Chandigarh, June 19
Taking note of the findings of a probe which looked into serious violations of building bylaws and misrepresentation of facts while issuing occupation certificates by officials of the estate office, the estate officer has decided to punish those responsible for it.

The probe into the irregularities committed by certain officials in the late 90s was ordered in 2005 by the then finance secretary-cum-chief administrator. The final report --- naming the erring officials --- was submitted by the inquiry officer, S.K. Setia, in February.

Estate officer R.K. Rao said he had ordered major penalty against the erring officials.

Sources said the probe found that recommendations/decisions of the plan approval committee were ignored while issuing “conditional occupation certificates.” The plot holders were never issued “regular occupation certificates.”

The active role of four officials was revealed. One of the officials under the scanner, B.S. Sidhu, a former SDO (building), has retired and is learnt to have gone abroad. The others are Vipin Gupta, Ashok Verma and Brij Mohan, who was recently caught by the CBI and is under suspension.

While Ashok Verma is a senior assistant with the estate office, the others were on deputation from the engineering department.

The sources said on receiving similar complaints in at least 18 such cases, the finance secretary had directed the estate office to inquire into the matter. Since the names of the erring officials were not pointed out in the original inquiry conducted in December 1999, the estate officer had directed Setia to hold a preliminary inquiry into the matter in 2005.

Two years before the practice of issuing conditional occupation certificate was withdrawn, hundreds of allottees of residential, commercial and industrial plots were issued conditional occupation certificate for a period ranging from three months to six months. Some housing societies had been occupied on the basis of conditional occupation certificate.

Panchkula, June 19
The Ram Kumar murder case is a story of love, betrayal and blackmail and the police has cracked the case with the identification of the assailants of the 24-year-old electrician of Garhi village in Raipur Rani.

Sources in the police said the deceased was allegedly involved with a number of girls and had their love letters in his possession. Love letters of two girls were recovered on his person when his body was dug out from the field in Garhi.

It was after this that the police began exploring a love connection and found a handful of love letters from his belongings while a few others were found on the road leading to his house.

The police managed to identify the girls who had written the letters and zeroed in on two families who could be allegedly involved in the crime. Of the two families, one is that of a distant relative of Ram Kumar.

On investigation, the police found that the youth was blackmailing one of the girls and forcing her to marry him. After she refused, he threatened to expose the affair.

Fearing humiliation, one of the families took the extreme step of murdering him. Ram Kumar’s marriage had been fixed with a girl from Yamunanagar and the engagement was slated for June 27.

Earlier, the police had sought the mobile details of the victim to ascertain who he had spoken to before leaving his relative’s house the night he was murdered.

His mutilated body was found buried in a field on June 14. 

Chandigarh, June 19
A transport policy to guide the public transport system in the city is on the cards. Preliminary discussions to workout the framework of the policy was today initiated by the Chandigarh administration.

The focus of the policy would be put the public transport vehicles on dedicated corridors, depending on the width of the roads. Different roads would be specified for different category of vehicles, said sources in the administration.

A four-member committee headed by the secretary, transport, chief architect, chief engineer and director, transport, today held discussions on the issue. An expert in mechanical engineering from Punjab Engineering College is also being consulted.

The team members are expected to study different models of the policy. The sources said on the inner sector roads (V4 and V5 roads), mini buses would run in connectivity with the existing buses which ply on main roads (V 3 roads).

The existing grid system would not be changed, instead AC low-floor buses would replace the existing low-floor buses. 

Chandigarh, June 19
Sahil Agarwal is reaping the harvest of humble sowing. Born to financially average parents and educated in the nondescript government model high school, Sector 28, he has realised something he always thought was a “mighty dream.”

Just awarded the prestigious Balshri by the President, Sahil said, “The dream was not so mighty after all. It just seemed so.” A winner among 22 other children from across the nation, Sahil won the award in the category of art. Clearing hurdle after hurdle, he emerged a winner out of the final eight contestants, who battled it out during a national camp held in Delhi in December.

The award was declared on January 14 and presented on June 1.

“We were eight students in the 13 plus age group category. Our job was to create something interesting out of ordinary materials like canvases, clay etc. It was a very tough contest. I worked very hard to ensure I made it to the top,” said Sahil who was proud to be studying in a government school where art and craft are sensitively taught.

“Had it not been for my solid grounding at school, I could never have won,” he said. “Sahil has been in this school since he was in class II. He has always enjoyed studying here,” his parents said, proudly displaying the fortunes of their son---a certificate of victory signed by the President, Indira Vikas Patra worth Rs 10,000, cash prize of Rs 5,000 and a memento.

For Sahil, this victory is a vindication of sorts. He had entered the competition sponsored by the national bal bhavan in 2002 but he could not make it beyond the zonal level.

“This time, I left nothing to chance. I was better prepared and more confident,” said Sahil, thanking Chandigarh bal bhavan which organised the Balshri contest at the local level.

The competition is held in four different categories---art, creative writing, performance and scientific innovations.

Chandigarh, June 19
A comprehensive action plan to make the city more gender sensitive received the nod of the UT administrator today. The action plan, recommended by a study group of the administration, has also brought out some chilling facts about the state of the girl child in the city.

“Despite being a city of the educated, it is not taking care of its girls,” concluded Raji P. Srivastava, UT joint finance secretary, who led the study group that has prepared the action plan.

Doctors have reported markedly adverse attitudes towards the girl child in Chandigarh. Many parents do not want to nurture a girl child who is physically disabled. In colonies and poorer pockets, more girls in the age group 0-2 are dying mainly because of neglect.

The doctors also told the study group that a majority of the abused children who were brought to hospitals were girls and most cases of LAMA (left against medical advise) in paediatric wards were girls. Parents of sick daughters ignored medical advise and took away the child even when hospitalisation was required. Hospital arrivals for immunisation or health care were fewer in the case of girls.

Another remarkable finding of the group is that the two-child norm and pressure of population control has negatively impacted the survival of the girl child and developments in medical science and technology have only aggravated the problem.

The action plan recommended by the group includes the introduction of a system to track the nurturing of every girl child in the city till she is 18 years old.

“Cards will be issued to parents of a girl at the time of birth and these will have to be retained by the parents,” said Srivastava, adding that medical tracking of pregnant women would be done by a special monitoring cell created for the purpose.

Giving an interesting input, Srivastava pointed out that ultrasound machines had an in-built system to enable data storage, which was generally immobilised by clinics.

Clinics would be told to ensure that this programme was functional so that the data collected in the machines remained open to scrutiny.

The action plan also lays down the role that religious leaders and political leaders can play in reinforcing the positive role of women in society.

Focusing on “generation now”, the plan includes involvement of city’s school and college students. “Students in our colleges and schools now are the parents of tomorrow. That is where we intend to begin,” said Srivastava.

“A brief module on gender studies at the undergraduate level, a diploma course in gender studies and a special module in the teacher training programmes are being planned,” said Jyoti Seth, another group member.

Chandigarh, June 19
Thousands of residents of Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) flats are on the warpath again against the “apathetic attitude” of the board authorities towards their long-pending demands.

The residents organised a show of strength here yesterday to voice their concern against, what they called, certain methods adopted by the CHB to harass dwelling unit owners.

The board had failed to fulfil its commitments made in 2001 of not resorting to demolitions of the dwelling units, chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board Residents Federation Nirmal Dutt said.

Not only demolitions, the board authorities were dragging their feet on the issue of other genuine demands such as non-transfer of ownership rights of the dwelling units to allottees and purchasers, Dutt alleged.

Councillor Jatinder Bhatia threatened to launch a "direct action" against the CHB from next month. The issuance of notices to allottees were tools to harass the public, Manjit Singh, deputy mayor, alleged.

"Instead of regularising minor need-based additions and alterations made by residents, the board had adopted a dictatorial attitude and was demolishing dwelling units," B.S. Chadha and S.K. Khosla, general secretary and secretary, respectively, alleged.

Chandigarh, June 19
The administration has decided to engage the services of retired persons to supervise the mid-day meal scheme at government and aided schools in the city.

Retired persons in the age group of 58-60 will be responsible for ensuring quality and compliance with the prescribed standards of the scheme.

The appointment will be purely on a contractual basis. The assignment will be for a period of one year, extendable on certain terms and conditions to be decided by the administration.

The administration will offer a consolidated remuneration of Rs 6,000 per month, besides Rs 1,500 per month as conveyance charges for inspection duties. However, there are certain conditions.

The aspirants should be graduates or should have at least 10 years’ experience in supervision and management affairs. He should have his own conveyance, preferably a car, and should be residing in and around Chandigarh.

Interested persons have been directed to appear in the Sector 9 office of the director, public instructions (schools), on June 25 at 11 am.

Chandigarh, June 19
Nameless, his body lies in the PGI mortuary, awaiting a claimant. Brought in on June 13 after doctors at the Panchkula general hospital failed to revive him, the 45-something victim had faint chances of survival. His head was gravely injured from an accident he did not even live to remember.

All that’s left of him is an unclaimed body, a blue-green check shirt, brown pants and a pair of slippers he was wearing when the police spotted him in a pool of blood on the morning of June 13. He was sleeping at the railway station car park towards Panchkula when a passing vehicle almost crushed him to death. At that lonely hour, no one, not even the police, saw the accused.

It was only when employees at the paid parking lot came in at 6 am that the alarm was raised. By the time the police arranged help, a lot of blood had been lost.

Balkar Singh, in charge, police post, general railway police, told TNS: “We rushed him to the hospital as soon as we could, but Panchkula doctors referred him to the PGI as a lot of blood had been lost. From his condition anyone could tell that his survival was unlikely. We have been trying to find his claimants. It’s a strange situation where all we got from him is a ticket from Jagadhri to Ambala. We got nothing that could reveal his identity.”

Since the ticket is till Ambala, it is presumed the deceased’s relatives live there. “He is 5’7”. We hope to hear from someone in his family. The body will be retained in the mortuary for 72 hours,” said Singh, adding that every vehicle entering the railway station was being watched closely to find clues to the accident. The police have also registered a case of negligent driving.

But the case has no meaning in the absence of a complainant or at least an accused.

Chandigarh, June 19
Destiny played a cruel joke with Harpal Singh, a daily wage earner, when he developed a liver problem. The problematic liver resulted in the damage of his kidney. Now, doctors at the PGI have asked him to arrange more than Rs 4.5 lakh for treatment.

Dr V. Jha, additional professor, department of nephrology, PGI, Chandigarh, said the patient had been advised to start on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), a life-saving procedure. This procedure was likely to cost Rs 4,55,000 and would have to be continued throughout life or until kidney transplantation was done.

This amount was in addition to the cost of other medications that might be required for the management of chronic renal failure and its complications from time to time, added Dr Jha.

In fact, Harpal, father of four, including two daughters, had undergone kidney transplantation in 1998 with generous help from donors.

Now again after nine years, Harpal has developed renal failure following the liver problem. Doctors have said he requires kidney transplantation again, but not before he is treated for his lever disease, and till then he will be put on dialysis with expenses up to Rs 3,000 every week, says his wife Amarjit Kaur, who has started working as domestic help due to illness of her husband.

“He used to work as a labourer, but now the disease has rendered him incapable,” said Amarjit Kaur.

“I am trying to earn, but my earning is so meagre that it barely covers the daily requirements of a family of six,” added a hapless Amarjit Kaur.

Donors can send their cheques, mentioning the name of patient on the reverse side in favour of the director, PGI, through the PRO, PGI. For further details, one can contact the PRO office, PGI, at 0172-2756003 or the family at 09814964554.

Chandigarh, June 19
A court of inquiry (CoI) ordered by the NCC authorities to ascertain the facts leading to the death of a cadet three days after he returned from a training camp began in Chandigarh today.

The Commanding Officer (CO) of No.1 Chandigarh Girls NCC Battalion, Lt-Col Arvinder Singh, is the presiding officer of the CoI, with Wg Cdr Vikas Sengar, CO, No. 1, Chandigarh NCC Air Squadron, and Karamjeet Kaur, senior assistant in the Chandigarh Naval NCC Unit, as members.

The CoI today recorded the statements of Manphool Chand, father of the deceased, Rajat, and four cadets - Yatin, Abhay, Akshay and Mridul - who had attended the camp along with Rajat.

The associate NCC officer of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, R D Sharma, also deposed before the CoI today.

A student of Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School-27, Rajat had gone to attend an NCC camp held at Ahlihal, near Palampur, from May 25 to June 3.

Another associate NCC officer from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 47, has also been summoned to depose before the CoI, but he was not available today. He is expected to appear before the CoI tomorrow.

Principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, Ram Kumar was also present during the proceedings as a representative of the UT education department.

The CoI proceedings will continue tomorrow and more witnesses are expected to be examined.

Meanwhile, the cadet’s father also met home secretary Krishna Mohan today, who assured him of all possible assistance from the UT administration.

Chandigarh, June 19
Even as the Chandigarh administration celebrates June as the anti-malaria month with much fanfare, the fear of outbreak of an epidemic looms large in Sector 31 here.

With the authorities turning a blind eye to the stagnant water, the area is becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The area, which houses the offices of several central government offices, besides the CII and the PHDCCI, is frequented by VIPs, and senior government functionaries.

A visit to the area can be a nightmarish experience as was experienced by a Chandigarh Tribune team here this afternoon. Unbearable stench prevades the area and malba dumping is rampant.

Kuldip Singh, a government employee, alleged that with the monsoon round the corner, the low-lying area would further be flooded.

Residents alleged that the problems of stagnant water and the dumping of malba had been brought to the notice of the MC and the health department several times, however, no favourable response had been received.

Meanwhile, a senior official said the problem of stagnant water was bound to remain there since the area was lowlying. Since the area was less-populated, the MC had declared it as one of the "authorised" dumping sites in Chandigarh, he added.

Zirakpur, June 19
Even as people all over the country eagerly await the onset of the monsoons, the residents of Zirakpur dread the very thought of it.

This is because the rains will add to the misery of the residents, who are already irked by large-scale constructions in the area, particularly the construction of a on the Zirakpur-Ambala.

The residents are virtually spending sleepless nights at the prospect of the "annual nightmare" that will throw their lives out of gear.

"With a substantial part of the township lacking a drainage system, flooding in the low-lying areas is an annual feature. For many years now, the Zirakpur nagar panchayat has been turning a blind eye to the plight of the citizens,” alleges Lakhmir Singh, a local resident.

Residents allege that the digging of trenches for the laying of the drainage system is likely to make the situation worse. With the town bursting at its seams after the construction of multi-storeyed complexes, civic amenities are unable to cater to the entire population, asserts S.K. Sharma, another resident.

Interestingly, the pre-monsoon showers have already tested the patience of the residents. With roads virtually non-existent in certain colonies, the residents have to wade through slush.

Official sources conceded that the construction of the flyover will pose problems for the residents. However, the nagar panchayat is fully geared to meet them, they added.

Chandigarh, June 19
To improve the infrastructure at major entry points on international borders, the central government is establishing Integrated Check Posts (ICPs), which would house all regulatory agencies, including customs, immigration and security along with support facilities like parking, warehousing, banking, etc in one complex.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ latest report, 13 ICPs, having all modern amenities, are proposed to be set up at specific point on the land borders. Seven ICP’s would be set up on the Indo-Bangladesh border, four on the Indo-Nepal border and one each on the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Myanmar borders.

Four of the ICPs, Petrapole on the Bangladesh border, Raxaul on the Nepal border, Wagah on the Pakistani border and Moreh on the Myanmar border would be set up under phase-I of the project. The total cost of the project is stated to be about Rs 850 crore, with the first phase costing about Rs 350 crore.

The idea behind setting up ICPs is coordinating the efforts of various agencies involved in border management and also to boost cross-border trade. A separate Department of Border Management was created in the Ministry of Home Affairs about two years ago to pay focused attention to issues relating to management of land and coastal borders, strengthening border policing and creating and guarding infrastructure like roads, fences and flood lights.

The ministry’s report states that road connectivity in areas along the border with China is poor and the lack of link roads up to and in the vicinity of the border has an adverse impact on the operational capability of the forces. To redress the situation, phase-wise construction of 27 roads totalling over 600 kilometres has be initiated along the Sino-Indian border in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Lack of development on the Indian side, the report observes, is in sharp contrast to infrastructure development across the border where China has developed a network of highways linked by feeder and arterial roads.

The report also states that with the fencing of the Punjab and Rajasthan border with Pakistan, vulnerability of the Gujrat border to infiltration and other illegal cross-border activities has increased.. A comprehensive project is now underway to fence the Gujrat border and construct link roads and border out-posts for the Border Security Force in this area.

Chandigarh, June 19
Shopping for city residents, it seems, will become even simpler with the launch of a shopping website. Targeting the rapidly growing online market, Avake Technology, a Noida-based IT company, today announced the launch of a local comparison shopping site, TolMol.Com.

The site was launched today by Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, president of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association, here today. The site was launched in New Delhi on May 9 . It will be launched at eight other cities across the country, including Pune, Calcutta, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

As the retail market grows rapidly, the shoppers have multiple buying options ranging from various online sellers to local merchants. Tolmol aims to help consumers make informed buying decisions. “Tolmol offers a simple and one-stop comparison solution for shoppers to search and compare products and services from different websites and local shops while allowing them to buy directly from the seller,” stated Anuj Kanish, founder and CEO of Avake.

The website will help the city consumers shop various goods available for sale online by companies and will also give details of the same being sold by local merchants.