Panchkula, January 28
Three teenagers were seriously injured when they tried to break a mortar shell found abandoned near the Naraingarh firing range near Raipur Rani here today. The three victims, identified as Raman (15), Kulwinder (13) and Gulshan (18), were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, after removing the shrapnels from their bodies at a local hospital.

The teenagers were playing near the Army firing range in the afternoon when they found the mortar shell. The three took the shell near a government school wall and tried to break it open, resulting in a blast. The three were hit by shrapnels, injuring them seriously.

After hearing the sound of the blast, local residents rushed to the spot and informed the police, which arrived immediately on the spot.

SHO Raipurrani said investigations were being held as to how the three teenagers found the mortar shell near the firing range. He said the injured were not in a position to tell anything about the incident.

Earlier too such incidents have occurred in the area, resulting in the loss of lives.

Chandigarh, January 28
Even after managing to destroy 400 kg of biomedical waste (BMW) at the incinerator of the PGI and the GMSH-16 today, over 600 kg of waste was still lying on the premises of the GMCH-32.

Chandigarh Tribune had yesterday reported how 900 kg of BMW had been lying in the open behind Block B of the OPD building. Since the hospital doesn’t have an incinerator of its own, it usually sends the BMW to the GMSH-16 and the PGI for destruction, but the hospitals have been refusing to accept the waste for the past few days.

Sources said the GMSH-16 incinerator had been underperforming due to tripping since Tuesday and the PGI had refused to accept the waste as their incinerator was overloaded.

According to the GMCH-32 authorities, the PGI and the GMSH-16 accepted 200 kg each for destruction this morning. However, over 100 kg was generated today, taking the total waste to 600 kg.

Expressing concern, a senior faculty member of the hospital said the callousness shown by the authorities and the poor coordination with their counterparts in the PGI and the GMSH-16 had created a piquant situation, exposing hundreds of people, including the hospital staff, patients and visitors, to infections.

Faculty members also expressed surprise that despite Chandigarh Tribune report, neither the UT administration nor the pollution control authorities in the city had taken immediate steps for the destruction of the waste. “Why can’t the waste be destroyed at a private incinerator in Mohali or nearby place?” asked a senior faculty of the hospital. A senior official in the hospital administration said the hospital had applied for the installation of an incinerator on its own premises, but the UT Pollution Control Board refused its proposal on the plea that the city would have a common biomedical waste plant. That would cater to the requirement of all hospitals in the city, including the PGI. However, the issue of construction of the biomedical waste plant at the dumping ground site, Dadumajra, has been hanging fire for the past many years.

Chandigarh, January 28
A two-year-old baby girl, Laxmi, was burnt to death after a fire broke out in a forest area near a jhuggi at Kaimbwala this evening. According to the fire department, a fire broke out at 3:45 pm in the forest area near the jhuggi. Later it spread to engulf the jhuggi.

An official said the cause of the fire had not be ascertained so far. The fire brigade controlled the fire in two hours. Fire official Dasundhi Ram, who was heading the operation, revealed that there was nobody at home when the jhuggi caught fire in which a two-year-old child was sleeping. As there is no hut adjoining it nobody came to rescue the child. The official said when the fire team reached the spot the hut had completely burnt.

He said members of the family came much later. They handed over the burnt child to the police which took it to the PGI where the doctors declared her brought dead.

COMMUNITY

Campaigning ends, focus shifts to meetings
Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 28
The last day of canvassing saw the BSP candidate, Manav Mehra, holding a roadshow in Mohali. Along with the former participant of Big Boss, Dolly Bindra, Mehra’s cavalcade wound its way through the residential and commercial areas of the city.

While addressing public rallies at Barhmajra Colony and Balongi, Mehra said: “I will work for villages and colonies of the Mohali constituency on priority. They have always been neglected by all the leaders.”

He said: “All the people living in colonies are living under pathetic conditions. Both the Congress and the Akali Dal have ruled for decades and both the parties have just exploited people living here. Once the BSP wins, this is going to change within first year. They have just used people of the rural areas of the Mohali constituency as vote banks and nothing more than that. Some of the villages do not even have proper link roads and water and sewerage facilities. This is what I will fight for.”

The Congress candidate, Balbir Singh Sidhu, held sector-level meetings to woo the voters. Addressing gatherings in different parts of the constituency, he said sensing its defeat the SAD was stooping to things like distributing liquor to entice voters. He said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, Capt Amarinder Singh, acknowledged that Mohali was a gateway of Punjab and was to be developed as a showcase city. He said the PPCC chief had very big plans for the city and had assured him that its representative would be assigned a very important position in the coming Congress government so that Mohali can be nurtured well.

On the other hand, the SAD candidate, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, organised meetings in different parts of the city. He said the Congress candidate had made big promises in the past five years but he had not done anything for the city but to increase his liquor business and demoralise the residents of Mohali. He said the upcoming international airport and the IT park were reflective of the development agenda of the SAD.

The PPP candidate, Bir Devinder went for door-to-door campaigning in the Mohali markets starting from his office in Phase 5. He said he was getting tremendous response from the youth who wanted a change in the system.

Mohali, January 28
It is the repeated request for his fans to sing the opening lines of one of his hit numbers “Mai teri maan di boli ayan” that Harbhajan Mann, famous Punjabi singer and actor, cannot not afford to ignore.

The famous Punjabi singer was campaigning for his uncle, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, the SAD candidate from the Mohali Assembly segment.

Before he finishes with the request to sing the opening lines from song “Mai teri maan di boli ayan” while addressing a small gathering of SAD supporters in HE quarters in Phase 7 here, a group of girls asks for his autograph. He acknowledges before moving ahead for a door-to-door campaign.

The singer finds himself exhausted as he moves from one phase to another to seek votes for the SAD candidate. On the way to the next residential pocket, Harbhajan is welcomed with nuts and resin while his fans and children follow him in different localities.

While trying to draw a parlance between his singing songs on promotion of Punjabi culture, Harbhajan draws the attention of the crowd towards the selfless social service rendered by Ramoowalia for the Punjab youth and women.

Chandigarh, January 28
Members of the Punjab Arts Council and its three akademis were in a deep shock to know about the sudden demise of its former chairman and the most distinguished Punjabi writer Sardar Kartar Singh Duggal.

Duggal had done a yeoman task in bringing laurels to Punjabi literature, art and general life by establishing Virsa Vihar Kendras in all major cities of Punjab. His remarkable writings have been translated into a number of foreign and Indian languages. The President of India had honoured him with Padma Bhushan. Besides, had had won many national and international awards like Soviet Land Nehru Award, National Sahit Akademi Award and an award by the Council of Indian Languages.

PAC chairperson Bibi Harjinder Kaur, Prof Rajpal Singh, Col Jasbir Bhullar, Dr Nahar Singh shared their memories of time spent with this great author. Sardar HS Khalsa, Dr SM Kant, Sardar Ranjodh Singh, RM Singh, Prof KK Tiwana, Dr Nirmal Dutt and Dr Rama Rattan paid tributes to the doyen of Punjabi literature.

Mohali, January 28
With the arrest of two youngsters, the Mohali police claims to have solved the robbery that took place on January 25 where miscreants looted two employees of a godown in Phase-7, Industrial Area. The police had registered the case against two persons on a complaint of Vishal, driver of a Canter.

The suspects have been identified as Sandeep Singh, alias Pinki, a resident of Mohali village, and Rajinder Sharma, a resident of Sector 38, Chandigarh.

Giving the information, SSP, Mohali, GS Bhullar stated that the police team led by DSP City-1 Sharanjit Singh had set up a naka near Dara Studio, Phase-6, where they stopped a motor cycle for checking. The SSP said during the checking, the police team recovered a .32 pistol, sharp-edged weapon, an empty cartridge and one cartridge from Sandeep Singh and a bag containing Rs 2,000 that was snatched from the employees and a steel punch.

The students of The British School, Panchkula, celebrated ‘Basant Panchmi’ with joy and fervor, offering prayers to Goddess Saraswati. The students were dressed colourfully and brought yellow-coloured food in their lunch boxes. The teaching staff too was seen wearing yellow-coloured clothes. —TNS

Chandigarh, January 28
After witnessing the lukewarm response for admissions to nursery in government schools, the UT education department is planning to invite applications once again in a bid to fill all the seats.

For around 2500 seats available, the department managed to get not more than 1200 applications.

A meeting would be held on Monday for the final decision.

DPI schools Sandeep Hans said that all the schools have been asked to prepare the data reagrding seats left vacant, on the basis of which further decision would be taken. “We are planning that admissions to the applicants who have already applied will be made first and fresh applications will be invited after that,” DPI said.

The DPI further said that, if required, the rule that the applicants can be submitted only in school in their neighbourhood would also be relaxed. “In a bid to fill all the seats, the rule can be relaxed after first round applicants are dealt with,” he said.

He also added that there were a few schools that received more applications then the seats they offered. “Government Model School in Sector 8 and 10, Modern Housing Complex, Mani Majra, have received a large number of applications,” he added.