NEIGHBOURHOOD

Teachers hold dharna, block national highway
Tribune News Service

Kharar, July 17
The power supply to the Balongi area failed last night and could not be restored till late this evening. Commercial activities and domestic works were hit due to the power failure.

While the power supply got disrupted last night, the officials reached in the morning and restored supply to some parts of the area.

Till 2 pm, the power employees tried to repair a faulty transformer, but later realised that the transformer needed to be changed.

Later, around 4 pm these employees waited at the Powercom store to get a new transformer as replacement.

Being Sunday, it took time for the store officials to reach the store and issue a new transformer.

Patiala, July 17
Samana MLA Brahm Mohindra was unanimously re-elected president of the Punjab Fencing Association during a meeting at the Maharani Club here.

Other office-bearers, also elected unanimously for four years, were chairman: BS Dhillon; senior vice-presidents: Inder Mohan Singh, Raj Kumar Sharma, AK Sharma and Anil Arora; vice-presidents: DS Jeji, KS Bains, Darshana Sharma, AS Riar, Jodh Singh Grewal, Jeetesh Aggarwal, KPS Brar, Rakesh Walia, TS Walia and NN Saini; secretary general: Arun Kumar Vij; secretary: TS Dogra; organising secretary; PS Bhangu; joint secretaries: Shashi Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Hazura Singh, Jaskirat Kaur and Manmeet Dhillon; and treasurer: Dr Sardari Lal.

The association decided to organise the Sub-Junior and Cadet State Championship at Patiala in August, Junior State Championship at Tarn Taran in October and Senior State Championship at Ferozepur in November.

Fencing Association of India joint secretary SK Prasher and Punjab Archery Association secretary RK Bali attended the meeting as observers.

Patiala, July 17
Rainy season brings along a number of diseases and one has to be careful about their treatment. Eyes need to be protected against conjunctivitis and sties, which spread during the rainy season.

Dr Sukhdip S Boparai, chief consultant of the Patiala Eye Hospital and Lasik Laser Centre, while listing a series of measures for care of eyes during the monsoon, said this here today.

He said it was important not to touch eyes with dirty hands and also children need to be discouraged from touching their eyes. People who suffered from dry eyes often experienced increased irritation, itchiness and possibly redness in the monsoon. 

Fatehgarh Sahib, July 17
Punjabi storywriter Prem Gorkhi today donated 4,000 books to a library in memory of Panth Rattan Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra in Panjoli village.

The books were given to the village sarpanch. Speaking during the occasion, Gorkhi said the books would bring enlightenment for villagers and school students.

Speaking during the occasion, novelist Bibi Paramjit Kaur appreciated the contribution by Gorkhi and thanked him for giving books to the library.

SGPC member Karnail Singh Panjoli, district SAD (B) president Jagdeep Singh Cheema were also present.

Ambala, July 17
A youth was killed on the Ambala-Hisar road, near New Grain Market, at Ambala City this noon when his two-wheeler collided with a truck. The deceased, Rishu Jain, was a resident of Darjian Wala Chowk, Ambala City.

According to information, he was going towards Manav Chowk while passing through the railway over bridge when his two-wheeler was hit by the truck. He sustained serious injuries and was referred to the local civil hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The driver of the truck attempted to flee from the site after the accident, but the passers-by caught him and handed him over to the police. The police registered a case against the truck driver and was investigating the matter.

Two days back a senior woman Congress leader, Madhu Dogra, was also killed near the over bridge when she was hit by a private bus. The over bridge on the Ambala-Hisar road is very narrow. 

Chandigarh, July 17
A Panchkula-based couple - Pankaj and Sangeeta Chandgothia - filed an application in the district courts in connection with the problems being faced by residents on account of the paid parking system in the city.

The applicants have made the municipal corporation and 26 paid parking contractors respondents in their petition. The application will come up for hearing on Monday.

The applicants stated that although they were residents of Panchkula, they visited various sectors of Chandigarh regularly for work as well as leisure.

Pankaj Chandgothia, who is a lawyer, stated that the corporation had introduced the paid parking system in 2007 but even after five years down the line, the system suffered from several defects and deficiencies, leading to harassment of public at large.

He pleaded that there was no willingness on part of the UT officials to solve the problems pertaining to the system. Highlighting the problems, the petitioner said there was no compliance of earmarked spaces for four-wheelers and two-wheelers. Many a time, two-wheelers were parked in spaces meant for four-wheelers and vice-versa.

Similarly, parking attendants seldom guided vehicles through the parking area, resulting in haphazard parking and blocking of way. Also, the parking staff never wore uniforms or IDs for easy identification.

He pleaded that the powers available with the corporation to deal with the offenders were weak and not well-defined, which came in the way of immediate resolution of problems.

Chandigarh, July 17
The crime branch of the Chandigarh Police has arrested a British national, Napper Ned O Conner Tandy, on the charges of possessing charas and psychotropic tablets.

Nineteen-year-old Tandy, a resident of London, was arrested from Sector 38 West during a checking drive yesterday. The police said the accused was riding a motorcycle without helmet. On being signalled to stop, Tandy tried to flee. During search, the police found 40 grams of charas and psychotropic tablets from his pocket.

Tandy is on a tourist visa valid till November 8. He arrived in India on May 22 and had purchased a Bullet motorcycle (HR-12E-7183) from a mechanic and travelled to Leh, Ladakh and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

The police has registered a case under Sections 20 and 22 of the NDPS Act at the Sector 39 police station. He was produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

The police added that the British Embassy and his girlfriend, who is also in the city, have been informed about his arrest.

Chandigarh, July 17
Satinder Singh, a resident of Sector 44, reported to the police that someone had stolen his scooter from the parking of IT Park on July 5. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Mani Majra police station.

In another incident, Harbans Singh, a resident of Sector 35, reported to police that his car was stolen from his residence on July 16 night. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 36 police station.

Zirakpur, July 17
Four unidentified youths robbed a petrol station manager of Rs 2.45 lakh on the Shatabgar-Chat road today.

According to the police, Amrik Singh, manager of Surindera petrol station, near Dera Bassi, after collecting the day sales collection was on his way to Patiala with his car driver when the accused intercepted their car and forced them to stop.

An investigating officer said the accused entered into an altercation with Amrik and his driver Rajesh Kumar claiming that they had hit a vehicle and were trying to flee. “The accused then had a scuffle with the victims and in the meantime one of the accused picked up the bag containing money and took out the car keys,” the official said.

The accused then escaped from the scene in their vehicle towards Chat village. The Zirakpur SHO said the police stations in the nearby areas were put on alert as soon they got the information of the loot. A case was registered and an inquiry had been initiated.

Chandigarh, July 17
Himal Gusain, Tarini Goyal and Anubhav Tuknayat won top honours in their respective categories in the Chandigarh youth chess (U-25) and boys and girls (U-13) competition, which concluded at St Xaviers Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, here today.

Himal won the youth chess (U-25) title after getting a full five points. Tarini won the top position in girls (U-13) category with 4½ points while Anubhav won the boys (U-13) title with 4½ points.

During the competition, Himal and Pardeep Singh Negi (U-25), Tarini and Kashish Kaushal (U-13) and Anubav and Archit Gupta (U-13) were selected to represent the city in the upcoming National Games, to be held in Indore and Delhi next month.

Points position: youth (U-25): 5 points: Himal Gusain; 4½ points: Pardeep Singh Negi; 4 points: Nagpal Tejas; 3½ points: Piyush Manuja, Rahul Arora, Satbir Singh; 3 points: Simranjeet Kaur, Arunima Goyal, Shweta Kaushal, Tanya; 2½ points: Abhinav Bansal, Supreet, Gagandeep Singh, Vibhushit; 2 points: Sachleen Singh, Nivedan Bhardwaj, Amrinder Singh, Arshjot Kaur, Devendra Maurya, Yash Raj Kapoor; 1½ point: Shivika Jain, Sanchit Saini, Paranav Verma, Shubham; 1 point: Tarundeep Singh.

Boys and girls (U-13): 4½ points: Tarini Goyal, Anubhav Tuknayat, Archit Gupta; 4 points: Kashish Kaushal; 3½ points: Gauri, Lakshay Bhatia, Jashan Khurana; 3 points: Anindya Trehan, Rishab Jain, Jayesh, Amartya Bhattacharya, Tanvi Goel; 2½ points: Brahmjot, Manish Mandal, Abhiroop Kaul, Jashan Singh, Gursahib Singh, Udit Malhotra, Lakshay Munjal, Sarthak; 2 points: Prankush Garg, Manveer, Birranjeev, Inayat Kaur, Saksham Goel; 1½ point: Pratyaksh Goel, Shaurya; 1 point: Jaskeerat Singh, Siddharth Mahajan, Aditya Dubey; 0 point: Mauraya Mahajan, Shishir Lamba.

Chandigarh, July 17
Eetee Mehta defeated Shreya Pasricha in the final qualifying round of the CLTA-AITA Chandigarh Open 50K Men and Women Tennis Tournament, being held at the CLTA complex and the Lake Sports Complex here today.

Eetee defeated Shreya 8-3 while Victoria Chahat defeated Anukriti Chaudhary 8-7(1) in the same category.

In the third qualifying round of men’s category, Krishna Karsolia defeated Sonam Phuntok 8-3 and Karan Salwan overcame Sidharth Barwar 8-4.

Final qualifying round: singles (women): Eetee Mehta defeated Shreya Pasricha 8-3; Vaibhavi defeated Gayatri Kumariah 8-1; Tarrannum Handa defeated Vijayalaxmi R 8-1; Vineeta Singh defeated Shilpa Dalmia 8-3; Aashima Garg defeated Nikita Bishnoi 8-4; Sanya Madan defeated Ayenaaz Sidhu 8-4; Karishma Mehta defeated Nimrat Walia 8-3; Victoria Chahat defeated Anukriti Chaudhary 8-7(1).

Third qualifying round: singles (men): Krishna Karsolia defeated Sonam Phuntok 8-3; Karan Salwan defeated Sidharth Barwar 8-4; Bibashwan defeated Surinder Pal Singh 8-3; Lalrinaniwa Khawliring defeated Aviraj Kamboj 8-5; Parth Indrodia defeated Ranjeet Singh 8-4; Sidhesh Khade defeated Mohd Shadb Khan 8-3; Amardeep Jaglan defeated Shikhar Gadh 8-6; Siddharth Sarthak defeated Bhavtaranpreet Singh 8-7(3); Siddharth Rawat defeated Rubal Sandilya 8-3; Sandeep Maheta defeated Manpreet Singh Chawla 8-5; Sanjib K defeated Rojab Singh 8-3; Akhil Chopta defeated Kamal Kishore Maderna 8-3; Chinmay Handa defeated Chatwinder Singh 8-7(4); Arvind Singh defeated Tushar Jettly 8-2; Garry Singh Amor defeated Gagan Sharma 8-3; Allen Gomes defeated Himanshu Bali 8-1.

Chandigarh, July 17
Samim Rizvi, the only Indian to take part in the Race Across America, participated in a 5-km ‘cyclothon’ organised by a local company here today.

The endurance cyclist and fitness trainer participated in it along with local health enthusiasts.

The ‘cyclothon’ was flagged off by Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

“A person should always remain fit and there is no age bar for performing physical activity,” said Rizvi. On the issue of doping, he said, “Everyone takes some supplements for better performance in one way or the other. Organisers should start special competitions for dopers.”

Chandigarh, July 17
Panjab University Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti visited the ongoing camp of the Indian team for the World University Badminton Games, on the campus here today.

After a brief interaction with the players, he checked the sports hostel, where the players had been putting up, and enquired about their diet.

“I have attended many national camps, but this is among the best camps I came across,” said Megha Marin of Kerala.

“The players are going through a very hard training session and hopefully, the team will secure the top position in the tournament,” said coach Surinder Mahajan.

Chandigarh, July 17
Allengers defeated Bebo Technologies by 33 runs in the final of the Champions League Cricket Tournament here today.

Eight teams, including Nokia, Seimens, Relay Strategy, Ericsson, Care Fusion and SB Webex, participated in the event.

“We will organise such tournaments more often as these give a chance to people working in corporate offices to rejuvenate themselves,” said Suresh Sharma, managing director with Allengers.