C H A N D I G A R H

Top stories | Community | Crime

Education | Courts | Health | Sports

TOP STORIES

Students not to pay more fee
Classes to resume today
Chandigarh, November 3
Identifying charging of fee and funds by private colleges in excess of those approved by Panjab University and a rollback of fee hike by the UT, Administration as the main issues confronting students, it was decided by students’ organisations that colleges will not be allowed to collect the second instalment of fee though classes will resume tomorrow.

Protest over fee hike by college students in full swing at Matka Chowk in Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Monday. — Tribune photo by  Manoj Mahajan

MC to reject levy of property tax: Bansal
Chandigarh, November 3
In a catch-22 situation over the imposition of the property tax, the Congress today announced to bring a resolution at a special meeting of the General House to “outright” reject the imposition of the new tax. The special session will be held on November 12, said the Member of Parliament, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal at a press conference here today.

Nationwide alert for 3 wanted in robbery cases
Panchkula, November 3
The police has sounded a nationwide alert for its three most wanted persons. The three, including a woman, are allegedly involved in different cases of robberies in the township.

Shootout in district courts
UT police told to submit untraced reports
Chandigarh, November 3
A local court today allowed the application moved by the accused allegedly involved in the shootout case that took place in the UT District Courts on July 6, 1998, directing the UT police to produce the untraced reports submitted by the UT DSP, Mr S.C Abrol and a former UT SP, Mr Baldev Singh, in the case.

Police uses water cannons to disburse protesting villagers

Chandigarh, November 3 The police today used water cannons to control agitators from Khuda Alisher demanding a CBI inquiry into the murder of Avtar Singh alleging that the local police had failed to unearth the conspiracy behind the murder that took place on September 25. Women from Khuda Alisher demanding the transfer of Avtar Singh murder case from Chandigarh police to the CBI at Matka Chowk in Chandigarh on Monday.

Defence team visits The Tribune

Chandigarh, November 3 For a 12-member team from the Secunderabad-based College of Defence Management, a visit to The Tribune today provided an insight into the process and modalities of producing a newspaper. Members of the Long Defence Management Course, being conducted by the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad, interact with the Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune, Mr H.K. Dua, during their visit to Chandigarh on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Private bank services dear 
Chandigarh, November 3
For not keeping the required average quarterly balance (AQB) of Rs 5,000 in the savings account of a private bank, you will have to pay up to Rs 750 per quarter. If one fails to meet the minimum balance account, mostly Rs 5,000, one will have to pay a hefty amount, much higher in comparison to the nominal interest offered on the savings account.

Health care engineering reduces costs
Chandigarh, November, 3
Stressing the need for achieving excellence in health care engineering and facilities management, the president of the International Federation of Hospital Engineering, Mr Gunnar Baekken, said this would help reducing cost and improving patient care.

COMMUNITY

Panchkula police to depose against HP police
Panchkula, November 3
The local police has decided to give a statement’ against the “irresponsible” attitude of the Himachal Pradesh police to a local court in the Amarjit Bawa case, after the latter failed to produce him before the court today.

Flats for slum-dwellers available at premium
Chandigarh, November 3
Slum-dwellers here, it seems, are an innovative lot. Even as the Chandigarh Administration is preparing to allot the first instalment of flats to about 1,050 slum-dwellers in Sector 56, the slum-dwellers have found a way out to sell off the flats despite stringent checks imposed by the administration. The purchaser is shown as a tenant to circumvent the law which prevents the sale of these highly-subsidised flats.

Marriage ceremony turns into battleground
SAS Nagar, November 3
After a public fiasco that took place yesterday during a wedding ceremony following fisticuffs between the bride and the groom’s families, the two families today refused to talk to the media insisting that all was well at the Mehak Banquet Hall here yesterday.

TRIBUNE IMPACT
Residents bodies to fix garbage collection rates
Chandigarh, November 3
In less than a month after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the inconvenience caused to the city residents due to an arbitrary hike in garbage collection charges in some areas, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Residents Welfare  Associations of bin-free sectors regarding the gathering of waste at uniform rates.

IAF recruitment rally from Nov 14
Chandigarh, November 3
The IAF will hold a recruitment rally for selection in the technical and non-technical trades at Air Force Station, Pathankot, from November 14 to 18, a statement issued here said.

Tension over construction of boundary wall

Zirakpur, November 3 The week-long tension over a piece of prime land in Nabha village along the Chandigarh-Patiala highway heightened last night as a group led by the son of a senior Punjab bureaucrat constructed a boundary wall around a portion of the land. The boundary wall that was constructed at the gate of Titan Motors on Sunday to stake claim on a piece of prime land on the Chandigarh-Patiala highway at Nabha village near Zirakpur. — A Tribune photograph

SEARCH WITHIN
Making a difference through spirituality
Anyone sensitive to the poverty and misery stalking the lives of millions in the urban slums and the villages in this land is overawed by the sheer magnitude of the problem. A sense of helplessness creeps in paralysing the very will to intervene in a hopeless situation. Many of us daily pass by victims of tragedies because of our sense of inadequacy. We move away with guilt feelings. In a country of one billion, there must be millions with a disturbed conscience.

SAS Nagar roads await repair SAS Nagar, November 3 The monsoon has left veritable scars on SAS Nagar roads. Majority of the intra-sectoral roads in the township are in an abysmal condition with large pits dotting these roads in patches running into hundreds of metres. While in some cases the residents have complained repeatedly to their councillors for carrying out the necessary repairs, in other cases the roads have not been handed over by the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) to the Municipal Council for upkeep and maintenance.

A road in bad shape in Sector 70, SAS Nagar. — A Tribune photograph

FAUJI BEAT
A band that unfolds history

THE Royal Jats Pipe Band, then comprising Jats and Muslims, was raised in 1810. Some of its noted achievements during the British days are worth mentioning. The band performed at the historic “Delhi Durbar” held by Lord Curzon in 1903. It was given the privilege of playing at the time of inauguration of “The Chamber of Princes” (now Parliament House) on February 8, 1921. The Royal Jats Band in its ceremonial dress.

MC office compiles records sought by VB
SAS Nagar, November 3
Heightened activity is on at the Municipal Council office here to compile the records demanded by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau following an enquiry ordered by an ADGP Vigilance Bureau, after a complaint by some municipal councillors against the functioning of the council.

Employees pledge transparency, integrity
Chandigarh, November 3
On the commencement of the Vigilance Awareness Week, the Secretary, Social Welfare-cum-Chairman, Housing Board, UT, Chandigarh, Mr G.K. Marwah, today administered a pledge to the employees of the UT Secretariat, on the premises of the mini-Secretariat here.

Lawyers gherao police post
Panchkula, November 3
Nearly 100 lawyers today gheraoed the Sector 10 police post in protest against the alleged “police inaction” in a case of assault on a local lawyer, Neeraj Sahni. The lawyers demanded the registration of a case against the accused, which included son of an Under-Secretary of Haryana. They threatened to stage a dharna if the accused were not arrested.

• Vigilance Week observed

• Applications sought

• Gaudiya Math to hold celebrations

CRIME

Two labourers buried alive
Chandigarh, November 3
Two migrant labourers were today buried alive when the mounds of earth along a eight-feet-deep and four-feet-wide trench dug up to lay storm water pipelines caved in along the divider between Sectors 24, and 25.

Convict escapes from custody
Chandigarh, November 3
A convict serving sentence in Burail Jail for dacoity and also facing murder and theft trials today escaped from the custody from the PGI. Kajheri resident Amit, alias Bengali was brought to the PGI for treatment from where he gave two constables accompanying him a slip.

27 weapons missing from HC ‘malkhana’
Chandigarh, November 3
As many as 27 weapons, including two Stenguns, have been found missing from the ‘malkhana’ of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The disappearance of the weapons was reported today to the Sector 3 police station by the Joint Registrar of the court, Mr H.S. Madan.

Burglary at Country Club manager’s house
SAS Nagar, November 3
Two men decamped with goods worth Rs 30,000 from the house of the Country Club manager here last night. According to the police, the manager, Mr Naveen Joshi, lives within the club premises in Industrial Area Phase VI here and was in the house when the burglary took place.

18-year-old kills self
Chandigarh, November 3
Eighteen-year-old Sunil of Sector 45-D allegedly committed suicide yesterday after his mother stopped meeting him following her remarriage. Sunil's father had died nine years ago.

EDUCATION

British students visit academy
Chandigarh, November 3
Students of Priesthorpe School, Leeds, England, in the age group of 16 to 18 visited Sahibzada Ajit Singh Academy, Ropar, on a 15-days cultural exchange programme. The team of students was led by Second Head Teacher Alison Hardaker. They visited various places and were particularly fascinated by the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Red Fort and the Qutb Minar at Delhi. 

CAMPUS NOTES
Denial of promotion: PU to review case

Panjab University has decided to review its decision of not allowing promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme to one of its faculty members who has been duly recognised at the national level and has commendable work at the international level to his credit. The case pertains to Dr Karan Vashishth who was being considered to be promoted to the post of professor.  Panjab University gets a new look in wake of the forthcoming Indian Science Congress. — A Tribune photograph

Youth festival begins on religious note

Chandigarh, November 3 Religious notes of shabads and bhajans provided a soulful beginning to the PU Zone A youth festival organised by the Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, for all six girls’ colleges of the city, here today. Revolving entirely around music, singing, and painting, the contests for the morning session saw lively performances by the participating teams though it failed to attract a packed auditorium. Students decorate a rangoli at Zone A Youth Festival which began at the Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, Chandigarh on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

Dhaarna best speaker

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Duties for SE
Chandigarh, November 3
Acting on a petition seeking the quashing of an order whereby Chandigarh’s Superintending Engineer (SE) V.K. Bhardwaj was given current duty charge of the Chief Engineer’s post, a Division Bench of the High Court has requested the UT Administrator to decide on a representation submitted to the authorities in this regard.

HEALTH

UAE effective for uterine fibroids, says expert
Chandigarh, November 3
Instead of having to undergo the ordeal of getting their uterus removed because of the problem of fibroids, women now have the option of going in for a minimal invasive procedure, made possible due to the advances made in the field of interventional neuroradiology.

Blood donation camp by Rotary Club

Chandigarh, November 3 The Rotary Club Shivalik and Shri Guru Granth Sahib Seva Society organised a blood donation camp at Parade Ground, Sector 17, yesterday. As many as 90 persons donated blood at the camp. Members of the Rotary Club Shivalik donate blood at a camp organised at Parade Ground, Sector 17, in Chandigarh on Sunday.

SPORTS

Roller skating meet concludes

Chandigarh, November 3 The fourth CBSE Roller Skating Championship concluded today with an impressive ceremony at the skating rink of KB DAV School, Sector 7, Chandigarh. Winners of various events conducted in the fourth CBSE Roller Skating Championship in Chandigarh on Monday. — A Tribune photograph