In Brief

Student commits suicide
The body of an engineering college student was found hanging from a tree near Khanpur Lubana village under Naraingarh sub-division. The deceased was identified as Kulbhushan,a civil engineering student of Sriram Mulakh College on Naraingarh-Kalpi road. The parents of the deceased said that he had left houseon Saturday but didn’t return. The police have registered a case.

Scorpio catches fire,driver escapes unhurt
A Mahindra Scorpio jeep caught fire near Chandigarh Apartments situated on Dera Bassi-Barwala road here late on Sunday night but the driver escaped unhurt. However,till the fire tender rushed the spot,the vehicle was reduced to ashes. Jeep driver said he was on his way from Chandigarh to Saidpura village near here when he noticed some smoke coming out from the engine,following which he immediately stopped the vehicle and found that the engine had caught fire. As he did not get any water nearby,he sprinkled sand lying there to extinguish the fire but failed to douse the flames till a fire tender was called. The cause of fire was not yet established but short circuit is suspected to the reason.

‘Punjabis comprise 15% of Thailand tourists’
The Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya while addressing a press conference in Chandigarh said the Indian tourists are very important for the Thailand tourism industry. More than 6. 14 lakh tourists visited Thailand last year.Of all the Indian tourists,15 per cent are from Punjab. To promote tourism,Tourism Authority of Thailand is sponsoring a quiz for students of Chandigarh,Mohali and Panchkula called the “Thailand — India Friendship Quiz Competition 2010” being organised by Athena Ventures. It will be conducted in April and May 2010. This quiz will have questions based on Thailand and its relations with India.

Signature campaign against price rise
The Bhartiya Janata Party under the leadership of Haryana Legislature Party Leader Anil Vij started a signature campaign against price rise today. The campaign was launched by Vij at the Brahma Kumari Chowk Maheshnagar in Ambala Cantonment. Addressing the workers,Vij said inflation had broken all records and it was very difficult to make both ends meet for the poor.

Renovation of Hotel Shivalikview in trouble
Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) have decided to revamp Hotel Shivalik View and make it a four-star hotel. The revamped hotel will have various amenities like swimming pool,health club,conference rooms,lounge and discotheque. The renovation cost will be Rs. 8.75 crores and will take 15 months,said D.K. Tiwari,Managaing director of CITCO. However,implementation of this plan means dismantling of the existing shopping arcade. While most of the occupants have vacated the premises,five tenants are still present and have taken stay orders from the court. The next hearing is on Aril 21.

Cultural fest held
Over 100 students from different business schools participated in the management-cum-cultural fest Spardha ‘10 organised by Dr I T Group of Institutes at Banur. Rattan Singh,General Manager,Chandigarh Regional office IFCI and Managing Director NITCON Chandigarh was the Chief Guest for the occasion.

Contractors will buy cement for projects: MC
At a meeting held on Monday,the Roads Committee of the Municipal Corporation has resolved that steel and cement to be used in the projects of the civic body be arranged by contractor. At present,the civic body buys cement in bulk and then gives it to the contractors. The committee has also approved the installation of paver blocks at various places including Sector 22,46,39,38 (W),37,40,19,30 and Ram Darbar at the cost of Rs 50 lakh. Fixing brick on edge along cement concrete footpath in Moonlit Park Extension and Nehru Park in Sector 22 has also been approved. There are plans to widen the Sector-35 parking lot apart from recarpeting roads in Manimajra.