NEIGHBOURHOOD

Summer break hobby time for kids
Gagan K. Teja
Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 17
With the arrival of summer holidays, kids are once again looking forward to sharpen their extra skills. Summer holidays are a time when kids are away from the pressure of studies and indulge in their favourite hobbies.

With the passage of time, the trend of summer games is gaining momentum in small towns. The NIS here is organising one-month coaching camps in various disciplines.

From dancing, singing and painting to swimming and boxing, kids are leaving no field unexplored. Private coaching centres and schools have trainers to keep kids engaged.

Ambala, May 17
The Haryana government has decided to sink 13 tubewells in villages of Ambala. Stating this here today, the local BJP legislator Anil Vij said the work on the installation of two tubewells had already commenced while work on other tubewells would be started shortly.

He further said the project when completed would ease chronic shortage of drinking water in the problem areas of Ambala 
Cantonment.

Ambala has been grappling with an acute shortage of drinking water. Against the daily demand of 135 litres per person, the administration has been supplying 95 litres of water per head. The area worst affected by water shortage is Mahesh Nagar where the tubewell has conked 
off during the peak of 
summers.

According to sources in the public health department, there are 34 tubewells which are working as of today. Two of the tubewells have been out of order for some days now.

Sources said in view of the power crisis in the state the supply of water from tubewells had been also affected. Instructions had been issued to tubewell operators to switch on the tubewells whenever power was available.

The villages where tubewells are to be installed include Dayal Bagh, Preet Nagar, Shiv Palace, Boh, Babyal, Kardhan, Gansh Vihar, Tundla, Shahpur, Old Janetpur, Old Machhonda, Dalipgarh and Shiwala Mandi.

Ambala, May 17
A married woman of Ambala City died under mysterious circumstances this morning. The father of the deceased, Rajni (28), has alleged that her daughter was poisoned. The police has registered a case under Section 304-B (dowry death) against the husband of the deceased, her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

According to information, Rajni was married to Parwinder around five years back and had a son from the wedlock. The in-laws of the deceased informed her father today that Rajni was sick and had died this morning. The parents and the brother of Rajni, who belong to Yamunanagar, reached Ambala within an hour.

They approached the Baldevnagar police station and filed a complaint against the in-laws and the husband of the deceased alleging that her daughter was poisoned. They said in the compliant that Rajni was being tortured by her in-laws for dowry. On the complaint of the brother of the deceased the police registered a case against Parwinder Singh, Daya Ram and Sikha Devi.

However, no arrest was made in this regard so far. The police handed over the body to the parents of the deceased after the postmortem.

Kharar, May 17
Five persons have been booked for beating up a woman. The victim is a partner in Verma agency, with its office near the Baba Balak Nath temple at Balongi.

Asha Verma alleged she was present at the office with her husband Pradeep, son Paras and manager Manish Trivedi when Baljit Singh, alias Vicky, Rajiv Kumar, alias Fauji, and Rajesh Kumar (all from Balongi), Rinku from Jhanjheri village and Tara from Raipur village entered it with iron rods.

The accused claimed that the shop belonged to them and beat up the victim, who sustained head injuries. She was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital at Sector 32 in Chandigarh. The police registered a case. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 17
Justice Rajan Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the Chandigarh administration to specify if any offence under the provisions of Indian 
Penal Code was attracted in case of traffic violation endangering human life.

UT senior standing counsel Sanjay Kaushal has sought time for answering the query.

Panchkula, May 17
Robbers struck at a house in Ghaggar Beed village, near Saket, during the wee hours of Sunday and decamped with gold jewellery and other ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh and cash.

A case of theft has been registered at the Chandimandir police station.

The police officials said they had collected the fingerprint samples and further investigations in the case were on.

The robbery came to light when the owner of the house, Rupa, who was sleeping on the terrace with her mother, came down to drink water around 3 am and found the entire house ransacked.

She claimed that her two daughters, aged 16 and 10, along with her niece, who were sleeping downstairs, were lying unconscious, as the thieves had sprinkled some powder on them. She said her husband had gone to attend a marriage along with his son and was, hence, not present in the house.

Rupa, who works in a saloon, said the thieves got an easy access in the house as the doors were yet to be installed. She said there was only the main gate installed at the house as they had recently constructed it. Rupa said the thieves had broken the almirah in which jewellery and cash were lying.

They took away a chain, two gold sets of earrings, rings, gold coin and around Rs 10,000 in cash. Another Rs 800 were lying in a purse placed on the table and artificial jewellery worth Rs 6,000 were also stolen.

Rupa’s sister Ritu alleged that one of the painters, Sanjay, working in the house, was behind the burglary. She said he had been working at the house for the past one month and was well aware of the whereabouts of the jewellery and cash. “A few days ago, my father, who has retired from government service, got around Rs 1 lakh, which were lying in the house, but were eventually deposited in the bank,” she added.

The family members further claimed that while they had lodged a complaint with the police last morning, the police visited the spot much later in the afternoon and also let off the “suspect” without much investigation.

Chandigarh, May 17
Sahil Dabas with his five goals, including a hat trick, helped Team A of Shivalik Public School outplay St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, 7-1 in the Chandigarh State Hockey Championship for Junior U-14 at the Hockey Stadium, Sector 18, here today.

Harjot extended the lead 2-0 in the ninth minute, while Gursewak converted the penalty corner in the 20th minute.

The margin was reduced by Kunal of Stephen’s, who hit a goal from his side in the 23rd minute.

After that, the game belonged to Sahil, who scored four goals in the 25th, 32nd, 37th and 40th minutes.

In another match between Shivalik Public School Team B and SGGS Khalsa Public School, Sector 26, the latter won 2-0.

The goals were netted by Deepak and Harshal in 22nd and 41st minutes, |respectively. 

Mohali, May 17
Worried over the falling levels of physical fitness of its players, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has decided to issue letters to 60 players, asking them to follow the stipulated training and fitness guidelines strictly or else pack up.

The jaded and lacklustre show by most of the senior players of the association during the recent Katoch Shield (seniors) tournament has raised a storm in state cricket circles. Showing concerns over the issue, PCA honorary secretary M P Pandove, who is also treasurer of the BCCI, said under no circumstances would unfit and jaded players be part of the PCA squad now.

In an effort to take corrective measures, the association has decided to issue letters, asking the players either to abide by all postulates regarding fitness schedule or they will be barred from attending any camps or matches.

“The players have to acknowledge the letters by signing its copies, only then would they be allowed to join the PCA cricketing clinics and camps. In the letters, we have mentioned about the entire fitness schedule, prepared by the experts of the field. The players have been instructed to go through it and then give their acceptance. No compromise would be made in this direction now,” said Pandove.

“We are also least bothered about the level of any player. If he does not meet our requirements in this direction, he would be shown the door.”

The decision of issuing the letters was taken during the meeting of the Senior Selection Committee, which took place here today on the PCA premises. The managers of under-19 and under-22 teams were also invited as special invitees.

He also advised the selectors to pick the probables for the camps only if they keep the above observations in mind. “The failure to come up to the parameters of physical standards, set up by our experts, means they are out,” warned Pandove.

Mohali, May 17
The idea of inclusion of at least four promising local cricketers in each Indian Premier League (IPL) team was aimed at giving them much-needed exposure and the opportunity to play with international players. And undoubtedly, it worked.

But now, it seems that the ‘unexpected money and overnight fame’ has started having negative effects on these budding players, most of whom have just crossed their teens.

These cricketers have been regularly avoiding playing in domestic tournaments. Subsequently, for the first time, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) authorities have decided to initiate strict measures to curb the ‘non-serious’ attitude in domestic games.

Speaking to the Chandigarh Tribune, PCA honorary secretary MP Pandove said the association had taken serious note of the reluctance of the players to play domestic cricket.

“Players are expected to fall in line or else, they may be shunt out,” warned Pandove. In the Punjab State Inter-State Senior Katoch Shield Tournament, considered to be the base of first-class domestic cricket, around a dozen local cricketers, who were also part of the third edition of the IPL, lacked enthusiasm to participate in the game.

Officials were aghast at the ‘misbehaviour and non-seriousness’ of these players, most of whom had started considering themselves ‘star cricketers’ following the IPL. Except for three, none of them played all matches in the tournament, which had just three league matches till the semifinals.

“I am injured” was the common excuse by all of them. “It was more shocking when they often told officials about their unavailability just before the start of the match. Even during matches, many of them refused to go to the ground for fielding,” confirmed PCA honorary joint secretary GS Walia.

In the semifinal against hosts Patiala, Manpreet Gony of Mohali, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, apprised a team official at the eleventh hour of his unavailability due to injury.

At one stage, only nine players were in the ground while fielding. Similarly, in the semifinal against Jalandhar, Chandigarh were reduced to 10 players as Bipul Sharma, who was part of the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, refused to go out to field, citing the excuse that he was not well, added Walia.

“For this reason, Bipul was kept out of the final against Patiala,” claimed another PCA official, saying many such instances occurred during matches.

Taking stern note of such ‘lame excuses, misbehaviour and non-seriousness’ by players, Pandove called some players and reprimanded them the other day.

“The notice says players have to mend their ways and give their 100 per
cent on the field, otherwise they will not be allowed to play for the association,” said Pandove, adding that 100 per cent fitness would be the most important criterion for selection from now on.

Pandove admitted that the unexpected money earned by these players during their IPL stint had been spoiling them. “We are least bothered about the level of any player. We will show the door to any such player without bothering what level of a player he is,” said Pandove.

Chandigarh, May 17
Fifth seed Ikttesh Chahal, a trainee at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, outplayed Sneha K Reddy of Andhra Pradesh (AP) 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of the All-India Ranking (Rs 50,000) Tennis Tournament at the CLTA courts, Sector 10, here today.

Another local girl Charvi Saxena lost to Uttarakhand girl Priyanka Rawat 1-6, 7-5, 4-6.

In the men singles, Ajay Yadav, trainee at the CLTA CHART programme, beat Arjun Tomar (Delhi) 
6-4, 6-4. The pre-quarterfinal matches will begin at the CLTA Complex and Lake Sports Complex, Chandigarh, at 8.30 onwards tomorrow.

Results:

Women singles:

Main draw (first round results): Nupur Kaul (MAH) bt Arushi Sharma (DLI) 6-2, 6-3; Baljinder Kaur (HAR) bt Pamir Gogoi (ASM) 6-2, 6-3; Omlata Rai (UP) bt Monica Sanghani (GUJ) 6-0, 6-0; Gundeep Kaur (PB) bt Shalini Jain (DLI) 6-0, 6-1; Shalaka Manjunath (KAR) bt Nila Sindhu Partheepan (TN) 6-2, 7-5; Priyanka Rawat (UTK) bt Charvi Saxena (CHD) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; Ravnoor Kaur (CHD) bt Megha Sehrawat (DLI) 6-0, 6-2; Jeni Patel (GUJ) bt Abhilasha Mehra (DLI) 6-4, 6-3; Surya Tejaswani (TN) bt Deepshikha Gupta (RAJ) 6-1, 6-1; Mariam Lubna (TN) bt Seema Kumari (DLI) 6-0, 6-0; Bhavika Wadhawan (CHD) bt Disha S Agarwal (DLI) 6-3, 6-3; Preethi Srinivasan (TN) bt Sanya Madan (DLI) 6-1, 6-0; Ikttesh Chahal (CHD) bt Sneha K Reddy (AP) 6-1, 6-3; Vaibhavi Trivedi (GUJ) bt Anjana Kompally 6-2, 6-1; Eetee Mehta (GUJ) bt Lavleen Raizada (MP) 6-0, 6-0 and Abhilasha Ahuja (HAR) bt Jaspreet Kaur (PB) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Men singles:

Main draw (first round results): Nitten Kirtane (MAH) bt Saneesh Mishra (UP) 6-1, 6-2; Jitin Bishnoi (HSIIDC) bt Chinmay Pradhan (ORS) 6-2, 6-3; Parth Indrodia (GUJ) bt Dipanshu Garg (HAR) 6-3, 6-2; Deepinder Singh Bains (CHD) bt Gurmohit Singh (PB) 6-0, 6-2; Kunal Anand (DLI) bt Santosh K Malik (ORS) 6-4, 6-2; Abhilash Srivastava (UP) bt Vijay Bhardwaj (HAR) 6-3, 6-1; Manpreet Singh Chawla (DLI) bt Anshuman Dutta (ASM) 6-3, 6-1; Bharat Bhardwaj (HAR) bt Kshitij Kamal (DLI) 6-3, 6-4; Arjun Singh (DLI) bt Surya Pawan (AP) 7-6(6), 6-2; Sagar Manjana (KAR) bt Harpreet Sidhu (PB) 6-0, 6-2; Allan Aley Gomes (GUJ) bt Pradeep Deswal (MAH) 6-1, 6-1; Adit Jain (DLI) bt Anshu K Bhuyan (ORS) 0-6, 6-2, 7-5; Gurinder Singh (PB) bt Prosonjit Paul (JHA) 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2; Gurvinder Singh Mann (DLI) bt Manoj Sheoran (HAR) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3; Ajay Yadav (HAR) bt Arjun Tomar (DLI) 6-4, 6-4 and Adwait Sadvikar (MAH) bt Rubal Sandilya (DLI) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.