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TOP STORIES

One-day strike by Admn, MC staff on May 7
Chandigarh, May 4
In protest against the initiation of retrenchment of around 6,700 employees of the Chandigarh Administration currently on deputation with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and other demands, at least 15,000 employees of the local administration and the MC have jointly decided to go on a one-day strike on May 7.

CAGED ELEGANCE: The enclosure of majestic painted storks at Chhatbir Zoo near Chandigarh. — Photo Karam Singh

HUDA left high and dry
Health, Education Depts reluctant to take over buildings
Panchkula, May 4
The downsizing drive of the state government has had an unsavoury fallout. Both state Health Department and the state Education Department have failed to provide proper staff in government dispensaries and schools, much to the chagrin of residents of this township. This, even as the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has decided to construct these dispensaries and government schools only on request of the two departments.

PU research scholars’ work goes down the drain
Chandigarh, May 4
Research scholars of Panjab University, who submitted their synopsis several months earlier, have once again been summoned to appear before the university Research Development Committee (RDC). The research work of months following a clearance from the department to continue their work has gone down the drain as the process will commence once again from the scratch.

Poor educational facilities in Kharar

Kharar, May 4 Students studying in schools located in the township have done well in the middle standard examination conducted by the Punjab School Education Board, but the state of educational facilities available in Kharar leave a lot to be desired. Students of a government primary school in Kharar sit in the corridor as the only two rooms of the school have been occupied by the Block Education Office.  — Tribune Photo Pankaj Sharma.

Bhatti on small screen again

Chandigarh, May 4 After spilling his charm on the big screen, comedian Jaspal Bhatti is now all set to add zing to a new character, but this time on the small screen. Come tomorrow and the actor will be seen on SAB Television, playing the main lead in the channel’s prime-time serial, quite curiously titled “Dhaba Junction”. COMEDY TIMES: A still from the serial, “Dhaba Junction”, that will be aired on SAB Television from Monday.

Mystery over boy’s disappearance
Chandigarh, May 4
Mystery shrouds the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy, Anurag, of Sector 38, Chandigarh, who has been missing since last week. While police officials feigned ignorance about his whereabouts, sources suspected that he was kidnapped for ransom.

CHANDIGARH CALLING Lieut-Gen Jack Frederick Ralph Jacob (retd), Governor of Punjab and Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, lays down office later this week at the end of an eventful stint. He was appointed Governor of Goa on April 18, 1998, and remained there till November 26, 1999. He assumed the office of Governor of Punjab on November 27, 1999. Moody weather “ Call me back” Hardly workers ICON Trophy Silent voices Dr Vasudeva No traffic sense Mishap prone Bhai Mani Singh Lottery addiction

COMMUNITY

Admn generates more revenue than last year’s
Chandigarh, May 4
After having collected Rs 730 crore in revenue — Rs 14 crore more than the target fixed by the Union Finance Ministry — the Chandigarh Administration plans to cash in on the ‘‘good work’’ by projecting itself as one of the top revenue generators in the country on the per capita basis and use this as a lever to seek more funds for the development of the city.

Sanitation panel may have 3 Cong councillors
Chandigarh, May 4
The Congress is considering to include party councillors Lalit Joshi, Balraj Singh, Pardeep Chhabra and Anu Chathrath as party members in the 10-member panel which will go into the issue of streamlining the privatisation of sanitation.

Mosquito menace in city
Chandigarh, May 4
Even though the rainy season is far away, mosquito larvae are breeding in stagnant waters accumulated at several places, not just in colonies, but also in posh localities. Even though Sectors 3, 4, 5, 10, 16, 36, 41, 42 and 50 have been declared “mosquito-sensitive” by the Malaria Wing, effective steps have not been taken by the authorities. Perhaps, they are waiting for June to launch “anti-mosquito” campaign.

Alarm bells yet to ring for Dera Bassi fire dept
Dera Bassi, May 4
Being an industrial centre and its status of an emerging urban township notwithstanding, fire-fighting facilities are virtually non-existent at Dera Bassi. The entire subdivision, which has a population of about 4 lakh and more than 350 industrial units, has only one fire engine to meet any exigency.

Community centres at fire risk 
PUDA officials unconcerned
SAS Nagar, May 4
Residents, you’d better take steps to protect your lives in case of fire because the PUDA authorities are bothered neither about the safety of their staff nor that of users of community centres here. The cavalier attitude of top officials to this vital aspect indicates that they are perhaps waiting for an Uphaar-like tragedy before they sit up and take action.

Illegal travel agents continue to fleece people
Chandigarh, May 4
Government apathy in checking unscrupulous travel agents has come to light once again with the yesterday’s arrest of unscrupulous travel agents by the crime branch of the Chandigarh Police. Harjeet Singh, the conman behind the illegal business being run under the name of Continental Services, had earlier been arrested twice by the police.

21 pc households in city without latrines
Chandigarh, May 4
The City Beautiful, having the highest per capita income, highest per capita income tax collection and having topped the human development index list, has 21.1 per cent of households without latrines, 9.9 per cent without drainage and 1.2 per cent without kitchens.

Cops asked to step up vigil
Panchkula, May 4
Local police officers have been asked to keep a special check on bad elements, improve general policing, launch servant-and-tenant verification drive and ensure that traffic rules and regulations are followed.

Restoring people’s faith in natural therapies
Chandigarh, May 4
In today’s tension-ridden world, every person is afflicted with one worry or the other. Reiki and yoga have come a big way in relieving the tension of daily life. These views were echoed by Tanya Judge, a city resident who has taken the lead in restoring the confidence of people to these natural therapies. Tanya, who lives in the United Kingdom, is in the city these days.

INTERNATIONAL LAUGHTER DAY
Relieving stress through laughter

Chandigarh, May 4 was a day dedicated to laughter. As members of the Laughter Club assembled in Fragrance Garden, Sector 36, this evening to celebrate the International Laughter Day in style, passersby watched in sheer stupor, occasionally trying out the interesting techniques to do away with stressful elements. LAUGH AWAY THAT STRESS: Members of the Laughter Club assemble at Fragrance Garden, Sector 36, Chandigarh, to celebrate International Laughter Day on Sunday. — Photo  Parvesh Chauhan

Two-wheeler patient!
Chandigarh, May 4
It might seem bizarre but yes an ambulance can also be used for ferrying a scooter instead of rushing patients to hospitals. Transmedia Times, a cyber network for NGOs today released pictures of an ambulance donated by NRI Sabha Punjab to Red Cross, Moga, being used to ferry a scooter.

Talk on suicidal tendencies
Chandigarh, May 4
Reacting to the spate of suicides in the city, Theatre Age today organised a talk on the reasons behind suicidal tendencies. The talk was attended by Dr Inderjit Walia , Principal, Nursing College, Sector 12, PGI, Dr Shakuntala Lawasa, child specialist, Dr Lally from Sector 26 and Dr Avnish Jolly from Sector 20.

Major fire in Industrial Area
SAS Nagar, May 4
A major fire broke out near the Chandigarh sewerage treatment plant in the Industrial Area, Phase IX, here today. According to the information given by the Fire Department, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained but the fire was spread across over 10 acres of vacant land next to the plant.

611 servants registered
Chandigarh, May 4
In a one-day servant verification drive held in the city on Friday, at least 611 servants were registered. A police official said police parties were stationed at 11 different points in the city where the residents submitted their verification forms.

SAVE SUKHNA
Answer is mechanical dredging
Continuous machine desilting operations are the only way to save our beautiful Sukhna Lake from the universal problem of silting. This process is being followed worldwide to save rivers, lakes, ports and ponds.

CRIME

Man caught stealing phone cables
Chandigarh, May 4
A person of Burail village has been caught by officials of the BSNL while stealing 800 pairs of telephone cables from near house no 1508, Sector 38 here . The police has registered a case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC on a complaint lodged by Mr Rameshwar Saini, SDE, BSNL.

Businessman robbed of cash, gold
Kharar, May 4
Two miscreants snatched a scooter and ran away with some cash and gold ornaments from a businessman near Chapparchirri village on the Kharar-Banur road last evening.

Sachin kidnapping case: 1 more held
Panchkula, May 4
The police arrested Sanjay Nain, one of the co-accused in Rs 1-crore Sachin Garg kidnapping incident, here today. He was arrested from Baltana. He was one of the accused in the kidnapping incident along with Gaurav Bhalla, Munish Bhalla and Gaurav Mani.

Body found

HCCI: defer VAT implementation 
Panchkula, May 4
The Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) has demanded the deferment of value added tax in the state. If this was not deferred, it would result in the complete ruin of trade and industry in the state.

Customers unhappy with BSNL services
Chandigarh, May 4
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) may be celebrating its growth in the area of mobile phones, but customers allege it has not improved its customer-care service. Despite being a large organisation, it has ‘virtually’ no system to redress their grievances, especially on weekends and other holidays, they allege.

BIZ CLIPS

EDUCATION

HAMARA SCHOOL
I.S. DEV SAMAJ SCHOOL CHANDIGARH
A school that has kept itself away from commercialisation

Behind the imposing huge wrought iron gate lies an ambience which gives you a feeling of serenity and modesty. This is a school where one can be sure that their children would be away from brass commercialisation and materialism and acquire sound knowledge everyday. The school we are talking about is I S Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School in sector 21. A view of IS Dev Samaj School, Sector 21, Chandigarh. — Tribune photo Pravesh Chauhan

“We want to be known as the institute of learning”
Sumati Kanwar as the principal harbours the dream to make her school known as 'the institute of learning' in the city. Eversince she joined the institution six years back, she has been working in that direction. What Sumati Kanwar believes in is maintaining strict discipline and infusing a heavy dose or morality among her teachers and students alike.

• Brain Teasers

• Poems by students

SCHOOL WORLD
Take studies seriously but not too seriously 
Learn Phythagorus theorem by heart. Write five questions of history. Read chapter two of literature. Similar instructions are an essential part of student life. Since ages, these words of a teacher have to be followed religiously. But the matter of concern here is if only all teachers taught "how", if only they taught not just history, maths or literature but also "how to study" these subjects.

Daily News Quiz

Tricky CROSSWORD-11
Hi Kids! check out your vocabulary with this

CULTURE

Money games that budding pop stars play
Chandigarh, May 4
The popularity of Punjabi pop might be declining but it has not stopped the budding singers of this region from making a determined effort to make it to the ‘Punjabi pop’s who’s who’. And in their race to record their voices and get their faces plastered all over the TV channels, they are paying a hefty sum to the local music companies, initiating a new trend altogether which requires a singer to work as well as pay in order to get a company’s stamp.

Film show with one viewer
Chandigarh, May 4
Courtesy the ongoing summer break in various educational institutions in the city, the film show at Government Museum Auditorium in Sector 10 here had only one person in the name of audience this afternoon.

Young dancers display talent
Chandigarh, May 4
Around 25 boys and girls vied for the title “Dancer of year” during a mega dance competition, which was organised by the Chandigarh Art Theatre at Bal Bhavan in Sector 23 here this evening. The contest was open in folk, classical and western dance categories.

HEALTH

Thyroid malfunction can lead to miscarriages
Chandigarh, May 4
If you have been denied the joy of motherhood due to infertility or repeated abortions, the answer might lie in a simple thyroid test rather than extensive investigations and gynaecological consultation.

Menopause Health Club launched

Chandigarh, May 4 Surprising as it may sound, but the fact is that it is just not women but even men who suffer from menopausal problems, for which a Menopause Health Club has been set up in the city. Dr G.S. Kochhar speaks at the inaugural function of the Menopause Help Club at IMA Sector 35, in Chandigarh on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

200 attend aesthetic dentistry course
Chandigarh, May 4
With dental health care in our country still not being given due importance, it is not surprising that 90 per cent of adults suffer from gum problems and 70 per cent children have caries.

SPORTS

GNPS-36, Shishu Niketan reach final
Chandigarh, May 4
Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, will take on Shishu Niketan Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 22, in the final of the Shivalik Trophy for Atoms Trophy (under-12) being played here.