Chandigarh, June 23
The Chandigarh administration has cancelled the registration of 20 industrial units in phases I and II of the Industrial Area.

During raids conducted by teams of the Centre, it was pointed out that the parties concerned had “closed industrial activities permanently on account of reasons best known to them” and it was decided to remove their names from the records maintained by the department of industries of the UT.

The official note mentions that the industrial activities had closed permanently in all 20 cases. Sources said the process of cancelling the registration of at least 30 more industries was under way.

Department sources said the units would lose all financial and administrative benefits given to them by the government under special schemes for promoting small-scale industries. They would not get any concession on purchase of raw material and would not be able to compete in different categories of awards for the small-scale units as approved by the government.

An industrialist said these concessions had lost their meaning to a majority of units as these were either facing closure or had closed down their activity because of changed market trends. “There are no buyers of spare parts for bicycles, ancillary units that had closed down, machine tools that had become redundant and plastic, besides other things,” he said.

“In wake of the UT having allowed conversion in the Industrial Area, it is important to see the project viability of the ongoing trade in small-scale industries and allow them a change according to the times. Opting for conversion might not be financially viable to a large number of units. In fact, special guidance centres need to be set up for them,” he added.

The affected units include (phase 1) Hari Enterprises, Bajaj Enterprises, Jaspal Industries, Balaji Industries, Guru Nanak Industries, Dhiman Machine Tools, AR Industries and JK Fastener; and (phase II) National Inks and Allied Industries, Basson Industries, Harpal Enterprises Private and Giri Raj Ceramics, besides others.

A senior official of the industries department said the raids were conducted by a team of the Centre. The industrialists were given a notice to make amends, in the absence of which, the units would face cancellation of registration.

Chandigarh, June 23
Angered at the lackadaisical attitude of the local police, family members of a Patiala-based woman, who allegedly attempted suicide by setting herself afire, blocked traffic on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway.

They alleged that the local police was not taking action against her in-laws for kidnapping her minor son a week ago.

The victim, 30-year-old Gurjinder Kaur, was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, with 97 per cent burns on June 15 after she was referred from the Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.

The family blocked the road in front of the GMCH for about half-an-hour raising slogans against the Chandigarh police.

Traffic on a stretch of the road was disrupted, leading to chaos. The snarl-up ended only after SHO of the police station, Sector 34, Prem Chauhan reached the scene assuring action. He took the victim’s father, Kehar Singh, to the police station to initiate proceedings.

Chandigarh, June 23
It was a medical camp with a difference. Its aim was to boost patriotic feelings among residents of the city.

International pop star Karran Jesbir, international hockey player Inderjit Chaddha and Dr Jatinder Sharma held this camp at Sector 17. People were asked to “vote for Taj.”

“We have been examining the people free of cost but with a request to vote for our nation’s pride---the Taj Mahal---through SMS,” said Dr Sharma.

Karran Jesbir, who shot to fame with his debut album “Dhai lakh di”, came from New Delhi to be a part of this cause.

He said, “We should come forward to bring Taj Mahal on the list of wonders. One SMS is not a big deal for such a national cause. Outside India, India is known for Taj Mahal in many countries. This is the opportunity to show the world how much we love our country.”

Inderjit Chaddha was of the view that to be a part of this campaign was as good as representing the country in big events. “Now we should all come out to motivate our near and dear ones to vote for this symbol of love,” he said.

Meanwhile, over 200 people turned up at the camp and supported the cause by casting their votes on the spot.

Chandigarh, June 23
While officials of the estate office are in the dock for not providing information under the Right to Information Act about Centra Mall, a multiplex, in Industrial Area, Phase 1, here, a scheme of the Chandigarh administration to provide temporary parking to cater to the requirements of those who visit multiplexes and shopping malls in the area is yet to take off.

At least two malls along the mango grove are nearing completion.

The move to provide temporary parking has been mooted after public criticism on overlooking parking space while approving the building plans of malls. Otherwise, the promoters of the malls are supposed to provide adequate parking space, a mandatory clause in the conversion policy notification.

The Central Information Commission has already pulled up UT officials for delaying information on the criteria to pass building plans under the conversion policy and specification for parking space. The next date of hearing is July 7.

Sources in the administration said work on the three temporary lots identified by the empowered committee was yet to start. Besides, these were located at some distance from the two malls.

Fears are being expressed that the mango grove in Industrial Area along Purv Marg might face the axe to make way for parking for the malls and other commercial buildings coming up in the area, though the administration has so far categorically said there was no proposal to cut down trees. But industrial associations and industry owners fear that the trees are bound to become a casualty in due course of time.

H.S. Mamik, a local industrialist who has been highlighting the lack of vision on part of the officials in granting approvals, said he had applied for information under the RTI Act.

Unlike the existing plans for conversion which are taking months, the plans of the two malls, Centra Mall and City Emporia, were approved quickly.

As per the information provided by the SDO (building), estate office, a provision for parking 147 cars has been made in Centra Mall. The project has 62 shops and four cinemas with a total capacity of 1,007 persons.

However, the estate office said the parameters for parking were fixed by the chief architect and the chairman of the conversion policy. “The situation of parking is apparently clear as the approvals have been granted in haste and it is difficult to assume that four cinemas and 62 shops will attract only 145 cars,” said Mamik. 

Chandigarh, June 23
The Chandigarh Industrial Area Tenants Association has expressed dismay over the administration’s move for allowing conversion of industrial plots for commercial purposes and also notices issued by landlords to vacate the premises in reaction to the administration’s move. The administration has recently served notices for conversion and misuse of premises in Industrial Area Phase-I and II.

The association has said that by promoting the mall culture, the administration is killing the industrial activity, which is already in bad shape. Industrial Area has been serving as a buffer zone for the city and surrounding areas with growth in services.

Most of the C and F agents, wholesalers and other trading agents have their godowns here and have been in business over three decades.

Besides generating revenue in crores and contributing a large chunk to central sales tax, local sales tax and service tax, they have contributed in supporting allied trades like STD, photostat, stationery and packing material, and are source of generating direct and indirect employment to thousands. Now, with no alternative warehousing space planned by the administration, the traders find SCOs and booths insufficient for storage, besides the exorbitant rents. Not only this logistics has become a major problem with traffic restriction on goods carriers in the city areas while Industrial Area provided an ideal alternative with no such restrictions. They have alleged that with industrial activity coming to a halt in the area most of the landlords are depending on the rent from these buildings and the administration’s move for conversion of industrial plots have added to the burden of already ailing industry here. Under such circumstances the association has demand a rehabilitation scheme with adequate storage space so that their trade continues without any hindrance.

Chandigarh, June 23
A research paper on restructuring the Army has suggested that the Chief of the Army Staff should forsake all operational matters and should instead primarily focus on training and equipping the Army. Operations should be the responsibility of integrated theatre commands, as recommended by the high-level study.

Titled “Indian Army’s Need and Philosophy for Organisational Restructuring”, the paper published by the Army War College, Mhow, states that the Army headquarters is saddled with the responsibilities of operations as well as planning.

“In view of the involvement of the Army in low intensity conflict operations, the Army Chief is busy with operational matters. It affects planning,” the paper says. “Much of the problems that arise in the ministry of defence can be traced to the lack of planning,” it adds. According to the paper, planning and budgeting is one of the major weaknesses of the Army.

Stressing that the Chief of the Army Staff should continue to be an independent adviser to the defence minister, the paper suggests states that if relieved of operational responsibilities, he could concentrate on procurement, contract management, offsets to be gained, military diplomacy, research and development, project management, training, fore structuring and officers’ cadre management.

Suggesting that operations should be the domain of regional formation or the proposed integrated theatre commands, the paper states that the Army headquarters should concern itself with future planning of manpower and equipment, staffing and training of the force.

A detailed and comprehensive study undertaken by the College of Defence Management in 2006 has recommended five operational integrated theatre commands with elements of all three services. The theatres will be Northern, Western, Eastern, Indian Ocean Region (East) and Indian Ocean Region (West).

Stating that the Kargil Review Committee also criticised the holding of operational role by the service chiefs and hinted at theatre commands, the paper observed that in 1999, the Army and the Air Force conducted two different operations, Vijay and Safed Sagar respectively.

“Obviously, a single chain of command did not exist. Where the service chiefs are operational heads, a single chain of command can never fructify. The solution lies in integrated theatre command,” the paper suggests. On the subject of integrated command, the paper referred to the official report of the US Congress on Operation Desert Storm in Iraq which stated that all services were fighting the same war and there was a single chain of command with the theatre commander-in-chief in unmistakable control over combat forces. Despite the progress made, the report said, the war did not terminate inter-service disagreements, but it made their resolution possible.

Mohali, June 23
The municipal council proposes to spend over Rs 2 crore on developments works in the town and also plans to blacklist two companies for not doing satisfactory work.

Both the proposals will be put up before the House at the general body meeting to be held next week.

Estimates for the development works have been prepared by the engineering wing of the civic body. The works include construction of footpaths, removal of congress grass, cleaning of curb channels and road gullies, provision of streetlights and laying of premix carpet on roads in various parts of the town and repair of slip roads.

There is also a move to blacklist an Amritsar-based company because the civic body has found many shortcomings in its work. To add to this, the company has failed to respond to various notices sent to it in this regard. This company had been allotted the work of structural glazing of the council building constructed in Sector 68. The contract for the work was for over Rs 1 crore. The proposal to blacklist the company and forfeit the earnest money was earlier put up before the House at a meeting held in April, but it was unanimously decided to give the company 15 days to undo their shortcomings. Yet the company failed to remove the drawbacks.

Similarly, there is also a move to blacklist a Chandigarh-based company and forfeit its earnest money because the company failed to carry out renovation work of a fountain in Rose Garden, Phase III-B 1. The work was allotted to the company in April.

Chandigarh, June 23
A demolition drive carried out by the district administration in a Sector 48 group housing society yesterday has opened a Pandora’s box.

The district magistrate has directed the enforcement staff of the estate office to remove iron grills raised by occupants at the rear side of flats in the Bank of India Cooperative House Building Society.

The affected residents have drawn the attention of the administration towards violations of serious nature in other cooperative house building societies. It is learnt that violations under section 15 of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, were going in five other societies. But the estate office was postponing hearing of hundreds of cases. Highlighting the specific case of the Progressive Cooperative House Building Society, Sector 50, the affected residents of the Sector 48 society said: “Without caring for rules and regulations, the occupants of the society (promoted by the officials of the estate office) were allowed to extend their courtyards. Walls have been raised in the rear courtyard and gates erected.”

The assistant estate officer (appeals) had directed the society to remove the violations. But till date nothing has been done.

The affected residents of the Sector 48 society claim that their violations are far less than those in the progressive society.

The residents point out that due to shortage of staff, the enforcement wing of the estate office carries out demolitions on a complaint basis. Instead of carrying out a thorough survey, it relies on complaints made by residents against each other. 

Chandigarh, June 23
Kurukshetra-based adventurer Jaibir Singh, along with his navigator Rohtas Godara, is on a mission to touch Khardung La and return within 100 hours. They started their journey in an Esteem from Kurukshetra at 6 pm today after being flagged off by local MP Naveen Jindal and education minister Phool Chand Mulana.

“The motive of the mission is to promote national harmony and respect for the National Flag,” said Jaibir while talking to this correspondent at The Tribune office here today.

“The expedition will conclude at Yamunanagar with the target to reach by June 27 at 8 pm,” said Jaibir.

Jaibir Singh, an advocate, said the journey was about 1,000 km. “We cannot afford a halt during our journey,” he added. The expedition was being sponsored by Jindal and would cost around Rs 25,000, said Rohtas Godara. Jaibir has recently covered 1,000 km on bicycle.

Chandigarh, June 23
To coincide with the safe return of Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams to earth, a Zirakpur resident has come out with a miniature space shuttle.

Upendraa Bhatnagar has created a space shuttle along with a fuel tank and supporting grid.

Ready for take-off, the miniature model was dedicated to Sunita Willams, he said.

Earlier, Bhatnagar had created a miniature cricket world cup, a cricket helmet and a table and a chair.

Chandigarh, June 23
Money in immature hands coupled with poor and illiterate background is making caddies at golf clubs in the city vulnerable to drug addiction.

During a study by the department of psychiatry, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, it was found that dozens of youngsters, including many of them from Bapu Dham Colony and Mani Majra, working as caddies at golf clubs in the city were addicted to inhaling rubber solution (used in repair of punctures), correction fluid and petrol.

The caddies at the clubs earn anything around Rs 100 every day and with money at their disposal they easily fall prey to drug addiction as they reside in slums where drug addiction is already prevalent, said doctors involved in the study.

The lure of money is forcing these kids even to adopt unfair practices to earn more money.

Sometimes, caddies inform players that the ball hit in the bush is untraceable. They pick it up later and sell it in the market, informed the doctors.

Many children have stopped going to school and started working as caddie to earn money for their needs as well as for the home, said the doctors.

Parents often ignore the abuse of sedatives by their children, as they are satisfied with their contribution to the family income, said a doctor.

The doctors involved in the study found most of the caddies affected with inhalation prevalence under the age of 18 years, even as hiring a caddie below this age is not allowed. Most of the caddies residing in Bapu Dham are below 15 years of age, said the doctor.

However drug addicts living in various parts of the city have been found to be involved in abuse of sedatives according to the availability and their socio-economic conditions.

While in villages like Khudda Ali Sher the use of opium and poppy husk as well as alcohol is prevalent, a majority of people in Mani Majra inhale petrol for its easy availability in the motor market, says the study.

Similarly in Dadu Majra, where a social network is lacking, migrant labourers use intravenous drugs and alcohol.

At Bapu Dham, over 90 patients, including majority of children, reach the community outreach centre every month. These include over 20 new patients, said the doctors.

Similarly, over 100 patients reach these centres every month at Khudda Ali Sher and Palsora.

At Dadu Majra, however, the number of treatment seekers is as low as 30.

Also, treatment-cum-entertainment group sessions for over 40 children with inhalation dependence have been going on at Mani Majra.

Besides cultural activities, these children are educated on drug menace, said hospital authorities.

If someone is behaving badly on the road, don’t get involved. If you feel angry, pull over and calm down. Instead of being aggressive try to understand if another driver causes a problem. If someone behind is trying to overtake but can’t, take no action except to keep a steady course and speed. Pull over and allow the vehicle to pass when it is safe to do so. Never obstruct others who to overtake you. Driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you can be very dangerous.

Never overtake a vehicle indicating a turn to the right even if you believe that the signal is a mistake. Wait for the signal to go off. If a vehicle pulls out onto your path, slow down and allow it to get clear. Don’t be aggressive and drive up close to it.

IN Sector 44-D, two adjoining blocks of houses have a common back alley. This passage has an opening connecting it to the main road thus making it a hiding and escaping place for anti-social elements. There is only one tubelight, and that, too, is not working. Land is filthy, gritty and not maintained properly. The authorities concerned should do the needful.

Chandigarh, June 23
Emphasising the need for vigorous steps for unlocking the potential and capacity of the have-nots and to make them effective instruments of change, the Punjab Governor and UT administrator, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), today pleaded for creating an open and transparent environment, to provide equal opportunities to all individuals to be active partners in this fast-growing age of information technology (IT) and to contribute to the growth and development of the nation.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a seminar on cyber security awareness organised jointly by the Cyber Security Research Centre and the administration.

General Rodrigues said, “We do not have confidence in our abilities and our education system also does not encourage us to apply our minds and think progressively, to move forward for achieving excellence. This is a real challenge and we have to be innovative and work together to broaden the vision and competence of our people to gain strength.”

Underlining the need for effective steps to tackle cyber crime, General Rodrigues said this was a challenging field and there was need for evolving effective technologies to improve our delivery systems by strengthening the research base and infrastructure development programmes in the IT sector.

Prem Chand, former additional director-general in the ministry of defence and eminent expert in the field of cyber security, while giving a detailed presentation on the occasion, called for a national initiative with the collective effort of the government, the academia and the industry for ensuring high standards of cyber security and data privacy in the business industry and other economic fields.

S.K. Sandhu, finance secretary, and M.S. Brar, director (IT), highlighted the initiatives of the UT particularly towards upgrading the system for having the latest data on cyber crime and its management for easier and better accessibility and help of the police.

Nandkumar Saravade, director, cyber security and compliance, NASSCOM, spoke about cyber crimes happening in India and around the world. He shared several case studies on cyber crime with the audience. Akhilesh Tuteja, executive director, advisory services, KPMG, spoke about security, privacy and data protection implementations among organisations in India.

Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, a PhD student, CMU, US, spoke on the international perspective of cyber security.

A.M. Pedgaonkar, chief general manager, IT, RBI, Mumbai, spoke about safe online banking and steps taken by financial institutions to protect consumer information.

Prof Dheeraj Sanghi, CSE, IIT, Kanpur spoke about the current status and challenges of cyber security education and research in India.

Chandigarh, June 23
The safety of thousands of commuters and motorists on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road has come under sharp focus with a part of the strategic bridge being damaged.

With the authorities concerned turning a blind eye to a damaged railing of the Sukhna choe bridge, a major tragedy is waiting to happen. With the monsoon round the corner, irreparable damage can be caused to the bridge if preventive measures are not taken.

A visit to the spot revealed that a part of the railing has given way, exposing the bridge to the vagaries of nature. It has been noticed that wherever a portion of the railing falls, it leads to a cascading effect with other parts of the railing also giving way.

The damage to the bridge had sent commuters and motorists in a state of tizzy. It seems that the authorities concerned are waiting for a major tragedy to occur. “In fact, during night time, particularly when streetlights are non-functional, the risk of a major accident multiplies,” alleges Ajay Kumar, a private sector executive, who commutes between Panchkula and Sector 9 here daily.

UT chief engineer V.K. Bhardwaj said the administration had taken notice of the damaged railing and it would be repaired shortly.

However, once the monsoon sets in, the repair work could be hampered, feel commuters.

Chandigarh, June 23
The Citizens Welfare Society, Sector 51-A, in association with the Chandigarh police, today launched a neighbourhood watch scheme in the locality.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, union minister of state for finance, inaugurated the scheme. DSP (south) K.I.P.Singh and S.S. Bhardwaj, president of the society, besides prominent residents of the locality were present on the occasion.

Bansal also released the residents’ directory of the locality. Speaking on the occasion, he said it was his dream to make a community centre in each sector of the city. So far, the city had 30 community centres.

He appreciated the effort of the society and the local police in launching the scheme.

Chandigarh, June 23
CITCO has decided to give Rs 38 lakh as dividend to the Chandigarh administration as a result of its overall good financial performance, touching a turnover of Rs 301 crore with a profit of Rs 16.95 crore for 2006-07.

A decision to this effect was taken by the board of directors at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Krishna Mohan, home secretary, Chandigarh administration.

Jasbir Singh Bir, managing director, CITCO, said the board of directors highly appreciated the unique initiative, the first of its kind in India, to create a condom bar at Baithak Kalagram in consonance with its societal responsibilities as an innovative marketing strategy to promote Kalagram as a hub of tourism activities.

He also informed the board of directors that CITCO was taking an initiative to provide training to its employees in the hospitality sector, especially hotels to upgrade their professional skills enabling them to deliver high-quality services.

Besides, renovation and refurbishing of guest rooms and suites shall be done at a cost of more than Rs 50 lakh in Hotel Mountview alone. As regards Hotel Shivalikview, CITCO has taken up with a public sector bank occupying the first floor of the hotel to vacate its premises.

CITCO is also planning to have an 'executive floor' which will have state-of-the-art facilities as required by young dynamic business executives of the corporate world. A glass capsule lift shall be made operational in this hotel by July. 

Chandigarh, June 23
Two cooks of Aroma Hotel were allegedly caught red-handed while stealing cereals and spices this morning.

The police said the cooks, Kewal Singh of Khudda Lahora and Bala Dutt Joshi of Sector 18, were stopped by Parvesh Kumar, a security guard of the hotel, when they were going out of the hotel. Their search led to recovery of the cereals and some expensive spices. Parvesh informed his employer who, in turn, reported the matter to the police.

Chandigarh, June 23
Thieves decamped with crowns of four idols from a temple in Khudda Lahora last night.

According to the police, Yashpal, a representative of the Radha Krishan Temple in the village, lodged a complaint alleging that crowns of four deities - Lord Rama, Sita, Laxman and Goddess Durga - had been stolen. The thieves gained access by breaking open a windowpane on top of the temple. They locked the sanctum sanctorum from the inside as they stripped the idols of the crowns.

The police said the thieves also tried to break open the donation box but failed.

The gold-plated crowns were made of silver. The police, however, said the theft of money was not mentioned in the complaint.

Rakeshpal Moudgil, president of the Krishan Bhakti Ashram Mandal Sector 30, told the Chandigarh Tribune that cash to the tune of Rs 6,000, which was placed before the idols, was also missing.

He added that it was not an isolated incident, as thieves had struck at the same temple two months ago.

They had decamped with the donation box, which was later found empty near the temple. The matter was reported to the police, but no action was taken.

Panchkula, June 23
The CIA staff has arrested a Patiala resident, Havinder Singh, in connection with chain snatching incidents in the city. Nabbed from near Patiala, he admitted that he, along with three women, were responsible for three incidents of chain snatching in the district. The chains have also been recovered and the vehicle used in the crime has been impounded. The three women, in their 40s, are absconding.

Havinder was produced before the duty magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.