NEIGHBOURHOOD

Land dispute turns bloody
19-year-old killed; over 100 armed assailants unleash
reign of terror in Sekhan Majra village
Tribune News Service

Bassi Pathana, December 14
The youth from remote villages of Bassi Pathana and surrounding areas are made familiar with the information technology.

These youth have found new dimensions of careers they have not even dreamt of. Their training in computer skills is a part of multi-pronged project launched by the Mehar Baba Charitable Trust.

Besides imparting skills in computer, the trust runs a unique centre that teaches the making of traditional items such as duree (traditional carpets).

"We try to educate modern and traditional things to children and equip them with skills with which they could understand", said founder member of the trust Professor H.S. Mejie.

"We came across an 86-years-old woman who knew a unique art of durees with a traditional look. Our volunteers took her all the way from her home to our centre for nearly two months. Before her death, she trained 20 girls, who now make a livelihood from it," says Charanjeet Cheema, one of the trustees of the organisation. The art of unique duree-making was saved as all girls are now teaching these to other girls.

The anklets, bracelets and other jewellery items crafted at the trust's centres had found instant buyers at exhibitions at Chandigarh Golf Club recently.

The trust has a joint venture with the Fashion Technology Park in Mohali. The trust runs a programme under which village girls are trained in English. A few of these girls are now successfully working in BPOs at Mohali and earning a handsome livelihood.

As many as 135 villages have been adopted to create a data bank of population, poverty level, existence of government facilities and establish contact points. Villagers around the area are also being provided with medical care.

Special surgeries such as cleft lip plastic surgery, eye ball replacement, plugging holes in the heart are also undertaken and patients are operated upon on charity basis.

The trustees added, "The activities undertaken are all meant to be a part and parcel of the philanthropic activities. Finances are managed by the trust on the basis of donations as well as own generated sources of income."

Bassi Pathana, December 14
Being united, people could bring development in rural and urban areas of the country. In order to make the government accountable, people should form a united front and fight against the lackadaisical attitude of government, said Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune H.K. Dua here.

He was the chief guest during founder's day celebrations of Mehar Baba Charitable Trust today. H.K. Dua dwelt on instances when people stood for a social cause and their united front bore fruits.

"It's high time to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to enquire about our money being used by various governments. The government is answerable to us," he said. He laid emphasis on the use of the RTI to know use and misuse of every kind of funds, which were collected from public.

Sharing an example, he added that a section of residents in Rajasthan launched an agitation against lackadaisical attitude of the authorities during the construction of a well. The well was completed within no time, when people raised voice in unison.

Lauding efforts of the charitable trust, which had been doing various social works in educational, vocational and medical areas, he said even after 62 years of independence much more was needed to be done in all the fields.

“When we move out from the big cities, the image of Shining India gets dismal and the government's tall claims fall flat. The trust has set up an example, which should be followed by others”, he said.

K.S. Bains, IAS (retired), said people should come forward to extend help to others. "We hope that the trust covers more number of villages under its philanthropic activities," he said while exhorting the work of organization.

Those attended the function included veteran journalist Gobind Thukral, SSP Kaustubh Sharma and former chief secretary, Punjab, A. S Chatha.

Doctors working for the cause of needy patients were also honoured. An exhibition showcasing the medical help extended to the poor children and elderly was also put on display. Various dance competitions were also held during the occasion wherein children from different schools participated.

Bassi Pathana, December 14
Representatives of various social, religious and political organisations led by Kulbhushan Malhotra, council president, and Manoj Banda of the Hindu organisations submitted a memorandum regarding the development of local railway station and other railway related demands to H.K. Jaggi, divisional railway manager (DRM), during his visit to the local railway station on Friday.

They urged DRM to construct railway platform, as the passengers face difficulities while boarding and alighting from train. There is no shed on the railway station to save the passengers from rain, sun and cold weather.

They demanded to restore the parcel service from the station, to start new trains from Nangal to Haridwar and Amritsar via Bassi Pathana and also demanded to construct a railway over bridge on Kharar Road.

DRM assured the residents that he would take up their genuine demands with higher officials and these would be conceded.

Neeral Kaura, president Lions club, Pritam Rubbar, president Bharat Vikas Parishad, Kuldeep Pathak, BJP leader, Arun Pathak and Harish Deepak were also present.

Notably, the overloaded vehicles, in last few months have caused major accidents, near Kali Mata Temple of Kalka, which have claimed over six lives.

Kalka, December 14
The Welfare Association of Housing Board Colony, Kalka, has recently written a letter to Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister of Haryana, in connection with waiving of interest on principal amount of enhancement in prices of houses to increase final cost, ELC’s and arbitration awards, etc.

I.P. Singh, president, S.P. Sethi, general secretary, K.S. Singhal, chairman, legal cell, and Gurdial Singh, senior advisor, told the Tribune that during the visit of the CM to the Kalka Civil Hospital and at the teej function last year, residents of the housing board colony had urged to waive the interest.

The CM had agreed to exempt the interest and had asked the residents to deposit the principal amount. He had also declared during the teej function that a maximum relief would be given to the housing board, Kalka.

Though the residents are ready to pay the principal amount, but the board authorities are adamant on getting the interest also.

The representative of the Welfare Association Housing Board Colony have repeatedly met the board authorities and had requested them to accept the principal amount of the enhancement without the interest as the same has already been done in the housing board colonies of Panipat, Karnal and Faridabad, but it was turned down, despite the High Court’s directives by Sawatantar Kumar on February 3, 2000 not to charge the interest from the allottees.

On the basis of the order of the High Court, the housing board, Haryana, had issued the order on June 6, 2000 to all state managers of the housing board colonies that the allottees should be asked to pay the principal amount within 30 days of the notice without interest. But the orders were not implemented on the Kalka housing board, they added.

It must be mentioned here that the housing board, Kalka, came into existence in 1986. 43 petitions were filed in the High Court for various colonies of the Hayana housing board against the enhancement. All cases were linked with the petition No 10462 of 1988.

With the approval of the Tipra bridge in Kalka, the residents of the housing board colony have expressed their gratitude to the CM and have also urged him to exempt them from the interest.

Patiala, December 14
Newly-elected president and honorary secretary of the Rajindra Gymkhana and Mohindra Club Santokh Singh and Dr Balbir Singh have said their first priority would be to computerise the working of the club.

Talking to The Tribune here today after being elected as president and honorary secretary of the club yesterday, Santokh Singh and Dr Balbir Singh said that computerisation of the club offices was necessary as the members often complain of non-receipt of bills and other club communications on time. They said that their endeavour would be to make payment of monthly subscriptions online.

The duo said that the quality of food served in the club would be improved. The club gymnasium will also be upgraded apart from other sporting facilities, they added.

Dr Balbir Singh, who has remained the secretary of the club from 1995 to 1997, said that being a sportsman, his endeavour would be to improve sporting activities in the club.

He said the recent grant of Rs 50 lakh by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would be utilised for this purpose. He said that there was a proposal to cover the existing swimming pool and a modern bar on the first floor.

Patiala, December 14
Dr Jaspal Singh, vice-chancellor of Punjabi University, presided over the Guru Nanak commemorative lecture at the Senate Hall here recently.

He said, “Guru Granth Sahib is not just an ordinary holy scripture but also contains a detailed account of significant events related to humanity and its sufferings at the hands of the contemporary tyrannical regimes and other such forces. It constitutes a panacea to all types of aches and agonies, commonly faced by the human beings due to their wrong judgements.”

Dr Prithpal Singh Kapoor, a noted Sikh scholar and former vice-chancellor of GNDU, Amritsar, highlighted the problems and complexities related to oral historical descriptions. This usually led to the emergence of wrong perceptions about Sikh religion, particularly about Guru Nanak as depicted by the foreign scholars in their treatises, he said.

This, however, also encouraged some of the Sikh scholars to clear the wrong notions about their culture, he added. Head of the department of Sri Guru Granth Sahib studies, Dr Gurnek Singh and Dr Sarabjinder Singh also spoke on the occasion.

The police sources claimed that near the ashram, some unidentified person stabbed Madan, several times with a sharp-edged weapon.

Barwala, December 14
A fine knock of 45 by Narinder Walia helped Godrej Cricket Club (CC) defeat Inscol XI by six wickets in the inaugural match of the Vth Girish Nayyar Memorial League Cricket Tournament, being organised by Chandigarh Sports Club at JP Institute of Cricket Technology Stadium here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, the openers gave Inscol XI a fine start as they put on 58 runs in 11 overs. After the dismissal of the openers in consecutive overs, the remaining Inscol batsmen played very slow and the team managed just only 122 for four in stipulated 25 overs.

In reply, Godrej CC was off to a quick start. The openers realised 35 runs in six overs before Yash Kapila was unfortunately run out. But the other batsmen continued to make runs at a brisk pace and got to the target with ease and six overs to spare. Narinder Walia was the highest scorer as he made 45 valuable runs for the team.

Chandigarh, December 14
Senior IAS officer and managing director of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation Anurag Verma, already facing dowry harassment charge, is in trouble again as Chandigarh police has served a five-day arrest notice on him in the case.

The police had booked Verma in a dowry harassment case under Sections 323, 341, 498-A and 506 on a complaint of his wife Shweta in June this year.

Sources said the investigating officers want custodial interrogation of Verma and had served a notice on him in this connection on Saturday.

However, the officer did not receive the notice and the police has reportedly recorded a daily diary report in this connection.

DSP (Woman and Child Support Unit) Kulwant Singh Pannu said tjhat custodial interrogation of the accused was required following criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of “stridhan” by the officer.

As per the probe, the police has also imposed Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act against Verma. The court had directed the police to issue a five-day-notice to Verma before his arrest.

Zirakpur, December 14
The local police registered a case against residents of Kangra Manjeet Kumar and Anil Kumar on the complaint of Zora Singh, a resident of Sangrur, here today.

According to the police, the accused Manjeet Kumar and Anil Kumar allegedly fled after taking away a vehicle at the Chandigarh-Zirkapur road from the driver Gurdeep Singh after assaulting him on Saturday morning. The vehicle owner got the information from his driver about the incident.

Chandigarh, December 14
Local police arrested Ankit Gupta of Sector 44 and seized pirated CDs from his possession, yesterday.

Chandigarh, December 14
Hosts St Kabir School, Sector 26, and St Stephen's School, Sector 45, will vie to decide the winner of the Chandigarh Inter-School Under-13 Football Championship for St Kabir Trophy at the school's premises in Sector 26 here tomorrow.

Earlier today, St Stephen's School drubbed St. John's High School by 3-0 while St Kabir prevailed over St Xavier's School, Sector 44, 1-0 in the semi-finals to register final berth.

St. Kabir School owed their triumph to a brilliant display by their goalkeeper Gautam who frustrated the attempts of St Xavier's High School to move into final.

However, the first half remained a goalless affair. With teams going all out on resumption, St Kabir School was able to score a goal in the 35th minute. Getting a stray pass on top of the dee, Sanchit Budhiraja scored with a measured lob, which brooked no denial. The goal turned out to be the match-winner.

In the second semi-final, St Stephen's School outplayed St John's High School, Sector 45, by 3-0. The semi-final was a one-sided traffic. After initial probing, strong contenders St Stephen's School forged ahead through Karam Partap Singh in the 12th minute.

St Stephen's were awarded a penalty as a St John's defender handled the ball inside the proscribed box and Harpal Singh converted it in a smooth action in the 36th minute. Three minutes later Pankaj rounded off the winners' tally with a fine goal.

Chandigarh, December 14
A lighter shaft in the irons and a positive frame of mind were the two ingredients that took Jeev Milkha Singh to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and the 36th place in the world golf ranking.

Yes, confidence was writ large on the face of Jeev when he talked to media at the CGA Golf Range here this afternoon. Because of the lighter shaft the swing had improved a lot.

The rifle shaft fitted earlier gave way to the lighter shaft in June-July. And after that there has been a tremendous change in Jeev's performance.

He wants to forget 2007 when he paid for his aggressive winning approach by finishing 67th in the world ranking. This year he played with a positive frame of mind and the lighter shaft gave a power to his swing.

His triumph in the Nippon Series JT Cup in Tokyo is still fresh in his mind. But now he is all set for the Volvo Masters of Asia to be played in Bangkok from December 18 to 21. This last Asian Tour event is certain to take him still higher on the world ranking ladder.

Jeev was oozing with confidence when he talked about the year ahead. "Yes, my focus will be on the US Major. I am confident of doing well on the US PGA Tour. At least one win is a must.”

Jeev who turns 37 tomorrow said the celebrations would be a low-key family affair. He will also be playing in a Professional Golf Tour of India event from December 24 to 27 in Noida, before he takes a little break. And then it will be a still bigger target.

If 2008 was better than 2006, Jeev wants to make 2009 a still greater year. The changed shaft has given him a better swing and his putting is perfect.

When Jeev was in Chandigarh last time he said in the years to come it would be the top 10 spot and not the top 50 ranking he would be setting his target on.

This year Jeev won two Japan Tour titles, the Nippon Serires JT Cup and the Nagashima Shiego Invitational Sega Sammy Cup. His other titles included the Bank Austria Golf Open in the European Tour and the Singapore Open (Asian Tour).

Jeev will be honoured after the Volvo Masters of Asia event for clinching the Asian Tour's Order of Merit title at a special bash to be held on Sunday night in Bangkok.

This will be the second time Jeev would be winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title. The previous one was in 2006.

Chandigarh, December 14
Twenty-year-old Gaganjeet Bhullar from Kapurthala came back with a sizzling eight under par 64 to finish tied 11th at 11 under par 277 in the US $ 3 lakh Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open on the par 72 greens at Siem Reap in Cambodia today.

Today's 11th spot got the Kapurthala boy the prized 65th ranking which gives him full playing rights for the 2009 Asian Tour season.

Trailing three shots behind Australia's Adam Groom at the start of the day, Bhullar knew he had to play the game of his life to overtake Groom and avoid going back to the qualifying school again next month.

"The motivation of making into the top 65 really kept me alive and I am really happy,” added Bhullar.

Bhullar said, "Before coming over I was really tense. There was so much mental pressure, especially after missing the cut in Vietnam last week. I did a lot of yoga and that has really helped me a lot.” Bhullar finished at 11 under 277 (71-72-70-64) to win a cash prize of $ 5,070.

Bhullar will also be heading to Bangkok next week where an elite field of the top 65 players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit will be battling it out for the US $750,000 Volvo Masters of Asia Tournament, which will be a thrilling finale to the Asian Tour.

Chandigarh big-hitter Gurbaaz Mann fired a three under par 69 to finish tied 14th at 10 under par 278 (72-65-72-69) and pocketed a prize cheque for $ 4,230.

Another city golfer Harmeet Kahlon also had a good day carding a five under par 67 to be tied 28th at six under 282 (74-68-73-67) for a cash prize of $ 2,745.

The other Indians in the fray were Anirban Lahiri (tied 30th at 70-73-68-72) 282 and Himmat Rai (tied 34th at 74-70-71-69).

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee made it two straight wins in a row when he produced another superb round of six under par 66 for a 24 under par 264 total to end his Cambodian campaign six shots ahead of closest rival, Lam Chih Bing of Singapore.

Lam produced his best finish of his career so far, when he signed off with a 65 for a 270 total to take second place ahead of Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol who was two shots back on 272.

Wales's rookie Rhys Davies and Anthony Kang of the US took a share of the fourth place when they returned with matching 274s.

Mohali, December 14
Seeing the low response of the sales of tickets for the 2nd Test match between India and England to be played from December 19 to 23 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, the PCA has decided to issue discounted tickets directly on the request received from the educational institutions on first-cum-first serve basis.

However, a PCA official said, “The 2nd Test match has been allotted to the PCA on a very short notice, therefore, due to time constrain it is not possible to route through the educational department for the supply of tickets.”

In accordance with the new decision, the educational institutions could collect the price of the tickets from the interested students and take the tickets from the stadium directly.

The special concession for the student tickets has also been extended to the cricket coaching academies working in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. These tickets can be obtained by the coach-in-charge of the academy on cash and carry basis as per their requirement.

For the convenience of the students, concessional tickets would be available for Rs 60 (season) all five days and 20 (daily ticket) available for all five days.

Earlier, in the normal practice PCA has been writing to the district education authorities to send the demand of the schools concessional tickets to PCA.

Mohali, December 14
Vivek High School, Sector 70, Mohali, celebrated its second sports day yesterday. A blend of perfection was witnessed as boys and girls participated in different events.

Students displayed their skills in tae kwon do. Parents of the students participated in the tug of war. The day ended with the prize distribution function.

Kiranbir Singh Kang, president, Youth Akali Dal, presided over the function. The school’s achievements in various fields were also highlighted. The chief guest declared December 15 as a holiday in the school.