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Regularisation in periphery proposed
Mohali, November 17
In a set of recommendations likely to raise a furore, the committee, constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Punjab, to suggest a policy framework for the periphery, today proposed the regularisation of all unauthorised structures constructed within the periphery controlled area before November 1, 2005.

Robbers’ gang busted; three held
Chandigarh, November 17

The Chandigarh Police today claimed to have arrested three members of a gang of dacoits. The three were reportedly armed with a country- made pistol and sharp-edged weapons and were nabbed from jungle area near Colony Number 5.

Baiju Mukhia, Ranjit and Raju Kumar, three members of a gang who were arrested in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph.

No-frills bank accounts by next month
Minimum balance could be zero as per new RBI norms
Panchkula, November 17
The minimum balance in your savings bank account, be it a private sector or public sector bank, could now be zero. And, a poor person can open an account without having to provide identification documents.

Man found dead in Sector 50
Chandigarh, November 17
An unidentified man in his thirties was found dead here under mysterious circumstances from a building under construction in Sector 50 early this morning. Though no visible fatal injury marks were found on the body, the police did not rule out foul play.

Triple suicide highlights smuggling of weapons into city
Chandigarh, November 17
Illegal weapons continue to be smuggled into the city. Nothing else can explain the presence of so many country-made pistols in the city, despite special anti-weapon-smuggling drives launched time and again by the Chandigarh Police.

• Passing Thru

COMMUNITY

Rodrigues calls for holistic approach on security
Chandigarh, November 17
Gen (Retd) S.F. Rodrigues, the Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator, called for a seamless tri-service integration of the armed forces, from within as well as with the higher politico – military decision-making establishment, to cope with the emerging security challenges.

Stress laid on cultural diplomacy to building ties with nations Chandigarh, November 17 Geopolitics has acquired a new importance in understanding international relations and is a guiding factor in determining them. The communication network and information technology have changed the global mindset.
Dr Ashot Kocharian, Ambassador of Armenia to India, Mr Rashpal Malhotra, Director-General of CRRID, Mr Rulsan Nasibov from the Embassy of Azerbaijan, Mr I.P. Khosla, former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Ms Reena Pandey, Ambassador designate to Armenia and Georgia, at the International Conference on 'India-Eurasia: The Way Ahead' in Chandigarh on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Trade with India has soared, says Armenia envoy
Chandigarh, November 17
In the wake of the improving Indo-Armenian relations, bilateral trade has this year touched $ 17 million compared to $ 9 million last year, said Dr Ashot Kocharian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to India. He was in the city today to attend a two-day international conference on 'India-Eurasia: The Way Ahead' being organised at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, here.
Dr Ashot Kocharian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to India

Park societies sans payment for eight months
Panchkula, November 17
The payment to be released to park maintenance societies, formed for the maintenance of neighbourhood parks, has not been released for the past eight months.

Mascot for Chandigarh Carnival released Chandigarh, November 17 The Chandigarh Administration today finalised the mascot for the Chandigarh Carnival scheduled to be held on November 26 and 27. Rasleen Ahluwalia (left) and Harveen Ahluwalia, creators of the mascot for the forthcoming Chandigarh Carnival, show their design following the formal approval by the organisers in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph.

• Chandigarh Carnival from Nov 26

MC meeting to focus on upkeep of parks
Panchkula, November 17
The maintenance of streetlights and neighborhood parks will be main items on the agenda for the Municipal Council General House meeting to be held here tomorrow.

Admn’s gift to slum dwellers
Licences of tenements renewed
Chandigarh, November 17
There is good news for thousands of slum dwellers with the Chandigarh Administration renewing the licences of thousands of tenements in certain rehabilitation colonies of the city. The decision of the Chandigarh Administration, besides putting uncertainty over the renewal of licences to rest, will bring huge revenue to the Estate Office, Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh and Chandigarh Housing Board.

Councillors for change in delimitation draft Mohali, November 17 Eight municipal councillors today appealed to authorities concerned to reconsider the draft prepared to delimit wards in connection with the forthcoming elections as it had not been notified as yet. Mr Manjit Singh Sethi, municipal councillor, at a press conference in Mohali on Thursday. Mr Sham Bansal, (right) municipal councillor, is also seen in the picture. — A Tribune photograph

Relief material sent to J&K for quake victims
Chandigarh, November 17
Mr S.K. Sandhu, finance secretary-cum- vice- president of the UT Red Cross Society, yesterday flagged off a truck-load of relief material for earthquake victims of Jammu and Kashmir at Karuna Sadan, Sector 11, here.

CPI seeks supply of good quality fertilisers
Mohali, November 17
While demanding adequate quantity of good quality DAP fertiliser for farmers, the tehsil committee of the Communist Party of India said strict action should be taken against traders found selling but standard fertilisers and indulging in black marketing.

• Assessment system ‘defective’
• Motorcyclist dies in accident

CRIME

Man killed as truck rams into scooter
Chandigarh, November 17
In a hit-and-run case, a Maloya colony resident coming from Mohali died after a truck rammed into his scooter on the road separating Sector 55 and 56 this evening. The deceased has been identified as 30-year-old Vishal Sharma. His three-and-a-half year-old daughter accompanying him escaped unhurt.

Mobile phone snatched
Chandigarh, November 17
Snatching continues to haunt the Chandigarh police as two unidentified scooterists made good their escape after snatching a mobile phone in Sector 10 this evening.

BUSINESS

Khuda Lahora identified for rural tourism
Chandigarh, November 17
The Chandigarh Administration has identified Khuda Lahora village for promotion of ‘rural tourism’ in the Union Territory. The village has been selected as a part of the national policy of the Ministry of Tourism where each state is expected to develop at least one village as a pilot project for promoting tourism and which could be implemented elsewhere.

EDUCATION

From Colleges Tech Beats-2005 begins at SGGS College Chandigarh, November 17 A two-day mega IT fest ‘Tech Beats-2005’ organised by the postgraduate department of computer science, SGGS College, began here today. Brig Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri (extreme left) at the history presentation contest at MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

TechFest starts tomorrow
Chandigarh, November 17
The two day TechFest, MINERVA 2005, will be organised by Rayat Educational and Research Trust on November 19 and 20 at the Rayat Institute of Engineering and Technology, Rail Majra, near Ropar.

Inter-school cultural contests
Chandigarh, November 17
The 36th All India inter-state inter-school cultural competitions saw participation by various DAV institutions which put forward their views on various topics at a Hindi and English declamation contest at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, here today.

CD for MBA aspirants released
Chandigarh, November 17
Bulls eye, an MBA preparatory training institute, today released an interactive CD specially designed to help MBA aspirants and other students to improve their personality. The CD was released by Mr Satish Kapoor, Chairman, University Business School, Panjab University. Besides Mr Kapoor, senior UBS faculty were also present.

ALOHA contest results
Chandigarh, November 17
The first state-level competition for ALOHA, a renowned abacus learning institution, held its first state-level competition on Tuesday at Mount Carmel School, Sector 47-C. Around 225 children from various schools participated in the competition.

Voice culture course announced
Chandigarh, November 17
The Pracheen Kala Kendra yesterday announced the start of a regular three months course in voice culture and verbal communication, starting from December. Registrar M.L. Koser said the kendra would be the first to run the course on a regular basis, aimed at improving the overall presentation and the confidence of individuals.

CULTURE

HEALTH

Chronic mental illness behind suicides?
Chandigarh, November 17
While the news of the suicide of the Sector 15 family is making rounds of the entire city, the act is also being investigated from other angles. According to Dr BS Chavan, Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, there could various possibilities which prompted the members to commit suicide keeping in mind the circumstantial evidence available.

Paramedics’ union holds protest
Chandigarh, November 17
Members of the class III Para-Medical Union of Government Hospital, Sector 16, today staged a dharna on the hospital premises. The dharna was supported by members of the sweepers’ union, class IV union and the nurses union of the hospital.

Lifetime Achievement Award for Dr Dash
Chandigarh, November 17
With over 270 research publications, 500 research communications, 16 oration awards, Professor R.J. Dash, Former Head of the Department of Endocrinology , PGIMER, has been recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in Endocrinology from the Endocrine Society of India. The award was given to him at the 35th Annual Conference of the society held at New Delhi.

Move to scrap health scheme opposed
Chandigarh, November 17
The coordination committee of the Central Government Pensioners Associations has opposed the move by the government to disband the Central Government Health Scheme.

• 2 dengue patients in PGI

SPORTS

Rural sports meet begins at Makrana Kalan Morinda, November 17 The best of rural sports was showcased at the annual two-day Shaheed Baba Balkara Singh Yaadgari Sports Tournament, which started with much fanfare at Makrana Kalan, 20 km from here, today. A bullock-cart rider prods his bulls to reach the target in minimum time during the rural sports meet at Makrona Kalan village, near Morinda, on Thursday. —  Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

Chandigarh, November 17 The seventh Chandigarh Senior Girls Football Championship for the Deepak Kapania Trophy began here today at the Sector 17 football stadium. In the opening tie, St Xavier’s club, Sector 44 blanked St Stephen’s Club-’B’ by three goals to nil. They also earned three valuable points. The meet was inaugurated by Mr Ravinder Talwar, President Chandigarh Football Association.
A St. Xavier’s player tries to dodge St Stephen’s players in the seventh Chandigarh State Women’s Football Championship in Chandigarh on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

The basketball team of Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, who won the UT Inter-School Basketball Meet (under-17) which concluded in Chandigarh on Thursday.

Mongia to lead Punjab
cricket team
Chandigarh, November 17
Dinesh Mongia has been appointed skipper of the 15-member Punjab cricket team as announced by the Punjab Cricket Association. The team was selected after the camp which concluded yesterday.

UT table tennis meet results
Chandigarh, November 17
Nadia Saini, Vikas Sharma, Dheeraj Arora and Gurvinder Kaur all shared two titles each at the end of the 18th Chandigarh State Table Tennis meet played here today at the Sector 23 TT hall.

• Cricket trials