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Ramgarh power transformer destroyed in fire
Panchkula, December 24
A major fire broke out at the 220 kv Ramgarh- Madanpur transformer near here this afternoon, destroying the 100 mva transformer completely. This is the first time in the state that a transformer worth Rs 2 crore has been completely destroyed in a fire.

Flames rise from the 100 mva transformer at the Ramgarh-Madanpur power substation in Panchkula on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

PLIGHT OF SOUTHERN SECTORS
400 cops for 7 lakh 
Chandigarh, December 24
Southern sectors appear to get a step-motherly treatment as far as deployment of force in Chandigarh is concerned. With a sizeable population of around seven lakh, the Southern police division, having the highest density, has just seven per cent of the total strength of the Chandigarh Police.

Police remand for N.K. Jain
Chandigarh, December 24
Former UT Home Secretary and senior Haryana bureaucrat N.K Jain was today remanded to two days’ police custody by a local court in the rape case of a Shimla-based girl. He was produced in the court of UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr K.K. Goyal, by a team of UT police personnel, including UT DSP, S.C. Sagar at around 2 pm.

Porous borders help criminals
Chandigarh, December 24
The geographical boundary separating the city from its neighbouring urban conglomerates in Punjab and Haryana is, proving to be an asset for criminals. Organised gangs of burglars and robbers cock a snook at the police — intensive patrolling by the uniformed force notwithstanding.

Natwar Singh’s book released
Chandigarh, December 24
The Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, today released “Heart to Heart”, a book by distinguished diplomat-turned-Congress leader K. Natwar Singh at a simple function held at Servants of the People Society in Lajpat Rai Bhavan here.

Taming Ghaggar to benefit Punjab, Haryana
Chandigarh, December 24
The Ghaggar, an inter-state non-perennial river, has emerged as a major pollutant. This problem concerns Punjab as much as it does Haryana and after originating in Himachal flows to Rajasthan.

ANNUAL ROUNDUP 2002
City no longer healthy
Chandigarh, December 24
The city is no longer healthy — this is the lesson from 2002. Infectious diseases and epidemics threatened its citizens all year, presenting a vision of the deteriorating quality of life here. The burgeoning population and mushrooming slums seem to have begun taking their toll on the city known for sun, space and verdure.

ANNUAL ROUNDUP 2002
Burglaries up, detection down
Panchkula, December 24
In 2002, policing in the district received much criticism, with a rise in burglaries and snatchings, though the police tried several ways to improve patrolling. The year saw about 75 per cent rise in cases of snatching.

Drizzle in city

Chandigarh, December 24 The sky remained overcast throughout the day due to western disturbances. Light drizzle in the evening left those coming back from offices stranded for sometime. Welcome showers on Tuesday evening that ended a prolonged dry spell of winter also brought in a thick blanket of fog reducing visibility on roads considerably. This Tribune photograph was taken by Manoj Mahajan on Purv Marg in Chandigarh.

COMMUNITY

RUN-UP TO MC POLL WARD NO 27 & 28
Voters want cleaner environs
Panchkula, December 24
Residents of ward no. 27 (parts of Sector 2, 1 and old Panchkula) and Ward No. 28 (Kharag Mangoli village and parts of old Panchkula) hope that their representative in the Municipal Council will ensure cleaner environs, a government school and shifting of the Truck Union Office, besides better civic amenities.

Year-end discounts lure buyers
Chandigarh, December 24
The banners say it all. Tied between the pillars in front of the showrooms in Chandigarh and other towns of the region, including Patiala and Ludhiana, they are announcing heavy discount for Christmas, for the first time perhaps at such a large scale, not only on upholstery, but also on cooking oil.

READERS WRITE
Talibanisation of Panchkula
THE recent actions by the Panchkula police where they rounded up youth, usually couples, from various parks and took them to the police station to verify their antecedents is a gross violation of their fundamental rights.

Holiday cut

Costlier education

CRIME

Retired officer’s house ransacked
Panchkula, December 24
Less than 25 meters away from the guarded residence of an IPS officer in Sector 6 here, miscreant ransacked a house belonging to a retired Class I gazetted officer after scaling the front gate and breaking the grills. In another late night development, the police arrested three Chatt village residents on the basis of secret information regarding their alleged plans of committing a robbery.

2 hurt in scuffle with police
Chandigarh, December 24
At least two agitating members of the Terminate Panchayat Secretaries Association, on an indefinite hunger strike in Sector17, were forcibly removed by cops from the Sector 17 police station after their condition deteriorated. According to information, Sikander Singh and Kuljinder Singh were taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital.

Petty issue takes serious turn, 3 injured
Lalru, December 24
Three migrant labourers sustained severe injuries when they were attacked by two residents of Lalru village over a petty issue late last night. Sources in the police said Ajay Singh, Ajaib Singh and Brajesh Chauhan, all from Uttar Pradesh, were attacked by Sunder Singh and Ashok Kumar with sticks and iron rods.

8 hurt as bus, truck collide
Chandigarh, December 24
A collision between a private bus and truck on the roads dividing Sectors 31 and 32 here this evening left eight persons injured. The injured were admitted to GMCH-32. Their condition was said to be stable.

• Burglar nabbed

LIFE & STYLE

GLITZ & GLAMOUR
Get gorgeous on New Year’s Eve
Tribune News Service
Your anxious eyes looking for something hot and simmering to don for setting the New Year night on fire will not lose sight of the burning ambition. No, not any more. Here is a classified catalogue of city’s “most wanted” concepts and stuff compiled just to make you look gorgeous for the evening affair.

Party-hoppers guide
All you guys and dolls planning to hop on and off your wildly honking car, madly rushing towards 2003, for enjoying one bash after the other, here is a complete “Party hopper’s guide” just for you.

TIP TOP
Bash tips that won't get you banished
Party rules for office goers
Just as beads of perspiration are about to appear on your brow from jiving real hard on the dance floor, you see your boss with his wife staring back. You are tempted to ignore, but don't.

Shake, rattle and roll, it's Christmas 
Some people like to rock. Some people like to roll. If you also want to twirl all around the polished dance floor, illuminated by colourful intelligent lights, to the thumping beat of reverberating music, go to any of the discotheques in the city.

EDUCATION

Dental body’s plea to govt
Chandigarh, December 24
Demanding government intervention in the alleged irregularities at Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, the Punjab Private Ayurvedic and Dental Colleges Association has requested the government to transfer back respective colleges to parent universities to safeguard the interests of students.

War memorial models displayed
Chandigarh, December 24
An exhibition of proposals received from students of Chandigarh College of Architecture for the proposed war memorial at Chandigarh was put up in the college premises today. Besides scale models, technical drawings showing the layout and elevations were also put on display.

FROM SCHOOLS Enthusiasm adds colour to annual function

Chandigarh, December 24 Students of the Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 27 put up an impressive show on the occasion of the school’s annual prize distribution function here today. The UT Home Secretary, Mr R.S. Gujral, was the chief guest on the occasion. Girls perform at the annual function at Govt Senior Secondary School, Sector 27, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. — Tribune photo Parvesh Chauhan

CET on May 18
Chandigarh, December 24
The Common Entrance Test (CET), to be conducted by Panjab University, Chandigarh, for admission to first year of bachelor of engineering in food technology, bio-technology, chemical engineering, micro-electronics engineering, software engineering, telecommunication and information technology, MBBS, BAMS, BHMS, B. Pharmacy and B.Sc. (honours school) for the academic year 2003 - 04 is scheduled to be held on May 18, 2003, according to a university statement issued here today.

Mock test for Class X board exams 
Chandigarh, December 24
The Chitkara Institute of Competitions (CIC) has been training students exclusively for the IIT-JEE and other engineering entrances tests for many years. Over the years, the institute has produced toppers in all competitive examinations with superior teaching methodology and highly committed faculty in physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Adventure camp for children
Chandigarh, December 24
School is not just about studies. Perhaps, keeping this maxim in mind, Durga Dass Foundation is organising a three-day adventure camp in the Shimla hills from December 28.

Santa brings joy to slum kids

Chandigarh, December 24 In a touching gesture, students of Manav Mangal School in Sector 21 collected their pocket money and bought sweaters, alongwith shirts, for needy students studying in the evening shift of Government Girls High School in Kumhar Colony in Sector 25 today.  Slum children enjoy a CITCO-sponsored motorboat ride with Santa Claus on Christmas eve in Chandigarh on Tuesday.—  Photo Manoj Mahajan

Fellowship for biotechnologist
Chandigarh, December 24
A biotechnologist from the Institute of Microbial Technology in Sector 39 here, Dr Ashwini Kumar Thakur, has been selected for the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship programme at the Max - Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany.

COURTS

Consumer courts without teeth
Chandigarh, December 24
You visit the trade fair in Sector 17 and find a company selling what it claims are herbal shampoos — that will not only blacken grey hair, but also help you grow new ones. At another stall, another retailer offers you packets of spices of unknown brand, saying that these have been packed at the company’s farm in Kerala and are twice as effective as the local brands. However, after using these products, you feel cheated.

CULTURE

Comedy album released
Chandigarh, December 24
A comedy album, “Raja Ji Kamaal Hai”, has been released recently by the Catrack music company. The album features a newcomer, Deepark Raja, and his associate Sudesh Lehri. Addressing a press conference at a local hotel in Sector 35, Mr Gaurav Trehan from Catrack said the album was a success in the region.

HEALTH

‘Weak’ health scheme irks Central staff
Chandigarh, December 24
The Central Medical Health Scheme, launched with much fanfare earlier this year, has only added to the woes of the Central government employees, numbering over 35,000, with merely two understaffed dispensaries in the city attending to the stream of patients.

SPORTS

Haryana roller hockey team triumphs
Chandigarh, December 24
Panchkula roller skaters, especially the girl skaters, brought glory when they enabled the Haryana skating team to capture the gold medal in roller hockey in the just concluded 32nd National Games held at Visakhapatnam. As many as seven girls were from Panchkula in the 10-member Haryana team.

ADMINISTRATION

Encroachments in Industrial Area to be removed
Chandigarh, December 24
The Chandigarh administration and Municipal Corporation has decided to remove all types of encroachment in the Industrial Area. A meeting of industrialists under the chairmanship of Municipal Commissioner will be held shortly to identify the areas where scrap dealers and transporters have encroached upon the parking areas and other open spaces.

Industrial plots can now be freehold
Chandigarh, December 24
The UT Administration has agreed to allow conversion of lease-hold industrial plots into free-hold plots on payment of conversion fee. This was stated on behalf of the Administration at a meeting of the Chandigarh Industrial Advisory Committee held under the chairpersonship of Ms Neeru Nanda, Adviser to the Administrator, Chandigarh Administration, here today.

Cess for collecting bin garbage
Chandigarh, December 24
The Sanitation Committee of the Municipal Corporation today proposed to withdraw its garbage bins kept for hotels, restaurants, semi-government and government bhawans and impose a charge for collecting garbage from bins to be kept either by these categories of users themselves, or to be provided by the Municipal Corporation for Rs 15,000.