C H A N D I G A R H

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TOP STORIES

‘Bulk of drunk drivers in 31-50 age group’
Chandigarh, July 21
Contrary to perception, it is the middle-aged group, between 31 and 50 years of age, which believes in drinking to the fill and care the least about obeying traffic rules in the city.

HC notice to MHA on traffic cop shortage
Chandigarh, July 21
Taking cognisance of the shortage of traffic cops in the city, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Most deaths in road mishaps alcohol-related
Chandigarh, July 21
About 80 per cent medical emergencies and 20 per cent head injuries are linked to alcohol consumption, Ashish Despande, a renowned psychiatrist from Mumbai and a non-alcoholic trustee of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a worldwide fellowship of recovering alcoholics, said here today.
Karnataka DGP ST Ramesh makes a point while psychiatrist Ashish Despande from Mumbai looks on at a function organised by the Alcoholics Anonymous in Chandigarh on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Troubled times ahead for GMCH director-principal
Chandigarh, July 21
The director-principal of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Dr Raj Bahadur, a front-runner for the post of PGI director, may be in trouble.

Nagar kirtan

‘Panj Piaras’ lead a nagar kirtan in connection with Guru Harkrishan’s birth anniversary in Chandigarh on Thursday. A long queue of vehicles accompanied the procession. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Housefed hikes Sec-79 flats’ transfer fee
Mohali, July 21
The Punjab State Federation of Cooperative House Building Societies Limited (Housefed) has increased the transfer fee of its upcoming flats at Sector 79 here from 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The hike is with effect from July 4, leaving allottees fuming.

PG accommodation
The heat is on — getting vacated or registered
Chandigarh, July 21
The first-ever sealing of illegal paying guest (PG) accommodation, at Sector 35, by the UT administration appears to have sparked a rippling effect, with several PG house owners either asking their guests to vacate by this month-end or beginning to enquire about the procedure on how to legally rent out accommodation to PGs.

COMMUNITY

Industrial Area bears brunt of MC’s laxity
Chandigarh, July 21
Almost all the V 6 roads in Industrial Area, Phase II, have been dug up for re-carpeting and widening since the past six months. The careless attitude of the contractor is posing danger to water pipes, sewers and underground electricity cables in the area.


Rainwater accumulates in front of factories at Phase II, Industrial Area, Chandigarh. The area was dug up for widening of the road. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Diesel not to cost less in city
Chandigarh, July 21
The rates of diesel are unlikely to decrease in the city in the near future. The Chandigarh Administration is having a rethink over the proposal of decreasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12.5 per cent to 8.8 per cent on diesel. After the hike of Rs 3 on June 27, the authorities here had started deliberating over reducing the VAT on the pattern of its neighbouring states, including Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where the tax is relatively less.

Rampaging simians make a monkey out of residents
Chandigarh, July 21
Asmita, a resident of Sector 27 (D), has decided not to take her regular evening walks to the park in her locality for the fear of getting attacked by monkeys residing in the park.



A monkey strikes an aggressive posture at a park in Sector 27-D, Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Illegal food stalls mushroom
Chandigarh, July 21
Even as the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is still trying to check encroachments by shopkeepers in corridors of markets, the trend of makeshift food stalls have started flourishing in the city.

Makeshift food stalls at the Sector-22 market. Tribune photos: Pradeep Tewari

UIDAI card: All you need to know
Chandigarh, July 20
For those still new to the entire concept of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), they just need to drop in one of the 23 Aadhaar enrolment centres operational in Chandigarh with identity, address and birth proof.

HUDA rakes in Rs 59 crore through auction
Panchkula, July 21
The auctioning of commercial sites by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) here today witnessed lukewarm response as of the 38 sites put up for auction, just nine sites went under the hammer.




A bidder during an auction organised by HUDA in Panchkula on Thursday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Cost of building material doubles in one year
Chandigarh, July 21
A sharp increase in the prices of building material as well as labour has hit the dreams of people, seeking to have a home of their own, hard.

Civil dispensaries suffer govt’s apathy

Mohali, July 21 Dispensaries in various parts of the town do not figure on the government’s list of priorities and remain in a state of neglect with poorly maintained campuses, shortage of doctors and medicines, lack of adequate furniture, worn out equipment and buildings full of seepage.

Water seeps through the ceiling of a dispensary in Phase IX; and (right) overgrowth on the compound of a dispensary in Phase VII, Mohali. Tribune photos: vinay malik

‘Sec-57 bus stand to be operational by Oct-end’
Mohali, July 21
The first phase of the air-conditioned bus stand at Sector 57 here will become operational by the end of October. This was stated by Col CVS Sehgal (retd), project manager.




Construction of the air-conditioned bus stand in full swing at Mohali. A Tribune photograph

Pabhat godown area
Lack of facilities forcing companies to move out
Zirakpur, July 20
The tall claims of providing basic amenities to commercial establishments in the Pabhat godown area by the municipal council seem to hold no water as the lack of facilities in the area has forced many multi-national companies to shift their base from the area.

Ground reality An uneven road unfit for movement of vehicles; and (right) rainwater accummulated on a road at Pabhat in Zirakpur. Tribune photos: Nitin Mittal

Baby drowns in water tub
Zirakpur, July 21
In a tragic incident, Khushi, a one-year-old baby, reportedly died of drowning in a water tub at Skynet Apartments here late this evening. The police said they got information about the incident from the GMCH-32.

official impact A car belonging to Chandigarh Additional Attorney General Paramjit Singh, which met with an accident at Sector 38-West in Chandigarh on Thursday. The car it collided with can be seen in the background. Tribune photo: Vinay Malik

Man killed in accident
Mohali, July 21
A Kangra resident, Rai Singh, died after being hit by an unidentified vehicle near the Dayalpura village road in Sohana. The victim was working and living at Vassela Resorts.

Tricity Scan
CHANDIGARH SCAN
Stray cattle impounded
The Municipal Corporation impounded 15 heads of stray cattle in a cattle catching drive on Thursday conducted in the Mauli Jagran and Dadumajra village. The drive was conducted by a team of corporation under the supervision of Medical Officer Health Dr BK Salwan and chief sanitary inspectors with the help of cattle catchers.

EDUCATION

Ragging Menace in PU
2 PCR vehicles deployed
Chandigarh, July 21
Two PCR vehicles have been deployed on the Panjab University campus to instill confidence and dispel fear from the minds of freshers over the issue of ragging.

Varsity head seems to have ‘learnt his lessons’

A day after being ‘tutored’ by Additional Deputy Commissioner ML Sharma, Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Ranbir Chander Sobti is seen personally issuing instructions to student leaders to remove their help desk and clear the entrance to the MCA admission centre on the university campus on Thursday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari It was erroneously mentioned in these columns yesterday that Sharma had joined the Punjab Civil Services as an assistant. He had joined as excise and taxation officer.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Five held for illegal mining
Ropar, July 21
Five persons have been arrested for carrying out illegal mining at Khanpur village of the Chamkaur Sahib area. Four tractors and a JCB machine were also impounded. A case has been registered against the accused.

Youth’s body found in car
Ambala, July 21
A 26-year-old youth was found dead in a car parked under the flyover on the NH-1 near the bus station here today. According to police sources, the victim, identified as Mukesh, a resident of Ambala City, ran an automobile spares business and had gone to Mani Majra yesterday evening.

COURTS

Motorcyclist’s death
HC orders reinvestigation
Chandigarh, July 21
Two years after biker Gagandeep Singh’s journey ended before the destination in an accident near Kiran Cinema in Sector 22, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has minced no words to say that a police official has been protected and fair investigation has not been conducted.

cheque-bounce case
Ex-minister’s wife awarded jail sentence
Panchkula, July 21
The district courts here today awarded one and half years’ imprisonment to the wife of a former Haryana minister, Lahiri Singh, in a cheque-bounce case.

CRIME

Taxi driver attacked
Chandigarh, July 21
A 28-year old taxi driver, Sumit Kumar, a resident of Sector 33, was attacked with sharp-edged weapons here this evening.

Woman held for fraud
Chandigarh, July 21
The police today arrested a Ludhiana-based woman in a case of housing society fraud. The case was registered last year.

Two arrested for forgery
Panchkula, July 21
The local police has arrested two persons, including the director of Great Ocean Academy of Merchant Navy, Panchkula, for preparing a fake birth certificate of a candidate and helping the latter obtain a passport by using the certificate. The police arrested institute director Avinash Khanna and Mandeep Singh Rana, a resident of Khangesra village, Panchkula, whose fake birth certificate was prepared.

Woman murdered, body found in fields
Mohali, July 21
Sudesh Rani, a 37-year-old married woman of Tira village, near Mullanpur, was found murdered under mysterious circumstances near the village this morning.

SPORTS

GMHS-26, St John’s-26 in soccer semifinals
Chandigarh, July 21
GMHS-26, GMSSS-22, St John’s-26 and GMSSS-35 entered semifinals of the Pre-Nehru Hockey Tournament Under-14 (boys) and Pre-Suboroto Mukerjee Football Tournament being organised by the UT sports department here today.

Players of St John’s School and St Kabir School in action during the Pre-Suboroto Mukerjee Football Tournament at Sector 22, Chandigarh, on Thursday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Snooker meet
Saniya falters in final
Chandigarh, July 21
Sixteen-year-old Saniya Arif, a class XII two student of Carmel Convent School, lost to Varsha in the final of the Sub-Junior Snooker National Championship that concluded at Chennai today.