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Beware of new housing societies in Mohali
Coops giving false assurances, say PUDA, Town Planning 
Mohali, June 21
Members of cooperative housing societies who have invested lakhs of rupees in buying land for plots and houses in the upcoming sectors of Mohali are in for a shock.

Monkeys shift base to south
Chandigarh, June 21
The simian population in the city has shifted its base to the southern belt of the city over the past one week. The ape population earlier concentrated in the northern belt is now spread all over the southern sectors.

Simian dies of heat

A little shade and a little rest may revive the sagging spirits of a rickshaw-puller on a sweltering hot day in Chandigarh. — Tribune photo by Karam Singh

No end to B.Ed aspirants’ woes
Chandigarh, June 21
The harassment of students appearing for the B.Ed entrance test continued today, a day before the examination. As many as 200 students descended on the Administrative Block, Panjab University, to collect their duplicate roll numbers for appearing in the examination.

Heat wave persists
Chandigarh, June 21
A maximum temperature of 43.4 °C was recorded today, a degree below yesterday’s 44.5 °C but four degrees above normal. The minimum temperature however saw a rise of more than two degrees from yesterday to 31.2 °C today.

Man found dead outside Tribune office
Chandigarh, June 21
A 50-year-old Mohali resident, was found dead in a lawn outside The Tribune office in Sector 29 here, apparently due to heat wave in the city. Though the exact cause of the death will be ascertained after the receipt of the post-mortem report, the police has ruled out the possibility of a foul play.

Missed by bus, but heart fails her
Panchkula, June 21
She barely missed being run over by a speeding bus on the Pinjore-Kalka road. The fear of being knocked down by the bus gave her a heart attack, ultimately leading to her death.

Passing Thru

COMMUNITY

Privatisation of octroi collection kept pending
Mohali, June 21
A proposal to privatise the work of octroi collection has once again been kept pending by the general House at a meeting of the Municipal Council held here today. A similar proposal was put at the meeting of the civic body held on October 29 last year but was kept pending. None of the councillors want the work to be privatised as it would lead to the harassment of the public.

Zila Parishad Poll
Maloya cries for water
Chandigarh, June 21
Acute shortage of drinking water coupled with scorching heat has made the lives of residents of Maloya village miserable. Of the three tubewells, two have dried up and the residents have to daily queue up to get their supply from water tankers.

Three BJP councillors to be questioned
Panchkula, June 21
The three BJP councillors accused of taking sides with Congress councillors during the elections to Municipal Council President earlier this month will be questioned. Stating this here today, BJP general secretary Anil Kumar Goel said the district unit of the party had taken a serious note of the issue and apprised the state BJP leaders of the developments.

CHB residents seek ownership right

Chandigarh, June 21 Members of the CHB Residents Federation, an apex body of 44 welfare associations, today organised a dharna in Sector 17 in support of their demands. Members of the Chandigarh Housing Board Residents Federation protest in support of their demands in Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

CAT reprieve for Admn staffers
Chandigarh, June 21
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today directed the Chandigarh Administration not to proceed against those employees who had been asked to either give their option to get transferred to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation within a month or lose their service.

Lockout imposed on ESPL flayed
Mohali, June 21
Various union leaders today condemned the illegal lockout imposed on Electronics Systems Punjab Limited (ESPL) and the retrenchment of 46 employees of the company.

Fear stalks Bapu Dham resident 
Chandigarh, June 21
Fear stalks a Bapu Dham resident. Allegedly thrashed by his neighbours for giving refuge to a woman of their family and reportedly denied justice by the police, it has been over four nights since he slept peacefully.

Canadian envoy to visit Command Hospital
Chandigarh, June 21
The Canadian High Commissioner to India, Ms Lucy Edwards, will be visiting the Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir, tomorrow to convey the Canadian establishment’s thanks for the medical treatment rendered by the hospital to Ruth Norfork, wife of a Canadian diplomat.

Indian-American gets top US job

Chandigarh, June 21 An atmosphere of jubilation was witnessed in the Cheema family at Chandigarh when Ms Jatinder Cheema, eldest daughter of the late Dr Amrik Singh Cheema, was sworn in as Mission Director for the West Africa Regional Programme (WARP) at the USAID Headquarters in Washington. Ms Jatinder Cheema being sworn in as the Mission Director for West Africa Regional Programme (WARP) at the USAID Headquarters in Washington. — A Tribune photograph

Tension continues in Gazipur Sainian
Zirakpur, June 21
Tension continues to prevail in Gazipur Sainian village near here for the second consecutive day today over ‘dispossession’ of about 50 acres of agriculture land from over 60 families.

Youth killed as motor cycle hits cow
Mohali, June 21
A youth was killed after his motor cycle collided with a stray animal on the road separating Phase VII and Sector 70 here last night. Manraj Singh (20), a resident of Guru Tegh Bahadur Complex, Sector 70, was seriously injured and taken to the PGI, Chandigarh.

Help centres for taxpayers planned
Chandigarh, June 21
The Central Excise will set up help centres for small taxpayers in cooperation with industry associations, professional experts and NGOs from July 1. According to Mr S.S. Bedi, Chief Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Chandigarh Zone, committees of the representatives of trade associations, experts and department officers have been constituted in the respective offices to coordinate the functioning of the help centres.

Rodrigues greets people
Chandigarh, June 21
The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), greeted the people of Punjab and the city on the parkash utsav of Bhagat Kabir a great exponent of the Bhakti Movement.

• Rehri fire victims seek booths
• City BSP unit dissolved

CRIME

Mob chases 2 purse snatchers, thrashes them
Chandigarh, June 21
Two youngsters were thrashed by a mob after they were allegedly caught red-handed while snatching a purse from a physically challenged woman near the AG office in Sector 17 this morning.

Two arrested with liquor
Chandigarh, June 21
The police has arrested two persons for carrying liquor illegally and arrested another for consuming liquor at a public place. Ajay Kumar, a resident of Maloya Colony, was arrested with 13 bottles of Patiala country wine from near Fun Republic in Mani Majra.

Stamp paper vendor held for cheating
Mohali, June 21
A stamp paper vendor was arrested by the police here today on the charge of cheating. According to the police, Inder Singh, resident of Phase IV, here, was arrested after complaints were received against him of selling stamp papers to some persons at exhorbitant rates.

Body found on railway line
Dera Bassi, June 21
A badly mutilated body of an unidentified boy was found mowed down by a train on the Kalka-Ambala railway line near Janetpur village, near here, this morning. Villagers and other passers-by assembled at the scene and the Railway Police was informed. 

Mystery shrouds death of worker
Dera Bassi, June 21
Hailing from Bihar, a migrant labourer died under mysterious circumstances after he was admitted to Civil Hospital in Dera Bassi, last night.

EDUCATION

Scheme for upgrading ITIs into centres of excellence
Chandigarh, June 21
A national level scheme has been formulated for the up-gradation of 500 ITIs into “centres of excellence” and the industry is participating at every stage right from selection and designing of various courses to implementation of the scheme.

ITI students hold protest
Mohali, June 21
Students of the ITI, Phase V, burnt an effigy of the government here today in protest against police lathi-charge on students who were protesting in support of their genuine demands.

Evening classes at Panchkula college
Panchkula, June 21
The Haryana Higher Education Department has allotted 120 seats for BA (I) and 60 seats for B.Com (I) at Government College, Panchkula, to start evening classes for the academic session 2005-06.

LEISURE

Blend tradition with modernity, feel Punjabi scholars

“No art form can retain its vitality for long unless it is frequently enriched from other compatible sources and in the modern age of globalisation it is imperative to blend the tradition with modernity in a permissible measure so as to compete the polluting cultural trends,” observed Kanwar Iqbal Singh, a noted classical vocalist and music director. Classical vocalist and music director Kanwar Iqbal delivers a talk at the concluding session of a seminar on “Punjabi singing: traditions and trends” at Punjab Kala Bhavan, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

A cosmopolitan music soiree “Fete De La Musique 2005” — the colourful music festival organised by the Alliance Francaise de Chandigarh — today brought music lovers of the city together in bonhomie to celebrate ‘World Music Day’. The musical platform had performances by amateurs as well as professionals intermingling in a crescendo of melodies by national and international artistes. Various genres of music complemented by instruments ranging from the guitar to the saxophone played in tandem with the sitar and the flute. The concert began with recitals by various students of Alliance Francaise. Budding musicians rehearse before the performance in celebration of world music day at Sector 36, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Music mixing master
Prabh Loch is only 19. Building melodious moments at night parties is something he enjoys. He magically creates the right pace for party-revellers. What makes the trick more workable is that he earns handsomely from the exercise. He is a disco jockey (DJ) and charges nearly Rs 6,500 to Rs 30,000 for a party.

HEALTH

Kapil donates blood
Chandigarh, June 21
A former Indian cricket team captain, Kapil Dev, inaugurated the first anniversary celebrations of the Rotary and Blood Bank Society Resource Centre here today. He also donated blood on the occasion.

City tops in blood collection per bed
Chandigarh, June 21
The State Blood Transfusion Council in collaboration with voluntary organisations organised 280 blood donation camps collecting nearly 49,146 units during 2004. This was informed at a meeting of the governing Body of the UT, State Blood Transfusion Council, UT held today under the chairmanship of Mr Krishna Mohan, Home Secretary.

SPORTS

Upgradation of facilities at shooting range ordered
Chandigarh, June 21
With a view to developing the full potential of shooters of the region, Gen (retd) S.F. Rodrigues, Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator, today ordered the upgradation of the facilities in the Patiala-ki-Rao shooting ranges complex in Sector 25.

Aquatic sports to be promoted at Sukhna
Chandigarh, June 21
The Chandigarh Administration has decided to utilise the potential of water sports activities at Sukhna Lake to develop aquatic sports in the city. It has charted out a plan to enhance such facilities for the people of the city.

Wushu meet from today Chandigarh, June 21 The Wushu Association of Chandigarh is hosting the 5th Sub-junior Wushu Championship from June 22 to 24 at the Sector 10 Skating Rink here. This is for the first time that the sub-junior nationals in this Chinese martial art is being organised in the city. “As many as 450 boys and girls from 29 states and Union Territories will be seen in action in this three-day meet,” said Mr Anand Kacker, general secretary, Wushu Association of India, while addressing a press conference held at the Lake Club here today. Mr Anand Kacker, general secretary of the Wushu Association of India, addresses a press conference at the Lake Club, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. Mr K.S. Bharti, president of the Wushu Association of Chandigarh, is also in the picture. — A Tribune photograph