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Fires destroy khair trees, wheat crop on 20 acres
Mohali, April 7
Hundreds of Khair trees and wheat worth thousands of rupees was destroyed in separate incidents of fire today. Caused by stray cinders carried by the strong winds, at most of these places the fires spread very fast crossing acres in minutes.

The burnt remains of wheat crop in a field of Landran village on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

This Indian idol is still praying hard
Chandigarh, April 7
Abhijeet Sawant’s moment of glory has only begun. And if the power of prayer is anything to go by, it may well last forever. At least for today, India’s first idol wants to hold on to this one sweet thought lest the bitterness of past returns to break the spell of glory.

Strong, dusty winds sweep city
Chandigarh, April 7
Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula woke up to blustery weather with strong winds scattering shed leaves in all directions, upturning collected garbage and scattering signposts all over the city. The gusty wind soon turned into a whirling duststorm, uprooting two trees in the bargain, one in front of Mountview Hotel in Sector 10 and the other in the market of Sector 22 D.

Duststorm on Thursday uprooted a tree in Sector 22-D market in Chandigarh. A security man and others try to push the tree aside. 
— Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Vat ‘leads’ to shortage of medicines in city
Chandigarh, April 7
The next time you go to a chemist shop in the city and are denied a common medicine, do not be surprised if the shop owner expresses his inability in helping you due to shortage of supply.

He detects corporate frauds
Chandigarh, April 7
For Mr Jasvir Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Virsa, currently Silicon Valley’s hottest company, the setting up of a software development and customer unit in north is like a dream come true.

Whither superstition? courtroom 12A again changed to 13
Chandigarh, April 7
Early last year, the number of the Punjab and Haryana High Court courtroom number 13 was changed to 12A. Though the reason for this change was never spelt out, it was widely perceived that it had something to do with superstition.

Passing Thru
What bearing does high literacy level has on society?
Kerala boasts of 100 per cent literacy which has ensured good social status for its people.

Dr Jacob John Kattakayam, Professor of Sociology and Director of Academic Staff College, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram

COMMUNITY

A silver lining for 4 orphan siblings
Panchkula, April 7
Her childhood is lost forever. As she takes charge of her own life... and of her three younger siblings, Harvinder Kaur seems to have come to terms with the loss of their parents... and having to spend their growing years in an orphanage. But even in adversity, Harvinder and her sister, Ravneet (9) see a silver lining.


Four children — Harvinder Kaur, Ravneet Kaur, Navjot Singh and Navdeep Singh — at Bal Niketan, Panchkula. — Tribune Photo by Pankaj Sharma

Bus service rekindles hope in Mirpur refugees
Chandigarh, April 7
The crossing over of border by passengers of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus today reminds Mirpur refugees — who did not get any claim for 57 years — of the pain of Partition and neglect.

Digging of road by colony residents irks villagers
Chandigarh, April 7
Residents of Nada village have complained that a resident of Professor Colony in Naya Gaon had damaged a road linking Naya Gaon with Nada village to lay an outlet for sewage generated from the colony.

Tributes paid to Pope
Chandigarh, April 7
Reverence and gratitude marked a special prayer held at St Anne’s Convent School, Sector 32, here today to pay homage to Pope John Paul II who died on April 2. All students, teachers, Principal Sister Rose George and manager Father Stephen offered flowers, prayers and hymns.

Students of St Anne’s Convent School, Sector 32, Chandigarh, during a special prayer for the Pope in the school on Thursday.

1,000 cops for civic bodies election
Panchkula, April 7
The police has deployed 1,000 police men and 264 home guard jawans for law and order during Panchayat Samiti and Zila Prishad elections to be held on April 9. To keep watch on electioneering, 16 police patrols have been constituted and five teams of reserved police force formed to meet requirement in emergency.

Circus show from today
Mohali, April 7
Asiad Circus is in town. Show will be tomorrow circus is on Punjab tour. With over 200 artistes and 70 items it has four elephants, horses, parrots and 20 dogs to perform. General Manager of the 30-year-old circus K.K. Misra said the circus would stay in Mohali. Other than the 40-feet high trapezes show which the high point of the circus, there are four women daredevils would perform on motorcycles.

Shoud Alam with daughter Shaziya at Asiad Circus in Mohali on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

Woman cop gets award
Chandigarh, April 7
The UT, IG Mr Rajesh Kumar today gave Commendation Certificate Class-I and Rs 1000 to Raj Bala, the lady Head Constable of Chandigarh Police. 

Computer, AC destroyed in fire
Chandigarh, April 7
A fire damaged computer, an air-conditioner, a computer printer among other articles in a Sector 36 house, today. 

CRIME

Man booked for harassing wife
Chandigarh, April 7
The local police has booked a man and his parents for allegedly harassing his wife Sudesh Kumari of Kandela village in Jalandhar district.

Lake Club ex-GM booked again
Chandigarh, April 7
Former General Manager of the Lake Club Madhu Beri , who was released on bail on March 30, has been booked again for the fourth time for allegedly cheating three persons including an NRI.

Five held in attack case
Dera Bassi, April 7
The police today arrested five persons for their involvement in a attack case here. The five — Kulbir Singh of Dappar, Baldev Singh and Channan Singh of Ramgarh Rurki, Gurcharan Singh, alias Pappu, a former president of the Dera Bassi Truck Union, and Mehma Singh of Haibatpur — were earlier booked by the police on the complaint of Mr Charan Singh, a resident of Bhankharpur village.

Five booked for cheating
Mohali, April 7
The police has booked five persons, including two women, on a charge of cheating. All the booked persons are residents of Phase IX.

Woman’s murder: servant yet to be nabbed
Mohali, April 7
Deepak Bahadur Thapa is wanted by the police in connection with the murder of Harpreet Kaur in Sector 68 here on April 4.

One hurt in mishap
Mohali, April 7
One person was injured when a Tata Sumo jeep and a light commercial vehicle, Tata 407, collided at the PTL chowk here early morning today. It is reported that there were eight persons in the jeep when the accident took place.

BUSINESS

Ajay Shriram elected CII chief (north)
Chandigarh, April 7
Mr Ajay S. Shriram and Mr Adesh Gupta were elected Chairman and Deputy Chairman, respectively, of the Confederation of Indian Industry (northern region) here today.

Hefty rise in liquor price
Chandigarh, April 7
Low and medium priced liquor brands and beer witnessed hefty rise in price after liquor contract for the year saw an unprecedented rise in the auction.

EDUCATION

PU plays with dance student’s career
Chandigarh, April 7
A promising career is on the threshold of receiving a setback, but no one really seems to care. All representations and reminders for consideration of the case of Shubhi Goyal, a student of MA I (Dance) at GCG, Sector 11, are falling on deaf ears at Panjab University, which is denying the student the right to sit in the final examinations starting on April 19 even though she has attended her lectures regularly at the college.

Breather for schools in residential areas
Chandigarh, April 7
The schools operating from residential areas heaved a sigh of relief with UT Administrator S.F. Rodrigues granting a year’s extension to those schools which have not been allotted land.

COURTS

CAT quashes GMCH punishment to Dr Chander
Chandigarh, April 7
The Central Administrative Tribunal has quashed the punishment awarded to Dr Jagdish Chander by the Government Medical College and Hospital authorities for allegedly attaching two documents, claimed by the hospital authorities as confidential.

From District Courts
Decision on bail of Hooda’s son today
Panchkula, April 7
Decision on the anticipatory bail application of Mr Deepinder Singh Hooda has been reserved for tomorrow. Mr Hooda, a son of Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had filed his anticipatory bail application in the court of Judicial Magistrate, Ajay Aggarwal yesterday.

CULTURE

New Release
A promising musical love story
After the success of Garv and Mujhse Shaadi Karoge”, Salman Khan is ready to take the audience by surprise in his home production “Lucky-No Time For Love”. A film that has been widely shot in the picturesque locales of Russia, it will be released today at Nirman Chandigah, K.C. Panchkula and Fun Republic, Mani Majra.

Salman Khan and Sneha Ullal in “Lucky - No Time For Love”

Women weave web of colours
Chandigarh, April 7
The Punjab Kala Bhavan in Sector 16 looks bright and gay these days. Brimming with the energy of colours, the art gallery wears a proud look more so perhaps because women are in command of art, for a change.

Paintings on display at Punjab Kala Bhavan, Sector 16, Chandigarh. — A Tribune photograph

LEISURE

Yoga gives me strength of mind, says Bhoomika
Actress Bhoomika Chawla did not skip her brief today. In Chandigarh to inaugurate artistic massage (Acupressure), Panchkarma massage and spa at Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga Studio in Sector 34, she talked of yoga and of how it had changed her life. Accompanied by Bharat Thakur, Bhoomika made a presentation of the art of meditation which helped her keep fit, mentally and physically.

Bhoomika Chawla, a Bollywood actress, interacts with students of Dikshant International School in Zirakpur on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Hosting crime show not an easy job, says Shakti Anand
Actor Shakti Anand, better known as anchor for Sony’s Crime Patrol was in the city to promote the show today. Speaking in defence of the reality show which has served to enhance sensitivity levels across the country, Anand said the serial was in for a major revamp.

Capturing golden hues of past
Indian jewellery, steeped in the ‘tradition’ of Hindi movies, is perfectly recreated in the collection, “The Golden Glitters of Silver Screen”, by renowned designer Asha Kamal Modi of Art Karat along with Nirmal Mahesh Chand at her gallery in Sector 7C.

Nourishing passion for poetry
TRACING down the ideological existence of a poet nourishing his soul since the ages, Rajinder ‘Chand’ introduces himself through a couplet “Kal tha jabeen pe chaand ki hoon aaj bhi vahee, jo dhul ska na waqt se mein vo nishaan hoon”.

Musical show today
The Punjabi TV channel ‘Balle Balle’ will organise a musical show at the Dasehra grounds, Mohali, on Friday. Addressing mediapersons at Hotel Marc Royale, Mr Upender Nayyar, Chief Executive Officer of the TV channel, said that the mega event would feature leading pop stars from Mumbai and Punjabi folk singers, including Anamica, Richa Sharma, Mohini Singh the pop stars from Mumbai.

HEALTH

Seminar organised to mark World Health Day
Chandigarh, April 7
A seminar on “Rural Involvement in HIV/AIDS Control and Safe Blood” was organised by the Rotary and Blood Bank Society Resource Centre to mark the World Health Day here today. Ms Kamna Sharma of the Blood Bank Society emphasised the importance of safe blood. She exhorted panches, sarpanches and other representatives of villages to encourage blood donation there.

Mobile dispensary flagged off
Chandigarh, April 7
With a view to making available healthcare services to people in the rural areas, slums and colonies, Ms Jean Rodrigues, wife of Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, flagged off a mobile dispensary at Makhan Majra village today.

SPORTS

Simer outplays Arushi for tennis title
Chandigarh, April 7
Local girl Simer replied to the challenge Arushi Sharma of Delhi and grab the finals title at 6-4, 6-3 in the under 18 girls’ single section of the All India Lawn Tennis Association Talent Series Tennis Series 2005 held at the Chandigarh Club, here, on Thursday. The boys’ under-18 singles tie between Manav of Punjab and Kush Jagga of Delhi was well decided in favour of Manav at 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Simer in action during the final of AITA Talent Series Tennis Tournament held at Chandigarh Club on Thursday. 
— A Tribune photograph

Pathak helps India win wrestling medals
Chandigarh, April 7
A city-based grappler and coach, Ajay Pathak, is one of the architects of the Indian wrestling team, which won four medals (one silver and three bronze) in the Junior International Wrestling Tournament (under-20) held at Sophia (Bulgaria).

Tennis talent tournament from April 11
Chandigarh, April 7
The Sports Department, Chandigarh Administration under the aegis of Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association will organise of AITA Talent Series tennis tournament at Lake Club, Sector 6, here from April 11 to 17. 

ADMINISTRATION

3 SIs transferred
Chandigarh, April 7
Inspector-General of Police, Chandigarh, Rajesh Kumar ordered the transfers of three Sub-Inspectors and one Assistant Sub-Inspector, today.