C H A N D I G A R H

Admn, not MC, to take up infrastructure works
Special plan drawn up for Sectors 39 to 56 
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — The controversy over who will carry out new development work in the city has finally been resolved. The UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), has okayed a system under which the Chandigarh Administration and not the Municipal Corporation will carry out development works to create fresh infrastructure in the city.

City can look forward to brighter nights 
Privatisation of streetlights on anvil
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 —The Municipal Coroporation of Chandigarh today took the first major practical step for privatisation of streetlights by broadly laying down the terms and conditions for operation and maintenance of nearly 16,000 light points in the City Beautiful.

PU dreams to declare results on schedule
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — If everything works right, Panjab University this time has chalked a clear line of action of save over a month’s period in declaration of the annual examination results as compared to the past several years.

SPECIAL STORY
‘Instant nurse’ can be a curse
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — The Punjab Red Cross in collaboration with a privately-funded trust has been churning out “instant nurses” for the past more than three years.

Vineeta may be relieved on Jan 12
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — The Adviser to the UT Administrator, Ms Vineeta Rai, is likely to be relieved from here on January 12, official sources said.

Major snag in phone exchange
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Almost 20,000 phones in the Industrial Area, Phase II exchange, developed a major snag at around 8.30 p.m., disrupting communication and causing harassment to subscribers. The fault could not be corrected till the filing of the report.

City records coldest day of season
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Residents of Chandigarh and the surrounding areas today shivered through the coldest day of the season so far with the city recording a day temperature of 11.2°C, 9°C below the normal average for this time of year. This was 3°C less than yesterday.

  

READERS WRITE Electronic clearing of bills The decision of the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation to introduce electronic clearing of electricity and water bills is a step in the right direction. This scheme is similar to the one started by the Telephones Department for the convenience of consumers. The telephone scheme did not get a big response from the residents as all post offices in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are authorised to collect telephone bills in addition to the collection centres of the department.

COMMUNITY

Protest by Sector 26 vegetable vendors
Collection of tax by commission agents
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — Business was affected in the Sector 26 vegetable market when hundreds of members of the Subzi Mandi Phari Association took to the streets to protest against the collection of an arbitrary tax of Rs 2 per bag by the commission agents here today.

Custodial death case
Police told to hand over clothes of victim
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — In the alleged custodial death case, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory has reportedly asked the Chandigarh police to hand over the clothes worn by the 29-year-old Dr Amanjeet Singh when he fell off the police vehicle.

Change of guard at IAF installations
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Two major IAF installations here — No. 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and No. 12 Wing — saw a change of guard with the respective Air Officers Commanding (AOCs) assuming their new assignments today.

Police to get tough with truckers
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — The Chandigarh police is planning to act against truckers whizzing down the city roads with mud-coated, or blurry number plates. The cops are launching a special day-long drive on Monday for challaning truckers driving through the city with poorly visible number plates.

Braille Day celebrated
Colourful programme by visually impaired children
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — Students of the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, presented a colourful programme to commemorate the 192nd birth anniversary of Louis Braille. A lively session of antakshari was the highlight of the occasion.

Visually impaired children of the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, in a joyous mood during the Braille Day celebrations in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Develop low-cost hearing aids: Jacob 
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen. J.F.R. Jacob (retd), today underlined the need for taking concerted measures to check noise pollution.

Disabled for implementation of Act
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Sore over the successive governments inability, both at the state and the Centre, to implement the Persons with Disability and Equal Opportunity and Rights and Full Participation Act, 1995, hundreds of activists of the National Handicapped Welfare Council, Haryana, have demanded more reservation in the polity in order to pressurise the powers that be to take a more sympathetic view of them.

SPEAKING OUT
Early diagnosis can prevent deafness
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — Out of every 1,000 live births, there is one case of congenital deafness. Besides conventional causes like old age and discharging ear, extraneous circumstances like noise pollution and unmonitered use of certain autotoxic drugs also lead to deafness.

Consumer fair opens
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Intense cold did not dampen the spirits of residents who flocked to the consumer, auto and computer fair, which started today at Hotel Shivalikview here. The five-day fair attracted more than four thousand visitors on the first day itself.

Shopkeepers want power connections
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Members of the Traders Association of Sector 17 have requested the UT Administration to grant individual electricity connections to owners of the shops in Anand Complex. A memorandum in this regard has been submitted to the UT Administrator.

PU security guard ‘taken for a ride’
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — A security guard at one of the gates of Panjab University campus was literally ‘taken for a ride’ by an autorickshaw driver here this morning after he stopped the latter from entering the campus.

Goindi mourns Sheela's death
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — Dr S.S. Goindi, a local Gandhian, today mounred the death of Dr Sheela Nayar, the last of the Gandhians who lived with Mahatma Gandhi.

• Three hurt in road mishap
  
  

CRIME

Youth commits suicide
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — A 22-year-old city resident, working in the Punjab Accountant-General’s office, hung himself to death late last night. His body was pulled down after being discovered in the basement of the building this morning.

Woman hospitalised
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — A 40-year-old city resident, Asha Rani, was admitted to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital after sustaining burn injuries.

• One injured

• Beaten up

• Radio stolen

• Stereo theft
  
  

EDUCATION

State Literary Council meeting
Chandigarh, Jan 4 — A meeting of the State Literary Council was held today where the progress report of the Government of India’s Continuing Education Programme, which was launched in November 1999, was tabled.

Students’ bid to stop VC’s vehicle
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — A students organisation of the evening college at Panjab University today tried to stop the Vice-Chancellor’s vehicle when they were protesting against university’s indifferent attitude towards them here today.

CULTURE

Six plays on govt policies
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — Six plays staged by the Haryana Public Relations Department at the Yavanika Open Air Theatre this morning reflected various government policies relevant to the contemporary society in the state.

Sushil Bawa, Atul Sharma and Karren Jasvir

Local singers join the bandwagon for cutting albums
CHANDIGARH, Jan 4 — With Punjabi pop becoming very popular, a lot of local singers are aiming to cut their albums with local music companies.

HEALTH

Patiala doctor selected for DM at AIIMS
SAS NAGAR, Jan 4 — Dr Devinder Singh Sandhu of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, who has been selected to do Doctorate of Medicine (Oncology) at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, was honoured by the Punjab Literary and Cultural Society here today.