Chandigarh, March 28
Eggs replaced vibrant colours, smoke billowing tractors, horse driven carts and mini-trucks substituted for swanky cars as sporadic cases of hooliganism were reported from different parts of the city. The police booked 72 persons for drunk driving and impounded 84 vehicles.

Heavy police presence across the city, especially on geri route, failed to deter the youths as they hired on-the-spot horse driven carts to aim eggs and water balloons at girls. The police issued 311 challans. The most happening sectors, including Sector 10, 9, 8 and the geri route, witnessed the young brigade celebrating the festival riding on tractors, mini-trucks and horse-carts.

“Though the festival passed off peacefully, the police had a tough time taming the young brigade. A total of 24 checkpoints were set up in the city and 72 persons were fined for drunk driving. The youths should understand that mixing alcohol with driving could be fatal,” said DSP traffic Kamaldeep. “Youths were seen dancing to Punjabi beats and zooming through Sectors 10 and 11 on a tractor before a policeman stopped them and issued a challan against their act,” said a worker of a tennis academy.

“The scene near Hotel Mountview was a must watch. Girls travelling in a mini-truck made a brief halt near my house and urged me to fill their empty buckets with water,” said Paramjeet Bajwa, a city resident.

Bacchus lovers rejoice

Liquor worth over Rs 1.5 crore was sold in the city on Holi. Sources said sales were high in the liquor vends located on the city’s periphery. On an average, liquor worth Rs 80 lakh is sold in the city everyday.

Egg Holi

As youths preferred to celebrate the festival of colours with eggs in Sectors 11, 35 and 44, a tray of eggs was being sold at Rs 110 instead of Rs 100.

Hooliganism at PU

Hooligans had a free run on the Panjab University campus as boys were seen throwing colours and water balloons at girls who were riding two-wheelers.

Traffic chaos

Long traffic jams were the order of the day on the geri route. Snarl-ups were also reported on roads leading to Panjab University, Sectors 10 and 11, and gurdwara chowk of Sector 8. The police had a tough time managing traffic.

Violations

The youngsters were seen hanging out of cars, using mobile phones while driving and only a few were seen wearing seatbelts.

25 injured

As many as 25 cases of minor injuries were reported at the GMCH-32 on Holi. Five cases of food poisoning due to excessive intake of alcohol were reported at GMSH-16. 

Panchkula, March 28
The Holi celebrations turned sour for the families of three youths, who were killed when their motorcycle hit a divider on the Panchkula-Kalka highway near Command Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as 19-year-old Sandeep, 21-year-old Dhiraj and 18-year-old Anuj, all residents of Khadag Mangoli village in Old Panchkula.

The youths were coming from Mani Majra towards Red Bishop when their motorcycle hit the divider. The youths were rushed to the Sector 6 General Hospital.

Sandeep and Dhiraj were declared brought dead. Anuj was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where he succumbed to his injuries today.

“Sandep was a student of BA II and Dhiraj and Anuj were salesmen in a private firm. All victims were unmarried,” said Manraj, a neighbour.

The bodies of Sandeep and Dhiraj were handed over to their families after post-mortem. 

Chandigarh, March 28
A 26-year-old youth reportedly committed suicide while his 36-year-old maternal aunt is battling for life in the emergency ward of GMCH-32. The duo attempted suicide by hanging themselves from a ceiling fan at their Sector 46 residence.

Rohit Chaudhary was declared brought dead while Preeti, his maternal aunt, was admitted to the hospital in serious condition.

They had been living together since December 2012 and were putting up at a rented accommodation of Sector 46. Preeti is a widow and is survived by a seven-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.

Rohit, who had done BTech, shifted his base to Chandigarh with Preeti. However, after realising their mistake, Preeti called up Rohit’s cousin Abhishek to act as a mediator between them and their families.

Abhishek came to Chandigarh on March 24. He spoke to their families following which they agreed to accept them.

Abhishek left the house and tried to call the duo in the evening. When he failed to establish contact with them, he returned home. He knocked at the door but no one opened the door, following which he broke open the window. He was shocked to find the duo hanging from the fan.

Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC have been registered at the Sector 31 police station. 

Chandigarh, March 28
With just three days left for the financial year to end, the UT transport department is yet to exhaust the budget of Rs 45 crore allocated for the purchase of 49 buses. Despite holding meetings in the past few days, the issue has not been sorted out as the process is stuck in technical bids.

The two bidding companies, TATA and Ashok Leyland, have sought 30 per cent of advance payment for the supply of the buses. This has put the officials in a fix as the terms and condition had been relaxed due to urgency of the Administration in procuring the buses. The buses were to be acquired at a cost of around Rs 25 crore. Pointing out anomalies in the tenders, officials in the CTU said the tenders had been invited for low-floor buses, but the companies insisted on the clause of advance security.

Though the period of annual maintenance had also been reduced to three years, the companies had sought three-month advance. "Had the transport procured chassis and got buses bodies fabricated, it would have been much easier to purchase the buses," said the officials. Besides, the case of buying Volvo buses against single tenders has been delayed as the amount earmarked for the purchase of these buses is inadequate. 

Chandigarh, March 28
Nirman Theatre in Sector 32 that has been lying closed since December last year following a major fire will be reopened in another six months.

While it was earlier indicated that the theatre would be transformed into a multiplex due to which even the renovation had been withheld, the proprietor today said it would remain a single-screen theatre.

"We cannot afford to discontinue the theatre. We had withheld the renovation as we were contemplating converting the theatre into a multiplex. But in view of the high competition and comparatively lesser demand in the market, we decided to continue with the single-screen cinema hall," said Nirman Theatre's proprietor.

"We will take less than six months to reopen the theatre," Verma added. Though the fire mishap in December did not claim any life, it had resulted in a financial loss of over Rs 10 lakh to the theatre owner. Nearly 250 chairs in the balcony, film screen, air-conditioner and the entire ceiling of the theatre were damaged during the fire which broke out during a late night show at the theatre.

There were about 1,000 seats in the theatre, 650 on the first level and 350 in the balcony. The front seats at the balcony were damaged. The capacity of the revamped theatre will remain the same. During the fire incident at the theatre, no specific violations were found by the fire department. The theatre had proper entry and exit points.

The only lapse found was that the staff at the theatre was not trained to use the fire-fighting equipment. 

Chandigarh, March 28
The Festival of Sufi Music and Documentary Films opened today with brainstorming discussion on Sufism and its mystical tradition here at Tagore Theatre.

The festival began with illustrative lecture by scholars Yousuf Saeed and Madan Gopal Singh on Sufi music and qawwali. They both laid emphasis on the philosophy behind this path of wisdom and how Sufism influenced other performing arts and visual art forms of the world.

After the first session, Yousuf Saeed, also an independent filmmaker and a researcher based in New Delhi, screened some of his movies on Sufism, including Boojh Sakey to Boojh-the heritage of Amir Khusrau, Basant, Jannat Ki Rail.

The day one ended with qawwali performance by Mohammad Ahmed Warsi from Rampur. He left the audience spellbound with his charismatic voice and vast knowledge of Sufi music.

Tomorrow, four movies on Sufism will be shown, which will start with Qasba Sanskriti-Amroha, followed by Qasba Sanskriti-Bilgram, Khayal Darpan and The making of the Taj. Separate discussion will be followed after the end of each movie.

Panchkula, March 28
Panchkula too witnessed a peaceful Holi yesterday as no major untoward incident was reported from the city. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Rajbir Deswal, Police Commissioner, said that the festival passed off peacefully.

“We had put up 70 nakas in the district, including 28 in Panchkula. These nakas were set up for the convenience of public, so that we could keep a check on trouble makers”, said Deswal.

He added that a total of 29 calls were received by the PCR. “The police was able to settle the issue on the spot”, said Deswal.

Mohali, March 28
Holi passed off peacefully here as no case of eve-teasing and major altercation was reported in the town yesterday. However, the police did not let go traffic offenders, as 148 challans were issued and 48 vehicles impounded.

“Most of these offenders were challaned for triple-riding, helmet-less driving, removal of silencers and drunken driving”, said Swarndeep Singh, SP (City).

Special nakas were laid at various points in the town to check the traffic offenders and over 250 policemen were deployed to maintain law and order here. The police further said that on Holi two accidents occurred.

Dr Rajiv Bhalla, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Phase 6, said, “ As many as 12 persons came to the hospital with minor injuries and were sent back after treatment”. “Holi was peaceful and full of fun this time. Earlier, youngsters on bikes used to drive down in colonies in large numbers creating nuisance. But this time, we did not witness any such sight.”, Gurtej Singh, resident of Phase 7, said. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 28
Going by the phrase, survival of the fittest, Mohali auto operators are using muscle power to run their business in the city. They operate from Sector 22 opposite the local bus stand.

The operators have hired musclemen who help them pick up passengers from the city.

The musclemen have maintained registers containing details of these autos and charge Rs 30 from each operator.

As per rules, the autos from neighbouring areas can drop passengers in the city but are not supposed to pick them up.

This has left the local authorised auto-rickshaw pullers on edge.

"We have been suffering losses. Despite having all papers, they don't let us pick up the passengers. It has become difficult for us to make ends meet," said an auto driver. Sources said the Mohali auto drivers were operating from an illegal auto stand in Sector 22.

Another auto driver said, "They will let us pick up passengers only if we pay them the said amount. We have been running from pillar to post, but the authorities have failed to come to our rescue." "It took us four years to get a permanent stand opposite the local bus stand. If we approach the passengers, the musclemen thrash us. They have even threatened us not to approach the authorities. We can't ferry more than four passengers. They resort to overloading and have diesel-run autos," lamented an auto driver. "They don't even wear uniform. The injustice is getting to us. Everybody should abide by rules," said a driver. Another driver said, "We don't understand why the traffic police is not challaning these auto drivers. Whenever we go to Mohali to drop someone, we never pick up passengers from there." 

Chandigarh, March 28
In a study conducted on 11,500 children in the city aged between 5 and 17, 9 per cent (1,047) had dental traumatic injuries. Among these, boys showed more traumatic injuries (10.18 per cent) than girls (7.8 per cent).

Experts at the PGIMER’s Oral Health Sciences Centre, where the study was conducted, said, “It is crucial for a child to be taken to a consultant within one hour of the injury to avoid cosmetic treatment for the injured tooth,” said Dr Ashok Utreja, head, Oral Health Science Centre.

It was found that a majority of children with traumatic injuries had not reported to a dentist for any consultation or restorative procedure. No consultation had been taken even for exposed pulp.”

“An in-depth evaluation of these injuries showed involvement of enamel or enamel and dentin, thus requiring cosmetic or restorative treatment only,” stated the study conducted on schoolchildren in 2010.

Evulsion of teeth was also common among these children, said Dr Ashima Goyal from the Oral Health Centre.

What should one do immediately after dental traumatic injury?

In case a tooth comes out, it must be put into milk or placed back into the mouth of the child to ensure it does not get dry. The patient must be rushed to the dentist for treatment within one hour of the injury.

Cosmetic treatment can solve the problem

Cosmetic treatment, artificial teeth can serve the purpose. However, injuries must not be overlooked, especially in case of children, since they are more prone to injuries.

“Children are prone to falling and suffering such injuries, parents and teachers must take note of these injuries and seek consultation within one hour of the injury. These, otherwise lead to long-term problems,” said experts.

CME on dento maxillofacial trauma at PGIMER

The Oral Health Sciences Centre is going to organise a two-day CME on multidisciplinary approach to management of dento maxillofacial trauma from March 30 as a part of the golden jubilee celebrations. Dr Ashok Utreja is the charmain, Dr Ashima Goyal is the organising secretary and Dr VidyaRattan is the chairman of the scientific committee. Dento maxillofacial facial injuries comprise jaw or facial bone fractures and also different types of tooth injuries. 

Chandigarh, March 28
It’s not an easy ride for patients at the PGIMER. Speed bumps laid between the hospital’s emergency wing, advanced paediatric centre, new OPD and cardiac centre are giving jerks to patients.

One comes across a speed bump after every of 100 metres on the road between the emergency wing and the advanced paediatric centre and between the new OPD and the cardiac centre.

A patient who enters from any of the two gates — the one facing Sector 11 and the other opposite Panjab University — has to experience a number of jerks before reaching the emergency or the cardiac centre, or even the OPD block.

Sample this: A heart patient, who is first rushed to the general emergency and later referred to the advanced cardiac centre, has to battle jerks caused due to the speed humps.

The speed humps were laid six months ago. Patients with stitches suffer pain due to the jerks they experience on speed bumps. “I have six stitches on my arm. Since the cut was not very deep, I was allowed to go home on the same day of the surgery. However, I kept on experiencing pain in my stitches throughout the day because of the strain caused due to the jerks experienced while travelling on this particular road,” said Anuradha Sharma, a resident of Sector 18, who had come for a follow-up to the hospital.

Officials at the PGI say the speed bumps have been laid for the safety of patients moving on wheelchairs or trolleys. Experts in the city feel that there is no need of speed breakers, especially on this particular road since patients with chronic ailments suffer pain while travelling on it.

“The movement of patients on this road has increased significantly in the past few years. The pain of patients with chronic ailments gets aggravated while commuting on the road. One can not avoid travelling on this road as all important buildings are located around it. The jerks that the patients bear due to the speed breakers can severely affect their well-being,” said Dr SM Bose, former head of the department of general surgery at the PGIMER.

PGI spokesperson Manju Wadwalkar said: “The speed humps were laid keeping in view the safety of patients moving on wheelchairs and trolleys. As the inflow of patients on the PGI campus has gone up, the speed humps are essential to regulate the flow of fast moving vehicles.” 

Mohali, March 28
As many as 21 villages have given their consent to be included in the extended limits of the Mohali Municipal Corporation.

The villages whose panchayats have shown their willingness to be included in the extended area are Raipur, Badmajra, Sihanpur, Daon, Ballo Majra, Balongi, Baliali, Lakhnour, Sohana, Nanu Majra, Pati Sohana, Mauli Baidwan, Kumbra, Raipur Khurd, Chilla, Manouli, Papri, Chachumajra , Kambala, Kambali and Jagatpura.

No response was received from the panchayat of Chappar Chiri Kalan village to the extended limit plan as a result of which an earlier proposal of including 22 villages in the civic body limits had to be amended. Sources said a resolution on the amended proposal was then cleared at the level of the corporation on March 22 and later 
sent to the Additional Secretary, Department of Local Government, for an approval.

The consent letter of 21 villages and other details were also sent to the higher authorities along with the amended proposal. Apart from the 21 villages, 24 new sectors of Mohali will also come within the extended jurisdiction of the corporation. Sources said it was pointed out in March 22 resolution that the development of Mohali would be done in accordance with the provisions of the master plan.

The process of seeking consent from the panchayats of the villages was started after the civic body received a letter from the government on March 15 directing the officials concerned to obtain their opinion on being included in the corporation limits. The officials were also directed to provide details of the villages to be included in the extended limit.

It is learnt that the existing area under the corporation measures 22.83 sq km. The additional area that will come within its jurisdiction once the limits are extended will be about 50.99 sq km.

Youth clubs to be set up in Mohali

"Nehru Yuva Kendra will set up youth clubs in all villages of Mohali district," said Parveen Kumar Thind, Additional Deputy Commissioner, today. Thind, who presided over a meeting of the advisory committee of the kendra, said the youth of the district would be encouraged to take part in sports. They would also be inspired to protect the environment and raise their voice against social evils. Members of the sports clubs would be provided with sports kits, he added.

Coordinator of the kendra said even though the body had come into existence in the district in June last year, special programmes were organised for the welfare of women and youth. Till now, 30 youth clubs had been formed in the district and members would soon be provided with sports kits.

He said cultural programmes were also organised at the block level apart from inter-youth club sports meets, training programmes for women and a district-level youth convention. 

Villages on the list

Raipur, Badmajra, Sihanpur, Daon, Ballo Majra, Balongi, Baliali, Lakhnour, Sohana, Nanu Majra, Pati Sohana, Mauli Baidwan, Kumbra, Raipur Khurd, Chilla, Manouli, Papri, Chachumajra , Kambala, Kambali and Jagatpura.

Panchkula, March 28
For Seema, the wife of Karna Bahadur, the victim, a resident of Sector 4, Panchkula, who has been shot dead in an open fire by the French troops in Central African Republic (CAR), hope springs eternal. She is still awaiting his return. Bahadur, 27, who she thinks has been injured and is being brought back home, has been killed after the troops mistook him to be among the 15 ‘suicide bombers’ approaching the Bangui airport.

The victim, Karna Bahadur, who hailed from Nepal, has his family settled here in sector 4 Panchkula.He is survived by his wife and two daughters aged 3 and 6.

Due to disturbances in the country, Bahadur was approaching the Bangui airport in the capital of CAR to catch a flight for India. Bahadur was one of the two Indians killed in the incident apart from the six injured. The relatives have informed Seema that Bahadur has just received bullet injuries and is being brought for treatment here but she has not been informed that actually it is his body that is expected soon.

“I don’t know how she would react when she comes to know that his body is expected to reach soon. We did not have the courage to tell her that he has been killed so brutally,” said Dal Bahadur, father-in-law of the victim.

He further added, “Why did fate play such a cruel joke with him? He was returning home and look what happened on way. Now, his body is coming home.”

Bahadur who had moved to CAR five months back for greener pastures, was working as a cook and earning Rs 25,000 per month. A year back, the victim was working in Lucknow. His mother works at a local primary school in Sector 4, Panchkula.

The body of the victim is expected to reach his Sector 4 residence by Friday

Bahadur was on way to the airport among the 15 Indians in three vehicles leaving the country when the French soldiers fired at the vehicles mistaking them to suicide bombers leaving two dead and six injured.

Sources said that a few warning shots were also fired in the air but since the vehicles did not halt, they opened fire.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also received a letter from the France President Francois Hollande expressing regret over the tragic incident. The incident is also being investigated.

Around 600 French troops were deployed near the airport in order to protect French citizens as rebels were approaching Bangui

This is the second incident when a Panchkula resident has been killed in a foreign country. A year back, Alok Gupta, a resident of Sector 21 in Panchkula was murdered by some miscreants in Canada. 

Mohali, March 28
High drama was witnessed at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) when around 250 students staged a dharna in front of the entry gate of the institute and started raising slogans against its director today evening.

Termination of services of Professor Dr Prikshit Bansal by Dr KK Bhutani, director of the institute, this evening was the reason behind the protest.

“Dr Bansal was whistleblower and was trying to unearth prevailing corruption and embezzlement of funds by the management of the institute. We are on strike till the removed teachers will not be taken back into service," said the agitated students, who gathered in front of the entry gate as soon as Dr Bansal was given the letter of his dismissal today.

Dr KK Bhutani said the allegations being levelled against him were wrong. He asked the students that they should make a delegation and could check records tomorrow morning to ascertain the facts.

“It (decision of removal of the professor) was the decision of the board. You can come to me tomorrow to check the records,” said Dr Bhutani while trying to pacify the agitated students.

Dr Bansal said he was made a target as he used to seek information about receiving and spending of funds from the government. “Huge corruption prevails here. A civil writ petition and a PIL have already been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. You see, Rs 13 crore have been sanctioned on a project, proposed by me. How can they terminate my services?, said Dr Bansal. Agitation was on till the filing of the report.

Chandigarh, March 28
The Education Department got a “modest” response to its centralised admission process initiated to fill vacant seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act for the next academic session. The late date for the registration got over today.

Only 227 applications were received from students belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) and disadvantaged groups against 400 vacant reserved seats in nearly 48 private schools in the city.

St Kabir, Sector 26, Stepping Stones, Sector 38, DPI, Sector 41, and KBDAV, Sector 7, were among the schools with highest applications.

An official said most of the applicants were sent back since their documents were incomplete.

“All these applicants will now be sent to the respective private schools for the enrolment of these students against the vacant seats,” he said.

Still no clarity

The future of fresh applicants seems to be in limbo since private unaided schools continue with their resistance not to fill any of their vacant seats without written clarification on key issues relating to the RET Act.

HS Mamik, president of the Independent Schools Association, said there was no change in their stand. “None of the our members will admit children unless their queries are not been addressed with proper legal notification,” he said.

“The administration has no moral right to ask us to fill our vacant RTE seats when more than 40 per cent seats in their own government schools are still vacant for the next academic session,” said Mamik.

VK Singh, Education Secretary, said the department would soon speak to the private schools and try to find out a solution to the deadlock.

Chandigarh, March 28
Meritorious students of GGDSD College, Sector 32, were felicitated here today. RS Ghumman, DIG, Chandigarh police, awarded certificates to students who had done good work in community work, dramatics and other extra-curricular activities.

He also gave away certificates to student volunteers of Spirit India, working under the aegis of NGO Aavahan. The volunteers had worked with full commitment to assist the Chandigarh police during Road Safety Week.

DIG Ghumman urged the students to inculcate positive attitude and read good books. Encouraging the students to become achievers, he said they should work hard to achieve their goals.

Principal Dr Bhushan K. Sharma detailed the achievements of the college. Meera Sharma, president, NGO Aavahan, and senior faculty member of the college shared the details of the good work being done by SD College students in different community service initiatives of Aavahan, Chandigarh police and other organisations. Dr Balraj Thapar, Department of English, proposed the vote of thanks.

Chandigarh, March 28
Two more government schools in the city will have the “model” status from the next academic session. At present, there are 22 government model senior secondary schools and 18 government model high schools in the city.

Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Maloya, will now be called as Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Maloya. Likewise, GSSS-38 West will now be called as GMSSS-38.

Besides this, seats for class XI for the next session is set to increase in 2 schools. These schools will be upgraded from the high school level to the senior secondary level.

Government High School, Sector 29, will now be known as GMSSS-29. Senior secondary classes will also be introduced at GMSSS-56. “Classes could not be introduced at GMSSS-56 due to some infrastructure problem. But this year, the department will start class XI and class XII,” said an official.

The Education Department has also upgraded two government middle schools to government high schools. They include Government Middle School, Indra Colony, and Government Middle School, Maloya Colony.

Mohali, March 28
The Punjab Government today conferred the Shaheed-I-Azam Bhagat Singh State Youth Awards on eight persons at a function organised at Shivalik Public School here in connection with Youth Day.

The winners of the prestigious awards were Jagga Singh, Renu and Amandeep Singh from Mansa; Jindpreet Kaur from Bathinda; Maninderpal Singh from Mohali; Mandeep Kaur from Ropar; Gurkaran Singh from Faridkot; and Khushmeet Kaur from Ludhiana district.

Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary Narinder Kumar Sharma presided over the award-giving ceremony.

Sharma exhorted the youth to actively participate in nation building by taking the initiative to eradicate social evils. The youth had infinite energy, which, if channelised and utilised for constructive purposes, could be a great human resource.

He said the state government was committed to encouraging the youth in every way. He called upon them to work more aggressively for the betterment of society as well as the state.

Prof Chaman Lal from Jawaharlal Nehru University threw light on various aspects of the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He called upon the youth to come forward to wipe out the menace of injustice, inequality and communalism from society.

While proposing the vote of thanks, Punjab Youth Services Director Hidaipal said the state awards were given every year to those who had excelled in any youth activity. A medal, a scroll and a cash prize of Rs 20,000 were given to every recipient of the award, she said.

More than 100 boys and girls donated blood at a blood donation camp. Essay writing and painting competitions were also held on the occasion.