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TOP STORIES

Govt supports local colleges’ stand on PG courses
Intends to clear 4 for GCA; 2 for CCA
Chandigarh, December 17
With the Government of India supporting the case of Government College of Art (GCA), Sector 10 and Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA), Sector 12, the two reputed institutions of Northern India may well attain a postgraduate status from the academic session 2003-2004.

Auctions put Rs 14.74 cr in UT’s kitty
Chandigarh, December 17
The Chandigarh Administration netted Rs 14.74 crore by auctioning 33 freehold residential sites and four nursing-home sites. The collection was Rs 1.88 crore over the reserve price of these plots.

• Successful auction cheers up HUDA

Slow death for Punwire workers
Chandigarh, December 17
Over 3,500 employees of Punwire, once a leading company of Punjab, at SAS Nagar are helplessly watching the slow liquidation of the company. The process has been slow for the past about two-years-and-a-half, but the valuation report is yet to be submitted to the liquidator, Mr B.K. Srivastava.

Implement Factory Act for brick-kilns: CITU
Chandigarh, December 17
The Labour Department, Punjab, has failed to implement the Factory Act in hundreds of brick kilns in the state. Consequently, their owners are neither paying statuary minimum wages to labourers nor depositing provident fund in the account, said Mr Chander Shekhar, general secretary of the Punjab unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), here today.

Workers of the Punjab State Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) stage a dharna in protest against the anti-labour policy of the state government, in Chandigarh on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

COMMUNITY

RUN-UP TO MC POLL WARD NOS. 17 & 18
Voters seek better civic amenities
Panchkula, December 17
Better civic amenities is the demand of voters of Ward No 17 (Industrial Area Phase I and a surrounding village) and Ward No. 18 (Sector 20 and two surrounding villages).

Citizens council to field Independents
Panchkula, December 17
The Panchkula Citizens Welfare Council has decided to field Independent candidates for the forthcoming MC elections.

INLD offers poll alliance with BJP
Panchkula, December 17
The Indian National Lok Dal has offered an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for contesting the local municipal council elections scheduled for January 19.

BJP’s list of candidates
Panchkula, December 17
The Bharatiya Janata Party today released the second list of candidates to be fielded for the municipal council elections.

Army Chief visits WC headquarters
Chandigarh, December 17
The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen S. Padmanabhan, has been on a farewell visit to the Western Command headquarters, Chandi Mandir, since last evening.

‘Thinking about past major cause of stress’
SAS Nagar, December 17
Stress is a form of pain which comes from inside and tells you that something needs to be changed. This was stated by Sqd Ldr B.K. Ashok Gaba (retd) while addressing officers and jawans of two commando and one CRPF battalions at Sukh Shanti Bhavan of Brahama Kumaris in Phase VII here this evening.

’71 war victory: Indira, Manekshaw given credit
Chandigarh, December 17
The Ex-Servicemen Cell of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee here has attributed India’s victory in the 1971 war to the “valour of the forces, inspiration, determination and decisive leadership of Indira Gandhi and military leadership of Sam Manekshaw.”

Burglary makes shopkeepers insecure
SAS Nagar, December 17
A sense of insecurity prevails among shopkeepers here following a burglary at a prominent department store on Sunday night.

Police launches combing drive
Chandigarh, December 17
Stung by the recent spate of burglaries, the UT police and the SAS Nagar police have decided to launch a combined combing operation and joint patrolling. The police will also be keeping check at various cinema halls during the night shows.

Phone problem
Chandigarh, December 17
Residents of the southern sectors encountered “a great difficulty” in contacting mobile-users late this evening from BSNL landlines.

Fire in fast food joint
Panchkula, December 17
Goods worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in a fire that broke out in a fast food joint in Sector 9 here last night.

READERS WRITE
Protecting the city’s tree treasure
I would like to share my concern over the way in which the horticulture wing of the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation are functioning. Trees are the precious lungs of the City Beautiful, but they need to be pruned regularly so that they do not become serious traffic hazards.

• Speed or slow post?
• Traffic management

LIFE & STYLE

Glitz & glamour
Ditch old for fresh on New Year’s Eve
Tribune News Service
She has ditched rimless aviators - covered with dust of antiquity - and the relics of her past time-honoured outlook for the New Year's Eve. . The under-grad has eyes for retro-shaped sunglasses with black frame, to wear with an extra-long scarf and a whole new heart, during the afternoon bash on December 31.

Venus Speaks
It’s all about basics
She believes in basics for keeping herself fit, and good looking. That's the reason why Manisha Madan — ramp-model crowned Miss Chandigarh recently — goes in for "natural stuff" only.

Nothing exceeds like excess of accessories
All you pretty damsels of the world eager to shake, rattle and roll on the polished dance floor of life into 2003, here are some not-so-deadly sins you should not be committing at all with your alluring bracelets, striking rings, even gorgeous high-heel ankle boots.

EDUCATION

CAMPUS NOTES
Tough sailing for PU student council
It has been a very shaky term for the Panjab University Campus Students Council right from the beginning of this academic year. The council which got elected much after the normal schedule in October, continues to face times of uncertainty with a direct threat to the admission of the president.

PU LECTURES ROW
HC seeks attendance break-up
Chandigarh, December 17
Acting on a petition challenging the re-scheduling of Panjab University's LLB examination and holding of special lectures till then for students falling short of lectures, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the respondents to file an affidavit indicating the number of candidates not permitted to take the annual or semester examinations during the past five years on the account of lecture shortage.

Carmel Convent annual day
Chandigarh, December 17
The Punjab Governor, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), today underlined the need for preparing the youth to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

Students of Carmel Convent School perform “dhola” dance during their annual function in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
— A Tribune photograph

NSS camp in PEC concludes
Chandigarh, December 17
The concluding day of a 10-day NSS camp at Punjab Engineering College started off with a session on personality development through “sahaj yoga”. A statement issued here today said students were enlightened about the science of serenity, which was a system of meditation that helped in overcoming stress.

Students of Punjab Engineering College present a cultural function during an NSS camp in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
— A Tribune photograph

COURTS

Statement recorded in Sidhu case
Chandigarh, December 17
The statement of an Inspector with the Punjab Vigilance, Mr Des Raj, was recorded today in a case registered against the suspended chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, under the Arms Act. The case was adjourned for January 11.

Full Court reference to Justice Sehgal
Chandigarh, December 17
For mourning the death of former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge-cum-Punjab Lok Pal Justice D.V. Sehgal, a full Court reference was made in court room number one.

HEALTH

Leprosy detection centres
Chandigarh, December 17
About 29 health centres in the city shall function as specialised centres for diagnosing and treating leprosy cases for two days from tomorrow.