Panchkula, November 1
A pall of gloom descended on the house of the Aggarwals in Sector 17 here today after three members of the family and a relative -- a 15-year-old boy from Jalandhar -- were killed in an accident at Balachaur.

The victims, Ashwani Aggarwal (45), his wife Puja (40) and son Dhruv (13), were returning after attending a jaagran at about 1.30 am when their car collided with a truck.

The truck driver fled and a passerby spotted the accident and informed the police, which took nearly two hours to arrive. It was only around 4 am that the car was pulled out from under the truck.

Ashwani’s nephew Archit (15) was accompanying them to watch the cricket match at Mohali on Monday. Their driver, Pawan of Mani Majra, was also killed.

Dhruv was a student of Hansraj Public School, Panchkula. His sister, Madhavi, is a Class XII student of New Public School, Chandigarh.

Ashwani was living with his parents and elder brother in Sector 7 before shifting to his newly constructed house in Sector 17 a few months ago.

Relatives and friends started pouring in as soon as the news spread. While Madhvi was inconsolable, the parents of Ashwani were in a state of shock.

The bodies were consigned to the flames in the afternoon.

Ashwani was a partner in a Baddi-based industry.

Chandigarh, November 1
Dr Bhupinder Singh, an assistant professor in the computer sciences department of Punjab Engineering College (PEC), was found hanging from a fan at his official residence on the campus here this morning. He was in his early 50s.

Though no suicide note was recovered, the police termed it as a suicide, but have yet to ascertain the reason behind the death. The police is waiting for his wife to arrive from Gurgaon to record her statement. Police sources said she had gone to meet her daughter there before Diwali. Dr Bhupinder Singh, a directorate in science (computer engineering) from the US, is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The death came to light around 10.30 am when his maid called the neighbours after she failed to get any response to her repeated knocks at the door. “She had gone to another house when she did not get any response. She came back again and heard the TV, but when no one came out, she told the neighbours,” a police official said.

The neighbours peeped through a window and saw him hanging from the fan. Shocked, they informed the police, which broke open the door.

Ruling out the possibility of any foul play, the SHO of the Sector 11 police station said the house was locked from inside. They checked the house, computer and the mobile phone of the victim, but found nothing.

His neighbours and colleagues said there was nothing amiss in his behaviour. “He had worked in the laboratory till 5 pm yesterday and looked normal,” Prof Sanjeev Sofat said.

Bhupinder Singh, an assistant professor at the Cyber Security Research Centre, was arrested on November 4 last year for sending hate mails to his senior, Sanjeev Sofat. A case of impersonation and damaging someone’s reputation had been registered against him.

The SHO, however, said the case had been resolved after both parties reached a compromise. “The case apparently has nothing to do with the suicide as it happened a long time ago. Things will be clearer once his wife records her statement,” he said.

Chandigarh, November 1
Cricketers push themselves to their optimum on the field to make news, but off it they can do it with ridiculous ease. Such was the case as the Chandigarh Police filed an official complaint against India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, local boy Yuvraj Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh here today.

The three have been reported for violating the security code, and leaving the Taj Hotel premises without due clearance by the camp commandant stationed at the hotel and also without a personal security officer.

Talking to The Tribune, SP traffic and security HS Doon said: “We have forwarded a written complaint to the president of the Punjab Cricket Association against Indian captain Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh as the three ignored security norms, and left the hotel premises without prior intimation to the camp commandant. On learning about the developments, the camp commandant immediately alerted us, and we took necessary action.”

He further added: “We had an agreement with the PCA, whereby players from either of the teams could not leave the hotel without giving a three-hour notice. That notice is also subject to clearance, keeping in mind the security aspect for the players. Even when these players go out, they are to be accompanied by a personal security officer which is to ensure their security at all given points, but they ignored the entire setup.”

It is important to note that none of the Australian players stepped out of the hotel as the practice sessions had already been cancelled for both the teams.

While Yuvraj had left in the evening itself, Dhoni and Harbhajan left in the night. It also is not the first time that Indian cricketers have violated the security code in the city. Even last time when the PCA Stadium hosted a Test match between India and England, some of the players had left the hotel without a clearance from the police.

Mohali, November 1
The recently notified Mohali master plan has put a question mark over the number of dwelling units allowed in the multi-storied cooperative house building societies, planned in Sectors 76, 79 and 80. The number of members is exceeding the permissible limits of the flats.

About 21 acres has been allotted to 13 cooperative house building societies here at Rs 12,000 per sq yard.

As per the zoning in the new master plan, 35 dwelling units have been allowed per acre. For 21.24 acre allotted to 13 societies, a total of 747 dwelling units could be allowed. But as per the membership number, 842 flats were required. The allowed density per acre was that of 175 persons.

Each society has been allotted land, varying between 1 acre and 2.25 acre. For a society allotted 2.25 acre, 78 dwelling units were allowed. Similarly, for another society allotted 1.23 acre, 43 dwelling units were allowed. The number of the members exceeded beyond the permissible number of dwelling units.

“ The societies would have to prune the number of members so that they can fulfill the norms”, said a GMADA official. But added that the norms of the master plan could be relaxed in the sectors that had already been developed.

The societies which are being allotted land are Mohali Cooperative House Building Society, Chandigarh, Dr Ambedkar Cooperative House Building Society, Punjab State High Courts Lawyers Building Society, Sahib Zada Cooperative House Building Society, Punjab School Education Board Employees Cooperative House Building Society, Golden Tone Cooperative, Punjab and Sing Bank Cooperative, Youth Club Cooperative House Building society, ACC Members Cooperative, Medical Veterinary and Paramedical House Building Society, Aggarsen Cooperative House Building Society, Swastic RBI Staff Cooperative and Hindustan Times Employees Cooperative House Building Society.

Chandigarh, November 1
Only irresponsible administrators can think of erecting a concrete jungle with only about 3,000 acres left out of the total 28,500 acres in the Union Territory, said HS Johl, president of the Mani Majra Farmers' Welfare and Environment Protection Society.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said: "It is intriguing that UT Administrator SF Rodrigues, instead of getting expert comments of architects and town planners before launching any project, has led a pack of officials who just put a stamp on his lopsided vision on development projects."

The press conference was also addressed by Hemant Goswami of the Burning Brains Society, Jyoti Subramanium, secretary of the Chandigarh Sanjha Morcha and Madhu Sarin, a leading architect and an advisor on social development.

It has been sought that the land of all failed and disputed projects like Prideasia should be returned to the original owners. Farmers demanded a master plan and reverting to governance of UT by the chief commissioner.

The society demanded that the acquisition processes for the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park should be stopped immediately as the current administration was under suspicion of foul play in acquisition and planning of mega projects. Since the MHA audit has shown that many rules have been flouted and corruption at the highest level cannot be ruled out in allotment of prime property to developers, this brings all acquisitions by the present government under suspicion.

It was also pointed out that the administrator had shown complete apathy to demands of the local residents and also shown complete disregard to the vision of the first Prime Minister of the country Jawahar lal Nehru.

It was pointed out that Hemant Goswami had initiated the formal complaint on the projects to the CVC that was subsequently forwarded to the CBI. It said: "The total land earmarked or transferred at throwaway prices to the real estate corporate or business houses is around 1,500 acres costing over Rs 20,000 crore, even with most conservative estimates." Goswami said: "If financial scams in all other projects are also calculated for the period of last five years, it would be a mind boggling figure. The Governor has not just spoilt the layout of the city, he has also violated its spirit."

Madhu Sarin said: "When the whole world was debating the climatic change, the administration was engaged in rampant destruction of the green cover and playing with the ecological balance of the area. The city needs a master plan involving professionals, elected representatives of the city, eminent citizens and affected."

"The city has had enough of high handedness of the appointed heads. The Home Ministry should take immediate cognisance of the facts and intervene," she added.

Chandigarh, November 1
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the 30th convocation of the PGI to be held at the Bhargava Auditorium on November 3.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the president of the PGI, Chandigarh, will preside over the function.

Around 361 students are eligible to receive their degrees in this convocation. These degrees include 25 PhDs, 36 DM (medical super-specialties), 27 MCh (surgical super-specialties), 140 MD, 54 MS, 3 MHA (Master of Hospital Administration), 9 MPH (Master of Public Health), 11 MSc, 14 MLT (medical laboratory technology) and 42 in para-medical courses.

On the occasion, several gold medals will be awarded for outstanding research work done in 2008.

These include the Major General Amir Chand Gold Medals to Dr M Shekeeb Shahab (in MD/MS/DM/M.Ch category) and Dr. Sourabh Dutta (in PhD category), the V.K.Saini Gold Medal to Dr. Ghelani Sunil Jivrajbhai, the R. Nath Gold Medal to Dr. Vijay Kumar, the Kataria Memorial Gold Medal to Dr. Kunal Sehgal and Dr. Patil Vijay Maruti and the Aikat Memorial Gold Medal to Mr. Rajendra Prasad Joshi.

According to information, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the much-awaited Advanced Cardiac Centre. However, the centre has already functional. It is a spacious, state-of-art, 200-bedded facility meant exclusively for heart ailments.

It will house cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, cardiac anaesthesia, cardiac radiology, laboratory facilities and support services, all under one roof.

The centre has three cath labs, four ultra-modern modular operation theatres, one emergency operation theatre, two 23- bedded ICUs with two 5-bedded paediatric ICUs, 22 private ward rooms and four 32-bedded general wards.

“It will soon initiate a pain emergency, an 8-bedded emergency ward, 4 resuscitation beds/spaces, and an 8-bedded observation area.

The Advanced Cardiac Centre will have its own power supply with adequate back-up, an independent blood bank and lab facilities and spacious basement parking,” said officials of PGI administration.

It is expected that 1000 open-heart surgeries will be performed per year to begin with and this will double in the next year. The Advanced Cardiac Centre will be a boon for heart patients in north-west part of India.

Chandigarh, November 1
The local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded justice for the 1984 riot victims.

Gurnam Singh Sidhu, president and Jaswinder Singh Brar, secretary general, sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s and AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s intervention to ensure justice to the riot victims.

The party said the UT administration was ignoring the Punjabi language and Punjabi culture.

Chandigarh, November 1
Having realised the encumbrances in its demand of granting the Central status to the university, the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) now claims that the university should be an “Institute of national importance”.

Just two days before the Prime Minister’s visit, PUTA has acknowledged the challenges in granting the Central status to PU and has decided to make modifications in its long-pending demand and to find out a quick solution to the problem.

“We will raise the issue of granting the status of ‘Institute of national importance’ to PU with the Prime Minister on his visit. There is a provision in the constitution by which such a status was given to Aligarh Muslim University, Benaras Hindu University, Delhi University and also Andhra University. Though we will not leave the demand of the Central university,” said Prof Manjit Singh, PUTA president.

However, suggestions of more innovative names of PU are pouring in from different quarters in order to solve the problem safely. “This is a deadlock situation. The best way to solve the problem is to call PU as “Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panjab University of National Heritage”.

This will make the people of Punjab happy since none of the university has been named after the legend. At the same time, there would be no objection from the Punjab government and the university will get the status of national heritage university,” said former PUTA president Raunki Ram.

“Last year, the Punjab government gave us a no-objection certificate and later took it back. Since Punjab was lost to Lahore and then the university in Chandigarh was named as Panjab University, it can assume the position of heritage university. The same would be appreciated by the Prime Minister as well as the Chief Minister of Punjab,” he added.

Meanwhile, PUTA had earlier released a press note during the day welcoming the PM and highlighting their demands. It mentioned that the Punjab government’s sudden withdrawal of the “no-objection letter” was a setback for the university.

It further said the politicisation of the issue was unwarranted.

PUTA also mentioned that PU had performed the role of academic leader in the entire northwest region with distinction and the PM alone could find out a solution to this problem now.

Chandigarh, November 1
The Northern Railways has submitted its report to the Railway Board for the final approval of the laying of an additional rail track from Chandigarh to Ambala.

HK Jaggi, divisional railway manager (DRM), Ambala division, addressing mediapersons here yesterday said in the first phase the work would start from Ambala to Dappar, for which the tenders would be floated after they receive the final approval from the Railway Board. He said the rest of the track would be taken up in the second phase.

Jaggi said with the completion of this track, express and goods trains will not be held up in order to allow the Shatabdi and others pass by, thus saving the time of commuters.

With areas around Chandigarh such as Baddi, Panchkula and Mohali, emerging as major industrial hubs, the demand for an additional railway track has been gaining momentum over the years. At present, over 22 passenger trains and three-four rakes of goods trains ply the Ambala-Chandigarh-Morinda section.

The DRM also announced that the stoppage time of the Shatabdi at the Chandigarh railway station had been increased from 5 to 8 minutes, as there were complaints that some of the passengers could not board the train due to shortage of time.

Answering to a query on the Lalu’s Bullet train between Chandigarh and Delhi, Jaggi said the Railway Board had earlier floated the tenders to seek the feasibility report of the train. But the tenders received were from such Indian companies that did not have any expertise in the field. He said the board has again floated the tenders in order to invite foreign companies with expertise in this regard.

Chandigarh, November 1
Come November and the departments of Panjab University are already gearing up to organise their annual fests, the first in the row being SOCH, the media festival of School of Communication Studies (SCS), which will begin on November 4 and will conclude on November 6.

A look at the evolution of cultural festivals in the universities across North India in the last decade revealed an increased participation of colleges and students each year.

Despite this, the involvement of professionals hired by various participating teams has now become a cause of threat to the even handedness.

In the last 10 years, the increase in number of colleges in the region, especially BED colleges, has contributed to the increased popularity of zonal, inter-zonal and inter-university youth festivals.

Yet incidents like the one in Narangwal, a place close to Ludhiana, where professionals abused judges for giving a judgement in favour of the rival team, is a cause of concern.

The old tradition of “camp fire” or the “reunion” of all competing team during the evening hours to enjoy, sing and dance together has also diminished over the years.

“About 15 years back, girls used to be discouraged from participation in dramatics. Even bold depiction of evils that confront society in skits, mimes and plays performed by these girls with hard hitting dialogues is a great change. The weightage given to the winners and participants of the youth fests in interviews has been an another constructive change,” said Dr Surinder Sharma, adviser to Vice-Chancellor, Culture and Academics, (PU).

Asserting that the standard of the youth festivals have increased multiple folds and the girl students are now winning maximum prizes, he lamented that the coming of professionals had proved perilous for the whole system.

“Earlier the scripts were written by teachers and students and the preparations were also guided by the teachers. But now the colleges are hiring the professionals to train the students and this has added a touch of commercialisation. Since these professionals are concerned about their money, they even become abusive at times, thereby spoiling the atmosphere,” he added.

Chandigarh, November 1
The Chandigarh Journalists Association (CJA), affiliated to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), will organise the second women journalists’ convention on the topic ‘Challenges before women journalists’ at the Chandigarh Press Club here tomorrow.

Kumari Selja, Union Minister for Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism, will inaugurate the convention at 10:30 am, while PK Rao, president of the NUJ, will preside over it.

Rajya Sabha member and Congress leader from Himachal Pradesh Viplove Thakur will be the guest of honour. Shruti Choudhary, Bhiwani MP, will be the guest of honour in the second session of the convention.

Harish Vashisth, president of the CJA, said at least 100 women from all over the country would take part.

Problems facing women journalists would be discussed and resolutions adopted on the occasion would be sent to the Central government, he added.

Chandigarh, November 1
The Fortis Hospital honoured senior citizens for their contribution to society at a function to mark Senior Citizens’ Day yesterday.

MS Mongia, MS Batra, KS Kandal, Amrit Dhingra, Amarjeet Khehra, Harchandan and Inder Pal were felicitated for their contribution to social welfare.

Nek Chand, Nirmal Milkha Singh, Meher Mittal, Navin Thakur, Kewal Krishan, ML Kataria and Manmohan Kaur were the guests of honour.

Mehar Mittal left the audience in peels of laughter. The bhangra performance by patients who had undergone treatment was appreciated.

Dr TS Mahant, executive director, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, shared his thoughts on healthy living and heart care.

Dr Ashish R Banerji, director, Fortis Hospital, Mohali highlighted various initiatives of the hospital to make life simpler for the elderly.

Chandigarh, November 1
As part of Golden Jubilee celebrations of the city-based 48 Squadron, a cycle rally was organised through the city, in which a large number of officers and air warriors participated.

The expedition was flagged off by SRK Nair, Air Officer Commanding, 12 Wing, Air Commodore, from the station war memorial. Led by the commanding officer, Gp Capt SC Chafekar, about 100 cyclists pedalled over 30 km. A number of ex-squadron officers settled in the city also joined in.

Besides commemorating 50 years of the Squadron, the aim of the expedition was to interact with the general public and spread awareness about the IAF, the achievements of the Squadron and its vital role of maintaining the lifeline to the Himalayan region. Members of the expedition team distributed flight safety banners, posters, stickers and key-rings among local residents.

A barakhana for all squadron personnel and a golden jubilee reunion party in Officers’ Mess are among other events being organised to commemorate the occasion.

Mohali, November 1
Two motorcycle-borne youths sneaked into house number 184, Phase 3B1, here today on the pretext of making a query and snatched the gold chain of an old woman before escaping.

This was the second such incident in the past four days. Incidentally, other members of the family were at home when the youths came. By the time the other family members could react, the snatchers were gone.

Giving details of the incident, the victim, Satwinder Kaur, said a youth who was wearing a helmet, knocked at the door on the pretext of asking about the whereabouts of her tenant.

The youth said he was from Airtel. By the time the woman tried to explain that there was no tenant by the name of Amit, the youths snatched her chain and fled. His second accomplice, who was also wearing a helmet, kept the motorcycle running.

The police cordoned the area on the basis of the vehicle number given by the woman, but the snatchers could not be traced.

“The entire force of Mohali has been deputed at the PCA stadium at the cost of law and order of the city”, said JP Singh, president of the Kalgidhar Sewak Jatha.

In a similar incident on October 29, a youth fled with a mobile phone and a transistor from the house of Jagat Singh in sector 69.

At the time of the incident, Gurcharan Kaur, wife of Jagat Singh, was alone at home. On the pretext of asking about the whereabouts of Jagat Singh, the youth took away the mobile phone and the transistor.

Despite claims of free registration of FIR, the police had so far not registered an FIR in either of the cases. “The matter is being investigated”, said a police official.

Chandigarh, November 1
Winters are here and feet need special attention during this period as they become prone to fungal infections due to fungal infection.

According to studies, people with diabetes mellitus or circulatory diseases are 20 times more likely to have foot problems than others. A break in the skin for them can lead to infection, gangrene, and amputation, say city-based dermatologists.

“Winter means lower humidity levels in the air. This would affect all skin types,” said Dr GP Thami, head of the dermatology department, GMCH-32.

Dr Thami said due to low moisture levels, the skin over the feet becomes dry, scaly and starts thickening over the heels and pressure points. Because of low moisture levels in the skin, it becomes inelastic and tends to split when exposed to undue pressure forces as happens with standing, this results in painful deep fissures/cuts which makes walking an ordeal.

“Manage cracked feet by soaking and scrubbing gently with soap and warm water to remove dirt and skin debris. Apply cream within a few minutes of washing and drying. Repeat the process as often as you want,” said Dr Thami. Prevent your feet from drying up this season by applying petroleum jelly and cold cream. In case of bleeding from the cracked parts, apply an antibiotic cream and a band-aid as a preventive measure against bacterial infections. Avoid moisturising between the toes, for it may create a cosy environment for fungus, he added

Another dermatologist from the PGI said: “Pointed closed shoes and heavy boots can also cause fungal infections, which are not spotted easily. They appear as dry, flaky skin on the back of the heels, on the arch area or on the sides of the foot. The foot fungal infection can spread to the nails.

Mohali, November 1
The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a placement drive at Chandigarh Group of Colleges (CGC), Landran, which concluded today.

Chandigarh, November 1
MCM DAV College, Sector 36, bagged the top position in the creative writing competition organised at the Panjab University Zonal Youth and Heritage Festival-2009 held at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Jhaar Sahib.

Deepika received the first prize for story writing and Sana bagged the third prize in essay writing at the festival.