In Brief

Jain disclosed that permits would be issued to private operators to ply buses on 2,700 bus routes. He said this was aimed at providing employment to unemployed people. He also said route permits would be given without any discrimination and added the state government proposed to ply 1,300 new buses in the coming days. Of these,approval to purchase 600 new buses has been already been accorded. In reply to a question,the minister said every effort was being made to make up for the deficit of Rs 250 crore that the Haryana Roadways had suffered.

Pedestrian run over by truck
In yet another fatal accident,a pedestrian was killed after being hit by a rashly-driven truck here on Tuesday morning. The victim,Ram Preet,was declared brought dead at the GMCH-32. The police have booked the driver of the truck in a case of causing death due to negligence. The mishap took place when the deceased was on his way to work. A truck hit him near Plot Number 141in Industrial Area Phase 1. The impact of the collision was such that the victim was pushed to the wall by the truck giving him severe injuries. He is survived by wife and three children.

The police arrested the driver of the truck,Balwinder Singh,a resident of Manimajra. A case under Section 279,304 A of the IPC has been registered at the Industrial Area police station.

Newsline Impact: Water supply in cricket academy restored
A day after Newsline highlighted the problem of grass drying up in the LIC Cricket Academy in Government Model School,Bapu Dham,due to a damaged pipeline,the Municipal Corporation has repaired the same. The pipeline had been damaged during widening of roads by the civic authorities. As a result,water supply to the academy was cut off. The pipeline was earlier damaged while the Horticulture department was doing some work and officials of the academy had got it repaired. But it was again damaged. After the plight of the academy was highlighted,water supply has been restored.

GMSH-16 fire: Inquiry report submitted
The inquiry report into the fire incident that took place at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH) in Sector 16 on last Friday,has been submitted by the UT Engineering department to Director Health Services Dr Manjit Singh Bains. As per the report,a staff nurse had switched on the air-conditioner accidentally which had not yet been given sanction by the Engineering Wing. The AC in the Operation theatre caught fire but no casualty or injury was reported in the incident.

District Bar Council elections on April 23
In a meeting of the Chandigarh District Bar Association, it was decided that the elections to the Bar Council will be held on April 23. Advocate Harsh Tandon will be the returning officer. Those who became members of the association before February 28 will be eligible to vote. Nominations will be filed from April 5 to 7.

Dev Samaj College gets NAAC accreditation
“It is a matter of great pride and honour that Dev Samaj College of Education,Sector 36B,Chandigarh,has been reaccredited with an ‘A’ Grade by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council,” said college principal Dr Jyoti Khanna. She added that the institution was earlier accredited with ‘four stars’. The college is the first in the northern region to be reaccredited by NAAC.

Play fest at Punjab Engineering College
The Dramatics Club of Punjab Engineering College kicked off its first theatre fest-SPANDAN- on Monday. The fest featured two plays directed by Sudesh Sharma,director and co-founder of Theatre for Theatre (TFT) and General Secretary Manu Bajaj.

91 get jobs in placement drives
As many as 91 students were selected by different MNCs during the placement drives conducted at Guru Gobind Singh College of Modern Technology (GGSCMT) in Kharar and Chandigarh Group of Colleges (CGC) in Gharuan. At GGSCMT,companies like HCL Infosystems,SNA Power Engineering,Pic N Frames Technology and HDFC Bank shortlisted 81 candidates. At CGC,Taiwan-based company CTCI selected 10 of the total 165 students from different colleges who came for the placement drive.

Competent Foundation holds blood donation camp
As many as 315 units of blood were collected during a blood donation camp organised on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti at Competent Centre,Sector 34,on Tuesday. The camp was organised by the Competent Foundation with the help of a team of doctors from PGI led by Dr Usha Rai. Each donor was presented with a book of inspirational stories published by the Foundation and a certificate from PGI. Chairman of the Competent Group,Sanjay Tandon,said people must donate blood to save lives. The camp was inaugurated by UT Advisor Pradip Mehra and was attended by Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Professor R C Sobti,secretary to Punjab Governor M P Singh and other officials.