Labourer's body found
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Aug 1 — The highly decomposed body of a labourer, aged around 30, was found in an open space in Sector 14 here today. A portion of the victim's face had been eaten, said a police official.

The body was noticed by a passer-by who informed the police.

As the body was highly decomposed it has been sent to Rohtak for a post mortem. The victim was found in his undergarments.

Eight booked : The police has booked eight persons in connection with an alleged case of kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl of a local school.

According to information available, the victim was taken to a place in Basaula in Pinjore and was allegedly raped by the youths.

The police has registered a case against the youth.

CHANDIGARH

Road mishap : Neha Bedi, a Sector 25 resident, was injured in a road accident on the road dividing Sectors 24 and 25 on Saturday night.

According to the police, Neha was injured when her scooter skidded off the road. She was admitted to the PGI where her condition was stated to be stable.

Injured : An unidentified person was admitted to the PGI on Saturday night after he received injuries in a road accident.

According to the police, the victim was injured when his cycle was hit by a scooter on the road dividing Sectors 27 and 28.

Suicide bid : Parmjit Kaur, a resident of Sector 38, allegedly consumed some poisonous substance in her house on Saturday. She was admitted to the PGI where her condition was stated to be stable.

KHARAR

Bus, scooter collide : Darbara Singh, a resident of Khera village, near here, was injured in a bus-scooter collision near Daon village on Sunday.

According to the police, the driver of the Haryana Roadways bus fled the scene while the bus was impounded. Darbara Singh was admitted to the PGI.

A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered against the driver of the bus.

BA III (Hons) results today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Panjab University will declare the results of BA III (honours) examination, held in May, tomorrow. Copies of the gazette will be available at the enquiry counter at the new enquiry building from 3 p.m. onwards.

Fee hike opposed

The Students Federation of India (SFI), at a meeting held on the campus, took serious note of the “steep hike in tuition fee” by the university authorities. The SFI observed that the authorities did not take note of the economic hardship this would cause and did not consult students’ representatives for the purpose.

The organisation decided to participate in the “indefinite fast” to protest against the implementation of the new fee structure.

The SFI appealed to the teaching and non-teaching employees to support them in their cause and demanded that the fee hike should be withdrawn immediately.

Resentment

There was strong resentment among the candidates who had taken their final year examination for the arts stream but their results had not been declared for want of their second year compartment examination results, which were yet to be declared.

Though the university had declared the results of the second year compartment candidates, a few were awaiting their results.

Apple becomes dearer
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Barring a few, the prices of most of the commonly used fruits have remained stable in the local market during the past two days.

During a survey of the local market, it was found that the prices of mangoes have started going up during the past one week. A kg or ''dasehri'', priced at between Rs 25 and Rs 30 last week, was available at between Rs 35 and 40. The wholesale price of the same increased from Rs 140-150 to Rs 170 per 7-kg pack. The same was the case with ''chausa'' as the price of a kg of the variety increased from Rs 25 to Rs 30-35 in retail and Rs 125-130 to Rs 150 per 7-kg pack. There was no change in the price of the ''langra'' variety as it could still be purchased at Rs 25 a kg in the retail market.

There was no rise in the price of ''baggugosha'' as it could be had at Rs 50 in retail and Rs 600 per 15-16-kg pack. The same was the case with the price of plum as it was stable at Rs 40 a kg in retail and Rs 180 per 8-kg pack in the wholesale market. There was a slight dip in the price of grapes as a kg of it could be had at Rs 80 instead of Rs 100. In the wholesale market, 2 kg of the fruit could be had at Rs 150.

Apple has witnessed a raise in its price as a kg of the fruit, priced at Rs 50 two days back, could be purchased at Rs 60 in the retail market. A16-kg pack was available at Rs 550-600 in the wholesale market.

Pomegranate was stable at Rs 50 in retail and Rs 150 per 4-kg pack in the wholesale market, while guava, which is the new entrant, was priced at Rs 20 in retail and Rs 12 a kg in the wholesale market. Papaya lovers could had it at Rs 20 in retail and Rs 15 in the wholesale market.

''Mausambi'' was available at its old price of Rs 60 a dozen in retail. The wholesale price of the fruit was Rs 130 per three-dozen pack. One could purchase a dozen of banana at Rs 20 and 100 pieces at Rs 150. Pineapple could be purchased at a higher price of Rs 35-40 a piece against Rs 25 last week.

Challaning cops cause jam

The process of challaning the overspeeding vehicles at various points has become the cause of accidents and traffic hazards on different roads in the city. The Chandigarh Police has created congestion at these particular places on the main roads. The problem has resulted in a number of accidents since the police has implemented the traffic guidelines of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.The cop handling the radar, hiding beneath the bushes on the road-divider about half a kilometre away from the challaning point, often tells the registration number of the overspeeding vehicle through the wireless set to the challaning officers without assessing the exact speed of the vehicles. In most of the cases he points out the vehicles bearing the number of other states.Unaware about the radar man the drivers of the vehicles often keep the same speed and are stopped suddenly by the police personnel. As the drivers of these vehicles apply brakes all of a sudden, the following vehicles ram into them.At the same time the challaning of vehicles gathers a number of vehicles at these points which again become a traffic hazard. This problem becomes acute near the CII adjacent to the roundabout.

“Gugga Pir”

The city roadsides are witness to an unusual activity these days. Many followers of “Gugga Pir” (the Lord of snakes), mainly from Rajasthan, can be seen roaming in almost all parts of the city in small groups. As usual, they have come to the city for seeking donations for celebrating the birth anniversary of the “pir” who is said to be the guardian of snakes.Besides, “dholaks”, “daflis” and other musical instruments, with the help of which they render songs in praise of the Lord and add colour to the monotonous life of the city residents, what has become an allurement for children are brooms made of colourful peacock feathers.Have mercy, give marks!

Old gold

A rendezvous with senior citizens always has its interesting moments. And so was the case with the recent picnic, organised by CITCO for the senior citizens of the city.Just before the commencement of the picnic, CITCO honoured all those above the age of 85 present on the occasion. When the picnic was about to make its way to Pinjore, an 89-year-old gentleman got up from the audience and bellowed across the room: “Why have you left me out? I am 89 years old and my name was not called”. Of course, after the customary scurry for another gift for the gentleman, everything settled down and all was well once again.Once at Pinjore, most senior citizens could be heard making comments like, “I do not eat bananas, they should have at least asked us what we like to eat”, or “Don’t they know that ‘paranthas’ are bad for health for our age-group?” or even “How come I got a sandwich and you a ‘parantha’? Any preferential quota?”.

Heart-breaking

The Kargil conflict and the valour exhibited by the Indian soldiers has made the whole country emotional. While most of the people gave vent to their feelings by donating money, a few paid tributes by rendering poems etc at functions organised in different parts of the city and surrounding areas. The organisers informed the people about these functions through press note. One such note was sent to us by S.A.S. Nagar based Sector 61 Residents Welfare Society after one such function stating that one Mr M.S. Zakhmi “soliced a heart breaking poem in praise of heroes”.

South Pole stones

Naturally carved stones from Antarctica will now be housed in the world famous rock garden here. Mr Manmohan Singh, an employee of the local Meteorological Department, who had gone to Antarctica with the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) team, will be gifting the stones collected from the ice continent.Mr Singh, who returned from Antarctica recently, says the stones have been naturally carved due to the winds over the centuries on the remote continent. He says he collected the stones and thought about giving them to the rock garden upon reaching here and has discussed the matter with Mr Nek Chand, the creator of the rock garden. Soon the carved stones will be housed there.

Come alive

With the colleges and the university about to open in the first week of August the streets leading to these educational institutions, besides the roads of Sector 11, 10 and 9, also known as the gehri route, will start looking like an unending fashion parade. It will be the same on the campus when new entrants come in. Be it tight jeans, skimpy tops, skirts with designer t-shirts for the girls, the clothes will be of all colours and designs as the start of the season is the best time to make an impression. For boys cotton trousers are the present rage. Shopkeepers selling readymade garments in the city have put their items on discount and report that sales have been brisk among the younger lot.Not to miss out on the shoes that again will be designer wear in most cases. Same for the girls who will prefer high heels or sneakers, of course the preference will be for known brands for the snob value attached with them. The other craze is the motorbikes, the bigger and macho the better. For girls it is the Kinetic Honda. Keep your eyes open to see how many of them wear the full face helmets.

Ayushi, Vivek named best swimmers
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Ayushi and Vivek Yadav in girls' and boys' under-8 sections, respectively, were declared the best swimmers in the Chandigarh Swimming Competitions. The competitions were conducted at the Government Yoga Centre Swimming Pool, Sector 23, on July 31 and August 1, which attracted overwhelming response from young participants.

Due to the absence of any recognised association in Chandigarh, parents of some of the swimmers joined hands to organise this kind of tournament.

In the under-10 section, Isha Kalia among girls and Yadvinder Singh among boys bagged the 'best swimmer' awards. Sukhman Ghuman, a Class VII student of local Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, was declared the best swimmer in the under-12 girls' section and she bagged four gold medals.

Ankur Kalia, Arvind Sehdev and Mandeep secured the 'best swimmer' awards in the under-12, under-14 and above-14 age groups, respectively. In the under-14 and above-14 girls' sections, G. Nice Kang and Kirandeep Kaur were declared the best swimmers, respectively.

Results (all finals): 25 metre backstroke (boys Under-8) — Vivek (time — 0:26:34) 1, Angad Singh 2, Kunal Sharma 3; 100 metre butterfly (girls above-14) — Kirandeep (time — 1:31:62) 1, Kirti Rana 2, Heena 3; boys — Vivek Kapur (time — 1:20:13) 1, Avinash Mishra 2, Nitish Mehta 3.

Girls under-14 — Amita Heer (time — 1:39:74) 1, Saru Sharma 2, Neerja Saini 3; 50 metre free style: boys under-10 — Yadvinder S. Rawat (time — 0:42:94) 1, Sumeet Heer 2, Kanav Dosaj 3; under-12 — Ankit Kalia (time — 0:33:64) 1, Pankaj Chauhan 2, Sidharth Sehdev 3; 25 metre butterfly (boys under-8) — Vivek (time — 0:27:09) 1, Uday 2, Kunal Sharma 3.

25 metre free style (girls under-8) — Chitragadha (time 0:31:62) 1, Himanshi Balshi 2, Ayushi and Tanupriya 3; 50 metre free style (girls under-14) — Pooja Choachan (time — 0:37;90) 1, Amita Heer 2, G. Nice Kang 3; boys — Arvind Sehdev (time — 0:29:83) 1, Gurbir Singh 2, Abhimanyu Tiwari 3.

25 metre free style (boys under-8) — Vivek (time — 0:18:97) 1, Angad Singh 2, Karan Bhai 3; 100 metre free style (boys under-10) — Yadvinder S. Rawat (time — 1:39:63) 1, Sumeet Heer 2, Kanav Dosaj 3; under-12 — Ankit Kalia (time — 1:20:52) 1, Pankaj Chauhan 2, Siddarth 3.

200 metre free style (girls above-14) — Kirandeep (time — 2:50:75) 1, Kriti Rana 2, Chetna 3; 200 metre individual medlay (girls under-14) — G. Nice Kang (time — 3:19:20) 1, Neerja Saini 2, Amita Heer 3.

100 metre breaststroke (boys under-14) — Gurbir Singh (time — 1:21:45) 1, Arvind Sehdev 2, Karanpreet Singh 3. 100 metre backstroke (boys above-14) — Sudhir Kumar (time — 1:13:65) 1, Vivek Kapoor 2, Pardeep Upadhyaya 3.

100 metre backstroke (boys under-14) — Arvind Sehdev (time — 1:21:05) 1, Abhimanyu Tiwari 2, Karanpreet S. Boparai 3; under-12 — Ankit Kalia (time — 1:36:18) 1, Pankaj Chauhan 2, Sidhharth 3; 25 metre breaststroke (girls under-8) — Ayushi (time — 0:33:92) 1, Chitrangadha 2, Himanshi Bakshi 3; 50 metre backstroke (girls under-10) — Isha Kalia (time — 0:50:93) 1, Kalyani2, Ashi 3; boys — Yadvinder Singh Rawat (time — 0:58:43) 1, Sumeet Heer 2, Aspreet S. Boparai 3.

Girls' 50 metre free stylev (under-12) — Sukhman Ghuman (time — 0:35:65) 1, Ruhani Sood 2, Sumedha 3; 100 metre backstroke (above-14) — Kirandeep (time — 1:19:73) 1, Kriti Rana 2, Richa Gandotra 3; 100 metre backstorke (under-12) — Sukhman Ghuman (time — 1:35:62) 1, Ruhani Sood 2, Sumedha 3.

100 metre free style (girls under-14) — G. Nice Kang (time — 1:25:38) 1, Pooja Chauhan 2, Amita Heer 3; 200 metre free style (boys above-14) — Mandeep Singh (time — 2:30:45) 1, Vivek Kapur 2, Nitish Mehta 3.

200 metre (IM) boys above-14 — Vivek Kapoor (time — 3;15:75) 1, Ruhani Sood 2, Sumedha 3; 200 metre (IM) boys under-12 — Pankaj Chauhan (time — 3:15;50) 1, Ankit Kalia 2, Siddharth 3; 200 metre (IM) boys under-14 — Arvind Sehdev (time —2:57:19) 1, Abhimanyu Tiwari 2, Karanpreet Singh 3. Above 14 — Kirandeep Singh (time — 3:07:37) 1, Kirti Rana 2, Heena 3.

100 metre free style (boys above-14) — Mandeep Singh (time — 1:03:64) 1,Vivek Kapoor 2, Rohin Kataria 3; 100 metre free style (girls under-10) — Isha kalia (time — 1:36:37) 1, Shruti Sharma 2, Prakirati Sharma 3. 100 metre butterfly (boys under-12) — Ankit Kalia (time — 1:28:94) 1, Pankaj Chauhan 2, Siddharth Sehdev 3.

50 metre butterfly (girls under-10) — Isha Kalia (time — 0:44:36) 1, Prakriti 2, Shruti 3. boys — Sumeet Heer (time — 0:56:21) 1, Kanav Dosajh 2, Nikil Chopra 3. 100 metre free style (girls above-14) — Kirandeep (time — 1:15:77) 1, Kirti Rana 2, Heena 3; 50 metre free style (above-14 boys) — Mandeep Singh (time — 0:28:50) 1, Vivek Kapoor 2, Rohan Kataria 3.

100 metre free style (boys under-14) — Arvind Sehdev (time — 1;10:04) 1, Abhimanyu Tiwari 2, Karanpreet Boparai 3; Girls under-12 — Sukhman Ghuman (time — 1:22:04) 1, Ruhani Sood 2, Sumedha 3; 50 metre backstroke (boys under-14) — Sumeet Heer (time — 0:49:98) 1, Yadvinder Singh 2, Kanav 3.

City soccer

On the second day of the Chandigarh State Football Championship for boys of under 16 years of age in progress here at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8 today, Shishu Niketan School, Sector 22, and Sanjay Public School, Sector 44, surged ahead with convincing wins over Jawahar Navodyalaya, Sector 25, 2-0, and New Public School, Sector 18, 2-0, respectively.

In another match of the day, Liberty Club, Sector 27, got the better of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, 4-2. In the fourth match of the day, the team of OCF Juniors outclassed Royal Greater Club, 4-0.

The match between The Tribune Model School, Sector 29 and Blue Star Club ended in a tie-breaker as both sides failed to score any goal in the stipulated time. Finally, BS Club won in the tie breaker, 5-4.

In the sixth match of the day, St Xavier's Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, won by a solitary goal against City Club. In the last match of the day, DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, managed to beat Khalsa Club, 2-0. Quarterfinal matches will start tomorrow at 2 pm.

Athletics trials

The Amateur Athletic Association of Chandigarh will hold selection trials on August 3 (8 am) at the Sector 7 sports complex, according to Mr Ravinder Chaudhary, Secretary of the association. These trials are being conducted to select the Chandigarh team for the North Zone Junior Athletic Championships to be held at Allahabad on August 20 and 21. The trials will be held in the age groups of under-20, under-18, under-16 and under-14 for both boys and girls. The participants must bring with them their original birth certificates and the residential proof.

Road races

The Chandigarh Amateur Cycling Association today conducted road races at the Sukhna Lake circuit in which nearly 35 cyclists drawn from the various local educational institutions took part. It was the first monthly road race held.

Results of the race were as follows: (20 km) — Amanjit Singh Arora (Panjab University) (time — 34 min 0.2.92 seconds) 1, Ankur Kaul (St. Anne's School, Sector 32) 2, Ravgunn Singh (DAV College) 3.

Pak should not be taken at face value

Hearty congratulations to our armed forces for their resounding victory in the Kargil action and heartfelt condolences to the families of those brave warriors who laid down their lives protecting the nation. The Kargil action has once again shown the courage and determination of our armed forces to the entire world and has proved beyond the remotest doubt that the Indian Army can achieve the most difficult task in a very difficult situation.

Even though the aggressors have been routed and Pakistan has faced worldwide condemnation and humiliation, India should not feel complacent. The Indian government should not take Pakistan at its face value because the political leaders of that country, irrespective of party affiliation, have shown to the world that they are not trustworthy and can stab in your back while you are busy shaking hands with them. For Pakistani leaders, friendship and peace are two words which are yet to take root in their political dictionary, and that is why they do not know how to live in peace. India is aware that without peace, prosperity is not possible and that is why India has always tried to develop good relationship with Pakistan and all other neighbours.

Pakistan has always behaved like a venomous cobra. Economy is in such a bad shape in Pakistan that there was a talk of selling presidential palace just after US sanctions were imposed on India and Pakistan subsequent to nuclear explosions. Instead of uplifting the economic status of their people, Pakistani leaders and military establishment are busy spending crores of rupees on buying arms, which ultimately land in the hands of militants and terrorists. Mr Nawaz Sharif during his address to the nation looked as if he was speaking under some threat because he was not speaking from his heart. It looked as if some extraneous force was feeding words in his mouth. There was complete lack of sincerity in his speech.

In sharp contrast, Mr Vajpayee has conducted himself very well. During this two-month conflict, his statesmanship has impressed the world leaders and that is why India has been able to get unflinching support from superpowers, including China, which is supposed to be a close ally of Pakistan. At the same time, he handled the country’s economy so well that the common man faced no problem at all which is generally experienced during war. Stock market was upbeat and inflation rate was the lowest. In fact a leader’s capability is tested only in adversity. Some political parties blame him for his bus journey to Lahore. The main Opposition party, the Congress, has not uttered a word of praise for him. Instead, the party, especially its President, has continuously blamed him for the Kargil situation and all other problems that beset India. One cannot imagine as to what would have happened if during the Kargil conflict, the Congress was in power as caretaker government under Sonia Gandhi.

Further, the controversy involving thespian Dilip Kumar has been blown out of proportion. Instead of seeking advice and views of Prime Minister and the President on whether to return the award given to him by the Pakistan government, Dilip Kumar should have acted according to his own conscience. Moreover, his recent statement that he is willing to work towards bringing India and Pakistan closer to each other is ridiculous. For the past 50 years, leaders of different political parties and other intellectuals have tried their best to befriend Pakistan and all have been stabbed in their backs. Mr Vajpayee whose party is branded anti-Muslim had made best of efforts to improve relations with Pakistan. But his sincere efforts have been repaid in the form of armed aggression resulting in the death of our numerous young officers and soldiers. How can India now trust Pakistan? I do not know what miracle Dilip Kumar is going to do.

T. Bhattacharya
Panchkula

Chemists’ decision

Last week, there were two good news items in your paper for the residents of Panchkula. We feel grateful to chemists of Sector 6, who have decided to provide services during night by rotation. It was good to read that the administration had taken up fogging operations for the eradication of mosquitoes and is going to take up the removal of congress grass from various sectors.

Janak Khanna
Panchkula

Guest houses

I am a resident of City Beautiful who is badly affected by the menace of guest houses. I wish your correspondent had met me too so that I could have narrated my tales of woe.

One of the facets which needs to be highlighted is the breeding of immoral activity at these places. Sector 21, where I reside, has become notorious in this regard. By evening one can witness young women on rickshaws being led by scooterists to various motels in the sector. Often, one also witnesses scenes of brawl. Suddenly at midnight, one can hear rush of three-wheelers or sometimes, very early in the morning, a vehicle leaving such “hideouts”. The most affected are children of the neighbourhood in such places.

Raja Hasija
Chandigarh