Kharar, April 17
In yet another incident of firing in Mohali district, three motorcycle-borne persons opened fire at a jeweller near his shop in Mullanpur around 8.15 pm today. The victim, Goldy (24), reportedly received four injuries near his waist and has been admitted to the PGI in a critical condition.

The victim was carrying a bag containing cash and jewellery. According to his neighbour, Rinku, an eyewitness to the incident, three motorcycle-borne persons, who had their faces covered with cloth, opened fire at the victim. They first fired three shots. Hearing the gunshots, Rinku rushed to rescue the victim. The miscreants then fired another bullet, pushed Rinku aside and fled from the spot.

Chandigarh, April 17
Nearly 10 days after a PGI doctor complained that water was found inside a pack of omnipaque, saving a heart patient in whom the fluid was to be injected from serious complications, the institution today constituted a committee to probe the matter.

The complaint was marked to the internal vigilance cell of the PGI, which formed a committee of doctors today to examine the case.

In a narrow escape for a Yamunanagar-based heart patient admitted to the PGI, doctors at the cath lab had detected water inside omnipaque just before it was to be injected into the patient.

Chandigarh, April 17
The Chandigarh Administration today served 21-day eviction notices on residents of Kuldeep Colony, Mazdoor Colony and Pandit Colony, all located in Sector 52 near Kajehri village.

The three colonies have come up on around 10 acres of prime land in Sector 52. After the notice period, the colonies will be demolished the same way as Colony No. 5 was demolished in November last year.

Last year, the UT had reclaimed 107 acres of prime land that was under illegal occupation in Colony No. 5.

Around 200 acres are under illegal occupation in 18 slum colonies in the city.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Shayin confirmed that notices had been served on residents of the colonies.

Those evicted would be shifted to one-room flats being constructed by the Chandigarh Housing Board.

Chandigarh, April 17
A 20-year-old mechanical engineer, Kamal Kishore, was killed when his scooter was hit by a Mahindra pickup near the Sector 34/35 light point early this morning. Kishore was taken to the PGI, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The scooterist received severe head injuries. He was a resident of Sector 32 and had recently joined a private company in Mohali after finishing his diploma in mechanical engineering.

The police scrutinised the CCTV footage of cameras installed at the Sector 34/35 light point after which it came to light that the victim was crushed to death under a Mahindra pickup.

Kishore and his neighbour, Ranjit Singh, who was riding a motorcycle, were going to a gurdwara when the victim's scooter was hit from the rear around 5.58 am.

The deceased’s father Joginder Kumar works with the Survey of India and is posted in Jammu. The deceased is survived by his parents and younger brother.

The police said a case was registered and efforts were on to identify the errant driver.

Chandigarh, April 17
After the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, it is the turn of Panjab University (PU) to introduce paid parking for visitors on the campus.

The authorities have identified two parking lots on the campus where paid parking will be introduced on a pilot basis initially for outsiders.

The university got five new parking lots sanctioned from the UT Architecture Department. Of these, the authorities propose to introduce paid parking in two lots -- at the Student Centre and near the Directorate of Correspondence Studies.

The Architecture Department approved a parking lot for 44 cars near the Student Centre. Records of the university reveal that at present, there are two parking lots near the Student Centre with a capacity of accommodating 66 cars.

Another parking lot for 46 cars has been sanctioned near the Directorate of Correspondence Studies by the department. At present, parking space for 104 cars is available at this place.

The campus, spread over 550 acres in Sectors 14 and 25, sees an average of around 8,000 vehicles daily. PU Dean Students Welfare Navdeep Goyal said students had given a suggestion to introduce paid parking for outsiders to control traffic congestion on the campus.

He said suggestions had been received to deploy staff at the entry points of the campus to charge parking fee from outsiders as in some areas there was a severe parking problem.

The authorities also planned to train 50 per cent of the freshly recruited security personnel in traffic management on the campus, he said.

PU hostel warden and Senator Yograj Angrish said the authorities should impose a nominal parking fee for visitors on the campus to avoid traffic congestion. He said the students were not reluctant to pay parking fee if they got proper facility for it on the campus. 

Chandigarh, April 17
Functioning of the cooperative house building societies in Chandigarh is autonomous and free from the bureaucratic control of the Chandigarh Administration, benefiting over 100 cooperative societies having over 15,000 members.

The secretary Cooperation, Chandigarh Administration, VI Alremthanga, has notified the amendments to the Cooperative Societies Act.

The amendments are in tune with the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act -2011.

A senior official in the Chandigarh Administration said the amendments were envisaged to make the cooperatives autonomous, self-reliant and democratic bodies.

The Act inter alia provides right to form cooperatives has been made a Fundamental Right.

The cooperatives can now hold their elections without any role of officials.The term of cooperatives will be for five years from the date of election; no board can be superseded or suspended for a period exceeding six months and no board can be suspended unless the government has a shareholding/loan/financial assistance in the cooperative societies.

Aimed to enhance public faith in cooperatives and isolate them from avoidable political or bureaucratic interference, a new Article 43 (B) has been inserted which says that the state shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of the cooperative societies.”

The Centre made the 97th amendment to the Constitution that became effective from February 2012. The state governments have been given one-year time till February, 2013 to amend their laws accordingly.

But the Chandigarh Administration sought legal opinion before notifying the amendments. 

Chandigarh, April 17
Continuing its drive against misuse of potable water during morning hours, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) today issued 10 challans to residents in different parts of the city.

A fine of Rs 2,000 was slapped on each violator. The penalty will be added to the water bills.An MC official said they also issued notices to 38 persons. The MC has constituted 16 teams that will move across the city every morning till June 30 to check the misuse of water. The violators are not going to be spared, he added. 

Chandigarh, April 17
Confusion prevails among the students of the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) whether they will be allowed to register themselves with the Council of Architecture (COA) for professional practice or not.

This is because the CCA has not submitted the admission receipts — from the 2009 batch till date — with the COA, on the basis of which, the licence is issued to the students. A final-year student on the condition of anonymity said, “The students of my batch have mailed to the Council of Architecture to clarify the status of their registration with the body.”

Complaining about the alleged mismanagement of the college for not fulfilling the COA norms, the students alleged, “Why should we pay extra fees to the COA to appear in a special exam? The authorities are at fault.”

COA executive member Prakash Deshmukhi confirmed that a number of college students had called up and e-mailed to them over the past few days.

He said, “Without COA registration, the students will not be able to practice in the commercial market. The COA has not received any communication from the UT Administration to re-inspect the college till date.”Meanwhile, the COA decided not to allow admissions for B.Arch degree course for the academic session 2014-15 to the Chandigarh College of Architecture.

Chandigarh, April 17
A shopkeeper, whose shop was sealed by the Estate Office in Sector 17, for misuse of premises, has raised questions on the functioning of the Estate office.

Ajit Singh, a shopkeeper, said he was running a shop in the basement of Sector 17 since 1982. In 2011, estate officials sealed my shop for the misuse of premises. He questioned when the Administration had made shops in the basement of Sector 19 Palika Bazaar then why they were they not allowing others to operate from the basement. But officials of the Estate Office maintained that basements were not meant for commercial purpose. If any shopkeeper was carrying out any commercial activity in the basement, they could seal the shop as per rules. There are no double standards in the functioning  of the Estate Office and the officials are only following rules. 

Chandigarh, April 17
In a study assessing perspective of those who experience and are harmed due to substance abuse closely, inmates at the PGIMER’s Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre (DDTC) - coming from across the northern region - considered intravenous drugs as the most harmful followed by heroin.

Rating these addictive substances on a scale of zero to 100, the substance users rated beer and chewable tobacco as the least harmful.

This was revealed in a study conducted by the PGIMER’s Department of Psychiatry, which has conducted a study on 48 substance users and their caregivers.

Literature on harm estimation has quite often relied on expert opinions of those who treat substance use as disorders. But harm ratings by substance users can be a useful guide while formulating policies and allocating resources,” concluded the study titled “Perceived Harmfulness of Substance Use: A Pilot Study”.

All subjects were males aged between 18 and 59 and a majority of them had studied till class X. They were unemployed and belonged to urban background. Most of them had taken psychoactive substances in their lifetimes but were currently abstinent.

The study carried out in 2012 was published in the January-March 2014 edition of the Indian Journal of Community Medicine.

Mohali, April 17
The Rayat-Bahra Institute of Engineering and Biotechnology (RBIEBT) organised its fourth blood donation camp at the Mohali campus today.

A total of 128 units of blood were collected during the camp. It was organised in association with the Blood Transfusion Department of the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, and the Lions Club. The camp was inaugurated by Prof V Rihani, director-principal, RBIEBT.

A blood donation camp is organised every year at the RBIEBT. NSS volunteers also organised a poster-making competition a day prior to the blood donation camp. About 95 students took part in the competition.

Anjul Bhatia (ECE-6) claimed the first position, Keerty Roy (IT-6) stood second and Dheeraj Moudgil (IT-6) remained at the third spot in the competition.

Mohali, April 17
Mohali-based doctor Preetinder Singh, chief dental consultant and specialist at Indus Hygiea Hospital, here, represented the country in the world’s first conclave of Periodontology organised by the International Academy of Periodontology (IAP, US) at Bangkok, Thailand. Dr Preetinder Singh was the only dentist who was invited as a special delegate at the three-day conclave from the northern part of the country.

The conclave, which concluded on April 13, was attended by specialists like Dr Thomas Van Dyke (US), Dr Mark Bartold (Australia) and IAP president Dr Ajay Kakar and delegates from over 25 countries.

Dr Preetinder said the theme of the conclave was “global methodologies for periodontal therapy”. It aimed at addressing gum diseases and their effective treatment at the worldwide level.

Dr Preetinder Singh spoke on the prevalence of gum diseases in India and also shared newer treatment plans and strategies related to regeneration of gums. — TNS

Panchkula, April 17
The body of an industrial worker, who was missing since April 13, was found in a sacred pond (Sukhanand Talab) at Barwala, about 25 km from here, this morning.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sukhbir Singh Virk, posted at the Barwla police post, said the deceased had been identified as Amarpal, a resident of Ambala.

He said Amarpal was residing with his wife, Sukhwinder Kaur, and other family members in a rented accommodation at Barwala for the past six years. Amarpal was not having cordial relations with his wife.

A visitor, who noticed the body floating in the water, informed the police. A police party, led by the ASI, reached the spot and fished out the body from Sukhanand Talab.

Sukhwinder Kaur, who had gone to visit a temple in the vicinity, identified the body from the clothes her husband was wearing, the ASI said.

The body was handed over to the family members after initiating inquest proceedings in the case.

Panchkula, April 17
In an effort to save human lives and wild animals, especially monkeys, in road accidents, the Haryana Wildlife Department has decided to rope in the district police and non-government organisations (NGOs) to educate transporters and the public on not to feed simians on the Panchkula-Naraingarh Road.

After taking a serious note of the increase in the number of accidents on this stretch of the road, the wildlife authorities have initiated this step. Transporters, passengers and tourists feed monkeys due to religious sentiments and often meet with accidents.

“Transporters dump refuse and other solid waste like banana leaves and other perished fruits along the road thus attracting the animals. The monkeys which gather on the road have made the stretch accident prone,” said Vikash Paul, a resident of Panchkula.

Wildlife experts said the practice of feeding monkeys had virtually forced them to beg and they had lost their basic food-hunting skills in forests.

“These animals keep on waiting for the visitors while sitting on trees along the road. When they see any person approaching, they rush to the road for food, which leads to road mishaps. Many baby monkeys have been crushed to death under the speeding vehicles and a number of motorists met with accidents here in the past one decade,” said Dr Sandeep Kumar Jain.

Dr Amarinder Kaur, chief wildlife warden, said: “We have a plan to erect hoardings at certain prominent spots to educate the general public on not to feed monkeys”.

“The department is also planning to rope in certain NGOs and the city police to be a part of the awareness drive, which will be launched shortly,” she said.

In the first phase, the project would be implemented on the Panchkula-Ramgarh Road. Later, it would be implemented in other parts of the state also, she said.

Mohali, April 17
The District Election Office (DEO) has received as many as 98 election-related complaints so far.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mohali Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer, Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu said of late, the office had been receiving five to six complaints daily.

“Most of the complaints relate to defacement of public property or putting party banners at unauthorised places. There have been allegations of misuse of government machinery in the favour of certain persons as well,” he said, adding, “There have also been instances where candidates or party workers have made derogatory remarks against their opponents.”

Sidhu said while immediate action was taken in cases such as defacement of property and unauthorised banners or hoardings, complaints pertaining to misuse of government machinery were of a serious nature and have been forwarded to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer for appropriate action.

Sources in the DEO said Congress candidate Ambika Soni and SAD’s Prem Singh Chandumajra top the list of persons in the district against whom complaints of poll code violation have been made. “We have received about 10 complaints against Soni in the past two days alone while a police case has been registered against Chandumajra at Mullanpur village,” an official said.

Harkesh Chand Sharma, general secretary of District Congress Committee, Mohali, claimed that there have also been instances of certain persons filing complaints to settle personal scores.

Chandigarh, April 17
Taking a serious view about an attempt to breach security at girls’ hostel number 9 — in the South campus of Panjab University (PU) — in the wee hours today, the Dean Student Welfare (DSW) has directed the installation of grills and fixing of glass pieces on the boundary wall.

Sources said over the past fortnight, several complaints have been made by the girl inmates of the hostel about youths — residing in the colony of Sector 25, adjoining the hostel — allegedly climbing the boundary wall and trying to enter the premises at night.

A similar complaint was received by DSW Navdeep Goyal last night from the security staff. However, timely action by the guards thwarted the youths’ attempts to breach security.

Confirming that he had received a complaint in this regard, DSW Goyal said, “The authorities will inform the police and seek suitable action.”

“I have also directed the officials concerned to install grills and fix glass pieces on the boundary wall. A request to increase the wall’s height has also been sent to the UT Chief Architect Department, which is still under review,” he added.

The girls’ hostel number 9 was inaugurated on December 23, 2013.

During the opening ceremony then, a team of PU officials had pointed out that the height of the wall in the backyard was quite low and would not provide safety to the girl students.

Following this, it was decided that a communication be sent to the UT Administration stating that owing to security reasons, the authorities should allow the wall’s height to be increased.

Chandigarh, April 17
Confusion prevailed among the post-graduate students of MCom and MBA (second and fourth semesters) regarding the date sheet of their examinations. The students today sought a clarification from the office of the Controller of Examinations whether the exams will commence on May 3 or in the last week of May.

The PU Controller of Examination later clarified that there was no change in the date sheet of MCom and MBA (second and fourth semesters).