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Need to curb tobacco abuse: Experts
Attar Singh
Tribune News Service

Painting competition

Ambala: Police DAV Public School organised a painting competition on the occasion on World No Tobacco Day today. The students expressed the drawback of tobacco use through their paintings. The principal of the school, Vikas Kohli, asked the students to caution the people about the use of tobacco and other narcotic goods. Viksit secured 1st position in the competition while Rajat and Aapurva were declared second and third, respectively. — OC

Patiala, May 31
The World No Tobacco Day was observed on a subdued note here today with just a couple of social organisations making their presence felt to eradicate the social evil of smoking.

Prominent among such organisations were the Department of TB and Chest, Government Medical College and the civil surgeon’s office.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jai Kishan, professor and head of the TB hospital said by the end of the year 2010, one out of 5 men will die due to increased smoking habits and overall this figure could reach one million mark by 2010. He cited a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that smoking now accounts for nine lakh deaths in the country.

He added that the study had warned that without any concrete action, the death toll from smoking related diseases will increase dramatically and warned that smoking could account for nearly 20 per cent deaths in the next few years.

He said, “We understand the dangers of smoking and we also know that it substantially increases the incidence of lung, breast, colon, head and cervical cancer. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, smoking is a pediatric epidemic and that in India nearly 55,000 children start using tobacco related products every year.”

The office of the civil surgeon held a district-level function near the bus stand, which was attended by the civil surgeon Avtar Singh Jarewal, along with others.

Speaking on the occasion, Jarewal said the tobacco industry was always trying new ways and means to pull in youngsters in the cigarette-smoking fold.

The mass media officer Bhavjit Singh Sandhu also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the district Red Cross Society also observed the day at the Punjab Jail Training School where the school principal B.S. Patti was the chief guest.

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Bus rams into tree, 30 injured
Tribune News Service

Kharar, May 31
Thirty passengers of a bus got injured when it in rammed in a tree near village Sahauran today morning.

The bus of Khattra bus service (PB 11 S 1925) was on its way from Mohali to Pathankot.

When it crossed the Sahauran bus stand, a speeding car approached from the opposite direction. Bus driver Kulbir Singh said both vehicles were at a high speed.

In order to save the collision the bus driver immediately took a right turn and the bus rammed into a nearby tree.

Around 30 people got injured out of which nine sustained serious injuries. These included M.S. Pali and Karnail Singh, who were referred to PGI Chandigarh. Roma and Kuldeep Singh were referred to Government Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh, while two sisters, Ricky and Neelam Sharma, were referred to Mohali civil hospital. Three other seriously injured included Davinder Lal, Harbans Singh and Ramandeep from village Chanalo.

Others injured were discharged after administering first aid at Kharar civil hospital. The Kharar police said none of the injured has lodged any complaint and hence no case has been registered.

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Neha’s Death
Cops do not rule out foul play
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, May 31
A day after the death of 24-year-old Neha Jain, the Dera Bassi police today claimed preliminary investigation so far carried out by them was pointing towards the involvement of her husband and his entire family.

A senior police officer said they had initiated the process of taking Neha’s husband Munish Jain into custody. In all probability, he would be produced before the magistrate concerned for police remand after being arrested on tomorrow morning.

The officer said though the exact cause of the death would be ascertained only after receiving the post-mortem report, as of now death due to strangulation could not be ruled out. The post-mortem has been conducted by a board of doctors.

The officer also rubbished the claims that Neha had been found hanging. No evidence, he added, had been found to suggest the same.

The police has already registered a case of dowry death and another offence under Sections 304-B and 34 of the IPC against the husband, his parents, brother and his wife.

The case was registered on the complaint of Neha’s father Satish Mittal, who had told the police that the girl was being harassed for dowry.

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Proposed hike fuels protest in Ambala
Our Correspondent

BJP activists burn the effigy of petroleum minister Murli Deora in a protest against the proposed petrol and diesel price hike, in Ambala
BJP activists burn the effigy of petroleum minister Murli Deora in a protest against the proposed petrol and diesel price hike, in Ambala on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Ambala, May 31
The Ambala unit of the BJP burnt the effigy of Union petroleum minister Murli Deora following the proposed hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas price at wholesale cloth market in Ambala City today. The party workers also raised slogans against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Centre government.

Former MP of BJP, Ratan Lal Kataria while addressing the party workers said the UPA government had completely failed to check the price hike as the inflation had risen to 8.1 per cent. He said the price hike of petroleum goods would further add to the inflation and added that the Congress will pay for it in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Former MLA Faquir Chand Aggarwal and the senior leaders of the party Sandeep Sachdeva, Rajinder Guddu, Ramesh Basan, Ravinder Dhavan, Chander Mohan Fauji, Prem Gupta, Sant Lal and Kripal Singh Saggu were also present on the occasion.

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IET students placed with top cos
Tribune News Service

Ropar, May 31
Students of IET, Bhaddal, have been placed with various companies of national and international repute.

Tech Mahindra and NR Switch-n-Radio Services selected 16 and 12 students, respectively, of the 2004 batch.

From the same batch, 45 students were placed in Infosys, 17 in Accenture, 13 in L&T Infotech and 10 in Satyam. Companies like Wipro, Godrej, Birla Soft, Shri Ram, and Saint Gobain had also placed a large number of students.

College spokesperson claimed that these students have been offered packages around Rs 3 lakh per annum.

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Power shutdown in Patiala
Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 31
Due to some urgent repair at 66 KV sub-station Grid Colony on Rajpura road, the power supply in Hira Bagh area, Rajpura Colony, Vikas Colony, Mathura Colony, SST Nagar, Rose Colony, Jagdish Colony, Transport Nagar, Sadar Police Station, Old Bishan Nagar, New Bishan Nagar,Ram Nagar,Gobind Bagh, Gurbax Colony, Tafazal Pura, DCW Road, Guru Nanak Nagar and Grid Colony, will be suspended from 11 am to 5 pm tomorrow.

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Gupta upsets giants to clinch PGTI title
Donald Banerjee

Chandigarh, May 31
Soft-spoken Chandigarh caddie-turned-pro Harendra Gupta was at his best as he upstaged the two pillars of Indian professional golf, Ashok Kumar and Mukesh Kumar, to clinch the PGTI Players Championship trophy and a cash prize of Rs 4, 84,950 in a playoff after the three were tied at 11 under 277 on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Harendra Gupta’s first PGTI triumph came on the third playoff as Mukesh dropped out after making a bogey on the first and Ashok made his exit with a bogey on the third with the Chandigarh golfer playing a steady par game in the tie-breaker played on the 18th hole.

The champion’s victory march on the last day was phenomenon. Placed sixth after the third round yesterday, and with the cream of Indian golf heading the leaderboard, Harendra made an incredible charge on the final day firing a five under par 67, the best card of the day, along with Gurbaaz Mann and Gaganjeet Bhullar, to win his first professional title in two years.

He gradually made his way up the ladder with birdies on the second, sixth, ninth and 11th. And as if this was not enough he shot an eagle on the 13th to emerge the sole leader. But a bogey on the 15th saw him slipping back into the joint lead slot with Mukesh and Ashok. An ecstatic Harendra Gupta said: “When I sank an eagle on the par five 13th with the help of an 18 feet putt, I felt I had a very good opportunity to win even though I did not know that I had taken the lead at that point. However, a bad chip shot on the 15th led to a bogey that in turn made me slip back into joint first. In the playoff, I decided to play safe and not attack too much. This move paid-off as I made pars all the way till the third playoff hole even as Mukesh and Ashok dropped bogeys on the first and third, respectively.”

“The victory at the PGTI Players Championship is special for me because I recovered very well after being three strokes off the lead at the end of the third round. This win has also raised my confidence besides improving my position in the PGTI Order of Merit. As India has started hosting many international tournaments it is imperative to maintain a high rank on the Order of Merit as that provides a player the opportunity to play those big events.” Gupta has now climbed from eighth to fifth on the 2007-08 PGTI Order of Merit.

Ashok Kumar’s tied second finish at the PGTI Players Championship was his best in the 2007-08 PGTI season. Ashok (70, 67, 71, 69) headed into the playoff after sinking birdies on the second, seventh, 11th, 13th, 16th and dropping bogeys on the fourth and 15th for a three under 69. But nerves got the better of the Delhi golfer on the third playoff hole when he missed a three feet putt for par that handed Gupta the title and a cheque of Rs 4, 84,950.

Ashok said: “I was disappointed to miss a sitter on the third playoff hole after having maintained the intensity throughout the day. Nevertheless, I am very pleased as this is my best performance of the current PGTI season. At the start of the day I was looking to shoot a score of six to seven under and was in an aggressive frame of mind. But Harendra played really well and maintained his composure to win the playoff.”

Mukesh Kumar (69, 66, 72, 70) also joined Ashok in tied second place. Mukesh’s campaign ended when his approach shot on the first playoff hole landed in the water hazard. However, his runners-up finish helped him climb to first position on the PGTI Order of Merit. The professional from Mhow now has total earnings of Rs 15, 46,675 in the current PGTI season. Earlier, in the day the triple winner on the PGTI had made birdies on the second, fourth, 13th and a bogey on the fifth.

Vijay Kumar (69, 70, 70, 71) finished fourth with an overall score of eight under 280.

Gurbaaz Mann, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Ranjit Singh were tied fifth at seven under 281.

Gaurav Ghei slipped on the final day to finish eighth at six under 282.

Harmeet Kahlon (two under 286) was tied 11th while Arjun Singh (one under 287) finished tied 14th.

Rahul Ganapathy’s total of even par 288 ensured him tied 15th while Digvijay Singh was tied 25th at four over 292.

Final scores: 277 Harendra P. Gupta (70-69-71-67), Ashok Kumar (70-67-71-69), Mukesh Kumar 69-66-72-70); 280 Vijay Kumar (69-70-70-71); 281 Gurbaaz P.S. Mann (68-72-74-67), Gaganjeet Bhullar (68-74-72-67) and Ranjit Singh (65-73-70-67); 282 Gaurav Ghei (69-65-74-74); 283 Sujjan Singh (70-72-71-70); 285 Vinod Kumar (67-74-76-68); 286 (Karanjit Singh Sandhu (71-77-70-68), C. Muniyappa (72-74-68-72) and Harmeet Kahlon (67-72-74-73); 287 Arjun Singh (71-73-72-72).

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Federation Cup Cricket
Punjab, Haryana in finals
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 31
Punjab and Haryana teams set up title clash in the All-India Under-17 National Federation Cup Cricket Tournament being played at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3, here. Punjab beat Bihar by 3-2 in sudden death bowl-out session as the their semi-final match ended in a tie as both the teams scored 148 for 8 each in the stipulated 25 overs. Haryana secured their final berth beating Gujarat by 42 runs.

After winning the toss, Punjab elected to bat first. Openers Pardeep Gill (27) and Charanamrit (25) shared 52-run partnership for the opening wicket stand but the team could not capitalise on the solid start. As the team kept losing wickets at regular intervals, the team could set a target of 141. Harpreet Mander (17), Ishan Ali (17) and Sumit Handa (18) were their other main scorers. Anurag (2 for 23) was the most successful bowler for Bihar.

Though Bihar started on a disappointing note, as the opener Jainendra Kumar went back to pavilion when the scoreboard read zero. However, Sachin Kumar (45) and Kaviraj (19) provided some relief with their 68-run partnership for the third wicket. Anshul (37) and Tushar (17 n o) steered the team to level the score with that of the rival team. Charanamrit was the most successful bowler for Punjab as he bagged 4 for 23. Bihar finished with 140 for 8 in stipulated 25 overs.

In the second semi-final, Haryana defeated Gujarat by 42 runs. Batting first, Haryana made 195 for 8 in 25 overs. In reply, Gujarat was bowled out for 157 in 24.4 overs.

Brief Scores: Punjab: 140 for 8 in 25 overs (Pardeep Gill 27, Charan Amrit 25, Sumit Hooda 18 n o, Ishan Ali 17, Harpreet Mander 17, Anurag 2 for 23, Gaurav Kumar 1 for 14, Ritu Raj 1 for 15).

Bihar: 140 for 8 in 25 overs (Sachin Kumar 45, Anshul 37, Kaviraj 19, Tushar Kumar 17, Charan Amrit 4 for 23, Vikramvir 1 for 5, Gursahib 1 for 20).

Match tied: Punjab won 3-2 in sudden death during bowl-out.

Haryana: 195 for 8 in 25 overs (Pranav Nanda 77 (11x4), Sunand Kumar 35 n o, Roubalinder Saini 21, Suman Kumar 14, Metash Bedani 3 for 31, Moshin Pathan 2 for 37).

Gujarat: 153 all out in 24.4 overs (Prateek Desai 40, Mitesh Bedani 35, Dashrath Chaudhary 25, Ashok Kumar 3 for 17, Pranav Nanda 2 for 1, Roubalinder Saini 2 for 25, Ashu Kumar 2 for 31). Haryana win by 42 runs.

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MCA clinch two-run victory
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
In a nail-biting contest, Mohali Cricket Academy (MCA), snatched a thrilling two-run victory over spirited CCA-Guru Nanak Public School Academy, Sector 36, in the Chandigarh Inter-Academy under-15 Cricket Tournament for Mount Shivalik Trophy at the St Stephen's School ground in Sector 45, here today.

Chasing the target of 253, the GNPS team required six runs in six balls in the final over of the match, but the team managed to score just four runs and were all out on the fourth ball.

Earlier, MCA scored 252 for 5 in allotted 35 overs. The openers Kinderpreet Singh (54 off 66) and Ankit Pursharthy (69 for 55) flayed the CCA-GNPSA bowlers to stitch 125-run partnership.

Saurab Chopra hit seven boundaries on his way to 38 from 36 balls.

Harshit got two wickets for 31 runs for CCA-GNPS Academy.

In their befitting reply, GNPS’ Subham Mahajan chipped in 78 runs in 51 deliveries.

Azil Chopra (37) and Jaskaran Singh (30) were the other contributors for the team.

Gurpartap (3 for 36) and Saurab (3 for 52) were the most successful bowlers for Mohali Cricket Academy.

Brief scores: Mohali Cricket Academy: 252 for 5 in 35 overs (Ankit Pursharthy 69, Kinderpreet Singh 54, Saurab Chopra 38, Anmoljit Singh 16, Ishit Gujral 17 n o, Vaibhav Gupta 12, Harshit 2 for 31, Jayant 1 for 41, Naveen Dhiman 1 for 54).

CCA-Guru Nanak Public School Academy-36: 250 all out in 34.4 overs (Shubham Majahan 78, Azil Chabbar 37, Jaskaran 30, Gaurav Sharma 21, Jayant 15, Kshitz 15, Gurpartap 3 for 36, Saurab Chopra 3 for 52, Ishit Gujral 1 for 49).

Tomorrow's fixture: Bhavan Vidalaya, Panchkula vs Sector 16 Cricket Stadium.

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Hockey
Players’ apparel auction on June 5
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
In an effort to help the organisers of Dharam Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament, the hockey stars, including Prabhjot Singh, Rajpal Singh and Deepak Thakur, will put their apparels under hammer on June 5.

Talking to The Tribune, the Indian ace forward Rajpal said, “Each of us have donated one T-shirt to the organisers, who will put these articles on auction at Hotel Regency, Sector 35, at 10:30 am on June 5. The gesture is to help the organisers, who find it very difficult to meet their expenses for holding the tournament, an annual affair.”

One of the organisers S.S. Gill said, “The auction will be held to raise the funds. We are expecting that some hockey fans will definitely come forward for the cause of promoting hockey at the grass-root level”.

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Ravi Inder Singh emerges winner
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
Ravi Inder Singh won top honours trailing Rahul Chopra to second position in the Single Sculls (SJM1x) (500m) event of Chandigarh State Sub-junior and Challenger Sprints Rowing Championship for Men and Women, held at the Lake Club, here today.

Ravi clocked 1:54.97 seconds to complete the course while Rahul took 2:22.08 seconds to bag silver.

The races, being organised by Chandigarh Rowing Association, were conducted on a 500m long water course, as per the RFI rules.

Other results: Sub-Juniors (Boys) Single Sculls (SJM1 x) (500M): 1 Ravi Inder Singh, 2 Rahul Chopra

Double Sculls (SJM2 x) (500M): 1 Ravi Inder Singh and Neel Kant, 2 Usman Ali and Dishant Sehgal.

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Burail resident duped of Rs 5.5 lakh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
Burail resident Manj Kumar has filed a police complaint against Vinod Kumar, Neelam and Komal alleging that the trio duped him of Rs 5.5 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. He alleged that neither the trio sent him abroad nor did they return the money.

A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 34 police station. The economic offence wing of the Chandigarh Police is investigating the matter.

Stolen

Ajit Pal of Sector 49 reported that his car (DL-6-CE-9454) was stolen on May 25 from Mani Majra. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Mani Majra police station.

In another incident, P.S. Kapoor of Ambala reported to the police that his car (PB-10-BT-5563) had been stolen from the parking of the High Court. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 3 police station.

Theft

Sector-15 resident Rahul reported that his motorcycle (DL-8AC-2495) was stolen from outside his residence, while Chander Parkash of Baltana alleged that his motorcycle (PB-70-A-8142) was stolen from Industrial Area. Two cases under Section 379 of the IPC have been registered.

Liquor seized

Vijay Kumar of Badheri was arrested on the charges of possessing five bottles of country-made wine. A case under Sections 61,1,14 of the Excise Act has been registered at the Sector 39 police station.

Arrested

Sukhdarshan, an auto rickshaw driver, was arrested on the charges of negligent driving. According to the police, the auto (PB-12-H-1297) knocked down a cyclist and two-wheeler on the dividing road of Sectors 55 and 56. Both, cyclist and motorist, were seriously injured and were rushed to the PGI. The driver has been booked under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.

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Baby’s body exhumed, sent for autopsy
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 31
The district police exhumed body of a two-and-a-half-year-old baby at Pinjore, near here yesterday. The girl, Anu, had gone missing on May 18 from her home at Madhanwala village and her parents found the body on May 24.

Anu’s father Kashmira Singh buried the body in the jungles of Kiratpur village on May 24. He reported to the police that his daughter was missing since May 18 and when he found the body from a desolated place near Kiratpur, it was infected with maggots and they decided to bury at a nearby place.

Later, the parents suspected that the parts of body were missing.

Superintendent of police Sandip Khirwar said the body was sent for the postmortem. However, the parents, who lodged the complaint of missing of child, did not inform the police about the body and buried it on the spot when it was found on May 24, said the SP.

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CTU bus runs down pedestrian
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
A 40-year-old man, Gopal, was run over by a CTU bus on the road dividing Sectors 25 and 38 here this afternoon.

Jitender Pal Singh, the driver of the bus (CH-01-G-1964), failed to notice the pedestrian, crushing him under the tyre of the vehicle. The victim died on the spot.

The police has arrested the driver of the bus. The body of the victim will be handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination tomorrow.

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Music, drama mark saang festival
S.D. Sharma

Panchkula, May 31
An integrated display of music, drama, dance, raginis and narratives marked the staging of a popular Haryanvi saang ‘Krishna Devi-Phool Bahadur’ at the Indradhanush auditorium here today.

Written by playwright Banwari Lal Thail, the saang depicted the triumph of true love, character and fidelity of Krishna Devi, a princess of Kashmir state, married to prince Phool Bahadur of Chittorh.

The director Shyam Lal, who also played the lead role of Phool Bahadur, had added mythical dimensions to the story which otherwise symbolised the contemporary reality of marital relationship. Endowed with a virile and melodious voice, Shyam Lal delivered the narrative and raginis. His co-artists embellished the saang with their vocal support, dances and mimicry.

Earlier, K.K. Khandelwal, additional principal secretary to CM, and BS Balhara welcomed the chief guest Kiran Choudhary, tourism minister of Haryana and Naresh Kaushal, editor of Dainik Tribune. In a forceful speech Choudhary complimented the organisers of the ongoing saang festival and artists for preserving and propagating the rich cultural traditions of Haryana.

The mammoth rush today for the folk art show here proves that in spite of their exposure to urban life, the Haryanvis are still attached to their inherited aesthetically enriching form of saang.

Choudhary was candid enough to agree that we have yet to register our cultural supremacy at the national level like Rajasthan or Kerala. She offered all the required patronage of the department of tourism, Haryana, to the artistic fraternity of the state in this regard. Kaushal distributed prizes to winners of the quiz.

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Singing contest for Rafi awards
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society, Chandigarh is holding the first round of singing competition for Rafi awards on June 15, at Randhawa auditorium in Sector 16 here.

There will be three rounds of this competition for seniors and juniors in male and female categories. The three rounds will be held on June 15, June 29 and the final round on the death anniversary of Mohd Rafi on July 27. The male contestants will sing only Mohd Rafi’s songs and female contestants will Lata’s

The winners will be honoured with Best Singer Award and the first and second runners up with trophies in both categories. The awards will be given away by a renowned film personality in Rafi nite in December this year. Last year these awards were given away by popular playback singer Suman Kalyanpur. For more details please contact B.D. Sharma on 98147-31112.

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