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Rs 17 lakh, jewellery stolen from house
Panchkula, October 20
In a major theft in the city, an amount of Rs 17 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 13 lakh were stolen from a house in Sector 8, Panchkula, when the family was away to attend a wedding last night. The police suspects it to be the handiwork of a domestic help, who, along with his accomplices, is at large.

Thieves on the prowl in city
Chandigarh, October 20
Thieves are on the prowl in the city. Two house burglaries and four vehicle thefts have been reported from the city during the past 24 hours. Thieves struck at two houses and decamped with cash and valuables in separate incidents. A third theft was reported from an SCF in Mani Majra.

Rs 32,000 stolen from wedding venue in P’kula
Panchkula, October 20
An amount of Rs 32,000 was stolen from a bag from a wedding venue at Kisan Bhawan, Sector 14, Panchkula. The hand of juvenile thieves is suspected in the crime.

Panchkula CBI Special Magistrate dies of heart attack
Panchkula, October 20
Panchkula CBI Special Magistrate-cum-Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Atul Marya (38) died of a heart attack this morning. Marya was considered one of the best judges in Panchkula and Chandigarh. Marya was jogging on his treadmill at his residence in Sector 14, Panchkula, this morning when all of a sudden he complained of severe chest pain and vomited. He was taken to the General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, and suffered an attack on the way in the car.

Miscreants involved in youth’s kidnapping identified: Police
Mohali, October 20
The local police claims to have identified the miscreants involved in yesterday’s kidnapping of an insurance agent at Phase IV here. According to the police, the victim, Gurpreet Singh, was beaten up and later kidnapped by his girlfriend’s "new friend" and his acquaintances last night. Gurpreet Singh was thrown near Sohana village by the accused, one of whom has reportedly been identified as Meeka. Gurpreet Singh has been admitted to the Civil Hospital at Phase VI here.

Winter shocker: No woollen jersey in school uniform
Chandigarh, October 20
After a delay in getting the summer school uniform, students of UT government schools are now in for a jolt regarding the winter uniform. Schools are procuring the winter uniform without any woollen jersey or sweater. In the winter school uniform, provided free of cost under the RTE Act, boy students will get a full-sleeved shirt and a pair of trousers, while girls will get salwar-kameez (girls of primary classes will get a tunic and a full-sleeved shirt). In 2010, the Education Department gave a woollen jersey each, besides other basic apparel to the students. However, in its latest directions issued to the government schools, there is no provision for any woollen apparel. “What is the difference between the summer and winter uniform if there is no woollen garment in the winter uniform,” questioned Sachin Sharma, who runs an NGO in Chandigarh.

COMMUNITY

Better Chandigarh
Poor garbage collection blot on City Beautiful
Chandigarh may be one of the most planned cities of the world but its way of handling garbage leaves much to be desired.  The Tribune reporter Rajinder Nagarkoti finds out that the waste generated is not yet being segregated
The Municipal Corporation spends crores of rupees on the purchase of garbage-lifting vehicles, garbage bins, and rehris, but it has miserably failed to put in place the basic mechanism for the collection and segregation of garbage at the household level and at the Sehaj Safai Kendras (SSKs).

Reporters’ diary
Cricket buffs seek women’s help for tickets
Chandigarh, October 20
Standing in a women’s queue is always beneficial. During the third ODI between India and Australia at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, youths were seen seeking help from their sisters and girlfriends who fetched them the tickets without any hassle. This also helped them keep off the serpentine queues.

A roadside barber takes a nap on Sunday afternoon. Tribune Photo: Pradeep Tewari

Residents at the mercy of private collectors
Chandigarh, October 20
While the Municipal Corporation has miserably failed to formulate a policy on uniform rates to be charged by the contractors from the residents for door-to-door collection of garbage, the residents are at the mercy of these private garbage collectors. The private contractors fix the garbage-collection charges according to their whims.

A worker collects garbage in a sector. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

MC taking serious steps, says Joint Commissioner
Why is MC sleeping over the issue of poor sanitation in city?
The MC is very seriously making efforts to make the city clean. Earlier, there was a shortage of manpower and machinery, but now they are hiring more safai karamcharis, tractor-trailers and dumpers.
Why residents keep complaining that the MC staff do not lift garbage from bins regularly?
The MC, in association with the NIS, is developing a “Bin Tracking System”. Rajiv Gupta, MC Joint Commissioner

DRDO ex-chief for setting up aerospace commission
Chandigarh, October 20
Calling for the establishment of a National Aerospace and Defence Commission to give an impetus and right direction for indigenous research and development as well as local entrepreneurship, former Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and former Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation Dr VK Saraswat said technological gaps exist in research institutes and the industry and this needed to be filled.

Student exchange programme
Strawberry Fields receives first batch of students from Milan
Chandigarh: October 20
The Strawberry Fields World School, Sector 26, today received its first batch of students from Milan as part of an exchange programme that was initiated earlier this year. Four girls and two boys from the Collegio San Carlo, a prestigious school in Milan, Italy, that dates back to 1869, will be staying with their host families for two weeks.

Students from Milan on their arrival at the Chandigarh airport on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

11 councillors oppose P’kula MC meeting
Panchkula, October 20
The second house meet of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation which has been scheduled for October 24 has invited protests by eleven councillors. Alleging that their opinions were not sought for while making the agenda, the councillors have asked the MC officials to prepare a new one.

Open house response
Trained staff must at parking lots
People-friendly approach required
Though Chandigarh is not a criminal- infested city, still we are not able to create a faith amongst vehicle owners like in Delhi and Noida. You will be surprised to know that even in Noida we are habitual of leaving keys of vehicle with the parking contractor and he takes care of the same. A people-friendly approach is the necessity. Having a lot of strict rules with CCTV and digital parking lot can also be suggested.

Bringing order to parking chaos
Haphazardly parked vehicles, space constraints and rude attendants are nightmares for vehicle owners in the city parking lots. The paid parking introduced by the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, has made little difference, despite the 24 paid parking lots generating a whopping Rs 24 crore for the corporation every year. Finding a slot even in paid parking lots continues to be a harrowing experience.

Incorrect info at booking centre irks train passengers
Chandigarh, October 20
The incorrect train number displayed at the notice board at the railway booking centre in Sector 17 has led to utter confusion among the passengers. Many of them were forced to visit the counters after failing to find any train with the displayed number during the online booking. The train number 14605 (Chandigarh Lal Kuan Express) has been incorrectly displayed as “01405” giving passengers a tough time. The officials are yet to take note of it.

Open auction
RLA puts Rs 60 lakh in its kitty
Chandigarh, October 20
The Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) earned Rs 60 lakh during its two-day open auction of registration numbers for “CH01-AV” series that concluded today. On Sunday, Rs 56,000 was the highest bid amount came for the number “1111”. The second highest bid of Rs 49,000 turned out to be for the number “9999”.

Bidders at an auction at the RLA office in Sector 17 on Sunday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

Two factories raided, sweets destroyed
Mohali, October 20
The District Health Authorities destroyed sweets in a large quantity being prepared under unhygienic conditions at two factories in the Zirakpur area, here. Dr Gursharan Singh, district health officer, Mohali, said during their raid at two factories, one at Lohgarh village and another at Kishangarh village, it was found that sweets were being prepared under unhygienic conditions.

Make efforts to curb female foeticide: MP
Chandigarh, October 20
Local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal today stressed on the need to prevent female foeticide. He was speaking at a function organised to mark ‘Balmiki Diwas’ at the Congress Bhawan in Sector 35 by the SC cell of the party. A bhajan was also presented by the cell on the occasion that highlighted female foeticide was a bane for society.

God of Carnage staged
Chandigarh, October 20
A play, God of Carnage, was staged today at the Tagore theatre. Yasmina Reza's scintillating play God of Carnage (2009 Tony award winner) was a comedy. It was directed by Nayana Sagar and depicted a chaotic evening in which two couples met in an upscale home of a posh Paris neighbourhood to discuss the playgroup fight between their sons and ended up laying the smack down upon each other and they fared worse than their sons. Nayana Sagar, director of the play adapted the play for Indian audiences in a very subtle manner and showed the chaotic modern times. — TNS

Artistes enact a scene from the play, "God of Carnage", at the Tagore Theatre in Sector 18, Chandigarh, on Sunday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

LPU blank Lucknow varsity
Chandigarh, October 20
On the second day of All India Inter-University Baseball (Men) Championship at Panjab University, Solapur University, Solapur beat RTM University, Nagpur, by 11 scores to nil. Four other matches were held today. Lovely Professional University, Phagwara defeated Lucknow University, Lucknow by 10 score to nil. Kurukshetra University defeated Osmania University, Hyderabad in a low scoring match 03-01. — TNS

2 more dengue cases
Chandigarh, October 20
Two new dengue cases have been reported from the city. With this, the number of dengue cases has reached 44. So far, three deaths have been reported from the city. — TNS

EDUCATION

Open auction
PU all set to revamp evaluation system
Chandigarh, October 20
Panjab University (PU), known for late declaration of results, is planning to go for an overhaul by introducing various reforms in the evaluation system. Committee constituted by the Vice-Chancellor will deliberate on mandatory and time bound evaluation process, during a meeting scheduled for Monday.

Students paint graffiti on roadside
Chandigarh, October 20
Hollywood stars and personalities known across the globe is the theme of graffiti being designed by the creative students of the Government College of Art, Sector 10, for the Street Art and Food Festival to be organised by the UT Administration. The students will be showcasing their art by painting around one-kilometer long roadside graffiti at the Sukhna Lake.

Street Art Fest: Students of the Government College of Art, Sector 10, paint graffiti on the roadside near the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

CRIME

Youth murdered
Panchkula, October 20
A youth was murdered in the Rajiv Colony when a brawl between the victim’s mother and a youth took an ugly turn last evening. Brothers, Bittu and Pawan, residents of Rajiv Colony, were brutally beaten by over eight unknown assailants with swords and sluggers. Both were rushed to the General Hospital and then referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where Bittu (20) succumbed to injuries.

SPORTS

Radha wins yoga meet
Chandigarh, October 20
The 29th Chandigarh State Yoga Championship concluded here today. It was organised by Chandigarh Yoga Association and Department of Physical Education, PG Government College Sector-46, the last day saw finals of several age group categories.

Delhi schools shine in tae kwon do championship
Chandigarh, October 20
The CBSE North Zone-I Tae kwon do Championship 2013, Chandigarh came to an end here today at skating rink, Sector-10. Total 400 students participated in the tournament. The largest representation came from Delhi sending 45 Schools, 16 schools from Chandigarh, 2 from Jammu and Kashmir, 1 from Ambala and 1 from Himachal Pradesh.

ODI series
India, Oz teams leave city
Chandigarh, October 20
Indian and Australian cricket teams today left the city at noon from their hotel in Sector 35. Last night’s defeat of the Indian team at PCA, Mohali has however left the Indian fans disappointed. Many in the city are not ready to believe that India can face such a brazen defeat especially after an electrifying victory in Jaipur.

T-20 match
Chd Police drub Dabur India
Chandigarh, October 20
Today, Chandigarh Police won the match in the ongoing Corporate Cricket Cup here at SD Senior Secondary School, Sector 24, Chandigarh. The match was played between Chandigarh Police and Dabur India. Chandigarh Police won the toss and gave Dabur India Ltd a target of 176 runs in 20 over match.