C H A N D I G A R H

Celebrating Lohri with singing stars
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10— Revarian tey phulleh, bhangra tey giddhey, aai Lohri, balle, balle. Lohri dey do Lohri — a familiar chant. It was in the presence of a host of stars that the festival of Lohri was celebrated here this evening at Parade Ground, Sector 17, with Punjabi pop and folk artistes who made the audience sway to their beats.

Preeti Sapru's ambitious projects
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — "City Beautiful be ready, I'm bringing Madhuri Dixit here to perform live on the stage," said an excited Preeti Sapru, who has been associated with the Punjabi film industry for more than 20 years now. Preeti was here today to perform at the Lohri dhamaka at the Sector 17 Parade Ground and as the creative director of this event.

I am next to Zeenat Aman: Mink
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — "All my co-stars are angry with me, since I have never been linked with any of them. Not even in the media," said Mink, jokingly. She is a Bollywood actress who has been seen in some forgettable movies like Yamraj and Ganga Ki Kasam, both with Jackie Shroff. She also featured as a guest star in a couple of other Hindi films.

Rs 4.6 lakh relief for accident victim
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Nearly four years after the right arm of a computer instructor was crushed under the front wheel of a bus, the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr. S.K. Goel has ordered Rs 4.60 lakh to her as compensation.

2 get RI for keeping stolen motor cycles
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Two city residents, accused of keeping stolen motor cycles, were today sentenced to a one year rigorous imprisonment by UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Paramvir Nijjar.

CTCC to be reconstituted
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC) will be reconstituted in March this year, Mr Moti Lal Vora, AICC General Secretary and in charge of Chandigarh, indicated here today.

Air Defence Artillery Day celebrated
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The sixth Air Defence Artillery Day was celebrated with enthusiasm and zeal by Air Defence Artillery troops at Chandi Mandir Military Station near here today. To mark the occasion, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Veer Smriti to pay homage to those who had laid down their lives in the line of duty.

COMMUNITY

City loses illustrious soldier
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The city lost an illustrious soldier when Brig Raj Mohan Singh (retd) passed away here this morning. He was 78. A decorated officer, he was born in Burail (Sector 45) village in 1922.

Poor students given pullovers
SAS NAGAR, Jan 10 — In the wake of the continued dry spell in the region, 50 pullovers were distributed among poor students of Government Primary School in Phase 5 here at a function organised by the House Owners Welfare Society in the school premises today. The pullovers were distributed by the Subdivisional Magistrate, Mr O.P.Popli.

Nagar kirtan procession

CRIME

Two students granted bail
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Two city students, accused of being involved in a brawl at a Sector 22 discotheque on the New Year’s eve, were granted bail by the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge Mr S.K. Goel.

Held with fake number plate
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The police has arrested Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Badni Kalan village in Moga district, on a charge of having a fake number plate on his motor cycle.

EDUCATION

Arrest assaulters of student: council
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The Panjab University Campus Students Council has demanded action to ensure arrest of the assaulters of a university student on January 1.

CULTURE

Play by FCI employees
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Haryana Region, organised a cultural programme at Tagore Theatre here yesterday.

HEALTH

Oral surgeons’ meet from Jan 13
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The City Beautiful will play host to the 25th annual national conference of the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India (AOMSI) from January 13 to 16 at the CII Convention Centre, Sector 31-A. It will be inaugurated by Prof N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research, and Acting Director of the PGI, on January 14.

4,800 tested for blood sugar
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Nearly 4,800 persons have got their blood tests done for evaluation of blood sugar and total cholesterol status at a three-day camp organised by a local laboratory at its centres in Sectors 15 and 20 as part of raising healthcare consciousness in society.

SPORT

Rally point rule can be a hit
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Badminton's coverage is neglected by the electronic media and the reasons for it are not far to seek. Prakash Padukone had suggested some changes in scoring like the introduction of the rally point system, similar to the one in table tennis, to make the game faster and a crowd-puller. The Chief Executive of the International Badminton Federation, Mr Neil Cameron, who was recently in India, had said some changes might be made in the scoring structure to make it more attractive for television.

Dull draws in PU soccer
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — In the Panjab University Inter-College Inter-Zonal Football Tournament being played here today at the PU grounds, both matches could not yield any result.

ADMINISTRATION

‘Business as usual’ in houses
SAS NAGAR, Jan 10 — Misuse of residential premises for business purposes continues unchecked in the town with the PUDA authorities failing to check the offenders.

Admn to ensure minimum wages
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The local labour department is working towards ensuring that employers are paying the minimum prescribed wages to their workers.

Protest by jhuggi-dwellers
SAS NAGAR, Jan 10 — Scores of jhuggi-dwellers, whose hutments were demolished by the enforcement staff of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) in the past few days, staged a protest dharna in front of the PUDA complex in Phase 1 here today.

Zoo phone lying dead since Dec