NEIGHBOURHOOD

Man held with 40 kg poppy husk
Our Correspondent

Patiala, July 6
Patiala girl Sukhman Shergill has secured eighth rank in the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) entrance examination. She had also cleared the All-India Pre Medical Test (34 rank) prior to the result of AIIMS entrance exam. 

Chandigarh, July 6
Cars will seldom be taken out of garages for visiting the city’s downtown, if the Chandigarh Administration has its way. In an affidavit filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court today, the Administration claimed that it was serious about bringing a mass transport system to the city “to move the people, not the cars”.

In his affidavit, department of urban planning Secretary VK Singh said the Administration was conscious of the need to shift the conveyance mode to mass transport for applying brakes to congestion on roads and meeting parking demands of commuters, as was done in central business districts the world over.

He added that there was special emphasis on shifting to a mass rapid transit system in the long run to reduce the need for bringing in private vehicles to the core of the city.

This was specifically being done as it was impossible to provide parking space for all cars that were being added to the over-burdened vehicular density in the city.

A consultant, Messrs RITES, was appointed by the Chandigarh Administration to study the traffic and parking needs of the city centre at Sector 17 after taking into consideration the entire commercial component of the area.

The shortfall in parking projected by RITES in the comprehensive mobility plan was taken into consideration by the Administration and the municipal corporation and multi-level underground parking lots were accordingly proposed to meet the deficits.

The court was also informed that a meeting was held on June 9 for suggesting short-term and long-term measures for improving the parking situation and to achieve the objective of a vehicle free zone.

The short-term solution to be provided by the municipal corporation included the provision of gates, improvement in illumination, removal of abandoned government vehicles and revival of existing underground parking lots.

Also on the cards was the introduction of an intelligent parking monitoring system in the form of CCTV cameras. Parking-availability display boards would also be installed in a time-bound manner.

An exponential minute or hourly basis tariff plan would be introduced for the parking area in front of the Sahib Singh block and the Empire Store building.

The relocation of the existing taxi stand in front of the Azad Hind Store to the rear was also suggested.

The court, on the previous date of hearing, had minced no words to say the non-utilisation of underground parking space at Sector 17 was criminal waste of valuable space and public money.

Chandigarh, July 6
The economic offences wing of the UT police has arrested Surinder Kumar Shrivastva of Gurgaon in a case of fraud of over Rs 36 lakh. Dharinder Singh Rathore stated that he and his mother-in-law Subash Parwana jointly purchased residential plots at Kansal village and two commercial plots in the name of his mother-in-law at Mundi Kharar village.

In January, 2009, their relative Shrivastva allured them that if they sold the property, he could manage a bigger built-up house for them at Kansal village.

The complainants sold their property to the party, arranged by Shrivastva, for Rs 36,83,000. He allegedly took the money and gave them the assurance that he would invest in property. After receiving the money, Shrivastva went missing.

On August 5, 2009, the complainant caught the accused at Sector 17 here and asked him about his money.

Shrivastva was pressurised to prepare an agreement and issue a post-dated cheque for Rs 36,83,000. When the complainant produce the cheque at the bank, it was dishonoured.

On March 4 this year, Shrivastva again prepared an agreement and issued three post-dated cheques for Rs 36,83,000. The cheques were dishonoured and the complainant reported to the police.

Couple booked

The UT police booked a Mohali-based couple in a case of forgery. The complainant, Radha Shyam Malik of Sector 38, reported that Jaswinder Singh Sondhi and his wife duped him of Rs 10.64 lakh.

He reported that the couple took the cash from him on the pretext of providing him land, but failed to do so.

Malik also stated that the couple had refused to return the money. A case was registered at the police station in Sector 17.

Chandigarh, July 6
A woman residing at Sector 43 here allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan here today.

Fifty-year-old Jugal Kishori was mentally upset since her husband went missing and younger son died two years back. The police did not recover any suicide note and ruled out foul play.

Chain snatched
Two unidentified motorcycle-borne persons snatched the gold chain of Vanita Kumari of Sector 37 near the MES store at Sector 47 here. A case was registered at the police station in Sector 31.

Chandigarh, July 6
Amandeep Singh and Prabhjot Kaur clinched top honours in the Junior NBA/Junior WNBA Skills Challenge event held at the New Public School courts, Sector 18, here, today

The basketball courts at the venue were buzzing with activity as nearly 800 students from 29 schools and institutions across the city turned up to compete in a series of timed skills tests, which served to measure each child’s ability in key fundamentals such as dribbling, passing and shooting.

In the end, Amandeep, a student of Sadaram Bansal School, finished with the best timing among boys, while Prabhjot of Government Girls School emerged the winner among girls. The top five boys and girls were selected to represent Chandigarh at the Junior NBA/Junior WNBA National Finals to be held in Delhi on July 14. Amandeep and Prabhnot will be joined by Mahavir Singh, Yadvinder Singh, Abhinav Sharma, Davinder Singh, Palak Verma, Diptish Dhir, Akansha Mehra and Anadya Sibal.

The Junior NBA/Junior WNBA Skills Challenge now moves to Delhi on July 8 and its last stop before the national final will also be held there. The 10 winners from each of the five cities will then compete in the national final next weekend where the boy and girl who complete the skills tests with the best times will be crowned the champions and will win a trip to the NBA All-Star Weekend 2013 in Houston, USA.

Those selected are:

Boys

Amandeep Singh (Sadaram Bansal School)

Mahavir Singh (Golden Public School, Faridkot)

Yadvinder Singh (St. Mary's Convent School, Faridkot)

Abhinav Sharma (New Public School)

Davinder Singh (Doabo Khalsa Public School)

Girls

Prabhjot Kaur (Government Girls School)

Palak Verma (Guru Nanak Public School)

Diptish Dhir (Doraha Public School)

Akansha Mehra (St. Joseph’s Sr Secondary School)

Anadya Sibal (Strawberry Fields International School).