NEIGHBOURHOOD

26 councillors seek Patiala Mayor’s ouster
Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 24
The tall claims of the Patiala municipal corporation notwithstanding, inhabitants of some areas of the town have been facing acute water shortage for the past few days.

The hour-long power cuts have aggravated the problem. The affected area residents have urged the civic functionaries to initiate corrective measures.

For the past few days, areas including Sewak Colony, Sant Nagar, Gian Colony and Punjabi Bagh, have been grappling with water crisis.

Criticising civic authorities for paying no heed to their complaints, Bacchitar Singh, a resident of Sant Nagar, said: “It is not that our taps are completely dry but water supply is for very little time and the pressure of water is also very low.” A housewife, Jaskiran Malhotra, who resides in the Punjabi Bagh area, rued that they had to face immense difficulty on account of water scarcity.

“Notwithstanding the scheduled timing for water supply, we get water for just a few hours the whole day. As a result, we have to face lot of problem in meeting our day-to-day domestic requirement for water,” she said, adding that power cuts aggravated the problem. Residents of Gian Colony and Sainik Colony also expressed similar views and urged the municipal authorities to take corrective measures at the earliest.

Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang was not available for comments. However, Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli claimed that water supply was normal in the town.

He added that even if there was problem no one had brought it to his notice.

Ambala, September 24
Former Union Minister and Congress candidate from Ambala City constituency Venod Sharma filed his nomination today. His wife Shakti Rani Sharma filed the nomination as covering candidate. HPCC chief Phool Chand Mulana and former political adviser to Chief Minister, Haryana, Virender Singh and former minister Nirmal Singh were also present.

Earlier, Sharma organised a meeting of his supporters in new grain market where a large number of Congress workers were also present. Virender Singh said the Chief Minister had to come to Ambala City on the nomination of Sharma, but stayed at Delhi to attend a meeting where the remaining seats of the state were to be finalised.

Mulana said in this assembly election, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would again come to power and Sharma, being the senior most leader, would also get an important position in the government.

Later, Mulana and former minister Nirmal Singh also filed their nominations. BSP state chief Prakash Bharti also filed his nomination from Mulana.

Kalka, September 24
As many as three candidates filed their nominations on the penultimate day here today. Vijay Bansal, former Congress leader, who had recently joined Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), filed his nomination today.

Virender Singh of the BJP and Satvinder Singh Rana of the Congress also filed their nominations.

Informing this, Yogesh Kumar, SDM, Kalka, and the returning officer told The Tribune that Virender Singh had not submitted Form -A and Form -B, oath ticket issued by the party president.

He has been asked to submit the required documents till 3 pm tomorrow. He further added that on September 26 scrutiny would be carried out and the list of validity of nomination of candidates would be issued.

Kharar, September 24
The income tax department today took over the possession of Guru Nanak Flour Mill, Landran road, today.

Income tax return officer Darshan Singh said the mill’s income tax return for the financial year 1982-83, amounting to Rs 37 lakh, has been pending since long. “The mill authorities have been sent repeated reminders but they failed to turn up,” he said.

The department took over the possession of land after conducting a public announcement.

Patiala, September 24
The local police claimed to have seized 3 kg opium from the possession of two motorcycle-borne youths.

The youths, identified as Shyam Sunder and Ashok Kumar, both residents of Ludhiana, have been arrested and a case has been registered under Sections 18, 61 and 85 of NDPC Act at the police station, Julka.

DSP Rural Davinder Singh Dhuri said during a police checking on Tuesday evening, Sunder and Ashok were stopped at a police checkpoint near Tangri Bridge, Ahoja village.

During search, the police seized a bag containing 3 kg opium.

He added that during questioning, the accused confessed that they used to smuggle opium from various states and sell it in Punjab.

Chandigarh, September 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court will have three more judges.

Available information suggests the President of India has cleared for elevation the names of District and Sessions Judges Gurdev Singh, Ram Chand Gupta and MS Sullar.

Sullar is currently holds the charge of Haryana legal remembrancer, while Gupta is the high court registrar-general. Gurdev Singh is posted as the Jalandhar Sessions Judge. The oath ceremony is expected to be held after the Punjab and Haryana High Court reopens following short vacations starting Saturday. A fax on their elevation was reportedly received at the high court today.

With their elevation to the Bench, the number of judges in the high court will go up to 48, against the sanctioned strength of 68. The number of judges had only recently come down with the retirement of Justice KS Garewal and Justice Pritam Pal; and the transfer of Justice Uma Nath Singh.

The number is likely to go down still further with Justice JS Khehar’s elevation as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. The warrants of his appointment as the Chief Justice of that high court are expected anytime now. Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur’s name has also been cleared for elevation to the apex court.

Justice Nirmal Yadav is also likely to find herself transferred to the Calcutta High Court. She is currently not holding the court following the surfacing of her name in the cash scam.

Initially, the high court collegium led by Chief Justice Vijender Kumar Jain had recommended the names of six district and sessions judges for elevation. The names of GK Rai from Punjab and KK Garg, along with SK Sardana from Haryana, were also included in the roll recommended by Justice Jain at the fag end of his tenure.

But, the move was strongly opposed by Punjab Governor Gen SF Rodrigues (retd). At that time, the Governor was reportedly of the opinion that Justice Jain was on his way out and Justice Tirath Singh Thakur was set to take over as the new Chief Justice. As such, the recommendations should come from him. Later, the names of Rai and Sardana were, “for the time being”, held back.

Chandigarh, September 24
While the UT police is yet to submit its investigation report in the education department’s cash-for-job scam, a local court today remanded the two accused — Jolly and Hardev — in 14-day judicial custody. The two remanded till October 8. The police, which is so far tightlipped on the alleged connection of DPI (S) Samwartak Singh with one of the accused, plans to submit the report next week.

Meanwhile, rumours are rife that Samwartak has virtually been stripped of almost all his powers, though the Home Secretary has refused to confirm anything till he is proved guilty.

Chandigarh, September 24
The body of Jaswinder Singh of Mansa was found in chamber No. 59 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court this morning.

The owner of the chamber, advocate Saurabh Bajaj, told the police that Jaswinder was his client and had come to meet him yesterday. As he was drunk, the advocate had allowed him to sleep on his sofa.

Panchkula, September 24
Chandigarh's Harendra Gupta, who is struggling to get his swing in order, struck a bright patch as he fired a five under-67 to take a two-stroke lead on the opening day of the Rs 30 lakh prize money Aircel-PGTI's Haryana Open on the par-72 greens of the Panchkula Golf Club here today.

Tied two strokes behind the leader are in form Asian Tour star Anirban Lahiri, Ranjit Singh Rathore, Chandiarh's AS Lehal, Sheeraz Kalra and Vijay Kumar at three under-69.

Harendra Gupta, who is yet to score a win this season, could not have asked for a better start.

He rattled of five birdies on the first, third, sixth, seventh and ninth for a bogey-free five underscore at the turn. His birdie on the ninth was worth going miles to see as he executed a tricky downhill putt from 12 ft to achieve the feat.

Two birdies and an equal number of bogeys on the back nine saw him finish the day at five under par 67.

Happy at his performance, Gupta said: "I had a good opening round. I had a decent birdie on the ninth. It was quite humid today and not as windy as it usually is at the Panchkula Golf Club.

While the absence of wind makes it easier to shoot low scores, the humid conditions make it tough to concentrate."

The in form Anirban Lahiri birdied the opening 10th, where he landed his second shot a few inches from the pin. He sank another birdie on the 13th before making a three-putt from 4 ft to concede a bogey on the 15th. A bogey on the first brought him back to level par.

Bangalore-based Lahiri then fired three birdies (fifth, seventh, eighth) over the last five holes to turn in a solid 69.

Lahiri said, “I want to make use of my good form during this tournament. Even though I had a second place finish last week, my hitting is even better this week. The rough is up at this course this time around and one cannot afford to hit it even from five to six yards left or right.”

Ranjit Singh Rathore, AS Lehal, Sheeraz Kalra and Vijay Kumar shot identical scores of 69 to join Lahiri in tied second place.

Mukesh Kumar, Harmeet Kahlon, Mandeo Singh Pathania, Amardip Singh Malik, Amritinder Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Manav Jaini are tied seventh at two under 70.

Leading scores: 67 Harendra P Gupta; 69 Anirban Lahiri, Ranjit Singh Rathore, AS Lehal and Sheeraz Kalra; 70 Harmeet Kahlon, Mukesh Kumar, Mandeo Singh Pathania, Amardip Singh Malik, Amritinder Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Manav Jaini; 71 Randhir Singh Ghotra, Rafick Ali Molla, Pappan, KPS Sekhon, Naman Dawar, Anura Rohana, Ali Sher and Amit Dube.

Chandigarh, September 24
More than 100 junior golfers, including Ashbeer Saini from Kapurthala and Ankur Chadha from Delhi, will converge on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club for the 17th Albatross Junior Tour (AJT) event to be held here on September 27.

The response to the AJT has been phenomenal with entries pouring in for the Chandigarh event. Albatross, which is a parent-run junior golf tour, has about 800 junior members all over India. Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana are the major contributors to the growth of golf in the country.

Other junior golfers, who are likely to tee off on Sunday, are Tarundeep Singh Chadha, Piyush Sangwan, Jairaj Sandhu and Feroz Grewal, with Gauri Monga and Gurbani Singh competing in the junior girls’ section.

According to Rajiv Talwar, director of AJT, the object of set-up AJT was to expose juniors to more competition and to enhance their golfing skills. Many juniors have participated in international tournaments in recent months. The AJT has held seminars for strong mental conditioning for juniors in the past and similarly, is in the process of inviting the best coaches for physical fitness skills in the country at junior level.

All to enlighten junior and parents towards enhancing the fitness levels and proper nutrient and diet for golfers.

The one-day competition will see the juniors participating in various age groups. These include from 15 to 18 years in A category, from 13 to 15 years in B category, from 11 to 13 years in C category, under-11 years in D category and under-8 years in E category.

The AJT also plans an Albatross International Junior Golf Championship at Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon, in the third week of November.

Chandigarh, September 24
On the sixth day of the SN Vohra’s All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament, BPCL won the match against BSF 3-0 at Hockey Stadium, Sector 42, here today.

It was Sabu Virkey, who opened the account of his team in the 26th minute of the match as a field goal. While second goal was scored after a long wait of 40 minutes in the 48th minute by Ravipal. Then the BSF players tried hard to score even a single goal, but they could not get success even after repeated attempts.

The ultimate goal of the match was hit by Amar in the 57th minute of the match. In the second match of the day, played between Air India and Army-XI, Army players won by 5-4.

Match was goalless in the regulation period, but in penalty shootout Army-XI won the match and scored five goals. The scorers of Army-XI are: Rajesh, Jerum, Sunil, Varu and Arumo.

However, Ajmer, Vinod Pilay, Lalit and Yuvraj scored each goal for the Air India.

Tomorrow’s fixture:

First match: Namdhari-XI v/s ONGC at 4 pm.

Second match: IAF v/s IOC at 5.30 p.m.

Mohali, September 24
In the semifinals of the CBSE North Zone-I Badminton Tournament, being hosted by Shivalik Public School, the hosts thrashed St Marks Senior Secondary School, Delhi, by 2-0 in the under-19 girls’ category here today.

Meanwhile, in the semifinal of boys’ under-14, Bal Bharti Public School, Rohini, Delhi, beat Chaman Lal DAV School, Panchkula, with a score of 2-0.

Results: U-14 Boys:

First semifinals: Bal Bharti Public School, Rohini, Delhi, thrashed Chaman Lal DAV School, Panchkula, with a score of 2-0; singles (21-8, 21-6) doubles (21-18, 21-16);

Second semifinals: Sachdeva Public School, Delhi, beat PNMN Adarsh Vidyalya, Solan, by 2-0, singles (21-18, 21-8) doubles (21-17, 21-17).

U-14 Girls:

First semifinals: Hans Raj Public School, Panchkula, took the lead by beating ASN Senior Secondary School, Delhi, by 2-1.

Second semifinal: PNMN Geeta Adarsh School, Solan, thrashed Sacred Heart School, Chandigarh, with a score of 2-0; singles (19-21, 21-14, 11-21) doubles (14-21, 24-22, 21-15).

U-16 Boys:

First semifinal: MCL, Bal Mandir, Delhi, beat New Era Public School by 2-0; singles (23-21, 21-8) doubles (21-17, 21-8).

Second semifinal: Sachdeva Public School, Delhi, beat PNMN Geeta Adarsh, Solan, by 2-0, singles (21-16, 2-15) doubles (21-17, 15-21, 21-12).

Third semifinal: NK Baghdoria School, Delhi, beat Bal Bharti Ganga Ram School, Delhi, by 2-0, singles (19-21, 21-12, 21-11) doubles (21-19, 21-16);

Fourth semifinal: DC Model School, Panchkula, beat Gem Public School, Mohali, by 2-0; singles (21-3, 21-4) doubles (21-4).

U-16 Girls:

Holy Child Public School, Delhi, beat New Era Public School, Delhi, by 2-0, singles (21-06, 21-05) doubles (21-08, 21-08);

Second semifinal: DC Model School, Panchkula, beat BL Central Public School, Himachal Pradesh, by 2-1, singles (21-19, 6-21, 21-16) doubles (14-21, 21-13).

U-19 Boys:

First semifinal: Birla Vidya Niketan, Delhi, was thrashed by DAV Public School, Sector 15, Chandigarh, by 0-2, singles (21-8, 21-6) doubles (21-14, 21-16);

Second semifinal: Chaman Lal DAV, Panchkula, beat DPS, Chandigarh, by 2-0; singles (21-15, 21-19) doubles (21-14, 21-16).

U-19 Girls:

First semifinal: Shivalik Public School thrashed St Marks Senior Secondary School, Delhi, with a score of 2-0, singles (21-6, 21-2) doubles (21-7, 21-8);

Second semifinal: Birla Vidya Niketan, Delhi, beat Hans Raj Public School, Delhi, by 2-0.

Panchkula, September 24
Choi Kwang Do Martial Art International, India, declared the list of 30 finalists for Chandigarh, 32 for Haryana and 10 for Punjab, who had been selected for the 7th National Choi Kwang Do Martial Art Championship, 2009-10, to be held at Delhi from September 26 to 30.

Haryana finalists:

Under-10: Aditi Kaushik, Bhumika Banerjee, Dhriti Jaswal, Geetika Malhotra, Taanisha Vashisht, Mehak Abrol, Anant Khosla, Hridayesh, Ishaan Kaushik, Tusshar Chugh, Prathak Garg, Chirag Aggarwal, Yatharth Bansal, Ritik, Uday Kapil Anand, Rohan Sahni, Shobhit Khurana and Siddharth Kaushik.

Under-14: Kamal Yadav, Gaurav Bhardawaj, Rohan Kaushik, Aakash Verma, Sonu Bahadur, Sidhant Khosla, Piyush Dhiman, Bharat Khadka, Manan Sachdeva and Hitesh Goyal.

U-17: Tanuj Kumar Saini.

U-19: Bhavna Sharma.

U-20 and above: Kavita Rai, Nandini Kalson.

Chandigarh finalists:

U-10: Aishwarya Goyal, Diksha Goswami, Adhiraj Singh, Arjun Sai, Aashish Kumar, Jatin Kaundal, Harsh Chopra, Yash Sharma, Pranshul Soni, Ishaan Parashar, Mayank Sharma and Sahib Dhillon.

U-14: Raksha Goswami, Navneet Kaur, Shubham Walia, Sushil B. C., Utkarsh Pal Singh and Anil Kumar Saini.

U-17: Shabnam Rana, Gurleen Kaur, Prabhleen Kaur, Avneet Kaur, Nitin Punia, Satyam Sharma and Tika Ram Gharti.

U-19: Pawan Kumar, Siddhant Walia, Sunpreet, Dilmol and Vikas Bamaniya.

Punjab finalists:

U-10: Laksh Kirpal Singh.

U-14: Pawanpreet Kaur, Supreen Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur, Karanbir Singh, Damanpreet Singh, Maninder Singh, Baltript Singh and Tarandeep Singh.

U-17: Harman Kaur.

Chandigarh, September 24
Panjab University campus thrashed RSD College, Ferozepur, (66-30) during the Panjab University Inter-College Basketball (Men) A-Division Championship played on Panjab University grounds here today.

Results:

Panjab University beat RSD College, Ferozepur, (66-30); scorers of PU-- Rupinder 18, Sidhant 18 and Abhit 10; Scorers of RSD College, Ferozepur-- Maninder 21.

In the second match, Government College, Hoshiarpur, defeated AS College, Khanna, (46-15); scorers of Government College-- Parmeen 18, Randeep 15 and Manjit 8; scorers of AS College-- Hitesh 5, Archit 3 and Lakhbir 3.

In the third match, SGGS College, Mahilpur, thrashed Government College, Sector 46, (46-18); scorers of SGGS, College-- Jasvir 16, Lovejeet 13 and Inderjit 9; Scorers of Government College, Sector 46-- Simrandeep 5 and Amar 5.