C H A N D I G A R H

(From left) Mrs Suman Krishan Kant, former President R.Venkataraman, and Vice-President Krishan Kant being received by senior officers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Administration at the Chandigarh airport on Sunday. — PTI

Bag stolen from Shatabdi
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — When newly married Monica and her husband, Asish, got into the Chandigarh-bound Shatabdi Express at New Delhi Railway Station this morning, little did they realise that the man sitting next to them and carrying a cellular telephone was a "thief".

Road carpet did not last even one week
PANCHKULA, Jan 9 — The newly carpeted parking in the market of Sector 16, opened to the public on January 1, is already showing signs of cracking up and the stone underneath is visible at some places.

COMMUNITY

15-year wait for interview call
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Ms Savidha Oberoi, a Sector 40 resident, said she had been waiting for about 15 years to receive any job-interview call through the State Employment Exchange of Haryana at Mani Majra.

Women's global march from March 8
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — To awaken women regarding their rights, marches will be held throughout the world from March 8 to October 17.

Ravi Inder to organise rally on Feb 5
KHARAR, Jan 9 — Mr Ravi Inder Singh, MLA, Morinda, who has been suspended from the SAD, has decided to organise a rally at Morinda on February 5 to generate public opinion about the present political situation in Punjab.

Rally by disabled persons
SAS NAGAR, Jan 9 — As many as 100 physically handicapped persons took part in a state-level disabled awareness scooter rally, which was flagged off by Additional Director General of Police, Punjab, Mr J.P. Aswal, from Phase 3B2 here today.

Footpath workers burn DC's effigy
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — To protest against the alleged indifferent attitude of the Chandigarh Administration, members of the Footpath Workers Rozgar Bachao Samiti burnt an effigy of the Deputy Commissioner in Sector 22 here today.

CRIME

Cheated of Rs 80,000 by travel agent
LALRU, Jan 9 — A local travel agent has allegedly cheated a local resident, Mr Avtar Singh, of Rs 80,000 on the pretext of sending him to Italy.

Shopkeeper robbed of 13,000
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Mr Hari Om, a shopkeeper of Phase II, Ram Darbar, was tonight robbed of about Rs 13,000 by four unidentified youths.

BUSINESS

Plan revision irks allottees
SAS NAGAR, Jan 9 — Allottees of sites in a commercial pocket at Industrial Focal Point in Phase IX here feel cheated by the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation after it revised the layout plan of the pocket after some sites there were auctioned.

EDUCATION

Kendriya Vidyalaya Principal dead
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Mr Saranjit Singh, Principal of the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47, died of a cardiac arrest here last night. He was 55.

Students awarded prizes
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Students who have secured the first, second and third positions in their classes were given prizes at the annual prize distribution function of Government Model High School, Sector 41, here, yesterday.

Order on school timings
PANCHKULA, Jan 9 — The district administration has ordered a change in the timings of all government, private and government-aided schools in the district from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. till January 31.

205 students get scholarships
PANCHKULA, Jan 9 — Nine students were given awards and 205 others scholarships under the brilliant but needy students' financial aid scheme at a function organised by the Shivalik Foundation at Sector 16 here today.

CHANDIGARH CALLING

Venkataraman talks about stable government
IT was one of the biggest congregations of academics, politicians, senior citizens, and administrators in the city for the past many months. The occasion was the Lala Achint Ram Memorial Lecture at Lajpat Rai Bhavan in Sector 15 here on Sunday.

CULTURE

Rath yatra reaches city today
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — The Sri Kedarnath jyotirlingam rath yatra, which started from Ukhi Math, will enter the city tomorrow.

Day-long cultural function
SAS NAGAR, Jan 9 — The Punjab Lok Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, organised a cultural event, Mubarkan 2000, at the Dasehra grounds in Phase 8 here yesterday.

HEALTH

Dry spell leads to various infections
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — With the dry spell of cold weather prolonging, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of upper respiratory tract infections in various hospitals and dispensaries in the city as compared to the corresponding period last year.

Hepatitis-B vaccine launched
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — The Biological E. Limited launched a vaccine for Hepatitis-B here today. The vaccine, BEWAC, will cost Rs 100 against other vaccines costing more than Rs 350.

AIDS study favours sex education
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Suninder Kaur Sodhi, a student of the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, has recently completed her research thesis on "AIDS and Adolescents - A study of attitudes, awareness, beliefs, conceptions, misconceptions among girl students of Chandigarh, India."

SPORT

Neha, Tushar, Sanam win titles
CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Neha Singh in girls (under-16), Tushar Liberhan in boys (under-14) and Sanam Krishan Singh in boys (under-12) emerged winners in the Lake Cup Open Tennis Tournament, which concluded at Lake Club courts here today.