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Robbers strike at IAF officer’s house
Cash, ornaments worth Rs 4.5 lakh stolen
Chandigarh, February 3
Burglars reportedly broke into a Sector 36 house and decamped with jewellery and cash worth about Rs 4.5 lakh while the family had gone out for the evening. Gold ornaments weighing about 50 tola, Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and foreign exchange amounting to about Rs 70,000 have been reported missing.

Wg Cdr M.S. Bhomia (retd) shows the broken window from where the burglars gained entry into his Sector 36 house in Chandigarh on Saturday; (inset) empty jewellery cases strewn around the house. — Tribune photo Pradeep Tewari

Customer stands to gain in telecom competition
Chandigarh, February 3
At least one segment that will emerge the winner following the increasing competition in the telecom sector is the customer. After a plethora of value-added services and discounts by cellular operators, it is now the turn of basic operators who are trying to retain and increase their customer base and are offering new products.

Panther skin seized, 1 held

Pinjore, February 3 The Forest Department staff has seized a panther skin worth thousands of rupees, from a resident of Kalka this morning. The accused, Daulatiya, a shepherd, however, said he had been implicated by a relative but the Forest Department staff maintained otherwise. The accused, Daulatiya (third from left), displays the seized panther skin at Forest Complex, Pinjore, on Sunday. — Tribune photo Parvesh Chauhan

Societies get land at a cost, encroachers for free
Chandigarh, February 3
The right hand of the Chandigarh Administration does not seem to know what the left is doing. In an interesting case, babus, overlooking all facts have allotted land to co-operative housing societies in Sector 49 even as the Administration’s own enforcement Wing has listed that 12 cattle sheds and 1000 illegal jhuggies exist on the very same land.

Ad revenue under MCC purview likely
Chandigarh, February 3
The Chandigarh Administration has reportedly agreed, in principle, to transfer to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh powers of revenue generation from advertisement display on electricity poles.

With poll near, periphery Act carries weight
SAS Nagar, February 3
For people living in over 300 villages in Kharar, Morinda and Banur constituencies, falling in the periphery of Chandigarh, the Assembly elections in Punjab have provided an opportunity to seek abolition of the Periphery Act.

Naya Gaon murder: police clueless
Chandigarh, February 3
Four persons charged with the murder of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) supporter Kaka Singh in Naya Gaon near here, continued to elude the Ropar police for the second successive day today. The police claims that Kaka Singh was allegedly murdered by Congress supporters thus making it first poll related death in Punjab.

CHANDIGARH CALLING COME spring and there is a fusion of mystifying colours and contours everywhere. While the charismatic chrysanthemum unfolds a colourful panorama of sorts, the blooming balsam and barbina weave a winsome web of magic and mystery. The dancing daffodils, daisies and dahlias entice even the stone-hearted, while the lotus and lilies lend luminosity to the city’s serene surroundings. True performer S.T. barrier Keshub Mahindra Thanks to women Eco-clubs Cross-voting Care for bus stops? Quibbling Upwardly mobile Personal assets Tailpiece

COMMUNITY

Unadulterated humour for you
Chandigarh, February 3
Formulating a joke is no laughing matter. Besides a good dose of humour, many other ingredients like sense of timing, proper framing of sentences and sequences and an open unbiased mind go into it to make a joke worthy of a good laugh. Who can be a better authority to tell you this other than comedy king Jaspal Bhatti.

YOUNG VOICE
Leading life with rhythm
WINNING seems to be a way of life with her. At the age of 14, Manasvi Mamgai is going strong. A dancer of promise, Manasvi already has about 10 reputed prizes to her credit. Ask her how important dance is to her and she minces no words in replying, "It is important enough. I don't mind going out of the city to learn the nuances of the classical dance form which I have chosen for myself."

300 families attend Sood Mela
Panchkula, February 3
Adhiraj Sood and Nikhilesh Sood were adjudged as the Sood Princes and Disha Sood and Aarushi Sood were chosen as Sood Princesses during the 40 th annual Sood Mela held here today.

• Rohtak bags trophy at PNB cultural meet

CRIME

What a way to demand damages!
Zirakpur, February 3
A car reportedly rammed into a scooter and the car driver then demanded Rs 5,000 at pistolpoint from the scooterist as damages. The incident occurred on the Kalka-Ambala highway near the Yadvindra Bridge in Zirakpur in broad daylight yesterday.

Two held for chain snatching
Chandigarh, February 3
Two persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a number of chain snatching incidents in and around the city. The accused, both aged around 22 years, have been identified as Satpal, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, and Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Kharar.

EDUCATION

Lack of space forcing special school to shift
Chandigarh, February 3
About 10 years after it was established, the School for the Deaf and Dumb Children, run by the Punjab IAS Wives Association from the Sector 11 Karuna Sadan here, is being shifted to one of the government schools in the city due to a paucity of space. The school has 65 students and 12 more slum-children are expected to join from the next academic session.

Saksham, Palak winners at St Anne’s fete
Chandigarh, February 3
On the concluding day of the two-day silver jubilee function at St Anne’s Convent School, Saksham and Palak Jain were declared junior prince and junior princess in category A (under six years of age) of the well-dressed boy and girl.

• School closed

CULTURE

Striking the right chord with ‘Paro’

Chandigarh, February 3 Laurels come easy to him. Right from 1983 when he won the best folk singer award at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar to 2001 when he entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the best bhangra artiste in the world, Malkit Singh has been striving to keep “Punjabiyat” alive through his music. Punjabi singer Malkit Singh performs at a disco in Chandigarh on Sunday. — Tribune photo Pankaj Sharma

Vibrant play of colours and bronze

Chandigarh, February 3 There is magic in colours, especially when they have been employed on the canvas to convey a certain line of thought. Blues, greens, mustard ...and some hues of fire find place in the canvases of Deepa Jain, who opened her exhibition in the city for the first time. One of the landscapes by Deepa Jain on display at the IndusInd Bank Art Gallery, Sector 8, Chandigarh. — A Tribune photograph

HEALTH

250 attend CME on TB
Chandigarh, February 3
A total of 250 delegates from the region participated in the Continuing Medical Education (CME) on ‘Tuberculosis: newer challenges’ inaugurated by Dr R.P. Bajpai, Director, CSIO, at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, here today.

Eye care centre inaugurated
Chandigarh, February 3 A state-of-the-art eye hospital, the Indo-American Eye Care Centre was inaugurated in Sector 8 here today. Inaugurated by the Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob, (retd.), the hospital has been set up in collaboration with the South East Retina Centre, P.C. Augusta, Georgia, USA, and is a unit of the Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib (C) Eye Hospital Trust, Sohana, Punjab.
Students take part in an eye donation awareness rally after the inauguration of the Indo-American Eye Care Centre in Sector 8 in Chandigarh on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

Experts discuss cataract problems
Chandigarh, February 3
“If the most common cause of blindness is cataract then the second most cause of blindness remains untreated cataract,” said Dr Gagandeep Singh Brar, during the session on cataract at the one-day ophthalmology update on current concepts and management held at the PGI here yesterday.