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Cops crack down on 5 pool joints
Chandigarh, March 5
The Chandigarh Police seems to be getting hypersensitive about the security situation in the city. Otherwise why else would it simply barge into any neighbourhood pool joint and start rounding up people playing therein.

Wife of one of the persons rounded up by the police argues with cops while her husband is being taken to a police station in Chandigarh on Wednesday. — Photo Parvesh Chauhan

Admn, MC lock horns over budget
Chandigarh, March 5
The UT Administration has locked horns with the local municipal corporation. The Finance and Planning Officer of the Administration has found the tradition of passing the budget estimates by the municipal corporation (autonomous body) to be imprudent in contravention of the provisions of the existing Municipal Act.

PU colleges fail to list priorities
Meeting fixed for March 26
Chandigarh, March 5
Panjab University will witness major academic activity in the form of debate, discussion and suggestions for policy decisions to improve the working in over 100 affiliated colleges later this month.

Fake company dupes residents
Chandigarh, March 5
This story of fraud may sound old, but has been successfully played once again upon the ‘innocent’ residents of the surrounding villages by a Delhi-based fake company. Number of gullible children, villagers, and even educated youths have fallen prey to the allurement of easy wealth and have lost thousands of rupees.

2 killed in accidents
Chandigarh, March 5
Two persons, including a woman, died in separate road accidents in different parts of the city here today. One of the persons involved in the accidents has been arrested while the other managed to escape from the spot.

Rock Garden’s creator struggles with expansion plans
Chandigarh, March 5
Nek Chand’s fantasy land is certainly not getting its due attention. For some strange reason, expansion work in the beautiful environmental space of the Rock Garden is suffering immensely over the past few years. One, there is hardly any labour at work inside the Garden, thus leaving Nek Chand, the creator of Rock Garden with little at hand.

Panel for making reserve price public
Chandigarh, March 5
The committee, drafting a policy on auction for the Municipal Corporation, has recommended that the reserve price for a property to be auctioned should be made public and not concealed.

COMMUNITY

Illegal shops mushrooming
SAS Nagar, March 5
In a menace that is growing in uncontrollable proportions in the township, small shops are mushrooming in residential houses in various sectors here. Most of these shops have opened in houses on the inter-sectoral roads and despite the fact that these are functioning illegally, Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority officials have not taken any action.

MC BRIEFS
MC notice to cable operators
Chandigarh, March 5
The local Municipal Corporation today served a 7-day notice on all cable operators of the city to clear their dues of ground rent. Stating this, Mr Subash Chawla, Mayor, said they were yet to recover about Rs 48 lakh from the cable operators in lieu of ground rent.

Traders demand compensation
Chandigarh, March 5
The Traders Association of Electrical Appliances, at an emergency meeting held here, has expressed resentment over the manner in which CITCO had installed the tents at the Rose Festival. These were uprooted due to a sudden thunder storm on February 28, resulting in heavy losses to the traders.

Jacob opens Army transit complex

Chandigarh, March 5 The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob, PVSM (retd.), inaugurated the newly constructed Transit Camp Complex of the Army at Hallo Majra, near the airport, here today. The Brigadier Administration, 14 Corps, Brig I.J. Singh, and the Commander N-Area, Col Sanjeev Sood, were also present on the occasion. The Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), interacts with troops after inaugurating a new transit camp complex in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

In need of money for treatment
Chandigarh, March 5
His dark grey eyes say it all. As he tries to make himself comfortable on a chair, you can vividly see pain and suffering buried deep inside. Yet, he makes an attempt to smile.

Street vendors’ workshop tomorrow
Chandigarh, March 5
About 90 representatives from 45 street vendors’ organisations from 16 cities of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh will participate in a one-day workshop to be organised here on March 7 by the National Alliance of Street Vendors, India.

Eating Out
Trendy eatery for middle class
Chandigarh, March 5
Goods news for those who dig in for the hot’n happening. For those southerners who always felt like ‘‘poor cousins’ of the northern sectors. With Hungry Inn, the new restaurant-cum-soon-to-be-bar on the block, you need not look far.

READERS WRITE Is charm more important than safety? It is a common sight on roads that most of the young boys and girls do not care to wear helmets while driving two-wheelers. Their parents who have undergone a lot of sacrifices to bring them up to this state of happiness are in a constant state of anxiety and tension on this count.

Mechanics seek more time for payment
Chandigarh, March 5
Newly rehabilitated auto mechanics here yesterday urged the Chandigarh Administration to defer the payment of their first instalment which is due in March, towards allotment of booths in different sectors for at least by a year.

Withdrawal of Rent Act led to defeat
Chandigarh, March 5
The Traders Association, Sector 17, has attributed the BJP defeat in Himachal Pradesh and Panchkula to the withdrawal of the Rent Control Act here and imposition of the Value Added Tax.

• Panch-sarpanch sammelan

• MC to have 13 House committees

• Animal welfare camp held

CRIME

3 booked for forgery
Chandigarh, March 5
On the complaint of Mr Gopal Dutt, UT Food and Supply Officer, a case of forgery and criminal conspiracy has been registered against Satbir Chawla, depot holder in Colony No 4, Nagendar Yadav and Balkeshwar Yadav, all residents of Colony No 4. It has been alleged that all persons named in the FIR had entered forged names in ration cards.

BUSINESS

MARKET SPOTLIGHT — 21 C Auto market deserted as mechanics get a raw deal
Dreams to set up business in the Paris of India seem to be shattering in the Sector 21-C market with auto spare parts dealers finding it difficult to eke out a decent living after the process of shifting of the auto market was started last year. A view of the Sector 21-C market. — Photo Manoj Mahajan Problems

EDUCATION

Luminous-2003 organised
Dera Bassi, March 5
Twenty two students from different Engineering Colleges of India participated in Luminous-2003, a technical paper presentation contest, organised by the Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dera Bassi, here today.

Sadbhavana divas functions at PU from today
Chandigarh, March 5
The Panjab University Non Teaching Employees Federation today announced that the ‘sadbhavna divas’ functions, a series of regular functions with a religious fervour, will be organised tomorrow onwards.

CDAC holds function on Sarthi
SAS Nagar, March 5
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Mohali, handed over 50 units of Sarthi- a low cost audio-visual aid for teaching Indian languages made by CDAC under a field study programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development — to the state resource centres, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan here today.

Seminar on stress management held
Chandigarh, March 5
A seminar on stress management was organised at DAV College, Sector 10, under the aegis of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Panjab University, here today. In his keynote address, the department’s Director, Dr Ajaib Singh, said just as there were a number of causes of stress, there were many possibilities for its management.

COURTS

DISTRICT COURTS
Anbros director gets police remand
Chandigarh, March 5
Two directors of Anbros Automobiles, Industrial Area —Ashwani Nanda and Ashima Nanda— today surrendered in a local court in a case of cheating registered against them. Following high court directions, they have surrendered in the court of the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L Mohal, in the morning.

CULTURE

Govt awards tabla artiste
Chandigarh, March 5
At a young age of 18, Avirbhav Verma, son of late Pandit Pawan Kumar Verma, has won a number of awards in the field of tabla recitals. He was recently awarded a certificate of merit by the Government of Punjab through the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

Depicting death and rituals

Chandigarh, March 5 In Osho's regime, death is never denounced as a tragedy. Like birth, death is seen as part of a universal cycle and is celebrated as heartily as birth is. The installation work created by Shridhar Iyer in the PU Fine Arts Museum seems to have taken inspiration from Osho, who always advocated the magnificence of life and death alike. Shridhar Iyer poses in the middle of the installation work which he has created in PU Fine Arts Museum to aesthetically depict various rituals performed after death. — Photo Pankaj Sharma

Harpreet Singh exhibits love for city
Chandigarh, March 5
Art Folio in Sector 9 yesterday opened to the works of Harpreet Singh, an artist in love with the city and with the way it has developed over the years. A blend of paintings, drawings, collages and computer graphics, the show reflects commercialisation in the positive sense.

City artist’s paintings exhibited in Korea
Chandigarh, March 5
Chandigarh artist Prem Singh is among the 24 Indian contemporary artists whose two paintings were exhibited at the Korea India Contemporary Art Exhibition 2003 at Kwang Hwa Moon Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

HEALTH

Rare angioplasty at INSCOL hospital
Chandigarh, March 5
A rare angioplasty in which stents were placed in the blocked arteries was performed at INSCOL Hospital yesterday by renowned cardiologist Dr Deepak Kaura and his team.

SPORTS

All-India Veteran T.T. begins Chandigarh, March 5 The 10th National Veterans Table Tennis Tournament began at Sector 23 table tennis hall here today. More than 400 veteran paddlers from all over India are taking part in the meet. Mr Virendra Singh, Adviser to the Administrator, Chandigarh, plays the inaugural shot at the 10th National Veterans Table Tennis Tournament at the table tennis hall in Sector 23, Chandigarh, on Wednesday.

Councillors to be sworn in on March 7
Panchkula, March 5
The district administration has announced that the oath of allegiance to newly elected Municipal Councillors will be administered on March 7. An official press note said the councillors would be sworn in by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Suresh Goyal, at the Municipal Council office on Friday.