C H A N D I G A R H

UT denying IT assessees sugar quota from May itself
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The Union Territory of Chandigarh appears to be jumping the gun in denying income tax assessees their quota of levy sugar from this month onwards though Union Government wants this to be discontinued from July this year.

Gargs allege the police has turned the heat on them
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Apprehending inaction on his compliant and subsequent sabotage of investigations by the police, Sunny Garg, who was reportedly abducted by Ranjit Bajaj, a son of a senior Punjab IAS couple, today met the UT Administrator, Lt- Gen J F R Jacob (retd), here today.

Ranjit Bajaj’s police remand extended
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Ranjit Bajaj, who surrendered in court on May 24 in all three cases pending against him, was today again produced in the court of UT Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class) Mr Baljinder Singh, as his police remand ended. Ranjit’s police remand was again extended today with the SHO Central appearing in person and requesting the court for time on grounds that the accused had to be interrogated.

Lessen the load on PGI, minister tells govts
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Mr N. T. Shanmugam, today called upon governments in nearby states to upgrade the existing medical health-care facilities in their hospitals so as to reduce the rush of patients to the PGI and ensure that only deserving cases who need specialised treatment come here. He arrived in the city today to preside over the governing body and institute body meetings to be held tomorrow.

Criminal issued arms licence from city
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The office of the District Magistrate has fished out records of an alleged criminal, who was arrested from Delhi a few days ago and was carrying an arms licence issued from Chandigarh.

Cops may lose free bus travel
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Free travel by local policemen in the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) buses will be a thing of the past if a circular issued by the Administration is any indication.

COMMUNITY

Kala Rama Chandran takes over as new SP
PANCHKULA, May 26 — Continuing with the idea of involving school children in the various drives undertaken by the local police, the new Superintendent of Police, Mrs Kala Rama Chandran, plans to begin where her predecessor, Mr Sudhir Chowdhary, left. She took charge at the district secretariat in Sector 1, here today, and said that the project would be extended to the schools of the entire township after the vacation was over.

Dharna by municipal workers’ union
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Members of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Roads Workers Union today staged a dharna against the “callous attitude” of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) towards their long-pending demands.

Fitness centres tailor-made to keep you in shape
CHANDIGARH, May 26— A large number of fitness centres have cropped up in the city to deal with the problem of obesity. People are ready to pay hefty amounts to get rid of their extra kilos as these centres guarantee fat loss without dieting, exercise or any side-effects.

An unexpected pleasant surprise
MASOL (Kharar), May 26 — Inhabitants of this remote and inaccessible village, located amidst the Shivalik Hills bordering Haryana, had unexpected pleasant visitors when an entourage of vehicles carrying officials of the district administration descended on the village. The officials led by the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, Mr GS Grewal, had come to hold “sangat darshan”.

Regiment celebrates raising day
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — A field artillery regiment celebrated its 35th Raising Day with enthusiasm and fanfare somewhere in the Western Sector today.

Power cuts, bad roads ail colony
ZIRAKPUR, May 26 — Absence of streetlights and roads, frequent power cuts, lack of sewerage system and various other problems are being faced by residents of Saini Vihar Colony near here for the past many years.

Privatisation fails
Sanitation of SAS Nagar has become a headache for the SAS Nagar Municipal Council. Even after privatising sanitation in some parts of the town, the problem remains. Heaps of garbage scattered around dumping sites along the main roads is a common site in the town.

Whacky, trendy hairdos in vogue
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Freaky yellow, carbuncle blue, trendy burgundy. The hues are the in-thing in the summer of 2000. No, not just in denims. In hair too. The bouncing silky tresses glitter in the afternoon sun as the bold and the beautiful walk down the arcade corridors all over the city.

CRIME

Doctor booked for negligence
SAS NAGAR, May 26 — In connection with the death of a 27-year-old Non-Resident Indian (NRI) woman at a private nursing home in Phase 2 here last Sunday, the police has registered a case of negligence against a doctor of the nursing home.

100 traffic offenders booked
SAS NAGAR, May 26 — The police booked a large number of traffic offenders here yesterday.

The DSP, Mr S.S. Gill, said between 75 and 100 offenders were challaned and two scooters and one motor cycle impounded. Nakas were laid at various points, including the Ambwala, Madanpur, Franco and Diplast chowks.

Jeweller’s second arm found
SAS NAGAR, May 26 — The second amputated arm of Ashok Kumar, the jeweller who was murdered in Phase VII on May 22, has been found in a nallah near Manuali village.

Another accused held in nude pictures case
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The case concerning the alleged indecent behaviour against a Sector 28 girl by her relative and his friend again came up today in court with Gurjit Singh, an accomplice of Ved Parkash (the girl’s relative who pirctured her nude), being arrested and produced in court.

EDUCATION

Australian institute manager praises Indian IT potential
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — “North of India has a major potential in view of the large number of students going to Australian institutes for studies." This observation was made here today by Ms Rosemary Rainer, Business Development manager of Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, an Australian Government institute. Ms Rainer is in town for two days to conduct interviews of potential candidates on the invitation of a local consulting agency.

Court order to PU on student’s admission
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Allowing a writ petition, Mr Justice V.S. Aggarwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Panjab University here to grant admission to a student in M.Tech (micro electronics) course.

CULTURE

Music group to hold contests
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The Sensations Musical Group has planned to conduct all-India open vocal competition and audition tests. The group will hold contests for all age groups in different parts of the country. The selected candidates through the competition will be further processed by professionals for giving them break into the audio album (the 8th Melody voice), which is to be released by Canadian music company Melody in Mumbai.

Apne Begane tele serial
PANCHKULA, May 26—The mahurat of the television serial “Apne Begane’’ was held in Sector 6, here today. The shot of the serial to be aired on Lashkara channel was taken on Sangeeta Mehta, Rosy and Kamal Arora, leading artists of Punjabi theatre and films.

Artists deliberate on art turning seasonal
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — “Art and its seasonal nature” came under discussion today at the monthly get-together of artists, art critics and art historians at the local Government College of Arts, Sector 10.

Jaipur kathak sends many aspirants swaying
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — That the city youth have strong roots in the traditional forms of the country was amply clear by the heartening response to the kathak workshop which was under way today at Government College for Girls, Sector 11.

HEALTH

Sealed medicine bottle found empty
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — Mr Harbans Lal, a resident of Sector 20-C, was shocked when a sealed bottle of Shilajit capsules he purchased from a Sector 20-D chemist, was found empty. The sealed bottle of Dabur was sold to him against a cash payment of Rs 74.

SPORT

Tourists want water sport in city
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The need for the creation of water-sport facilities, including that for river rafting, is felt by tourists who visit the city in the summer. Chandigarh is a transit point for most tourists going towards Shimla and beyond. They usually come from West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra and UP. Then, there are those who come from the nearby states to spend vacations with relatives.

More than 900 attend trials
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — More than 900 boys and girls attended the trials at Polo Grounds in Patiala today for the summer coaching camp to be organised by the Punjab Education Department (schools) from June 2 to 22 at Sundernagar and Pandoh in Himachal Pradesh. Mr P.S. Chhabra, state Sport Organiser, in a fax message, said the trials were like a "big mela" of young sportspersons. In all, 145 boys and girls attended the athletics and gymnastics trials.

St Stephen’s Academy back with soccer title
CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The under-10 players of the city’s only football academy run by St Stephen’s School could not have asked for more. They are just back after winning the title in the under-10 lightning football tournament organised by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Goa Football Association at Nehru Stadium in Fatorda (Goa).