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More water for city by March 2005
Chandigarh, March 22
The city will start getting more water from the next summer as the much-awaited fourth phase of Kajauli Waterworks, which is to bring water from the Bhakra Main Line Canal to Chandigarh, is expected to be completed by March 2005.

Tribune team assaulted
Mohali, March 22
Armed henchmen of a “land mafia” operating in the Zirakpur area allegedly in connivance with a local police officer tonight assaulted a Tribune correspondent, a photographer and their driver at Dhakoli village in Patiala District on the Kalka-Zirakpur highway.

PU steps to check bogus voting 
Chandigarh, March 22
Complaints of bogus voting in the elections to the graduate constituency of the Panjab University Senate have prompted the introduction of changes in the process of identification of voters, post-graduates and under-graduates of the university.

All roads lead to Big B Chandigarh, March 22 The road that leads to Forest Hill Resort, perhaps for the first time, is seeing a steady line of swanky cars as the city's who's who is lining up to catch a glimpse of Amitabh Bachchan shooting at the resort for Anil Sharma-directed film "Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo." The frenzy heightened today, as the news about the arrival of Bobby Deol and Nagma spread. The frenzy heightened today, as the news about the arrival of Bobby Deol and Nagma spread. Dressed in their best clothes, the actors landed in the Resort, but only to get the feel of the situation. They did not join the sequence today. Bobby Deol's act begins from tomorrow. Amitabh Bachchan in a contemplative mood at Forest Hill Resort on Monday. — A Tribune photograph

In footsteps of his father

Chandigarh, March 22 Tired after an arduous journey, Bobby Deol could well have escaped an audience today. But he chose to sit for an interview — something he admits he hates doing. “I avoid interfaces. That is why you would hardly ever read anything about me. I feel very odd talking about myself. And even if I talk, I prefer if the listener is not writing anything. I don’t even remember when I last gave an interview, but I do feel like talking today,” says the favourite action star of the Hindi film industry, which does not impress him much, for many reasons. Bobby Deol is in the city for the shooting of Anil Sharma’s film, “Ab tumhare hawale watan saathiyon”. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma

Waiting at her husband’s doorstep
Chandigarh, March 22
Radha has been sitting in front of her in-laws’ locked house in Sector 56 for the past three days. She had returned to her house from her parent’s house in Gurdaspur after a gap of two months on March 19 after the police persuaded her in-laws to accept her back.

Yuvraj deserved to be in squad
Chandigarh, March 22
Yuvraj Singh truly deserved it. This was the common reaction of close aides of this young city sensation in cricket who was today chosen in the Indian squad for the coming Test series with Pakistan going to begin after the one-day series.

Cricket screens raised for Advani’s rally
Chandigarh, March 22
Realising that the dates of the final one day match between India and Pakistan and Mr Lal Krishna Advani’s rally in Chandigarh on March 24 are clashing, the local unit of the BJP said today it would set up a giant screen at the venue of the rally so that people do not miss the match.

Important verdict in sexual harassment case
Chandigarh, March 22
Young women in educational institutes need as much protection as working women require in offices — a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled in a significant judgement.

CHANDIGARH CALLING AFTER years of sleeping on the issue of accidents taking place at traffic junctions, the Mohali civic body and the traffic police have started constructing road dividers on all major roads leading to traffic junctions in the town. Seeking Stephanians Q and Q of fuel Show by tribal students Model code of conduct Equality of the sexes Cooperative VC Winged beauty Always cricket first Cashing in on the mania Untimely death

COMMUNITY

HUDA draw passes off without a hitch
Panchkula, March 22
The much-awaited draw of lots for the allotment of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) plots in various sectors here passed off peacefully today. Hundreds of applicants thronged the HUDA office in Sector 6 here to witness the draw, which started around 11am and continued till late in the night. First to be taken up for the draw were sectors 27 and 28, where HUDA had floated 954 and 989 plots, respectively.

Thou shalt not deface public property
Chandigarh, March 22
Political parties which deface the property and walls of peoples homes or buildings in Chandigarh will face action besides having to bear the cost of restoring the walls or the property to its original condition. Orders in this regard were issued by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer, Mr Arun Kumar, today.

Delay in payment irks NSC holders
Panchkula, March 22
The Main Post Office, at Sector 8, has been delaying the encashment of National Saving Certificates (NSCs) for almost a week. NSC holders alleged that for the past week the postal authorities had been dilly-dallying on the encashment of the NSCs above Rs 20,000. Since the payment above this amount was made through cheque only, lack of the cheque book at the disposal of the post office was stated to be the cause of the delay, Ms Manjusha Verma, a bank employee said.

Fauji Beat
War widows’ neglect a national shame
A survey of war widows in India will show that majority of them live a life of neglect and deprivation. Sadly, a sizeable number of young brides have become widows in the past couple of years, due to the on going insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East.

Panchkula to have dossier on ‘bad characters’
Panchkula, March 22
The police has decided to prepare dossiers of “bad characters” keeping the forthcoming elections in view. According to the SP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, all arm licence-holders have been asked to deposit their arms with the police by the first week of April to maintain law and order.

Bank union seeks wage revision
Chandigarh, March 22
The United Front of Banks Union ( State bank of Patiala unit) has sought the intervention of the union Finance Minister in the matter of wage revision in the banking industry. The revision has been long overdue and the talks in this regard have not yielded the desired results, according to Mr Amar Singh, secretary, Associate Bank Officers Association.

Procession in memory of Bhagat Singh
Chandigarh, March 22
The All-India Anti-Terrorist Front took out a procession here today in memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, whose martyrdom day falls tomorrow. The procession, led by AIATF Chandigarh president Rajesh Sharma, started from the Student Centre of Panjab University and ended at Piazza, Sector 17, passing through sectors 14, 15 and 16.

Osho meditation camp held
Chandigarh, March 22
The enlightenment day of Zen master Osho was celebrated at Indira Holiday Home, Sector 24-B, here yesterday. A one-day meditation camp was organised there by the Osho Naman Dhyan Kendra,3596,Sector 37-D here.

Dr Gurdev Singh dead
Chandigarh, March 22
Dr Gurdev Singh, first Medical Superintendent of the PGI and one of the oldest residents of Chandigarh, died last week at the age of 99. Dr Gurdev Singh was the personal physician of Late Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and had been a source of inspiration and role model for young medicos for the last many decades.

Quality control workshop
Mohali, March 22
The third five-day training programme under the capacity-building project of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, started at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here today.

• BJP mandal’s executive body

• Over Rs 5 lakh received as offerings

BUSINESS

BSNL launches customer services software 
Chandigarh, March 22
Mr G.S. Bhatia, Chief General Manager, Telecom, Punjab Circle, has inaugurated the first phase of Dotsoft, an integrated software for customer services developed in-house by the BSNL, in Chandigarh.

UK keen to invest in North India
Chandigarh, March 22
Mr Alan Attryde, First Secretary (Trade and Investment), British High Commission, has said the UK was India’s third largest trade partner after the USA and Belgium and accounted for 4.6 per cent of India’s total foreign trade in goods in 2002-2003. “Bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries has run at Rs 40,000 crore every year since the start of this decade. In 2003, we saw this figure grow strongly and expect trade to have exceeded Rs 47,000 crore,” he said.

‘Need to promote biotech sector’
Chandigarh, March 22
The need to promote the biotech sector in Punjab was emphasised during a day-long awareness programme on “Business opportunities in biotech sector for small-scale industries” here on Friday by the Small Industries Service Institute (SISI), Ludhiana, in association with the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology.

EDUCATION

CBSE dumps Ambala school for playing truant
Chandigarh, March 22
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has disaffiliated a public school at Ambala, after it was found violating the affiliation bylaws. The school has been asked not to enrol candidates for the secondary and senior secondary examinations from the next academic session.

From Colleges
Degrees conferred on graduates
Chandigarh, March 22
As many as 250 graduates, including 23 honour graduates, were awarded degrees at the annual convocation of Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45. The DPI (Colleges), Mr Dilip Kumar, said the college was doing a laudable job in imparting education to the girl child. He said the real purpose of education should be to make good humans.

Students of the Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, at their convocation in Chandigarh on Monday. — Photo by Malkiat Singh

Students at the annual convocation and prize distribution function of Government Degree College, Dera Bassi, on Monday.

COURTS

• Three get police remand for betting

CULTURE

Vardhan shines in Sham-e-Ghazal

Chandigarh, March 22 The All Art Cultural Association and Citi Entertainment Network presented sham-e-ghazal at Tagore Theatre here this evening. Starting the programme with a Saraswati vandana, N.S. Vardhan, from Tamil Nadu presented all time favourites like “Honto sai chu lo to”, “Marijay Ishq” and “Seenay mein jalan”. N.S. Vardhan presenting a ghazal during Sham-e-Ghazal at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh, on Monday. — A Tribune Photo

‘Goodbye Swami’ staged
Chandigarh, March 22
The Chandigarh Institute of Performing Arts staged “Goodbye Swami” — a satirical play at Tagore Theatre here this evening. Written by Sushil Kumar Singh and directed by Shyam Juneja, the play revolves around Swami Divyanand, a conman who becomes Swami Uchkkanand to shake off the police inspector who is on his trail. As the story unfolds, we get to see many comic scenes as the thief turned swami tries to fit into his new found role.

LIFESTYLE

Bejewelledi!
SHIMMER is back with a vengeance. The highly stylized grace of the 90’s has once again paved way for the bejewelled look of the 80s. From make- up to shoes, clothes to teeth and tatoos to, of course, jewellery — the shimmery look is everywhere.

NIFD designers take to ramp This was a show with a difference. Budding designers of the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD) took to the ramp to show off their creativity and suggest trends for summer. From pret to diffusion to funk couture, the garments were creative and haute. The show was eclectic be it in terms of the ambience, the background score, stage presentation or models. The show was a roller-coaster ride of six sequences, each presenting different moods and views. Designers of the National Institute of Fashion Design model their creations at a fashion show. — A Tribune photograph

Planning your dream vacation Where are you planning to go for your summer vacation? Want to choose from the sun, sand and beaches of exotic Goa, God’s Own Country, the phoren locales of South-East Asia or Europe, or does Rajasthan beckon you?  People inquire about best tourist destinations from the Rajasthan Tourism stall during the India Travel Mart exhibition at Hotel Shivalikview, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Nagma has Art of living

Nagma has always worked at her own pace. Never out to prove anything or arrest anyone’s attention, she has bothered only for one thing in life — variety. With an ability to portray the most diverse of roles, she has finally managed to expand her canvas which would have looked rather dull had she only Bollywood in the name of colour. Heading Southward was perhaps a conscious decision for Nagma, who remained the undisputed queen of the regional film industry there for well over a decade. And though many thought the move would prove suicidal for her, she was determined to make things work for herself. Nagma features prominently in Anil Sharma’s film, “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon”. She arrived in Chandigarh to join the rest of the cast today. — Tribune photo by  Parvesh Chauhan.

The stress-buster who charges body battery cells
THIS Chandigarh girl is back home after 23 years to return City Beautiful the riches of experience she has gathered from the world over. Dr Renee Singh has a vast and varied portfolio to boast of and is all set to start afresh with the one thing that she has realised is her calling — that of a stress management guru and personality development guide. The two roles go hand in hand, stresses the expert, who has a Ph.D in psychological philosophy.

HEALTH

Homoeopathic camp today
Mohali, March 22
The Association for Scientific Research in Homoeopathy will organise a free homoeopathic medical check-up camp tomorrow. Dr Avtar Singh, president of the association, said the camp would be organised at the Lok Kalyan Kender at Gurdwara Ramgarhia Sahib, Phase IIIB1. The camp would start in the morning and go on till afternoon.

SPORTS

Karan, Mandeep move up in tennis trials
Chandigarh, March 22
Local boys Uday Karan Puniha in the under-14 section and Mandeep Yadav in the under-18 section, moved up on the first day of the AITA Talent Series Tennis Tournament which began at the CLTA tennis stadium, Sector 10, here today. Tomorrow the qualifying rounds will end. The main draw rounds would begin from March 24.

198 children take part in athletic events
Mohali, March 22
The House Owners Welfare Society, Phase V, organised the third athletic competition for children between the age of five years and 12 years. Mr A.S. Shyan, general secretary of the society, said 198 children took part in the competition which was held at Green Field Public High School. The prizes were given away by Mr Kulwant Singh, president of the local municipal council.

Jesse Grewal on panel of golf teaching pros 
Chandigarh, March 22
Chandigarh’s top golf teaching professional Jesse Grewal has been selected to be part of a special programme for golf teaching professionals in India. He has just returned from Italy where he along with Nonita Lall Qureshi from Delhi and Vijay Divecha from Bangalore assisted Dr Donato Di Ponziano, Vice-President, PGA of Europe, to compile the manual for golf professionals in India.

• Mohit to play in Mercedes golf final in Germany

• Children’s sports meet

ADMINISTRATION

Auction of liquor vends allowed
Chandigarh, March 22
The Election Commission of India today allowed the Chandigarh Administration to hold the auction of liquor vends in the city on March 26. The administration had sought the permission of the commission to hold the auction as the model code of conduct had come into force from February 29, when the poll to the Lok Sabha was announced.

Licence making computerised
Panchkula, March 22
The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Satwanti Ahlawat, inaugurated the computerised system for making licences at the SDM office here today. According to a press note, Ms Ahlawat stressed the need for computerisation in government offices for bringing transparency in their functioning.

135 vehicles challaned
Mohali, March 22
The Mohali traffic police issued 135 challans on the first day of the special challan drive yesterday. Traffic in charge Inspector Jagjit Singh said 45 challans were issued for overspeeding, 55 to those driving two-wheelers without helmet.

4 cops suspended for dereliction of duty
Panchkula, March 22
The SP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, today suspended four police personnel for dereliction of duty and enjoying the hospitality of an accused who is president of the Himchal unit of INTUC, Mr Amarjit Bawa, in Shimla. The suspended policemen are ASI Neel Chand and constables Nirmal Singh, Dhani Ram and Jasmer Singh.

• Arms licences