In Brief

Armyman sets himself ablaze
MOHALI: Armyman Prem Singh allegedly attempted self-immolation at his quarters in Phase I here on Wednesday evening. According to information,Singh,who was on leave for the past six months,was undergoing treatment for drug abuse and was reportedly under mental stress. While his wife was out,Singh allegedly doused kerosene oil and set himself on fire. He ran out of the house,following which neighbours called the police and fire brigade,which rushed the victim to hospital. The police have begun investigation.

Pensioners stage demonstration
MOHALI: Retired state government employees,under the banner of the Punjab Government Pensioners’ Association,held a massive demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner office in Mohali on Wednesday. The pensioners from far and near converged at the District Administrative Complex in Phase I here and staged a dharna,which culminated in a rally.
Addressing the protesters,association president Karam Singh Dhanoa and general secretary Mohan Singh accused the SAD-BJP state government of “backtracking” from the promises they had made. They threatened to intensify their stir if their demands were not met. Later,the protestors submitted a charter of demands to the DC for forwarding it to the Punjab Chief Minister and Chief Secretary.

Residents to be partners in sanitation drive
CHANDIGARH: The office of the Medical Officer of Health,Municipal Corporation,has directed its staff to ensure there is no littering on road sides,open spaces and in areas that can be effectively checked. A campaign would be launched in various residential as well as commercial areas to create awareness among residents to keep the surroundings clean. The Inspectorate Staff has been asked to ensure that every establishment as well as road side vendors keep dustbins for the disposal of waste.
The rickshaw carts made available to the department,along with safaikaramcharis,would be deployed to keep the sector roads clean. Residents and shop owners would also be asked to join the campaign for depositing garbage with door-to-door collectors.

Book exhibition at PGI
Chandigarh: Prof V Sakhuja,Dean,PGIMER,inaugurated the medical book exhibition of Dr Tulsi Das Library at the institute on Wednesday. “This practical manual illustrates the research methodologies in experimental and clinical work with good presentations and is understandable to all the students and the research personnel. This book projects the new prospects in history of pharmacology including brief history on Father of pharmacology,Drug development and animal use,” said Prof Sakhuja,while speaking on the occasion.

Suicide attempt at Nari Niketan: Girls still wait for their ‘husbands’
CHANDIGARH: The two minor inmates of Nari Niketan,who attempted to commit suicide on Tuesday,were in despair on Wednesday. The girls consumed phenyl as they could not bear to stay separate from their ‘husbands’. Both girls,who shared similar stories of marrying against the wishes of their families,waited for their ‘husbands’ to call on them and hoped to hear from them. But sadly,their partners failed to turn up at the hospital to enquire about their health till the evening,sources said. The 17-year-old inmates of Nari Niketan said they were upset over their fate as they did not get a chance to live with their husbands after they married them last year. Both were lodged in the home for destitute women for a few months,following court directions. They had reportedly refused to go to their parents’ house when their love affairs came to light and met with strong opposition from their families.

Car rams tanker,four dead
FATEHGARH SAHIB: Four persons died when their car rammed a tanker at the GT Road in the wee hours on Wednesday. A case was registered and the bodies were sent for postmortem. According to the police,the deceased were from Kirtan Jatha and hailed from Ferozepur. They have been identified as Manpreet Singh (32),Charanjit Singh (28),Rajinder Singh (27) and Gurlal Singh (24). The tanker driver is absconding.

SBI Ladies Club members visit Old Age Home
CHANDIGARH: Kavita Sehgal,president of the Chandigarh State Bank Ladies Club,along with vice-president Taposhi Bhaduri and other members of the club,donated various items,including carpets and eatables,to inmates of the Old Age Home in Sector 15,Chandigarh,on Wednesday. Sehgal also interacted with the elderly citizens and shared their life experiences. She highlighted the activities undertaken by the club under the Community Services Programme for needy persons. Damanjit,manager of the Old Age Home,thanked Sehgal for the kind gesture shown by the club.

Results for admission to GMCH-32 declared
CHANDIGARH: The result of the Postgraduate Entrance Test-2010 for admission to MD/MS courses at Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32,Chandigarh,was declared on Wednesday. The result is available on the Panjab University website http://results.puchd.ac.in,according to the Controller of Examinations,PU.

Hindi workshop concludes at PU
CHANDIGARH: A two-day research workshop organised by the Department of Hindi,Panjab University,concluded on Wednesday. The inaugural day saw Professor Maithili Prasad Bhardwaj from the department address students on how to write and gather material for a thesis. On the second day,Professor H R Chopra from the department of Library Science gave a lecture on referencing and drawing a bibliography in a thesis. He also spoke about the use of computers in research work and answered queries by scholars researching on languages.

Rs 1-cr aid for anti-Sikh riot victims,UT tells HC
CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh Administration on Wednesday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the Finance department had sanctioned Rs 1 crore to provide assistance to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims who had moved to the city but had not been able to secure any compensation. Conveying this during the resumed hearing on the PIL filed by Danga Peedit Association,UT senior standing counsel Anupam Gupta submitted that the court would be apprised in about a week’s time when the amount would be made available to those who have applied for assistance. According to information,around 95 persons had approached the UT Administration for assistance in their rehabilitation.  

Two lawyers to attend international conference
CHANDIGARH: Two city lawyers,Tejinder Singh Sudan of the district court and Navkiran Singh of the high court,who are part of NGO Lawyers for Human Rights International (LHRI) have been invited to Geneva to attend a ‘World Congress Against Death Penalty’. More than 100 NGOs globally,including the World Coalition Against Death Penalty,Amnesty International UK,Human Rights Watch from US and Paris Bar are participating in the meet. Sudan,who is also the president of the local LFHRI unit,was invited to London by the Amnesty International in 2002 for his works in human rights. He has also written a book titled ‘Genesis of State Terrorism in Punjab’ in 2001.

Zirakpur residents protest against NHAI
ZIRAKPUR: Hundreds of Zirakpur residents held a demonstration on Wednesday against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for covering the old Kalka road under a railway overbridge during the four-laning of the Zirakpur-Parwanoo National Highway. Protestors gathered on the highway and blocked traffic. They said a railway overbridge was being built from Hotel Dolphin on the Zirakpur-Parwanoo highway and ends in Panchkula. They rued that this would block access to the old Kalka road,which connects the Zirakpur-Panchkula road and was a main link road from Zirakpur and Dera Bassi for several villages and colonies. “If the overbridge covers the old Kalka road,commuters will have to travel a long distance to reach the highway,causing much inconvenience,” complained residents. On the other hand,NHAI project in-charge Anil Dahiya said he was not aware of the matter but assured to mitigate the problem,if any,caused by the overbridge.

Civic body officials fail to remove dog’s carcass from highway
PANCHKULA: A resident of Sector 20,Colonel S K Gupta,claimed on Wednesday that no action has been taken despite repeated complaints to the Panchkula Municipal Council,asking them to remove the carcass of a dog that has been lying on the Zirakpur-Pinjore national highway,near Sector 20,for the last three days. He added when he called up the civic body office,a woman told him to speak to local councillor Ashish Garg. “While I contacted Garg several times to get the carcass removed,it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. It is shameful that the carcass of an animal has been lying for three days and no one has bothered to get it removed,” Gupta said. Talking to Newsline,Executive officer of the Muncipal Council,K K Jain said,“Now that we know about the matter,appropriate action would be taken with immediate effect. I will ask my men to get the animal’s carcass removed.”

Former clerk in SSA office booked for forgery of cheques
CHANDIGARH: The Economic Offences Wing of the Chandigarh Police has booked a former account clerk in the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) office for allegedly cheating the project director to the tune of Rs 31 lakh by forging documents. In a complaint to the police,IAS officer P K Dass,the project director of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan,stated that Sanjay Chandel,a resident of Panjokhra Sahib in Ambala district,who worked as an account clerk,had forged cheques and transferred an amount of over Rs 31 lakh to his account. The EOW is investigating the case. Chandel has been booked under Sections 406,420,467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code,though he has not been arrested yet.

Cop arrested in graft case
CHANDIGARH: A UT police head constable posted at Sector-61 police post was caught red-handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly taking bribe from a complainant. The CBI said it had received a complaint from a Sector-52 resident,who alleged that Head Constable Sarat Ram was demanding Rs 2,000 for not implicating his son in a case of theft. The complainant alleged Sarat Ram threatened him that if the amount was not paid,he would falsely implicate his son. The CBI branch laid a trap and caught Sarat Ram,said Mahesh Aggarwal Deputy Inspector General,CBI,Chandigarh . Meanwhile,seeking explanation from station house officer of Sector-36 PS and Sector-61 police post in-charge for lack of supervision,the Chandigarh Police said disciplinary action would be taken against Sarat Ram.

Governor,CM condole death of Virbhadra kin
SHIMLA: Himachal Governor Urmila Singh has expressed grief over the demise of Prithuvinder Singh Gohil,son-in-law of Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh who died of a cardiac arrest at his residence in Ahmedabad (Gujarat). Virbhadra’s daughter Abhilsha Singh is a judge in the Gujarat High Court. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has also conveyed his condolence message to the family.

HP to study road patterns in states
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh will study the pattern of road construction in different states of the country to strengthen its road infrastructure. PWD Minister Gulab Singh Thakur said this after his meeting with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh at Raipur on Tuesday. He also called on PWD Minister Brij Mohan Aggarwal.

Old-age homes in Abohar,Ferozepur
FEROZEPUR: A meeting of the District Red Cross Society was held here under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav where it was decided to build two old-age homes in Abohar and Ferozepur. In another decision,the DC said a working women’s hostel would come up the building of Nari Shilp Niketan in Ferozepur City.

Lecture on Guru Gobind Singh
Amritsar: Former vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University Prof J S Grewal delivered a lecture on ‘Guru Gobind Singh: Need of a new perspective’ at the university on Wednesday. He stressed that there is a need of new perspective and a new biography of the tenth Sikh guru.