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Traffic diversion adds to villagers’ woes
Highway may open today
Dera Bassi, December 2
Absence of a suitable alternative road connecting Chandigarh with Ambala and Delhi has hit the flow of traffic. Link roads have failed to cope with heavy volume of traffic that has been diverted to alternative routes following the closure of the Chandigarh-Ambala highway for repair at the Ghaggar bridge.

Ambala-bound traffic moves at a snail’s pace on a temporary link road connecting Ramgarh in Panchkula with Mubarikpur in Dera Bassi on the Ghaggar river bed in Mubarikpur village on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

Ban on burning foliage, only on paper Chandigarh, December 2 Despite the possibility of a strong punitive action against the violators, burning of leaves and grass continues in many parts of the city causing environmental pollution and posing a health hazard. Grass and leaves being burnt in Sector 7 by workers of the PWD in violation of the ban on burning grass, causing pollution in the city. — Tribune photo by Karam Singh

Students put queries on AIDS in drop boxes
Chandigarh, December 2
For students and staff members of Government Senior Secondary School, Dadu Majra Colony, spreading awareness of AIDS means much more than taking part in slogan-writing and painting contests.

SDM catches tout tampering with official papers
Panchkula, December 2
Subdivisional Magistrate Varinder Dahiya today caught an alleged tout in the licence and registration office while he was tampering with official documents. Mr Dahiya said he caught Shiv Kumar in the office at around 7 pm when he went there on a surprise check.

Tehsildar’s powers withdrawn
Panchkula, December 2
The Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Collector, Ms Neelam P Kasni, today withdrew all powers from Tehsildar, Mr Vidya Sagar Bathla, for his alleged involvement in registering the sale deed of a showroom owned by Golden Projects, a sister concern of Golden Forests.

• Krishan Mohan to be Home Secretary

COMMUNITY

Admn disallows MC to use corpus fund
Panchkula, December 2
The district administration has refused to allow the Municipal Council the use of its corpus fund for carrying out development works in the town, till the local body furnishes the details of Rs 7.34 crore spent by it during this financial year.

MC to introduce night-sweeping in Sector 17
Chandigarh, December 2
Shortage of toilets and encroachments by rickshaw pullers and beggars was identified as the reasons responsible for insanitary conditions in Sector 17. Next month too, the Municipal Corporation will introduce night-sweeping in the sector to give it a cleaner look.

Sector 4 residents allege extortion by association
Panchkula, December 2
The residents of Sector 4 here have alleged that the office-bearers of the Friends South East Association — an association of residents in the sector — are extorting money from them on the pretext of providing sanitation in the area.

Bhatti gets threatening calls from Western UP and Delhi
Chandigarh, December 2
Satirist and film personality Jaspal Bhatti has allegedly received threatening calls recently. Bhatti has reported the matter to the Chandigarh Police. Mr Bhatti has been provided security by the Punjab Police following the calls he allegedly received.

Kashmiri Pandits organise ‘yajnopavit’ ceremony

Chandigarh, December 2 A few Kashmiri Pandits, who settled in Chandigarh after being displaced from their homeland, have been following their tradition religiously. Among numerous festivals celebrated by them is the “yajnopavit” ceremony, which signifies the connotations of the word “Brahmin”. A Kasmiri Pandit family perform “yajnopavit” ceremony at Kashmir Bhavan in Sector 24, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

Disabled Day goes unnoticed in Punjab: council
Mohali, December 2
The National Handicapped Welfare Council today flayed the Punjab Government for failing to make arrangements for organising a state-level function on International Disabled Day.

Longewala battle’s anniversary
Chandigarh, December 2
The 33rd anniversary of the famous Battle of Longewala is being celebrated by 23 Punjab at Bathinda on December 5. It was on this day that a handful of Indian troops blunted a massive Pakistani thrust into Rajasthan.

17 ASIs to be recruited
Chandigarh, December 2
The Chandigarh Police is going to recruit 17 Assistant Sub-Inspectors after a gap of five years. Thirteen ASIs are to be taken from the general category, while the remaining four will be women cops.

PSEB’s technical union stages dharna
Mohali, December 2
Members of the Technical Services Union, PSEB, Mohali, today staged a dharna in front of the Superintending Engineer, Mohali circle, in protest against the board’s decision to privatise the meter reading and bill distribution services in the circle.

Move to clear encroachments on highway at Zirakpur
Zirakpur, December 2
The Punjab police has deployed 50 constables to clear the Zirakpur stretch of the Chandigarh-Patiala highway of encroachments. The step was taken in the wake of Inspector General (Zonal) of the Punjab Police Rajinder Singh’s visit to the Zirakpur market on November 30.

‘Statement of Beant Singh’s driver not recorded’
Chandigarh, December 2
The statement of the driver of the car, which was blown up in a blast resulting in the death of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, at the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat on August 31,1995, was not recorded.

• INLD govt lauded
• BSNL directory ready for release
• State govt employees body to hold rally

CRIME

Five shops burgled
Panchkula, December 2
Five adjoining daily-need shops in Abheypur village were broken into by burglars and cash and goods worth Rs 50,000 were stolen here last night.

Proclaimed offender held
Mohali, December 2
The local police today arrested a proclaimed offender wanted by the Chandigarh, Mohali, Moga, Ludhiana and Karnal police since 2001. The accused, Ranjit Singh, had allegedly duped women of a large amount of money after marrying them off to his brothers settled in Canada.

Fraud accused approaches rights panel
Mohali, December 2
Pavan Kumar Dhawan, an employee of Shivalik Prismo, here who was yesterday arrested for allegedly defrauding the company of Rs 5.93 lakh had approached the Punjab State Human Rights Commission alleging harassment at the hands of a senior manager of the company.

Accident victim succumbs to injuries
Mohali, December 2
Gurpal Singh, 33, who met with an accident a week ago in Sector 70 here, succumbed to his injuries at Fortis Hospital here yesterday. According to the police, Gurpal Singh was critically injured in an accident and was in a state of coma since he was admitted to the hospital.

Duping case against four
Mohali, December 2
The Mohali police today registered a duping case against four persons for selling a house to a Chandigarh resident, which had already being sold to two other persons.

4 vehicles stolen
Chandigarh, December 2
Four vehicles were reportedly stolen from the city the police said here today. Mr Prem Chand Kansal of Sector 29-D, reported to the police that his Maruti car (CH-01-0169) was stolen from his residence on the night of November 30.

BUSINESS

Bonus given to 844 milkmen, societies Mohali, December 2 Dividend and bonus worth Rs 78 lakh was distributed to 844 milk producers cooperative societies affiliated to the Verka Milk Plant, Mohali, during a special function organised here today. Members of milk producers’ cooperative societies attend a function at Milkfed plant, Mohali, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Seminar on corporate excellence held
Mohali, December 2
The National Institute of Personnel Management, Punjab Chapter, organised a seminar on ‘training — The Mantra for Corporate Excellence — by Mr V. Aswatha Ramaiah, a management consultant based at Bangalore.

Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman CII, Northern Region (second from right) addresses a press conference at Agro Tech Fair-2004 being held at Parade Ground in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune Photograph

Apni mandi in Sec 34
from Dec 10
Chandigarh, December 2
An apni mandi will start functioning from December 10 from the ground near the petrol pump of Sector 34 every Friday. The decision to start an ‘apni mandi’ in Sector 34 has been taken to decongest the Sector 33 mandi on every Saturday.

Airtel Divali Bumper results
Chandigarh, December 2
The money is Godsent and I really can’t believe my luck, says Dr Meera Castro, the winner of the first prize of Rs 15 lakh of Airtel Divali Bumper.

EDUCATION

National pharmacy week organised
Chandigarh, December 2
The indispensability of the pharmacist in the present health care system was highlighted at the national pharmacy week organised by the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Punjab branch and the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, which concluded at the campus, here today.

COURTS

Justice Jain senior to Justice Bedi
Chandigarh, December 2
Even though reports in a section of media have said that Mr Justice D.K. Jain of the Delhi High Court, who has been recommended for the post of Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, is junior to Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi, Mr Justice V.K. Bali and Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, it is now known that the reports were partially incorrect.

High Court
IRS officer seeks action against senior
Chandigarh, December 2
A senior Central Excise officer today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking action against the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh, Mr Kailash Sethi, for having allegedly sexually harassed her.

2 Judges administered oath
Chandigarh, December 2
The strength of Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today went up to 34 as two Judges, who were transferred from other High Courts, were sworn-in.

CULTURE

‘Brush’ with facets of East Here is your chance to see the green countryside, the rainy days or devastating storms through the eyes of four young and upcoming artists, who have successfully captured various facets of the East through their brush strokes. One of the water colour paintings by a Kolkata-based artist on display at IndusInd Art Gallery, Sector 8, Chandigarh. — A Tribune photograph

Harish Bhatia’s team enthrals audience Chandigarh, December 2 The Hindi translation of a three-act play, "Who afraid of Virginia Woolf?", was staged at Tagore Theatre, here today. Directed by Harish Bhatia, the story revolves around a night in the life of an unhappily married couple. Artistes perform in the play “Who is Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

New Release Kiron Kher hogs attention in ‘Khamosh Pani’ Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Philippe Avral, Helge Albers and Claudia Tronnier present “Khamosh Pani” which is evoking great curiosity and enthusiasm among the cinegoers. It is directed by Karachi-born Sabiha Samar starring mainstream actors like Kiron Kher, who acted in “Hum Tum” and the recently released Yash-Chopra’s “Veer Zaara” the film is all set to prove her acting talent yet again. Music album released

HEALTH

‘Swasthya bhavan’ foundation stone laid
Panchkula, December 2
The Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, while addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of “Swasthya Bhavan” here, said his government had provided modern healthcare services to all irrespective of their caste, colour and creed.

Experts to discuss adolescent problems
Chandigarh, December 2
Continuing medical education on adolescent problems to be organised by the Adoloscent Chapter, Punjab and Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Patiala branch, will be held on the premises of Government Medical College, Patiala, on December 5, 2004.

Ex-servicemen body for 24-hr polyclinic
Chandigarh, December 2
In a representation to the Managing Director of Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, a city-based ex-servicemen association has demanded that the recently established Chandigarh Ex-servicemen Polyclinic should be functional round the clock.

SPORTS

Pawandeep shines in PU athletic meet
Chandigarh, December 2
Pawandeep Kaur of GGS College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh, emerged winner in 100 m and 400 m races in the annual athletic meet of Panjab University which began on the campus grounds today. Earlier, Brig G.S. Sandhu (retd) inaugurated the meet.

Indo-Pak Games to start from Dec 6
Chandigarh, December 2
Olympian shooters Abhinav Bindra and Manavjit Sandhu will be strong contenders for medals in the shooting event of the first ever Indo-Pak Punjab Games to be held on December 6 at the Markfed shooting range, Mohali.

Inayat enters final of tennis tournament
Chandigarh, December 2
Top seed Inayat Khosla entered the finals of the women’s singles event in the CLTA Open Lawn Tennis on the second day today at Sector 10 Tennis Stadium She overpowered Ramneek Rihal in straight sets in the semi-finals played today.

Cricket tourney for mentally challenged begins
Chandigarh, December 2
The two-day North Zone Cricket Tournament for Mentally Challenged Children began at various venues in the city today. The inaugural function was held at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium.