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MC okays changes in auction rules
Chandigarh, February 17
At a significant meeting, the Finance and Contract Committee of the municipal corporation today approved changes in procedures for auction of commercial property, giving out of a parking lot in Sector 17 for computerisation and the sinking of three tubewells.

Low grants hit college functioning
Chandigarh, February 17
Government-aided institutes are struggling to bridge the gap between the grants and expenditure with government grants to private colleges failing to keep pace with the expansion in academic activities.

Engineer shot in Mohali

SAS Nagar/Chandigarh, February 17 Two scooter-borne youths shot V.K.Chopra (42), an Executive Engineer with the PWD of the Chandigarh Administration, on Monday.
The spot where V.K Chopra, an XEN, was shot in Phase V of SAS Nagar on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Jain seeks bail
Panchkula, February 17
Pleading that he is being implicated by a Shimla girl in a case on the charges of abduction and rape for the second time, Chandigarh businessman M.K. Jain today filed an anticipatory bail application in the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge here.

Tight security in view of Sonia’s visit
Chandigarh, February 17
The Chandigarh police has carried out a special operation to identify anti-national elements to prevent any untoward incident from taking place in view of the proposed visit of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to Himachal Pradesh via Chandigarh.

Arranging audience for CM’s function
SAS Nagar, February 17
The visit of the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, for the inauguration of the Child Protection Unit of the Phase XI here today led to an amusing situation at the Municipal Council office.

Commonwealth Secy-Gen calls on Jacob
Chandigarh, February 17
The Secretary-General of Commonwealth Secretariat, London, Mr Donald C. McKinnon, today called upon the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob.

Sri Hemkunt Sahib to felicitate Panchhi
Chandigarh, February 17
Mr D.S. Panchhi, former Chief Fire Officer of Chandigarh, and Honorary Fire and Security Adviser to the Tribune Trust, will be felicitated during the 25th annual day function of Gurdwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Management Trust to be held at Rishikesh on February 20.

Chandigarh experiences rain
Chandigarh, February 17
Day-time temperatures in the city dropped following widespread rain in the city and it also slowed down business activity as a squall with a wind speed of about 55 km per hour forced people indoors.

Fire in Sector 44 house
Chandigarh, February 17
Household goods worth about Rs one lakh were gutted in a fire that broke out in a Sector 44 house late this evening. The occupants of the house were present in the house when the fire broke out.

COMMUNITY

PSHRC opens Child Protection Unit SAS Nagar, February 17 The first round-the-clock Child Protection Unit of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission was inaugurated by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here today. The unit set up by the PSHRC in association with the British Council will provide requisite services to the children in need or at a risk of abuse. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at the inauguration of the Child Protection Unit in SAS Nagar on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Cops to hold meetings with prosecution officials
Chandigarh, February 17
The Chandigarh Police today decided to hold meetings with prosecution officials at regular intervals for speedy investigation in criminal cases. This follows a direction issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to set up a review committee for the quick and proper investigation of cases.

‘Service tax provisions assessee-friendly’
Chandigarh, February 17
The recently introduced service tax provisions were assessee-friendly with simple registration and assessment procedures. Though the Act was still in its infancy, it would go a long way in enhancing the revenue of the Central Government, said Mr G.S. Narang, Commissioner, Department of Excise and Customs, here today.

27 models to vie for honours Chandigarh, February 17 Twelve girls and 15 boys will participate in the Mr and Miss North-2003 contest to be held at Tagore Theatre here tomorrow. The first round of the contest was held today. The contest is being organised by the Western Group, the All Art Cultural Association and the City Entertainment Network.     Models participate in the swim suit round of the Mr and Miss North-2003 contest in Chandigarh on Monday. — Photo Manoj Mahajan

Aussies snuff out Indian challenge
ON the afternoon of February 15 the Australian juggernaut speeded along the World Cup road steamrolling the Indians on the way. Indian Cricket reached its all-time low when the team collapsed for 125 runs inside 50 overs.

Unit celebrates 160 yrs of battle honours
Chandigarh, February 17
The Scinde Irregular Horse, one of the oldest and highly decorated regiments of the Army, celebrated 160 years of battle honours “Meeanee to Malakpur”, somewhere in the western sector today.

FAUJI BEAT One rank, one pension a mockery THE Lok Sabha MP and Chairman of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Defence, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, said at Dharamsala on February 8 that one rank, one pension issue, hanging fire for decades would soon be resolved as the recommendations of his committee had been accepted in principle by the Ministries of Finance and Defence.

Veterans, who hope to get the benefit of one rank, one pension scheme, talk to serving officers.

Leaf from history And quiet flows the Sarasvati..... THERE are times in history when that which does not exist calls for the historians’ attention. So when historians debate about non-existent entities, the disagreement between them becomes even more complex to the lay person. The Ghaggar as it flows near Nadah Sahib, Panchkula. — Photo Manoj Mahajan

Non-Punjabis have ‘usurped’ Akademi
Chandigarh, February 17
A number of Akali MLAs, in a signed statement, said today that artists from Punjab were upset following the handing over the management of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi to non-Punjabis by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

CRIME

Hit by truck, mobiker dies
Chandigarh, February 17
A motorcyclist, Lal Dev of Manimajra, was hit by a truck (HR-02-A-9195) yesterday and rushed to the Sector-32 Government Medical College and Hospital in a serious condition, where he succumbed to his injuries. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered at the police station of Sector 34 against the truck driver, Harpal Singh, who has been arrested.

BUSINESS

PepsiCo meets stringent EU norms
Chandigarh, February 17
PepsiCo has carried out extensive tests this week for its bottled water “Aquafina” against yet another quality benchmark – the European norms and methodology specifying the most stringent limits for individual.

MARKET PULSE
Another LG showroom opens
Chandigarh, February 17
LG Electronics has opened another showroom in the city at NAC Manimajra. Mr Jeevan Gupta, Director of the company, said the showroom would have a complete range of LG products, including television sets, washing machines, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens and air-conditioners.

EDUCATION

‘SCM new global business mantra’
Chandigarh, February 17
The need for having a more efficient supply-chain management was stressed by a group of experts that said here today that, in the present business environment, competition was not among companies, but the supply chains.

NCC cadets win scholarships Chandigarh, February 17 A colourful cultural programme comprising songs, dances and solo performances marked the annual NCC function at the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, here today. NCC cadets present a dance sequence during the annual function at Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Psycho Horizons inaugurated
Chandigarh, February 17
Charts, models and posters on self-efficacy, IQ, EQ, anxiety and stress were displayed on the inaugural day of Psycho Horizons -2003 at Government College in Sector 46 today. Other models on display included ones on reaction time, conditioning, alcoholism, drug abuse, brain and schizophrenia. A student of BA-I performed an item on behavioural aspects.

Tiny tots sing their hearts out Chandigarh, February 17 Children at Strawberry Fields School enthralled their parents and select invitees to a spellbinding musical extravaganza which, to put in a very Victorian way, “warmed the cockles of everyone’s hearts”. Children of Strawberry Fields sing songs of innocence on the opening day of their musical mornings at school in Sector 24 on Monday.

DISTRICT COURTS
‘India’s most wanted’ man discharged
Chandigarh, February 17
“India’s most wanted” man — Nazim — who is alleged to be involved in several murder cases in various parts of the country was today discharged in Chawla murder case by a local court as no charge had been made against him.

BAR COUNCIL
Stipend for young lawyers on the anvil
Chandigarh, February 17
The newly elected members of the Bar Council of the Punjab and Haryana High Court are planning to provide stipend to young lawyers, besides the construction of the Law Bhavan within a year, welfare schemes for advocates and group insurance schemes for members of the Bar Council.

Lawyer alleges harassment by DSP
Chandigarh, February 17
Munishwar Puri, an advocate, in a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has alleged that his family was being harassed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Panchkula.

CULTURE

Husain to paint in city
Chandigarh, February 17
Painter M.F. Husain will visit City Beautiful from February 20 to 22 at the invitation of the Aruna Asaf Ali Memorial Trust, an NGO. In a generous gesture dedicated to the memory of Aruna Asaf Ali, he has agreed to do a painting, proceeds from the sale of which will be donated to the trust for the construction of Aruna Bhavan on 250 square yards in Sector 44.

HEALTH

Endosonography ‘can help’ diagnose cancer
Chandigarh, February 17
The facility of endosonography — a combination of endoscopy and scanning — is still not available in Chandigarh, even though it is effective in detecting cancer and tumor of the food pipe, stomach and pancreas. The technique is also helpful in detecting stones in the bile duct. It is also useful in diagnosing chest disorders, including lung cancer or tuberculosis. 

List of essential drugs mandatory: expert
Chandigarh, February 17
Explaining the concept of essential drugs, Professor S.K. Tripathi from Kolkata asserted that a list of such drugs was mandatory in our country. Addressing delegates at the XII National Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology inaugurated at the PGI today, Professor Tripathi said the list would enable the people to “have drugs at cheaper prices”.

SPORTS

Dhudike bags PU kabaddi title
Chandigarh, February 17
The LLR Government College of Dhudike has bagged the Panjab University Inter-college Men’s Kabaddi (Punjab style) Championship. Malwa College Bondli of Samrala, the GGD SD College of Hariana (Hoshiarpur) and the GHG Khalsa College of Sadhar got second, third and fourth places respectively.

Alkesh, Shikha record wins
Chandigarh, February 17
Alkesh Saini and Shikha Sharma, both of the RSB Chandigarh, moved up in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively, on the opening day of the individual events of the All-India Civil Services Table Tennis Tournament in the Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall here today.