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Rs 11 lakh looted from liquor syndicate van
Mohali, July 19 In the first incident, that happened at around 11 pm in Sector 70, three robbers looted a cash van (a Bolero) belonging to the local liquor syndicate and decamped with about Rs 11 lakh. They abandoned the van about 500 metres away. In the second incident, two robbers, armed with a pistol, held hostage a family of the local gurdwara ‘granthi’ (priest) at around 5 am at Phase III B 1. They robbed the family of Rs 35,000 and gold jewellery worth several lakhs. The ‘granthi’, Harjit Singh, was at gurdwara while his 50-year-old wife, 22-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son were at home at the time of the incident. In the cash van robbery, the robbers took away the cash van at gunpoint when it reached near a liquor shop at Sector 70 to collect cash as routine. One person, Ravi, the cashier at the liquor shop, suffered head injuries when one of the robbers attacked him with a bottle of beer. The shop owner, Lovely Sandhu, said the robbers were waiting to strike near the shop. “When the van, in which two workers of the liquor syndicate, Japinder and Bhola, were sitting, reached in front of his shop and sounded the horn, the robbers swooped on them. One of them hit Ravi on the head with a bottle of beer as he was walking towards the van to hand over cash. Seeing Ravi being attacked, Japinder alighted from the vehicle. At the same time, another robber put his pistol on the van driver Bhola’s temple. They pushed Bhola out of the vehicle and drove away,” said Sandhu. The robbers threatened the staff with opening fire if they raised the alarm, he added. They abandoned the van near the loot point and decamped with the booty. Mohali SSP Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said they had recovered the van. “We have summoned forensic experts to take fingerprints from the vehicle. We have got some vital leads. I hope the robbers will soon be in the police net,” said Bhatti. The Chandigarh Police also reached the spot with the
Meanwhile, the police said the ‘granthi’, Harjit Singh, left his house for the gurdwara early morning after locking the main entrance of his residence at Phase III B 1. “The robbers, who were carrying a pistol, entered the house and put the pistol on the temple of Harjit Singh’s young girl and threatened the other members of the family, including Harjit’s wife and his son,” said SSP Bhatti. When they told the robbers that there was nothing in the house, they locked the trio in the washroom after tying their hands and started ransacking the house. Harjit’s son escaped through the exhaust fan vent and informed his father about the incident. Both the incidents occurred in the area under the jurisdiction of the Mataur police. “We have registered separate cases under appropriate sections,” said SSP Bhatti, adding that raids were being conducted to nab the culprits.
Strike plan
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In city, five snatchings in two hours
Chandigarh, July 19 The first incident was reported at around 8:30 pm in Sector 49 where two motorcycle-borne youngsters snatched the chain of a girl who was riding an Activa scooter. The other four incidents were reported from the road separating sectors 32 and 33, sectors 35 and 22, and sectors 23 and 24. Police sources said the victims failed to note down the registration numbers of the
Cop’s mother targeted
Sources said some persons tried to snatch the chain of the mother of a Punjab police officer in Sector 47.
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School suspends students for brawl
Chandigarh, July 19 Victim Sachin, a Class X student, was allegedly thrashed by his seniors of Class XII after the school hours on Thursday while he was returning home. The school authorities claimed that on the day of the incident, both the victim and one of the seniors were not present on the campus as per the school records. Indra Dhingra, Principal, said: “For the time being, we have struck off the name of the two seniors named by Sachin. However, the final decision will be taken on Tuesday when both the parties will record their statements.” She said: “On the day of the incident, as per the school records, Sachin was not present and he did not attend any class. One of the senior students was also not present as he was on a long medical leave.”According to the school entry register also, the students were not present at the school at the time of brawl. However, one of the school employees said a majority of the students, especially senior boys, enter the school premises by scaling the boundary wall. One of the staff members said, “We have apprised the authorities a couple of times that boys scale the boundary wall to enter the school. However, no action has been taken in this regard.” The victim’s father, Devinder Singh claimed that his son was present in the school and attended classes. Devinder alleged: “To save the seniors, who ruthlessly bashed up my son, the school authorities are now making excuses. It is due to their negligence that my son has suffered severe injuries.” He further alleged the police had also failed to action against the culprits. The police said: “We went to the school to enquire into the matter. However, the principal said the students were minors and they would resolve the issue at their own level.”
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Pay Rs 8.59 cr in 15 days, UT tells Golf Club
Chandigarh, July 19 The revised amount has been reassessed by the UT Estate Office based on fresh analysis as prescribed in the CPWD manual. The UT Estate Officer, in a communication to the president of the CGC, has stated that after the approval of the UT Administrator as per the authority given by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the revised rent has been calculated with effect from March 16, 2008, to March 15, 2013. The total sum has been calculated at Rs 8,59,80,000. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, while hearing a petition, had directed that the UT Administration would not use coercive measures to recover the lease amount from the club. The UT had told the court that the administration had revised the lease amount from Rs 13.44 lakh to Rs 10.02 lakh per month for the financial year 2008-09. Further, the lease amount would be fixed for subsequent years after considering a proportionate hike on the base amount of Rs 10.02 lakh per month fixed from 2008-09.The Administration, vide the letter, had asked the club to deposit the lease money for the period from March 16, 2008, to March 15, 2013. The amount comes out to Rs 9,27,48,000. But the club, instead of depositing the amount, moved the court. The administration has now reassessed the lease amount.
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Fire breaks out at furniture market
Chandigarh, July 19 A PCR informed the Fire Department’s control room about the incident, following which five fire tenders and three water boozers were rushed to the spot from different fire stations of Chandigarh. Meanwhile, another fire tender from Mohali also reached the spot. Fire officials said the furniture stored in shop numbers 55, 56, 57 and 58 was destroyed in the fire. No loss of life has been reported as all shops were closed. Station Fire Officer (SFO) ML Sharma said the furniture stored in the rear side of the shops got burnt in the fire, while the furniture stored in front of the shops was saved. “The fire was brought under control after around one hour. However, two fire tenders stayed at the spot till 6 am to ensure that the fire does not spread again,” the SFO said. The rain during the night turned out to be an advantage for the firefighters in ensuring that the fire does not spread further. Fire officials said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained. “Many shops have stocked combustible material like thinner, denatured spirit, paint, clothes, etc., following which the fire spreads quickly. Moreover, the shops are so close that the fire spreads very quickly from one shop to another”, the SFO said. The fire officials said electricity wires were also lying in the open. The Fire Department was yet to prepare the estimate of the loss suffered by the shopkeepers. Previous fire incidents at the market The furniture market has a history of fire incidents causing a huge loss to the shop owners.
No fire-safety equipment installed
Despite repeated incidents of fire at the furniture market, shopkeepers have failed to install fire-safety equipment in their shops. Combustible material has been stored in the shops, which can lead to a fire.
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3K BSNL phones lose ring
Our Correspondent
Mohali, July 19 The theft took place at a point located on the road dividing Phases II and IV. A BSNL official said it was the fifth or the sixth time that thieves had struck at the same point. A complaint has been lodged to the police by the BSNL in this regard. The senior SDO, cable maintenance, BSNL, Nishan Singh, said that about six metre of the copper wire has been taken away by the thieves. “The point from where the cable was stolen was quite deep and it had been properly sealed. The thieves might have worked over a period of at least three days to get to that point for removing the cable,” said the senior SDO. Nishan Singh said BSNL employees usually mistake digging at some areas to be some kind of repair work being undertaken by the Municipal Corporation or GMADA. He said the BSNL has suffered substantial losses due to the theft. The cost of the cable was around Rs 2.5 lakh. Besides, incurring expenditure on making the network functional, the revenue which the BSNL would have earned for the period, till the cables were restored, would also be lost. It would take three to four days to make the telephone lines operational again, said Nishan.
Jinxed?
More than six metre of copper wire was stolen by the thieves. The cost of the cable is estimated to be around Rs 2.5
lakh. On earlier occasions too, thefts have taken place at the same point.
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Fear rises with water level in Ghaggar
Panchkula, July 19 The water level in the Ghaggar river was recorded at 5 ft (10,319 cusec discharge) in Bhankharpur, Dera Bassi, and receded to 4.5 ft (8,273 cusec) at 11 am and continued to flow till 2 pm. The rise in the water level set alarm bells ringing for the Drainage Department. It was feared that the high level of water may cause damage to Devigarh and Khanauri areas in Patiala. Against a record of highest water level (5.5 ft) registered here on August 27, 2011, the Ghaggar carried a discharge of 5 ft after a gap of two years. The traffic on the Morni-Raipur Rani road was also disrupted for over two hours following a landslide at Plasra village. The Haryana Public Works Department pressed men and machinery at the site and cleared the road for the use by general public after a struggle of two hours. Similarly, Sector 31, Panchkula, was also cut off from the Panchkula-Yamunanagar highway as a road link developed a breach due to rain water. The HUDA officials, including BS Cheema, personally visited the site and plugged the breach. The swirling water of the Ghaggar caused a threat to a number of jhuggis mushroomed alongside the bank of the river in Mubarikpur. A seasonal choe unable to carry the rain water entered the Bassi Mubarikpur Truck Operators Union, Dera Bassi. A number of trucks were submerged in the water. The truckers had to make use of heavy duty cranes for towing away the trucks stuck in the waste deep muddy water, claimed Baldev Singh, a truck owner. The raging Ghaggar river also attracted commuters and visitors to the bridge on the Panchkula-Yamunanagar highway, near Nada Sahib Gurdwara, this afternoon. Many devotees rushed to immerse religious items in the river. They also conducted religious ceremonies here today.
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Now, UT to pay interest on security deposit to power consumers
Chandigarh, July 19 The commission has refused to reconsider its decision directing the department to pay interest on security deposit to the consumers. With this, the department will now have to pay interest on security deposit to the consumers. The UT Electricity Department had challenged the order issued by the JERC’s last year wherein the commission had issued directions to the UT Electricity Department to pay interest on the security deposit collected from consumers equivalent to the bank rate. UT’s Superintending Engineer (Electricity) MP Singh said, “We have demanded money in advance from the JERC so that we can pay it to the consumers. However, the commission has directed to first provide interest on the security deposit to consumers and then it will provide funds to them.” He said the department would continue to pay interest on the security deposit to consumers. The Electricity Department over the years has collected Rs 25 crore in the form of interest from power consumers of the city, but had not paid interest to them. Last year, in its order, the JERC had stated, “The commission directs the petitioner, that the petitioner must pay the interest on consumer security deposit for financial year 2013-14 (at the bank rate i.e. 8.75% per annum applicable as on January 29, 2013) with effect from April 1, 2013, to the consumers on their security deposit irrespective of the petitioner’s constraints and should mention the same as the ‘interest on security deposit for financial year 2013-14’ on the bills of the consumers. Any non-compliance in this regard shall be viewed seriously by the commission.” JERC turns down other issues as well The JERC has also turned down other issues, including inter-state transmission losses, provision for bad and doubtful debt, carrying cost on accumulated revenue gap, gross fixed assets and depreciation, power purchase cost, delayed payment surcharge in case of permanently disconnected consumers and the Bhakra Beas Management Board arrears.
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Industrialists discuss traffic problems with cops
Chandigarh, July 19 In the meeting, the members suggested that during peak hours, the policemen instead of issuing challans should help in managing traffic. Besides, there should be proper signages and lights to help commuters, especially during night hours. They also requested the police to spread awareness rather than issuing challans, especially of outstation vehicles. The police officials said they would consider the suggestions given by the industrialists. — TNS
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Kirron distributes sewing machines among poor women
Chandigarh, July 19 Flanked by guest of honour Municipal Councillor Saurabh Joshi, she also distributed certificates among 81 urban poor youth beneficiaries who have completed training in various trades like quilting and dress designing, jute articles, purse and bag-making and computer fundamentals with MS Office, networking, accounting, Tally and soft skill. There are 66 female and 15 male beneficiaries who have undergone skill training programme. MP Kirron Kher appreciated the efforts of SJSRY project director Vivek Trivedi who introduced a provision for professional sewing machines for the urban poor women to start their livelihood and gave them economic generation opportunities directly at their homes. She stressed on identifying the talent of underprivileged youth through these kind of training programmes.
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NHAI starts widening of road at Zirakpur
Zirakpur, July 19 Following Punjab and Haryana High Court directions given to the state for coming up with solution of the traffic congestion on the Kalka-Ambala National Highway here, the NHAI finally swung into action. The NHAI earlier had asked the state government to pay Rs 5 crore for the widening of the road under the flyover. Taking a serious note of the issue, Satish Chandra, Punjab CM’s technical advisor, visited Zirakpur, accompanied local MLA NK Sharma to take a stock of the traffic problem following the intervention of Punjab and Haryana High Court directions to the Punjab Government to come up with a solution for the traffic problem. The technical advisor had also asked the Punjab Infrastructure and Development Board (PIDB), Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) and the Zirakpur municipal council to find solution the problem collectively. NK Sharma said the NHAI has started widening of the road from Baltana-T point till Patiala Chowk. Under this project of Rs 1.25 crore, the existing roads (on either side of the pillars of the flyover) would be widened up to 10 feet. The widening would be completed shortly, he added. There is also a provision of underpasses at the Baltana T-point, Shamra claimed. The NHAI’s project director had earlier sent a proposal to widen the Zirakpur Chowk to Patiala Chowk stretch of the highway to after the meeting with the local MLA.
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Teachers’ union blocks traffic
Mohali, July 19 The protestErs were demanding to restart their recruitment process, which the state government had stopped midway after starting it in February, this year. “If our demand not met by the government, we would intensify our protest in the coming days,” said the protesters. Raising anti-state government slogans, the protesters, who gathered in a large number from across the state held a procession from Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan to Phase VII light point and then staged a dharna. Though the police diverted the traffic from YPS Chowk and other points leading to the light point, commuters were left harassed for some time due to the jam. Mohali SDM Lakhmir Singh along with senior police officials reached at the spot. The agitators were pacified with the promise of arranging a meeting with the Punjab Chief Minister or some highly-ranked officer in the state government soon.
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HSGPC should have been formed earlier: Cong
leader
Panchkula, July 19 He said the HSPGC should have been formed much earlier as per the demand of the members of the Sikhs community in the state. Taking a dig at Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Berinder Singh claimed that Haryana Chief Minister made an attempt to allure Sikh community by taking the step due to the assembly elections. Berinder Singh, member Rajya Sabha, was addressing a convention “Badlaw” (change) organised by the youth Congress workers from Panchkula and Kalka assembly constituencies at Inderdhanush auditorium, in Sector 5, here. The leader claimed that the Congress in Haryana has seen a downfall in the last 10 years under the leadership of Hooda. The leader also announced to hold protests against the government in different districts shortly. Scores of youth leaders, including Vibhor Batra, Ajaib Singh Jaildar and others, from both the constituencies also spoke and expressed their solidarity with Birender Singh. Cong convention
Congress leader Birender Chaudhary was in Panchkula to address a convention organised by the youth Congress workers.
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Play called off after religious groups staged protest
Chandigarh, July 19 The protestors from various religious groups alleged that the play was against the religious sentiments. However, director of the play Sangeeta Gupta claimed that the play was not against any religious sentiments rather it was satire against social evils prevalent in the society. She said, “We want to awaken the people that they must stand up against the social evils, and if audience would have raised objection we would have surely taken that into consideration but without seeing the play people should not raise objections.” Playwriter Gurchet Chitarkar stated that the team was even ready to make minor changes in the script if the protestors gave them logical reasons for it. Theatre artists alleged that the agitators without seeing their play had made hue and cry over it and had torn posters across the city. Meanwhile, the play was called off after threats were received from angry protestors. Tagore theatre management officials claimed that they got orders from district magistrate office to withdraw the permission for staging the play in order to avoid any untoward incident.
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Start-up weekend from July 25
Chandigarh, July 19 Nearly 180 participants attended the boot camp at the EDC yesterday as a prelude to the startup weekend. The camp was conducted by serial entrepreneur Atul Gupta, founder of Red Alkemi and Pugmarks.
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Tata companies spend crores on CSR activities
Tata companies spent Rs 660 crores in 2013-14 to carry out Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, which include a wide range of programmes in skills development, livelihoods, education, health and nutrition, bio-diversity and disaster relief. Dr Mukund Rajan, member, group executive council and brand custodian, Tata Sons, said, “CSR is not a practice but a tradition in the Tata group.” Tata Docomo outlet comes up in Panchkula Tata Docomo, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices, opened its new technologically advanced and exclusive retail outlet in Sector 20, Panchkula, on Saturday. Located at SCO 289, this is Tata Docomo’s 69th exclusive branded retail store in Punjab region and 19th in Chandigarh tricity including Mohali and Panchkula. — TNS
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session 2014-15 Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 19 Punjab Engineering College (PEC) has taken a lead to design a curriculum for the graduation in engineering programmes, which has also been accepted by the other engineering institutes affiliated to Panjab University, Chandigarh. The curriculum will be effective from the session 2014-15. Under the new curriculum, there will flexibility for students to choose courses of their interest. The students can also choose humanities, social sciences and management courses by the department. There is an option to meritorious students to study additional courses and earning more credits over and above the minimum required to either get an honours degree in parent discipline or excel in another specialisation as minor. A student admitted to BE degree in Civil Engineering can go for specialisation in management or any other discipline of choice. There will be one semester of industry internship. The academic courses have been blended with compulsory courses on ethics and self awareness and also on communication skills and technical communication, soft skills, as required by the industry. Industrial tour has been made compulsory. A continuous evaluation system has been introduced. Here, the students will be graded throughout the semester via quizzes, assignments, project work and case studies in addition to their end term examinations. The introduction of core engineering courses right from the 1st semester onwards will help students to get a feel of engineering and technology right from their formative days.
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Annual Neerja Bhanot Award conferred on Rashmi Anand
Chandigarh, July 19 The annual Neerja Bhanot Award was instituted in 1991 in the memory of the brave Senior Flight Purser, Neerja Bhanot, who saved hundreds of lives while sacrificing her own, during a Pan Am plane hijack at Karachi Airport in September 1986. Speaking on the occasion, Shabana Azmi said the true courage and compassion shown by both Neerja and Rashmi are highly inspiring for all of us. At the ceremony Azmi in her address asked, “What would Neerja have been thinking of when she opened the door of the plane and, in spite of the bullets flying all round her and hand grenades exploding, she decided not to jump out and run away but instead do her duty and help the passengers to escape? Or, why is Rashmi today spending time in dingy police stations and counseling women suffering from gender and domestic violence? What drives a person to do all this?” While accepting the award, Rashmi Anand said, “I am proud to receive this award as it represents the spirit of Neerja Bhanot’s determination and grit in the face of overwhelming circumstances. A woman must not tolerate injustice and must learn to stand up for her rights even in worst of the circumstances.” Congratulating the awardee, Rama Bhanot, Managing Trustee, Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, exhorted her to continue with her mission to help the less privileged women. “We are proud of you and we look forward to you for spreading compassion, love and affection to even more women in the coming years as you are a true Neerja heroine,” said Rama Bhanot.
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Music session
Tribune Model School organised a kinder music session for the parents of the Kindergarten today. The school authorities informed that the event was held with the aim to provide better learning experience in word formation at school and home. Meanwhile, during the session the parents danced to the rhymes and songs. Vanamahotsava celebrated
Vanamahotsava was celebrated at Sacred Heart School today. The celebrations began with planting of seeds on the school premises. It was followed by a show that highlighted the importance of protecting flora through various songs, dances and skits. The skits ‘Liar Liar, Nature on Fire’ and ‘Nature’s Interest Litigation’ got a thunderous applause from. The NCC wing of the school presented the dramatised version of the Chipko Movement. Ishwar Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forest (APCCF), Ministry of Environment and Forests, was the guest of honour. He apprised the students of some facts about the various trees as well as the hunting habits of some predators. Principal Sister Nisha applauded the efforts of the students, teachers and encouraged them to continue their strive for a greener earth. Comedy fun activity
Northridge International School, Sector 46-A, organised —Just a Laugh-Comedy Fun— programme for parents and children on the school premises. The school authorities claimed that the motive of the programme was to create a good sense of humour that just doesn’t help kids emotionally or socially but also make them healthier. Headmistress Rajni Khorana said, “We strongly believe that laughing together is a way to connect and a good sense of humour also can make kids smarter, healthier and equip them better to cope with challenges.” CL Aggarwal DAV School, Sector 7-B, under the services rendered by Aviance medical group organised a dental awareness, eye and health check-up camp for the children of the school. Students were informed about tooth decay. Brushing technique was demonstrated in detail to the students with small interactive lecture and presentations on “Keeping our teeth healthy”. The staff was also examined by the team. Census week celebrated
Census week was celebrated at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Maloya, in which the students of Classes VIII to XII participated. Plethora of activities including screening of census movie, display of census data, painting competition, slogan writing competition, declamation contest and quiz were conducted under data dissemination from Census-2011 to sensitise the school students. Saplings planted
A sapling plantation activity was hosted for the children of ‘Petals’, junior wing PML SD Public School, Sector-32, as a part of Van Mahotsav celebrations. The students planted saplings of different varieties of herbal and medicinal value in beautifully decorated pots. Teachers told them about the importance of preservation of environment and to respect the Mother Earth.
— TNS
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Law entrance test result
Panjab University (PU) Chandigarh has declared the result for Law (LLB 3 years) entrance test. The result is available at PU website —http://results.puchd.ac.in/pglaw14/. The students can submit forms till July 23. PU Spokesman said the provisional merit list of candidates for interview for admission to LLB would be put on the department’s notice board on July 27 and the interview of candidates will be held on July 28. Second counselling
for BCom
PU has declared the schedule of second counselling for centralised admissions of BCom-I. The counselling will be conducted on July 24 at Law Auditorium, PU. Physical presence of applicant at the time of counselling is must for admission.— TNS
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Panchkula, July 19 A wide range of books from all disciplines were displayed and fiction had greatest takers. Principal Anita Mehra inaugurated the exhibition. —TNS
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In the ongoing lease row between the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) and the Chandigarh Administration, the latter has now asked the club management to deposit Rs 8.59 crore as lease amount within 15 days, failing which penal provisions would be used against it.
