Chandigarh, February 9
Three persons were killed in separate road accidents in the city in the last 24 hours. While a milkman of Dhanas was crushed to death by a speeding Cruze car in Sector 35 this morning, a cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run case in Sector 18 last night. In another case, an unidentified person was killed by an Innova car in Sector 43 last night.

The 38-year-old resident of Dhanas died when a speeding Cruze car hit him from the rear near the Sector 35 market this morning. The victim, Harwinder Singh, was on his motorcycle when he was hit. He was declared brought dead at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16.

The police has arrested the driver of the Cruze car, Goldy Aggarwal (28), who is the vice-president of India Bulls Company for causing death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC.

The mishap occurred when Harwinder Singh had gone to supply milk in Sector 35. He fell on the road after he was hit and received grievous head injuries. His turban too came off. The police shifted him to the hospital while he was in a pool of blood.

The victim is survived by his wife and two children. He was the sole breadwinner of his family. Sources said his brother, too, died in an accident in city last year.

In a blind hit-and-run case, a 57-year-old resident of Khuda Ali Sher died after an unidentified person in a car hit him on the Sector 18/19 dividing road last night. The victim, Umed Singh, who works as a peon in the Haryana Secretariat, was on his bicycle when the mishap occurred. He was returning home after watching a programme at Tagore Theatre.

There were no eyewitnesses at the spot. The police has registered a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC at the Sector 19 police station.

In yet another mishap, an unidentified person was killed after he was hit by a speeding Innova car in Sector 43 last night. The victim was crossing the road and had come out of the liquor vend and was going towards the Sector 43 ISBT when the mishap occurred. He started to run on seeing the Innova car, puzzling the driver. He was dragged for a distance and his head hit the road, following which he died on the spot. The police has arrested the driver of the Innova car, identified as Bahadur Singh.

Only yesterday, a seven-year-old girl had died in an accident on the Sector 18/21 dividing road when she fell from an autorickshaw.

Chandigarh, February 9
Kunaldeep Gautam (19), a youngster aiming to be a singer, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Sector22 here today.

Kunal, who was pursuing a hardware course, had dreams of becoming a world-famous singer. As per information, Kunal’s parents had scolded him for coming home late last night, followed which he took the extreme step.

According to sources, Kunal went to sleep in the drawing room and today his father found him hanging with a shirt.

Later, he was taken to a hospital in Sector 16, where he was declared brought dead.

“He was a jolly boy who always used to come and ask if he sings well or not. His family supported him well. Next month, he was to turn 20. His family had asked him to shift with his elder brother to Dubai, but he refused. It is a shock for us and his family as well,” said a neighbour.

According to the investigative officer, the police is awaiting the postmortem report to move further.

Chandigarh, February 9
Six advocates were today booked by the Chandigarh Police for misusing the symbol of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and using it on their website. Those booked include a father and son duo residing in Sector 21 here.

A case of attempt to commit impersonation, destroying evidence, criminal conspiracy under Sections 419,511,201,120-B of the IPC, Section 5 of the Emblem Prevention of Improper Use Act-1950 and 66/A, 66/D IT Act-2000 has been registered against them.

The case was registered following the complaint of another advocate Siddhartha Sanwaria of Sector 21, who procured the information after filing an RTI application in the high court.

The advocates who have been booked have been identified as ID Singla, his son Vivek Singla of Sector 21, Sushil Kumar of Naya Gaon, AS Sidhu of Mohali, Manoj Thakur of Shimla and Aseem Sahni of Jammu. As per the FIR registered in the Sector 19 police station, the accused had constituted a law firm and used the symbol of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the website, posing themselves as standing counsel of the high court.

Advocate Sanwaria filed the police complaint on the basis of the reply received through the RTI application from the high court authorities, in which the authorities stated that nobody could use the symbol of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The complaint was filed in September, 2011, and it was being investigated by the cyber crime cell of the Chandigarh Police.

The FIR was registered after an inquiry by the police. The booked advocates have, however, refuted the allegations, calling these a conspiracy against them. The advocates claimed that their law firm was legally valid.

Panchkula, February 9
There could not have been a quintessential example of Valentine Week better than the story of Dharminder Kumar, who served jail sentence for absconding with his lover, who was minor at that point of time and coming out of jail and marrying her again, much to the discomfort of the girl’s family. To add a little icing to the marriage pudding, the couple has approached the Panchkula Court for protection.

Dharminder (24) was jailed for absconding with his lover, Deepa Sharma, who was a minor in March 2010. Dharminder came out after the acquittal from the case in December 2010 and again absconded with the love of his life, who had now turned 18 and had been waiting for him all this time.

As it was an inter-caste marriage, suspecting a threat to their lives, the couple approached the Panchkula court for protection and was sent to protection home for runaway couples in the police lines, Panchkula.

Last time, the couple had eloped in March 2010, when Deepa was a minor. In March 2010, Deepa’s father, Mohan Chand, a resident of Sector 4, Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula, had registered an FIR under the charges of 376 (rape), 366 (kidnapping) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC against Dharminder in the Mansa Devi police station.

After the FIR, the police traced the couple in Delhi. Thereafter, the Panchkula police filed a chargesheet against Dharminder. But during the trial, the Panchkula police failed to produce evidence against Dharminder, which resulted in his acquittal on December 22, 2010.

The couple’s counsel Manvir Rathi said during the trial, Deepa used to meet Dharminder whenever he was produced in the Panchkula court. Not only during court proceedings but also after the acquittal, the couple continued to meet.

On September 1, 2011, when Deepa turned 18, Dharminder and Deepa informed girl’s parents about their marriage plans but they did not agree. Thereafter, they tried till January end but in vain. Finally, they decided to marry and on February 7 tied the nuptial knot at Khera at a in Mansa Devi Complex in the presence of witnesses.

Chandigarh, February 9
The Metro would start running in the city by 2018. This is what RC Sharma, Joint General Manager, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), asserted in his presentation on the Chandigarh Metro Project at the Administrator’s Advisory Council meeting at UT Guest House here today.

“Different activities such as topographic survey, geotechnical investigation, traffic forecast, planning of horizontal and vertical alignment have been done and social impact assessment will start soon. If we manage to begin work by the next year, we would complete the first phase in just five years, i.e. by 2018,” said Sharma.

The 37.69-km Metro rail project costing Rs 8,388 crore is on the verge of kicking off here, he added. As many as 12 underground and 18 elevated Metro stations would be constructed.

While giving the presentation on the upcoming Master Plan, UT Chief Architect Sumit Kaur said an expert committee had been constituted for the preparation of the Master Plan of Chandigarh and an overall analysis had been done for the purpose.

The Heritage Committee has recommended to protect the heritage buildings of the city by sticking to the original concept of Le Corbusier’s plan.

“A study has been done in order to understand the problem and making new proposals for housing, social infrastructure, commercial and industrial areas of the city. Street vendors would be accommodated by constructing street vending zones in the near future,” she said.

According to the plan, a ring road would be constructed around Chandigarh on the pattern of NCR, Delhi, to ease traffic in the city. Besides, the existing pedestrian and cycle tracks would be reconstructed for the convenience of the city residents.

In a bid to upgrade the education system here, the Administrator, Shivraj Patil, directed the officials concerned to introduce smart classrooms and other hi-tech electronic gadgets in schools apart from introducing distant education system.

Sanjay Tandon, president of the local BJP unit and member of the council, stressed strengthening the system. “We lack decision-making which resulted in many vital issues such as review of charges for premises misuse, garbage plant, sanitation and the problems faced by the industrialists due to ‘outdated’ rules getting pending,” said Tandon.

Chandigarh, February 9
It was not less than a ‘shock’ for several members of the various committees of the Administrator’s Advisory Council, when they found policemen knocking at their doors past midnight. They were delivering copies of the revised agenda of the council’s meeting, which was scheduled for today at 11 am.

“They (the UT administration) did not want that the members come at the meeting without doing their homework’. So they did the exercise without taking into consideration the time,” a member of the council, who was given the agenda at 2 am, said sarcastically.

“What a time to deliver the revised agenda. Firstly my entire family was scared when our doorbell rang at the odd hour. When we saw cops standing outside, we all were shocked,” said the member, preferring anonymity.

The irony was that the revised agenda contained nothing new and the inclusion was the issues like health, education, transportation and the Master Plan.

“These were common issues and how they first forgot while making the agenda. In the revised agenda, there was mention of the issues without any specific details. So what was the fun in delivering that at such odd hours,” said Sanjay Tandon, adding that he was given the revised agenda at around 12.30 am.

Another old-aged member, while complaining about the ‘overzealous’ step, said he was sleeping after taking sleeping pills when the policemen knocked at his door at around 12.45 am.

Chandigarh, February 9
After prolonged discussions and despite vehement opposition by different resident associations, the Municipal Corporation has finally decided to consider imposing house tax in the city. In fact, the MC is also bringing up the agenda for the revision of the commercial property tax along with the property tax in the forthcoming house meeting on February 16.

As per the proposal, the authorities have agreed for the imposition of minimum house tax in the city. It could amount to 1 per cent of the value of the house. According to the proposal, in 2006 a memorandum of understanding was signed among Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, UT Administration and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM), according to which the authorities had to impose minimal house tax and hike water tariff to get regular grant for the ongoing development projects. Officials stated that to avail these grants, the corporation had decided to impose house tax to generate more funds for the corporation.

As per the proposal, the revision of the commercial property tax has also been mooted in the agenda. The department proposes minimal increase in the commercial tax on the property. Records of the corporation revealed that in 2004 the corporation had imposed commercial tax in the city, which had to be revised in 2007. But till date the authorities had not revised the tax, which will also be tabled in the House for discussion during this meeting.

Sources in the corporation revealed that UT Administrator Shiv Raj Patil had advised Mayor Raj Bala Malik to impose house tax to generate more revenue for their departments rather than look for more grants from the administration. A senior official of the administration said that the UT Administrator had also warned the Mayor that if the taxes were not imposed by the corporation, the JNNRUM grant by the Centre would also be hampered for the ongoing projects of the city.

In 2009 for five consecutive months, officials of the MC had sent the house tax issue to former mayor Kamlesh for her approval to be tabled in the house, but she rejected it without any reason. In fact, last year in May, the House Tax Assessment Committee deferred the issue for the imposition of the house tax.

Besides, the issue of getting approval for the constitution of two new sub-committees for health and education will be tabled for the approval of the General House.

Chandigarh/Panchkula, February 9
Auto-rickshaws packed with students and their bags bulging out is a common sight in Chandigarh and Panchkula. Throwing the rules to winds, auto-rickshaw drivers pack their vehicles to capacity, without ensuring children’s safety and security.

Even the State Transport Authority (STA) and the Chandigarh police seem to have turned a blind eye to such blatant violations.

Thousands of schoolstudents are ferried by auto-rickshaws daily. But, the authorities concerned have failed to check the plying of overloaded auto-rickshaws, putting students’ lives to risk.

Many students are crammed into single auto-rickshaw way beyond its capacity. Parked haphazardly on the main roads in front of schools, these vehicles have proved to be a traffic hazard.

According to some parents, combined efforts of the transport authorities and the police department are required but the officials of both the departments had no coordination on this issue. “The authorities should conduct a special drive against overloaded auto-rickshaws, as it is a crucial issue concerning the safety of children,” said Archna Dogra, a resident of Sector 11.

Manpreet Singh of Sector 20 said parents should not be after cheap transportation facilities but they should give priority to the safety of their children. “Parents must ensure that auto-rickshaw drivers do not carry extra children and follow all the traffic rules.''

Mahavir Kaushik, secretary, STA, said they regularly held special drives to challan auto-rickshaws carrying passengers beyond their capacity. “According to the rules, no auto-rickshaw can ferry more than three adult passengers or five children,” Kaushik said.

The situation is no different in Panchkula as despite the directions of the administration for a complete ban on the plying of overloaded auto-rickshaws in the city, auto-rickshaws flouting the rules can be easily spotted in the city. During the morning and afternoon hours, auto-rickshaws drivers carry kids above the permitted limit of 4-5 passengers in their vehicle, putting children’s lives in danger.

Parents say high charges of private school bus service force them to send their children in these auto-rickshaws. The situation is even worse on National Highway-73 from Panchkula to Barwala and National Highway 22 from Zirakpur to Kalka. Even as the auto-rickshaw drivers continue to violate the rules, the police authorities are doing little to check this menace.

Meanwhile, Panchkula DCP Maneesh Chaudhary said he had given directions to all the Station House Officers (SHO) to challan overloaded vehicles. He said they had started a drive to challan these overloaded autos and it will continue in the coming days.

Chandigarh, February 9
Even as the GMSH-16 authorities today marked an inquiry into the allegations of negligence in the death of an infant yesterday, CCTV footage viewed by the hospital officials belies the claim of the deceased's family that there was a delay of half an hour by doctors in attending to the infant.

Contrary to the claims of the family that the child was brought to the hospital at 3.30 pm, the CCTV footage shows their arrival at the emergency at about 3.59 pm. Talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, acting Deputy Medical Superintendent, Dr Rajesh Dheer, said the baby was attended upon immediately by the emergency medical officer, Dr Neena Chaudhry.

Since the child was an infant, he was referred to the Paediatric Emergency. However, instead of going straight to the Paediatric Emergency, the family erroneously entered the surgery ward but were out within a few seconds.

Dr Dheer said after initial examination in the Paediatric Emergency, the child was rushed to the resuscitation room at 4.08 pm as he was already dead. Efforts to revive him were made by inserting a pipe in his throat.

Dr Dheer said a three-member committee of doctors supervised the postmortem of the child today. The report of the same is awaited and it may take three or five months for the analysis of the viscera at the CFSL lab.

The inquiry is being conducted by Dr SK Bhalla of the psychiatry department.

Meanwhile, baby’s father, Ladoo Tiwari, said they had demanded that postmortem of the child should be conducted at the PGI. He said the baby had vomited in front of the doctors so how could he be brought dead.

Chandigarh, February 9
Green belts in the city have been turned into open casinos by daily wage earners and people with criminal background. The areas of Sector 42, Sector 38 (west), Sector 26 (back of the timber market), Sector 25 (residential area) and Sector 52 are hot spots for gamblers.

According to the information, there are small groups that work in various sectors and have their links among daily wage earners, mostly auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw-pullers and shopkeepers.

“For daily wage earners, gambling is the quickest way to make money. It totally depends upon one’s luck. We usually come here to play and moreover as many as 50 persons daily sit at these gambling spots and try their luck,” said a gambler.

According to the residents of the affected areas, these gamblers start playing at 10 am and continue till 5 pm. The calculation of what one wins and loses is done on a notebook and moreover these people also have sources in the police.

“These people usually come in the morning and play till sunset. We cannot even complain to the police as some people with criminal background also come here daily,” said a resident of Sector 42. When asked if they have complained it to the police, he added: “We are afraid of these people with criminal background and moreover we have to live here after all”.

Another resident of Sector 25 said: “On Sundays and other holidays the ground remains full of these people. They usually come here and sometimes drink also.”

When contacted, DSP (South) BS Negi said: “There is a difference between gambling and playing cards at a ground. If the SHO concerned had received any query regarding gambling he must have taken action”. According to Sukhbir Rana, SHO, Police Station, Sector 36, “We will check if any illegal work is going on at the place. We cannot fine or take action against people who play cards at grounds for recreation. However, we will take up the matter,” said Rana.

Chandigarh, February 9
Yet another case of alleged highhandedness by the Haryana police has come to light.

A security guard posted at an ATM has alleged that he was beaten up mercilessly by the cops without any reason. Acting on his petition, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has put on notice the State of Haryana, the Director General of Police, Ambala Superintendent of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police and four other respondents.

In his petition, Harikesh of Bhanokheri village in Ambala district alleged at around 2.30 am on September 25, past year, three police officials arrived at the spot in a PCR Gipsy. One of them, constable Balkar Singh, started beating him "without any reason or cause".

His counsel JS Saini added head constable Bhag Singh also started beating the petitioner after entering the ATM booth, after he asked the reason behind the attack on him.

“The petitioner was mercilessly beaten up by both these police officials. They forcibly pulled the petitioner out of the ATM booth" and pinned him on the ground.

Saini added on the petitioner’s behalf that head constable Bhag Singh then took Rs 500 from his pocket before handing over Rs 200 to ASI Prem Nath, and Rs 100 to constable Balkar Singh.

“All of them threatened the petitioner they will again beat him, if he did not pay Rs 500 monthly to them as like other security guards”.

Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner approached the Superintendent of Police, Ambala, vide representation dated September 28, 2011, seeking legal action against the three accused. But, till date legal action has not been initiated on the petitioner’s representation, Saini insisted.

Seeking directions for the registration of a case against Prem Nath, Bhag Singh and Balkar Singh, Saini added the petitioner’s life and liberty was in danger as the “accused were roaming freely without any fear”.

They were not only making rounds of the house where the petitioner and his family resides, but were also using filthy language. The petitioner may even be “implicated in some false case or they may succeed in getting the case compromised by threatening the petitioner and his family, Saini added. The case will now come up for hearing on March 28.

Chandigah, February 9
Three constables of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) of the Chandigarh police have been held guilty of vandalism act for damaging public property during a political rally in March, 2011.

Three constables, including Sukhbir Singh, Pawan Kumar and Swadesh, had been suspended in the preliminary probe.

These constables were held guilty by Deputy Commandant (IRB) Gursharandeep Singh.

The incident had occurred during a rally of a political party when more than 50 vehicles were damaged near Beant Singh Memorial in Sector 42 on March 17, 2011.

In December, 2011, the police had served censure notices on five police personnel, including SI Prem Nath, ASI Suresh Kumar, head constable Ramesh Kumar, constables Dilbag Singh and Kulwinder Singh.

Chandigarh, February 9
A continuous medical education (CME) programme on “Childhood epilepsy in office practice” will be conducted on February 12. The CME would focus on practical aspects of childhood.

The organising team will be lead by Prof Pratibha Singhi, chief of child neurology and neuro-development at PGIMER, Chandigarh. The CME will be attended by more than 100 delegates from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh.

The main focus will to impart practical information that translates into patient care and benefit. There will be deliberate attempt to avoid theoretical lectures and focus on one-to-one interaction. Knowledge and skills acquired in the CME would improve care of children with epilepsy. Moreover, the participants would get four hours of CME credit from the Punjab Medical Council. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 9
The 6th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment celebrated its golden jubilee at Chandi Mandir military station today. Raised on this day in 1962 at Meerut, the battalion has a rich history of valour, sacrifices and martial traditions spanning over the past five decades.

The battalion was awarded a Battle Honour for the defence of Poonch during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

For its sterling performance in Jammu and Kashmir from 1989-1992, the unit was awarded the prestigious Chief of Army Staff Citation.

The battalion’s retired fraternity, including a large number of war veterans, had come from distances afar to attend the celebrations. They relived old memories with nostalgia.

The Headquarters (Western Command) also felicitated the battalion on the occasion, with the command’s Chief of staff, Lt-Gen Baljeet Singh, presenting it a silver trophy.

Panchkula, February 9
The Haryana Vigilance Bureau today issued warrants against the four accused including the Pinjore MC President and Secretary in the Rs 1.17 crore Pinjore municipal scam.

Sources said the bureau issued warrants against the Pinjore MC president Kuldeep Singh, Secretary Kashmiri Lal Bansal, MC clerk Hargu Lal and contractor Charanjit Singh.

Meanwhile, the bureau also issued notices to five councillors, Sanjeev Kumar, Jagmohan Dhiman, Amarchand, Avinash Kaur and Chinder Pal, to join investigation who were recently granted interim bail by the Panchkula district court.

Sources added that the vigilance bureau has issued warrants after they failed to arrest these accused despite a number of raids on their premises and office. After the warrants, the bureau would move court for the attachment of their properties. In this case, a contractor Mohan Lal, has already been arrested.

These accused siphoned money in the name of manufacturing iron covers for drains, clearing debris, cleaning of underground septic tanks and putting up traffic light points.

The Pinjore MC had given the contract of removing debris after demolitions of shops in Pinjore, to Mohan Lal in 2008-2009 allegedly without proper procedure on false quotations. A total of Rs 9.49 lakh were embezzled without any work, the vigilance report had said, adding that the shopkeepers had to remove the debris themselves.

In the second case, instead of Rs 10,000, a contract of Rs 6.92 lakh was awarded to Lal without any tender or advertisement, for the cleaning of five safety tanks.

Besides the above scams, no tender was called for awarding contract for iron sieve grills over drains in the Pinjore MC wards in 2008-09. A total of Rs 85.18 lakh were embezzled on basis of fake bills as no grills were found during survey as per the claimed bills.

Another contract for putting up traffic lights at the T-intersection at Pinjore bus stand in 2007-08 was given to Kamal Bhatia alias Sonu of Sonu Electricals, Kalka, without a tender notice and he was paid Rs 10.01 lakh. He was not even an authorised dealer. On technical advice, it was found that only Rs 6,56,575 was spent, causing the MC a loss of Rs 3,44,675.

Panchkula, February 9
Two days after the registration of an FIR under the charges of attempt to rape against the Gurudwara Nada Sahib manager, both the parties have reportedly reached at compromise.

Sources said that complainant Bahadur Singh, his wife and the Bhupinder Singh (manager) and other accused would soon file an application before the court seeking cancellation of the case.

On the other side, a senior official of the Panchkula police said that they are not aware about the development and are busy in investigation.

The Panchkula police had registered an FIR against the Bhupinder Singh, a manager at Gurudwara Nada Sahib and three other persons under the charges of attempt to rape and voluntarily causing hurt. on Tuesday.

Bahadur, who works as sewardar at Gurdwara, had lodged a compliant with the police station, Chandimandir, alleging that Bhupinder Singh had called him at his office and when he along with his wife went to his office, he was beaten up by the manager and four other persons on Sunday.

He had also alleged that Bhupinder tried to outrage the modesty of his wife.

Mohali, February 9
Allotment of flats is assured for certain categories under GMADA’s Purab Premium Apartment scheme as a very few applications have been received in such categories.

GMADA had launched its 4,500 multi-storeyed flats scheme in Sector 88 in December and the draw for the apartments will be held soon. Priced between Rs 37 lakh and Rs 69 lakh, the 15-storeyed flats have been categorised into one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. A total of 11987 applications have been received by GMADA for the three categories of flats.

The development authority had worked out 29 different categories under which applicants could apply for the premium apartments. Though good response to the scheme was received for the general (11035), scheduled castes B (485), defence personnel-C (171), riot/terrorist victim (66) and disabled persons (160) categories yet there were seven such categories for which not even a single application had been received by GMADA. These categories were for sports/Olympic games/ gold (S 1) and silver (S 2) medal winners and the gallantry award winners.

As only two applications were received for soldiers/policemen disabled on duty, one for sports/Olympics/bronze medals (S 3), one each for sports/Asian Games/silver (S 5) and bronze (S 6) medal winners, two for sports/Common Wealth Games/ gold medal winners (S 7), one for sports/ Common Wealth Games/silver medal winners (S 8), one for sports/Common Wealth Games/bronze medal winners (S 9), two for gallantry award winners/Vir Chakra (G 3), two for gallantry award winners/Shaurya Chakra (G 6), one for gallantry award winners/Presidents Police Chakra (G 7) and three for gallantry award winners/ (Sena/Nau/Vayu Medal (G 9) categories, assured allotment in each case was going to take place.

Parveen Kumar Thind, additional chief administrator, said that the allottees would be given state-of-the-art flats which would be the first of its kind in this part of the country. An underground parking would be provided apart from garbage chutes. All towers would be interlinked. The construction would be carried out by keeping in mind the requirements of seismic zone four.

Mohali, February 9
Yet another fire broke in Phase I Rehri Market in the wee hours today morning. The fire damaged the items kept in four kiosks. Though the local administration is yet to ascertain loss suffered by the shopkeepers yet sources said that the total amount of loss was around Rs 4 lakh.

The fire department officials said the fire apparently broke out from a ‘dhaba’ and spread to the nearby shops that were used to store utensils and watches.

Timely intervention by the fire department saved the fire from spreading to nearby shops. On December 24, 2011, seven kiosks were burnt after a fire broke out from the same ‘dhaba’ in the market around midnight.

Chandigarh, February 9
Reacting to the reported collapse of Panjab University’s accounts and audit branch, the PU Teachers’ Association (PUTA) has decided to hold a rally on February 22 to attract the authorities attention towards the problems being faced by teachers.

In its executive meeting, PU members expressed their concern over depletion of regular staff leading to rampant ad hoc on matters that have serious bearing on the academic output of the faculty. Despite claims by the administration that the arrears accruing on account of revision of pay scales have been disbursed to the teachers, the fact of the matter is that still more than 35 teachers have not been given their arrears.

“The teachers promoted to higher positions have to wait for months for fixation of their salary in the new grades. Untrained daily wagers are handling serious accounts work and that to disproportionate to the strength. PUTA had sent a letter to the Vice-Chancellor citing a number of complaints received from the faculty members, highlighting serious anomalies in the functioning of accounts and audit branch. Adjustment of bills remains pending due to the inept handling and frivolous objections. The principle investigators of research projects find it difficult to continue with their projects under such circumstances. The situation has taken a worst turn as researchers now are reluctant to take up new projects,” said PUTA president, Prof Akshay Kumar.

Mohali, February 9
Even as the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is gearing itself for the March examinations to be held through the semester system, it has issued notices to 820 schools for failing to submit grades of internal assessment of their students who appeared in the semester exams in September 2011.

The missing grades were brought to the notice of the board by the computer firm that had been hired to prepare the results. The students, whose grading numbers did not reach the board, have been shown as “result awaited”. Now, the schools have been asked to provide duplicate copies of their record supposedly sent to the board.

A senior official in the examination branch said the schools had to show their record so that the result could be updated.

On the other hand, a number of schools lament that they have sent the internal grading numbers well in time. Some are learnt to have approached the board with the documentary proof to show that the record had been sent. “As the students have to appear for the March exams, tension of result awaited for the first semester is giving sleepless night to many students,” said the principal of a private school who did not wish to be quoted.

Sources said it was not the first time that award had gone missing. The school is supposed to submit the record well in time much ahead of the declaration of the results. “The matter needs to be probed to ascertain the truth,” said the school principal.

Chandigarh, February 9
The annual psycho fest was organised by the department of psychology of Postgraduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42. Students of the department diligently prepared working models depicting themes like motivation, learning and phobias.

Principal Mani Bedi inaugurated the fest and appreciated the efforts of the faculty and students.

Dr Urvashi Roul, head of the psychology department, enumerated that free psychological test relating to personality, anxiety and depression were also conducted. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 9
In lieu of the forthcoming board examinations of classes X and XII, the UT education department today constituted a panel of counsellors to aid students in dealing with exams related stress and subject specific problems.

The counsellors team comprises of principals, lecturers, subject expert, mistress and even officials of the education department.

“Owing to heavy rush on the CBSE helpline, we have started this helpline to help students of the tricity and give them a little more individual attention. Even parents are invited to get their queries answered,” said an official.

The helpline will remain open from February 15 to March 31 between 2 pm to 8 pm.

Chandigarh, February 9
Over 200 students of Postgraduate Government College, Sector 11, pledged to support the “Smoke-Free City” campaign, as they formed a human chain on the college premises today.

As a part of the awareness campaign launched by the Cancer Awareness Society of the college, a newsletter “Caswrap” encapsulating yearlong activities was released by dean college instructions, Dr Ramneek Sharma.

She congratulated the students and faculty members for their zealous endeavour in bringing awareness among the city youth about the dreaded disease of cancer.

“It has been a unique experience for all of us, as creating awareness about the dreaded disease has not only made us empathise with those affected by the disease but also sensitised us in a deeper way to come forward and extend our support and concern,” remarked coordinator, Prof Aparna Kaushal.