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Tricity welcomes New Year in style
Chandigarh, December 31
Unlike last year, when the New Year celebrations were subdued due to the Delhi gang rape case, the tricity ushered in 2014 in style with gaiety and fervour. Residents of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali broke into celebrations as soon as the clock struck midnight.


People ring in the New Year at the Sector 17 Plaza in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photos: S Chandan

Residents welcome New Year amid biting cold
Chandigarh, December 31
With the cold wave showing no signs of letting up and the sun playing truant, the city continued to shiver as the mercury dipped further.

Water droplets on the windshield of a vehicle. (Left) and  Girls covered in woollens brave the chill at the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photo: S Chandan 

Councillors fail to use development fund
Chandigarh, December 31
Councillors of the the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation have failed to utilise the ward development fund allotted to them. Each councillor gets Rs 40 lakh every year for the development of the ward he or she represents. However, according to the MC records updated till December 22, of the total 26 elected councillors, 13 have failed to touch the figure of Rs 30 lakh.

PGI’s fund for poor dwindles 
Chandigarh, December 31
In a major setback and concern for thousands of poor patients who rush to the PGIMER from across the country in the hope of cheaper and quality treatment, the donations in the institution’s Poor Patient Welfare Fund (PPWF) have come down drastically in the past few years.

Development, better services priority
Professional: I wish to make the hospital more patient-friendly by fast-tracking the computerisation process and also improving its staff strength through massive recruitments. We want to set up mother and childcare centre, an international food court, more in-campus faculty houses and laundry services for resident doctors.

(Top 1) Youths in an upbeat mood near Sector 26; and (2) Gurdas Mann performs at the Chandigarh Club. (Bottom Left ) Artistes of the Great Bombay Circus during the celebrations at Phase VIII in Mohali; and People dance at the Altius hotel in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photos: Vicky Gharu

COMMUNITY

GMADA offer rejected
Mohali, December 31
Farmers of Hoshiarpur village, whose land is being acquired by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) for the Ecocity project, rejected the announcement of compensation offered in exchange of their land here today.

Mohali residents flay property tax
Mohali, December 31
Residents of Phase II here have written to the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, regarding the decision of the authorities to impose property tax on residents of Mohali.

Mayor lists his achievements
Chandigarh, December 31
Subhash Chawla, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, today held a press conference at the MC office in Sector 17 to list his achievements of the year.


Outgoing Chandigarh Mayor Subhash Chawla addresses the media in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Mayoral poll: Cong discusses strategy
Chandigarh, December 31
Senior Congress leaders held a meeting today with all party councillors to ensure that they vote for the Congress candidates only during the Mayoral elections, slated for January 1. The meeting was held at a hotel in Sector 26 owned by a Congress leader.

Punjab’s capital ignores Punjabi
Chandigarh, December 31
The Chandigarh Administration has placed Punjabi, the first language of Punjab of which Chandigarh is the capital, not even close to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada in the software of the test for learner's licence conducted by its Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA).

Need for better parent-children equation: Experts
Panchkula, December 31
Following the death of a 16-year-old girl in the Morni forest, near Panchkula, psychologists and experts feel a better equation among the parents and teachers could have prevented the girl from taking this extreme step.

New hope of revival for city Jan Aushadhi stores
Chandigarh, December 31
Almost three years after the city Jan Aushadhi stores continued to gather dust, the Central Government’s measures to bolster these centres nationwide have brought a new hope for their revival here.

Police raid hookah bar
Mohali, December 31 Following a complaint from NGOs, Additional Deputy Commissioner Praveen Kumar ordered action against a hookah bar (Arabic Infusion) in Sector 70 here. A team comprising Lakhmir Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), SS Bains, Superintendent of Police (SP), and other officials conducted a raid at the hookah bar, which was functioning illegally.

National award for Dr Garg
Chandigarh, December 31
Dr Pankaj Garg, senior colorectal and laparoscopic surgeon at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, has been awarded the prestigious Betadine Surgeon's Award at the international conference of the Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) held in Ahmedabad from December 27-29. More than 7,000 surgeons from India and across the globe attended this conference.

Rally on women’s safety organised
Chandigarh, December 31
In the ongoing NSS special camp at KBDAV - 7, Chandigarh, a rally on women safety was taken by the NSS volunteers to draw the attention of the administration. 


Students participate in a rally on women’s safety organised by KBDAV, Sector 7, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. a tribune photograph

EDUCATION

Notice to PU Syndics, VC 
Chandigarh, December 31
Panjab University syndicate members and VC were served a legal notice today for violating the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by tabling the issue of extension of appointment of Dr Neera Grover as professor, department of music, in the coming syndicate meeting. A city-based advocate RD Anand has sent the copy of legal notice to the registrar and vice-chancellor of the university.

Free Urdu classes to begin today
Chandigarh, December 31
Language Department, Punjab, will be starting free basic Urdu language classes from tomorrow at SD College, Sector 32, Chandigarh. The classes are open for everyone and timings of classes are from 5.15 pm to 6.15 pm. 

From PU & colleges

NEIGHBOURHOOD

They make jaggery to earn livelihood
Dera Bassi, December 31
Though making jaggery is no more prevalent in villages due to commercialisation of crops, unemployed, however, have adopted making jaggery to make their ends meet.






A worker makes jaggery at a village near Banur. A Tribune Photograph

Rs 15 crore spent on water supply schemes
Dera Bassi, December 31
Nearly Rs 15 crore has been spent on the water supply schemes in Dera Bassi to provide safe drinking water to residents. This was stated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary NK Sharma while inaugurating the water supply scheme at Mubarkpur, which is to be built at the cost of Rs 75 lakh. Sharma said with Rs 15 crore, various villages have been covered under the water supply scheme.

CRIME

Three held for vehicle thefts
Chandigarh, December 31
The UT police today busted a gang of vehicle thieves and burglars who had wrecked havoc in the tricity.




The accused in police custody at the Sector 26 police station in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Indian Air Force employee assaulted, robbed 
Chandigarh, December 31 A junior warrant officer with the Indian Air Force (IAF), attached with 3-BRD, was injured after three unidentified motorcyclists stopped his way, robbed him of his belongings and also pelted stones at him in the wee hours today.

Rs 35,700 snatched from man
Panchkula, December 31
An amount of Rs 35,700 was allegedly snatched from an employee of a courier company by three miscreants outside Punjab National Bank in Sector 8, Panchkula, where he had come to deposit the amount.

Assistant Prof ends his life
Chandigarh, December 31
An Assistant Professor with Punjabi University, Patiala, Mithilesh Kumar (39), allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Sarangpur village near here last night. His body was noticed hanging from the fan in the morning by his wife, who was sleeping in another room with their daughter. 

Mystery shrouds 22-year-old vegetable vendor's death
Chandigarh, December 31
A 22-year-old vegetable vendor, Rupinder Kumar, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a vacant Housing Board flat in Sector 49 this morning. The body was found hanging from a ceiling fan with his hands tied at the back, which made the police suspect that it could be a case of murder though they have not ruled out suicide too.

SPORTS

At 90, hockey legend has another Olympic dream
Chandigarh, December 31
 “I wish to live till the time the Indian hockey team wins another gold medal in the Olympics," says the legendary three-time Olympic gold medallist and former Indian hockey captain Balbir Singh (Senior), who turned 90 today.





Hockey Olympian Balbir Singh (centre) celebrates his 90th birthday with his family members in Sector 36, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

PU shuttlers shine at national tourney
Chandigarh, December 31
PU shuttlers won a silver medal in the All-India Inter-University Badminton Tournament at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, which concluded on December 27.

The badminton team of Panjab University which won the silver medal in the All-India 
Inter-University Badmintion Championship held at Bhubaneswar, in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Jerath nominated as director-supervisor
Chandigarh, December 31
Dr CK Jerath, president, Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association, has been nominated as director-supervisor for the technical conduct of the All-Inter University (AIU) Men and Women Boxing Championship.