C H A N D I G A R H

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No respite from rain
Season’s heaviest downpour in two years
Chandigarh, September 22
Admitting it was the monsoon’s heaviest rainfall - 134.9 mm in an 18-hour span, beginning at about 11.30 pm yesterday night, a meteorological department said the 1080.9 mm of monsoon rain in the city has surpassed the annual rainfall of 1078 mm. With the southwest monsoon remaining active, rain and thundershowers are expected to continue for a couple of days, he added.

Sukhna level up by 2 feet
Chandigarh, September 22
Continuous rain during the past 48 hours may have been exasperating for city residents but the heavy downpour has proved a blessing in disguise for the Sukhna Lake, whose water level had been receding before the onset of the monsoon.

FULL to brim: Youngsters relax after rain at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

MC apathy exposed
Chandigarh, September 22
Continuous heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms during the past 24 hours, has exposed the mismanagement of the Municipal Corporation. The extended monsoon has brought misery for people residing in low-lying areas as instances of water-logging have been reported here and even from some Sectors.

A car and a bus stuck in the industrial area following heavy rain in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Tree falls on cars
Chandigarh, September 22
Rain caused havoc on the PEC University of Technology campus here this morning, where a tree fell due to strong winds.

Aerocity Project Draw
Reserved category applicants excluded
Mohali, September 22
A day ahead of the first round of the draw of lots for plots in GMADA’s Aerocity project, hundreds of applicants in the reserved categories of freedom fighters and gallantry award winners have been told they are ineligible for participating in the draw. Most of them got their earnest money deposits financed by banks.

‘Josan to remain DAVC head till next hearing’
Chandigarh, September 22
Dr Balbir Singh Josan will continue to act as the principal of Sector 10 DAV College, at least till the next date of hearing.

Students, teachers a harried lot
Chandigarh, September 22
Students and lecturers of DAV College, Sector 10, are a harried lot, as the “Principal kaun?” drama continues on the campus for the past more than a week.

Exams likely after autumn break
While the college authorities claim that the new datesheet will be out in the next two-three days, according to sources, the exams will only be conducted after the autumn break in October sometime after 8th. The authorities will decide the matter after the next hearing of high court.

Rs 375 cr plan to modernise IAF depots

Chandigarh, September 22 The IAF has earmarked Rs 375 crore to modernise and refurbish its base-repair depots that provide engineering and maintenance support for its aircraft, weapon systems and other equipment. Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, Air Marshal PV Athawale (right) along with other IAF officers during the release of the 200th TV-3 engine to be overhauled by No. 3 Base Repair Depot in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune photo:  Manoj Mahajan

COMMUNITY

The public health department of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation cleans the newly installed water pipeline for Sector 32 water works by flushing water into it. Officials said it was a routine process to get the silt and sand cleared from the pipeline by flushing the water through at least five times in a fortnight. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

IT Survey
` 20 crore surrendered
Chandigarh, September 22
The survey operations conducted by the income tax department on the commercial premises of five city-based business groups yesterday yielded rich dividends as the owner of two business groups made a voluntary surrender of concealed income to the tune of Rs 20 crore today. The investigations in other cases are still pending.

Staff crunch
Handling more depts likely to be tough for MC
Chandigarh, September 22
Even as the Chandigarh Administration prepares to issue a notification regarding the transfer of certain departments to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), the maintenance of the existing infrastructure and providing civic amenities is going to be civic body’s Achilles’ heel.

Rain pours misery on Mohali, Panchkula

Mohali, September 22 Incessant rain in the town and adjoining areas since last night brought misery for residents living in low-lying areas and threw traffic out of gear at many places. Keep an eye on Ghaggar: DC Breaches in bundh triggers panic Oblivious of the rising water level of the Ghaggar, devotees stand on the banks of the river to immerse idols of Lord Ganesha in Panchkula on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Protesting BKU farmers find no place to sit as rain lashed the town; and rainwater enters government houses at Phase VI in Mohali on Wednesday. Tribune photos: Vicky Gharu

Preserving city’s heritage
Experts for adopting holistic approach
Chandigarh, September 22
Presenting a blueprint for the city’s heritage preservation, expert groups today advocated a holistic approach by treating Chandigarh as a single unit for the preservation of its heritage.

Pay Panel Recommendations
PGI, AIIMS faculty come on common platform
Decide not to attend any official function
Chandigarh, September 22
Faculty members of the PGI and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, have come on a common platform to protest against the delay in the implementation of Sixth Pay Commission.

Split wide open in traders’ body
New organisation Chandigarh Business Council formed parallel to 
beopar mandal

Chandigarh, September 22 The split in the city’s trading community came to fore today ahead of the festival season with traders forming the Chandigarh Business Council (CBC), a development that bodes ill for the traders’ apex body, the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM).
Leader of traders Jagdish Arora (extreme right) announces the formation of the Chandigarh Business Council in Chandigarh on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Symposium on parasitic infections
Chandigarh, September 22
More than 100 delegates from various government and private medical colleges and universities, mostly from North India, are expected to reach here on Friday to participate in a symposium with the theme “Parasitic infections then and now with special reference to India”.

IDBI told to pay ` 25,000
Chandigarh, September 22
Holding Industrial Development Bank of India Limited and IDBI Bank guilty of deficiency in services, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked them to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to a complainant.

Woman killed in accident
Zirakpur, September 22
An unidentified woman in her mid-30s died after being hit by a speeding car near Dhillon factory on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway here this evening.

EDUCATION

PU add-on courses find few takers
Chandigarh, September 22
A total of 58 “career oriented programmes” (COP’s) or popularly known as add-on courses introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in Panjab University affiliated colleges have failed to take off and undergraduate students are now being “forced” to opt for these courses in the city colleges.

PU
Fire breaks out in girls’ hostel mess
Chandigarh, September 22
A fire broke out in Panjab University girls’ hostel number 6 mess on Wednesday night when girls were having dinner. The girls were made to vacate the mess immediately after the accident.

PU wins 14 prizes in youth fest Chandigarh, September 22 The Panjab University campus team has won accolades for the university with their excellent performance in the Panjab University Zonal Youth Festival concluded today. The university has won 14 prizes, including six first, three second and five third prizes. Girls perform giddha at the zonal youth festival at Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Interaction session with NGOs
Chandigarh, September 22
As a part of the ongoing partnership initiative programme, the secretary education had an interaction session with all voluntary organisations working with the education department under this project.

Importance of sports highlighted
Panchkula, September 22
About 60 delegates from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh participated in a national seminar on “Role of physical education and sports in society”, which was organised by Government College, Sector 1, here today.

Student injured as fan falls
Chandigarh, September 22
A third semester student of the department of laws today got injured after a ceiling fan fell down on him, while he was walking inside the classroom.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Varsities get ` 51-lakh grant for sports
Patiala, September 22
Declaration of the much-awaited sports policy has raised the hopes of players and sportspersons in Punjab, as they now look forward to a better infrastructure and facilities as promised by the government to make Punjab one of the most sought-after states in the field of sports.

Aided Schools
15 pc house rent allowance for teachers
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 22
A delegation of the Punjab State Aided-School Teachers Union led by president Gurcharan Singh Chahal today met Punjab education minister Upinderjit Kaur.

Railway officials booked for corruption
Kalka, September 22
On the directives issued by the Panchkula court, the Kalka police has registered a case against seven railway officials, which include RPF personnel, IOW, Kalka, and three railway TTs.

Camps to popularise astronomical physics
Patiala, September 22
A majority of educational institutes in Punjab were conducting programmes where students are learning fundamentals of science by performing various experiments. These activities help in inculcating scientific innovations among students. These were the views expressed by Dr Neelam Gulati Sharma, joint director, the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, after inaugurating the three-day camps on astronomy and astrophysics at Multani Mal Modi College, Patiala.

Safety drive week by Northern Railway
Ambala, September 22
The Northern Railway is holding a seven-day safety drive to educate people on negotiating unmanned level crossings.

365 examined at medical camp
Dera Bassi, September 22
The health department has organised a state-level medical check-up camp and a workshop on family welfare here at Lalru Civil Hospital under the National Rural Health Mission Scheme.

COURTS

Kalka gangrape case
Rape second most heinous crime: Judge
Panchkula, September 22
“Rape is the second heinous crime after murder and gangrape comes somewhere in between. It is a step higher than rape for which law itself has provided minimum punishment for not less than 10 years,” said Additional District and Sessions Judge Ritu Garg in her detailed order while awarding 10-year imprisonment to 13 accused in the Kalka gangrape case.

CRIME

32-yr-old jumps to death
Chandigarh, September 22
Pankaj Mittal, a 32-year-old resident of Sector 37, allegedly jumped to death from the second floor of his house this afternoon. The police said Mittal was under depression and was taking treatment for the past five years. Pankaj wife, Radhika, told the police that her husband had gone on the terrace to smoke. After a while, she spotted him lying listless in a pool of blood at the ground floor. The police was informed.

Burglars target Army society flats in P’kula Panchkula, September 22 Burglars broke open locks of about six Army flats in the Army Group Housing Society No 79 in Sector 20 here this morning. Even though the exact loss could not be ascertained, the thieves reportedly took away Rs 2,000 and two pairs of earrings from one of the flats. They had broken locks of flat Nos 401 to 403 and 201 to 202 and 304 in U-1 and U-2 blocks, respectively. Victims show the broken door of their house in Army flats, Sector 20, Panchkula, on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

SPORTS

DRYING OPERATION

Labourers try to dry the ground at the Sector 16 cricket stadium in Chandigarh on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Boxers win accolades at national level
Chandigarh, September 22
Local boxers are making their presence felt at the national circle with bagging as many as 42 medals this year.

Tennis coaches to attend conference in California
Chandigarh, September 22
Local tennis coaches, Robin Kumar and Birbal Wadhera, will be heading to California to attend the world conference on tennis, starting from September 27.