NEIGHBOURHOOD

Pitch in for welfare activities: MP
Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 23
Punjab’s first auto-cross motor rally began at Randhawa Farms, Sular Road, with a bang here yesterday. Around 38 boys and two girls participated in the rally.

Many motorists were professional players and even beginners took part in the rally. Extreme Motors’ Sports Club, Patiala, is conducting the national-level rally.

International motorcar driver Gaurav Gill and Khushwant Singh Randhawa, organisers of the rally, briefed motorists about the rules and regulations of the rally and also instructed the crowd to obey traffic rules in general because everyday driving could not be compared to the rallies.

Two parallel tracks were prepared for the qualifying rounds that were held yesterday. Following drivers have qualified for the knock out rounds:

In Zen group: Amit Sood, Talwarha, Anil Sood, Hoshiarpur and Gurcharan Singh, Chandigarh.

Alto group: Gagan, Chandigarh, Saurav Kapoor, Patiala, and Ankit Gupta, Ludhiana.

Maruti group: Braham Mahinder Singh, Patiala, and Satinder Singh Dhanoa.

Maruti Esteem: Jagdeep Singh Nirman.

Accent group: Jaskaran Singh Bhatti and Harminder Singh, Patiala.

Gypsy group: Ashwani Kumar Gupta, Patiala, Jaideep Singh Mander and Harkaran Singh, Chandigarh.

Professional group: Gagan, Jasvir Singh Randhawa, Jassa Sidhu and Parmod Kumar, Gorakhpur.

Women section:

Honda City group: Madhu Abroul.

Santro group: Bharati Pua.

Kharar, November 23
Five persons, including two women, were booked today for committing a fraud of Rs 84 lakh.

In a complaint to the SSP, Mohali, Amandeep Singh of Rattangarh Simbal village (Kharar) had alleged that Rahul Kohli from Panchkula, Harminder Pal Singh from Roorkee village in Kharar and Gurdev Kaur, Jaswinder Singh and Gurjinder Kaur from the Dyalpur area in Ludhiana sold him land worth Rs 84 lakh, which was already owned by someone else.

He said he bought 8.5 acres in Allahpur village from Rahul Kohli in 2006 and had given Rs 20 lakh as part of the instalment. Later, the land was registered and Rs 42 lakh was given to Gurdev Kaur, Jaswinder Singh and Gurjinder Kaur.

At the time of the deal, Rahul Kohli had told Amandeep that all three persons from Kharar were the owners of the land. The land mutation was also transferred in his name, in connivance with some government officials.

Amandeep later came to know that Sucha Singh from Allahpur was the real owner of the land. The deputy commissioner, Mohali, then cancelled the land mutation.

The victim demanded the money back from the accused, but they refused to do so. Acting on his complaint, the police has booked all five.

Kalka, November 23
A mercury lamp at the Gandhi Chowk here has been out of order for the past two years, thus endangering the lives of people, especially those travelling at night.

Alleging apathetic attitude of the UHBVN authorities, shopkeepers alleged that the authorities had failed to take a serious note of the problem in spite of repeated requests to the department.

The poorly-lit chowk has not only been inviting occasional accidents but also anti-social activities. In the past few months, incidents of theft have increased rapidly here.

Two years ago, the authorities had removed a set of mercury lamps from a pole at the T-point and replaced it a single mercury lamp. The lamp went out of order soon after and has not been replaced ever since.

Ambala, November 23
Dairies in Ambala City look to be shifted out of the urban limits soon with newly appointed deputy commissioner Samir Pal Saro taking up the matter on top priority.

Talking to mediapersons, he said the administration had decided to resume plots given to dairy owners on subsidised rates at adjoining village if they failed to shift their dairies within a month.

He asserted that dairies would not be allowed to run in urban areas at any cost. A meeting of dairy owners would be convened soon and they would be directed in this regard, he added.

He said the administration had provided all basic amenities at the new site and there was no reason for delay in the shifting. A large numbers of dairies were a main cause of grubbiness in urban areas.

A plan to shift dairies to an adjoining village was finalised during the regime of the former government in the state.

The government had allotted plots to dairy owners on subsidised rates so that small dairy owners could easily shift there.

During the past four years, a number of meetings between dairy owners and municipal council authorities were held but the dairies could not be shifted due to one on other reason.

On the other hand, dairy owners are not fully prepared to shift their setup to the new location, as it could affect their business. Moreover, sufficient amenities were not available there, they alleged.

Ambala, November 23
The annual function of St. Joseph School, Ambala City, was organised today. IG (MNW) B.S. Sandhu, Haryana, was the chief guest on the occasion.

While addressing the students Sandhu said discipline played an important factor in the building of the students. He asked them to take an active part in sports and other cultural activities.

He congratulated the students for presenting colourful cultural items. The students presented dance, fashion show, puppet show and folk dances.

The chairman of the school Anil Banerjee and principle Kiran Banerjee also spoke on the occasion. The chief guest awarded prizes to the meritorious students of the school.

Patiala, November 23
The post partum (family welfare) unit of Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, is organising a family planning fortnight camp from November 11 to December 1, under the guidance of Jaswinder Pal Kaur Shergill, principal of Government College, Patiala.

Dr S.P. Singh, associate professor, post partum unit and senior nodal officer said here today that as per the policy of the Punjab government, those who opted for female lapro tubectomy and were below the poverty line will be given Rs 600. Similarly, the males opting for non-scalpel vasectomy will be given Rs 1,100 each, irrespective of their family status.

Dr S.P. Singh further said that the persons undergoing sterilisation operations were given incentives in the form of a set of utensils in addition to the monetary benefits given by the state government.

The lapro tubectomy and non-scalpel vasectomy operations were conducted by well qualified and experienced doctors of post partum unit of the hospital, under the guidance of Dr S.K. Bajwa, Dr Parneet Kaur and Dr Sarbarinder Kaur.

Dr S.P. Singh said the medicines were provided to the patients free of cost. Motivators were also rewarded with an incentive of Rs 150 for tubectomy and Rs 200 for vasectomy per case as per the government guidelines.

In addition to the sterilisation operations, the doctors also motivated the public to follow small family norms by using temporary methods of contraception.

This All-India Hospital Post Partum Programme was sponsored by Rajindra Hospital, a branch of State Bank of Patiala, and Rotary Club, Patiala, he added.

Patiala, November 23
Raking up the issue of alleged non-implementation of Punjabi language in government offices, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has alleged that no Punjabi channel was being beamed inside the New Delhi-based Punjab Bhawan contrary to claims of the SAD-BJP government that it left no effort to promote the language.

Punjab Bhawan officials, however, termed the allegations as baseless and asserted that inmates were getting most of the Punjabi channels as were being supplied by the cable operator of the area.

The PPCC has also accused the SAD-BJP government of “sitting idle” and doing nothing on the development front.

“It is a matter of concern for Punjabis, particularly NRIs, that they were not able to watch any of Punjabi channels on the cable TVs inside the Punjab Bhawan. How can we expect our children to adopt Punjabi when it is not being promoted inside the Punjab government-run Punjab Bhawan,” said PPCC general secretary Parminder Singh.

He alleged that no development of infrastructure was taking place in Punjab. “There are no upcoming projects in sight. No roads are being built and no recruitments are being done. On the contrary, our government had not only initiated a number of big projects but it had also implemented the 4-9-14 scale even for the police force,” said Parminder Singh.

Patiala, November 23
A team of doctors from Patiala Eye Hospital and Lasik Laser Centre examined 303 patients suffering from different eye ailments at a free eye check up camp organised by Sri Hemkunt Sahib Sewa Society at Patran in the district.

A team of doctors led by Dr Sukhdip S. Boparai, chief consultant of Patiala Eye Hospital and Lasik Laser Centre, which included Dr Anuradha Raj examined the patients and identified the patients who needed surgery. The patients requiring surgery were operated in the civil hospital at Patran.

Stating this here today, Sri Hemkunt Sahib Sewa Society chairman Surjit Singh Teeta and president Charanjit Singh Channi said the camp was organised to make available specialised medical treatment to the patients, who could not afford to go to the hospitals for check up and surgery.

Dr Boparai said during the camp the patients diagnosed with cataract underwent phaco emulsification and intra-ocular lens implant.

Gursharan Preet Singh and Jasmeet Singh Babbal, who ensured supply of free medicines and food for the patients during the camp, said more such free eye camps were planned for the future also.

Chandigarh, November 23
The crime branch of the Chandigarh police has arrested four persons and seized 498 cartons of various brands of liquor, which was being allegedly smuggled from the city to Rajasthan in an oil tanker. The police said the liquor was valued at Rs 2.80 lakh.

The police said employees of a local company, Gagan Wine Traders, Phase I, Industrial Area, were involved in the smuggling and were assisting Rajasthan-based smugglers in bootlegging.

According to sub-inspector Charanjit Singh, they received specific information and set up a check-point near Tribune Chowk early morning.

The police team had information that two persons in a car were escorting an oil tanker. The police team spotted a Maruti car (HR 03 1525) and an oil tanker (RJ 16 GA 0723) following the car.

The team pulled over the vehicles and on inspection found liquor cartons hidden in the tanker.

The accused have been identified as Bir Singh of Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh and Kewal Krishan of Sector 18, both employees of Gagan Wine Traders, and truck owner Suresh Kumar and driver Manohar Lal, both hailing from Rajasthan.

The truck owner admitted before the police that it was his second trip to the city and in the earlier trip he had made around Rs 2.80 lakh by smuggling liquor.

The police said various brands of liquor, most of them packed in pouches and nips, were stashed away in the tanker. Local traders have been selling liquor illegally in bulk to make quick buck and assist smugglers in crossing inter-state barriers.

A case under provisions of the Excise Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in this connection.

The accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody.

Chandigarh, November 23
The local police arrested eight persons, including a local commission agent and an Abohar-based property dealer, on charges of indulging in gambling from a CITCO-run hotel in Sector 42 during a late-night raid in the wee hours today.

The police seized Rs 78,000 from their possession. According to police station-36 SHO Anokh Singh, they received information that some persons were indulging in gambling at Chandigarh Beckons, Sector 42.

The team sought permission from senior officials to conduct raid. The police reached the hotel around 12.30 am and checked the hotel register. They found that some local persons had booked room No. 311 in the hotel. The police entered the room and found two groups indulging in gambling.

The accused have been identified as Anil Kumar, a commission agent in grain market-26, Sanjay Kalra, an Abohar-based property dealer, 20-year-old Sunil Kumar of Sector 38-West, a salesman at a motorcycle agency, Manoj Chawla, a shopkeeper in Shashtri Market, Sector 22, Parmod Kumar, a shopkeeper in Sadar Bazaar, Sector 19, Satish Kumar, an employee at a commission agent’s shop in grain market-26 and Deepak of Sector 35.

The police said the accused were released on bail after registration of a case against them.

Chandigarh, November 23
Braving his cramp, India’s top seed player, Sumeet Reddy, got the better of Sai Praneeth to annex the boys under-19 All-India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament title.

While playing a back shot, Sumeet yelled and fell down due to a cramp in his ankle, when the score was 19 each in the third set. After being nursed, he stood limping and registered the title.

“It was very important for me to win this title in order to strengthen my chances of selection for the international events,” he said, after winning the title.

This Andhra Pradesh lad became the number one junior badminton player of India in the recently held All India Badminton Championship in Bangalore and Cochin.

Chandigarh,November 23
Jeev Milkha Singh finished tied 11th firing a one under par 69 for a final tally of 11 under par 269 (71-63-66-69 in the $25 lakh UBS Hong Kong Open today.

Chinese Taipei’s Wen-tang Lin won the event defeating Northern Ireland’s Rory Mcilroy and Italy’s Francesco Molinari in a play-off after the trio finished the regulation 72 holes with an identical total of 15 under par 265.

Today, Jeev sank birdies on the third, sixth, 11th, 13th and 15th and dropped alone bogey on the ninth.

Jyoti Randhawa finished tied 19th with a total of eight under 272 (71-68-66-67) shooting six birdies and conceding two bogeys.

Gaurav Ghei finished tied 48th with an overall score of three under 277 (71-69-67-70).

Chandigarh, November 23
A fine all-round performance by Sarthak (3 for 12, 20) and brilliant knock of 44 by Arshvir enabled The Banyan Tree School Academy win the Triangular Series after defeating the Pargon Cricket Academy by three wickets in the final, played at the BTS ground in Sector 48 here today.

Pargon Academy batted first and scored 144 all out in 33 overs. Nirpal and Arun were the main scorers with 48 and 23, respectively. Sarthak got three wickets for 12 runs.

In reply, the BTS academy scored 145 for 7. Arshvir and Sarthak batted well and steered their team to victory by scoring 44 and 20, respectivley. Paragon School Cricket Academy’s Sabbijeet got three wickets for 22 runs.

Arshvir was adjudged the man of the match and Sarthak Grover was declared man of the series.

Chandigarh, November 23
MDU, Rohtak, trounced Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, 85-36 in a league match of the North Zone Inter-University Basketball (Men) Championship, which started at Panjab University here today.

Thirty universities from north zone are taking part in the six-day event. In another match, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, beat Guru Jambeshwar University, Hissar, 49-20. Lovely University, Phagwara, defeated Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, 51-14.

In a one-sided affair, Delhi University prevailed over CCS University, Meerut, 100-36 and Kumaun University, Nainital, beat Bundelkhand University, Jhasnsi, 59-12.

Also, Amity University, Noida, beat Lucknow University, Allahabad, 64-49, while MJP Rohilkband University beat Gurukula Kangri University, Hardawar, 54-38.

Panchkula, November 23
Andel Cricket Academy, Panchkula, beat St. Soldier Cricket Academy, Panchkula, by 54 runs in 1st Otobi Cup Twenty-Twenty Under-19 League-cum-knock-out-basis Cricket Tournament organised by the Cricket Federation of India at the Cricket Stadium, Sector 3.

Andel Cricket Academy won the toss and elected to bat first, their openers Jaskaran Singh played a brilliant knock of 50 runs in 38 balls and quick fire unbeaten batting by Gagandeep Singh 68 runs in 53 balls helped Andel Cricket Academy, Panchkula, huge total of 164 for 4 in 20 overs.

In reply, St. Stoldier Cricket Academy could not face the accurate bowling spell by Andel Cricket Academy bowler Rahul Chara’s 3 wickets for only 9 runs and Vikrant Bansal’s 3 wickets for only 12 runs.

St. Soldier Cricket Academy, Panchkula, all out 80 runs in 19 overs.. In the second match of the day, the Cricket Federation of Haryana beat Federation-XI by 5 Wickets.

Ashish Sardana of the federation played a sensible knock of 47 runs in 44 balls and was declared man of the match.

Chandigarh, November 23
Kharak Singh of New Zealand clinched the Budget Signs Trophy grossing a 24 over 240 as the three-day Chandigarh Golfing Tour for NRIs came to a close on the par 72 greens of the Panchkula Golf Club today.

Yesteday’s joint leader Jogeshwar Singh Judge of the USA finished two strokes behind to finish runner-up at 242.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Siingh Hooda gave away the overall Budget Signs trophy at a prize distribution function where he acknowledged CGA secretary J.S. Cheema’s idea of bringing the Asian Tour event to the Panchkula Golf Club.

Kharak Singh and Teghbir Singh tied for the best card of the day at four over 76, but as Kharak Singh was declared the overall gross winner, the day’s best card prize went to Teghbir Singh.

Praveen Patel had the best nett score for the day. Rocky Dhillon and J.P. Desai were the runner-up in the gross and nett scores for the day, respectively.

Karampal Cheema had the longest drive and Harminderjit Singh Sangha was nearest to the pin on the final day.

A brainchild of the Chandigarh Golf Association, the Chandigarh Golfing Tour has come to stay as a biannual feature with NRIs joining in the competiton in November and corporate golfers from within the country fighting it out for the titles in March.

CGA president C.S.R. Reddy was happy at the NRIs’ response to the Chandigarh Golfing Tour.

Air Mauritius pooled in with a prize of two Delhi-Mauritius-Delhi air tickets to the overall winner.

According to Gagan Sharma of Air Mauritius, the air tickets would be given to Kharak Singh.

Chandigarh, November 23
Capt Kanwaljit Singh, cooperation minister, Punjab, has been unanimously elected as president of the Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association.

He has been appointed in place of A. R. Talwar, IAS, whose resignation from the office of president has been accepted today by the general council meeting of CABA held under the chairmanship of Satish Chandra, IAS.

It was decided to invite 17 teams’ foreign and Indian in the Ist International Men's Boxing Tournament at Chandigarh from February 11 to 15, 2009.

The tournament has already been approved by the Steering Committee of Ministry of YA and Sports, the Government of India, and the IBF had already applied to the International Boxing Federation for its recognition and approval, Dr C.K. Jerath, secretary, CABA.