C H A N D I G A R H

Over 2000 vehicles challaned
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — As many as 2,094 vehicles have been challaned by the Chandigarh police during the ongoing drive to bring defaulters to book.

Illegal mining in the Saketri riverbed in progress near Panchkula.		The receipt issued by the munshi manning the entry for carrying out mining work in the riverbed.
Illegal mining in full swing PANCHKULA, July 25 — Illegal mining operations are in full swing in the Saketri riverbed, with over 150 trucks leaving the place with sand and earth everyday. The auction was not held this year and the last term lapsed in March.

Posts readvertised after interviews
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Even after completing the process of interview for filling two posts of medical officer for urban health centre, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, has advertised these posts and watered down the job requirements, leading to resentment among deserving candidates.

COMMUNITY

Two faces of Chandigarh
Is Chandigarh a city worthy of contempt and hatred? Is it really City Beautiful? The truth is that it is Janus-faced. It has two personalities — the bright and the blighted.

An uncommon commuter
It was a normal day at the lab when Amar, our lab attendant, approached me, seeking medicine for his child. As I offered to help, he began narrating how his wife did not look after their child who fell ill frequently. As he left the lab, I forgot all about him and got down to my daily routine.

CRIME

6 Punwire men booked
SAS NAGAR, July 25 — Investigations into the functioning of Punwire have unearthed large-scale embezzlement of funds by its officials, running into several crores of rupees. In the latest case, at least six first information reports (FIRs) against six officials of the company, including Managing Director Gurpal Singh and Executive Director, Ved Pal, have been lodged at the Phase 1 Police Station here.

Schoolgirl crushed by truck
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — A schoolgirl was crushed by a truck near the Sector 20/21 traffic lights here this morning.

BUSINESS

DoT Internet growth remains static
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Department of Telecom, Chandigarh, introduced its Internet services in Chandigarh almost four years ago and its initial base of 3000 plus subscribers remains static as the first anniversary of the private Internet Service Providers approaches in a segment of business where growth is otherwise exponential.

Running from pillar to post for loan
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Mr Hemant Kumar, a resident of Mani Majra, is a harassed man. For the past over two months he has been running from pillar to post to get his sanctioned loan from the Sector 26 branch of the Punjab and Sind Bank.

Sweetmeat sellers go on strike
PANCHKULA, July 25 — The sweetmeat shop owners observed a strike in the city today to protest against the decision of the Haryana government to impose 10 per cent sales tax on their items.

EDUCATION

Nursing students stage dharna
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The students of Central Mission School, Sector 9 held a demonstration protesting against the school authorities, who they alleged had defrauded them. They demanded prompt action by the police in the matter.

CITCO quiz finals
CHANDIGARH, July 25 —The finals of the CITCO Quiz will be held at Hotel Shivalikview in Sector 17 here on July 30.

CULTURE

Child’s talent rewarded
That Jasmine Arora, a Class II student of Tribune Model School, has won the Golden Palette award for the best painting at the “Vision of the future” exhibition held in Bitola city, USA, is known to many by now. What is less known, however, is the fact that Jasmine could not make it to Bitola to receive the award. 

Top models for fashion show
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The biggest-ever fashion show being organised here on July 28 at the Chandigarh Press Club will feature top models from the fashion industry. The show called Aristocrat Premium Walk n Rock is the annual fashion show of NIFD and will have among others, models Sheetal Malhar, Bipasha Basu, Helen Brodie, Aditi Govitkar and Jesse Randhawa.

HEALTH

Petrol station workers face lead hazard
CHANDIGARH, July 24—The amount of lead in the blood of petrol station workers and automobile mechanics is approximately five times higher than normal. This has been revealed in a joint study by the Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Internal Medicine of the PGI here.

PGI's HoD quits
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Head of the Department of Cardiology at the PGI, Dr Jagmohan Verma, today put in his papers, giving the institute three months' notice.

Authorities do little to check noise pollution
THE city of Chandigarh, which was the most peaceful, quiet and serene about two decades back, has today fallen victim to the menace of noise pollution, posing a serious threat to the health of the residents. The rise in the noise level of City Beautiful has been indeed alarming.

New Medical Superintendent
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Dr K.K. Garg, took over as the new Medical Superintendent of the Sector 16 General Hospital yesterday following the repatriation of his predecessor, Dr J.L. Chaudhary, to the state of Haryana.

2 PGI doctors appointed consultants
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Two PGI doctors, namely Dr Amod Gupta, Head, Department of Ophthalmology and Dr Jagmohan Verma, Head, Department of Cardiology, have been appointed as honorary consultants to the armed forces by the Ministry of Defence.

SPORT

Sports wings for 2000-2001
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The UT Sports Department will start sports wings for 2000-2001 in hockey, handball, basketball and lawn tennis for girls and in volleyball, kabaddi, football, table tennis and cricket for boys.

ADMINISTRATION

3500 constables to be promoted
PANCHKULA, July 25 — The Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, here today announced the promotion of 3500 constables to the rank of head constable, while adding that the government would undertake recruitment of 2000 police personnel every year.

MC silent on details of funds received
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — While animals in the cattle ponds of the city continue to suffer, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, ironically, states that “all cattle ponds are maintained properly and adequate quantity of fodder and drinking water for the animals is being made available by the Corporation there.” This statement forms part of the reply filed by the Medical Officer Health, MC, Dr S.S. Cheema in city court here on July 17.

Grant for ex-serviceman
SAS NAGAR, July 25 — The Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has got sanctioned a grant of Rs 2500 for an ex-serviceman, Sowar Kapur Chand, a resident of Bulewal village in Ropar district near here.

Dossier approved
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — “The dossier — Vision for the new city and guidelines to the architects” was approved after slight modification in the project approval committee on the Anandgarh City meeting, chaired by Ms Upinderjit Kaur, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, at Punjab Bhavan, said Ms Vini Mahajan, Chief Administrator of the New Town Planning and Development Authority, Anandgarh, here yesterday.

Delhi firm for Sector 17’s value enhancement
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has appointed a Delhi-based firm, Infrastructure Professionals Enterprises, as consultant for the value enhancement of Sector 17, with a view to develop it a major tourist attraction.