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Perch Dam water withheld, allege villagers
Crop dying due to paucity
Chandigarh, December 29
Residents of Perch and three other villages have alleged they are not getting adequate water for their wheat crop from the Perch Dam for the past three days and also whatever supply is there, has often been quite irregular. As a result their wheat crop is being damaged.

Villagers point at a piece of dry land in Perch village on Sunday. — Photo Parvesh Chauhan

Ousted in 1979, villagers still await relief
Plan to approach human rights panel, UN
Chandigarh, December 29
It may sound strange, but it is true. About 5,000 families of 11 villages, whose land was acquired by the administration for the development of second phase of the city in 1979, have not been suitably compensated or rehabilitated till date.

Special nakas to check snatchings
Chandigarh, December 29
As part of the countdown to the New Year celebrations in the city, the Chandigarh Police has decided to set up special nakas for four hours on various internal roads. The nakas are being set up from 4 pm to 8 pm, peak hours when the maximum incidents of snatching are being reported.

Kelkar report ‘not binding’
Chandigarh, December 29
BJP General Secretary Rajnath Singh here today indicated that the five-member party committee studying the recommendations proposed by Dr Vijay Kelkar will urge the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, not to accept those recommendations which pertain to taxing farmers and taking away benefits from the middle class.

ANNUAL ROUNDUP
Scandals, arrests, controversies; another year rolls by
SAS Nagar, December 29
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau grabbed most of the prominent headlines of the dateline SAS Nagar in 2002. Scandal in the corridors of the Punjab School Education Board, regarding the recruitment of clerks and the buying of substandard paper, the paper-leak case in the Punjab Nurses Registration Council and corruption among staff of the municipal council (MC) were some issues which kept the SAS Nagar dateline on page 1 in newspapers. 

YEARENDER — 2002 CRIME
Data not true indicator of crime graph
CHANDIGARH: If the statistics compiled and supplied by the Police Departments of Punjab, Haryana and even Chandigarh are to be believed, there has been a decline in heinous crime while the recoveries made under the Arms Act, the NDPS Act and the Excise Act have shown a substantial increase.

CHANDIGARH CALLING While most of the city residents will be celebrating the New Year by throwing big parties and presenting costly gifts to their near and dear ones, members of Yuvsatta, a city-based NGO, have decided to celebrate it by distributing sweaters to small children in Colony No. 5 and Janata Colony. Not so noble Aviary look Tough questions RadioBuzz ATM boom

COMMUNITY

Bansal opposes villagers’ displacement 

Chandigarh, December 29 UT Administrator Lieut-Gen J. F. R. Jacob’s ambitious IT park project in Kishangarh is likely to run into rough weather with the local MP Mr Pawan Bansal, vowing to oppose “tooth and nail” the displacement of the people due to the project, which he otherwise supported. Mr Pawan Bansal, MP, and INTUC President Rampal Sharma at a protest by Kishangarh residents, in Chandigarh on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

NEW YEAR EVE PLANS
Far from the ringing phone
Chandigarh, December 29
Far away from the ringing phone and home — that is how the president of the Chandigarh Club and lawyer Ravinder Chopra plans to celebrate his New Year’s eve. “At home, you just don’t find any peace. After every two minutes or so, the telephone rings. Else, one or the other client barges in with more documents and affidavits.

Satjit Singh is DSOI vice-chairman
Chandigarh, December 29
The annual general body meeting and the elections for office-bearers for the next term of the Defence Services Officers Institute, Sector 36, were held here today. In a sharp contrast to the last year's elections, which were plagued by a sharp factionalism between two groups, this time the poll was conducted without any controversy.

Workshop on human rights
Zirakpur, December 29
Members of various units of the All-India Human Rights Watch from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh attended a workshop organised by the local unit of the organisation here today.

CRIME

16-year-old girl abducted
Chandigarh, December 29
A 16-year-old girl of Mauli Jagran was allegedly abducted from the residence of Jaswinder Singh, alias Jassi, in Mani Majra. The police has registered a case .

EDUCATION

HAMARA SCHOOL
CHD BAPTIST SCHOOL SECTOR 45-D
Bridging the gap between the haves and have nots

Chandigarh Baptist School is one of the rare institutions that defies the boundaries imposed by people upon themselves. This is a school where children from rich class mingle with poorest of the poor at equal footing. A look at the humble neat building in Sector 45 D, the greenery all around, the preaching of Lord Jesus and other great personalities on the walls and it is easier to understand the aim of the school which is- to develop the inherent ability of each child to best advantage both for himself and for society.

A view of Chandigarh Baptist School, Sector 45, Chandigarh.  — Photo Parvesh Chauhan

“Education system needs to be job oriented”
Ms S N Masih is a lady with an aura around her which speaks of her subtle strength and dedication towards her work. With her experience as a teacher and as an administrator, Ms. Masih has turned the school environment into a source for moral values and inspiration.

• My school

• Poems by students

CAMPUS NOTES
Transfer of posts to reduce recruitment
To tide over the current problem of recruiting staff in the newly opened Panjab University Institute of Engineering and Technology, the university has resorted to transfer of vacant posts from other departments because there are no chances of allowing fresh recruitment either to the institute or to these departments from the University Grants Commission or the funding governments.

Experts discuss magnetic materials
Chandigarh, December 29
Thesis presentations marked the fourth day of the ongoing seminar on ‘Solid state physics’ being organised by the Department of Atomic Energy at the Panjab University here. Twelve presentations were made by scholars who had submitted their work for award of a Ph.D degree during the past year.

Personality development camp 

Chandigarh, December 29 A six-day personality development camp organised by the Bharat-Tibet Sahayog Manch for the children of the Himalayan belt, concluded with a spectacular show at DAV Public School in Sector 15, here today. Participants at a six-day personality development camp present a patriotic song at DAV Public School in Chandigarh on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

Seminar on securitisation Act
Chandigarh, December 29
The Chandigarh-Panchkula chapter of the Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India organised a seminar on ‘Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets Act- 2002’ here today.

Naveen to represent city at Republic Day parade
Chandigarh, December 29
An NSS volunteer from the Government College for Boys, Sector 11, Naveen Sangwan, has been selected to represent the city at the NSS Republic Day contingent in New Delhi, while Vivek Kumar, also from the same college, who represented the city last year, has been selected to represent the city at the National Youth Festival scheduled to be held in Kerela next month.

CULTURE

M.S. Randhawa Sabhyacharak Mela

SAS Nagar, December 29 The Punjabi Cultural and Welfare Society organised the eleventh M.S. Randhawa memorial cultural mela here today. The mela, however, ended up becoming a long and tiring wait for the various chief guests to arrive at the venue. Punjabi pop singer Jazzy B performs at the 11th M.S. Randhawa Sabhyacharak Mela in SAS Nagar on Sunday. — Photo Pankaj Sharma

Halwarvi’s homecoming a warm affair
Chandigarh, December 29
Punjabi poet, writer and journalist Harbhajan Singh Halwarvi, who has been honoured by the Bharatiya Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi for his poetry collection ‘Pola Ton Paar’, was given a warm reception by the Chandigarh Writers Club. The function marked his homecoming after receiving the award last week.

HEALTH

53 examined at Rotary camp
Chandigarh, December 29
Fiftyfive poor and needy patients were examined at a free ear check-up and hearing-aid camp organised by the Rotary Chandigarh Shivalik at Dr Pandhi’s Clinic in Sector 36 here today. Dr SBS Mann, Principal & Director, Government Medical College, Sector 32, inaugurated the camp.

SPORTS

Sabeeha clinches five gold medals
Chandigarh, December 29
Sabeeha Dhillon continued with her medal run when she shot five gold medals and a silver medal at the end of the 27th Northern India Shooting Championship at the Patiali Ki Rao Shooting Ranges, Sector 25, here today. Sabeeha, a BA (II) student of the local MCM DAV College for Women, won the gold medal in the .22 sports rifle prone, in individual and team championship, sports rifle 3 position (ISSF) and 10-metre air rifle senior women team championship and a silver medal in the individual junior women 10-metre air rifle section.