The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Law students win laurels

Patiala, April 18
Abhishek Boob, Mohit Saxena and Sidhant Sood of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, were declared runners-up in the prestigious Institute of Law Nirma University International Moot Court Competition organised by Nirma University, Ahmedabad. The team was also awarded the best memorial in the competition.

They were up against SVKM Pravin Gandhi in the final where the team lost by a narrow margin.

The winning trophy was presented to the participants by Justice CK Thakkar.

This is a remarkable achievement for the university and students. — TNS

Meritorious students felicitated

Patiala, April 18
Two-day tech fest “Vetri-12” and annul prize distribution function of Thapar Polytechnic College, Patiala, concluded here today. Principal Gurmit Singh inaugurated the event, reminding the students that along with fun such fests came with a sense of responsibility and lessons of team spirit.

The venue was reverberated with energy and fervour, as various competitions, including technical, folk and western dance were organised.

Awards were given to the students who brought laurels in the field of sports, science and engineering for the institute at the national and state level. The principal gave away the prizes to the winners. — TNS

Residents allege LPG shortage
Parmod Mehta

Customers wait for their turn at the LPG distribution centre at Lalru. photo by writer

Lalru, April 18
People of Lalru area have been facing a tough time due to the shortage of LPG cylinders for some time. Local residents alleged that the main reason behind the shortage was the availability of gas cylinders on the black market and use of domestic cylinders in commercial places.

After visiting the site where cylinders were being distributed to customers, it was found that some people were standing in long lines to get cylinders. They said many customers return without getting cylinders as some people get cylinders without waiting for their turn in long lines due to their “approach”.

When this correspondent tried to know the truth behind the availability of LPG cylinders on the black market, a person who was allegedly involved in selling cylinders on the black market, demanded Rs 700 per cylinder without any copy, whereas the actual price of LPG cylinders is Rs 410. He demanded Rs 3,500 for five cylinders.

Advocate Jaspal Singh Dappar, Vasdev Lalru, Harichand Chaundheri and Krishan Kumar Lalru said common people were harassed due to the shortage of cylinders at the service providing centre, where cylinders were distributed. They alleged that some people had been selling LPG cylinders on the black market at high rates, whereas genuine customers could not get these even after waiting whole day in the summer season. A gas cylinder mafia was active in this area that was responsible for this problem, they added. They said the matter should be inquired properly and action should be taken against guilty persons. They demanded that home delivery of gas cylinders should be ensured so that harassment of customers could be avoided.

Meanwhile, district food and supplies controller, Lavkesh Sharma, said the problem was not in his notice till now and it would be inquired properly and appropriate action would be taken against those at fault. When owners of an LPG agency, Ravinder Kaur and Harsimrat Singh, were contacted, they said they had been providing 400 cylinders daily to customers after checking the copies of the concerned customers. Asked about the sale of cylinders on the black market, they said they were not responsible for this as they were doing their work properly.

Ground water contaminated
Samples show more quantity of alkalinity, hardness
Parmod Mehta

Dera Bassi, April 18
The samples of ground water of tube wells situated near the Dhabi choe, taken by Punjab Pollution Control Board have shown the alkalinity and hardness in the ground water near the choe. The quantity was above the permissible limits.

Notably, some industrial units were discharging their effluents at dhabi choe, which was contaminating the ground water. The report had also been sent to head office, Patiala, for constitution of committee for finding the reasons and remedies regarding alkalinity and hardness in the ground water samples of various tubewells. The board officials visited the Issapur village on Tuesday along with tehsildar Dera Bassi.

After the protest by Issapur villagers, the SDM Dera Bassi, Rajesh Tripathi, took a notice of pollution problem and constituted a team of the officials of pollution control board and that of the revenue department to the check the problem. The SDM further informed that protesting villagers against the industrial pollution had not filed any complaint in his office regarding the pollution problem. To check the pollution problem of the ground water, the constituted team had visited the site and informed about the results of ground water samples and action initiated by the board. The officials had asked the villagers to file a complaint in the SDM Office.

Pollution control board officials informed that it had received first complaint regarding the ground water pollution of the tubewell of a resident of Issapur village in May 2011.

The site was visited by the officials, who sent the water samples to lab. The board also received a legal notice through the council of the complainant, the reply of which incorporating the analysis results was sent to the Council of the complainant. The area was again visited on December 7, 2011 and the samples of various tube wells were collected along the bank of Dhabi Nallah. The results of which were conveyed to the Hon’ble Court through the reply of respondent. The industries mentioned in the complaint were surprisingly checked by the board, out of which three units were found violating under the provisions of Water Act, 1974 and an action had already been initiated by the board.

DGP inaugurates police station, sports complex
Suman Bhatnagar

Ambala, April 18
The Directof General of Police, Haryana, RS Dalal said that all the modern facilities would be made available in the police lines, police stations and even in the police barracks so that the police personnel could improve their lifestyle, here today.

The Directof General of Police, Haryana, RS Dalal inaugurated the newly constructed police station of Ambala City and also dedicated a Sport Complex with facilities of various games like, boxing, skating, gym, lawn tennis, paragliding and archery.

Later, talking to the media persons he said that during past five years, 252 police stations in the state were renovated while 79 new modern police stations were constructed. Besides, 5,200 houses were constructed for the police personnel and recently the department had planned to construct more housing complexes for the police officials in various districts.

Referring to the modernisation in the police force, he said that now it was better equipped with up-to-date gadgets and mobility besides modern arms and ammunitions.

The Commissioner of Ambala police RS Dhul, the Commissioner of Police Karnal range Balbir Singh, the Inspector General of Administration Sheel Madhur, Inspector General Modernisation and Welfare RC Mishra, DCP Ambala Shashank Anand, Superintendent of Police Railway HS Doon and the DCP Ambala rural Nazneen Bhasin were also present on this occasion.

Kapurthala beat Roorkee
Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 18
Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, defeated BEG, Roorkee, in a tie breaker (9-8) in the first match of the Punjabi University Golden Football Cup (Men) Tournament that began at the sports complex of the university here today. The score was 1-1 at the end of the stipulated time therefore had to be decided through tiebreaker.

Earlier, inaugurating the tournament, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Jaspal Singh, said: “Punjabi University's feat of winning prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA) for four consecutive years confirms that this achievement is the result of consistent hard work put in by the sportspersons of the university for the past 50 years." He inspired the sportspersons to go in for more achievements in their respective fields.

While welcoming the guests, Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Director, Sports, shared detailed information about the achievements of the university in various national and international sports events. He said eight teams, including Punjab Police, BSF, Rail Coach factory Kapurthla, PSPCL, Hoshiarpur, Northern Railway, Chandigarh 11, BEG Roorkee (Army) and the host team Dalbir Football Academy, Punjabi University, comprising 160 players from all over India are participating in this three-day tournament.

Present on this occasion were Dr SS Tiwana, Dean Academic Affairs, and Dr Satpal Kaur Grewal, President, Punjabi University Sports Committee.

CRIME

600 cartons of liquor seized

Chandigarh, April 18
The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the UT police today impounded a truck carrying 600 cartons of liquor which were to be smuggled from Chandigarh to Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The truck was bearing a fake registration number.

A case under various sections of the Excise Act has been registered in the Mani Majra police station. The driver Sukhdev Singh, a resident of Tejpur village in Patiala district has been arrested. — TNS

Chain snatched
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 18
Keeping the police on its toes, two motorcycle borne youths snatched a gold chain of a woman at sector 8, here this evening.

According to information, the woman, identified as Veena Bansal, was standing near the gate facing her own house when a youth snatched the gold chain at about 6 pm. The woman immediately informed her family members who further informed the police.

The woman told the police that one of the youth was wearing a helmet while the other remained on the motorcycle. She added that she could not see the faces of the two accused, who eloped from the scene on a black coloured motorcycle.

The police has registered the case and various checkpoints were set up in the town to nab the culprits.

However, the police could not the culprits till the filing of this report.

SPORTS

Stars land at pca, cricket fans have gala time
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service

Cricket fans who came from Hardwar to witness the match and support Kings XI. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Mohali, April 18
On Wednesday evening, the cool breeze and presence of Bollywood stars, welcomed the audiences at the Punjab Cricket Academy (PCA) stadium where the high-profile match between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders took place.

As like during the first match at the PCA, a large number of spectators marked their presence at the stadium to cheer their favourite teams.

The sea-saw battle between both the teams gave the spectators a reason to cheer. As expected the match started on a high note with the home team electing to bat first.

Kings XI Punjab supporters. Tribune photos: Vicky Gharu

On other hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders team had a few outstation fans to support it.“I cannot walk properly but KKR is my favourite team and I never miss any of its matches. My friend always takes me to the stadiums on his back.

I am in love with the game and so with the KKR team. I am here to wish them all luck and hopefully they will win this game and avenge their previous 2-run defeat in Kolkata,” said Nawab Ansari, who is suffering from polio.

A group consisting of about 41 fans came from Haridwar to cheer the Kings XI team. “We are fans of the Kings XI team and moreover we have just come to boost their moral.

A man carries his physically challenged friend on his back

We came here in the morning. We would love to see the Punjab’s team walking away with the IPL-5 title. We will cheer the team with all our might,” said the members of the group.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, along with his friends, visited the PCA stadium to cheer his team. Shah Rukh Khan had reached the stadium before the match started but he appeared before the public in the 13th over of the game.

Before the start of the match Punjabi singers entertained the spectators and later the heartthrob of many Preeti Zinta distributed T- shirts to the spectators at the end of the first innings.

Juhi Chawla also witnessed the match.