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PGI gets ST concession
Saving of Rs 3 cr to be used for patients’ welfare
Chandigarh, February 1
Thousands of patients visiting the PGI can now expect better infrastructure and medical facilities following a decision by the Chandigarh Administration to re-include the PGI in the list of institutions that get sales tax concession. The PGI will save around Rs 3 crore annually following the decision.

SAARC psychiatrists to share resources
Chandigarh, February 1
To address the regional problems associated with mental illness and rehabilitation in an effective manner, psychiatrists of the Indian sub-continent have decided to share resources and cooperate under the recently formed SAARC Psychiatric Federation.

Annual conference of psychiatrists concludes

Akademi award a pleasant surprise for Swadesh Deepak
T here are times when page one of a newspaper brings happy tidings and so it is on the first sunny day of February with the announcement that the acclaimed fiction writer and playwright Swadesh Deepak figuring in the awardees' list of the National Sangeet Natak Akademi.

First-of-its-kind home for mentally sick soon
Chandigarh, February 1
In what may come as a much-needed respite to mentally ill persons in the city, a Half way Home is going to come up here providing shelter to such persons.

Another milestone for Sufi singer
Singing and eulogizing qalaams of Sufi saints replete with the spiritual and ethical content and the traditional folklore of Punjab, Hans Raj Hans, a village lad of Shaifipur in Jallandhar, has over the years won worldwide recognition as the 'Legendary mystic of Sufiana and Punjabi folklore'.

Hans Raj Hans, a Punjabi singer, at an interactive session at the Chandigarh Sangeet and Naatak Academy in Sector 34, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. —  Tribune photo Parvesh Chauhan

Unravelling mysteries of moon his mission
Chandigarh, February 1
Mr V Adimurthy is smitten by the moon as also by "Chandrayan I", India's mission to the moon slated for 2007. Deputy Director (Aeronautics), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Thiruvanthapuram, Mr Adimurthy, says this mission is all about unravelling mysteries of the moon, unfolding this lunar enigma which has had many a scientists cudgeling their brains.

Industrial land owners allowed to construct parks, multiplexes
Components of land use allowed on fresh allotments/ pre-existing industrial plots for setting up of IT/agro/ industrial parks in Punjab:

• Passing Thru

COMMUNITY

Cong city chief working for BJP, alleges market panel chief
Chandigarh, February 1
Chairman of the Market Committee Bhupinder Singh Badheri, a Pawan Bansal loyalist, created a flutter today as he shot off a letter to the president of the local unit of the Congress, Mr B.B. Bahl, alleging that he was “working in consonance with the local unit of the BJP”.

Admn, MC employees stage protest

Chandigarh, February 1 Hundreds of employees of various departments of the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) today organised a rally at Matka Chowk in support of their demands. Members of the coordination committee of the government and Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh employees stage a dharna at Matka Chowk in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

PSHRC comes to the rescue of senior citizen
Chandigarh, February 1
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has come to the rescue of a senior citizen who is a resident of Sector 33 here.

Strike worker’s fundamental right, says CPM leader
Chandigarh, February 1
The leader of the CPM in the Lok Sabha, Mr Basudev Acharya, today asserted that the strike was the fundamental right of the working class in a democracy. He was referring to the recent Supreme Court order on strikes.

Students of Chaman Vatika School, Ambala city, during a visit to The Tribune office in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Junior training centres’ conference focuses on infrastructure
Chandigarh, February 1
A regional conference of junior training centres (JTCs) of the Northern region, comprising of Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh, was held at the Regional Institute of Cooperative Management (RICM), Sector 32, here today.

Reprieve for ‘powerless’ Hallo Majra villagers
Chandigarh, February 1
The Chandigarh Administration today gave reprieve to residents of Hallo Majra village whose electricity supply had been disconnected due to non-payment of bills.

116th Corps Day celebrated
Chandigarh, February 1
The Military Farms Department of the Army celebrated its 116th Corps Day at Western Command Headquarters in Chandimandir Cantonment, near here, today. In his message, Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lieut-Gen P K Grover, felicitated the personnel of the department for their achievements, a statement issued here said.

New GOC-in-C arrives
Chandigarh, February 1
The newly appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen S. Pattabhiraman, arrived at Chandimandir military station, near here, this evening to take up his assignment.

Minor fire at jail warden’s house
Chandigarh, February 1
A small fire broke out at a house in the residential quarters of the Burail Jail last evening. The owner of the house said there was no major loss apart from some cash and articles worth Rs 25,000 gutted in the fire.

Licences of six traffic offenders to be suspended
Chandigarh, February 1
The Chandigarh Traffic Police has recommended the suspension of licences of six habitual offenders under Section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for a period of two to three months from February 1, 2005.

Excise raid on 4 discotheques
Chandigarh, February 1
Visitors to city bars and discos will have to get their names registered and will be disarmed by the private security guards before entering the same.

Girl falls from roof, dies
Chandigarh, February 1
Four-year-old Kajal, a resident of Daddu Majra Colony, was today killed when she fell from the roof of her house.

CRIME

Scorpio driver booked
Mohali, February 1
The police has registered a case against the driver of a Scorpio which had rammed into a car and a motor cycle killing one and injuring two persons here yesterday.

PGI clerk found dead near Dhanas jungle
Chandigarh, February 1
A 50-year-old clerk of the PGI was found dead in a jungle near Dhanas village today.

40-yr-old woman crushed to death
Chandigarh, February 1
Darshana Devi (40), a cyclist, was crushed to death by a truck (HP-31-5141) at transport light point late last night.

Three held on theft charge
Chandigarh, February 1
The police arrested three persons on charges of stealing iron sheets.

BUSINESS

PNB observes security awareness week
Chandigarh, February 1
All branches of Punjab National Bank, Chandigarh - B region, observed bank security awareness week from January 24 to January 29. During this week, mock drills were conducted in various branches to ascertain the readiness of the branches to deal with various security crises, according to an official spokesman of the bank.

EDUCATION

Reorient educational programmes: Governor
Chandigarh, February 1
The Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Gen S.F. Rodrigues, today called upon the policy-makers and academicians to be alive to the fast emerging global trends and to reshape and reorient educational programmes, enabling youth to fully develop potential to meet the challenges of the future.

Students stress need to conserve water
Chandigarh, February 1
The country is heading towards potable water crisis and the student community should come forward to create awareness among the masses about it. This is the belief of four city students who recently returned after participating in the National Science Congress held at Guwahati.

Deepika, a student of Carmel Convent, and Rohan, a student of St Kabir, who participated in the National Science Congress held recently at Guwahati. Their guide, Ms Archna Puri (extreme left), is also seen in the picture. 
— A Tribune photograph

Kalpana made me a Dronacharya

Chandigarh, February 1 She stood tall among the delegates who attended the function organised to mark the second death anniversary of Kalpana Chawla at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) here today.  Visitors look at the photographs, paintings and posters of Kalpana Chawla at a function organised by the Kalpana Chawla Memorial Foundation at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

CBSE starts interactive system to deal with stress
Chandigarh, February 1
The Central Board of Secondary Education has started an interactive voice response system to enable students to deal with examination related anxiety.

VC stresses objectivity of understanding past
Chandigarh, February 1
A two-day seminar on “Popular Literature and Pre-modern Societies in South Asia”, organised by the Department of History, Panjab University, began here today. It was inaugurated by Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of the university.

Construction of students’ centre begins
Mohali, February 1
The Kharar MLA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, today inaugurated the construction of a students centre at Government College, Mohali.

Class V exams from March 4
Chandigarh, February 1
The UT Education Department today announced the datesheet for the Class V examinations, beginning from March 4, to be conducted by the department.

LIFESTYLE

Hip-hopping with hep sets in back pockets
Swanky mobile phones have found a new place in the lives of so many damsels — the back pockets of their freshly frayed denims. No wonder, the sets — popping out of the hip pockets — are calling up glamour, blatantly.

Artist Vigyan Vrat displays his works at Fine Arts Museum, Panjab University, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Patiala heritage festival from February 12
The third Patiala Heritage Festival organised by the Patiala Heritage Society is all set to pep up the city from February 12 to 20.

From romance to universal peace, German jazz group plays it all
“Music should strike fire from the heart of man and bring tears from the eyes of woman..” said Beethoven long ago but “The Red Zone” Jazz group from Germany proved his contention in letter and spirit at the Law Auditorium of the Panjab University here today.


Wadali brothers perform for tsunami victims

THE spirit of Sufiana qalaams, complete with a rare bliss, pervaded the Makhan Shah Lobana Auditorium, Sector 30, last night as Wadali brothers enchanted the audience at a musical soiree to raise funds for the tsunami victims. Wadali brothers perform for tsunami victims at Makhan Shah Lobana Auditorium, Sector 30, on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Comet Machholz captured on camera
The Department of Physics, Punjabi University, Patiala, has photographed Comet Machholz. A cloud of gas bigger than the planet Jupiter, glowing green, surround Machholz atmosphere or, as astronomers call it, its coma.

HEALTH

Panel weighs outlines of new Mental Health Act
New Delhi-based Psychiatrist Dr Sumant Khanna says that in OCD, which mostly affects teenagers, the teenagers can not concentrate on anything and keep on thinking about a specific issue, even when they do not want to.

SPORTS

But for finances, they are Sania in the making
Chandigarh, February 1
One could spot three sisters — all in the age group of 12-18, playing tennis with grit and determination at the YMCA, Sector 11, during the ongoing Indo-Pak Friendship Tennis series. Yes, they are local girls Neha Singh (18), Simer (17) and Mehak (12).


Neha Singh, Simer and Mehak

IAF sanctions Rs 1 crore for renovating houses
Chandigarh, February 1
About 35 years after they were built, houses accommodating Air Force personnel in Chandigarh will go in for major refurbishment, with the IAF sanctioning about Rs 1 crore for the works. Besides, the entire area is also being given a facelift.