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Cricket hysteria rises to a crescendo
Chandigarh, March 26 From stocking inventories of Team India t shirts and caps, offering miniature World Cup trophies to decorating their stores with the Indian and Pakistani flags or by just replacing their 22-inch flat screen TVs with larger versions, the shopkeepers are going all out to bring in cricket crazy fans who are set to throng the city for the World Cup semifinal match to their doorstep. The mood in the markets is at an all-time high after the past few years of recession and most shopkeepers are hoping a surge in sales by almost 25 to 50 per cent. However, there are some like Sunil Kathurai of Suneel Sports Corner, Sector 22 who hopes to double his sales during the next couple of days. “We’re offering special discounts and gifts on every sale”, says Kathurai, who has stocked medals and miniature four-inch World Cup trophies. Meanwhile, Vipan Kathuria, owner of Sai Trophies in Sector 20, is also giving away World Cup miniatures on every sale worth Rs 300 and has put a whole range of t shirts with photographs of Indian players on sale. “Yuvi (Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh) is much in demand”, he says. “The demand for t-shirts, crackers and Indian flags has suddenly spurted,” said Sumandeep, owner of SG Sports in Sector 38. He has ordered 10,000 Indian flags and a large quantity of tricoloured balloons. For bigger brands like Big Bazaar, which has bagged the licence from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for authorized retailer of special merchandise for the month-long tournament, is seeing a number of fans at its stores in Zeerakpur on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway. The retail chain is offering World Cup t-shirts, track pants, shorts, sweatshirts, caps, headbands, beads and bath linen products at prices ranging from Rs 199 to Rs 449. Big Bazaar, which co-created its private label Sach (toothpaste and bathing bars) with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, is expecting a 10 percent jump in sales during the World Cup, a company official said. Talking to The Tribune, Virendar Mehra, customer service in charge, said besides the usual sports items a graphic range of merchandise bearing cricket inspired messages and a soft toy range tagged as 'Stumpy', which is the official mascot of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, is also on display at all the Big Bazaar outlets.LCD TVs of various brands are even being offered with free DTH connections. Rajinder Mohan, director of Dee Kay Vision Pvt Ltd, said Samsung has launched a scheme on LCD TVs for the World Cup. "The company is offering a 45-day free subscription for a Dish TV connection on purchase of a LCD TV. Similarly, LG and Philips are offering DTH connections with free subscription on purchase of any LCD TV.
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High drama in Taj as exhibition gets cancelled
Chandigarh March 26 Organised by ‘Trendz Unlimited’, the exhibition was all set to take off today. However, over a dozen designers who were in the midst of setting up stalls and had gone out of the hotel for some work in the morning were not allowed to enter the hotel again by the police for three hours from 11 to 2 pm- the time during which the Indian team arrived and the Pakistan team left for practice. The designers, some of whom had their wards inside the exhibition, created a huge drama and raised a hue and cry at the gate and were allowed to enter only after senior police officials intervened.
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Team India take a day off
Chandigarh, March 26 The Men in Blue, who reached the hotel under tight security of the UT Police and paramilitary commandos, were welcomed on a green carpet by the hotel authorities. The players took rest from the practice session after their arrival. Many fans, however, returned home disappointed after their failure to catch a glimpse of their favourite cricketers. Meanwhile, the Pakistan team today attended a practice session at the PCA Stadium in Mohali where they sweated it out in the nets. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was seen concentrating on his bowling Yuvi leaves for dad’s place
Reportedly, local lad Yuvraj Singh, also opted to rest and visited his father's house, Yograj Singh, a former cricketer, at his house in Panchkula.
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Students already in a frenzy
Chandigarh, March 26 "My batchmates in classes for the IAS exam have already requested teachers to adjust classes in the morning shift on Wednesday. Nobody wants to miss this historic match, especially when it'll be held barely a few kilometres away," said Richa Gupta, a research scholar on the PU campus. "We've planned a mass bunk on March 30 since we managed tickets for the match well in advance. Everyone is now hunting for tickets whereas most of my classmates booked them much before India beat Australia last Thursday. Hence, we're more excited to be a witness to this historic match," said Ankit, a second-year MA student. However, many other students have not been as fortunate. "With tickets being sold at a whopping mark-up in the black market, the only solution left is to watch the match on TV in hostel common rooms. But we're planning to get good food and drinks to make up for the loss of not watching the match live at the stadium," said Kshitij Verma, a final-year BTech student.
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No ticket even for Union Minister
Chandigarh, March 26 He will, in all probability, watch India take on arch foes Pakistan in the World Cup semis on March 30 at Mohali from the pavilion of his house in Delhi. You don’t need a third empire to confirm this. Tickets for the match are just not falling in the right place at the right time. Even Punjab deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has not been able to spin his way into getting the tickets for the Union Law Minister. Available information suggests Sukhbir was informed in the morning that Moily would not mind catching the action live at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium. But, the deputy CM too has not been able to strike. An appeal was also made to a PCA member. All that came from him was a referral. It was a wasted chance. For, the referee had his mobile phone switched off. Nothing much came out of it. All this while, Additional Solicitor-General of India Mohan Jain too has been on the crease. He has been doing all the running around to secure the tickets for the high-octane semifinal. But, his score continues to be zero. At the current strike rate, the enormous target seems to been too tough to achieve even to him. As they struggle to remain in the match, the black marketers are doing all the scoring in the game for tickets. With excitement literally knowing no boundaries, the prices of the tickets in the grey market have been sky-rocketing, just like Yuvi’s sixes. Making the most of the mad rush, they are selling match tickets priced at Rs 10,000 for as high as Rs 50,000. The longest shot involves Rs 15,000 tickets. They are going for an astonishing Rs 1 lakh.
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‘VIP brats’ selling match passes in black
Chandigarh, March 26 In what has left the officials of an elite privately run school shocked, a 13-year-old class 8 student, the son of a Punjab cadre IAS officer, sold off two VIP block tickets to another classmate for a whopping Rs 30,000 a ticket that was priced at only Rs 1,000. The “deal” came to the fore when one of the girls overheard the duo and informed the classteacher. The school authorities immediately summoned the boy’s parents who were shocked to find their son selling their hard earned “free” tickets. “The boy initially refused to confess to his deed, but when his father was called by the school authorities, he accepted having struck the deal. The father had secured free tickets for his son. The boy said that, ‘inspired’ by newspaper reports about the skyrocketing ticket prices, he had gone on to strike a deal with another student, son of a prominent hotelier, to make easy money,” revealed the school principal. “My dad’s friend is in the PCA and he got us tickets. A boy got in touch with me through a friend and gave me Rs 50,000 for the tickets. My parents knew about it and my servant picked up the case. I had been saving for months to get an Apple iPhone and now the sale of these tickets has solved all my woes in one go,” said the son of an Haryana education department official.
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World Cup semis at PCA
Mohali, March 26 The ordeal of the residents has already begun with Punjab policemen knocking at their doors for verification of their antecedents after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh set the ball rolling for cricket diplomacy by inviting his Pakistan counterpart to watch the match. A majority of the residents bemoan the fact that they are being made to suffer to entertain those visiting the stadium to witness matches. The harassment is not at the hands of the policemen alone. “We face problems from cricket fans as well. Fans knock our doors to request permission to leave their belongings with us, as it is not allowed inside the stadium. During a day/night match we are kept waiting until late night for them to collect their belongings. The PCA should have the facility at all gates,” said Rajpeet Kaur, who lives just next to PCA Stadium gate no. 12. For the last two days, the PCA authorities have been playing blaring music, disturbing students preparing for exams. Jasminder Singh, a Class XII student, who lives next to gate no. 11, pointed out that officials are not bothered about the anguish being suffered by the residents. “Though the match is to be held after four days, music at high pitch is being played at the stadium,” he said. Restriction on the movement is also a bone of contention for the residents. For Baldev Kaur, a septuagenarian living near gate number 12, a match in the stadium means a virtual curfew. “Though the police issues two passes per house, residents are not allowed easy access even to their houses,” she said adding that the roads in front of their houses are literally blocked by grills put up to streamline the flow of visitors into the stadium. Quite understandably, the residents are peeved at the presence of policemen all over the area. “There are policemen at our gate and on the rooftops. We have requested the policemen to leave space for us to move out of our houses,” said Anurag Sharma, a resident of Phase X.
‘Residents being briefed in advance’
SP city Harpreet Singh said a special verification drive had been started in Phases X and XI. Apart from videography, stranger rolls have been issued to a number of persons, such as tenants and other non-permanent residents of the area residing in the area. The residents are being briefed in advance about which roads to be avoided during the VVIP movement. The police would issue special passes to the residents on March 28.
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No change in excise policy till April 30
Chandigarh, March 26 Confirming the development, a senior UT official said since the UT excise department had been incorporating major changes in the excise policy, the existing liquor contractors would be allowed to run their vends for another one month. Highly-placed sources in the UT administration stated that UT Administrator Shivraj Patil had also approved the extension. The sources said the department was planning to go back to the old system of auctioning vends instead of renewing vendors’ licenses. The department was also chalking out a draft to reduce the number of temporary liquor sheds and taverns located on roadsides in internal sectors of the city, they added. The sources stated that Patil had approved the proposal to reduce the number of liquor vends on roadsides in internal areas of various sectors. But the number is yet to be decided. Records of the corporation show that the civic body have 38 temporary liquor vends on roadsides. Meanwhile, president of the Chandigarh Wine Merchant Association Satya Pal Choujar told mediapersons that the existing excise policy had put Rs 30 lakh in the department’s pocket, whereas the amount was Rs 9 lakh in 2005-06. He said the department should set up new vends and auction the same. Choujar said in order to increase the revenue, the department could increase excise duty on liquor.
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Trains to resume services from today
Chandigarh, March 26 Railway services have partially been resumed in this region after Jats demanding job quotas ended their rail blockade after talks with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda late last evening. The Jat agitation had paralysed rail traffic in many parts of northern India, but railway officials said it would run trains with ‘full normalcy’ from tomorrow. The blockade had led to cancellation of four pairs of trains, including (12005/12006) Shatabdi Express in the last five days, leading to loss of over Rs 30 crore to the railways and immeasurable hardship to the travelling public. The other trains that were cancelled are Himalayan Queen, Chandigarh-Allahabad Unchahar Express and Chandigarh-Jaipur Garib Rath. “We have restored the Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express and the Chandigarh-Jaipur Garib Rath today,” said GM Singh, senior divisional commercial manager, Ambala division, Northern Railway. The rakes for trains like Himalayan Queen and Unchahar Express have to be arranged before they are made to run from tomorrow, he added. Another railway official said food grain movement from Punjab, primarily by the Food Corporation of India for the PDS, to different parts of the country, and movement of coal to powerhouses in Haryana and Punjab had also been hit. Since the railways do not have a time-table for freight trains, it is difficult to assess the financial damage. But a power plant in Hisar had to be shut down due to unavailability of coal, say reports. “We had diverted the freight rakes to the Delhi-Ambala-Amritsar rail link, leading to much higher load on this section. To clear food grain and coal movement, we had cancelled express trains between New Delhi and Kalka, including Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, from March 22,” he added. Meanwhile, the Haryana authorities are feeling relieved over the fact that no loss to life or property was reported during the five-day Jat stir on the Chandigarh-Delhi section. However, as per railway sources, the strike has taken a heavy toll on the environment as thousands of trees were axed by protesters during the agitation in Jind, Hisar and Bhiwani districts. “The felling of trees, which exposes gross insensitivity and lack of awareness towards environment in people, has caused intensive damage to the flora and fauna, which would take around 10 years to recover,” sources said. Following the withdrawal of the agitation, a Jat leader, on the condition of anonymity, threatened that they would resume the agitation if their demand for quota was not met soon.
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Sarod wizard casts spell on audience
Chandigarh, March 26 Ustaad presented a variety of ragas in their pristine purity, which won hearts of audience. He dedicated the recital to world peace and harmony. In one of the compositions, misher ragas, he presented a song of Rabindranath Tagore before a bandish in raga kaafi. He concluded the recital with exposition of raga kshrukeshi. — OC
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Nehru Park gets musical fountain
Chandigarh, March 26 Official said the fountain has been provided with the principal cost of Rs 27.7 lakh, including civil work, mechanical work and operation and maintenance cost of five years. Public health executive engineer Anil Bansal said the main features of the fountain were 45 led lights of various colours and synchronisation between sound system, fountain and light effects. Area councillor Pardeep Chhabra and other councillors, along with Chief Engineer SS Bidda were also present on the occasion.
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Navratra Festival
Panchkula, March 26 Brar directed the health department to ensure fogging in the area before and during the fair besides posting a doctor, along with medicines, near the entry gate to the shrine. She also directed public health department for provide clean drinking water and for setting up toilets at the fair. She further directed the officials of the electricity department to install generator in the fair so as to ensure round-the-clock power during the nine-day fair.
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HC Judge bereaved
Chandigarh, March 26 He is survived by his wife and two sons. The congregation will be held at the Sector 18 Church at 3 pm followed by burial at the Sector 25 Christian cemetery at 4 pm.
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Fraudulent change of exam centres
Chandigarh, March 26 The report was submitted to PU Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti a few weeks ago by retired Judge KC Gupta. Justice Gupta has reportedly given stern directions to the authorities to deal with corrupt elements in its examination branch. Students of the sixth semester of LLB had allegedly got their examination centres changed from Chandigarh to Muktsar on medical grounds last year, which had eventually become a student election issue. Conclusions of the inquiry, which is second major probe in the case, are likely to ignite the heated discussion in the Syndicate, which would be followed by a Senate meeting on the same day. Incidentally, in the initial inquiry conducted by SK Sharma, credentials of medical certificates submitted by the students were doubted. The inquiry was then taken further to explore the possibility of more such fraudulent cases involving employees of the PU’s administrative block. The committee questioned nearly 15 such employees and had recommended strict action against a few of them. However, this “contentious report” was cornered by a decision taken by the university Senate last year and another inquiry was set up under Justice Gupta.
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Seminar
CHANDIGARH: A one-day seminar on “Relevancy of Baba Saheb Dr BR Ambedkar philosophy in the present era” was organised by the Ambedkar Centre of Socio-Economic Studies for the weaker sections of society, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, at Panjab University on Friday. Vice-Chancellor Prof RC Sobti while inaugurating the seminar highlighted the discrimination existing in society. He said he was baffled why killing on the name of inter-caste marriages was called “Honour Killing”. Delivering the keynote address, Prof Virendra Kumar, director (academics), Judicial Academy, spoke about Dr Ambedkar’s vision of an inclusive social order through the policy of reservation and its realisation under the Constitution. In his view, exclusion of minority educational institutions for the purview of reservation policy by the Parliament was not justified. Lecture
“The Indian petroliferous basins have a great potential for exploration of oil and gas and the time has come when the country should start exploiting its on-shore basins available at different locations of the Indian sub-continent.” This was said by Dr SK Biswas, former director, KDMIPE, Dehradun, while delivering the first IC Pande memorial lecture at the department of geology. Dr Biswas explained the basin types and their analytical techniques, which was useful to students of geology to comprehend the petroleum habitat in deeper layers of earth. Dinesh Pande in his presidential remarks told petroleum system has to be understood for proper management of the resource. Seminar
The department of Guru Nanak Sikh Studies is organising a one-day national seminar on “Role of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in history” on March 30. The seminar will be inaugurated by Lt Governor of Puducherry Dr Iqbal Singh. Prof JS Grewal, a well-known historian and former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, will deliver the keynote address. Nominated
Dr Gurmeet Singh, an assistant professor, department of Hindi, has been nominated by Union Defence Minister AK Antony to the Hindi Salahakar Samiti for the Department of Defence, Department of Defence Research and Development (DRDO) and Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare of the Ministry of Defence. Seminar ends
A two-day UGC-CAS sponsored seminar organised by the Centre of Advanced Studies, department of sociology, concluded on the PU campus here on Friday. Seminar director, Prof Sherry Sabbarwal spoke on the strengths and limitations of theoretical discourse on environment, its interface with technology and inadequacies of social science research in tackling this area. Prof Gopal Krishan in his valedictory address focused on need of creating sustainable societies. He advocated on localising the concept of sustainability at regional levels. Memorial
lecture
Prof BS Chimni, Centre for International Legal Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, will deliver Ajit Singh Sarhadi memorial lecture on “Globalisation and international law: Emerging trends” on Monday.
— TNS
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Moot Court Contest
Chandigarh, March 26 The competition was a three-day event organised by the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation, Chandigarh, and Leiden University, the Netherlands, hosted by the Government of Dubai and Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. Ten teams from seven countries participated, including four teams from India. The team of Abhilaksh Grover, a former student of St John’s High School, and Abhay Raj Varma from Nalsar, Hyderabad, were the runners-up to McGill University, Canada. Nida Doon, a former student of Carmel Convent and a student of NLU, Delhi, won the best mooter award and a scholarship worth Rs 1 million to pursue an advanced LLM in the air and space law at Leiden University, the Netherlands.
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‘Jhankaar 2011’ all set to rock PU
Chandigarh, March 26 A fashion show hosted by University Institute of Fashion technology (UIFT) students and rock night by the Ice and Fire band would be staged in the evening. Ahead of their annual event, the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) took out 'Jaago' on the campus. With 10-15 colleges participating in the festival this year, the student council has promised an array of musical, creative and literary events.
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