C H A N D I G A R H

Unmindful of the hot summer sun and cars zipping past, this child of a daily-wage worker sleeps blissfully under the shade of an umbrella. — A Tribune photo

NRI restrained from flying to UK
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — An elderly British national had a first hand taste of Punjab Police 'hospitality'. He was reportedly "illegally detained" for several hours at Amritsar's Raja Sansi airport on April 7 and not allowed to board a flight back home. His passport was confiscated by officials on the charge that it was fake.

Traffic case: HC directive to officials
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed “all senior officers from different sections of the respective governments” to be present in the court for the traffic regulation and pollution control case “in the event the lawyers are not appearing”.

Sarin denies encroachment charge
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Haryana Advocate- General, Mr M.L. Sarin, has asked the Chief Administrator of HUDA, Mr N.C. Wadhwa, to let him know whether there was any plot or house in his name in Sector 2 of Panchkula.

Kundras shifted
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Union Home Ministry, yesterday, ordered the transfer of Mr Asish Kundra, Subdivisional Magistrate (South), and his wife Ms Geetanjali Kundra, Subdivisional Magistrate (East), to Mizoram immediately.

• Advani tight-lipped on Jain case

‘First attempt’ clause vexes GMCH admission aspirants
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — An otherwise academically brilliant local plus-two student who misses the annual examination cannot appear in the qualifying examination for the local Government Medical College because he needs to clear plus-two "in the first attempt'.

Administration turns blind eye to fire-trap markets
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — It's no secret that rehri markets are fire-traps. The mystery is why authorities remain indifferent to the markets' blatant violation of fire safety norms.

COMMUNITY

Encroachers rob highway of space
ZIRAKPUR, April 8 — Encroachment by shopkeepers and vendors in the local market has resulted in the Chandigarh-Ambala highway here becoming a traffic hazard since the past many years.

Ordination of Bishop today
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The episcopal ordination of the new Bishop of the Shimla-Chandigarh Diocese, Dr Gerlad J Mathias, will be held at the Sector 26 Sacred Heart Convent School tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Kargil martyrs' kin get Rs 50,000 each
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — Widows and next of kin of 10 martyrs of Kargil were presented Rs 50,000 each at a function organised by the management of Vancouver-based Punjabi weekly, the Indo-Canadian Times, in collaboration with the Department of Sainik Welfare of Punjab here today.

CRIME

Woman killed in fire
PANCHKULA, April 8 — A 30-year-old handicapped woman, Balesh, died in a fire which had broken out in jhuggis near a petrol pump in Old Panchkula late past night. In all, 10 jhuggis were gutted in the fire which lasted about an hour. Food items and kitchenware were also reported to be destroyed in the fire.

Protest against police inaction
KHARAR, April 8 — A procession was taken out here today by some prominent and political figures of the township in protest against the failure of the local police in taking proper and timely action against Mr Pawan Kumar Jain, a correspondent of an English daily, and his son, who had allegedly taken forcible possession of a rented shop on the night of April 1.

BUSINESS

Sites for milkmen sought
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — Alternative sites for milkmen of Nizampur Burail and Jhumru villages were demanded by the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata party here yesterday.

EDUCATION

M.M. Puri to head panel on vocational courses
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Prof M.M.Puri, Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, to identify vocational courses which could be introduced at college and university levels.

Course on bridge building
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The local chapter of the Indian Institution of Bridge Engineers began its first two-day refresher course to understand the modalities of quality bridge building. Engineers of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, besides the city, are taking part.

Teachers to gherao DPI office
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Punjab Government College Teachers Association said on Thursday that the state government had betrayed the association by not fulfilling the promises made to it.

COURTS

14 more lawyers go on fast
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The fast being observed by lawyers at the local district courts complex entered its fourth day today, with more lawyers staging a protest against the government’s proposed amendments to the existing Code of Civil Procedure.

CULTURE

Listeners taken to heights divine
PANCHKULA, April 8—The Sharma Bandhus, doyens of the Shri Ram Darbar style of singing, performed to a receptive audience at the Mansa Devi Temple Satsang Bhavan as a part of the on-going Navratra mela, here today.

Detective Trotter 'does it again'
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The world's most-staged murder mystery, The Mousetrap, was performed commendably once again by artistes of the Chandigarh Amateur Dramatic Society at Tagore Theatre here today.

Singers perform at exhibition
PANCHKULA, April 8 — A cultural programme and exhibition of soft toys and paintings was organised by Ghoomer Academy at Red Bishop in Sector 1, here today.

A melodious evening
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — It was an evening of melody as Naresh Jacob and Kanchan Kulkarni of ‘The Vibrations’ group performed at the Sector 17 Plaza during Plaza Carnival here today.

HEALTH

Specialists examine disabled
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Directorate of Social Welfare and the YTTS organised a special medical check-up camp for disabled people at Mauli Jagran today.

Medical camp
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — A medical check-up was organised by HelpAge India and the Satyakash Charitable Trust here today.

SPORT

PEC, WWC win
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — A superb performance by Satish Chaudhary, who scored 52 runs and took four wickets for 23 runs, helped Punjab Engineering College, Sector 12, beat United Insurance Corporation by 108 runs in the inaugural Salzer Cup league cricket tournament, being organised by District Panchkula Cricket Association, here today.

ADMINISTRATION

Train cops for duties: Jacob
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) today underlined the need to impart specialised training to police, especially wireless operators and computer operators, as well as those assigned to investigate economic offences or cyber crimes.

Certificate mandatory
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority has made the occupation certificate mandatory for house owners under Rule 10 of the PUDA (Building) Rules, 1996.

Flights to Kulu revised
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — Jagsons, a private airline, has decided to revise its Delhi-Kulu-Delhi, Delhi-Shimla-Kulu-Shimla-Delhi and Kulu-Chandigarh-Kulu schedules from April 15.

'Compensation for land not enough'
SAS NAGAR, April 8 — The Deputy Commissioner of Ropar, yesterday, chaired a meeting of the district officials and members of the Sohana Circle Sangarsh Committee to decide on the compensation to be offered for the land being acquired for further expansion of the town.

Chennai MC men in city
CHANDIGARH, April 8 — A 12-member delegation of the Chennai Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee on education, parks and playfields, met officials and councillors of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation here today.