Change in rail traffic due to repair work
Chandigarh, April 1
Due to an urgent repair of bridges between Lalru-Dhappar and Lalru-Dhulkot on Chandigarh-Ambala rail section on April 3, the rail traffic on the section has been regulated.

He cycles to keep environment pollution free
Inspired by the ‘Mission 2020’ vision of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Ram Chander Pannu, a Sub Inspector with the Chandigarh Police, abandoned his scooter and started commuting on a bicycle. The idea was to save on petrol and keep the environment pollution free. He also stopped taking conveyance allowance from the Police Department. ‘‘When I am not using scooter, why should I take the allowance’’, said Mr Pannu.

Ram Chander Pannu

Ex-serviceman alleges discrimination
Chandigarh, April 1
A handicapped ex-serviceman has alleged discrimination by the Punjab Waterworks Department during regularising the services of ad hoc workers by the department. Sukhpal Singh has been working as a helper fitter with the waterworks at Mohali on daily wages for the past 11 years but his services have still not been regularised. This is despite the fact that the services of a large number of other daily wagers have been regularised just after a few years.

Students of Valley Public School, Mansa Devi road, Panchkula, during their visit to The Tribune office in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Book on Guru Ravidas
Mohali, April 1
A book on Guru Ravidas by Jasbir Jassi, who is at present residing at Panchkula, is scheduled to be released at Hardwar on April 4. According to a press statement issued here by the local Shri Guru Ravidas Naujawan Sabha, the book, “Satguru Ravidasji — Life and Message,” will be released at Bhagwan Ravidas Ashram at Hardwar.

Jethmalani’s rally on April 4
Chandigarh, April 1
Mr Ram Jethmalani, a Member of Parliament, will address a public rally at Plaza, Sector 17 on April 4. This was announced by Mr Arvind Jain, an Independent candidate for the local seat in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, while addressing a press conference here today.

BJP fooling public, claims NSUI
Chandigarh, April 1
Claiming that the BJP was fooling the public with its “India Shining” campaign, activists of the local unit of National Students Union of India organised a demonstration at the Student Centre, Panjab University, here today, to expose the false claims of the BJP.

NSUI activists hold protest at Panjab University, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Vulgarity on TV channels opposed
Mohali, April 1
The Sabhyacharak Talmel Committee here has opposed vulgarity on television channels. The general secretary of the committee, Mr Sanjivan Singh, said the channels were being viewed in homes and the showing of vulgar scenes on them would have a harmful effect on the younger generation. 

Motor cyclist hurt in mishap
Mohali, April 1
Jarnail Singh, a middle-aged resident of Sector 68 here, was seriously injured when his motor cycle banged into a standing bus. The accident took place at the Phases VII and VIII light points this evening. 

Clarification

8 duped of 1 cr by local firm
Chandigarh, April 1
Three promoters of a Sector 34-based Paradise Solutions Private Limited, which claims to handle a Business Process Outsourcing account of a US-based company, were today booked for allegedly duping eight persons of around Rs 1 crore.

Dowry case: Now husband alleges harassment
Panchkula, April 1
The case related to the alleged dowry harassment of a resident of Ambala, Ms Ritu, has taken a new turn today after her NRI husband, Mr Naresh Shorey, alleged that the girl and her family had been harassing his family for money.

15 injured in clash
Lalru , April 1
More than 15 persons were injured in a clash between two groups of Aganpur village residents, near here, this afternoon. According to eyewitnesses, the problem was simmering since February 28 after certain youths belonging to the group of Mr Balbir Singh, Sarpanch, passed obscene marks on a granddaughter of a former Sarpanch, Mr Ranjit Singh.

Scooterist dies in road mishap
Dera Bassi, April 1
A scooterist died on the spot after his head hit a road divider when his scooter skidded on the busy Kalka-Ambala highway at Bhankharpur village, near here, last evening.

Theft in Sector 23 house
Chandigarh, April 1
Thieves reportedly decamped with cash and belongings worth more than Rs 1 lakh today from house No. 3017 in Sector 23 during the day. The house is situated on a busy road.

One held for defrauding firm
Chandigarh, April 1
The Economic Offence Wing of the Chandigarh Police today arrested a Sector 45 resident, Rajwant Singh Gill, in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 3.5 lakh. He was produced in a local court which sent him to jail till April 15.

1 held for kidnapping minor
Panchkula, April 1
A resident of Maheshpur village, Nanhe, was today booked by the police on the charges of kidnapping and outraging the modesty of a minor girl of the same village.

2 consultants held for cheating
Chandigarh, April 1
The police today booked two persons associated with the Sector 17-based Hallmark Management Services Immigration Consultants for allegedly cheating two persons. Gurvinder Singh of Nawanshahr and Gurdeep Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib complained that S.S. Saini and P. Mishra working with the consultants had taken Rs 2 lakh each from them to send them to New Zealand. But the High Commission of that country rejected their travel documents.

BUSINESS

Big response to Reliance  exam result service
Chandigarh, April 1
An innovative service offered by Reliance India Mobile to view the UT board examination results on the mobile phones yesterday received an overwhelming response. As many 2, 65,000 hits were scored. These included 2,57,462 hits on R World and 7, 450 SMS for Haryana class eighth results.

Goyal re-elected Chairman of CII city council
Chandigarh, April 1
Mr Krishan Goyal, was re- elected Chairman of the CII, Chandigarh Council, for the year 2004-05 at the first meeting of the newly elected council today in Chandigarh. Mr Goyal is the Chairman and Managing Director of Modern Dairies Ltd, a Rs 110-crore turnover company engaged in manufacturing and marketing of dairy products. 

Class VIII result: Non-model schools perform poorly
Chandigarh, April 1
Result of the Class VIII examination, declared by the UT Education Department yesterday, schools located in the colonies and in the peripheral villages of the city have performed badly.

Fashion institute to start courses
Chandigarh, April 1
The National Institute of Fashion Design, Chandigarh, has launched short-term courses in fashion designing, textile designing and interior designing. Keeping in view the persistent enquiries and as the institute is closed for summer break owing to the university examination of regular students, these courses have been launched to meet the growing demand.

56 kids fail IQ test
Panchkula, April 1
Only 12 of the 80 children, who were screened by experts at the rural awareness programme held at Pinjore, were found to be having normal intelligence. According to a press note, while 56 children were found to be mentally retarded, 12 were mentally ill. Children from Kalka, Pinjore, Bharoli, Tagra, Saketri, Pipal Ghati and Manakpur were covered under the programme.

Kanika of DAV gets 91 pc marks
Panchkula, April 1
Students of DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Sector 8, have reported excellent results in the Class VIII of the All-India DAV Board Examination. 

Kudos to GMHS-26
Chandigarh, April 1
In the result of Class VIII examination declared by the UT Education Department, Neetika, a student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, has secured 89 per cent marks.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Beant case
Chandigarh, April 1
Claiming that in the wake of the Burail Jail break case, they are not being allowed to meet their kin lodged in the Model Jail, Burail, the family of Balwant Singh, who is facing trial for his alleged involvement in the Beant Singh assassination case, have moved the High Court seeking directions to the UT Administration to be allowed to meet the accused in jail.

Liv Ullmann’s film part of 4-day fest that opens today
Chandigarh, April 1
Legendary director Liv Ullmann’s film, “Kristin Lavransdatter” will also form a part of the Norwegian film festival opening in Chandigarh tomorrow. The film has been especially chosen to enrich the cinematic fare in view of the honour conferred on Ullmann during the International Film Festival held in New Delhi last year. Ullmann was accorded the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Singer propagating Punjabi culture abroad
Chandigarh, April 1
He was forced by his father to sing in front of Jawaharlal Nehru when he was just five years old, little knowing that this ‘spur-of-the-moment’ performance will lead him one day to his destiny. Music director, singer and producer and host of Canada’s longest Punjabi radio show “Punjab Di Gunj”, Kuldip Deepak now can boast of the inspiration he drew from his father Jagat Singh — to propagate Punjabi poetry in India and abroad is almost complete.

New Releases
Watch out for a stylish ‘Murder’
What makes “copy guru” Mahesh Bhatt so special is his unique style of film making. Nothing slows the Bhatt factory down. This week audiences will see one more product from Bhatt’s camp ‘Murder’. It is yet another small budget and stylish film, predict trade pundits.

Imran Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat in ‘Murder’

Dress trendy, look gorgeous                     
WITH the blazing sun adding bright hues of gold and bronze to trees in every nook and corner, the whole city seems to be awash with colour these days. However, on the fashion landscape the hues of burnt orange, butter-cup yellow, lime green, oyster white, pale khali, Chinese reds and blushing blues are the way to go. Flowing georgette, chiffon, textured linen, cotton with just a hint of lycra are the fabric picks for this season. 

SMS hot favourite on Fool’s Day
The message on the mobile left Sector 20 resident in cold sweat. His wife, the message from his friend said, had fallen from the stairs and was being taken to the General Hospital in Sector 16. Just as he was about to leave the office, another message confirmed that it was just a prank on All Fool’s Day.

Helloji
‘Gadbad’ in aeroplane
Dear Sukhi Paaji, How I am ever being able to thank you for the wunderful time in Canaida? I am finally reaching Amritsar yesterday, in one whole piece from Tronto. But what a trip it was, by God! Whole maaza of marriage was getting kirkira. Balwant Bhabo and myself were sleeping in aeroplane up till London. We were soooo tired after every night bhangra and gana-bajana te khana in saadi Jeeto’s marriage.

A passion for preserving heritage watches
REMEMBER the era when a father would pass on the baton to the son by giving the latter his own watch? The practice was quite common in the last century, when giving away your watch to your son meant retirement from all responsibilities and time for vanaprastha. The practice, though no longer prevalent, has left watches as heirlooms in many families. One of them is the Rajwade family, which has a priceless collection of heritage watches passed on from one generation to the other.

Dr Bajirao A. Rajwade shows off his collection of heritage watches. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

Anjum star of mushaira
The historic Mohindra College shone like a jewel last night and not just because of the splendid lighting arrangement which showcased the building in all its glory but also because a galaxy of stars from the poetic world descended upon it to participate in the Jashn-e -Mohindra mushaira organised on its premises.

HEALTH

28 addicts hospitalised
Chandigarh, April 1
A 10-day de-addiction camp concluded today at Khuda Alisher. It was held as a part of the district mental health programme being run by the Psychiatry Department of Government Medical College and Hospital at Mani Majra.

Stadium-16 lads in final
Chandigarh, April 1
Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, will clash with the combined team of Chandigarh Cricket Association and DAV Coaching Centre in the final of the II SN Vohra Memorial (under-13) Cricket Tournament. 

A player from St John’s School raises objection on an average player of the rival team in the first semi-finals of the SN Vohra Memorial Cricket Tournament played here on Thursday at the Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

ADMINISTRATION

UT bans political ads on electronic media
Chandigarh, April 1
The Chandigarh Administration has banned the political advertisements on electronic media, under the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulations) Act, 1995. It has been decided that no advertisements, whose objectives are wholly or mainly of political nature, will not be permitted to be telecast on electronic media in the area under the jurisdiction of the UT Administration.

Land possession given to MC
Mohali, April 1
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority today gave the possession of two acres of land in Phase I Industrial Area here to the Municipal Council for the construction of a cattle pond.