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U-turn by PU ragging victim
But probe panel says it happened
Chandigarh, August 6
The ragging incident in Panjab University that hogged the headlines a few days ago took a curious turn today with the victim taking a U-turn on the entire issue. While university officials, in their report submitted to the DUI, confirmed the claims of Anirudh, a first year student of UIET, being ragged by his senior Saurav Chandel, who was arrested by the police, along with another student, this volte face by the victim has surprised many.

Desi guesthouses, foreign brands
Chandigarh, August 6
“Holiday Inn”, one of the oldest hotel chains in the world, established in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, at Burail village sounds strange. But it’s true. The location of this hotel is equally strange. It is on the upper floors of shops, which include a country liquor shop.

A guesthouse named after Holiday Inn at Burail. Also a country liquor shop on its ground floor. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Punjab clears airport draft
Joint venture firm to be set up soon
Mohali, August 6
After initial hiccups, the international airport project here has gained momentum. The Punjab Government has approved the draft of joint venture (JV) company to be set up by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

4 suspended after DAV School brawl
Chandigarh, August 6
Four students of DAV School, Sector 15, here, today were suspended for a week following a brawl among them that left Class XI student Deepak injured. According to the school authorities, five boys, Pawan and Bikramjeet of Class XII, and Anish, Deepak and Chirjot of Class XI, fought among themselves during the lunch break. Deepak sustained minor injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital.

COMMUNITY

City Beautiful’s Ugly face: Sector 21 Residents grapple with encroachment, poor sanitation Chandigarh, August 6 Resentment prevails among residents of Sector 21 over poor civic amenities in their area in spite of repeated requests for a hearing. They blame their elected representatives and officials concerned for the prevailing situation in the sector. Vehicles parked in a back alley in Sector 21, Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

ABVP activists take out a candlelight procession in remembrance of atomic bomb victims on the 64th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima at Panjab University on Thursday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

National crafts mela from Oct 24
Chandigarh, August 6
The 1st “Chandigarh National Crafts Mela” on the pattern of Surajkund mela is being organised by Chandigarh administration in collaboration with the North Zone Culture Centre (NZCC) from October 24 to November 2.

Customers feel cheated
Chandigarh, August 6
Customers in the city are made to shell out at an extra two per cent on goods they pick up on plastic money. Ironically, almost eight out of every ten people The Tribune team spoke with had no clue whatsoever about these illegal charges.

Bank employees stage protest Chandigarh, August 6 Hundreds of bank employees under the aegis of United Forum of Bank Unions participated in a rally to protest against the bank managements in Sector 17 this morning. Bank employees stage a protest in support of their demands at Sector 17 in Chandigarh on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Swine Flu
Health dept reviews preparedness
Chandigarh, August 6
With the first swine flu death reported in the country, the health department, Chandigarh, today stepped up its measures to tackle such cases in the city.

Reimbursement
Now, all emergency patients to benefit
Chandigarh, August 6
The Chandigarh administration has decided to extend indoor patient reimbursement benefits to all patients who are kept under observation in emergency cases.

P’kula writer gets Tagore Literacy Award

Panchkula, August 6 Lakshmi Rupal, a Panchkula-based educationist and writer, has been conferred upon Tagore Literacy Award 2007. The award was presented by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on July 31 in New Delhi for her contribution in the field of literacy, adult education, and women empowerment. Lakshmi Rupal receives Tagore Literacy Award from former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in Delhi. A Tribune photograph

Denmark invites Indian industry
Chandigarh, August 6
India can’t be ignored in the present economic scenario, said Sooraj Dhawan, country representative for Copenhagen Capacity, during a seminar on “Business Opportunities in Denmark” organised by PHD Chamber here today.

Mothers get tech-saVvy

A computer workshop being organised for mothers at Saupin’s School in Mohali. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Shivalikview to offer low-calorie food from today
Chandigarh, August 6
Health conscious residents of the city will now be able to enjoy nutritious but low-colorie food at affordable price at Hotel Shivalikview, with the CITCO unit launching its “Salad Bar” concept tomorrow.

‘Amputation avoidable through vascular surgery’
Mohali, August 6
“There are about 20 million diabetics in India, the highest in the world. Around 3 million diabetics have foot infections and in the case of around 1.5 million of them, these infections are because of reduced blood supply due to blocked arteries, a condition that can prove to be fatal.

Aug 8 closed day in ward No. 10
Chandigarh, August 6
The Chandigarh administration has ordered August 8 as closed day for all shops and commercial establishments falling in the area of ward No. 10 of the municipal corporation, Chandigarh, due to the August 8 byelection.

EDUCATION

Private, govt schools to ink pact
Chandigarh, August 6
Nine private schools will sign an MOU with the government schools as a part of the “Synergy award” initiative of the UT education department. The function to be held at a hotel will witness a unique collaboration of the government and private schools with the latter adopting the former voluntarily to improve their results.

B Pharma students up in arms
Chandigarh, August 6
Students of B Pharma, Panjab University, staged a protest spearheaded by the students’ group, SOPU, in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office today. They raised several issues ranging from direct admission to the masters to the lack of placement opportunities.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Captain’s legacy wins again
Dera Bassi, August 6
The legacy of Akali stalwart Capt Kanwaljit Singh has emerged victorious once again. Unmindful of the fact that the Akali leader was not among, voters voted his son Jagjit Singh Bunny to give him a chance to serve the Banur constituency, which has been nurtured by father for years.

Bankers’ strike brings work to a halt
Patiala, August 6
The strike call by United Forum of Bank Unions comprising nine unions, including AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF, NOBW, INBOC and NOBO disrupted the working at all national banks today.

Pay Scales
Teachers’ strike from August 11
Kalka, August 6
Anguished over the adamant attitude of the state government over non-implementation of the UGC grade and not getting Class I cadre, teachers of government colleges, government-aided colleges and universities throughout Haryana have decided to sit on an indefinite dharna from August 11.

Pbi varsity don presents paper at Geneva
Patiala, August 6
Dr Balwinder Singh Tiwana of department of economics, Punjabi University, Patiala, presented a paper on “Worker's life, work and decency: Needed regulatory measure in India” at a conference organised by International Labour Organisaion (ILO), an organ of UNO at Geneva, Switzerland, this July.

Cong leader’s bail plea dismissed
Ambala, August 6
A local court today dismissed the bail application of Naresh Chadda, a Congress leader, who was nabbed from the Public Works Department rest house at Ambala city with a woman, while the woman was granted a bail by the court.

Anti-social activities on the rise
Bassi Pathana, August 6
Though Bassi Pathana is a small town having a population of a few thousand, it is popular for the sale of drugs, intoxicants, gambling, satta, eve teasing and various other anti-social activities.

3 held for burglary, snatching
Bassi Pathana, August 6
The police today arrested three persons for their involvement in cases of burglary and snatching. According to a press release issued by SSP Dr Kaustubh Sharma, the police arrested the three after a chase.

Farmers seek direct payment
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 6
The Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta, Sidhupur, at a meeting today demanded that the government should make direct payment to farmers. The meeting held at Diwan Todar Mal Hall wherein the union state president Pishora Singh presided over.

‘Breastfeeding reduces infant mortality’
Patiala, August 6
World Breastfeeding Week is being celebrated at local Mata Kaushalya Government Hospital that had been adjudged as the best baby-friendly hospital of the state. It aims at highlighting the benefits of breastfeeding to promote health and reduce infant mortality.

COURTS

Consumer Courts
ICICI Bank told to pay Rs 50,000
Chandigarh, August 6
The Consumer Disputes and Redressal Forum has directed ICICI Bank to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 for adopting unfair trade practice of enriching themselves at the cost of the complainant.

Fun Republic Scam
Kewal Dhillon gets bail
Chandigarh, August 6
The CBI special court of Darshan Singh today granted bail to Congress leader Kewal Dhillon and four others in a case pertaining to Rs 5.36-crore Fun Republic scam. The court granted bail to sub-divisional officer TP Singh, assistant engineer Sandeep Sharma, office superintendent Brij Mohan and architect Arun Loomba besides Kewal Dhillon.

CRIME

Illegal sale of NRI woman’s land
Police teams dispatched to arrest Baba
Chandigarh, August 6
A day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Chandigarh police to arrest Baba Pritpal Singh, booked in a case of grabbing land of an NRI woman, the police today dispatched teams to conduct raids on various hideouts in Punjab and other states.

Two killed in accidents
Chandigarh, August 6
Two persons were killed in separate accidents here last night. While a Nawanshahr resident was killed and three others were injured in a road accident at Khuda Lahora, another person was killed in a mishap at the transport lights in Sector 26.

Realtor’s Kidnapping Case
Plea seeking suspects’ lie-detector test rejected
Panchkula, August 6
The last hope of the local police to get any clue in the kidnapping case of property dealer Deepak Rai Saggar has been dashed to grounds, as the application to seek permission of Narco analysis test on suspects was rejected by the District and Sessions Court here today.

3 beggars arrested
Chandigarh, August 6
In pursuance of UT Home Secretary Ram Niwas’ order to curb the menace of beggary in the city, raids were conducted in Sector 8 and 17 markets under the supervision of SDM (East) Niharika Rai here today.

63 detained in search operation
Chandigarh, August 6
The police today rounded up 63 persons during a special search operation conducted in Colony No 4 here early this morning. The police said out of the 63 persons rounded up, stranger roll of 40 persons had been issued and 23 persons were let off after verification through local representative of the area.

SPORTS

Cricket Meet
Mohan rips through Nawanshahr
Chandigarh, August 6
Fine bowling by Mohan (4/9) helped Chandigarh Twenty 20 District Association in defeating Nawanshahr in the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Inter- District Cricket Tournament organised by Punjab State Twenty 20 Cricket Association in Barnala today.

Billiards/Snooker Bhalla brothers sail through Ist round Panchkula, August 6 The Bhalla brothers, Sunny and Honey eased through their first rounds defeating Ashish Mehta and Sahil Malhotra, respectively on the fifth day of the 23rd Haryana State Junior and Senior Billiards and Snooker Championship being held on Haryana Billiards’ Sector 11 premises.
A player aims a shot during a snooker meet in Panchkula on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Sports bodies only in name
Chandigarh, August 6
Absence of any political setup in the city has given unbridled powers sans accountability to bureaucrats. They are also in complete control of the majority of the sports associations whose functioning has always remained questionable.

CFI team clinch title
Chandigarh, August 6
The Cricket Federation of India (CFI) under-19 cricket team won the Invitation Friendship Cup beating Selangor Cricket Association and Kinrara Cricket Association affiliated to Persatuan Cricket Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from July 25 to August 2.