NEIGHBOURHOOD

Pbi varsity players gear up for coming tournaments
Gagan K. Teja
Tribune News Service

Ambala, June 16
The sweet shopowners of Ambala Cantonment staged a dharna and blocked traffic in Sadar Bazaar today to protest against the alleged misconduct of a sanitary inspector.

The trouble started when a team of officials from the administration, along with the sanitary inspector, started raiding the shops and destroyed their eatables.

The shopkeepers pulled down their shutters and sat on the road to lodge their protest. They were demanding the suspension of the sanitary inspector. The Sadar Bazaar Association has offered its support to the protesters. An all-party joint action committee has also given a call for bandh tomorrow.

Several political leaders, including local MLA Devender Bansal, former MLA Anil Vij, BJP leaders Ravinder Dhawan and Ravi Sehgal and INLD leaders Heera Lal Yadav and Kripal Singh Arora, have supported the demand of the traders.

An officer and MLA Davender Bansal even exchanged heated arguments.

The protesters said the administration had been unnecessarily harassing the shopowners. They would not tolerate the undemocratic attitude of the administration and would take to the streets, they added.

Later, Bansal reported the matter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on telephone.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers and workers of various political parties continued to sit on the dharna till the filing of this report.

Ambala, June 16
HUDA has not only failed in its duty to provide basic amenities to residents of Ambala City, but its negligent attitude is also posing a constant threat to them.

The underground sewer line in Sector 9 is passing through various parks and green belts. Many manholes on the sewer line, which is around 20-foot deep, are lying uncovered posing imminent danger to residents. The pedestrians and stray cattle can fell into these during nights.

As many as three manholes are lying open at a public park in Sector 9 for the past two months, but none of the HUDA officials took notice of it even after the repeated complaints by the residents. A tragedy can happen anytime as the park is frequented by kids and elderly in large numbers.

Not only this, a number of manhole covers are also missing in Sectors 8 and 10. Recently, a cyclist fell into a manhole and sustained serious injuries.

The residents of the sector said they had taken up the matter with the HUDA authorities several times, but to no avail. They even raised the issue with local MLA Venod Sharma on his visit to the sector three days back. 

Zirakpur/Dera Bassi, June 16
The SAD-BJP alliance has finalised its candidates for the Zirakpur municipal council elections here. The SAD has fielded the following candidates here: Ward No. 1 Manisha Malik; ward No. 4 Paramjit Kaur Sodhi; ward No. 6 Lambardar Santokh Singh; ward No. 7 Karamjit Kaur Nabha; ward No. 8 Satnam Singh; ward No. 11 Gurmukh Singh; ward No. 14 Harjit Singh Minta; ward No. 15 Suraj Mahiwal Advocate.  

The BJP candidates here include: ward No. 2 Deepak Birla; ward No. 3 Sushil Garg; ward No. 5 Parvinder Kaur; ward No. 9 Jaswinder Singh; ward No. 10 Hardev Kaur: ward No. 12 Narinder Goyal and ward No. 13 Anju Sharma.

The Congress candidates in Zirakpur include: ward No. 1 Sunita Negi; ward No. 2 Pradeep Kumar; ward No. 3 Satpal; ward No. 4 Kamaljit Kaur; ward No. 5 Rajinder Raju; ward No. 7 Rajinder Kaur; ward No. 8 Santosh Kashyap; ward No. 9 Suresh Jindal; ward No. 10 Suman Bala; ward No. 11 Bhola Singh; ward No. 12 Bhag Singh; ward No. 13 Deepti Sharma; ward No. 14 Rajinder Kumar; ward No. 15 Ravinder Kumar.

  The Congress is yet to announce a candidate for ward No. 6. Sources said the Akali breakaway group leader N.K. Sharma has been offered this seat, but sources in the Sharma camp denied that he was even considering any such move. The Sharma group would be announcing the candidates tomorrow.

The BJP has also released the list of candidates it is fielding in Dera Bassi. These include: ward No. 2 Ajmer Kaur; ward No. 3 Suresh Gupta; ward No. 5 Seema Sharma; ward No. 6 Mukesh Gandhi; ward No. 7 Vipan Thaman; ward No. 8 Pratibha. The SAD and Congress are yet to release their list of candidates in Dera Bassi. 

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 16
The Fatehgarh Sahib Police has arrested two involved in stealing computer hardware parts and other computer-related parts from various places.

The accused have been identified as Rinku of Sirhind and Deepak, alias Cheeka, of Dhuri. They have stolen a computer from Bhamara Timber Store in Sirhind. A case in this connection under Section 457 was registered on the complaint of Hardeep Singh, owner of the timber store, on July 15.

The stolen computer accessory UPS, CPU, key board with three speakers worth Rs 10,000 have been recovered from the accused. They were produced in a local court.

Bassi Pathana, June 16
Patients at the civil hospital here end up paying high prices to private ambulances during emergencies as there is no driver for the hospital ambulance for the past several months.

The hospital authorities have been writing to the higher authorities almost every month, but to no avail. There were a large number of accident cases and family members of the victims had to arrange for private ambulances in emergencies. "As I took our son to the Fatehgarh Sahib civil hospital after he met with an accident here, I had to shell out nearly double the charges of a public ambulance," said Shailender Kumar. He also revealed that there was no lady doctor in the hospital. The authorities said there was only one lady doctor who was sent to the Fatehgarh Sahib civil hospital on deputation. Also, there was no radiographer and helper in the hospital for the past several months, rued the officials.

Senior medical officer Kuldeep Singh Kang said, "We have written to the higher authorities and they are making efforts to get the things streamlined." 

Rajpura, June 16
Sarabjit Singh, accused of killing his sister and her husband on Sunday afternoon, was produced in a court today. He was sent to one-day police remand.

After being produced in the court, Sarabjit said he had no remorse in killing his sister Sanvinder Kaur and her husband Suresh.

He said Sanvinder eloped with Suresh Kumar just two days before her marriage was to be solemnised with someone else. Invitation cards were printed and relatives had started reaching their place to attend the wedding, he said.

After killing the couple, he reportedly surrendered himself before the police and admitted to his crime.

However, the police later on claimed that Sarabjit was arrested and a case under Sections 302, 307 and 452 of the IPC was registered against him at Banur police station.

Chandigarh, June 16
Wild card entrant Bhavya Wadhawan got the better of Shweta S. 7-2 in the first round of main draw in the AITA Talent Series Tennis Tournament being held at Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, Sector 10, here today.

While in the boys’ under-12 category, in the first round of main draw, wild card Param Pun was shown doors by Raghav Talwar 0-7. In another first round match, second seed Ishaque Eqbal beat Sayamraj Sagar by 7-4.

In girls, two seeded players, Madhya Pradesh's Isha Budwal and local girl Charvi Saxena made their inglorious exit after the round.

Himani Mor ousted seventh seed Isha Budwal 7-3 and unseeded Victoria accounted for eighth seed Charvi Saxena by 7-5.

The results are as under:

Girls U-12 (first round main draw): Aulak w/o Rhea Sharma, Samridhee Sinha bt Nimrat Walia 7-5, Hassan Dhanoa bt Karman Kaur 7-2, Medha Toor bt Bhumika Sharma 7-0, Naemat Aulak w/o Rhea Sharma, Samridhee Sinha bt Nimrat Walia 7-5, Hassan Dhanoa bt Karman Kaur 7-2, Medha Toor bt Bhumika Sharma 7-0, Himani Mor bt Isha Budwal 7-3, Nandini sharma bt Prinkle Singh 7-0, Harsimran Kaur bt Ena Arora 7-0, Vibhuti Khullar bt Jaya Bhandari 7-4, Victoria bt Charvi Saxena 7-5, Deviak Charavary bt Jashnavi 7-2, Apekshita Alkesh bt Jaskiran Dhanoa 7-1, Simran Wadhwa w/o Pukhraj Gill, Bhavya Wadhawan bt Shewta S. 7-2, Vanshika Sawhney bt Vineeta Singh 7-5, Jahnvi Gupta bt Shubangi Sharma 7-2.

Boys under-12 (first round main draw): Eqbal bt Shyam 7-4, Jatinder Singh bt Rajul 7-0, Sumitpal Singh bt Abhinav Bindre 7-4, Shrey bt Prateek T. 7-1, Ishaque Eqbal bt Shyam 7-4, Jatinder Singh bt Rajul 7-0, Sumitpal Singh bt Abhinav Bindra 7-4, Shrey bt Prateek T. 7-1, Prateek A. bt Mayank 7-1, Sachin bt Dheeranush Bhatti 7-4, Sahil bt Abhijeet S. 7-3, Alex Solanki bt Chinmay 7-1, Fatehdeep Singh bt Dheer Gala 7-4, Raghav J. bt Shivam 7-3, Raghav Talwar bt Param Pun 7-0, Pranav Malhotra bt Santbir Singh 7-2, Nikunj Poddar bt Yashesh Lele 7-2.

Boys under-16 (final qualifying round): Jasanvir bt Kamal Kishor 7-2, Dhruv bt Ankit 7-0, Ishaque Eqbal bt Harry Jindal 7-5, Jajbir Singh bt Manish 7-2, Ajay bt Pankaj 7-2, Suraj Beniwal bt Hriday Kriplani 7-0, Resham Singh bt Arjun 7-2, Jaivardhan bt Taranbir 7-3.

Girls under-16 (final qualifying round): Samriti bt Simran Wadhwa 7-4, Bhavya bt Smridha 7-4, Devika bt Priyanka Dhuhandi 7-3, Vanshika Sawhney bt Shalini 7-5, Jahanavi bt Himani Mor bt 7-6 (6), Medha Toor bt Shivani 7-3, Harsimran bt Suvarna 7-1, Nikita bt Parinika 7-1, Samridhi Lodha bt Arpan Chahal 7-0.

Chandigarh, June 16
Chandigarh-based Aryans Group has come up with another MBA school in the name of Aryans School of Management (ASM). The above said school has got clearance from the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), ministry of human resource development (MHRD), Government of India, New Delhi.

This school will be affiliated to Punjab Technical University (PTU), Jalandhar. It is to be mentioned that Aryans Business School (ABS) has already got 60 MBA seats in the year 2007-08.

Addressing a press conference at Chandigarh Press Club here, Anshu Kataria, chairman, Aryans Group, said there would be 60 MBA seats in this school out of which 40 would be filled by Punjab Technical University (PTU), Jalandhar, in the counselling while 20 would be filled in the management quota by the college itself.

Students can apply for management quota seats by June 30. 

Chandigarh, June 16
The UT Cricket Association will organise Annual Hot Weather League-cum-Knockout Cricket Tournament for Chandigarh Trophy from June 22.

All the matches will be played 20 overs each side. The matches will be held at the Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 27, and Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here. 

Chandigarh, June 14
The health authorities in Chandigarh do not believe in practising what they preach, apparently.

The breeding of mosquitoes, right under the symbol of the administration's anti-malaria campaign, provides a testimony to the biting reality.

For the past several years, the administration's health wing has launched in June its crusade against malaria. It tells the residents to drain stagnant water from room coolers and even flowerpots besides collecting blood samples from across the city. Team members purportedly go from sector to sector, carrying out checks to ensure proper drainage of water.

For creating awareness as a part of the drive, the health authorities deck up with marigolds, flags and streamers, the rotary on the intersection of Sectors 18-19-20-21. Over the years, the residents have started to perceive the rotary as a badge of the campaign. In fact, it is known as the anti-malaria junction.

Sources in the administration confirm that this year also the campaign was launched with the adviser to the UT Administrator, Pradip Mehra, taking part in a procession that moved on to the roundabout.

Stagnant water right here is providing a breeding ground for the mosquitoes. Drive down from the road separating Sector 21 from 20; and bang ahead you see stagnant water with mosquitoes breeding. Commuters confirm the water is present not just after the rains, but has been standing there for several days now.

If the still water all along the rotary is exposing not just the residents to the perils of the malady, but also the worthlessness of the health wing's tall claims, no one is seemingly bothered about it. So far nothing has been done to either drain it, or to at least treat it.

The residents believe the failure of the authorities concerned to "set their own house in order" has also brought to the fore the non-seriousness with which the words of the powers-that-be are taken in the city. Inaugurating the campaign in the city, Mehra had, interestingly, written on a wall the message: "It is my endeavour to eradicate malaria from Chandigarh and I will relentlessly strive toward fulfilling that endeavour".

Agreed, dishonouring his word may not have been the intention, but at the same time the presence of stagnant water has confirmed the worst fears of the residents that the campaigns are inaugurated with much fanfare only to be remain later on paper.

Medical practitioners believe ensuring the success of the programme right from the starting point is necessary not just to honour the adviser's words, but also because the threat of malaria, though on decline, continues to persist.

In 2006, 449 cases of malaria were reported. The next year, the number was 340. Similarly, 99 cases of dengue were reported last year against 183 in 2006.

Chandigarh, June 16
The UT police today registered an FIR on the charges of conspiracy, fraud, tampering with the document, negligence, inadequate facilities, forgery and disturbing peace against five doctors of a Sector 34-based private hospital, INSCOL, on the directions of the district court.

Jagjit Singh, an advocate and a resident of Manimajra, had approached the judiciary under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC. The UT police had failed to registered an FIR even after a complaint lodged “11 months” ago.

The five doctors have been identified as Dr Jayant Banerji, Dr Daljit Singh Gujral, Nimrat Gujral, director, administration, Dr Paramjit Singh Mann, resident medical officer, Ms Alveena, nursing superintendent, and Dr N.P. Singh, consultant physician.

Almost after a period of nine long months, when an advocate, Jagjit Singh Arora, alleged delay in registration of a criminal case against INSCOL, it was highlighted by The Tribune.

The lawyer, fed up with the procedural wrangling of the Chandigarh police, had asked the UT police to return the copy of the complaint, which was against a medical practitioner and Dr Jayant Banerji, medical superintendent of INSCOL.

In a complaint to the UT SSP, S.S. Srivastava in April last year, Arora had alleged that his wife, Inderjeet Arora, who was suffering from acute pulmonary embolism, was medically treated by a “quack” in the hospital in August 2005, thus endangering her life. The lawyer had alleged that his wife was treated by an “unregistered” medical practitioner at INSCOL in August 2005. He alleged that the doctors collected fake medical reports from a private hospital to extract money from him. In the absence of ventilators, Inderjeet Arora was referred to Fortis, Mohali, from where she was discharged after a month.

Despite the fact that he had provided supporting evidence to the investigating officials, it took almost year for the Chandigarh police to register an FIR in the matter. He had even sought information regarding the status of his complaint under the Right to Information Act, before he went to the judiciary.

Two months after The Tribune highlighted the suffering of Arora, the Medical Council of India (MCI) recommended legal action against a medical practitioner and the other doctors involved, who did not treat Inderjeet properly.

The MCI had also asked the UT senior superintendent of police (SSP) to let the council know about the outcome of the case.

The committee requested Dr Paramjit Singh Mann, who treated Arora’s wife, to appear before the Ethics Committee on October 15 last year, but Dr Mann failed to appear before the committee.

The hospital had earlier denied the allegations levelled by Arora and maintained that it all started because of non-payment of bill, which Arora paid only after a legal notice was served on him. The patient was referred to another hospital only after no ventilator was available in INSCOL.

Meanwhile, the police has booked the suspects a case has been registered.

Chandigarh, June 16
Tim Jeet, a resident of Hoshiarpur, was arrested on charges of snatching mobile phones. According to the police, Tim Jeet had snatched the mobile phone from a resident of Sector 16 at the dividing road of Sectors 16 B and 15 on April 16. Dr Ajay was walking after dinner, when Tim, riding a Pulsar motorcycle, came and snatched the mobile phone. Following a tip-off yesterday, a police party arrested the accused while he came to meet his friend in Sector 16.

Held: Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Sector 26 was arrested on the charges of possessing liquor and misbehaving with constable Rattan Kumar. A case under Sections 353 and 332 of the IPC and 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered.

Arrested: Gagandeep Singh of Barnala was arrested on the complaint of a girl of Sector 44, on the charges of attempting to outrage her modesty at Sukhna Lake on June 15. A case under Section 294 and 354 IPC has been registered.

Gambling: Vinod Kumar, Rajan, Arun Kumar and Ashok Kumar, all residents of Manimajra, were arrested on the charges of gambling at public place. 

Panchkula, June 16
The rich grandeur and vitality of folklore was brought alive by 260 artists drawn from all parts of Haryana in a state level Folk Music Festival held at the Inderdhanush Auditorium here today. The audience in the fully packed hall relished the musical bonanza that was organised by the Haryana Kala Parishad.

Parishad's vice chairman K.C. Sharma, IAS (Retired), and director Usha Sharma welcomed the chief guest Fool Chand Mulana and the guest of honour Naresh Kaushal, Editor, Dainik Tribune. The Parishad felicitated four prominent artists of Haryanavi Folklore including Sarangi maestro Momin Khan, Deru Folk singer Balbir Singh Jogi, Ballad singer Om Prakash and Been maestro Mukesh Nath for their lifetime achievements. M.M. Sharma, director, ICCR, and Rajpal Singh, secretary general, Punjab Arts Council, graced the function.

The soulful strains of Sakha was presented by Om Prakash and 25 Sarangi players. Sehraivadan by equal number of Been players, besides Raganis and folk songs, wafted across the auditorium as the artists translated the soul of Haryanavi folk culture through their immaculate performances. The group songs and Tokni dance by Fatehabad artists won applause.