Factory supervisor found dead
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 9 — Surjit Singh (30), a factory supervisor, was found dead near HUDA nursery here today after he had left his residence in Sector 15 at 8.30 pm last night. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC and is investigating the matter.

Surjit Singh left his house last night to make an STD call. This call was made at 9.32 pm after which he was spotted at a nearby turning while buying a pack of cigarettes. Around 6 am today, he was found dead by employees working in the first shift of the factory, on an adjoining road which is less frequented.

The police is still undecided on whether it is a an accident or a suspected murder, though preliminary investigations lead to a possible accident, involving a heavy vehicle. "We are continuing our investigations, though tyre marks of a heavy vehicle close to his scooter which was hit suggest accident to be the likely cause of death. The possibility of a murder, however, cannot be ruled out and we are looking into that aspect also,'' Mr Alok Mittal, Superintendent of Police, said.

A broken scooter headlight, scratches on the scooter mudguard, scratches on the shoulder and the body of the dead man lying at a distance from the scooter indicate that Surjit Singh was hit from behind and possibly got dragged with the vehicle in question, police sources add.

His wife, Kusum Lata, however, suspects foul play in her husband's death. She says her husband has been murdered because he was to contest forthcoming trade union elections and had been a successful President of the SC and ST Association of the factory. Surjit Singh's colleagues describe him as a very gentle person, unlikely to have any enemies, inside or outside the factory. He had been an employee of the factory for eight years.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem report said that Surjit Singh died at 10.30 pm and primarily due to brain haemorrhage. He was not wearing his helmet in spite of carrying it with him. A team of forensic experts will be pressed into service to determine how the accident took place, if at all it was one. For the time being, the police is keeping all options open and investigating all possible angles leading to his death.

Case registered
A complaint under Section 279, 337 of the IPC has been registered against the driver of a Maruti car (HR-29 G 1177) for rash and negligent driving. Mona Giri, a resident of Chandi Mandir, has stated that her daughter sustained injuries after the car knocked her down.

Arrested
The police has arrested, Raj Kumar and Sunil Kumar, residents of Sector 15, and Inderjeet, a resident of Hoshiarpur, under Section 160 of the IPC for creating nuisance at a public place. The three were allegedly involved in a fight on the road dividing sectors 11 and 15.

CHANDIGARH

Girl kidnapped
A resident of Mani Majra has complained to the police that his minor daughter has been kidnapped by a resident of the same locality.

According to police sources, Mr Bahadur Singh said his daughter had been abducted by Vijay Kumar who lives two houses down his lane. The police has registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC. Further investigations are on.

Pedestrian hurt
Pedestrian Nand Lal was hit and injured by a scooter (PB-27-3016) driven by an unidentified person near the Sectors 36 and 42 chowk. The injured has been admitted to the Sector 16 General Hospital.

A case has been registered under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC at the Sector 36 police station.

Purse stolen
Mrs Sharda Chandra, a resident of Sector 37, reported to the police that someone stole her purse containing Rs 3,000, diamond ear-rings and some important documents.

A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 19 police station.

Gambling
Angrej Singh and Sham Singh have been arrested from the Grain Market for gambling at a public place. A case under Sections 13, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act has been registered.

Arrested
Four persons have been arrested for creating nuisance at a public place while under the influence of liquor. Two persons have been arrested under preventive action.

Assaulted
Mr Rakhmira reported to the police that he had been assaulted and injured by Jai Singh, Goldy and Dolly. He has been admitted to the Sector 16 general hospital.

A case under Sections 148, 149, 323 and 325 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 31 police station.

SAS NAGAR

Killed
A labourer, Sewa Ram, was killed while Sat Pal sustained serious injuries in an accident in Phase XI after a truck full of bricks hit them from behind.

The two labourers were residents of the adjoining Labour Colony and were on their way to Phase I. The truck driver, Sahib Singh, fled from the scene and later surrendered to the police. A case under Section 304A and 279 of the IPC was registered.

KALKA

Fire incident
Sudha Dogra, a resident of Kamla Nagar, died while her husband, Virender Dogra, was admitted to the CMC, here, with burn injuries, after a fire broke out in their house. The reason of the fire could not be ascertained.

Potholes dot Kalka road
Tribune News Service

KALKA (Panchkula), Sept 9 — Bad roads have been the bane of residents of the city and the trend is catching on with the national highway as well. The condition of the Panchkula-Kalka stretch of National Highway No. 22 is deplorable, with potholes dotting the road.

An apology for a road marks the beginning of the journey from Old Panchkula to the hills. The rough edges of the dusty patch with sharp-edged stones smoothen out as one moves further. Again, in Pinjore, the road is in need of repair in spite of absence of potholes.

The stretch winding through the market place of Kalka till the tax collection point is worse. Deep crevices in the road are a hazard, especially during the monsoon since puddles of water make it difficult to ascertain the depth of the pot-hole. They also affect the business of the shops around. "Earlier, some visitors would buy a few eatables from my shop.

Now, even if I ask my little boy to direct customers to my shop, they rarely stop. They only want to get through the stretch quickly.''

The Chief Engineer, National Highway, Mr Joginder Singh, says, "We regularly inspect the highway for such problems. Teams of the department are on the lookout for any problems.'' However, he admits that the monsoon season could have deteriorated the condition and assures that corrective measures would be undertaken immediately.

He explains, "The main problem of highways is the absence of a well laid out drainage system. In its absence, the water percolates through the roads.''

Deepti's photo exhibition
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 9 — It was to a thronging crowd of autograph hunters that an exhibition of photographs, titled 'In Search of Another Sky', by actress Deepti Naval opened on Wednesday at Art Folio Gallery, Sector 9.

The actress who was in the city as a poetess and photographer, had a ready audience, out there because of sheer curiosity, to listen to her poems and view her photographs. But curious onlookers who seemed to be seeking Kamla of the film by the same name or Miss Chamko of 'Chashm-e-Badoor' were certainly taken by surprise by her works which were not pretentious or even 'star-affected' by any standards.

The 50-odd photographic works, which largely consisted of stark landscapes of the Ladakh region, though not exorbitantly remarkable, did reflect an artist's composition, different from that of a common man with a camera in his hand.

More interesting were her oil-paintings which were not on display but whose photographs Deepti had brought along with her. Fairly impressionistic, Deepti's self-portraits were not only striking but also overpowering. Over-powering emotions of an artist could be felt even in her landscapes.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated by Mrs Satinder Dhawan, a Municipal Councillor, will remain open from 11 am to 7 pm daily at Art Folio till September 14.

Consumer forum penalises HUDA
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 9 — the District Consumer Disputes Redressal forum has ordered the Haryana Urban Development Authority, Panchkula, to hand over the physical possession of plot No 883/23 at Sonepat after due development within three months of the communication of the order, and pay interest and compensation on Rs 1,04,913 deposited by Mr Hari Chand Tandon of Patiala, Rs 10,000 for mental agony and harassment and Rs 1,000 towards cost of proceedings.

In his complaint, Mr Tandon had stated that he was allotted plot No 883/23, Sonepat, for a tentative cost of Rs 1,60,303. he deposited this amount and Rs 25,771.30 as enhanced price, but despite that HUDA failed to offer the physical possession of the plot for want of development work in the area.

The order had to be complied with within a period of three months from the date of communication, failing which the complainant shall be entitled to a further compensation at the rate of Rs 100 per day on the amount deposited by him with effect from August 15, 1999, till the actual realisation.

MCC seeks architect, ducks main issues
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 9 — While ducking major issues, the Finance and Contract Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) today recommended the appointment of an architect in the architecture wing of the civic body.

The committee recommended that the architect should be appointed to prepare maps for various projects of the MCC which are to be finally approved by the architecture wing of the Chandigarh Administration. The corporation has already appointed two draughtsmen and a ferro khalassi.

The meeting also approved the purchase of a mobile generator set at the cost of Rs 7.47 lakh so that there was no disruption of water supply when power failed at water works under the jurisdiction of the civic body.

A proposal to purchase a high-speed photostat machine costing about Rs 1.84 lakh was also okayed at the meeting.

However, it deferred important issues on the agenda such as the framing of a revised parking fee policy, the maintenance and operation of toilet blocks, fixing of rates for Nehru Park, Sector 22, and fixing of charges for religious functions in commercial spaces and parks.

Under the revised parking policy proposal, the MCC wanted to introduce multiple parking passes for a vehicle on a monthly or yearly basis. In this case, a vehicle will be allowed to be parked anywhere in Chandigarh. The parking charges so realised were to be apportioned amongst parking operators on a pro rata basis of the annual auction value.

Under the proposal, the civic body is also considering reserving some parking space for the SCO owners and business establishments on monthly or yearly payments.

Certain members wanted that the proposal be re-examined in detail so that the irritants, which led to the scrapping of the decision to impose parking fee in Sectors 17 and 8 last year, were removed.

Similarly, the maintenance and operation of the 98 toilets blocks in the city, besides temporary toilet blocks and mobile toilets were proposed to be given to private parties or traders' associations for maintenance.

Seating arrangement

There will be no change in the seating arrangement of Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, a councillor, who has been expelled from the Congress for anti-party activities.

According to the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, the seating plan would only be changed if the Congress or Mr Kala gave in writing that the plan be changed.

Vegetable prices fall
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 9 — Increasing arrivals have effected a fall in the prices of most vegetables in the local market during the past three days.

During a survey of the local market it was found that the prices of a number of vegetables, particularly the ones coming from Himachal Pradesh, have started coming down.

A kg of cauliflower, priced at Rs 25 just two days ago, could be purchased today for Rs 20. The wholesale price of the vegetable has come down from Rs 105 to Rs 80 per 5 kg. Similarly, the price of carrot has decreased from Rs 40 to Rs 30 per kg in retail and from Rs 170 to Rs 130 per 5 kg in the wholesale market.

A kg of bittergourd, priced at Rs 24 two days back, could be purchased today for Rs 18 to Rs 20. The wholesale price of the vegetable has come down from Rs 100 to Rs 70-80 per 5 kg. Traders attributed the fall to increased arrivals of the vegetable from parts of Punjab and Haryana. A kg of 'arbi' which could be purchased for Rs 24 a few days back, could be had today for Rs 18 in different sector markets.

Gourd was also selling at a lower price. A kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 10 yesterday, could be purchased today for Rs 8. The wholesale price has dipped from Rs 40 to Rs 30 per 5 kg. Beans have become cheaper today as a kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 24 three days back, was available for Rs 20. The same was the case with radish. A kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 14 two days ago, could be purchased today for Rs 10. The wholesale price of the vegetable has decreased from Rs 55 to Rs 40 per 5 kg.

On the other hand, the price of squashgourd has increased from Rs 20 to Rs 30 a kg during this period. The wholesale price of the vegetable has increased accordingly from Rs 80 to Rs 120 per 5 kg due to almost nil arrivals in the local market.

There was no change in the prices of certain vegetables. A kg of cabbage was still available for Rs 15 and the same quantity of brinjal could be purchased for Rs 12. One could relish 'tori' after paying Rs 15 for a kg of it, and the same quantity of tomato was priced at Rs 15.