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MC wants repatriated staff back
Chandigarh, February 14
The Municipal Corporation which is starved of employees after the repatriation of 33 employees recently to the UT Administration is now urging the Administration to send them back on “deputation”.

Love finds new destination on Valentine’s Day

Chandigarh, February 14 Love found a new destination in the city this Valentine's Day. Shunning traditional love spots right from the once-famous gerhi route in Sector 11 to Panjab University, it made a beeline for Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden and a newly opened shopping mall. It was hearts all the way at the Valentine’s Day celebrations in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Flocked by love-struck, palmist reaps a harvest Chandigarh, February 14 It was Pt Keshavanand Jyoticharya’s day out today. As the official palmist, especially booked to welcome love-struck couples thronging hotel Maya Palace for the Valentine’s Day bash, Pt Keshavanand had a long but fruitful day. That was precisely why he did not leave his especially-reserved space right at the entrance to the hotel, even for a while. A young visitor gets her palm read by Pt Keshavanand at Hotel Maya Palace on Saturday. This was the hotel’s novel offering on the Valentine’s Day. — Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma

21st century belongs to India, says H.K. Dua Mohali, February 14 “If the 20th century is considered to be the American century there is no reason why the 21st century cannot be the Indian century. PRIZED POSSESSIONS: Students of Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, who received awards at the 25th Founder’s Day of the school on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Models get duped, asserts Miss India
Chandigarh, February 14
Dark dense hair rolling down the shoulders, a perfect gait and a front-open coat over immaculate trousers of matching hue — you knew Femina Miss India 2003, Nikita Anand, was here even before she uttered a single word.

COMMUNITY

Smaller parties can tip poll balance
Chandigarh, February 14
The Congress and the BJP are the major political forces in the forthcoming Lok Sabha Poll. However, the remaining political parties are also important as the individual strength can have a deep impact on the results.

BJP terms Bansal as incompetent
Chandigarh, February 14
The Bharatiya Janata Party is terming Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal (Congress) as an incompetent member of Parliament the city had during the last parliamentary tenure. The BJP in a press note said a number of Congress workers in different parts of the city had joined the party because of being dissatisfied with Mr Bansal’s contribution to the development of the city.

City NCP may go it alone
Chandigarh, February 14
The local unit of the Nationalist Congress Party is interested in contesting the parliamentary elections alone despite an agreement reached with the Congress at the national level.

Traders may field their own candidate
Chandigarh, February 14
The local political set-up has never bothered to care about grievances of local traders and this might force the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal to field their own candidate in the coming parliamentary elections.

A picture of poise and grace
IT was in the late sixties when I joined service that I came in contact with him. A couple of years later he moved — on deputation — to the Union Territory of Chandigarh while I stayed back in Jalandhar. He would often say.

Individualism taking sheen off family ties, says expert
Chandigarh, February 14
Family units in the middle urban class are falling victims to professions of the younger generation. Baroda-based Prof A. M. Shah, an eminent sociologist specialising in family systems, believes that the consequent ideology of individualism in the middle class is taking the sheen off the family ties.

Taint to family honour haunts Aroras
Panchkula, February 14
On the eve of a “shanti path”, to be organised in Sector 46, Chandigarh, on Sunday in the memory of three victims of triple murder case, the family members are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of family honour caused due to false charges levelled against them by the police.

54 participate in baby show
Panchkula, February 14
As many as 54 babies along with their mothers participated in a baby show organised at Satluj Public School, Sector 2, here today.

CRIME

Four imposters arrested
Panchkula, February 14
The police has arrested four youngsters collecting entry tax from trucks at Mankya village, near here. According to the police, Sushil Chauhan and Sudesh of Ambala along with Ravinder and Rishi Pal of Manauli village, posing as inspectors from the Haryana Excise Department, started collecting entry tax from truckers on the Ramgarh-Barwala road late list night.

Purses stolen from car
Chandigarh, February 14
A resident of Sector 22, Abhinav Dixit, was allegedly caught red-handed while snatching a mobile phone from Patiala resident Navjit Singh in Sector 23 yesterday. Dixit was later handed over to the police. A case under Sections 356, 379 and 411 IPC, has been registered.

Murdered salesman identified
Panchkula, February 14
The salesman of a liquor vend in Barwala on the Barwala-Dera Bassi road, who was shot dead by certain miscreants late last night, has been identified by his elder brother, Subhash Kumar, a resident of a Pehowa locality in Haryana.

Constable succumbs to stab wounds
Mohali, February 14
Meva Singh, the 35-year-old constable posted at Sohana police station here and who was stabbed by a group of unidentified persons on February 12 night, died at the PGI today.

EDUCATION

Demand to send back deputationists
Chandigarh, February 14
The executive body of the Government Teachers Union at a meeting today said deputationists should be sent back in a phased manner and the transfer policy implemented in totality while the seniority list should be declared.

CBSE considering grading system for Class X
Chandigarh, February 14
The Central Board of Secondary Examination was making efforts to introduce a nine-point grading system for Class X in the academic session 2005. But no formal announcement in this regard has been made so far, confirmed the Controller of Examination, CBSE, Mr Pavnesh Kumar.

From Colleges
300 students take part in inter-college contest
Chandigarh, February 14
As many as 300 students from 18 colleges in the city participated in an inter-college competition which was organised at the Dev Samaj College of Education, Sector 36, yesterday.

COURTS

Judicial remand in flesh trade racket
Panchkula, February 14
Seven accused, who were arrested for their involvement in a flesh-trade racket from a Sector 12-A house yesterday, were today remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a Panchkula court.

CULTURE

Voice that blends melody with sensuality
Chandigarh, February 14
All of 34 years, Sanjeev Abhyankar, the young maestro of Mewati gharana, has already entered the coveted league of famed musicians. Most well known for his celebrated tutelage under the living legend Pandit Jasraj, Sanjeev is highly sought after not only for renditions in the concert circuit, but also for background scores in some of the finest Indian films ever made.

Bhaskar Rao Sammelan Barman brothers, Sanjeev spill divine rhythms

Chandigarh, February 14 Percussionists par excellence, Madhusudan and Gopal Barman recreated magic with sreekhol and tabla during their jugalbandi on the second day of the Bhaskar Rao sangeet sammelan that opened yesterday. Gopal (left) and Madhusudan Barman present sreehkol and tabla jugalbandi on the second day of Bhaskar Rao sangeet and nritya sammelan held in Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Film Review
A novel concept goes awry
The evil power of Ravana wakes up from slumber. Manishankar with his fertile imagination weaves a mythological tale which blends with the present with lots of special effects and SFX.

Western Film Review A comedy you will relish CHANDIGARH: Comedy can be box office dynamite. And who knows it better than director Donald Petrie whose “Miss Congeniality” drew the audiences in droves. He now oversees the crazy proceedings of “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” (Kiran, Fun Republic) which has fun and frolic written all over it. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson in “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days.”

LIFESTYLE

Rock Garden renews its rustic appeal

The Rock Garden is getting a facelift. Thanks to the six members of the Nek Chand Foundation in Britain and members of the Friends of Nek Chand, the garden is slowly acquiring back its rustic appeal and beauty, as they plaster each inch of the place to remove the ugly graffiti. Isabel Brunt of the Nek Chand Foundation and Garima Vashisht of the Friends of Nek Chand do mud plastering at Rock Garden. — A Tribune photograph

Love in the hills Love’s destination was uphill for the just-in-love and very-much-in-love yuppies. With the city police playing spoilsport for the third Valentine in a row, the Valentine Day spirit ruled in the colder climes of Timber Trail, Kasauli and Barog. LOVE IN THE HILLS: Valentine’s Day revellers from Chandigarh move to the hills to avoid nosey cops and look for perfect solitude and bliss. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

When cupid came riding on balloons
More balloons were exchanged than hearts on St Valentine’s Day. As guys took to the streets in the morning looking for affection, one thing became apparent — feelings did not matter and emotions were not required.

SMS spree despite tariff hike
The recent hike in Short Messaging Service tariff notwithstanding, SMS traffic on Valentine’s Day shot up, with mobile service providers reporting a significant increase vis-a-vis normal days.

Are you game for coloured stones?
Are you game for pearls, coloured stones or the gold patra jewellery? Then Emm Ell’s designer studio is the place to be.

HEALTH

Quality in medicare must, feel experts
Chandigarh, February 14
Quality assurance in contemporary hospital care was discussed at a continuing medical education programme organised at Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, today. Around 50 delegates from military and civilian hospitals attended the programme.

Facing cancer with fortitude Chandigarh, February 14 The importance of parental support in childhood cancer, besides the role of cancer awareness programmes, was discussed during joint celebration of Cancer Survivors Day and International Childhood Cancer Day this afternoon. Femina Miss India Nikita Anand also crooned songs to motivate the cancer survivors. Little patients suffering from the dreaded disease participated in a fancy dress show while cancer survivors offered prayers. Nikita Anand, Miss India-2003, interacts with kids at a function on the occasion of Cancer Survivors Day in DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph