Chandigarh, December 27
The glass bottles of glucose and dialysis fluid have staged a come back at the PGI and other city hospitals after controversy over the appearance of a fungus-infested dialysis fluid at the PGI on Friday.

A product of Punjab Formulations Limited, Sura village-based industry in Jalandhar district, the intra-peritoneal dialysis fluid IP was in controversy after three persons lost their lives. Two patients died at two city hospitals while one in died in Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh. Another fungus-infested plastic bottle of the same company was spotted by a vigilant attendant just seconds after its use in the coronary care unit (CCU) of the PGI.

A visit to the emergency OPD, trauma and other wards of the PGI revealed that the glass bottles were back in use. Similar was the situation at the GMCH, GMSH and other city hospitals.

Though the official spokesperson of the PGI was not aware of the fact but sources in the PGI revealed that the bottles had re-appeared following the directions of the PGI management.

Mr Amarjit Singh Virmani, president of the Chandigarh Chemists Association, claimed that appearance of fungus in plastic bottles was quite common. He made it clear that plastic bottles get compressed when stored in piles against the norms by stockists and distributors. “Air gets suck in the plastic bottles when weight gets released during transportation. This helps in developing fungus,” he added.

Use of glass bottles proves much costlier not only to the manufacturers but also to the stockists and consumers. Moreover, handling of the glass bottles was a tedious job.

He added that as per the norms not more than six crates could be stocked in a pile. But this was violated by stockists.

Dr Raj Bahadur, Additional Medical Superintendent, PGI, was of the opinion that it was the duty of the chemists, attendants of the patients and the paramedical staff to check fluid bottles before use.

Mr Sunny Chopra, Senior Divisional Manager of the Punjab Formulations Limited, whose product was in the controversy, claimed that the media had hyped the issue unnecessarily. He said the bottles carried caution on their labels. Moreover, the company had been repeatedly advising the stockists and users to follow the instruction.

Meanwhile, the UT Health Department today took samples of the fluids from certain other medical stores in the city and sent them to the Sector 11-based drug and food testing laboratory. 

Chandigarh, December 27
The elections to the posts of the Mayor, the Senior Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Mayor may be held on January 5 or 6.

“While the oath-taking ceremony of the councillors would be held on January 1, the elections to the top post may be deferred for a few days as the notification for the poll is yet to be issued,” sources said here today.

The Punjab Municipal Act, as extended to Chandigarh, has provisions under which Mayor’s election could be held “some days” after the oath-taking ceremony of the councillors.

With no political party or alliance getting majority, the proposed decision could give some more days to various parties to cobble up majority.

Meanwhile, eight nominated councillors met in Sector 15 today and chalked out a strategy to elect persons with a clean image to the three top posts. It was decided to extend issue-based support to deserving candidates rising above the party politics. The nominated councillors decided to work jointly for the welfare for the city.

Meanwhile, Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, who defeated the Mayor, Mr Surinder Singh, was elected leader of the BJP group in the MCC. While Ram Lal was elected the deputy leader, Mr Rajesh Gupta was elected the secretary. Mr Anil Dubey was elected the chief whip. Ms Sunita Chaudhary and Mr Surinder Jagota were elected joint secretary and treasurer, respectively.

On the other hand, the BJP president, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, has formed a committee comprising Mr Kala, Ms Kamla Sharma, Mr K.K. Addiwal, Mr Mata Ram Dhiman, Mr Ramvir Bhatti and Mr Chetan Mittal for the Mayoral elections.

The Congress, which has emerged as the single largest party, is likely to call a meeting of the newly elected councillors tomorrow to finalise the name of the party candidates for the post. The post of the Mayor is reserved for woman candidate in the first year of the civic body’s five-year tenure.

Panchkula, December 27
A visit to the famous Yadavindra Gardens at Pinjore proved to be a bitter experience for an American NRI here yesterday. He was allegedly beaten up by the garden’s parking attendants for not taking a parking ticket.

“I had parked my vehicle outside the area cordoned off as the parking lot of the gardens. The parking attendant approached me and demanded money for parking the vehicle there. I did not accede to his demand as my vehicle was parked by the roadside and not in the parking area. An argument ensued. On realising that I was not willing to give in, he called five other men. Together, they boxed, kicked and punched me. My friend, who was accompanying me, was also hit by them while the ticketing staff of the gardens continued with their work,” he said.

The incident took place around 2 pm when the NRI reached the gardens with his friend. “As they started thrashing me and my friend, I ran towards the ticket counter. I entered the room behind the counter from where I called up the police. Two men, including the parking attendant, entered the room and began kicking me in the face and on the legs.

My friend was also kicked. While all this was happening, the ticketing staff continued with their work, unperturbed. They didn’t get up to save me from the assailants or intervene in the matter,” the NRI added.

It was only after a few visitors at the gardens stepped in and told the assailants that the police was on its way that they stopped thrashing them. The police has recorded the statement of the NRI and is investigating into the matter.

“What is most surprising is that such a famous tourist place does not have any security arrangement. Not even a single policeman was around when I quickly surveyed the area to call out for help. The attitude of the ticketing staff was very shocking,” he said.

Mr Manmohan Garg, CEO of Swami Vivekanand Group of Institutes (SVGOI), will be in New Delhi on Thursday to meet top officials of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in connection with the group’s plan to start a business school on the SVGOI campus in Ram Nagar (Banur). To be patterned on the Indian Institute of Management, this will be the first business school in the private sector in this part of the country.

Rakesh Thakran, coordinator of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, New Delhi, is in town for the 14th All-India AK Mishra Boxing underway at the skating rink, Sector 10, Chandigarh. Rakesh, a former Gurgaon-based national-level boxer (1989-1997), will also analyse the selection trials for 10th YMCA international boxing championship to be held in New Delhi from January 28.

You are a product of Punjab Engineering College. What change do you think are needed in the college?

There is too much focus on theories and not enough importance is given to the practical aspect of studies. We need to improve on that. Also the curriculum is out dated which needs to be adapted more and more to the changing demands of the industry.

How do you intend to help in improving the situation at your alma mater?

Today majority of students of the 1981 batch have got together here. This is the beginning. It has taken our class fellow Sanjiv Raghuvanshi one year to get us together. This is where we intend to begin. Before we disperse tomorrow, we will make sure some decisions are taken which will be the first steps towards our contribution to the college.

Do you find any difference in the system of school education here and in the USA?

My son is in school in the USA and I feel that there is very little importance given to memory-based cramming that students end up doing here. Here there is more emphasis on learning and rote.

Chandigarh, December 27
After a painful journey of 11 years, Ms Baljit Amarjit Singh, a Sector 36 resident, wrote a book on her experiences after she claimed to have recovered from osteoarthritis. The writer of the book was bed-ridden for a long time and was unable to stand on her feet and walk on her own.

A patient of osteoarthritis, Ms Singh, an English teacher with a Sector 38-located private school, was advised knee replacements by orthopaedic surgeons of almost six hospitals in and around the city. She could not make up her mind as she felt that these surgeries did not have a good success rate.

In her book “I Can, You Can!” Ms Singh claims that “I have surmised my trials and tribulations, besides experiments with non-surgical treatment methods which resulted in turning the impossible into possible ,” she added.

In the book, she has spoken of home remedies, neurotherapy, physiotherapy, homeopathy, ayurveda, allopathy, controlled diet and above all - faith in God, which resulted in this miracle. 

Mohali, December 27
Estimates for development works to the tune of about Rs 3.5 crore will be discussed at the Mohali Municipal Council meeting tomorrow.

Most of the estimates prepared by the engineering wing of the council relate to the maintenance of roads and construction of footpaths in different areas of the town. The civic body plans to spend about Rs 1 crore on laying of premix on some roads in residential and industrial areas. Another sum of Rs 73 lakh would be spent on the construction of footpaths.

The council proposes to purchase a sewer-cleaning machine for Rs 20 lakh and a tipper for Rs 9.74 lakh. It has also been proposed to purchase foam for the fire brigade at a cost of Rs 18 lakh. A sum of Rs 51 lakh would be spent on the sinking of two tubewells.

Meanwhile, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority has decided to hand over seven parks to the council for maintenance. 

Mohali, December 27
The Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) of the Department of Public Health here today said in a press note that water was being supplied to Ward No. 17 as per fixed timings and at full pressure.

He said water was being supplied from 4 am to 8 am, 12.30 pm to 2 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm daily. 

Chandigarh, December 27
The police has busted an inter-state gang involved in smuggling liquor from Chandigarh to Gujarat. It has arrested the driver of a truck in which 457 cartons of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth around Rs 4.50 lakh were being transported.

The police said the liquor cartons were kept under bags containing rice bran.

Inspector Vijay Kumar, in charge of the Operation Cell of the Chandigarh Police, said a picket was set up on the Daria road here on Tuesday night. A truck displaying a fake registration number (HR-39-E-3030) was stopped by for inspection.

The inspection of the truck led to recovery of 457 cartons of various brands of liquor. The checking of the documents of the truck revealed that its original registration number was (HR-37-C-3936). The truck driver was later identified as 33-year-old Balwinder Singh of Gurdaspur district.

He told the police that the liquor was purchased from a liquor shop near the railway station in the city and it was being transported to Mehsana in Gujarat. The truck belonged to the Patiala-based Chaddha Transport Company.

Senior officials of the operation cell said action would be initiated against the liquor shop owner for selling liquor in bulk without valid permission. They were also verifying the involvement of other people in the smuggling. Efforts were also on to trace the people in Gujarat to whom the liquor was being sent.

A case has been registered under various sections of the IPC and the Excise Act.

This is the third time that the operation cell has seized such a huge quantity of liquor being smuggled to Gujarat. Earlier, the police had seized over 900 cartons of liquor in two separate incidents.

Chandigarh, December 27
A Punjab police cop lost his mobile phone to two youths this morning when they requested him to give his phone on the pretext of making a phone call.

The incident took place at busy Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) Sector 17, at around 10 am. Mr Mohan Lal, a Punjab Police Constable, was busy reading newspaper, when two youngsters approached him. They requested him to make a call for them on his mobile phone as there was no balance left in their phone. Unmindful of their intentions, the cop handed over his set to them and continued reading the newspaper. He came to know about the fraud only when he looked up to ask for his cell phone, the youths had fled away with his set, said the police.

He raised an alarm, but in vain. The matter was reported to the police and a case of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code had been registered in the Sector 17 police station in this connection.

The police said, Mohan Lal described the youngsters as clean shaven and were in their twenties.

Chandigarh, December 27
Two motorcycle-borne youngsters snatched a purse from a woman in Sector 46 this afternoon.

Panchkula, December 27
A Sector 19 resident, Gurmit Singh, was beaten up by 15 boys while he was returning from duty on Monday. In his complaint to the police, he alleged that the boys had been teasing his niece for the past many days after which he had warned them to keep away from her.

"We (all residents of Baltana) had warned the boys to desist from teasing the girl around. On Monday, while I was coming back from duty, they gheraoed me and began hitting me for warning them. I somehow managed to escape from their clutches and went and complained to the police. They even got me medically examined," Gurmit said.

Last morning, too, the boys came back to Gurmit's place to "teach him a lesson for going to the police". "Thankfully, nobody was at home. They smashed the window panes and threw stones at our house before dispersing. They have also threatened my nephew with dire consequences for complaining to the police," he said.

Residents of the area today gathered at the police station to press for early arrests of the accused in the case.

The police, on its part, has rounded up two boys involved in the incident. Police sources said investigations were on in the matter. The statements of the two rounded up in the case have been recorded.

Mohali, December 27
Cash and jewellery was stolen from two adjoining houses in Phase XI here today.

Mr Lok Nath, owner of one of the houses, had left around 8 am for work. Other members of his family had gone to Ambala. His neighbours informed him that thieves had broken into his house. He immediately came back, but could not assess the exact loss because his wife was not at home.

The owner of the adjoining house, Mr Chander Bhan, was also not at home when the theft took place in his house. His family had gone to Zirakpur. He had left his house around midday, but after 3 pm he got a call about the theft. He found cash and jewellery stolen from his house.

The police is carrying out investigations. Finger experts visited the houses and lifted finger prints.

The thefts came to light when a resident, Gurmukh Singh, came home at around 3 pm and could not open the lock of his house. Later, he realised that the lock had been tampered with. He called his neighbours to enquire into the matter, but soon it was found out that thieves had broken into two adjoining houses and decamped with cash and jewellery.

Even yesterday, Sharda Rani, another resident of Phase XI, had complained to the police that after coming back from work, she found that someone had broken into the house and decamped with cash and jewellery from the house.

Chandigarh, December 27
More than a few Hutch subscribers in and outside Chandigarh remained "unavailable" since Tuesday morning. Though the Hutch management categorically denied network problem, the residents trying to get in touch with the subscribers continued to face inconvenience.

Talking to The Tribune, the residents claimed that they were greeted with "the subscriber is not available" message every time they dialled the mobile phone numbers. A senior executive said he was trying to get in touch with an associate in Delhi for over 12 hours, but without success.

A senior Hutch company manager said so far they had not received any complaint in this regard. As such, the problem could be with particular connections or phone sets.

He added that they would still look into the matter to rule out any possibility of snag in the system and would do the needful with immediate effect in case of any problem.

Chandigarh, December 27
Dancing lights bopping to the tunes of Bollywood numbers. Disc jockeys and bands gyrating magic in restaurants. Colourful balloons, swinging buntings and alluring streamers adding glitz to the glimmer. All this and much more on the New Year’s Eve. That’s exactly what the hotels, clubs and other joints across the city plan to offer to the revelers.

Hotel Mountview is charging Rs 1,500 for single and Rs 2,500 from couples. The young ones can savour fun and frolic by pulling out Rs 750 from their wallets. Mountview’s General Manager R.P. Singla says snacks and dinner will be included. Drinks will be against payment.

The hotel was initially planning to charge the exact amount of bill from the revelers instead of pocketing bundles of crisp currency notes for allowing them to enter the world of excitement on the big day. But the plan was dropped keeping in view the heavy rush that was expected because of the decision against charging extra for the celebrations.

Hotel Shivalikview is offering sizzling dishes for making the hot night crackle with excitement for the out-to-chill crowd. It is holding an exclusive party for the elite.

Along with hot Chinese food, you get to enjoy performance by singers “Vijay and Nikhat Ali” at the Chinese restaurant Yangtse. In Bazm, you get buffet with live band. Couples will have to pull out Rs 2,500. Singles accompanying them will have to pay Rs 1,500.

Go to Taj Chandigarh for performances by international dancers, live band, breathtaking ambience and exciting prizes. At Blue Ice in Sector 17 the celebrations may be livelier. The best dressed and best dancing couple take home a fabulous gift, along with fond memories. Go to Silver Party hall at the Noodle Bar and you get a chance to rock into the New Year with unlimited drinks, snacks and buffet.

You get to taste pastas and other goodies, along with music by DJ Bunty, at the bash being organised by Hotel Orange. At the bash organised at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium you get to raise a bubbly toast to 2007 with foot-tapping music of DJs Raj and Pammi. Live performance by Element adds to the flavour. This is not all. You have Danish beauty Anita Larche crooning some cool numbers.

Just in case you wish to celebrate the big evening away from the maddening crowd, drive down to The Fort in Ramgarh. Just for Rs 1,500 couples get a chance to enjoy fashion show and item number.

So, if you still haven’t decided upon the hot spot for celebrating New Year, just make reservations and get ready for slipping into your stilettos.

(To be continued)