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| Wednesday,
May 14, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Bar Council for strict action Chandigarh, May 13 At an emergency meeting here today, the Bar Council also lauded the CBI for its action against the two judicial officers and also appreciated the action of the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for giving the green signal to the CBI for taking action against them. The meeting of the Bar Council was held in Sector 38-D to discuss its role in view of the corruption case registered against the judicial officers. The Chairman of the Bar Council, Mr Mukesh Berry said the council would cancel the licence of any advocate, if he or she was found involved in any corruption case. Mr Berry further said that the Bar Council would provide all the relevant information to the CBI if required by it in the case. Giving details of the resolution passed at the meeting, the general secretary of the Bar Council, Mr C.M. Munjal, said there should be constant surveillance of judicial officers in order to avoid corrupt practices, no dismissed judge should not be enrolled with the Bar Council and there should be surprise visits to lower courts by the High Court judges and the Bar Council should be involved in the appointment of the judges. The President of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association and a member of the Bar Council, Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, said the involvement of the judicial officers had tarnished the reputation of judiciary. Therefore, anyone found guilty should be punished as per law. Lawyers call meeting Chandigarh, May 13 As per the representation further course of action would be decided after discussing the report during the meeting.
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Mayor meets Verma, seeks more grants Chandigarh, May 13 During a meeting between the two, the Mayor said the corporation had approved only 2 per cent property tax but the Chandigarh Administration increased it to 5 per cent. The Administrator is believed to have told Mr Chawla that the corporation would have to ensure that its financial health was sound. However, Mr Verma assured the Mayor that he would look into the matter of property tax. The Mayor also urged the Administrator to increase the grant-in-aid from the present 12 per cent to 17 per cent as recommended by the Second Delhi Finance Commission and principally accepted by the Chandigarh Administration. He said the Chandigarh Administration had given the corporation an ad hoc grant of 12 per cent pending a Central Government’s decision to approve the rate of grant. Mr Chawla and the Administrator agreed on the issue of ridding the city of stray animals. The Administrator asked Mr Chawla that a separate meeting on the issue would be held on the issue. Mr Chawla told the Administrator that the Municipal Corporation had neither space nor funds to handle the problem of stray cattle in the city. Coming under fire for seeking to streamline the contract system of sanitation in the city sparking off an agitation from the sweepers’ union, the Mayor asked the Administrator to sympathically look into the charter of demands of sweepers. The Administrator told the Mayor he would talk to the officers concerned and study directions of the Central Government on the issue. Justice Verma, however, asked the Mayor to ensure that the city maintained its character of being the best regarding cleanliness in the country. Mr Chawla also urged the Administrator to expedite the issuance of no-objection certificates to people in villages and colonies. The Mayor also urged the Administrator to ask the Chandigarh Administration to foot the bill of street-lighting as had been Mr Chawla presented a bouquet of roses collected from the nursery of the Municipal Corporation to present to the Administrator. The Administrator also had meetings with Adviser Virendra Singh, the Chief Engineer and officers of the Horticulture Department to discuss the ways and means to maintain the green cover of the city. Justice Surinder Singh (retd) presented the Governor a set of books written by him. A BJP delegation led by its president Yashpal Mahajan also met the Administrator. |
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Rain brings relief from heat Chandigarh, May 13 The rain started at around 6pm and continued for half hour. Clouds made the skies dark and reduced visibility. There was bright sunshine in the morning but as the day progressed, there was dust haze, leading to rain in the evening. There had been a prediction for rain in the region in the past 24 hours. According to the local Met office the city witnessed a rain of 5mm today. |
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Suicide bid: probe begins SAS Nagar, May 13 Mr H.S. Bhullar, SP, said a police team was sent to the school today to inquire into the case and submit a report. Monika, a student of Class VIII of Sant Isher Singh Public School, Sector 70, had allegedly made an attempt to end her life after she was beaten up by school teachers. She was later admitted to the Civil Hospital. The Director of the school, Mrs Hardip Kaur Gill, said she had asked four senior teachers of the school to inquire into the matter and submit a report by tomorrow. She said all four teachers against whom allegations had been made came to the school today but were sent back. The four teachers against whom allegations have been made include Ms Harjit Kaur, Head Teacher of the school, Ms Satbir Kaur, Punjabi teacher, Ms Loveleen, Hindi teacher, and Ms Rashmi, English teacher. Allegations and counter-allegations are being levelled by the school management and by Monika and her parents. Mrs Gill said students of the class in which Monika studied had told her that Monika was only trying to create a "drama". She said her sister, who studied in Class X of the same school, shared a similar view. The father of the girl, Mr C.K. Anand, told mediapersons today that no complaint was made against Monika by her teachers at the parent-teacher meeting held two days ago. In case there was something it could have been brought to his notice at the next parent-teacher meeting instead of beating up the child, he said. Monika alleged that she was humiliated by her teachers who even threatened her to throw her out of the school. |
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Alert cops nab 2 criminals Chandigarh, May 13 According to information, the two Narinder and Mangat approached Mr Gurdip Singh, who had gone to the Sector 37 Telephone Exchange to deposit a telephone bill. The two reportedly offered their help in depositing the bill and once the money was given to them, they fled. A message was flashed to all PCR vehicles and the two fell into the police net on the road dividing Sectors 35 and 43. The staff on the PCR gypsy will be rewarded, stated a police note. Yesterday, two youths riding a motorcycle reportedly snatched a purse from Dr Babli near a bus stop of General Hospital, Sector 16 here. The complainant, a resident of Sector 7 B told the police that the purse contained a mobile phone and Rs 5,000. In an almost similar incident, two motorcycle-borne youths snatched a mobile phone from a son of Mr Nirmal Singh, a resident of Sector 33 yesterday. Two cases under Sections 379 and 356 of the IPC have been registered. Meanwhile, the police claimed to have arrested two persons while stealing LPG from domestic LPG cylinders in Sector 35. Both were residents of Colony No 5 and had been booked under Sections 379 and 420 of the IPC. |
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PGI curriculum ‘needs change’
As the news of her selection to the post of Dean, which has remained embroiled in controversy ever since the appointment of Dr O.N. Nagi, is sinking in, she is all determined to take the PGI to not just national but international heights. “Though it is improvement in patient care that would continue to remain as number one on my list of priorities but in my capacity as Dean I would want more international collaborative research schemes with reputed institutes,” she says, spelling out her plans . It was the PGI’s governing body (GB), which at its meeting held at New Delhi, yesterday appointed Dr Suri as the new Dean. The meeting was presided over by the Union Health Minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj. The post fell vacant after the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its order in January this year, quashed Dr Nagi’s appointment. It was for the second time that the court quashed his appointment made by the GB. “Now with the additional responsibility of Dean, I will have to cut down on the time that I spend in my own department,” she says, as she still awaits the formal appointment letter before she can join. She feels there is an urgent need to revise the curriculum of post-graduate courses at the PGI, as this was essential in view of the rapid advancements in various fields. “I strongly feel that we need to add new specialities like nuclear medicine and post-graduation in anatomy, apart from increasing the number of seats for post-graduation in transfusion medicine,” she
opines. She is hopeful that nuclear medicine would be started as soon as the matter is cleared by the Academic Committee, as the project has been in the pipeline for some time. Another area which she feels need to be looked into is supplementing the PGI library with more journals. While admitting that personal bickerings among the PGI doctors were bringing a bad name to the institute, she said people could have difference of opinion but if efforts were made there was no reason why solutions could not be found. Having joined the PGI as a senior resident in 1973, Dr Suri has served for 30 years. |
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Sachin’s family gets back ransom money Panchkula, May 13 |
Challan drive in Apni Mandis ‘ineffective’ Chandigarh, May 13 Handing over the slip to her, he demands the balance that she uses to weigh vegetables. Her son picks up a mini-gas cylinder to hand over as surety. The official looks back with an impression that he is not satisfied with the “commercial value” of the cylinder as compared to the fine. A man comes forward and says, “Koi gall nahin
ji, vichaari kol hor koi takri nahin hai, ehi lai jao” (there is nothing to worry about, the poor woman does not have any other balance, settle for this only). Meanwhile, the woman’s son picks up another gas cylinder (little bigger than the earlier one) and hands it over to the official. “Theek hai
bhai, par aapne kabhi ise churvane to aana nahin” (All right, but you’ll never turn up to get it released), says the official. The official again opens up the challan book, fills it and throws it towards another vendor. The vendor hands over his balance to the staff and waits for them to leave. As soon as they leave the vendor takes out another balance from a sack and starts selling vegetables. This is a typical scene at Apni Mandi in Sector 40, as it is in other, Apin-Mandis. A vendor said staff of the encroachment wing challan them every day and take away their balances. “We do not usually get back the balances by paying the fine that costs more than the balance”, the vendor said. Meanwhile, a senior official of the Municipal Corporation said they do not challan the farmers who come to the Apni Mandis to sell their produce. Phari-wallahs who grab the market place of the farmers of the surrounding areas were targeted since their “activities” were banned in the city. The official admitted that the enforcement staff challaned at least 100 vendors every day, in the Apni Mandis. During the past few auctions of the balances and other things confiscated by the MC, bidders were no other than the “leaders” of the vendors who again circulate the balances among them by charging a nominal amount of Rs 50 per balance. |
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SAD favours property tax Chandigarh, May 13 Addressing a press conference here today, its president Gurpartap Singh Riar said, “The imposition of tax will help improve facilities in the city, whose services are on the verge of collapse.” He said it would be better if the tax was extended to houses also at a moderate rate to improve revenue collection in the city. It would not be wrong if even a rickshaw-puller was asked to pay taxes according to his capacity, he said. Seeking to expose the Congress and the BJP, Mr Riar said the SAD’s coalition partner in Punjab ruined the city by first approving the property tax at 10 per cent rate and then keeping it in abeyance for years. Lashing out at the Congress for not imposing the tax, he said the party had promised a no-tax regime but had done the reverse. He, however, clarified that the imposition of the tax entailed that the accounting had to be transparent and people had to be informed how the money was going to be spent. Justifying his stand, he said the Centre had reduced the grant to the city, affecting development. The SAD president announced that the party would have nothing to do with the BJP in the city during the Lok Sabha elections. He also announced that the party would pay homage to those who died during Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple. |
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Slum-dwellers construct cemented structure SAS Nagar, May 13 The colony houses over 5,000 persons, most of them migrant labour from UP and Bihar, and is located on the Chandigarh-SAS Nagar border. Residents of Phase III-A here, who have their houses in the neighbourhood of this colony, complained that slum-dwellers have even dismantled the barbed wire on the demarcation wall. Demanding that the PUDA authorities should take immediate action against the construction of the entry gate, Phase III-A residents state that PUDA officials should visit the place and see for themselves the nuisance created by the slum-dwellers. The residents also pointed out that with an entry to the SAS Nagar side now open to the slum-dwellers, they have not even spared a park developed by PUDA in the neighbourhood. One can see filth all around in the park instead of plants and flowers. They demanded that PUDA, in coordination with the UT Administration, should take immediate steps to check the growth of illegal colonies and their spread on the periphery. |
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Abattoir shares wall with houses Panchkula, May 13 Though the apex court has issued specific directions about slaughter houses being located away from residential areas, the Haryana Urban Development Authority ( HUDA) and local administration, it seems, did not take into consideration the residential areas in Dhakauli village of neighbouring Punjab while selecting the site. At least 25 houses in the Punjab area, constructed much before the construction work on the slaughterhouse began, share a wall with this slaughterhouse. As many as three colonies — Luxmi Enclave, Green City and Mamta Enclave — have come up in this area, which falls within the Notified Area Committee of Zirakpur, Punjab. The residents of Luxmi Enclave, which is closest to the state boundary will be affected once the slaughterhouse becomes functional. Over 300 persons residing in Luxmi Enclave, mainly employees of the Haryana Government, say that they have made numerous representations to the Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, and HUDA Administrator, Panchkula, regarding shifting of the slaughterhouse, but to no avail. Now, these residents are up in arms against the Panchkula administration. The vice-president of Luxmi Enclave Residents Welfare Association, Mr Gianender Ahlawat, said if their requests for shifting the slaughterhouse were not conceded, they would have to take to the legal recourse. The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Satwanti Ahlawat, when contacted by TNS, said the site for slaughterhouse had been selected only in accordance with directions passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. HUDA had given an undertaking to the Punjab and Haryana High Court for constructing slaughterhouses and meat markets, away from residential areas in various towns of the state. It was thus that a site near a seasonal rivulet passing through the Industrial Area, Phase I, was selected. While 1762. 5 sqm of land was selected for the construction of the slaughterhouse on one side of the rivulet, about 3356. 5 sqm of land on the other side of the rivulet was selected for the constructing a meat market. A pedestrian bridge, 2.5 m wide, was to be constructed on the rivulet to connect the slaughterhouse and meat market. The building of slaughterhouse had been completed at the cost of Rs 20 lakh and this would soon be handed over to the Panchkula, Municipal Council to start operations. |
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Subscribers hail BSNL rollback Chandigarh, May 13 The officials of the BSNL agreed that it would affect the revenue of the BSNL, but would help it keep landline subscribers in its fold. The BSNL is expected to lose, they said, about Rs 3,500 crore annually. However, customers felt satisfaction that the BSNL had been forced by Parliament to revise its tariff. Mr Raman Kumar, a bank employee said, “It will help the middle class to large extent, as they are using the fixed line phone for making calls on mobile and WLL. We will not have to think now to make calls from landline to cellular phones.” Ms Sangita, a resident of Sector 40, said,‘‘ I was just thinking to surrender my landline phone, however, after the revision of tariffs, I would continue to keep it.” An employee of the BSNL Employees Union claimed that the government had slashed the rates just to benefit players in the industry. On the one hand, he said, TRAI has asked the BSNL and other basic telecom operators to pay interconnect user charges (IUC) for transferring and terminating calls at the network of cellular operators. How could government ask the BSNL to reduce the call rates at the cost of its financial viability. An official of the Airtel, however, said, “The government has taken a right step by slashing the calls rates. The TRAI had never allowed the BSNL to charge more for transferring calls to cellular phones. Further, the hike in tariff was against the spirit of universal access to communication.” |
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Ban on smoking at public places from today Chandigarh, May 13 The ban will be in force till July 13 this year, an order of the District Magistrate, M Ramsekhar, said today. The order said in view of the urgency, it was being issued exparte and it was addressed to the public. The order will be promulgated by announcements through publicity vans, and by affixing copies at the notice boards of the office of the District Magistrate as well as the District Courts, Sector 17, Chandigarh, and by making publication in the newspapers having wide circulation in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The order has been issued in the wake of a Supreme Court order. |
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48 employees found absent Panchkula, May 13 The Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Satwanti Ahlawat, who had ordered the surprise check, has ordered the deduction of one day salary of all errant employees. Mr Inder Singh checked various offices in the Secretariat, including the office of the Deputy Commissioner, the Additional Deputy Commissioner and his own office. Some employees in his own office were also found absent. The other offices that were checked included the office of the Superintendent of Police, the District Development and Panchayat Officer, District Town Planner, Panchayati Raj, DPRO, District Statistical Office, District Social Welfare, Treasury Office and Excise and Taxation Office. Deputy Commissioner Satwanti Ahlawat said she had called for explanation from all errant employees. If any person’s explanation was found genuine, the deducted salary would be given back, she assured. |
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Bank staff hold rally Chandigarh, May 13 Addressing the rally, Mr Gurmit Singh, president, Cooperative Bank Employees Federation, Punjab, said: ‘‘The Registrar, Cooperative Societies, has no right to cut down our wages as our service conditions are not on a par with Punjab Government employees. There is no pension or countless gazetted holidays enjoyed by them.’’ He claimed that the pay scale of cooperative bank employees were approved by the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, after due negotiations. It was the officials, he said, who were spending additional money on unnecessary facilities like vehicles, telephones, furniture and entertainment allowances. |
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HUDA demolishes encroachments Panchkula, May 13 A temple had been constructed illegally in one corner of the plot, reserved for the Group Housing Society No. 29. Almost a week ago, an attempt had been made to construct a boundary wall around the plot and expand the temple area. This was thwarted by HUDA ‘s Enforcement Wing, though it had to face a stiff opposition. The drive went on peacefully and there was no resistance today.The Enforcement Wing was led by the Kanungo, Mr R.S. Jangra, who was accompanied by the Duty Magistrate, Naib Tehsildar Ashwani Kumar. They were accompanied by the police. A JCB machine was used for carrying out the demolition. |
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Save Sukhna Exclusive machinery should be made available for the purpose of dry dredging and fund allocation should be adequate. The option of wet dredging has to be ruled out as it is very costly. Excess silt in flood waters should be allowed to settle down in duly planned settling ponds and only decanted water be allowed to flow into the lake over a series of pucca spillways. A silt ejector with a proper design need to be placed. A regulator should facilitate release of excess silt during the initial monsoon showers. The inflow of silt needs to be reduced. A series of check dams which have already been provided need to be augmented so as to further reduce the silt carrying capacity of the Sukhna rivulet. Surjit Singh |
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1 killed in accident Panchkula, May 13 The accident took place on National Highway 22, near Bir Ghaggar village, when a Maruti car screeched to a halt to avoid ramming into a stray animal. Three other persons travelling in the car Ramesh Kumar, Sham Lal and Som Nath — received serious injuries and were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh. |
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Car dealer
commits suicide Chandigarh, May 13 In a suicide note he said he was ending his life on his own. According to the police, the body was noticed by the two sons of the deceased, aged 12 years and 14 years, when they returned from school. The wife of the deceased was away to her school in Panchkula. The door of the room where the body was found was not bolted from inside. The elder brother of the deceased lives with his family on the ground floor of the house. A police official said from the suicide note it appeared that the hands of the deceased were shaking when he wrote it. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC. The body has been sent to the Sector 16 General Hospital for autopsy. |
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Three arrested for theft
in milk booth Chandigarh, May 13 According to the police, Narinder Singh of Almora (UP), and Raj Kumar and Anil of Gonda (UP) have been remanded in police custody till May 15. In another case, a drug addict was caught stealing a tap here today.
Car stereo stolen A car stereo was stolen from a car (CH 01 Y 0936) while the vehicle was parked in the Sector 21 market. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC at Sector 19 police station. In another case, Rajan Chopra, a resident of Sector 18, caught Vijay Sharma, a resident of Sector 46 while the latter was allegedly stealing a car near the Apni Mandi in Sector 32. A case under Section 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 34 police station.
SAS NAGAR Two arrested The police has arrested two persons on charges of theft and housebreaking. In a press note released here today, Mr H.S. Bhullar, SP, said the two persons were arrested during a naka laid down by Inspector Pritam Singh near Dara Studio here yesterday. The arrested persons are Sunil Kumar, alias, Sony, resident of Palsora Colony, Chandigarh, and Kuldip Singh, resident of Chatoli village under Kurali police station. The SP said on questioning the two admitted that they had stolen a gas cylinder, a pressure cooker and taps from Phase II and gold ornaments from a house in Phase IV. Mr Bhullar said about 10 days ago these persons took a lift in a car from Chandigarh and on reaching Kurali they tried to throw red chillies in the eyes of the driver in order to take away the car. However, they did not succeed in their aim.
PANCHKULA Tout arrested The police has arrested Dev Raj on charges of trying to settle a deal between the police and four private financiers, who were arrested for cheating people by lending money at high rates of interest. He had reportedly taken a sum of Rs 4000 from the financiers — Amit Kumar Juneja, Puneet Aggarwal, Som Nath Ghai and Krishna Kumar Goel — on the pretext of striking a deal with the police on their behalf so that charges were not pressed against them in court.
Burglary Miscreant(s) enjoyed a feast at a Sector 21 house before they burgled the house and decamped with goods worth several thousands of rupees. The family of Mr K.L. Gulati was away in Jalandhar. It was on their arrival here that they found the entire house ransacked. Expensive clothes and other goods were taken away. The miscreants had also opened the refrigerator of the victims and enjoyed a feast of milk and dry fruits. |
Market Committee revenue up by 1.2 cr Chandigarh, May 13 With nearly a 50 per cent increase in the fee collection, the committee has approved a Rs 5 lakh subsidy on the purchase of tarpaulins for farmers of the city. The achievement of the committee assumes importance as the fee on wheat and 82 other food items, which could not be collected due to a strong political lobby, had been withdrawn after Punjab removed the fee on these items. The committee has decided to extend 50 per cent subsidy on the purchase of covers for the farmers who lose the value of their surplus produce if it is held back. The step will go a long way in preventing distress sale by the farmers. It will also help the farmers in storing their produce. Committee spokesman Ramvir Singh Bhatti said in the budget for 2003-2004 approved on February 28, the body had also passed the purchase of a Rs 15 lakh compactor and loader for market. The farmers availing rest house facilities in the committee office would now see an improvement in the facilities with the committee deciding to grant Rs 1.5 lakh for the repair of the guest house. A sum of Rs 1.1 crore had been allocated for the development of the grain market, Mr Bhatti said. The committee, however, is facing trouble in disposing of seed bins, 28 of which are still lying despite a 50 per cent subsidy having been offered on each bin. Sources said unless the bins were sold, the tarpaulin purchase could by delayed. |
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Honda Eterno launched Chandigarh, May 13 Aimed at the middle income class, he said the Eterno would have additional features like guaranteed mileage of 60 kmpl in the city, easy to operate one direction gear system, neutral lock, extra loading capacity and additional foot rest space. He said Honda had sold over 2.5 lakh scooters so far in the domestic market, including 6,000 scooters in Chandigarh last year. Despite the slump in the gearless scooter market, he said the company had grabbed over 60 per cent share in the gearless scooter market. |
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Drive to promote
Kinetic Zing Chandigarh, May 13 He claimed that after the initial success of Kinetic Zing, the company had now introduced Zing rockin series, wherein FM Radio and soft drink holder had been added to the Kinetic Zing. |
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Chandigarh, May
13
