Leave of cops cancelled
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — The leave of all police personnel has been cancelled as a part of the elaborate arrangements for preventing any untoward incident on New Year eve by the department.

Winter rain eludes city
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — Winter rain has so far eluded the city and its surrounding areas. As a sequel to it, day time temperatures during the ongoing winter have not dropped as they do, resulting in the warmest month of December, so far, in a decade.

Police medal recipients to get more
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — The Government has enhanced the monetary allowance for the recipients of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry and the Police Medal for Gallantry.

Bal Niketan back on rails
PANCHKULA, Dec 23 —Bal Niketan in Sector 2, here, seems to be getting back on the rails after a controversy over the presidentship of the organisation following the death of its President, J.D. Sharma, in July.

Tree choppers in trouble
PANCHKULA, Dec 23—Occupants of two houses are in a soup over the callous chopping off of two trees and hard pruning of a third one in front of their respective houses in Sector 8, with the Horticulture Department of Haryana Urban Development Authority planning to register cases against them.

Passion for cars drove him to crime
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — The passion for cars drove him to crime. At 16, he turned the key with sweat-bathed fingers for opening the door of a Maruti car. To go for a joy ride. In less than one year, he, accompanied by three friends, allegedly picked up six other cars.

Close society shops: court
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — Allowing an application filed by the Divine Life Society, UT Civil Judge (Junior Division) Mahender Singh today directed "so-called President" Ramesh Chand Sharma to close down "commercial activities such as classes of tailoring, cutting, embroidery and the medical shop in the society premises" by December 31.

Court relief for undertrial
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — Ending the apprehensions of an undertrial regarding the transmission of HIV positive virus from another patient admitted in the same hospital room, UT Chief Judicial Magistrate Sant Parkash today allowed him to rest in a “separate private room after his operation”.

Kids glide in the skies
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — The eyes that watched the graceful touchdown of the bright glider reflected excitement, even as two children hopped out of the aircraft. Soon every boy and girl, clustered on the edge of the runway, was impatient to be strapped into the cockpit for a joyride through the clear blue skies.

Stirring a patriotic chord
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — “I strongly feel that unfortunately the ‘other’ point of view has never been highlighted in the history of our Independence, since the sacrifices of the likes of Udham Singh, Madan Lal Dhingra, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru or Kartar Singh Sarabha have not been given their due respect”, said cine-actor Raj Babbar, who was in the city this afternoon in connection with the preview of his film ‘Shaheed Uddham Singh, alias Ram Mohammed Singh Azad’ at Neelam Cinema, Sector 17.

Refund deposits, firm told
PANCHKULA, Dec 23 — The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered SOL Pharmaceuticals, Hyderabad, to refund deposits of eight complainants and pay an interest of 18 per cent per annum from the date of maturity of the bonds to each in addition to Rs 500 as cost of proceedings.

Fluctuation in prices of rewri, gachak
PANCHKULA, Dec 23—There is a minor fluctuation of prices of groundnut, `rewri’ and `gachak’ in the local markets, while sellers apprehend a marginal fall in prices as the winter season progresses, even though the demand increases considerably owing to greater arrivals in the market.

Dev Samaj girls steal show
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — IS Dev Samaj Girls, School, Sector 21, stole the show in the UT inter-school athletics championship held here today. Ramanjeet Kaur in 100m and 200m (Under 19) and Pawandeep Kaur in 100m (Under 17), bagged the gold medal. Sakshi Sharma of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 20, secured the gold medals in shot put and javelin throw.

An old man in distress
PANCHKULA, Dec 23 — An ailing old man is forced to spend days and nights in his house in distress without electricity, following its disconnection by the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN).

Awaiting aid for heart surgery
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — Severe difficulty in breathing a few years ago marked the starting point of a cumbersome ordeal. Mani Mari, a 12-year-old girl, wanders from place to place, and ends up struggling in her bed each day, waiting for financial or technical aid for her serious heart disease.

Villages to be given facelift
ZIRAKPUR, Dec 23 — The Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat has prepared a Rs 75 lakh project to provide street lights as part of a plan to give villages, near here, a facelift.

Unique repair of brain arteries
CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — Patients suffering from obstruction to arteries of the brain need not despair. Cardiologists in the PGI have achieved yet another distinction by applying the technique of angioplasty and stenting for repair of extensively diseased arteries of the brain and both the upper limbs. In this way, they have completely repaired , non-surgically, all the branches of the aortic arch.