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A quiet, but warm, Christmas
Chandigarh, December 25
City gave a miss to pomp and festivity this Christmas, as people opted for low-key celebrations in respect for those who lost their lives in Mumbai terror attacks and Orrisa riots. While churches were lit up and payers were offered, most Christians gave a miss to feast and gifts this year.

The Sector-18 church decked up on Christmas evening in Chandigarh on Thursday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Mayoral Polls
Cong plays Dalit card
Fields Kalyan, Rana on two key posts
Chandigarh, December 25
With an eye on Dalit votes in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, the Congress today fielded two Dalit candidates on the post of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the forthcoming mayoral elections to be held on January 1.

Mega Projects: Division in Cong comes to fore
Chandigarh, December 25
Division in the Congress over UT Administrator SF Rodrigues’ “pet” yet controversial mega projects came to the fore again with president of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC) BB Bahl abstaining from a show of strength by the party.

Campus Brawl
8 players held, bailed out
Chandigarh, December 25
The Chandigarh police today arrested eight baseball players of the two groups that were involved in a brawl on the Panjab University campus yesterday. The police arrested the accused taking preventive measures under Sections 107 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code and produced them before the SDM.

COMMUNITY

66 kV sub-station opens at PGI Chandigarh, December 25 Anil Razdan, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, inaugurated the 66 kV sub-station at Post Graduate Medical Education and Research here today. The PGI had planned to set up this sub-station keeping in view the growing demand of electricity there. Anil Razdan, Secretary, Ministry of Power inaugurates a 66 kV sub-station at PGIMER, Chandigarh, on Thursday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Railway ticket counters at city post offices
Chandigarh, December 25
Booking railway tickets is set to be a hassle-free exercise with the Indian Railways and the Department of Posts joining hands and deciding to open five railway reservation counters at the city post offices.

US firm to start research project at CRII
Chandigarh, December 25
To analyse unique ideas of amateur scientists and engineers of the country relating health instruments, a US-based company, Millipore, is coming up with its pilot project to be located at the Central Research Instrumental Institute (CRII), Bangalore, soon.

Tracking psychology of stress Chandigarh, December 25 “I feel we should remove the stressors rather than expect them to cope and relieve the symptoms with pranayam and yoga. Therapy is fine but it is long-term measures and structural changes that will give us an Army that is motivated,” opined Sagar Sharma, city-based academician and an alumunus of Panjab University. Sharma is all for redressing the grievances of the soldiers because they can, he feels, endure combat but day-to-day humiliation bogs them down.

Sagar Sharma

Community centre with swimming pool for Sec 49
Chandigarh, December 25
The municipal corporation is coming up with “double-bonanza” for the residents of the newly developed southern sectors, including 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and others. A community centre with a swimming pool alongside in Sector 49 is turning out to be “many firsts”. The swimming pool is going to be MC’s first in the city.

Admn to promote city as tourist destination
Chandigarh, December 25
The Chandigarh administration yesterday decided to promote the city as a tourist destination rather than transit tourist destination. Several proposals in this regard were mooted at the meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee held yesterday under the chairmanship of home secretary-cum-secretary tourism Ram Niwas.

Yearender Panchkula Dist
Chander Mohan remained buzz of the town
Panchkula, December 25
The district remained in the headlines of national dailies and news channels not for good reasons throughout the year. While the year ended at Panchkula with the second marriage of Chander Mohan, the sacked deputy chief minister and local MLA, the state police headquarters witnessed suicide by a rape victim at the hands of policemen at Rohtak, followed by a rape of a patient at the Command hospital.

Urdu play ‘Kharashein’ staged Chandigarh, December 25 An ensemble of 10 female amateur student artistes of Lady Shree Ram College, Delhi, staged the 14th show of an Urdu play “Kharashein” at the Randhawa auditorium here today. Artistes stage a play "Kharashein" by Gulzar at Punjab Kala Bhavan in Chandigarh on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Spreading awareness on herbal tourism
Chandigarh, December 25
As people are becoming health conscious these days, they are ready to go to any part of world to get right treatment. This change of attitude towards health has created great opportunities of increasing health tourism in India.

Bronchoscopy facility at GMSH
Chandigarh, December 25
Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector-16, yesterday added a new facility of bronchoscopy.

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EDUCATION

Christmas spirit pervades schools
Chandigarh, December 25
Go-Bananas Kids Club celebrated Christmas with the kids of the Tricity, today at the Hidden Valley farmhouse. Over 60 little ones attended the party on special day, with camel rides, tattoo painting, dance and music.

Father at a Church hold prayers during Christmas. Tribune photos Kamal Kishore

A child enjoys with a paper fan in front of a Catholic Church in Ambala on Thursday.

Artillery unit trip gifted to slum kids
Chandigarh, December 25
While they expected a usual distribution of gifts and clothes on this Christmas too these five kids from Bapu Dham are surely in for a sweet surprise this year, as they celebrated the day with the Indian Artillery unit based in Ferozepur.

Annual day celebrations at Gurukul
Panchkula, December 25
The Gurukul, Sector 20, held its annual day celebrations, on the star studded evening of Christmas at the Inder Dhanush auditorium here today. Financial commissioner and principal secretary, Haryana, DS Dhesi was the chief guest.

Goonj at Guru Harkrishan school
Chandigarh, December 25
Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School held its annual prize distribution function, here on Saturday. The programme commenced with the shabad and a cultural show ‘Goonj’ was organised on the occasion.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Jor Mela
VIP visits harass devotees
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 25
A large number of devotees, who thronged the Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara and Jyoti Swarup gurdwara to pay their obeisance to the younger sahibzada of Guru Gobind Singh, were harassed as the VIP vehicles moved at a high speed on their way to the gurdwaras.

Ban on plastic proves futile Fatehgarh Sahib, December 25 Plastic today littered the roads leading to Fatehgarh Sahib in view of Shaheedi Jor Mela. Large number of community kitchens were organised by the area residents, wherein commuters were served food, tea and snacks in disposable glasses and plates. Plastic littered on the Landran-Fatehgarh Sahib road during the Jor Mela. A Tribune photograph

Mother clobbers twins to death
Patiala, December 25
In a gruesome incident, a young woman killed her two sons at Sahib Nagar, near Urban Estate, here this morning. According to police officials, Amarjit (30) clobbered her sons, Rakesh and Ramesh, both twins and aged eight years, with a rod.

Seven shops burgled at Kharar
Two situated near police stations
Kharar, December 25
Thieves struck at seven commercial ventures here right under the nose of the police on Wednesday night. Two leading departmental stores, situated at opposite to the sadar and city police stations, were also struck.

‘Need to re-document Indian history’
Ambala, December 25
Union Minister Selja released a book "Haryana the torchbearer of 1857" written by Tejinder Singh Walia in a function organised in Ambala City here today.

Bir asks DCs to check encroachments
Patiala, December 25
Patiala Divisional Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir recently asserted that in an attempt to stop people from encroaching upon the government land, the administration had deputed certain officials to determine the encroachers.

PUDA intalls gates at Urban Estate
Patiala, December 25
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority has built imposing gates in the three phases of the Urban Estate here to lend architectural beauty to the posh residential area of this once princely city.

Two killed in auto-truck collision
Ambala, December 25
Two persons were killed and nine others injured when a three-wheeler collided with a truck on Ambala-Hisar road, near here today morning. The deceased were identified as Karam Chand and Kulbir Singh, residents of Mahmoodpur village.

Engg teacher awarded
Banur, December 25
Prof Manavjot Kaur, assistant professor, the department of biotechnology, Shaheed Udham Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Tangori, has been awarded the best engineering college teacher award for Punjab state for the year 2008 by the Indian Society for Technical Education, New Delhi.

CRIME

Two booked in abduction case
Chandigarh, December 25
The local police registered a case on the complaint of a resident of Mauli Jagran, alleging that two persons abducted his 15-year-old daughter, when she was going to Panchkula, on December 3. Both the accused, Jatinder Kumar and Makhan Singh, are residents of the same area.

SPORTS

Amravati thrash North Maharashtra
Chandigarh, December 25
All-India Inter-University Baseball (Women) Tournament kicked off here today on Panjab University grounds. In the first match of the day, Amravati University found an easy rival in North Maharashtra University whom they thrashed by seven home runs.

Dua, Vidyawati shine in marathon
Chandigarh, December 25
Joint Commissioner TPS Phoolka won the first position in the MCC employees’ category during the second marathon run for environment, organised by the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, here today for various age groups.

Soft Tennis Championship
Baldeep, Prashant in final
Chandigarh, December 25
Baldeep Singh of Madhya Pradesh and Prashant of Delhi register final berth, defeating their rivals in the semifinals during the 4th Junior National Soft Tennis Championship held at St Peter School, Sector 37.

Karnataka, TN enter ball b’minton in final
Chandigarh, December 25
In boys’ section, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and in the girls’ section, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu entered in the finals of 54th Junior National Ball Badminton Championship Boys and Girls held at Mt Carmel School, Sector 47, and Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, here today.