Panchkula, April 6
Though the Pinjore-Kalka-Parwanoo bypass on National Highway 22 has been thrown open to the public, there seems to be no respite for commuters as traffic jams take place at the Chandi Mandir toll plaza now.

A survey revealed that vehicles were getting stuck in long queues at the toll plaza. It took between 15 and 20 minutes to pay toll.

There was less vehicular traffic as banks and other business establishments in Chandigarh were closed on account of Good Friday.

Some maxi-cab drivers enquired from personnel issuing receipts at the counters on how to get monthly passes, which further delayed vehicular movement. Those manning counters advised them to come later. On seeing long serpentine queues, the toll plaza staff directed those driving heavy trucks to one lane and those driving small and medium vehicles to other lanes.

Commuters expressed satisfaction at the newly opened four-laned bypass. They said the toll plaza management should have set up more counters.

They said it took them between 25 and 30 minutes to cover the 18-km bypass stretch, but more than 15 minutes to pay toll.

There was some relief for commuters at Kalka as most vehicles were driven through the bypass. Pinjore continued to witness heavy vehicular traffic as heavy and medium trucks and state roadways buses passed through the town.

Chandigarh, April 6
A brawl was reported at the night food street in Sector 11 here last night. Four youths, who were in an inebriated state, bashed up a constable on duty and tore his uniform.

The incident showcased poor police presence as there was no PCR van parked at the spot when the scuffle took place. The PCR van, which used to be stationed there, was not parked yesterday. Police sources said vans were diverted to near roundabouts to safeguard posters of gully cricket.

The constable was objecting to wrong parking of their car when he was bashed up. The police arrested the four youths, including one who had returned from Australia. A case of assault on public servant under Sections 353 and 506 of the IPC was registered.

Those arrested were identified as Kirandeep Singh, Manish Kaushik, Sunny Kumar and Ankit Jain. They hailed from Ferozepur and belonged to business families. All of them were students enrolled in private institutes.

The SHO of the Sector-11 police station, inspector Gurmukh Singh, said the four youths had come from Ferozepur to meet someone at Mohali. He added that they came to the night food street here for dinner after consuming beer in their Alto car. Constable Ashok Kumar, who was posted there, objected to wrong parking.

A scuffle ensued and one of the youths caught hold of the constable’s collar. He then roughed him up and they also tore his uniform.

The constable passed a message on his wireless set and a police party reached the spot. One of the youths was arrested from the spot.

Three others fled and were later arrested. The four youths were produced in court today and sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Chandigarh, April 6
A day after the UT police arrested four persons for running a door-to-door domestic help agency and then decamping with the jewellery of employers, four more families approached the police that they had been duped in a similar fashion.

The four members of the gang had also duped owners of a house each at Sectors 7, 28 and 49 in Chandigarh and the Mansa Devi Complex in Panchkula. The police said it was verifying the role of four other persons in Delhi, who ran a parallel gang.

The police had dispatched teams to Delhi and Hisar to trace the accused. The police added that Gaurav of Delhi was the prime accused and a hunt to nab him was on.

The case was registered on the complaint of Sandeep Singh Sandhu of Sector 11, who reported that Kamal, Radhika Das, Sneha and Raju had provided them a maid, who fled with valuables the day after being employed.

Sandeep had seen a pamphlet advertising domestic helps and tied up with the Delhi-based firm for providing a domestic help. The maid was hired at Rs 5,000 per month and a security of Rs 20,000 was given.

Kamal and Radhika came to his house and Kamal left Radhika there after taking Rs 20,000. The next morning, Radhika decamped with jewellery and other valuables. The police said Radhika used to change her name at every house her services were hired. 

Chandigarh, April 6
After successful liver transplant, the PGI is gearing up for heart transplant. If everything goes well, the region will have the super-speciality at this premier health institute by next year.

While infrastructure is already in place, permission in this regard has been pending with the Union Health Ministry. Though the authorities are tight-lipped over the prestigious project, sources have said T Shyam K Singh will soon leave for advance training to the USA.

Heart transplants are performed for end-stage heart diseases. Patients have symptoms like repeated heart attacks, bloated stomach, fluid collection in chest and difficulty in breathing.

The world’s first human heart transplant was performed in 1967. In India, the first such surgery was performed by Dr P Venugopal and his team at the AIIMS, New Delhi, in 1994.

Heart donation is rare in India. About 10,000 heart-failure patients require heart transplant, but only four undergo the surgery due to lack of donors.

The survival rate of persons undergoing heart transplant has improved over the last decade. Nearly 88 per cent survive the first year after transplant, 72 per cent survive for five years and nearly 50 per cent survive for 10 years, say experts. 

Panchkula, April 6
Even though the opening of the Pinjore-Parwanoo bypass has brought cheers to the shopkeepers in the Kalka town, there is no relief for the traders in Pinjore as there is no decline in the vehicular traffic passing through the area.

Most of the trucks heading towards the industrial town of Baddi and Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh pass through the narrow road passing through the main bazar in the area leading to traffic jams during office hours. Most of the workers pass through the in their own vehicles or by official vehicles during morning and evening hours, resulting in a jam.

Rakesh Kumar, a shopkeeper, said he would not be benefited by the opening of the bypass as tourists, who used to come Pinjore in large numbers to visit the historic Yadavindra Garden, whould now avoid visiting his shop as there was no parking space left in the area. He said the government should construct an additional bypass connecting Mallah More with the Baddi road for a smooth flow of traffic in their area.

A man pushes his car after it broke down.

Darshan Singh, a fruit juice seller, said visitors avoid visiting his shop in view of the dust raised by heavy traffic passing their shops. He said the government should consider constructing an additional bypass to solve their problem.

Some of the residents lament that they would have to shell out Rs 34 as toll tax (to and fro) for the 10 km or 16 km journey besides the expenses on fuel. He said the government should issue concessional passes to them. They said they were already affected due to inflation and this extra burden would further disturb their domestic budget.

Meanwhile, shopkeepers in Kalka are a happier lot as the local bazar witnessed lesser traffic with the opening up of the bypass today.

Gulshan Kumar, who sells items carved out of stone and marble, said earlier visitors would hardly visit his shop as there was no parking space in front of it due to rush of heavy traffic on the road. He said today many tourists from other states came to his shop to purchase the items. 

Chandigarh, April 6
The women suffering from fibroids have a ray of hope to get rid of this health complication as the PGI is in the process of installing High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). This was revealed during the Interventional Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology Continuing Medical Education programme organised at the PGI yesterday.

Through HIFU, a high energy ultrasound beam is focused onto fibroid. This generates heat and ablates lesion. This treatment is planned and monitored by using an MRI simultaneously which is used to generate thermal maps and records the temperature profile of a lesion. This technique is at present not being used anywhere in Northern India.

The machine has proved a big success in the treatment of such lesions and no incision is required for this therapy, said Dr Maurice Van Den Bosch from the Netherlands. The focus of the programme was the role of interventional radiology in diseases affecting women. Fibroids are benign lesions which occur in the uterus and may lead to excessive bleeding during menstruation. 

Chandigarh, April 6
To tide over the diesel crisis that has affected the plying of buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), the Chandigarh Administration will now be asking for a revised budget to bridge the gap between the demand and supply.

Against the allocated budget of Rs 37 crore, the CTU will now be demanding a budget of Rs 47 crore. “We are hopeful that the Centre will revise the budget,” confirmed a senior UT official.

The immediate fallout of the budget was difficulty in meeting the day-to-day demand of fuel to run the fleet of the CTU buses. Sources said though a number of low-floor buses and new AC buses had been added to the fleet of buses but the budget has not been accordingly increased.

In the past few months, over 100 buses have gone off the road due to the shortage of diesel. This not only affects the business of the state transport undertaking but also gives the bus service a bad name.

The official said to tide over the shortage, the CTU had to take diesel on credit. The state transport undertaking needs an additional Rs 10 crore to bridge the gap of 25 lakh litres of diesel in demand and supply.

In the present situation, the proposal of the CTU to add another 80 low-floor buses looks nowhere in sight. 

Chandigarh, April 6
There is resentment among leaders of the Congress that the bureaucrats in the city are not entertaining their issues whereas the Opposition leaders’ problems were solved speedily by them. The issue was raised by leaders at a party-level meeting today. It was held under the chairmanship of the Congress president, BB Bhel. Senior party leaders also alleged that a majority of the officials did not even take note of the issues which they took up with them.

Taking serious note of this, it was decided that the matter would be taken up with the Member of Parliament Pawan Kumar Bansal. Senior leaders also raise the issue that the performance of the Congress in the recent Municipal Corporation elections was not up to the mark, resultantly many senior leaders had tasted defeat.

Showing concern over the issue, the meeting decided that meetings would be conducted by the workers of the party in the future to chalk out plans for the Lok Sabha elections. It was decided bu thoser attending tha attending the party-level that a meeting would be conducted on April 8 in which all the 26 candidates, who had fought the MC elections and some senior party leaders would take part. 

Chandigarh, April 6
Renowned medical experts will address the gathering at the World Health Day celebrations being organised by the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA), local branch, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), here tomorrow.

A symposium is being organised in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the advanced paediatric centre to mark the occasion.

Former director ICMR, New Delhi, and president, Jawahar Lal Nehru Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, will be the chief guest.

Experts from internal medicine, psychiatry department and school of public health from PGIMER, Chandigarh, and WHO representative will deliberate on medical and psychosocial problems among elderly, national programme for elderly, vaccine for elderly and the role of Ayush in management of elderly problems.

Representatives of senior citizens will also voice their views about the problems of senior citizens in the UT Chandigarh. Implementation guidelines are likely to emerge from this discussion for the senior citizens of Chandigarh.

The theme of the World Health Day, 2012, is ageing and health with a focus on the slogan “Good health adds life to years”.

Due to technological advancements, there is increase in the number of people reaching old age. The number of people aged 60 and over has doubled since 1980.

Chandigarh, April 6
Punjab-based lawyer and former Additional Advocate General Harpreet Sandhu has authored a book titled “Indo-European Legal System- A Comparative Study” based on his past three years research study on European legal sytem and courts, during his constant visits to the various courts in the Europe. The book is scheduled to be released in India this month.

Sandhu, was invited by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court at Lausanne (Switzerland) for the release of the first edition of his book. The book was released by the Deputy Secretary General. The book has been placed in the Trinity Hall in Cambridge University’s library as valuable edition.

The book contains information on the legal systems, the structure and the functioning of the courts in the UK, France, Belgium and Switzerland. He said: “In the UK, the courts are the final arbiter between citizen and the state serving as a fundamental pillar of the Constitution. In most cases, there’s no automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court. The upcoming book will also be covering a chapter on the Swiss laws and court functioning.”

Sandhu states that during his book launch, the Europe also allowed him to interact with the legal luminaries and get a new understanding of the two justice systems and making the comparison with the European Legal System.

Chandigarh, April 4
To help out langoor ‘Manu’, who has been posted at the UT Secretariat building for the safety of the VVIPs, his friend ‘Mangal’ joined him today in dealing with the monkey menace.

According to the information, earlier the handlers of the langoor had decided to bring ‘Basanti’, a female langoor, available with the UT forest and wildlife department but as her pups are small and these days she is looking after them, Mangal has been brought to help Manu.

A senior official of the UT forest and wildlife department said both langoors have been put on duty because if one goes to deal with monkey menace in any other area of the city then the other one should be available at the secretariat.

Recently, monkeys had attacked a female employee of the UT Administration and an employee posted in the police headquarters. Thereafter, the UT Administration forwarded a letter to the UT forest and wildlife department to deploy a langoor on special duty around the UT Secretariat and the police headquarters building.

Sources added the UT forest and wildlife department paid Rs 7,500 each per month to the trainers of both the langoors. But sources added that the amount was not enough for the trainers as around Rs 3,500 per month was spent on the food for each langoor and ultimately Rs 3,500 was left for the handlers.

Chandigarh, April 6
“Shakhon se tuut jayen voh paate nahin hain ham, aandhi se koi keh de ke aukaat mein rahe.” The Urdu couplet by Rahat Indori is the veritable summation of the courage and conviction, which over 150 special underprivileged children displayed at the stage of the Tagore Theatre here today.

The fifth edition of the annual event titled “Smiling Future” organised by Youth United was aimed at providing a platform for the special children, who, too, are not the lesser children of God.

The children were invited from academies, including Prayaas, Pustak, Hamari Kaksha, Regional Institute for Mentally Retarded, St Anne’s, Jask Shan Dance Dacha, Raman and Rahul Academy and Dance World.

The three-hour non-stop show not only mesmerised the audience but also made them empathise with the needy and less privileged. People donated in huge amounts and the amount raised will be donated to the performing schools, disclosed Saloni Bajaj.

Chief guest Raja Bala Malik, city Mayor, expressed her appreciation for organisers and enthusiastic participants.

Chandigarh, April 6
Two Punjabi plays titled “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Nawan Janam” were staged during the second edition of Gursharan Singh Naat Utsav at the Punjab Kala Bhavan here today.

Both plays, written by legendary thespian Gursharan Singh, debated many issues related to socio-cultural and political scenario in the country. The opening play “Inquilab Zindabad” defined the sanctity of patriotism, what it meant to martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who made supreme sacrifices to secure freedom. The play also analysed the present-day concept of patriotism through the narratives by an old Baba in chains, who remained witness to the times of Pre and Post-Independence days.

Director and lead actor, Dr Sahib Singh enlivened the portrayal of Baba, earlier immortalised by late Gursharan Singh. The play established direct contact with audience as Baba narrates the sequence of events from the saga of struggle for freedom, including historic events like the arrival and opposition of Simon Commission, brutal lathi charge on Lala Lajpat Rai, dropping of bomb in the assembly and killing of Sandras by Bhagat Singh and associates. The serious but absorbing part of the play includes the pleas put forth by Lord Irwin and Mahatma Gandhi before Bhagat Singh regarding his emancipation. But Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev never accepted any relaxation and took the higher stand for the ultimate supreme sacrifice only to live for the ages to come.

India gained freedom but for no avail to the poor who became poorer, while rich grew richer, Baba reminds us to follow the meaning and significance of “Inquilab Zindabad” given by great patriot and martyr Bhagat Singh.

The second play “Nawan Janam”, directed by Iqattar Sahota deals with the social evil of caste prejudices. Based on a story “Kalaan” by Sarvmeet Singh, the play structured into an orthodox pastoral ambience, revolves around the life of poor Dalit Shibbu, a devout sevadar, who always showers adulations on the rich landlord and his family. His son who gets into good government service requests his father to avoid the unethical practice who refuses. Later the son holds a function to celebrate his birthday and landlord does not turn up despite invitation in view of their low caste status. The realisation comes to Shibbu who joins his son to fight for caste disparity. Ikattar Sing Kulbir Lucky, Nettu Sharma, Jarnail Singh and Manbhawan formed the cast.

“Sukhi basse Maskiniya” will be staged tomorrow.