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December 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Little enthusiasm, low voter
turnout mark MC poll Chandigarh, December 8 Polling, this time, was around 10 per cent lower than that in the 1996 polls probably because of the severe restrictions imposed by the Election Commission for electioneering and due to the inflated figure of number of voters. The maximum percentage of polling, 52.3 per cent was registered in Ward number 18 comprising Ramdarbar, Industrial Area-II and Sector 52 and the lowest was registered in Ward number 6 from where BJP’s first Mayor, Ms Kamala Sharma was protecting the BJP’s citadel. Ward number six registered approximately 20 per cent polling, according to official information. Elections for 10 panchayats and 2 gramsabhas witnessed polling to the tune of 48 per cent, with a minimum being 43.3 per cent in Khudda Alisher and Khuda Lahora. Behlana village registered 61 per cent polling. The SSP, Mr Parag Jain, had to rush to Hallo Majra with reinforcements after reports that non-Punjabis were massing in thousands against Punjabis on allegations and counter allegations of bogus voting by both parties. Police rounded up as many as 13 persons, most of them for allegedly attempting to cast bogus votes. Most of those rounded up were migrants. The Congress candidate from ward number 1, Mr Chandermukhi Sharma, filed a complaint against the Chandigarh Vikas Manch candidate, Sandeep Singh for allegedly banging his car against that of a Congress candidate and the police not taking note of it. A case of accident has been registered. Followers of the two candidates allegedly clashed last night and a few were also injured. Both sides have lodged complaints against each other. The Samata Party candidate Mr. Prabhjit Lamba, standing against the Mayor, Ms. Harjinder Kaur, alleged that the police let off one Gurmeet Singh Badheri who was allegedly attempting to cast a bogus vote in favour of the Mayor. The Congress rival of the Mayor, Mr. Kamaljit Panchhi, said that as many as 500 bogus votes might allegedly have been caste by the Mayor’s supporters. BJP, Congress and Rashtriya Raksha Dal candidates from ward number 13 accused CVM candidate, Ms. Harpreet Kaur’s supporters of attempting to ferry voters and resort to bogus voting. They also alleged that certain people were threatened. A Nationalist Party candidate said that the police was allegedly blocking voters of non-BJP parties 10 minutes before the close of polling at 4 p.m. at a Sector 19 booth and allowing BJP supporters. The EC guidelines was today thrown to winds at certain points with voters being seen ferrying. Ward number 8 registered approximately 40.7 per cent voting, ward number 9 around 24.1 per cent, ward number 13 about 27.4 per cent, ward number 15 about 38 per cent, ward number 19 around 30.6 per cent and ward number around 43.5 per cent. Ward number 1 candidates informed that around 27 per cent votes were cast. Colonies and villages this time too remained more involved in the elections casting higher percentage of votes than developed areas in sectors. The low percentage of votes may upset calculations of political parties. Chandigarh Vikas Manch candidates from ward number 18, Bapudham and ward number 10 seemed doing well, with those interviewed after casting their votes, favouring them. Congress candidates from Bapu Dham and ward number 15 were able to make their presence felt on their election counters. The Election commission is likely to release official figures ward-wise tomorrow and over all figures have not yet been received. Sumera Arora complained that her vote had been cast by some man in ward number 9.
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Rs 77-cr Centre package for pending city projects Chandigarh, December 8 According to sources in the Administration, the ministry has agreed to the demands after a delegation of the Administration along with officials of the Union Home Ministry held a high-level meeting in Delhi a few days ago. A formal letter to sanction the sum is expected anytime. Who gets what *Rs 15 crore for the BBMB to clear long-standing arrears. * Rs 54 crore for the payment of land acquisition made in Phase III sectors. * Rs 5 crore grant-in-aid for the Municipal Corporation. * Rs 1.89 crore grant-in-aid for Panjab University. Most important is the Rs 5-crore grant-in-aid for the cash strapped Municipal Corporation. This will help bail out the MC from its present financial mess. The MC has been asking the Administration for a share in excise and revenue collections for a long time to meet its expenses but the money has not been allocated. In the past five years , the budget of the MC has witnessed a gradual cut from the Centre with each passing year. The idea was to make MC self-sufficient. The recent move has been the imposition of paid parking, which in Sector 17 alone has netted Rs 1.16 crore for the MC. Another Rs 1.89 crore has been sanctioned as grant-in-aid for Panjab University. This has to be passed to the PU by the Chandigarh Administration. The PU has been asking for more money from the centre as it is a Central university. A sum of Rs 15 crore in the package is aimed at clearing Chandigarh’s outstanding arrears with the Bhakra Beas Management Board, a major power supplier to Chandigarh. Interestingly, the BBMB has been showing arrears running into crores of rupees as it wants 29 paise per unit at the minimum rate for the 3.5 lakh units it supplies each year. Chandigarh has been insisting that it will pay only 5.63 paise, the rate applicable for other partner states. About 15 per cent of city power comes at subsidised rates and another 50 per cent comes at global rates from the BBMB. A demand of Chandigarh seeking partner status after the reorganisation of states in 1966 has been a tricky one. Chandigarh’s case has always been on the back burner with no political backing. Another chunk of the package, Rs 54 crore, has been sanctioned for the payment of land acquisition made in villages of Chandigarh. The Administration has acquired about 350 acres and this requires crores of rupees to be paid to the land owners. A few weeks ago the Land Acquisition Officer had sent a letter to the Administration, seeking funds for disbursement. Parts of the package are also for other smaller projects. Since Chandigarh has no political pressure to exert, this has reportedly come about largely due to the pressure built up by Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) on the Finance and Home Ministries. The good performance of Chandigarh in revenue collection was highlighted. Last financial year, Chandigarh had collected Rs 82.73 crore surplus — excess of income over expenditure. |
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Cold-shouldering VCs, Punjab style Chandigarh, December 8 Contrast this with the short-shrift, shabby treatment meted out by Punjab to them. Insiders told TNS that on December 5, there was an invitation to ‘’dinner’’ on behalf of the Punjab Chief Minister to all participants. The venue was Punjab Bhavan. Imagine the plight of the distinguished guests who did not find anyone to receive and greet them there on behalf of the Chief Minister, who was hospitalised in New Delhi. Even after all guests had arrived there was no sign of any government functionary, save one Director (Hospitality), who walked in around 8.45 p.m. There was neither the Minister of Higher Education, nor the Secretary, Higher Education, not even the DPI (Colleges) what to speak of others. The guests had dinner and trooped out, unwelcome. The Punjab Governor gave an "At Home’’ at Raj Bhavan on the day of inauguration of the conference on December 6. The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhary, feted the delegates to a dinner at Pinjore Gardens on December 7. Imagine who all were present those to receive the distinguished guests? The Haryana Governor and Chief
Minister and several top bureaucrats. Mr Om Prakash Chautala personally received each Vice-Chancellor and made sure they were looked after well. Someone walked up to him and while thanking for the hospitality remarked “Why don’t you take over as the Chief Minister of Punjab as well?” The short speech by Mr
Chautala was also much appreciated. This morning, December 8, Mr Chautala invited all Vice-Chancellors to a breakfast meeting at his residence. It was a memorable event, remarked many delegates. The Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, hosted a lunch at Raj Bhavan today. That a state like Punjab, known for hospitality, should ignore such an important event is not easily comprehensible. So much for the serious concern that Punjab occasionally shows for education and state of the universities. But for the presence of the Vice-Chancellors of Punajb Technical University and Guru Nanak Dev University others did not turn up from Ludhiana and Faridkot. The Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor made a brief appearance when the Governor inaugurated the conference. |
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Imposter nabbed at VCs’ conference Chandigarh, December 8 Confirmed sources said that Mr R.K.Singh, the Chief Security Officer of the university, had kept a tab on him from the first day. He was nabbed at lunch at Haryana Bhavan. Interestingly, when questioned, the “UGC official” did not even know what UGC stood for. A complaint has been filed with the Sector 3 Police Station, sources said. The man, who was wearing the tag of Prof C.L. Kaul, when questioned spoke with a strong Urdu accent. A diary that he was carrying showed a Batala address. When his residential number was called it was confirmed that he stayed in Batala, after having migrated from Jammu several years back. The imposter had been staying at the IMTECH Guest House throughout the national conference. He was even carrying a name-tag. Sources said that he feigned having lost his bag and got another one, besides certain other items. Sources revealed that he was earlier thought to be a spy. However, on verification it was discovered that he was an imposter. The imposter is also thought to be in the ‘business of selling fake degrees”, sources said. Talking to The Tribune, Mr R.K. Singh said “the behaviour of ‘Professor Kaul” looked suspicious right from day one. He looked out of place at most of the venues because he could not interact freely with others. While others could be seen discussing some of the academic issues at the conference, the imposter was looking for things that he could take away”. Mr R.K. Singh said “The imposter first went to the counter and took a batch displaying his name. He then went again and feigned having lost his bag. When he went to get another gift packet, the security tab on him grew stronger. When questioned as to what profession he belonged to, the imposter could not give a concrete work profile. He could not even respond as to the location of the headquarters of the UGC, nor to the areas of discussion that had come up at the conference. At the Raj Bhavan of Haryana today, Mr R.K. Singh contacted security. Later on, during questioning, he broke down and accepted that he was an imposter and was from Batala and not the UGC. A senior university official said that, “There were certain moments during the conference when suspicions arose about his authenticity. He could not even pretend talking anywhere near the expected standards of the educated class he was representing at the UGC. However, none of the organisers bothered to cross check thinking no one would attempt such a lie”. |
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PU tie-up with Distant Education Council likely Chandigarh, December 8 Prof H.P.Dikshit, President of the Association of Indian Universities, said at the closing of the 76th annual meeting of the AIU and the All-India Vice Chancellors’ Conference here today. Professor Dikshit said he had discussed the issue with his faculty. Even the PU Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N.Pathak, and faculty had shown a positive response during a round of talks. The finer details remain to be worked out before the signing of a formal memorandum of understanding. Prof K.B.Powar, secretary-General of the AIU, said “in case of a tie-up there was no fear of any clash of academic interests of the two institutions. The effort would definitely upgrade the existing facilities”. Professor Dikshit said even if no agreement of a tie-up was reached, the Distance Education Council was planning to open a regional centre in the city. A centre opened recently at Khanna and had shown very positive results. The university will be supplied with the best study material and it will also air radio programmes with special emphasis on Punjabi. Professor Dikshit said the conference had organised a rare interface for the Vice-Chancellors and heads of the apex bodies. The Department of Science and Technology announced that 75 per cent of the department grants were spent on research in universities. The Department of Bio-technology has decided to set up centres in ‘many universities. The Department of Atomic Energy is considering programmes for ‘horizontal growth’ enabling the centre to be closer to the universities in research activities which have witnessed a downfall. Professor Powar underlined the AIU’s drive for upgrading PhD research activities all over the country. It is being considered that at least one paper on research should have been published in a good journal. The AIU role in gradation of degrees of foreign institutions seeking admissions to Indian institutions was also highlighted. The AIU has an equivalence committee to study the gradation. Professor Dikshit recently visited Germany for an education exchange programme and an agreement is also being worked out with Australia. It was pointed out that this year all 19 participants in the International Olympiad of Mathematics and Sciences had bagged prizes. The country had been ranked sixth among 86 countries.  |
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Cruel fate Chandigarh, December 8 Manju, an employee at the post office of Phase-I, SAS Nagar, met her parents along with her husband, Mr P.P. Joshi, son and daughter. When they all were with the parents in the bus, the driver started reversing the bus. Police sources said that Manju thought it was time for the bus to leave and she tried to alight and was crushed under the rear wheel. She was immediately taken to the PGI in PCR gypsy where she was declared brought dead. A case has been registered under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC. The bus driver was said to be at large. |
Unauthorised kiosks spring up again SAS Nagar, December 8 Already construction of around 139 booths in a vacant pocket, adjacent to the market, had begun. The occupants of the kiosks would be shifted in phases, so that the construction of the booths did not stop. All the pucca booths are to be completed within a period of six months. Officials in the local civic body said in the past few days, some of the kiosk-owners had been selling space in the market to ensure that when the PUDA team surveyed the market, the occupants could get registered. According to information available, the single-storeyed booths have to be constructed in two blocks. An earlier proposal to construct double-storeyed booths had been shelved. The size of each booth has been increased to 63 sq feet from the earlier size of 36 sq feet. The estimated cost in constructing the booths was around Rs 80 lakh. The allotment rates would be worked out after including the cost of the land and the construction costs. The civic body is supposed to charge ‘tehbazari’ (enforcement fee) from kiosks owners. Logically, an increase in the number of kiosks should mean more revenue for the civic body, but the truth is different. Instead of an increase in the revenue, the council has even failed to realise tehbazari (enforcement fee), running into lakhs of rupees from the shopkeepers in the rehri markets. In many cases the tehbazari has not been paid for the last over two years. The enforcement officials put the figure at around Rs 10 lakh A kiosk in the market attracts a premium of up to Rs 3
lakh, depending upon its location. Investigations reveal that the pardhans or those owing the kiosks fragment their temporary structure in two or three parts on the basis of tehbazari receipts. |
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For
healthy hair, think positive: Habib Chandigarh, December 8 Today, as inheritor of a hair-styling tradition being preserved and spread in Delhi’s Habib Training Institute, Javed is all set to diversify his business. Chandigarh features on top of his priority list and is set to be home to a Habib Institute. Javed, who was in the city today to inaugurate the first kids parlour at Femina Plus in Sector 44, spoke about the new line of Habib salons which are due to come up in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh. He stated specifically that the salons would have trained Habib personnel, in order to ensure uniformity. Javed also gave out some very significant tips about hair growth. Dismissing the trend of oiling hair for growth, Javed said this was an old myth. “Hair growth depends on internal health. It is effected directly by the thought process. Anyone who thinks positive will have great hair. Hair texture speaks a lot about personality.” He warned against dandruff which, he said, was the only cause of hair fall and greying hair. As for trends in hair styling, Javed said, “hair must compliment the personality. There are no generalisations. Globally colouring has become a rage and it is also the biggest industry of the future. People no more want streaks of colour. They are going in for combinations like burgundy and copper or burgundy and gold.” The bottomline, he said, was styling for convenience. “That is the reason perms are out. They will never come back now,” he said. Javed admitted that styling the hair of kids is the biggest challenge, “The ambience must be made children-friendly. Hair styling for kids is limited. Much experimentation is not possible. So one must be able to generate interest.” Habibs has come up with a line of cosmetics which are yet to be introduced in the North. “The problem is that there are no training institutes. The hair stylist must realise that the most important quality he needs to possess is attitude. The way you handle hair is very important.” Meanwhile, Javed demonstrated a style on his wife, Shaheen, who was accompanying him to the city. A Jamshedpur girl, Shaheen has now joined Javed and is looking after cosmetology at his salons. She is also into styling hair. Interestingly, Shaheen was Javed’s client before marrying him. |
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Telephone exchange inaugurated Chandigarh, December 8 The inaugural speech was given by Mr Prithipal Singh and Mr S.C.
Choudhary, Chief General Manager Telecom, Punjab. The new exchange will have features like ISDN, video conferencing, hotlines, PRI data circuit, high speed Internet etc. “The facilities will be available to the subscribers from this exchange and the RSM in Phase X and Industrial Area Phase VII connected to it”, he said. Around 3,000 lines working from the existing E10B exchange will be transferred to this switch in phases. Mr
R.C. Vaish, Principal General Manager Telecom, Chandigarh, and Mr K.K.
Sarangal, GM, Mohali, were also present on the occasion. |
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A complex with unique
architectural design SAS Nagar, December 8 Covering an area of 1,25,000 sq ft with a basement park of 25,000 sq ft, the complex would be distinctive in term of concept. The organic shape of the main block with a tower on each side would give it a monumental effect to the whole structure. The design selected would ensure natural lights and ventilation. Each floor would have a ramp for the handicapped persons. There is a proposal to make the building centrally air cooled. The auditorium with the complex has been planned for a capacity of 500 persons. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 10 crore . The Local Government has been allotted an area of 2.98 acres. An official of the department said the complex would accommodate the office of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, the State Urban Development Authority, the Chief Vigilance Office, the Town Planning Office and various offices of the Local Government Department. |
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Construction activity halts SAS Nagar, December 8 |
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Body hails approval
of rules Chandigarh, December 8 In a signed statement, Mr Chaman Lal Sharma, Mr Amarjit Singh Sethi and Mr Tej Bans Singh Jauhar, president, general secretary and secretary of the sabha, respectively, stated that these rules would go a long way in solving major housing problems in the city. These rules would also help professionals to own commercial buildings for their professions. They appealed to the administration to allow more than one division of the floor of an
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3 held for consuming liquor on ‘dry day’ Chandigarh, December 8 Those arrested were Partap (address not known), Kanwar Pal, a resident of Sector 29 and Ambika, a resident of Dhana. Meanwhile, Gobind and Pardeep Kumar, both residents of Sector 24, were arrested from a Sector 22 market for consuming liquor at a public place. All five persons were arrested under various sections of the Excise Act. Assaulted:
In a complaint before the police, Lachman Dass, a resident of Pipliwala town, Mani Majra, alleged that Chander Shekhar Pandey and Jaleel Ahmed, along with other persons, assaulted and threatened him. The complainant also alleged that window panes of his Tata Sumo car were also broken by the accused in the incident, which reportedly took place at 11.20 pm last night at Indira Colony, here. However, one of the accused in the above case, Jaleel Ahmed also lodged a counter complaint to the police, that he was assaulted and threatened by the above complainant along with his accomplice Manohar Singh at about 11.20 pm at Indira Colony. Two cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code have been registered. Theft: Mr Naresh Garg of Industrial Area, Phase - II, also reported to the police that Rs 3,700 were stolen from his plot on Thursday night. A case of theft has been registered. Vehicles stolen: Dr Mangla Dogra, a resident of Sector 19, reported to the police that her Santro car (CH-20-T-439) was stolen from her residence on Thursday night. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered. One killed: A resident of Ludhiana, Surinder Pal, was killed and four others were injured when a car collided with a truck near the Sectors 45-46 barrier on Thursday evening. All the injured were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where Surinder Pal was declared brought dead. The injured included a person travelling in the truck. The police has arrested the truck driver, Ajay Sharma, a resident of Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, and has impounded the truck. A case has been registered. Illicit liquor: The police has arrested three persons in different incidents for carrying illicit liquor. Indro Devi, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, has been arrested with 14 pouches of Hero whisky, while Jeevan Lal and Beeru, both residents of Nehru Colony, Sector 52, have been arrested with six bottles of Sunny whisky in their possession. Separate cases under the Excise Act have been registered against them. Two held: Two persons have been arrested from the Poultry Farm Chowk in the Industrial Area for allegedly consuming liquor at a public place. The accused have been identified as Pramod Kumar, a resident of Colony No 4 and Shiv Chand, a resident of Behlana. They have been booked under the Excise Act. Purse snatched: Kiran Sethi, a 40-year old visitor from Delhi, has reported to the police that her purse containing a mobile phone, a heavy diamond set, a credit card, Rs 16,000 and other documents was snatched by car-borne persons in Sector 35 this afternoon. According to the police, the Maruti car used in the incident was the one reported stolen yesterday. This is the fifth such incident in the city in recent times where stolen cars have been used to snatch ladies’ purses. Vehicles stolen: Sector 39 resident Ashok Kumar has reported that his Maruti car (CH-01-Q-4262) has been stolen from the parking lot near Mehfil Hotel in Sector 17. The police has registered a case. Sector 4 resident, Saroj Puri has reported that her car (CH-01-V-6943) has been stolen from her residence. The police has registered a case. A resident of Police Colony, Sector 17, Suresh Kumar, has reported that his motor cycle (DBX 1006) has been stolen from his residence. The police has registered a case. |
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No clue in petrol pump
murder case Kharar, December 8 Mr Rupinder Singh, DSP, Kharar, who is camping in Kurali ever since yesterday told this correspondent that the police had prepared sketches of the culprits and circulated them in various police stations and have almost identified the gangs suspected to be involved in this crime. He said that six police parties have been sent to various places and some suspected persons have been rounded up. He hoped to arrest the
culprits soon. Meanwhile the police has verified and checked all motorcycles the type of which was used in this crime in the area. Mr Rupinder Singh has again requested petrol pump owners in the district to follow up already circulated instructions regarding security steps at the petrol pumps including installing alarm, bolting of room from inside from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and advised them to employ one armed guard. |
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Car stolen from Sector 5 market Panchkula, December 8 The owner of the car, Mr Rajinder Singh, said that he had parked the vehicle outside a restaurant where he had gone for lunch. He found the car missing on his return after one hour. Expressing his disappointment with the behaviour of the police, Mr Singh complained that cops in Sector 5 police station refused to register an FIR but assured him that a wireless message had been flashed to all exit points of the town. |
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