Chandigarh, December 17
Air and rail traffic remained disrupted due to poor visibility for the second day today, causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers.

Fog in Delhi affected the air traffic at the Chandigarh domestic airport. With flights running behind schedule from the Delhi airport, two flights had to be cancelled from the city while two others got delayed by over two hours, spoiling the travel plans of several passengers.

Air India cancelled its Chandigarh-Delhi-Mumbai flight at 11.25 am as the aircraft, which had to carry passengers from Chandigarh, did not take off from the Delhi airport due to inclement weather. Jet Airways’ Chandigarh-Delhi-Bengaluru, scheduled for 5.10 pm, was also cancelled.

A local Air India official said the aircraft was scheduled to take off at 9.40 am from the Delhi airport. "However, since it could not fly due to bad weather, we had to call off the flight from Chandigarh. Nearly 100 affected passengers were provided taxis to Delhi for a flight to Mumbai,” he said.

Besides, two flights ran behind schedule by over two hours. SpiceJet's Chandigarh-Delhi flight, scheduled for 10.25 am, got delayed by two hours. Similarly, Jet Airways' Chandigarh-Delhi flight, scheduled for 11.40 am, took off nearly three hours late at 2.40 pm.

There was no delay in the flights on the Chandigarh-Mumbai route with all flights of IndiGo and GoAir reported to be on time.

Meanwhile, rail traffic remained disrupted due to poor visibility for the second day today. With fog engulfing several areas this morning, several trains got delayed, causing inconvenience to passengers.

Five trains were delayed, including the morning Shatabdi from Delhi, which reached one and a half hours late at 12.50 pm against its scheduled time of 11.05 am. The other trains that were affected due to low visibility were the Himalayan Queen, which was delayed by half an hour, the Allahabad-Chandigarh Express, which was delayed by 10 hours, the Bombay-Kalka Express, which was delayed by two hours, and the Chandigarh Lucknow Express, which was running behind schedule by one hour. The departure of all trains was on time.

Though there was not much fog in the city, a thick blanket of fog had engulfed many areas on the periphery. The problem was more severe in areas criss-crossed by canals and irrigated fields where the visibility was considerably low, leading to slowing down of vehicular traffic on national and state highways in Punjab and Haryana.

An official said the normal speed limit of a train was 100 km per hour, but due to thick fog, the speed had been restricted to 60 km or below, depending on the visibility.

Chandigarh, December 17
The results of the UT gram panchayat elections were declared today. In the 12 gram panchayats, which had gone to the polls, six Congress-backed candidates and five BJP-backed candidates won the post of sarpanch, while one seat went in favour of an Independent candidate.

The tally of the candidates backed by the Congress, which recently suffered a defeat in the Assembly poll in four states, has been reduced as compared to the 2008 gram panchayat elections, when nine candidates backed by it were elected to the post of sarpanch. The tally of the candidates supported by the BJP has increased from three to five.

Though the gram panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols, political parties provide support to their candidates.

Besides local issues related to villages, the BJP had also raised the “railgate” and the booth scam issues in these elections as these were connected with former Union Railway Minister and local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal.

City BJP president Sanjay Tandon said this time they had increased their tally as compared to the last elections. He claimed that besides sarpanches, a majority of the panches were also from their party. He said the “victory” of the BJP had proved that the Congress had lost the faith of the people, not only in urban areas but in villages as well.

The City Congress president, BB Behl, said in big villages such as Daria, Kishangarh and Mauli Jagran, Congress candidates had won the post of sarpanch.

“This proves that a majority of the villagers are in favour of the Congress and in the coming parliamentary elections, the Congress will repeat the history and once again win the Chandigarh seat,” said the City Congress president, BB Behl.

Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also claimed that a majority of panches were from the the party.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) said the party would soon release a list of the successful candidates.

Panchkula, December 17
In a major breakthrough in the case pertaining to the Rs 1.68-crore heist on the Chandigarh-Baddi highway, the police today revealed that the kin of a police official may be involved in the crime.

According to sources, the location of the phone number of the kin of the policeman was traced to the same place where the robbery took place. The kin of the policeman has reportedly been involved in similar robberies earlier.

“The girlfriend of the alleged robber (policeman’s kin) had called him during the time of the crime and they spoke for about one and a half minutes. This has given us a lead in the case,” said a police official on condition of anonymity.

According to the sources, the girl is a student of a college in Chandigarh and her phone is also being tracked.

The girl might be a part of the plan, the official said.

The police have also not ruled out the role of highway robbers, who had been involved in similar robberies with a similar modus operandi a few years ago. The police are also suspecting the involvement of jailed robbers in the crime.

“Our teams have zeroed in on three gangs of Moga, Patiala and Ferozepur.

These gangs are known to have donned the police uniforms while committing such crimes," said a police official.

The police said one such suspected gang has hideouts in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and raids are being conducted there as well, besides Punjab. The police are also working on the theory that a couple of robbers may have sneaked into Nepal.

In similar robberies committed a few years back in Panchkula, a son of a police official was also allegedly involved and was an important member of the gang. He used to wear a turban in order to avoid identification. The profile of the highway robbers suggested two of them to be the kin of Punjab police officials. Most of the members of the gang, however, have been acquitted including the head of the gang.

Similar modus operandi was used in the crime committed on December 9.

Panchkula, December 17
In a major revelation in the "kidnapping" case of a youth, the police today found that the "victim" had concocted a story and demanded ransom from his mother to clear his debts and fulfil his desires.

According to the police, the ransom call was made by the youth, Joginder, himself by changing his voice.

Joginder had surfaced yesterday two days after he went "missing". He called up his mother last evening saying that he had managed to flee from the clutches of the "kidnappers".

Earlier, a ransom call of Rs 1 lakh was received by his mother in the afternoon yesterday with the "kidnappers" threatening that Joginder would be eliminated if the ransom was not paid. The victim works as a sheet maker in Sector 9, Panchkula.

Inspector Dalip Kumar, SHO of the Sector 14 police station, said, “It was not a kidnapping case. Joginder concocted a story as he was upset with his mother, who had refused to give him money, which he had asked for."

The police said Joginder had planned to clear his debts as he had borrowed money from two of his friends and wanted to use the remaining amount on himself. In his statement to the police, Joginder said he was not satisfied with his earnings and thought of this plan.

“Joginder made a call to his mother by changing his voice. However, when he realised that his mother was not in a position to pay this amount, he changed his mind and told her that he had managed to flee from the clutches of the kidnappers,” the SHO said.

The second call for ransom was also made by Joginder in which he shrieked from a distance saying that he would be killed. This was done to build pressure on his mother to pay the ransom, said the police.

Joginder went "missing" on December 14 from his residence in Sector 16, Panchkula. The police has not ruled out the role of his friend in the case.

Chandigarh, December 17
In the Gram Panchayat elections, the winners include a labourer, 30-year-old first timer and a woman who has been helping in a gurdwara for the last 10 years.

Gurvinder Kaur (30), despite being pregnant, contested the election from the Kishangarh seat for her family’s honour. She said though contesting the election was tough, all the more because she was pregnant, with the support of her husband Davinder Lubana and brother-in-law Manoj Lubana, who are Congress leaders, she won the seat. She defeated Man Kaur, wife of Bhajan Singh Maru, former chairman of the Zila Parishad, by 62 votes.

Kuljeet Singh (30), who won the Sarpanch seat from Dhanas village, had contested the election for the first time. Kuljeet, general secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, said there was hardly any development in his village so his top priority would be to start developmental of the village. He would get a marriage palace constructed and the village pond cleaned.

Paramjit Kaur (40), who won the election from Khuda Jassu, said they had been staying in the village gurdwara and also doing service at the religious place for the last 10 years. She had not thought of contesting the election but as the seat was reserved for women, villagers and the members of her family supported her in the panchayat elections, she added.

Fiftyeight-years-old Ram Singh, who was unanimously elected Sarpanch of Raipur Kalan panchayat, comprising Raipur Kalan and Makhan Majra villages, works as a labourer. He said with the support of villagers and her family, he would try to improve the condition of the villages.

Resentment among Congress leaders

Congress leaders had written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, informing her that the local unit did not hold any party meeting ahead of the Panchayat elections. At Daria village, five Congress-backed candidates contested against each other.

Chandigarh, December 17
For the first time, the Municipal Corporation (MC) would be auctioning the vehicles impounded by the enforcement wing during various anti-encroachment drives conducted in the city. The vehicles, which have been with the MC for the last around 15 years, would be auctioned as scrap.

The decision was taken at the monthly meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee of the MC held here today.

The MC would auction around 57 vehicles, including cars, Jeeps and motorcycles, scooters, which have not been claimed by anyone.

Mayor Subhash Chawla stated that a clearance from the Police Department had been sought and the vehicles would be sold as scrap after dismantling them.

Earlier, the MC had fixed charges for keeping impounded vehicles in its custody for more than seven days. The MC charges Rs 500 for a vehicle impounded and Rs 1,000 for towing away a vehicle with a recovery van. If a vehicle is not claimed within seven days then the vehicle owner is charged Rs 25 per day (two-wheeler), Rs 50 per day (three-wheeler), Rs 100 per day (car) and Rs 200 per day (truck).

The committee has also accorded approval to the agenda item regarding an open auction of the Exhibition Ground, Sector 34, for winter shopping festival-cum-exhibition for 15 days and fixed the reserve price at Rs 5 lakh.

Important decisions taken at F&CC meeting Estimate for the repair of 10 staff quarters, roads, street lights, etc, at waterworks, Kajauli, at an estimated cost of Rs 25.45 lakh. Installing lights in the parking lot of Japanese Garden, Sector 31, at an estimated cost of Rs 19.20 lakh. Purchase of three new water tankers equipped with water purification units, mounted on light motor vehicles. Construction of a cowshed in the cattle pound, Industrial Area, Phase-I, Chandigarh, at an estimated cost of Rs 18.57 lakh. Extension of the contract for hiring drivers and helpers for daily lifting of garbage bins.

Chandigarh, December 17
Residents, who had failed to deposit property tax by December 14, now have a ray of hope as the Municipal Corporation (MC), in its forthcoming House meeting, will table the agenda to extend the last date for depositing the tax to March 31. With the extension of the date, these residents will be saved from paying late charges, i.e. 25% penalty on the entire property tax and an interest of 12% on the entire amount.

The residents were supposed to deposit the property tax between October 15 and December 15 at the rate of Re 1 per square yard. However, a majority of the residents had failed to pay the tax before the deadline.

The House Tax and Assessment Committee of the MC, at a meeting held on November 25, had recommended that the last date for depositing the tax should be extended till March 31, 2014. However, the authorities failed to decide on the issue.

The houses on the area less than 5 marlas and those in villages that fall within the Municipal Corporation limits have been exempted from tax. 

Chandigarh, December 17
The MC will be holding two House meetings this month. While a meeting will be held on December 19, another will take place in the last week of the month.

Mayor Subhash Chawla stated that the issues which were pending in the last few meetings would be taken up on December 19. — TNS

Chandigarh, December 17
Chandigarh Overseas Private Limited and Greenfield Sites Management Private Limited have been penalised for delaying the possession of design studio to the complainant. Both opposite parties have been directed to jointly pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony to the complainant.

The opposite parties were also directed to pay Rs 7.5 lakh to the complainant along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the due date and also Rs 5,000 per month with effect from 01.07.2010 on account of delay in handing over the possession till the actual date of payment.

The complainant, Alok Bhatia purchased a unit measuring 100 sq ft in the Design Studio in Fashion Technology Park in Sector 90, Mohali.

The total cost of the unit allotted to the complainant was Rs 6 lakh. The complainant deposited a total sum of Rs 6 lakh with Chandigarh Overseas.

The remaining amount of Rs 50,000 was to be paid at the time of possession of the Fashion Studio. Thereafter, the complainant and both the opposite parties entered into a developer-buyer agreement and lease agreement respectively.

The project was to be completed by March 2009 but is nowhere near the completion, stated the complainant. — TNS

Chandigarh, December 17
Volunteers of Yuvsatta, an NGO, along with students of several schools, handed over 15,000 “Thank U” cards to Colonel Rav Roop Singh at the HQ Western Command, Chandimandir, today.

Pramod Sharma, coordinator of Yuvsatta, said these cards were prepared by over 15,000 students from 50 schools of tricity during the ‘Communal Harmony Week’ celebrated from November 19 to November 26.

He said the NGO would keep on organising more such programmes to infuse young minds with patriotic feelings and love for motherland.

Appreciating the noble gesture of young students by preparing “Thank U” cards with all love, admiration and respect for soldiers of the Indian Army, Colonel Rav Roop Singh of the HQ Western Command assured that these cards would be distributed before the forthcoming Christmas and New Year among the soldiers at the front line of both Western and Northern Command.

Chandigarh, December 17
A fire broke out on the first floor of a tyre shop at the Motor Market in Sector 48 today evening.

Fire tenders were able to get control of the situation within 45 minutes. The station fire officer, Sham Singh, said, “We received a call about the incident at 4.56 pm following which fire tenders from Sector 17, Sector 32, Ram Darbar and Industrial Area fire station were rushed to the spot. Since there were tyres and lubricants stored on the upper floor of the shop, we had to mix chemical in the water and the fire was doused with the help of the mechanical foam.”

“The ventilator on the back side of the showroom was used by the fire fighters to douse the fire,” an official said. According to sources, short circuit is suspected to have caused the fire. Goods worth several lakhs were destroyed in the fire.

Chandigarh, December 17
The internationally acclaimed adaptation of "9 Parts of Desire", which was written and performed by American-Iraqi Heather Raffo, inspired by a trip to a modern art museum in Baghdad in August 1993, was staged at the Tagore Theatre here this evening.

The play, directed by famous director Lillete Dubey, detailed the lives of nine Iraqi women spanning the decades between the first and second Gulf wars.

The play was a one-person show. Actor Ira Dubey essayed different roles of Iraqi women, belonging to a cross-section of society.

She played the role of a liberated artist, an ageing communist, a doctor, a teenage girl, a bombing victim and others. Through each of these characters, the audience came a know about the stories of survival and struggle of women in the war-torn Iraq.

Some of the stories, for instance, the chronicle of a bombing victim, were disturbing as these highlighted the lives of people tormented due to the wars and unrest in the country.

The interesting thing about the play was that it transcended politics, religion and even gender and struck a chord with the viewers making them feel and empathise with the stories as well as the lives of the women tormented by a war.

The whole responsibility of the play lay on Ira Dubey who did fairly well in essaying characters, especially that of a teenage girl and an old communist woman, currently in exile in London. The actor played well with the tone of her language and easily changed the accent with the change of the character. There was black humour in the play, painfully moved along with the stories of several characters.

The Durga Das Foundation, Chandigarh, brought the play to the city while The Tribune was its media sponsor.

Several prominent persons, including Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Sanjay Krishan Kaul watched the play.

Lillete Dubey’s Prime Time Theatre Company adapted the play for the Indian audience which received standing ovation at the Tagore Theatre today.

Chandigarh, December 17
The year remained providential for Panjab University as it figured among top 400 institutions in the world. The university outshone all other institutes of the country.

India's highest ranked institution

Panjab University emerged as India's highest ranked institution in the Times Higher Education World's Top 400 University Rankings 2013-2014. The university managed to beat all 15 Indian Institutes of Technology to emerge not only as India's best but also as the only Indian entrant to the 226 to 250 group rankings, the best any Indian institution has achieved this year.

Ranked 13th among BRICS universities

Panjab University was ranked at number 13 in the world’s first-ever ranking of 100 higher education institutions in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations and emerging economies. The Times Higher Education magazine published the world's first ranking for universities.

Walkout by Syndics

Syndics staged a walkout during the September 21 Syndicate meeting before it could even start after the university failed to include the action taken report regarding an enquiry conducted by the team constituted by the university in a complaint of sexual harassment at GTB Khalsa College, Dasuya, in the agenda.

Boycott of meeting

Syndicate members, except a few, boycotted the meeting held on September 28 despite a request made by Panjab University Vice-Chancellor a day ago asking them to attend the meeting. Thereafter, following thin attendance, the university authorities cancelled the meeting.

NSUI creates history in student poll

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) created a history on the PU campus by making two warhorses bite the dust in the student council elections by winning two key posts of the president and the joint secretary.

High drama after elections

The Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) election was marred by a controversy when the two rivals, the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and the Panjab University Student Union (PUSU), joined the platform to protest against the NSUI. The rivals staged a protest outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office alleging bogus voting by the NSUI. The protest continued for six days.

Question paper goof-up

The university this year received 44 complaints of goofs in question papers of undergraduate courses and 40 complaints of errors in question papers of postgraduate courses.

Racket of bogus DMCs detected

Panjab University detected a racket of bogus detailed marks certificates (DMCs) in the university. Bogus DMCs were recovered from two students of Government Home Science College, Sector 10, which were allegedly delivered to them by some fraudster, who charged them Rs 40,000 to get their compartment cleared after re-evaluation.

Syndicate turns down extension to VC’s wife

The PU Syndicate in its meeting held on October 8 rejected the proposal of the Academic and Administrative Committee of the Music Department to give one-year extension to Professor Neera Grover, wife of Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover, in the department as vocal studies professor.

Protest by ayurveda students

Due to delay in the declaration of results, students enrolled in BAMS at Shri Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College staged a massive protest outside the office of the Controller of Examination at Panjab University. The students called off their protest after the provisional result was declared by the university.

Alliance of three groups for Syndicate poll

GK Chatrath, BJP leader Satpal Jain and DAV group got together for the Syndicate elections to defeat the Ashok Goyal group. The alliance of three groups bagged eight seats leaving only seven seats for the Goyal group.

Student killed in wall collapse

Himanshu, a BSc third-year student of SD College, Sector 32, lost his life, while Piyush, a BBA first-year student, suffered leg injury when a boundary wall on the college premise collapsed after a squall hit the tricity.

Suicide by UIET student

A fourth-year student of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) reportedly committed suicide by tying his legs with an iron chain and electrocuting himself with a heater wire in his hostel room at boys’ hostel number II.

Students fined for reckless driving on campus

Two students of Panjab University were fined Rs 41,300 each for the damage caused to the university property due to reckless driving by them, which had led to a major accident on the campus.

Chandigarh, December 17
The Panjab University Campus Students Union (PUCSU) today submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover with regards to increasing the number of rooms in the faculty house for students.

In the memorandum, the issue was raised that there are 14,000 students studying in the campus and the university authorities have allocated three rooms in the faculty house for the stay of their parents or guardians.

PUCSU representative said three rooms in the faculty house were allocated to students in the past when their strength was mere 3,000 on the campus. But now with the strength of 14,000 students on the campus, the authorities have still not increased the number of rooms.

PUCSC president Chandan Rana said the authorities should reconsider the allocation of rooms in the faculty house. He demanded that the authorities should make the provision of 12 rooms in the faculty house.

Chandigarh, December 17
The PGIMER is going to start four new courses in different departments from January 2014. These will include two courses in the Department of Psychiatry: DM (Doctor of Medicine) in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, De-addiction in Adolescent Psychiatry; one in the Department of Pediatrics: DM in Pediatric Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and DM in the Histopathology Department.

The admission process to these new courses, including others existing, is currently under progress. The written examination for entrance to MD/MS courses in the PGIMER was conducted earlier this month and counselling will be completed by the end of the month. More than 8,000 students had appeared for the exam for nearly 800 seats.

The rationale behind introducing the new courses was to enhance the strength of resident doctors in these departments and also improve the quality of patient care, in addition to expanding the scope of education in the PGIMER.

A fellowship programme in Neuro-Radiology will also be introduced in January 2014. The PGIMER from this new academic session (2014) will also increase the penalty on junior residents (JRs) deserting the seats.

The penalty on JRs will be Rs 75,000 on leaving within six months of joining, Rs 1.25 lakh on leaving within one year of joining, Rs 1.75 lakh on leaving within two years and Rs 2 lakh on leaving after two years of joining.