NEIGHBOURHOOD

Paddy procurement smooth this time
Tribune News Service

Kharar, October 22
The second day of Punjabi University’s Ropar Zone youth festival at Rayat College of Law, Sahauran campus, witnessed one act plays enacted by teams of various colleges.

Team from Government College, Mohali, stood first in one act play event and that from Amar Sahid Baba Ajit Singh Jujhar Singh Memorial College Bela, Ropar, secured the second place.

Vishal Verma from Government College, Mohali, was adjudged best actor and Rajwinder Kaur from Sant Baba Sewa Singh Memorial Khalsa College for Girls, Guru ka Khuh, was declared best actress.

In classical dance event only one team, from Government College, Mohali, participated and was hence declared winner. For creative dance contest, Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib, secured first place followed by Mehar Chand College of Education, Ropar, at second place. In the quiz contest, Rayat and Bahra College of Law, Mohali, secured first berth and Mehar Chand College of Education, Ropar, secured second place.

In classical instrument (non percussion), Government College, Ropar, stood first and Shivalik College of Education & Research, Mohali, secured second place. In geet/ghazal singing contest, Government College, Ropar, secured the first position, while Government College, Mohali, bagged second place.

In group song contest, teams from Government College, Ropar, and Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib, secured first and second places, respectively.

For on the spot painting contest, Rayat & Bahra College of Education, Mohali, secured first place and Rayat & Bahra College of Law, Mohali, was adjudged second. In classical instrument percussion category, Government College, Ropar, and Government College, Mohali, were declared first and second.

In mimicry, Amar Sahid Baba Ajit Singh Jujhar Singh Memorial College, Bela, Ropar, secured first place and Government College, Ropar, secured second place. For cartoon making contest, Government College, Ropar, and Government College, Mohali, secured first and second place, respectively.

In collage making contest, Rayat & Bahra College of Education, Mohali, and Shahid Bhagat Singh Khalsa College for Women, Padiala, secured first and second place, respectively.

In poster making contest, Government College, Mohali, and Shivalik College of Education & Research, Mohali, secured first and second place, respectively. For the installation contest, Government College, Mohali, and Shivalik College of Education & Research, Mohali, were placed first and second, respectively.

The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) member Anil Sareen was the chief guest. He called upon students to work hard and prove their mettle in every sphere of life. Dr Manjit Singh, dean (colleges), Punjabi University presided over the prize distribution function.

In the evening session, Jeet Jagjit was guest of honour for folk song and folk orchestra events. Dr KS Dhillon, dean (student welfare), Punjabi University, distributed prizes to winners of western solo song and western group song and encouraged them to excel.

Dera Bassi, October 22
A local property dealer was killed in a road mishap that took place on the Barwala road yesterday. The deceased was identified as Mahinder Singh, a resident of Saidpura village.

According to the police, the incident took place when Mahinder was moving to Saidpura village last night where a speeding truck hit his motorcycle from rear near Essar Company on the Barwala road. He sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, by a passer-by where doctors referred him to the GMCH-32 after giving him first aid.

According to the police, Mahinder succumbed to his injuries during treatment this morning. The truck driver managed to escape from the scene. A case has been registered against an unidentified truck driver.

Fatehgarh Sahib, October 22
Despite construction of a new building at Brahman Majra village near Sirhind, as many as 150 students studying in a government school here, which is being run under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), are bearing the brunt, as they are made to sit in open and deprived of the basic facilities.

Even as the Deputy Commissioner and other senior functionaries of the administration instructed the school authorities to provide proper facilities to students, the latter has failed to do so.

According to the school authorities, doors and windows are yet to be installed in the newly-constructed building.

Kamla, whose child studies in the same school, said, “If the authorities fail to provide basic facilities like proper rooms, water and electricity, we will not be able to send our children to the school.”

Officials of the education department said, “The Deputy Commissioner has directed the MC officials to complete the construction work on the building at the earliest, but it seems that the latter paid no heed to the DC’s orders.”

The school, which started in 2006 under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS), was upgraded as a government elementary school in view of the increasing number of students.

Teachers of the school keep books and other stationary in a nearby temple.

The District Education Officer (elementary) said a grant of Rs 4.75 lakh was received by the school.

“We have adequate funds for installation of doors and windows, but before that pits in the new building have to be filled up. We have written a letter to the senior officials in this regard,” the DEO added.

Charanjit Singh, executive officer of the Municipal Council, Sirhind, said the work would be completed in a few days.

Patiala, October 22
With the Patiala Municipal Corporation authorities turning a blind eye towards violation of building bylaws, illegal buildings are coming up in the city rapidly.

The commercial builders are showing scant regard for the building norms. A number of buildings are being constructed with little or no enforcement of regulations.

The move by officials of the vigilance wing of the Local Bodies Department to take some files pertaining to the unauthorised commercial constructions on Bhupendra Road and some other city areas from the building branch of the Patiala MC has brought the functioning of the civic body under scanner. A few days back, even SAD councillors’ Jaspal Singh, Kulwant Singh Bajwa and Shaminderpal Singh Minta had alleged that illegal constructions in Patiala had registered a sharp increase.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that there are a number of cases wherein commercial buildings have come up in the city in gross violation of rules mentioned in The Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.

Sources disclose that besides political interference, corruption and careless attitude of the authorities concerned were the main reasons behind the problem. Further inquiries revealed that presently violations of building bylaws are being reported from Bhupendra Road, Behera Road, YPS Chowk and the Leela Bhawan area.

The building bylaws of Patiala MC clearly mention that it is “solely” the responsibility of town planning wing officials to ensure that building bylaws are complied with during construction of commercial buildings. But what is disappointing is that hardly any erring official is taken to task. In a majority of the cases, guilty officials save their skin by exerting “political pressure” on their seniors.

“In most of cases, lower or middle-level officials allegedly make a settlement at their own level otherwise it is not possible for anyone to construct an illegal building, escaping from eyes of the building inspector and the assistant town planner,” pointed out one of the councillors. The officials, however, blame politicians and municipal councillors for pressuring them not to take action against the violators.

Though Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang was not available for comments, Patiala Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli admitted that buildings in violation of the prescribed norms had come up. “A number of buildings in the city are not in accordance with the building bylaws. But these had come up during the past five decades. Ever since the SAD-BJP house came into existence two years back, we are making sure that every new building is constructed as per the building bylaws,” he asserted.

Kohli, however, added that staff shortage in the building branch is also one of the reasons that give violators the opportunity to flout norms. “But as and when we receive any complaint, action is initiated,” he claimed.

Kharar, October 22
Doaba Group of Colleges organised a workshop to prepare students for placement here today.

Students were urged to improve general aptitude, communication and interview skills. A special lecture was delivered to enlighten them about placement activities.

Students participated in mock interviews, quiz competitions, resume making and computer gaming. Winners were given trophies, gifts and cash prizes.

In the group discussion, Jasleen Singh secured first place, Satnam Singh stood second and Shubha stood third. In computer gaming, Shivdev secured first place, Uday and team secured first place in counter strike and Sidharth was declared winner in FIFA. In the quiz contest, MBA team stood first and CSE team secured the second place, while department of CSE (DIET) bagged overall trophy.

Kharar, October 22
Tech Mahindra selected about 30 students in a recruitment drive conducted at Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Gharuan.

As many as 300 undergraduate students from various colleges of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh took the online test.

While interacting with students, the company officials said they were providing end-to-end customer services to global telecom service providers at Chandigarh Technology Park. Satnam Singh Sandhu, chairman, and Rashpal Singh Dhaliwal, president, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, said Wipro would be conducting joint campus placement drive on 
October 24.

Kharar, October 22
College of Architecture, IET Bhaddal, Ropar, organised a talent hunt here today.

Various competitions, including art and craft, poster making, studio decoration and rangoli were organised.

In the art and craft competition, Ishmeet Kaur and Ridhima Thakur won the first and second positions, respectively.

In poster making, Amrita bagged the first position, while Shina and Abhilash Rana were placed second.

Similarly, Chitrarth, Prabhat, Srishti Kant, Ashish and Anurag were declared winners in studio decoration, while Shweta, Amandeep, Chitrangdha Sharma, Kavita, Arush Chhiber and Bhawsi won the rangoli competition.

CEO of the institute Ravinder Singh gave away prizes to winners.

Chandigarh, October 23
Taking up the issue of encroachments in Sector 22, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked Municipal Corporation inspectors to maintain a register of violations.

The Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Mahesh Grover specified that the register should contain not just the names of the violators, but also the number of times they indulged in infringement and the nature of violations. The Bench also directed the filing of an affidavit giving details of the number of challans for the violations.

The high court has already made clear its intentions of not only directing the removal of obstructions, but also disciplinary action against officials charged with the duty of removing the intrusions. The petition has been filed by the Sector 22 Welfare Association. The Bench has observed since it was prima facie of the view there were a large number of encroachments/obstructions in the corridors meant for shoppers visiting Sector 22-C and 22-D. As the encroachments had remained unnoticeable to the authorities concerned, they proposed to issue effective directions.

The Bench has added that before doing so they would want the corporation to file an affidavit on the strength of the encroachment staff deployed in Sector 22. The corporation has also been asked to give the particulars of their designations and nature of duties.

The judges have also asked the corporation to tell whether the commissioner and the additional commissioner had ever conducted a spot inspection of the markets in the sectors to take stock of the conditions prevailing there.

Mohali, October 22
High drama prevailed at the Phase 3B 2 market here this evening when two sons of senior police officers created a ruckus, reportedly under the influence of liquor.

Abhishek, son of former ADGP, Punjab, BP Tewari, and Lovpreet, son of a retired Himachal Pradesh police officer, entered into an argument with JP Singh, president of the Jalgidhar Sewak Jatha, and other persons in the market over the parking of vehicles. They also objected to smoking by the youths.

Even as the duo were allegedly abusing the shopkeepers, a vehicle of the PCR was called to intervene in the matter. The youths also misbehaved with photographers who tried to take their pictures. It was only after the matter was brought to the notice of the higher authorities that they were taken for a medical examination at the Phase 6 Civil Hospital.

A senior police officer said they had been booked under preventive action for creating nuisance at a public place. Further action would be taken after receiving the medical report.

Chandigarh, October 22
The police arrested two persons and claimed to have recovered a stolen motorcycle from them.

The in charge of the Sector 49 police post said a picket was set up in the area following information about the vehicle thieves. The police team nabbed Santosh and Kallu, both residents of Colony No 5, while they were travelling on a stolen motorcycle. It was found out that the motorcycle was stolen from Burail on October 6. The accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, sources said a special investigation team (SIT) had been constituted in southern sub-division for prevention and detection of crime. The team had taken the duo on a police remand for four days to find out their involvements in other cases, including of vehicles thefts in the city.

Zirakpur, October 22
The role of two ‘touts’, Rinku and Tirlok, has figured prominently in an alleged assault of a youth at Zirakpur lottery bazaar yesterday. The two accused are among the six persons who have been booked in the assault case.

Earlier, in September, the two ‘touts’ had been named for badly bashing up Sonu Luthra, an employee of a lottery operator in Lalru.

A written complaint had been given to the then SSP, Mohali, alleging that the two were running a collection racket under the patronage of the CIA from the lottery shops.

The victim, Aman (24), had complained to the police several times against them for running satta in the lottery bazaar. In yesterday’s incident all suspects -- Nand Kishore, Sudersh Batra, Mehboob Khan and Sonu -- are absconding. “It is not possible for the youths to repeatedly assault people and get away with it each time,” said a shopkeeper here.

Chandigarh, October 22
The police arrested a resident of Mohali, along with 312 cartons of various brands of liquor.

According to the police, Kulwant Singh of Gabhey Majra in Mohali was arrested from near small rotary on the road dividing Sectors 35 and 36 on Wednesday.

Chandigarh, October 22
Sports not only builds national character, it exhibits it too. The aggressive approach of the Chinese women cricket players was all on show in their practice routine at the PCA stadium in Mohali today.

In town on a special invitation from IS Bindra, President Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and International Cricket Council (ICC)’s special adviser, 15 members of Chinese national squad are sweating it out at the nets here, providing an unusual sight for the curious onlookers. The invitation, in sync with the ICC's efforts to extend the contours of the game to newest regions, came during Bindra’s visit to China this August with ICC president Haroon Lorgat.

“We are very honoured and grateful that Mr. Bindra would ask us to come to India and train in a game Indians are master at. It will be an excellent preparation for the Asian Games 2010,” shares Mei Chunhua a member of the team.

“It is amazing the way Indians get involved with the game. It is more than a religion here,” adds the all-rounder Mei who took up the game after seeing South Asians playing cricket in her university campus back in Shenyang. They may be short on the exposure front but the eagerness to learn the nitty gritty of a game which is still in a very nascent stage in their country is something which must stand them in good stead in the future.

“Cricket is still at very nascent stage in China and it is not justifiable for us to expect too much from this team. Presently we are preparing for Twenty-20 cricket considering the fact that this format is going to make debut in 2010 Asian Games. We have played many Twenty-20 matches in the past few months,” Mamatha Maben, coach of China’s women team said.

Mamatha Maben, the former India women’s cricket team captain, will coach the side in the lead-up for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, which includes cricket among the 41 sports to be played. China have an automatic qualification into the women’s Twentry20 event at the Asian Games.

“Chinese have a well placed sports culture in their country. They are agile and fit. All they need is to understand the skill part which is bound to come with time. There is a huger pool of talent waiting to be explored, Mamatha added.

"Of-course there is a language barrier as only two members of this team speak English. However, I am learning Chinese as I have no other option. For the time being, I have learnt some commonly used words, which are proving helpful," quipped Mamatha as she gets ready for another training session.

Chandigarh, October 22
With an eye on the next Asian Games, to be held in Beijing in 2010, the women’s cricket team from China has been practising at the PCA stadium in Mohali for the past about one week.

During an interaction with the media here today, Mamta Menon, former captain of the Indian women’s team and coach of the Chinese team, said in view of lack of facilities in China, they were holding training camps in various countries, including India.

She said their main target was to play against India in the semifinals during the Asian Games, to be held next year.

Menon said the team would play two matches, on Saturday and Sunday, against Punjab so that these players could know about the level of cricket being played here.

Initially they had played matches against non-Test playing countries like the UAE, Nepal and Hong Kong in order to give exposure to the team.

She said the state-of-the-art cricket stadium at Gonzo, to be completed by by June or July next, and the participation of the Chinese team in the Asian Games would make the game popular there.

She said the team would return home after watching the one-day international between India and Australia, to be held at the PCA stadium on November 2.

She said language was the main barrier for communicating with the Chinese players, but she had picked Chinese terms for various actions.

She said Chinese women were physically stronger than Indians, but cricket was a game of tricks and they needed to learn those quickly to make their presence felt in the international arena.

China captain and right-hand medium-pacer Wuang Meng said infrastructure available in China was not like that in India.

She said only 15 players were getting training in India at present as their two main players who opened the innings had been injured and were being treated back home.

Chandigarh, October 22
Sixteen schools will compete in the Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy for Boys Under-15 Football Tournament (Chandigarh leg) to be held at the Sector 17 Football Stadium here from October 26 to 30.

According to Rakesh Bakshi, general secretary, Chandigarh Football Association, the teams have been divided into four groups.

Group A will comprise St Stephen’s School-45, St Peter’s School-37, Government Model Senior Secondary School-10 and Ryan International School-49.

Chandigarh Police Academy-26, St Xavier’s School-41, Tribune Model School-29 and Mount Carmel School-47 are in group B.

DAV Senior Secondary School-8 have been clubbed with St Joseph’s School-44, Shishu Niketan Model School-22 and Saupin’s School-32 in group C.

St Anne’s School-32, St Kabir School-26, St John’s School-26 and The Banyan Tree School-48 have been placed in group D.

Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, will face Ryan International School, Sector 49, in group A on October 26 at 9 am.

Other matches slated for the opening day are: Chandigarh Police Academy-26 vs St Xavier’s-44 (10 am); Tribune Model School-29 vs Mount Carmel-47 (group B, 11 am) and Saupin’s School-32 vs St Joseph School-44 (group C, 12 noon).

Players have been directed to bring their latest identity cards and date-of-birth certificates issued by the Health Department or the Registrar of Births in original.

The organising committee will verify the date of birth of participating players. The final will be played on October 30.

Chandigarh, October 22
It was Abhinav Lohan’s day. This 19-year-old Faridabad lad tamed the Chandigarh greens, firing a three under par 69 to take a three-stroke lead at four over 220, on the penultimate day of the LG Samarvir Sahi Chandigarh Golf Open at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Overnight leader Abhijeet Chadha of Chandigarh could barely muster a three over par 75 card to be tied second at 223 along with Noida's Rahul Bajaj, who carded a two under 70.

Abhinav, Abhijeet and Rahul will tee off in the leadergroup on the final day tomorrow. As the day progressed, the lead changed hands.

First it was overnight leader Abhijeet Chadha. Then it was Gagan Verma for a brief moment before Abhinav Lohan took over on top of the leaderboard.

After two days of over par scores, three golfers broke the par barrier. They were Abhinav Lohan 69, Rahul Bajaj 70 and Arshad Ali 71.

Local lad Aman Guron played an even par 72 card to be tied fifth, with Gagan Verma at eight over 224.

Lohan started with a bogey on the par-four first hole. But he made amends with a superb eagle on the par-5 second after his five-wood from the fairway left him with a six-foot putt.

He sank birdies on the sixth and eighth to be three under par 33 at the turn. Two bogeys and an equal number of birdies on the back nine saw him finish at three under par 69.

Armed with a three-stroke lead on a tough course, Lohan will enter the final round with a comfortable advantage. He said: "It is a decent cushion to have, but I will of course have to play tomorrow".

Lohan, who is yet to win on the amateur circuit, is pitted against Rahul Bajaj, who is the only player in the leadergroup to have won previously on the tour. But then Abhijeet Chadha has home course advantage.

But with the course playing tough and six players within six shots of the lead, the stage is set for another round of intense battle to determine the winner.

Leading scores: 220 Abhinav Lohan (76-75-69); 223 Rahul Bajaj (72-81-70) and Abhijeet Chadha (72-76-75); 224 Aman Guron (77-75-72) and Gagan Verma (75-74-75); 225 Vikram Rana (73-79-73); 227 Pawan Kumar (76-74-77); 228 Arshad Ali (78-79-71), Karan Taunk (78-78-72), S.K. Pappu (77-76-75), H.S. Kang (76-77-75) and Immamul Haque (74-76-78); 229 Manav Das (75-77-77), L. Selvadurai (77-74-78) and Simarjeet Singh (76-73-80).

Chandigarh, October 22
Following are the results of the first day of softball and dodgeball matches (both boys and girls) of the 55th National School Games, which began here today.

Softball: boys: Chandigarh bt Haryana 10-2 (u-9); Chandigarh bt Orissa 4-2 (u-17); Madhya Pradesh bt Rajasthan 4-2 (u-17); Chhattisgarh bt Andhra Pradesh 5-2 (u-14); girls: Delhi bt Punjab 5-1 (u-17); Rajasthan bt Madhya Pradesh 25-0 (u-17); Chandigarh bt Haryana 11-1 (u-17); Maharashtra bt Gujarat 10-0 (u-19).

Dodgeball: girls: Jharkhand bt Tamil Nadu 2-0 (1st set 2-1, 2nd set 5-1); Haryana bt Orissa 2-0 (1st set 4-5, 2nd set 1-3); boys: Delhi bt Orissa 2-0 (1st set 10-1, 2nd set 8-2); Chandigarh bt Vidya Bharti 2-0 (1st set 6-1, 2nd set 4-0).

Chandigarh, October 22
The Chandigarh Ball Badminton Association will conduct selection trials at Shishu Niketan Model School in Sector 22 here on October 24 at 4 pm.

The Chandigarh team will be selected to participate in the Sub-Junior (under-14) National Ball Badminton Championship at Dehradun from November 12 to 15.

Players born on or after January 1, 1995, are eligible to take part in the trials.