chandi-Mandir are taking part in this exhibition.

HEALTH

500 examined at heart check-up camp
Panchkula, November 20
More than 500 persons were examined at a two-day free heart check-up camp organised by Mahamai Mansa Devi Charitable Bhandara Committee that concluded today at the Mansa Devi Shrine Complex.

Symposium on cardiac care concludes
Mohali, November 20
The two-day international symposium on lifestyle diseases and emerging trends in cardiac care ended at Fortis Hospital here today. Dr Dhiraj Narula, cardiologist, Asian Heart Hospital, Mumbai, spoke on sudden cardiac death and added that the disease affected about 2.5 million Indians every year.

SPORTS

Students of Baptist school, Sector-45, Chandigarh, present cultural programme at annual sports meet of school on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Yogita, Toheed overall best in athletics
Chandigarh, November 20
Yogita of the Sports Complex, Sector 7 here, in the under-14 girls’ section and Mohammad Toheed in the under-14 boys’ section were adjudged overall best in the Bharat Petroleum Chandigarh State Athletics Championship-2004 in various age groups. The championship concluded today at the Sports Complex, Sector 7.

JJ sports win Saupin’s beat St John’s Cricket tourney Selection trials

PU surges ahead in inter-university tennis tourney
Chandigarh, November 20
Panjab University surged ahead in the All-India Inter-University Tennis (women) Tournament played here PU campus today. In a nail biting tie against Gujarat University, PU won 3-2.

Championship Basketball

Tournament Throwball tourney