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TOP STORIES

Nod to direct road link between city, Baddi
Chandigarh, February 19
Giving impetus to the economic and industrial development in the region, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved a direct road link between Chandigarh and Baddi, an industrial township in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh.

UT unclear over stray dog control plan
Chandigarh, February 19
The Union Territory is unclear about its animal control programme, particularly in reference to stray dogs. There is no government clinic to undertake processes like sterilisation and vaccination. The NGOs engaged in the vaccination activity do not get regular supply of dogs.

A ‘model’ school where students pay for Class IV staff
Panchkula, February 19
It was with a lot of fanfare that the Education Department, Haryana, had set up the first Saarthak Government Model Integrated Senior Secondary School in the state in Sector 12-A here.

Link labs to markets, says Sibal Chandigarh, February 19 "'Science for science sake' is no longer the mantra of the 21s century; labs have to be linked with the markets and at the same time they have to be cut-off from government control. Only then, India will be able to match up with globalisation. There is immediate need to link commerce with what happens in research institutions, it will take some effort, but the government is gearing up for this". Kapil Sibal

Drugs against AIDS, cancer need of the hour: Sibal
Chandigarh, February 19 Discovery of new drugs for incurable diseases like HIV AIDS and cancer is the need of the hour for developing countries like India. This was stated by Minister of State for Science and Technology and Ocean Development Kapil Sibal while delivering the valedictory address at the 5th Indo-US workshop on Flow Cytometry organised by the Department of Biotechnology at Panjab University today.
The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Ocean Development, Mr Kapil Sibal (extreme right), interacts with the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, Prof K.N. Pathak (extreme left), after laying the foundation stone of Academic Block of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sector 25, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

JobsFest offers gamut of jobs to right candidates

Chandigarh, February 19 Landing with suitable job is no more about excelling in academics alone. A pleasing personality, good communication skills and being street smart makes an "ideal employee" the entire service sector, right from telecom to hospitality to aviation, is in search of. Job seekers in long queues during the JobsFest 2005 at a hotel in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

• Cop held stealing car
• Passing Thru

COMMUNITY

Bomb found in Sarangpur disposed of

Chandigarh, February 19 Experts from an Army bomb disposal unit today disposed of the bomb that was found a few days ago by a farmer while working in his fields in Sarangpur village near here. The Army team, based at Chandi Mandir, was requisitioned after the Chandigarh police’s bomb disposal squad had expressed its inability to deal with the bomb. Experts from an Army bomb disposal unit inspect an old bomb found in a nearby village before disposing it of in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Pardeep Tewari

Nod to building plan of 21 guest houses
Chandigarh, February 19
Getting in line with the rules for the regularisation of guest houses, 21 of them have got their building plans approved and paid the conversion charges, composition fee and completed the formalities of the Estate Office.

MC employees submit memo to Speaker
Chandigarh, February 19
A delegation of the Coordination Committee of Government and MC Employees and Workers submitted a memorandum of demands to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, in New Delhi yesterday.

Villagers object to railway plan, block traffic
Mohali, February 19
Residents of Kambala and nearby villages disrupted traffic today in protest against the decision of the Railways to block a road connecting the area to Mohali. The Railways, the protesters said, had dumped earth on the road last night. When the villagers came to know of this they gathered and stopped further activity.

First-aid training programme
Chandigarh, February 19
In view of lack of proper first-aid training among city residents, the UT Red Cross Society in association with the Civil Defence Department, has decided to launch a programme to impart training in first-aid to them.

CRIME

Travel agent dupes ten of lakhs
Chandigarh, February 19
A city-based travel agent allegedly duped 10 persons from the region of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of sending them abroad. The matter came to light when the local police registered a cheating case under Section 420 of the IPC against the agent at Sector 3 police station, on Friday.

Rs 1.2 lakh stolen
Chandigarh, February 19
At least Rs 1.20 lakh in cash was reportedly stolen from the glove box of a scooter while a house was burgled in the city, as per the information released by the local police here today.

Newly wed couple missing
Mohali, February 19
A newly-wed couple of Kumbra village here has been missing under mysterious circumstances since Thursday. Their car was found abandoned near the Sirhind canal yesterday.

Cash, goods stolen from showrooms
Panchkula, February 19
Burglars broke into two showrooms in Swastik Vihar market and decamped with goods worth lakhs of rupees last night. According to the police, the burglars entered provisional store nos 68 and 72 after breaking the locks of their main gates.

4 buffaloes stolen
Panchkula, February 19
Rustlers struck at a cattle shed and took away four buffaloes from Nada village late last night. The miscreants fed some sedative to a pet dog of the cattle owner before committing the crime.

BUSINESS

Half-day bandh on Feb 21
Chandigarh, February 19
To protest against the “anti-trader” policies of the Central Government and the Chandigarh Administration, the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal today gave a call for half-day bandh on February 21.

Kiryana merchants oppose bandh call
Mohali, February 19
The Kiryana Merchants Association here today opposed the call for a bandh for February 21 in connection with VAT. Mr Sham Bansal, president of the association, who was talking to newspersons, said the bandh would put people to inconvenience and hit government revenue.

EDUCATION

Education Dept’s move to buy furniture comes under a cloud
Chandigarh, February 19
A move by the UT Education Department to purchase furniture for government schools has come under a cloud. A technical committee set up by the department to check the furniture samples has approved the samples which were graded the lowest as per the required specifications, allege the vendors whose samples have been rejected.

Education board bans staff from going to media
Mohali, February 19
The Punjab School Education Board has issued a circular prohibiting its officials from giving any information to the media without prior approval of the board Chairman. This “gag” on the officials applies to even those holding senior posts and covers every kind of information.

7 PEC students win laurels at robotics contest Chandigarh, February 19 Seven third-year students of Punjab Engineering College won laurels at an international robotics competition held at the IIT, Mumbai, recently. The students designed four robots named Metallica, Sutluj, Aquadisiac and Rescue for the event titled “Survivor”. The PEC team with their robot at “Survivor” at the IIT, Mumbai

Nostalgia runs high at MCM alumni function
Chandigarh, February 19
With tears of nostalgia rolling down her eyes, Ms Paul Kaur remembered her college days at the annual alumni function of the MCM DAV College today. Ms Kaur, a Punjabi poetess, is presently working as a lecturer in S.A. Jain College in Ambala.

From Schools
Students given farewell
Chandigarh, February 19
The students of R.C. Model School organised a farewell party for senior students today. The students of the junior classes presented songs and dances. A drama based on the theme of drugs carrying the message “Saari maanav jaati ko hamara sandesh yahi hai, jeewan aur drugs ka koi mel nahi hai,” came in for a lot of appreciation.

• ‘Emerging Constitutionalism’ discussed
• Parent-teacher meeting held
• Property tax decried

COURTS

Lok adalat settles 611 cases
Chandigarh, February 19
As many as 611 cases relating to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal as well as criminal and civil matters were settled at a special lok adalat organised on the District Courts premises here today.

Accused in Rani death case produced before CJM
Panchkula, February 19
The two accused in the one of the death of Rani, a maid, on February 14 at Mansa Devi Complex, Saurabh Vermani and his mother Kaushalya Vermani, were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Gulab Singh, today.

Truck driver gets bail
Panchkula, February 19
Truck driver Santokh Singh, who had escaped from police custody and was later arrested in Chandigarh, was today let out on bail. He was arrested by the Kalka police on Thursday after he run over two persons. He was booked on the charge of rash and negligent driving leading to death.

LEISURE

Razzmatazz brings alive diverse Indian culture Brimming with confidence, elegant attires and versatile and aesthetic performance the young suave students of the Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training celebrated their annual day in style at the Tagore Theatre on Friday. The musical extravaganza titled ‘Razzmatazz’ brought alive the diverse cultures of India with the staging of over 20 items by the students. After a traditional Saraswati Vandana, a student Nisha commenced the programme with a short Bharatnatyam performance.   Students of Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training at their annual function ‘Razzmatazz-2005’ at the Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh, on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Wordsmith for films
PEOPLE in the literary and theatre circles of Chandigarh remember Amrik Gill of the seventies as a witty young man with a way with words and a fine presence on stage. As a young actor, he gave memorable performances in Kumar Varma’s Durmati Bhanda Phoota and Balwant Gargi’s Kesro.

HEALTH

PGI admin ‘neglecting’ safai karamcharis
Chandigarh, February 19
The Chairperson of the National Commission of the Safai Karamcharis, Ms Santosh Chaudhary came down heavily on the PGI administration for neglecting the problems faced by the safai karamcharis in the institute.

WHO may tie up with PGI to study pollution
Chandigarh, February 19
The World Health Organisation is considering making the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGI, as its collaborating partner in studying the effects of indoor pollution and gauging the effect of smoke in the environment .

52 donate blood
Chandigarh, February 19
Fifty two persons, including five officers, 39 airmen and six women, donated blood at a camp held at No.3 Base Repair Depot here today. The camp was organised by the local Air Force Wives Welfare Association in association with the Western Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir.

SPORTS

200 take part in Special Olympics

Chandigarh, February 19 More than 200 mentally challenged children from seven institutions today took part in Special Olympics (Chandigarh region) at the Sports Complex, Sector 7, today. The meet was organised in three disciplines athletics, basketball and skating. Mentally challenged athletes take part in the 12th Special Olympics held at the Sports Complex, Sector 7, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Rallyists to vie for top honours today
Chandigarh, February 19
Defending champion Sunny Sidhu will be seen in action in the Indian Oil Flat Track and Auto Cross to be held tomorrow at the circus grounds, Sector 17. Organised by the Chandigarh Motor Sports Association, the event will have the participation of over 20 top ranking rallyists in both four- wheeler and two-wheeler categories.

Strawberry children showcase talent Chandigarh, February 19 Over 200 children took part in the first-ever annual musical sports day of Strawberry Fields World School held on the school campus in Sector 26 today. The early morning drizzle failed to dampen the spirits of the tiny tots. The programme began with a march past with platoons divided into grade I and III. Children of Strawberry Fields World School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, perform karate during the first annual musical sports day on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

• YPS cross-country meet today
• Kavita declared best athlete