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Sun brings respite from chill
City records a maximum temperature of 16.4° C and a minimum of 6.7° C
Chandigarh, January 13
City and its adjoining areas experienced light showers in the morning even as the minimum temperature rose by a few notches.

A goose spreads its wings to welcome the sun at Sukhna Lake on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Rathore's smirk returns, says will smile more
Chandigarh, January 13
Perhaps not being able to take it any more, former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore today broke his silence before the media saying that he will “smile more” if the media tried to harm him.

‘WE CARE FOR YOU’, REALLY? For the Chandigarh police personnel deployed at the district courts in Sector 17, it’s all too convenient to have a mentally-challenged canteen worker open the gate for departing government vehicles, as they keep themselves warm

(From left) Anoop, working with the Umeed (Society for rehabilitation and social integration of the mentally challenged), rushes to the gate upon seeing a car with a red beckon; opens the gate, as policemen, deployed to keep a vigil for the Rathore case hearing, stand with their hands in the pocket; and policemen do what they do best — salute. Tribune photos: Vinay Malik

Ruchika case: Girhotras’ hopes revive after CBI takes over
Panchkula, January 13
While the Panchkula police has heaved a sigh of relief after a 20 member CBI team arrived here to probe into the Ruchika molestation case, the hopes of the Girhotras as well as their trusted friend and Aradhana Gupta’s father, Anand Prakash, to get justice have been revived once again.

Publicity-hungry docs seek out PR agencies
Chandigarh, January 13
'Publicity ke liye kuchh bhi karenge’ (we’ll do anything to get publicity). This appears to be the motto of certain doctors in the region’s premier medical institution, the PGI. Even though the institute has a full-fledged public relations department some doctors are taking the “help” of private PR agencies to “push” their press notes in newspapers.

Trying times for Sec 15 second-hand bookshops
Chandigarh, January 13
One can find here almost the same number of books as that in the Panjab University library. However, the city’s Sector 15 second-hand book market, which boasts of having over 700,000 books, is now undergoing a crisis.

CHB accused of diluting RTI Act
Chandigarh, January 13
Acting on a city resident’s complaint that the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) was diluting the RTI Act, the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) has summoned CHB officials.

Primary classes to reopen on Jan 16
Chandigarh, January 13
In view of the continuing cold weather, the UT administration has decided to extend the ongoing winter break for primary classes in both government and private schools in the city for two more days. The schools will now reopen for primary classes on January 16.

COMMUNITY

Folk songs, bhangra mark Lohri celebrations
Chandigarh, January 13
“Lohri for the girl child” was celebrated at Government College for Girls, Sector 42, here today. The highlights of the programme were a street play, dance items and folk songs prepared by students pertaining to the theme.

Students of the Gian Jyoti Institute of Management, Mohali; and (right) girl students of SD Public School, Ambala Cantonment, celebrate Lohri on Wednesday. Tribune photos

Nari Niketan Rape
Forum celebrates Lohri with victim’s daughter
Chandigarh, January 13
The Citizen Forum for Human Rights celebrated Lohri with Pari, the daughter of Nari Niketan rape victim, here today.

Members of the Citizen Forum for Human Rights celebrate the first Lohri of Pari, duaghter of the Nari Niketan rape victim, in Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Cash-for-Judge
No clean chit to Justice Yadav
CJI opines no action required ‘for the present’: CBI report
Chandigarh, January 13
Justice Nirmal Yadav of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has apparently not been given a clean chit by Chief Justice of India (CJI) K.G. Balakrishnan in the cash-for-judge scam. The closure report submitted by the CBI categorically says that the CJI is of the opinion that no action is required “for the present”.

Admn clarifies on employees’ demands
Chandigarh, January 13
The Chandigarh administration has been considering the demands of employees’ unions sympathetically and has agreed to most demands covered under the rules.

Home Secy visits new grain market site
Chandigarh, January 13
A new grain market and a sabzi mandi will come up in Sector 39, said Home Secretary Ram Niwas during a visit to the site in Sector 39 today. Accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner, the Chief Architect and the Chief Engineer, the Home Secretary said there was a need to de-notify the grain market in Sector 26 and shift it to Sector 39.

Delay in Construction of Flats
‘Housefed MD failed to give documents to GMADA’
Mohali, January 13
Members of the Housefed Flat Sangarsh Committee ( Sector 79), here, have alleged that the construction of 632 flats was being delayed because the required documents were not being handed over to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) by the Managing Director of Housefed.

Infant dies ‘after vaccination’
Mohali, January 13
A three-month old infant died at Matuor village here today allegedly due to the negligence of a health employee, who had given her vaccination, a charge denied by senior officials of the Health Department.


A relative of the child, who allegedly died after being vaccinated in a health centre at Matuor village in Mohali on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

BSNL scheme for broadband subscribers
Chandigarh, January 13
Bhartiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched a special scheme for customers to settle disputed bills of broadband connection. According to sources, four options have been made available under the scheme and the subscribers can choose one of the best options suitable to them to settle the excessive broadband usage beyond their expectation.

Sec 7, 19, 26 residents without water for two days
Chandigarh, January 13
Residents of Sectors 7, 19 and 26 have been without water for the past two days following a major breakdown in the supply line.


Residents continue to face water shortage as MC workers try to rectify the fault in Sector 26, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Price Rise
BJP seeks Pawar’s resignation
Chandigarh, January 13
Holding the Congress-led central government responsible for the unprecedented price rise, Kiran Ghai, co-in charge of the Chandigarh unit of the BJP, today sought the resignation of union minister Sharad Pawar.

Mohali to have traffic park
Mohali, January 13
Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh Mand said here today that in order to create awareness about traffic rules, a traffic park would be set up at Government College.

NRI conference on Jan 23
Chandigarh, January 13
The International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry (IPCSI) is organising its forthcoming annual NRI conference scheduled for January 23 on the theme “Making Punjab the skills capital of the world”, a press note said here today.

NRI body for skill development of youth
Chandigarh, January 13
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International, a non-partisan organisation engaged in promoting the well-being of non-resident Indians, has emphasised the need for allowing people to go abroad to have better skills and get better wages rather than work as unskilled labourer.

Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin chairman addresses a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

‘Take decision on power tariff hike’
Mohali, January 13
The Consumers Protection Federation has urged the government to immediately implement the decision taken in connection with power -tariff hike so that consumers could get relief.

Arvinder is hotel body chief
Chandigarh, January 13
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Chandigarh (HRAC) unanimously elected Arvinder Pal Singh (Metro 35 & Metro 43 Hotels) as its president at a meeting, according to a press release here today.

Youth Day celebrations
Chandigarh, January 13
The Nehru Yuva Kendra, Sector 23, celebrated the Youth Day yesterday. An array of activities aimed at professing the ideals and values of Swami Vivekanand were organised.

EDUCATION

Two issues of research journal released
Chandigarh, January 13
PU Vice-Chancellor Prof RC Sobti released two issues of “Research Journal Social Sciences” (Volume 15, No. 3, 2007, and Volume 16, No. 1, 2008) on the campus here today.

Conference
Chandigarh: University Institute of Applied Management Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Senior Citizen’s Council for Human Resource Development, Chandigarh, will organise a two-day National Conference-SAARTHI-2010 on “Ethics in Healthcare” on January 16 and 17.

Convocation: 350 students awarded
Panchkula, January 13
A total of 350 students were awarded at the annual convocation of Satluj Public School, senior wing, here yesterday.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Post office cries for attention
Bassi Pathana, January 13
The local post office catering to the need of seven surrounding rural branches and three sub-offices in the town is in a pitiable condition. Though it carries out a business of around Rs 8 crore per month, there is no basic amenity for public and staff. The residents here believe that the post office is working only by Gods’ grace.

5 booked for firing on college campus
Banur, January 13
Five persons have been booked for firing in air, intimidating, damaging property and injuring two employees of Gurukul Vidyapeeth in Banur on Sunday.

An employee shows a broken windowpane after an attack at Gurukul Vidyapeeth on Sunday. Photo by writer

Differently abled celebrate
Patiala, January 13
It was a cultural evening embellished with awe-inspiring performances by differently abled children of the school for blind, deaf and dumb, as they celebrated Lohri in a unique style at Punjabi University, Patiala, here today.

56 selected in placement drive
Bassi Pathana, January 13
Fiftysix students were selected at the mega job fair held at Cordia Group of Institutions, Sanghol, today. Leading companies like Airtel, Excel Callnet, Bharti Exa, JST Soft Solution and Taleem India participated in the recruitment drive.

Knee replacement at govt hospital
Patiala, January 13
A patient operated for bilateral knee replacement at the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital by Dr J P S Walia and his team has a reason to smile, as now she can walk after a decade.

Accident Cases
13 families to get compensation
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 13
In order to pay compensation to kin of victims killed in various accidents, a district-level meeting was convened yesterday.

Erratic power supply irks Kalka, Pinjore residents
Kalka, January 13
Residents of Kalka, Pinjore and hundreds of its adjoining villages are irked over the unscheduled long-power cuts and erratic power supply in the area.

Lawyers celebrate Lohri
Ambala, January 13
The Ambala District Bar Association organised a function on the occasion of Lohri festival in the Court Complex, here, today. District and Session Judge BM Bedi judicial officers and members of the bar were present on this occasion. While wishing everyone on Lohri, the Sessions Judge said religious festivals were the symbol of brotherhood and cultural unity.

Nirmal Jal project launched
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 13 The Nirmal Jal project has been launched by the Government of Punjab with the financial assistance of the World Bank and the Government of India to eradicate hygiene problems arising out from the drinking water in rural Punjab.

Kabaddi meet from today
Kalka, January 13
A two-day state-level kabaddi tournament is being organised at Aruna Asaf Ali Government PG College, Kalka, under the aegis of college principal SK Manocha from tomorrow. Informing this, college PRO Harpreet Kaur said the tournament was being sponsored by the department of higher education, Haryana, and carried cash prizes for winning teams.

19 students selected
Banur, January 13
Tata Consultancy Services on Tuesday selected 19 students through campus placement. SUSCET, Tangori, was accredited by TCS for the campus placements in 2007 and since then TCS had been recruiting a good number of college students through the campus placements.

CRIME

Woman killed in accident
Chandigarh, January 13
A 25-year-old woman was killed after a car rammed into her scooter here last night. The police said the victim, Priyanka, of Sirmour was knocked down by a Toyota Innova (PB 65 H 9129) on the road separating Sectors 9 and 10. She was critically injured in the accident and was taken to the PGI, where she was declared brought dead.

Truck driver killed in mishap
Zirakpur, January 13
The truck driver, who sustained injuries in a head-on-collision between a truck and Mahindra pick up, near Occasion Resort on Zirakpur-Patiala highway on Tuesday night, died at a hospital in the wee hours. The two others, who are seriously injured have been admitted at GMCH-32 for further treatment.


The two vehicles that met with a head-on collision on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway. A Tribune photograph

SPORTS

17 teams for T-10 Gully Cricket
Panchkula, January 13
Panchkula has been placed with Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar in the Group “A” of the T-10 Gully Cricket Tournament to be held at the Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal National Cricket Academy, Sirsa, from January 19.

Trainees of football academy bring laurels
Chandigarh, January 13
Three trainees of the Chandigarh Football Academy emerged winners in the recently concluded Junior National Football Championship. Lalruatfela, Samuel and Sajandeep Singh represented Chandigarh in the Junior National Football Championship, which was held at Mandya in Karnataka on January 10.

‘Chandigarh Marathon-Run’ receives huge response
Chandigarh, January 13
The first “Chandigarh Marathon-Run” is receiving a huge response, as over 70 entries for the half and full marathons have already been registered.

Gulzar akhara to honour wrestlers
Chandigarh, January 13
Gulzar Wrestling Akhara will honour its three wrestlers, who emerged victorious during the two-day Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championship, which concluded at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore recently.