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TOP STORIES

16-hr power cuts affect water supply and 30,000 villagers
Mullanpur Garibdas, August 30
As many as 30,000 residents of 30 villages, getting power supply form the 66-KV substation in Mullanpur-Garibdas village, are facing unscheduled power cuts, which at times run over 15 hours at a stretch, for the past two months. These power cuts affect the water supply and telephone exchange functioning.

Removal of portraits sparks row Political parties join hands against Mayor
BJP-SAD members protest against the Mayor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, for removing the portraits of national heroes from her office on Thursday, at Sector 17 in Chandigarh on Friday.  — A Tribune photograph	Chandigarh, August 30 The removal of portraits of National heroes by the Mayor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, from her office, has sparked off a fierce controversy over the propriety of her action. Various political parties registered their protest today by criticising her action cutting across party lines.

Operators offer tourist buses for school kids
Chandigarh, August 30
The Chandigarh Tourist Bus Operators Association yesterday demanded grant of state carriage permits to operate AC bus routes on reciprocal agreement with the state of Punjab and have also offered their services to the Chandigarh Administration for carrying school children.

Where children play with ‘explosive toys’ Raipur Rani, August 30 Notwithstanding the claim of defence personnel of having cleared the area of explosives near the Bhoor firing range, from where over 775 misfired bombshells and mortars were found four months ago, children of the surrounding 10 villages still play with the ‘‘explosive toys’’. CARRYING DEATH ON HIS SHOULDERS: A 10-year-old boy, Rajkumar, carrying two bombshells on his shoulders in Mandlaya village, near the Bhoor Army firing range, on Thursday. — Photo Karam Singh

US team highlights latest heart surgery methods
Chandigarh, August 30
Some of the latest techniques in heart surgery, including coronary, valve and thoracic aortic surgery, may soon become available at the newly established Fortis Heart Institute, thanks to its tie-up with one of the world’s leading health delivery systems — the US-based Partners Healthcare System Inc.

COMMUNITY

Burail jail under threat from mushrooming colonies
Chandigarh, August 30
The security system of the Burail jail is under threat with unauthorised colonies mushrooming around it. Branches of trees around the jail hang inside its walls and a gas agency store is also in the vicinity of the jail in contradiction to the Jail Manual. The inmates are also facing danger as there is no fire fighting system in the jail.

Police remand in Gill murder case
Kharar, August 30
Mr Roshan Lal Chauhan, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today remanded Pawan Kumar, brother-in-law of Satwant Singh Gill, owner of Gill Estate, who was murdered in Naya Gram village recently, in police remand till August 31.

MURDER MILES
Where cops overlook violations
Chandigarh
Overspeeding underage driving and triple riding on two-wheelers by students make the small rotary of Sector 23 one of the most accident-prone spots of Chandigarh. The traffic police has no record of any accident at this junction. However, the residents of Sector 16 and 23 maintain that a couple of minor accidents take place here every day, particularly in the morning and afternoon hours when students from the neighbouring schools are on the road.

Panel constituted to formulate youth policy
Chandigarh, August 30
With a view to formulating a youth policy for Chandigarh, the Chairman of the District Advisory Committee on Youth Programme, Mr M Ramsekhar, today announced a district-level selection committee for the purpose of selection of National Service Volunteers.

CITCO organises road shows to promote tourism
Chandigarh, August 30
The Chandigarh Industrial Tourism Development Corporation held a series of road shows in Delhi, Kolkata and Jodhpur recently, as part of an endeavour to promote Chandigarh as an ideal place to host conventions and a gateway to North India.

Cablemen using power poles in SAS Nagar too
SAS Nagar, August 30
Lives of residents in the town are at risk, thanks to the unchecked use of electricity poles by cable operators. The consequences of the irregularity was highlighted recently when an Executive Engineer in Chandigarh had died when a cable wire had come in contact with a live electricity wire.

148 ITBP constables pass out

Chandigarh, August 30 As many as 148 recruits were absorbed as constables into the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force at an impressive passing-out parade and attestation ceremony on the culmination of the 52-week basic training course at the ITBP Basic Training Centre at Bhanu near here today. Newly inducted Indo-Tibetan Border Police constables in a joyous mood soon after their passing-out parade in Bhanu, near here, on Thursday. — Photo Manoj Mahajan

MC men in counter blame game
SAS Nagar, August 30
The decision to initiate action against a councillor of the opposition, Mr Manjeet Sethi, for his alleged misbehaviour with the head of the civic body, Mr Kulwant Singh, at Tuesday’s general house meeting is all set to lead to a showdown between the ruling party and the opposition. The two men had stopped just short of manhandling each other during a heated argument at the meeting.

Welfare society chief flays MC
Chandigarh, August 30
Mr Mehar Singh, president of the Social Welfare Society, yesterday criticised the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for its alleged failure to provide even the basic essential services to its residents.

Samata Party to contest all MC seats
Chandigarh, August 30
The local unit of the Samata Party will contest elections on all wards of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, elections to which will be held later this year.

ADA Corps gets new Colonel Commandant
Chandigarh, August 30
Major Gen Charanjit Singh Chima has taken over as Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Air Defence Artillery, a statement issued here said.

Truck union dispute resolved
Kharar, August 30
The dispute regarding the Truck Union of Kurali regarding which ban orders under Section 145 Cr PC were imposed by Mr Devinder Singh, SDM, Kharar, in March this year, following a dispute between two groups, has been solved and Mr Malkiet Singh, Tehsildar, Kharar, has opened the office of the union and handed over all furniture etc to the parties concerned.

CRIME

Agricultural board put up wall against crime Panchkula, August 30 Taking serious view of the increasing crime rate in the township, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board has decided to construct walls at the exit points of the approach roads to the board’s colony in Sector 14 by spending over Rs 2 lakh.
A newly constructed wall at one of the entry points to the residential colony of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Sector 14, Panchkula. — Photo Manoj Mahajan

Junior assistant of CTU booked
Chandigarh, August 30
The city police today booked a junior assistant of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking and a Mani Majra-based firm on charges of fraud, impersonation and criminal conspiracy.

2 booked for forgery
Chandigarh, August 30
The police has booked two persons on charges of obtaining tenders of the Electrical Division of the Telecom department by forging documents.

Principal assaulted
Chandigarh, August 30
A middle-aged woman, Principal of a school near Dera Bassi, was reportedly assaulted by a foreign national at the Rose Garden at 6 am this morning. According to an FIR registered under Sections 323 and 354 of the IPC, the victim, Ms Baljit Kaur, alleged that she was assaulted when she had gone for a walk this morning. She is a resident of Sector 16.

3 booked as cheque bounces
Chandigarh, August 30
Three persons have been booked on charges of defrauding a musical instrument dealer by presenting a cheque that bounced.

EDUCATION

Bar Council licences prove elusive for students
Chandigarh, August 30
A number of students who have passed the law course from Panjab University are running from pillar to post to get the practising licences from the local chapter of the Bar Council.

Students raise slogans at a rally against a reported move to increase the pass percentage in terminal examinations from 25 to 40 percent in Chandigarh on Thursday. — Photo Pankaj Sharma

GCG-42 girls protest against increase in pass percentage Principals deny the move Chandigarh August 30 More than 200 students, most of them students of Government College for Girls, Sector 42, stayed away from classes and marched to Panjab University campus here today demanding that the minimum percentage required to pass the house test to be eligible to appear in the annual university examination not be increased from the present 25 per cent to 40 per cent.

Seminar on women and health
SAS Nagar, August 30
The Punjab Minister for Removal of Grievances, Mrs Satwant Kaur Sandhu, today stressed on the importance of women’s rights and highlighted the need and importance of women’s education. The minister was speaking at a seminar on ‘Women and health’ organised by the Indian Council of Social Welfare, Punjab and the Punjab Social Welfare Advisory Board at Industrial Training Institute in Phase V here.

A day out for slum kids
Chandigarh, August 30
It was nothing less than a dream-come -true for 50 slum schoolchildren studying in Asha School, Janata colony, Sector 25, as they took a ride in the hop-on-hop-off bus. The bus was flagged off by general manager of Hotel Shivalikview, Mr A. K. Malhotra.

Impressive show on Sanskrit Day
Chandigarh, August 30
The Year of Sanskrit, being organised nationwide following a decision of the Union Ministry of Education, was seen in its magnificence at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47, on the occasion of Sanskrit Day here today.

Inter-school contest results
Chandigarh, August 30
The finale of Fanta Fiesta 2001 in which more than 10,000 students from 25 schools participated was held at Tagore theatre here today. The chief guest on the occasion was the Home secretary-cum-Education Secretary, UT, Mr R.S. Gujral.

Prarthna sabha organised
Chandigarh, August 30
A prarthna sabha was organised by the GGDSD College Sector 32 managing committee on the second death anniversary of Dr Pandit Mohan Lal, former Finance and Education Minister, Punjab, and founder president of the college managing committee.

SOPU activists threatened me: Kang
Chandigarh, August 30
Panjab University Students Union president Malwinder Singh Kang today alleged that between 15 and 20 supporters of the Students Organisation of Panjab University abused him and threatened him with dire consequences. The PUSU later reportedly lodged a complaint with the local police.

Jain denies reports on admissions
Chandigarh, August 30
The Chairman of the Department of Chemistry, Panjab University, in a press release here today denied reports that “students whose names are down the merit list have been given admission, while many deserving candidates have not been informed”.

Engineering seats declared filled
Chandigarh, August 30
All seats in all the three institutions of engineering in the city were declared filled today by Prof S.C. Jain, Coordinator, Admissions. The institutions include the Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Punjab Engineering College and Chandigarh College of Architecture.

Nursing course
Chandigarh, August 30
The first batch of the diploma in general nursing and midwifery will start at the School of Nursing in the Sector 16 General Hospital, on September 15.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Remove Panchayat Secys not selected
Chandigarh, August 30
Paving the way for clearing a backlog of 700 vacancies, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered the removal of adhoc Panchayat Secretaries not selected by the departmental selection committee.

• PCC leader’s murder; record for CBI
• Arrest warrants against SHO
• Plea in IA hijack case dismissed

Company told to pay insurance claim
Chandigarh, August 30
The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission today directed the branch manager of United India Assurance Corporation Limited to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to a resident of Ropar in a case of accident assurance claim.

RI in forgery case
Chandigarh, August 30
R.K Tandon was sentenced to three-year rigorous imprisonment in a case of forgery by a local court here today. It was alleged that the accused along with others had been involved in the forgery of power of attorney submitted before the court.

CULTURE

NEW RELEASE
Woman exploitation in focus again
THE weekend, beginning August 31, promises much excitement as one of the eagerly awaited films “Lajja” is scheduled to release today all over India and at Piccadily, Chandigarh, Suraj, Panchkula and Bassi Mohali.

Sham-e-ghazal programme
Chandigarh, August 30
Ustad Saleem Iqbal, a familiar name among the ghazal lovers, enthralled a city audience at a Sham-e-ghazal programme organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with the Pracheen Kala Kendra at Bhaskar Rao Indoor Auditorium in Sector 35 here last evening.

HEALTH

	Eye camps run by quacks must be checked: Jacob Chandigarh, August 30 The UT Administrator, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob, today stressed the need to put a deterrent check on eye camps being organised by quacks in rural areas of Punjab which, he said, were blinding hundreds of unsuspecting people every year.
An architect explains to Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), Administrator of Chandigarh, the advanced eye centre of the PGI on the occasion of the foundation stone laying ceremony in Chandigarh on Thursday. Prof S. K. Sharma, Director, PGI, and Prof K. N. Pathak are also seen in the picture.  — Photo Pradeep Tewari

Exhibition on effects of drugs, alcohol
Chandigarh, August 30
A three-day multimedia exhibition on awareness against drugs, alcohol and smoking was inaugurated at Vivek High School in Sector 38 by its principal P.K. Singh here today.

Gold medal for Dr Jagat Ram
Chandigarh, August 30
For his pioneerinmg work and contribution in the field of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in India, the Additional Professor, Dr Jagat Ram, Department of Ophthalmology, PGI, has been awarded the Dr Daljit Singh gold medal.

Blood donation camp
Chandigarh, August 30
The Shree Sanatan Dharam Prathinidhi Sabha, Punjab, today organised a shradhanjali samaroh to mark the second death anniversary of Mohan Lal at Goswami Ganesh Dutt Bhavan, Sector 19, here.