C H A N D I G A R H

Employees’ proposed strike unjustified: Administration
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The Chandigarh Administration has called the scheduled strike by UT employees on August 29 as unjustified, saying most of the demands of the employees have been forwarded to the Government of India for approval while the demands which could have been met at local level have been fulfilled.

Abhinav leaves for Sydney today
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The youngest member of the Indian Olympics squad, Abhinav Bindra of Chandigarh, leaves the city tomorrow for Sydney. He will take part in the .177-calibre 10-metre air rifle event of the games. His recent performances have made him a medal prospect. This 17-year-old will be the youngest shooter in this Olympics. He will also be the youngest-ever sportsperson to represent India in any Olympiad.

Computer or error machine?
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Confusion is rife in the licensing branch of the Chandigarh Administration these days where a number of heavy vehicle registration certificates are being processed. A number of RCs and licences are being rejected for minor discrepancies which can be taken care of easily. Despite the fact that all procedures are computerised, many mistakes are recorded on the final licence or the RC which a person gets after waiting for much over the stipulated time of 10 days.

COMMUNITY

Saplings planted in empty tree guards
SAS NAGAR, Aug 27 — Empty tree guards which stood mute witness to the poor maintenance of the horticulture wing in the town have now saplings planted in them during the past two days, thanks to the recent scandal of inflated bills and excessive expenditure in the horticulture wing of PUDA at Patiala.

Candidates for MC poll announced
SAS NAGAR, Aug 27 — As many as 25 candidates are in the fray for the four reserved wards of the SAS Nagar Municipal Council, elections to which are scheduled for August 29. The campaigning for the four wards, 1, 14, 17 and 20 ended today.

Give women their due, says SSP
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — "No matter how scientifically advanced a country is, it cannot progress without giving women their rightful due," said Parag Jain, SSP, Chandigarh police, while speaking at an awareness camp on the role of women in national integration here today.

KBC obsession all pervasive
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The great Indian middle class... conventional, careful, cynical and the cable television with its fictional weepy soaps. The two went on well, till KBC happened. Now the two are one entity and if between 9 and 10 in the night you don’t find many on the roads, cinema halls or public places you know where every body is. Hooked to Star TV, millions across the nation watch with bated breath who is going to be the next lucky one. Kaun Banega Crorepati is a show which has caught the imagination of the man in the street, a show which has ended up in diluting the ethereal distance between the audience and the performer.

‘Choose alternative road to national highway’
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The MIG Residents Welfare Association, Sector 46, has opined that the road passing through Sectors 31, 32, 46 and 47 was not feasible for the national highway.

Overcharging by cable operator alleged
PANCHKULA, Aug 27 — Residents of Sector 9 have submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner alleging over-charging by the cable operator in the area.

Villagers block traffic
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Residents of Sarangpur village today blocked traffic on the Chandigarh-Sarangpur road against the alleged encroachment by a property dealer who had purchased land near the cremation ground of the village.

Comprehensive website on Punjab
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Mr Harman Singh Sidhu had dreams of making it big in Canada until a major accident shattered his dreams and left him paralysed from neck downwards four years back. But fighting against all odds, Mr Sidhu is all set to launch a comprehensive website on Punjab.

ABVP to hold rally
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has decided to organise a rally on September 16 to protest against the state of internal insecurity prevailing in the country. The ABVP stated this at a press conference in Panjab University.

CHANDIGARH CALLING

Who will succeed Bhagwan?
THE impending retirement of the Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr R.S. Verma, on August 31 and subsequent changes in the bureaucracy kept IAS officers in the Secretariat guessing last week. The bureaucrats admit that the elevation of Mr Vishnu Bhagwan, now Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, to the post of Chief Secretary is almost a foregone conclusion for various reasons.

CRIME

320 pouches of whisky seized
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The police has arrested three persons under the Excise Act from different parts of the city.

BUSINESS

Rally by Punwire employees
SAS NAGAR, Aug 27 — Members of the Punwire Employees Coordination Committee today took out procession in different phases of the town here today. Starting from Singh Sabha gurudwara of Phase 1, the rally culminated in Phase XI. Mr Hans Raj Verma, Convener of the Punwire Employees Coordination Committee, Mr SS Cheema, Mr Rakesh Kalia, Mr KP Singh, Mr Gurdip Singh also addressed a rally organised on the occasion.

Revision of pension demanded
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The Punjab National Bank Retired Officers Welfare Association has criticised the Indian Banks Association and the Union Ministry of Finance for not revising pension along with the wages of bank employees.

Petrol dealers to go on strike
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Petroleum dealers in Chandigarh will go on an indefinite strike on August 29 to protest against the hike in the prices of petrol which has resulted in higher priced petrol in Chandigarh as compared to Panchkula and SAS Nagar.

EDUCATION

Seminar concludes
SAS NAGAR, Aug 27 — On the concluding day of the two-day national seminar on ‘Multimedia for masses’ organised at the local Centre for Electronic Design and Technology of India (CEDTI) here, Mr N.S. Kalsi, Director of Technical Education, Punjab, said an integrated approach in incorporating low cost hardware, media and distribution channels and use of latest multimedia software would be required for low cost content creations.

READERS WRITE

Pit remains uncovered
This is with reference to the report “Open pit mocks public attitude” (Chandigarh Tribune, July 18). I would like to point out that the pit outside one of the entrances to the Rose Garden in SAS Nagar still remains uncovered even after the publication of the report. Only its condition has become worse. A few days ago I saw a dead crow lying near the pit which was later thrown inside it. However, I appreciate the fact that such problems are highlighted in your paper. Even if the Administration remains indifferent, such reports will one day have some effect.

CULTURE

‘Aping of western culture not good’
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — “The popularity of pop music in our country is going to be shortlived. It is the habit of Indians that they pay extra attention to their guests. Pop music is like a guest in India’s music world and it will not live longer,” said Sardool Sikandar, a Punjabi singer who was in the town to attend a musical dance competition, organised by Natraj Arts here.

Cultural programme organised
PANCHKULA, Aug 27 — A cultural programme and get-together was organised by the Panchkula Welfare Association in Sector 8, here today. Students of DAV School and Woodland School, both located in Sector 8, presented entertaining items for the residents assembled in the ground.

When music weaves magical spell
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Draped in a black, he hit the stage well in time surprising many among the gathering who were expecting that Gurdas Mann, like any other big-time singer, would keep them waiting. But the show took off on a pleasant note, with the singer respecting the time and mood of the audience.

Dhillon ‘distorting facts’
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A spokesman of the Punjab Government today termed Mangal Dhillon’s utterances relating to the production of documentary film Khalsa as an “outburst of a guilty conscience” and alleged that he was telling lies and was playing havoc with religious sentiments of people of Punjab.

Harbhajan to share stage with Whitney Houston!
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Every time Harbhajan Mann comes to this city, he has a new feather in his cap. Keeping the tradition alive, the ''big brother'' from among the brother duo which is doing rounds of the music world, told Tribune News Service that he was now targeting audience not just in Punjab but also in regions other than Punjab. And what is more is Mann is slowly making inroads into the film world. With his Husno jawani malomaal in the film Papa The Great, he has already proved that he can manage when it comes to the big screen.

A girl goes wild at the dance floor as Harbhajan Mann sets the ambience on fire with his live performance at Aerizzona, Sector 9, Chandigarh on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

HEALTH

Healthy baby show held
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A healthy baby show was held at the Air Force Station here today which was organised by the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA). As many as 50 babies of the Air Force personnel from No. 12 Wing and No. 3 Base Repair Depot participated in the event.

376 examined at medical camp
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — As many as 376 patients were examined during a free health check-up camp organised by the Mani Majra branch of the Bharat Vikas Parishad at the Community centre today.

Ayurveda medical council demanded
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Dr Anwar Ali, president of the Chandigarh Ayurvedic Doctors Association, has demanded that a medical council for the ayurveda system of medicine should be set up here.

‘Aggressive chemotherapy can control lymphoma’
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Various treatment modalities, their side effects and complications were discussed on the concluding day of the Continuing Medical Education Programme on Recent Trends in the Management of Lymphomas’ today. Experts highlighted that the choice of therapy depends on the stage, histologic subtype, patient’s age and performance status.

7 needles removed without surgery
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A city doctor has successfully removed seven sewing needles from the stomach of an 18-year-old student without performing surgery. The girl had ingested the needles in an emotionally upset state on Augsut 24.

SPORT

18 selected for World Yoga Meet
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Ten boys and eight girls have been selected after two-day preliminary trials for the ninth World Yoga Cup Championship scheduled to be held in New Delhi on December 1 and 2.

Hansraj Public School win
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula clinched both under-14 and under-16 cricket titles in the Panchkula Inter-school Cricket Tournament. In the under-14 section, HPS boys prevailed upon Little Flower School, Sector 14, team by 66 runs.

Four-wicket win for Godrej Club
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Godrej Cricket Club scored a four-wicket win over LIC XI to enter the final of the first Jaswanti Devi Memorial Cricket Tournament at the PGI grounds here today.

Khurana wins handicap snooker event
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — B. Khurana stood first in the handicap snooker event by defeating AS Banipal in the YMCA Open Billiards and Snooker Tournament being played here at YMCA Hall, Sector 11. Khurana won at 36-62, 62-38, 64-17.

Tennis meet
On the second day of the CLTA Open Monthly Tennis Tournament in the Sector 10 stadium today, Sanjana entered the finals in the under-12 and the under-14 sections.

Officials elected
Surinder Mahajan and Gurinder Kaur were unanimously elected President and Secretary, respectively, of the SAI Coaches Welfare Association at the annual general meeting of the body in the Lake Club today.

ADMINISTRATION

To review or not to review Constitution
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — “Though the persons who framed the Indian Constitution were not democratically elected, they were learned men of great eminence,” said Justice Rajender Sachhar, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He was speaking at a seminar on Indian Constitution: A Review.

Justice Rajinder Sachhar (retd) (extreme right) at a seminar on Indian Constitution: A Review at the CRRID, Sector 19, Chandigarh, on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

Anti-encroachment drive
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A special anti-encroachment drive was launched by the police in the Central Division to clear corridors and verandahs in the markets and rehri markets on Friday and Saturday.

Byelaws issue irks residents
ZIRAKPUR, Aug 27 — The decision of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat to implement the byelaws on the pattern followed by the Jalandhar Municipal Council has created confusion and resentment among the residents and the members of the civic body’s advisory committee.

Power line to be commissioned today
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will commission the Rs 20-crore 220 KV Shahbad-Panchkula transmission line at Madanpur village in Panchkula district on Monday.

Water supply may be hit on Aug 29
CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — In the wake of the strike call by the coordination committee of the government and municipal corporation employees and workers of the UT, the water supply in the city is likely to be affected from August 29 morning to August 30 morning.