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UT, MC asked to improve lights on streets
Chandigarh, April 13
The Ministry of Urban Development has asked the UT Administration and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to improve street lighting in the city for the safety and security of residents, particularly of women.

Damaged streetlights on the road separating Sector 44/51 in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Sobbing a thing of the past for tiny tots
Chandigarh, April 13
Gone are the days when your child’s road to formal education used to begin with tears. With technology and exposure on their side, today’s tiny tots are not seen sobbing on the first day of their school and are adapting fast to the classroom activities. “There has been a major shift in the behavioural pattern of children over a period of time,” said Annie Charles, co-principal of Mount Carmel Convent School, Sector 47.

Fire breaks out in house, four rescued
Chandigarh, April 13
Four persons, including two children, were rescued by the fire and emergency department after a fire broke out in a house at Sector 35-C in the wee hours of Saturday.

15 from city make it to IIMs
Chandigarh, April 13
Fifteen students from the city have made it to three IIMs. Out of the 13 IIMs that conducted group discussions and interviews, three institutes, including IIMs at Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, have declared their results.

Colourful start to puppetry theatre fest
Chandigarh, April 13
The first Chandigarh International Puppetry Theatre Festival began at Tagore Theatre with a colourful performance by members of Moscow Puppet Theatre. The festival is jointly organised by the UT Administration and Ishara International Puppet Theatre Trust, Delhi. Members of Moscow Puppet Theatre presented Russian folktales on the first day of the festival.

A puppet show by Russian artistes marks the beginning of the fest at Tagore Theatre on Saturday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

COMMUNITY

Navratra festival
Cases of missing children on rise
Panchkula, April 13
Many children come sobbing and cling to the security guard. Due to the carelessness on the part of parents, many missing cases of children are being reported during the ongoing Navrtara festival at Mansa Devi Shrine. According to the information centre, as many as 50 children went missing in just three days, though later on, they were reunited with their parents.

At her DURBAR: Devotees waiting for their turn at Mansa Devi Temple during the ongoing Navratra Festival on Saturday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Fallen flat: The Swift car that was targeted by thieves at Sector 18 in Chandigarh on Friday night. The miscreants took away the tyres of the car. The complainant, Sudhir Talwar, said he had parked the car outside his house. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

CHANDIGARH SCAN
STA starts issuing RCs
The Chandigarh School Bus Operators Welfare Association has thanked the Home Secretary and Secretary of the State Transport Authority for starting the issuing of registration certificate of the commercial vehicles at the office of the State Transport Authority (STA). Manjeet Singh, president of the association, said it has saved the bus operators from lot of harassment.

Voice disorder: Think twice before screaming next time
Chandigarh, April 13
The average number of voice disorder cases in children at the PGIMER has been found to be comparatively lesser than those reported in adults. This signifies lack of awareness among parents in identifying the problem in children, say experts. The actual prevalence is expected to be much higher since the children scream a lot without realising the scope of damage.

Chandigarh to Ludhiana rail link inspected
Chandigarh, April 13
The Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link was inspected today by the Chief Commissioner of Rail Safety (CCRS). The inspection team was led by RK Kardam, northern circle, CCRS. Divisional Railway Manager PK Sangi of the Ambala division was also present during the inspection. The team inspected 17 km track from New Morinda to Khamano.

MC’s fire department in need of help
Chandigarh, April 13
Strange but true, the fire and emergency department of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is ill-equipped to deal with any untoward incident. The department is facing an acute staff shortage. It lacks fire-fighting gear. Despite this, the civic body is observing the Fire Safety Week from April 14 to 20.

Welfare board employees without salary
Chandigarh, April 13
Twelve employees of the Chandigarh Social Welfare have not been paid salary for the month of March. Sources said the board had not even received the grant sanctioned by the UT Administration. They said the board had reminded the authorities a number of times for the release of the grant, but to no avail.

Dr Ambedkar remembered
Chandigarh: Dr BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary was celebrated by Luv Kush Sewa Dal at Sector 25. Members of the association organised a cake-cutting ceremony with the underprivileged children of the area. Sweets were also distributed among them. — TNS

EDUCATION

School bus fare goes up by 10-15%
Chandigarh, April 13
After the hike in school fee, parents have been further burdened by a hike in the school bus fare. Bus operators in the tricity have hiked their transportation charges by 10 to 15 per cent. Like school authorities, these operators too had deferred the hike due to a pending litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Manjit Singh, president of Chandigarh School Bus Operator Welfare Association, said the hike in transportation charges was long due.

PU mulls increase in qualifying marks for PG in English
Chandigarh, April 13
Getting admitted to the postgraduate course in English at Panjab University might become tougher from the next academic session with the authorities mulling an increase in the qualifying marks for the entrance exam.

From schools
Balloon Day
Chandigarh: Nearly 90 kindergarten students of St Joseph's Senior Secondary School celebrated Balloon Day. Children were thrilled to see their classrooms decorated with balloons. They danced to the tunes of some popular songs, while tossing balloons up and down. Children beamed with energy while filling air in balloons.

Students take part in the Baisakhi celebrations at Shemrock School, Sector 69, in Mohali. A Tribune photograph

21 Canadian institutes to take part in education fair today
Chandigarh, April 13
After Australia, Canada is emerging as the most sought destination for Indian students. “The number of Indian students joining Canada-based universities has crossed 12,000 from around 3,000 two to three years ago,” said Karuna Ausman, manager, international recruitment and partnerships, University of Waterloo.

Higher education
Emphasis on quality during five-year plan
Chandigarh, April 13
The higher education sector in India has witnessed a drastic expansion during the Eleventh Five Year Plan with 272 new universities, around 12,000 colleges and 5,000 diploma institutes setting up their campuses across the country.

RTE ACT
50% reserved seats still vacant
Chandigarh, April 13
For yet another year, the admission process under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has been marred by controversies and delays. Nearly half the seats reserved for students belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) and disadvantaged group still remain unfilled despite the centralised admission process. Last year, too, only 472 seats were filled of nearly 1,300 RTE seats.

Students shine at science olympiad
Chandigarh: Thirteen students of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27, won medals at the 15th SOF National Science Olympiad. In Class VII, Bhuvan and Ashutosh bagged gold medals, Rishit won silver and Khyati claimed bronze. In Class VIII, Vrinda and Piyush won gold medals, and Jayesh bagged bronze. In Class IX, Rachit (gold), Akshit (silver) and Gaurav (bronze) won medals. In Class X, Shivam won gold medal, Shitij Malhotra, silver, and Parth, bronze. — TNS

COURTS

HC wants Admn to set up another vegetable market
Chandigarh, April 13
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Adviser to the UT Administrator to immediately convene a meeting for considering the feasibility of setting up another vegetable market in the city. The Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ajay Tewari also directed the Chandigarh Administration and the chairman of the market committee to look into the mess existing in the Sector-26 grain market. The presence of illegal handcart vendors and unauthorised parking in the area causes traffic jams.

CRIME

Crime briefs
One held for murder
Chandigarh, April 13
A resident of Chajju Majra was arrested for allegedly murdering a 40-year-old labourer, Mohinder of Parol village, at Sector 41 last night. The accused, Vijay, had a quarrel with the deceased around 7.30 pm yesterday, said one Raj Kishor in his complaint to the police. Raj Kishore intervened and pacified both the men.

10 drug peddlers held, heroin seized
Mohali, April 13
The Mohali police has smashed an alleged drug den in a residential area here and seized 30 gm of heroin and arrested 10 persons in this connection. SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that during the patrolling in Phase III yesterday, the CIA staff of the police got information that Harjit Singh of Delhi and Tejinder Singh of Baharapur village were staying in Phase VII, Mohali.

SPORTS

Bending rules for vested interests
Chandigarh, April 13
Flouting norms, players of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were seen representing other states during the ongoing Senior National Kabaddi Championship for Men and Women. "There is a catch here. If a player participates in such events, he is given a senior state participation certificate which helps him get a good job," said one of the participants.

Players of the Himachal Pradesh team represent Uttarakhand during the ongoing Senior National Kabaddi Championship for Men and Women at Sector 17 in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

Abhay outdoes Divanshu in tennis
Panchkula, April 13
Abhay Mohan defeated Divanshu Kaushal and Jaskaran Riar Singh outplayed Avitej Singh during the Ideal Tennis Manav Mangal Tournament today. Abhay beat Divanshu 7-1 while Jaskaran defeated Avitej 7-0.

Uttarakhand beat Bihar in kabaddi tourney
Chandigarh, April 13
In the ongoing 24th Senior National Kabaddi Championship for men and women, the team from Uttarakhand defeated the team from Bihar 19-7, today.