NEIGHBOURHOOD

House gutted
Tribune News Service

Ambala, June 3
Shruti Sharma of PKR Jain Public School, Ambala City has topped the district with 97 per cent marks whereas Payal Sharma of Murlidhar DAV Public School, Ambala City, is second with 96.8 per cent. Shrishti Solanki of PKR Jain Public School, Ambala City, has scored 96.6 per cent and stood third.

In Murlidhar DAV Public School, Ambala City, Payal Sharma has come first with 97 per cent marks, Siddarth Singh has come second securing 96.4 per cent and Anchal Sahni has secured 96.2 per cent marks. As many as 287 students had appeared in the examination out of which 32 students have scored more than 90 per cent marks.

Sanya Gupta got 95 per cent and topped in CBSE Class X in SD Public School, Ambala Cantonment.

Raman Kalra has topped DAV Public School (riverside), Ambala Cantonment, with 94 per cent marks, Mrinal Grover has stood second in the school with 93.8 per cent, Parul Bindal has secured 93 per cent and Ankit Gaur has secured 93 per cent marks.

In St Joseph School, Ambala City, Mayank Gupta scored 94 per cent marks topping his school, Saba Usmaan came second with 92 per cent, Karan Saini, Maninder and Arshvir have secured 90 per cent.

Sanya Gupta has topped the Dewan Harkrishna Das SD Public School, Ambala Cantonment, scoring 94.6 per cent marks, Vikrant Dhillon has stood second scoring 94.2 per cent marks, Anshul Goyal has stood third scoring 94 per cent marks.

Monika Sachdeva has secured 90 per cent marks in CBSE Class X of Tulsi Public School, Hissar Road, Ambala City. She has topped the school.

Lord Mahavir Jain Public School has scored 100 per cent result. Reenu Sharma has topped the school scoring 89 per cent marks.

In SA Jain Model School, Ambala City, Swati Bansal has topped the school with 94.4 per cent in Class X; Bhuwan Kasri has come second with 93.3 per cent while Ankit Gupta has come third with 91.3 per cent.

Malini Suri has topped the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ambala Cantonment, with 95.4 per cent. Shivani Sharma of the same school has scored 95 per cent.

Sandeep Saini and Aman Nagpal have topped Ambala Public School, Ambala City scoring 90 per cent marks each.

Akhil Monga has topped Army School, Ambala Cantonment, scoring 95.8 per cent marks. Arindam Ghoshal has come second scoring 95.4 per cent while Siddarth Gupta has stood third with 94.8 per cent.

Patiala, June 2
In an unprecedented incident in Punjab, the Patiala mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli allegedly ‘coerced’ Patiala municipal corporation commissioner M.P. Arora accusing the latter of “not doing works or standing in ways of certain municipal councillors”

The verbal spat between the mayor and the commissioner continued in presence of around 12 ‘pro-mayor’ municipal councillors.

The mayor has, however, termed the allegations levelled by the commissioner as false. “He is a very senior PCS officers with 17 years of experience. How can such an officer be browbeaten in presence of 16-17 municipal councillors? How can so many people lie?” questioned Kohli when contacted by The Tribune.

M.P. Arora alleged that the mayor barged into his office along with many councillors and started misbehaving with him. “The mayor even threatened me to come out of my office so that he could see me. He barged into my office and started thumping on my table and hurled allegations that I was standing in ways of works of certain councillors close to the mayor.

“In fact, the mayor was upset over calling of tenders for some works by my office in the light of Punjab and Haryana High Court orders whereas, he wanted to allot these works to his close councillors. He also pointed out that I was getting chlorination of water checked whereas, it was my duty to do so. What is wrong in it?” quipped an anguished commissioner.

“He alleged that the mayor was also upset over calling of meeting of female councillors by him while implementing directions in this regard by the Punjab local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia.

The cold war between the mayor and the commissioner, it was learnt, was going on for past some months, but it was for the first time that their differences have came out in the open. “How can I do so? The commissioner is a senior officer and he should not behave like a school kid. I have high regards for him,” said the mayor.

Patiala, June 3
The cash-strapped Pepsu Road Transport Corporation has decided to introduce smart tickets for passengers travelling in its fleet of buses. For this purpose, it has decided to procure electronic ticketing machine and electronically generated tickets would be introduced in all PRTC buses in a phased manner.

Sources in the PRTC informed that the corporation had taken a cue from State Transport Corporation in Karnataka and also from the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Officials of the PRTC had studied the electronic ticketing systems in these two organisations, which had been running successfully.

As a pilot project, the PRTC had introduced about 50 ETMs in its KM scheme bus depot of Patiala. The project turned out to be a big success and this also brought into focus certain problem areas, which had now been removed.

According to Manvesh Singh Sidhu, managing director of the PRTC, the ETMs would help check drain of revenue because of travel without ticket. The electronic tickets would have detailed information like the boarding and destination stations and the date and time of travel.

In the first phase, the corporation plans to introduce electronic tickets in Patiala, Chandigarh and Bathinda since all these depots were already computerised. 

Kharar, June 3
An NRI, Balwant Singh (78), was found dead today evening under mysterious circumstances at his residence in 70-D Sunny Enclave Township at Mundi Kharar.

According to police officials, the left arm of the deceased had completely turned blue and boils had come up on his body. Also blood was oozing out from the wounds. His childhood friend Joginder Singh from Ludhiana spotted him dead at 5.30 pm.

Balwant Singh had bought this house four months ago. He had come to India to visit his relatives around 20 days ago and had been staying at his newly bought home. Balwant was living alone, while tenants stayed on the first floor of the house.

In his statement to the police, Joginder Singh said he had been calling Balwant since morning but all his calls went unreciprocated. Thereafter, he decided to come to Mundi Kharar and meet Balwant. When he reached Balwant’s place, he saw that front door was open. He went inside and found Balwant dead. His body had turned blue. Joginder informed the police.

His wallet, watch and a Bisleri water bottle was also found lying on the table. Vomit was detected on his clothes. Blood was oozing out from his mouth and boils and wounds have developed on his body. People around had last seen him on Monday evening at 7 pm while on an evening walk.

The body has been shifted to the Kharar Civil Hospital and the postmortem will be conducted tomorrow. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc.

He is survived by two sons, Charanjit and Daljit and a daughter. His family is settled in Canada. Balwant was a native of Sidhwan Bet area in Ludhiana and has served as a government teacher before moving to Canada in 1970. Joginder was his childhood friend and the two had reunited few months ago through a mutual friend. 

Kharar, June 3
Neha Jain’s husband Munish Jain, accused of killing his wife, was sent to one more police remand today. The Dera Bassi police presented the accused before the court.

Earlier on Monday, the police had brought the accused to court in his vehicle. Nehas parents had raised objections in the court that why the police had brought the accused in his vehicle.

The Dera Bassi police today brought Munish on a hired taxi. Only Munish has been arrested so far while his mother Krishna Jain, father Prem Chand Jain, brother Neeraj Jain and sister-in-law Neeru are at large.

Samana, June 3
The local municipal committee has served notices on nearly 200 shopkeepers on the Ghagha road for violating building norms. The shopkeepers have been served notices for allegedly building unauthorised constructions.

The committee has asked the shopkeepers to vacate their premises within 10 days of the date of issue of the notice. The shopkeepers are at their wits end as their families will be displaced if their shops are vacated.

These notices have been issued as per the provisions of the PUDA Act of 1995.

However, the shopkeepers claim that their shops are at a distance of 150 foot from the road and were built around 40 years ago. They claimed that the electricity meters, too, were installed nearly 40 years ago by the authorities concerned. A shopkeeper said they had been paying house tax for the past 40 years and did not know why the municipal committee officials had sent them the notices.

Sources reveal if the MC authorities go by the rules, then the other structures, including a gurdwara, State Bank of Patiala branch, Aggarwal Gaushala, FCI godowns, two gates of a cremation ground and several other important places, should also have been served notices.

The shopkeepers have requested the state government to intervene in the matter and save families from being displaced and losing their livelihood. They said they had appealed to the state government to intervene and ask the municipal committee to immediately take the notices back.

On the other hand, officials of the municipal committee said they had served notices to the shopkeepers because a bypass had to constructed through that area. However, the shopkeepers said if the government had to construct the bypass, it could have been done at an alternative place and not by displacing their premises. 

Bassi Pathana, June 3
Strong resentment prevailed among commission agents of the town against the notices sent by Markfed, a procurement agency of Bassi Pathana, imposing shortage of 126 quintal of wheat procured by the agency from them.

Surinder Singh, general secretary of the District Arthia Association, in a press release issued here today said the agents had strongly condemned the action and decided to oppose the dictatorial attitude of the Markfed officers and not to pay for shortage.

He alleged that the Markfed officials had taken this step just to save their skin as they failed to lift the procured wheat in time and the market committee imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh to various procurement agencies.

He said that commission agents were responsible for the weight of procured wheat within 72 hours of procurement and at that too, at their shops not in the godowns at other stations.

He said the procured wheat remained lying in grain market for months and they had to approach the DC for lifting it.

Dalip Singh, inspector of Markfed, while talking to The Tribune said the delay occurred due to shortage of labour. Moreover, they don’t have storage space at Bassi Pathana and the wheat had to be stored at Khanna town, he added.

He admitted that the weight loss might have occurred due to pilferage during transportation. He hoped the matter would be solved.

Bassi Pathana, June 3
Hindu Organisation today held a meeting under the presidentship of Pardeep Rupal and strongly condemned the action of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to impose fees for the ‘darshan’.

In a press release issued here today, Manoj Kumar Banda, general secretary of the organisation, said thousands of devotees go to pay obeisance at the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. He said in the darbar of Goddess, all devotees are equal irrespective of caste creed or economical status. Imposing a fee of Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for early darshan has created a rift between the rich and poor, he added.

The organisation demeaned immediate withdrawal of this decision. They also urged the Congress high command to direct Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister to withdraw the decision.

He warned that if the decision was not revoked, they would start agitation along with other Hindu organizations. Meanwhile, various other leaders of social, political and religious organisations have condemned the decision of the shrine board.

Chandigarh, June 3
Patiala clinched the inaugural M.L. Markan Trophy for Under-16 Inter-District Cricket Tournament held at PCA Stadium here today. Patiala won the trophy after defeating Chandigarh with first innings’ lead of 22 runs.

Chandigarh won the toss and elected to bat. The Chandigarh opening pair of Manan Vohra and Jaskaranvir Singh scored 71 runs for the opening partnership in which Manan Vohra contributed 45 off 46 balls studded with 6 fours.

Chandigarh compiled a total of 195 in 76.2 overs. Patiala’s Sandeep took 4 wickets for 84 in 27 overs and Pradeep Kumar 3 for 41 in 13 overs.

Patiala started their innings by losing their first wicket at 9 and later on slumped to 42 for 4. Right arm medium pacer Hitesh Bhutani of Chandigarh did most of the damage by claiming 6 wickets for 67 runs in 26 overs.

Gauravpreet Singh, captain of Patiala, and Pradeep Kumar were involved in a 42-run stand for the 5th wicket. Pradeep Kumar scored 24 runs while Gauravpreet scored half century (57) with 7 fours. At 134 for 7, Patiala were in a precarious condition and most unlikely to overhaul Chandigarh’s total of 195, but Mehjot Sodhi’s 65 runs, inclusive of 10 fours and a mighty six, enabled patiala to take the first innings lead before they folded it for 217 in 90.2 overs.

Chandigarh started their second innings by losing their first wicket on 20 runs. Then followed a 65-run stand between skipper Manan Vohra (33 off 44 balls, 4 fours) and Navin Dhiman (50 off 88 balls, 7 fours).

There was another fruitful partnership of 61 runs between Shubham Mahajan and Azil Chabra. Chandigarh lost three quick wickets at the total of 169 and declared their innings closed at 220 for 7 in 47.4 overs. Sandeep Sharma of Patiala claimed three wickets for 62 runs and Sukhwinder took two for 28. Chandigarh set a target of 199 runs for Patiala in 64 overs.

Patiala played safe and were 114 for 3 in 54 overs before the match was called off due to inclement weather. Opener Vikramdeet Singh scored 53 off 76 balls with the help of 9 fours and Gauravpreet Singh remained undefeated 34. Hitesh Bhutani (1 for 31), Navin Dhiman (1 for 29) and Virkaran Goel (1 for 44) were the wicket-takers for Chandigarh.

Score: First innings: Chandigarh scored 195 in 76.2 overs (Manan Vohra 45, 46 balls, Jaskaranvir singh 32, 84 balls, Abhisekh Verma 23 n.o., 85 balls, Azil Chabra 23, 75 balls, Sandeep Sharma 4 for 84 runs, Pradeep Kumar 3 for 41 runs).

Patiala scored 217 in 90.2 overs (Mehjot Singh 65, 124 balls, Gauravpreet Singh 57, 134 balls, Pradeep Kumar 24, 68 balls, Hitesh Bhutani 6 for 67 runs, Nabin Dhiman 2 for 67 runs).

Second innings: Chandigarh scored 220 for 7 in 47.4 overs and declared the innings (Nabin Dhiman 50, 88 balls, Shubham Mahajan 47, 58 balls, Manan Vohra 33, 44 balls, Krishna Salak 28, 39 balls, Sandeep Sharma 3 for 62 runs, Sukhwinder 2 for 28 runs).

Patiala scored 114 for 3 in 54 overs (Vikramdit Singh 53, 76 balls, Gauravpreet Singh 34, 87 balls, Shivin Goel 10, 88 balls, Hitesh Bhutani 1 for 31 runs, Nabin Dhiman 1 for 29 runs, Virkaran Goel 1 for 24 runs).

Chandigarh, June 3
Giving a consistence display, Puducherry boys and girls retained their titles in the 21st Junior National Atya Patya Championships organised by Chandigarh Atya Patya Associatiion at St Joseph's School here today.

Puducherry proved too good for Karnataka as they raced to a comfortable win by 54-20, 66-10 margin in the girls’ final. Girija was the star performer. Maharashtra bagged the third spot as they defeated Manipur by 17-14, 13-12 in a match to determine third and fourth positions.

Down by one set, Puducherry rallied smartly to overcome a stiff challenge of Manipur by 11-17, 18-15, 18-14 in the boys’ final.

Karnataka recorded straight two-set win (22-18, 24-14) over Maharashtra in a classification match for third and fourth positions.

S. Rahothaman of Puducherry was adjudged the best boy player in the Junior Nationals.

Chamkor Sahib MLA Charanjit Singh Channi distributed the prizes.

Results:

Girls:

Final: Puducherry beat Karnataka (54-20, 66-10).

Third and fourth places: Maharashtra beat Manipur (17-14, 13-12).

Semi-finals: Karnataka beat Maharashtra (22-21, 21-19).

Q-finals: Puducherry beat Tamil Nadu (10-8, 12-10); Maharashtra beat Uttranchal (36-10, 32-10); Manipur beat AP (12-10, 20-18); Karnataka beat Delhi (10-15, 14-10).

Best player: Girija (Puducherry).

Boys:

Final: Puducherry beat Manipur (11-17, 18-15, 18-14).

Third and fourth places: Karnataka beat Maharashtra (22-19, 24-18).

Semi-finals: Puducherry beat Maharashtra (15-12, 14-9); Manipur beat Karnataka (18-17, 15-17, 20-16).

Q-finals: Puducherry beat AP (18-10, 18-13); Maharashtra beat Kerala (29-13, 37-16); Manipur beat UP (22-17, 16-13); Karnataka beat Uttrakhand (9-6, 11-9).

Chandigarh, June 3
Big hitter Gurbaaz Pratap Singh Mann of Chandigarh lived up to his reputation clinching the longest drive title among professionals in the Standard Chatereded Pro-Am of the Surya Nepal Masters 2008 at the Le Meridien Kathmandu Forest Golf Resort and Spa in Kathmandu today.

Sri Lankan pro Anura Rohana led his team to victory logging 155 points in the pro-am event played in a unique format where the top 10 professionals and top 30 amateurs were later drawn to form 10 teams.

Indian Open winner Vijay Kumar's team aggregated 151 points to finish second. Shiva Ram's team occupied the third spot while Chandigarh's Ranjit Singh's team finished fourth at 148 points.

The fun stops here as the serious action kicks off with the main event of the

Surya Nepal Masters 2008 tomorrrow with as many as 105 players teeing off for the prize money of Nepalese 20 lakh (Indian Rs 12.5 lakh). It looks like a straight fight amongst the young turks such as the Shiva Ram and Gurbaaz Mann who are drawn in the same group.

The others include Asian Games Silver Medalists Joseph Chakola and Chirag Kumar, former Indian Open winner Vijay Kumar who gave a warning with a six-under 66 and Sandeep Syal amongst others.

The International Amateur Championship also tees off on Wednesday with five National teams - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, hosts Nepal `A' and Nepal `B' - in fray.

Chandigarh, June 3
A record 304-run second wicket partnership between Harmanpreet Singh (132, 93b, 13x4s, 8x6s) and Sachit Nayyar (140 n.o., 98b, 19x4s, 6x6s) engineered a massive 326-run triumph for Desh Prem Azad Cricket Academy over Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in the Chandigarh Inter-Academy Under-15 Cricket Tournament for Mount Shivalik Trophy. The tournament is being conducted by DPAC Academy at St Stephen's School ground here.

Sector 16 Stadium Academy won the toss and elected to field. DPAC lost their opener Karan Aggarwal (9) after he had put on 22 runs with Harmanpreet Singh. Sachit joined Harmanpreet and they executed flurry of shots all over the wicket. Harmanpreet, who remained not out on 156 against Bhavan Vidalaya yesterday, maintained his form to score his second successive century.

Today Harmanpreet faced just 93 balls for his 132 and hit 13 fours and eight sixes. In three matches, he has scored 325 runs and was the second highest scorer of the tournament so far. Harmanpreet has also taken seven wickets.

His partner Sachit Nayyar, who remained not out on 140, is the maximum run-getter so far with 420, including a double century (208). Nayyar slammed 19 fours and six sixes in 98 deliveries.

Chasing the massive total of 363 to win, Sector 16 Stadium Academy were bundled out only for 36 in 11.4 overs. None of their batsmen could reach the double figure mark. Left arm medium pacer Harshank (4 for 14) and Harmanpreet (3 for 1) were the wreckers-in-chief of Sector 16 Cricket Stadium Academy.

It was DPAC Academy's third successive win from three matches and topped their pool A to qualify for semi-final.

APJ Academy of Kharar will face Mohali Cricket Academy on Friday after tomorrow's rest.

Brief scores:

DPAC Academy: 362 for 3 in 35 overs (Harmanpreet Singh 132, 93b, 13x4s, 8x6s, Sachit Nayyar 140 n.o., 98b, 19x4s, 6x6s, Kanwar 1 for 70).

Sector 16 Stadium Academy: 36 all out in 11.4 overs (Kapil 8, Harshank 4 for 14, Anmol 2 for 20, Harmanpreet Singh 3 for 1).

Chandigarh, June 3
The State AIDS Control Society is all set to start Integrated Control and Testing Centre (ICTC) at Polyclinic, Sector 45, here, soon.

The SACS hoped that this ICTC would provide facilities like early detection of HIV, provision of basic information on transmission and prevention of HIV and link people with other HIV prevention, care and treatment services. “Lab technician and counsellor has already been appointed for this centre,” informed Vaneeta Gupta, director, SACS.

Around 1,000 AIDS patients are currently receiving help through free-Anti-Retroviral Treatment Centre in various hospitals in Chandigarh. Apart from focussing on voluntary counselling and testing services, an initiative has been taken to extend the outreach of these services through mobile vans to cover vulnerable population.

At present, there are nine ICTCs in different areas, besides a mobile ICTC, said the director of the SACS.

A mobile van run by the SACS, visits to places to spread awareness about ways to combat the disease. The mobile van also has diagnostic facilities, besides counsellors from support groups to help the patients and the public. It's a temporary clinic with flexible working hours and run on Wednesday, she added.

Stating that HIV/AIDS is a threat to the society, Vaneeta opined that the subject matter has to be taken up by every individual as a challenge. "We have to defeat it and we have to eradicate it with a sense of commitment and dedication," director of the SACS stressed.

"It will help to tell the people of nearby area, the facts of HIV/AIDS and will make them aware that it is 100 per cent preventable," Doctor Suvir Saxena, deputy director blood safety of the State AIDS Control Society (SACS) said. 

Chandigarh, June 3
A couple in Mouli Jagran allegedly committed suicide, setting themselves ablaze in their residence here this morning. The wife has reportedly died on the spot, while the condition of the husband is still said to be critical. In another incident, a 32-year-old was found dead in a sweet shop in Sector 20.

A 24-year-old man and his 22-year-old wife allegedly set themselves afire at 11:30 am at his residence in Mouli Jagran village. The couple sustained 100 per cent burns and was immediately rushed to the PGI, where the doctors declared his wife Rinky, brought dead, while Sukhbir Singh is battling for life in the hospital.

According to the police, Sukhbir, a vegetable vendor in the Grain Market, Sector 26, was under depression due to poor financial condition of the family. He was married to Rinky about a year-and-a-half ago. Sukhbir had borrowed money from his friends, who recently insulted him when he failed to pay the money back.

Sukhbir, in his statement to the magistrate, said, “We loved each other and wanted to live and died together”. The body of the wife has been sent to the mortuary, and the post-mortem would be conducted tomorrow.

In another incident, Bindu, a 32-year-old servant, working in a sweet shop in Sector 20, was found dead.

According to the police, the deceased died due to excessive consumption of liquor. Bindu, who had been working as a servant in Vijay Sweets since three years, was ill for a couple of days and was under medication. The owner of the shop was the first to noticed the body, who immediately informed the police.

Chandigarh,June 3
The popular TV show - Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star One- which tickled the funny bone of millions through its innovative, sometimes slapstick comedy, is now targeting the professionals “suffering from lack of laughter syndrome.”

Even as it gears up to launch its fourth edition of the competition on June 6, the channel has taken upon itself the task of taking the laughter to the grass-roots level.

In fact, in its endeavour to reach out to the stressed out professionals to bring back smile on their faces, the channel yesterday brought old champions and new entrants face to face with doctors at PGI’s Bhargava Auditorium.

The laughter champions had already entertained the policemen in Lucknow and lawyers in New Delhi. “In the past 3 years of the show, we have noticed that in today’s fast-moving world we usually forget the funny side of our lives..” executive vice-president of Star One Ravi Menon said.