In brief

I-Day: Entry banned in airport till Aug 20
CHANDIGARH: As part of heightened security ahead of Independence Day,the Airport Authority of India has decided to ban the entry of visitors at the airport complex from August 6 onwards. Officials say the order is a standard practice and the Chandigarh airport will be closed for visitors from August 6 to 20. “There is no security threat. It’s an annual exercise that we carry out before Independence Day. Visitors include all those coming to the airport to see off or receive passengers,” senior officials told Newsline. Airport authorities have also asked flight operators to double verify antecedents of travellers flying to and from Chandigarh. As many as 1,000 passengers visit the airport everyday.

MC staffers thrash hawker
Chandigarh: High drama was witnessed near the Chandigarh Police headquarters on Thursday,when a street vendor was thrashed in full public view by the enforcement staff of the Municipal Corporation. The hawker,Rampal,was chased,nabbed and thrashed by MC staffers. Another person,who tried to intervene,was also beaten up. The incident took place at noon,when the enforcement staff raided the area near the police headquarters in Sector 9. In a bid to escape,the hawker ran towards the dividing road of Sector 9 and 10 but was caught. The police are yet to take any action,even as Rampal was injured. SHO of the Sector 3 police station,Mahabir Singh,who was passing by the spot,witnessed the commotion and took the victim to the Sector-16 hospital.

Punjab Board exams from Sept 6
MOHALI: The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) on Thursday announced to hold the first semester examinations for Class X and XII for the present academic session 2010-11 from September 6. This is the first time that PSEB has introduced semester system in matriculation and senior secondary classes,which earlier used to be assessed through annual exams. While the Class XII semester exams will begin with Punjabi,Class X students start with mathematics. The Class X exams will be held from 9 am to 12.15 pm and the timings for Class XII is from 2 pm to 5.15 pm.

Auto hits SP’s vehicle,driver released on bail
CHANDIGARH: The official vehicle of UT Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) R S Ghuman was hit by an autorickshaw near the police headquarters in Sector 9 on Thursday. Driver Sita Ram,a resident of Kaimbwala village,was arrested and later released on bail. The incident took place when the SP was on his way to office in the morning. According to eyewitnesses,the autorickshaw came from the wrong side and hit the vehicle.
SHO of Sector 3,Inspector Mahavir Singh said the medical examination of the driver had revealed that he was in an inebriated condition.

Ram Niwas reviews hospital renovation
CHANDIGARH: A meeting to review the ongoing construction at Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32,and Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16 was held on Thursday. UT Chief Engineer Surinder Pall said the construction of Block-E in GMCH-32 would be completed by March 2011. The Rs 20 lakh sanctioned by the Planning Commission will be used to purchase latest equipment. The School of Nursing will be upgraded to a college so that inspections can be held by the Indian Nursing Council.

Intercepted without helmets,bikers assault cop
MOHALI: Two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly assaulted a policeman and tore off his uniform after they were intercepted while driving without helmets on the road dividing Phase IV and V here on Wednesday evening,the police said. In the melee,one of the assailants suffered injuries on the head,Investigating Officer (IO) Bawa Singh said. Constable Harman Singh,who was on duty at a checkpost headed by Phase-I SHO Inspector Harjinder Singh and other cops,signalled a motorcycle,on which two youths were riding without helmets,to stop. They started abusing the constable and manhandled him before other cops took them into custody,the IO said,while adding that initially both the bikers gave fake names and addresses. They were later identified as Jagjit Singh alias Jaggi of Gobindgarh village and Varinder Arora of Muktsar. Both in their early 20s are students at a local institute and are living in Sector 52-D,Chandigarh.

All villages to get e-gram centres
CHANDIGARH: All 12,800 villages of Punjab are set to get 14 services under one roof from December this year,with the Rs 91-crore programme of setting up e-gram centres in 3,017 panchayat clusters in Punjab becoming functional. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal,accompanied by Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura,reviewed the implementation of administrative reforms in the rural development department on Wednesday. Sukhbir said eight states in India,including neighboring Himachal Pradesh,had already set up e-gram centres up to the village level and Punjab could not lag behind in this area.