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College expels 19 students
Chandigarh, August 16 He had reportedly undergone ragging at the hands of seniors. It was found that these 19 students had taken part in the so-called “introductory sessions” and had breached discipline. The entire MBBS batch of 2006 has been fined. The students would be asked to deposit with the college Rs 2,000 each within two weeks. Earlier on August 8, the hospital authorities had denied that the freshers were subjected to ragging. The inquiry committee found that seniors did summon their juniors to gardens outside the college premises with the intention of ragging them. It was reported that the junior boys were told to reach the Sector 33 garden, where they were asked to kiss one another. It was also alleged by some parents that their wards were asked to carry condoms to classes. Though the authorities preferred to remain mum on these issues, the sources said the committee had found these allegations to be true. There was other ‘acts of indiscipline’ which the authorities refused to elaborate. All 19 inmates will be expelled from the college hostel within 48 hours of issue of orders. The entire MBBS batch of 2006 has been fined, The students would be asked to deposit Rs 2,000 each within two weeks.
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Eviction Hurdles: Estate Office files go missing
Chandigarh, August 16 All cases of the building branch pertain to the period prior to 2004. As many as 750 sites - commercial, residential or industrial - have so far been resumed by the estate office on account of building violations. The missing record was noticed during the ongoing computerisation and cataloguing of around 32,000 files of the estate office. Taking a serious note of the anomaly, estate officer R.K.Rao has directed the officials concerned to resurrect the entire record of the proceedings pertaining to the missing files. The SDO (building) has been asked to fix the responsibility of the officials responsible for the custody of the record and the reason for misplacing the files. Explaining the anomaly, an official said there was only an entry available in the register of the reader and no order/proceedings was available in the file. The issue was discussed at a meeting of senior officials held recently. Sources said that it had been decided that clarification will be sought from the department concerned under the Public Premises Act with respect to pendancy of the proceedings of the resumed sites. The officials have been asked to seek the parallel copies of the proceedings from different branches like accounts, establishment and other branches maintaining the record of resumption. The SDO (building) has also been asked to inspect all 76 sites and give the present status report on the violations. “If no violation is found now, the occupant can be given the benefit of the doubt. Fresh proceedings would be initiated if the violations are found at the spot,” said an official.
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Nod to city-Baddi rly line
New Delhi, August 16 The project had been approved in principle and announced in the railway minister’s budget speech this year. The total requirement of funds for the above-mentioned projects is Rs 2,796 crore. The projects aim to boost the socio-economic development of the areas concerned.
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Muslims don’t want them to dig too deep
Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service
Ramgarh (Panchkula), August 16 No amount of compensation and no other piece of land is acceptable to these villagers, who are relying on assurances by the higher authorities that the menace machines will not uproot their dead. “We can surrender our homes, but the land of the cemetery should remain with us, whatever be the financial implications. Let our dead lie in peace. We have buried our near and dear ones in this cemetery and will some day share this space with them.The cemetery is sacrosanct and nobody should be allowed to tamper with the graves,” says 82-year-old Gafur Hajji, the oldest Muslim in the village. The issue of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) acquiring the cemetery has become a subject of discussion in the village. The villagers, along with the panchayat, are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the cemetery is not moved. “Though acquisition proceedings were initiated in the nineties, the matter was dropped and the then Chief Minister Bhajan Lal had assured us that the place would remain with us. About a fortnight back, a JCB tried getting inside our land which had us rushing to various officers and state leaders, including the Governor, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. We have even approached the Wakf Board in this regard,” explained Abdul, who has buried eight members of his family at the cemetery. “The last time a JBC dug out some bones, which we reburied. Our parents, their parents and their parents together lie buried on this land. It would be unjust to disturb the graves,” said Mohammad Imran. While the villagers are willing to limit the cemetery to five kanals, they say relocating it won’t do. For now, it’s all quiet. The villagers are unsure if it is a lull before the storm.
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First-ever script bank
Chandigarh, August 16 Speaking to the Chandigarh Tribune about the project, which has already started at an informal level, Kamal Tewari, chairperson, of the akademi, said the idea originated from his interactions with theatre directors and actors, who often rued the dearth of good scripts for theatrical adaptation. “The situation is so bad that one does not even have access to scripts of plays presented locally, what to talk of theatre at the regional and national level. We have good playwrights in the city. There are some very fine theatre groups engaged in socially meaningful theatre. But once they have said their part on stage, the matter is over. Because no one has ever put together these scripts, these are not available for further use. We propose to fill the gap by creating a corpus of scripts of plays staged locally, regionally and nationally,” explained Tewari.
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Punjabi Tribune journalist dies in accident
Zirakpur, August 16 Bhullar was rushed to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh with grievous head injuries. He was operated upon for brain blood clotting this morning. The operation lasted for over two hours but doctors could not save him. He succumbed to his injuries at noon. Bhullar had joined Punjabi Tribune as sub-editor in 1991. Earlier he had worked with the Delhi-based Soviet ‘Des’. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Bhullar had returned to Chandigarh only two days ago after having spent three months in the USA. He had joined office yesterday. Bhullar, who was originally from Tarn Taran, lived with his family at the Sarv Mangal Society here. The Zirakpur police said the accident took place last night at around 10.30 p.m. when Bhullar was returning home after his duty. A speeding Alto car (CH 03Q 3346) coming from behind hit him. The police said that the car was being driven by one Anju, accompanied by her husband Amit Kumar, residents of Mubarakpur Camp, Dera Bassi. The car driver lost control and hit Bhullar’s scooter and reportedly crashed into a truck parked on the roadside. A police gypsy rushed the injured to the hospital. The police has booked the car driver and the truck driver. The driver is still admitted to the Hospital and is said to be in a serious condition. President of the Chandigarh Journalists Association Harish Vashisth and General Secretary Avtar Singh have condoled Bhullar’s death and said his death is a big loss to Punjabi journalism. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad and untimely demise of Bhullar. Bikram Singh Majithia, Information and Public Relations Minister, Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal, member of Parliament, and the Secretary, Information and Public Relations Department, Jagjit Puri, have also condoled the death of Bhullar. The cremation will take place tomorrow at the Sector 25 cremation grounds in Chandigarh at 1 pm.
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Nokia
battery blasts
Chandigarh, August 16 Rohan, son of Rajeev, told Chandigarh Tribune that he was sitting at a distance from the N-70 handset when the blast took place. No one was injured in the incident.“I had put the handset on charging about 20 minutes before the blast. The sound was like that of tyre burst. No spark was noticed, but the handset was hot after the blast,” said Rohan. Meanwhile, many other mobile phone users spent their entire day standing in queues outside Nokia care centres to get the batteries of their mobiles replaced. Most of them complained of harassment at the care
centres.
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Multi-level parking gets rolling
Chandigarh, August 16 An MC spokesman said the lowest bid was received from M/s Sibash Projects and Marketing Ltd with a concession period of nine years and 11 months. Once the parking on a plot measuring 6739 sq m, adjacent to electric grid sub-station, is completed, the central plaza would be converted into a green pedestrian area. To make the project economically viable, 9 per cent of the floor area has been allowed to be used for commercial purposes. The commercial activities permitted shall include shops, kiosks, department stores, retail mall, offices, restaurant, food courts etc. The parking facility will be provided with CCTV for monitoring of the parking area and computerised toll parking system. The parking facility will be provided with entry and exit linked through subway for the movement of vehicles without causing any traffic congestion. The parking fee for two-wheelers will be Rs 5 (up to five hours), Rs 10 (more than 5 hours), Rs 300 (monthly pass). For four-wheelers, the tariff structure is Rs 10 (up to two hours), Rs 15 ( from two hours to five hours), Rs 20 (more than five hours), Rs 500 (monthly pass) and for taxis Rs 30 (per entry).
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Cops get tough with violators
Chandigarh, August 16 A spokesman of the Chandigarh Traffic Police said Kali Deen of Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran, had been issued eight challans from June 25, 2005 to May 26, 2007; Shishu Pal Mankotia of Sector 21-B had been booked five times for violating traffic rules and regulations between November 24, 2002 and June 14, 2007. Similarly, Ajay Sharma of Sector 45-A had been issued eight challans from March 26, 2005 to July 5, 2007. The police said the three offenders have been barred from holding a driving licence for a period of three months beginning from August 11. Till date, the police have recommended 202 cases to the RLA Chandigarh for suspension of driving licence; out of this, 146 habitual offenders have been awarded punishment.
104 challaned for overspeeding
The Chandigarh Traffic Police today booked 206 motorists for violating traffic rules and regulations in different parts of the city. The police had set up five nakas across the city for the purpose. The police said the traffic policemen collected Rs 14,900 by charging on the spot fine from outstation vehicles. The police challaned 104 motorists for overspeeding, 19 for riding two-wheelers without wearing safety helmets, 82 for miscellaneous offences and one for using black film. Besides, five vehicles were impounded.
Report traffic offence on 1073
The police request the general public to provide information about the habitual offenders on its traffic helpline toll free number 1073. Acting on information, the police would verify the information against available computerised record of traffic offenders and recommend cases of such habitual offenders for disqualification or revocation of their driving licences under Section 19 of MV Act, 1988.
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Deteriorating civic conditions
Panchkula, August 16 Led by the dissident group in the Congress, comprising president of the city Congress committee, R.K. Kakkar, and V.K. Kapoor, the members discussed the issue of non-functional street lights, poor sanitation in the city, potholed roads and pitiable condition of city parks. “Samples of works undertaken by the MC were got checked by the district administration. Some of these are not in accordance with the specification and have affected the image of the council adversely,” Kakkar said on behalf of the members attending the meeting. Maintaining that they don’t expect “fair work” under the present set up, they have demanded the removal of MC president Manvir Gill. “We have decided that if no action is initiated despite our appeals, we will be forced to resort to agitations and dharnas. We will give the administration a fortnight to act, failing which, we may resign en masse,” a statement signed by the members said. Gill, meanwhile, said most of the councillors, who were raising their voice against her, were perturbed about the unchanged wards in the city. “They are upset because they can’t go back to the people and ask for votes. They have done nothing in these last few years. They were expecting their wards to change with the delimitation exercise, which has not happened. Also, they must first go public on the fate of inquiries initiated during the presidentship of Tarun Bhandari,” she said. She added that the councillors should resign instead of making hollow statements without really doing anything.
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Residents protest dumping of garbage in residential area
Mohali, August 16 Residents said they had been allotted plots by the PSIEC in 2002. Out of the 140 persons, who had been allotted plots in the area, many had constructed their houses. But a year later, the government acquired 13 acres of land falling in Sohana village for dumping garbage. This, they alleged, had made their lives miserable and they demanded that the garbage dumping site be shifted. They said the civic body had stopped dumping garbage in the area after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had given directions in this regard. But about two days ago, a vehicle of the council had again dumped garbage in the area. Executive officer J.S. Thind said garbage was being dumped at another site at present. It would be dumped at the acquired site after a boundary wall was constructed in accordance with the directions of the court. The boundary wall had not been constructed so far, as the demarcation of the acquired area had not been done. He said the court had also given directions to make the area around the dumping site green and this would be done only after proper demarcation took place.
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Conference on terminal market project
Chandigarh, August 16 The conference was held to address various queries raised by the interested private enterprises and issue clarifications towards the same. The qualified applicants were informed about the extent and type of services to be provided, reserve price of land, mode of payment of market fee, sourcing models, movement of perishables through neighbouring states and the town planning norms for the project. The qualified applicants have been asked to submit their technical and financial bids by September 10. The bids would first be evaluated on technical grounds, and the financial bids of all those scoring the minimum qualifying technical score will be opened. The bidders are required to quote the percentage of their annual revenues that they are willing to share with the state agriculture marketing board.
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Police told to keep tab on child abusers
Chandigarh, August 16 The SSP, in a circular, directed his men to lodge first information report, and get complete medical examination conducted in such cases, and if required, provide the child shelter through the orders of the Child Welfare Committee member. The staff of the women and child helpline has been directed to immediately provide help in such cases. Prompt attention should be paid to the volunteers of the NGOs who visit the police stations to extend help to the victims. Sources in the police said the directions had been issued following the launch of the child protection programme by the UT Administration. The SSP asked his officials to work in collaboration with the rapid response team constituted for the purpose. The SSP further ordered the SHO to personally deal with such cases and take consultation from persons designated by the authorities concerned for the purpose, including Raji P. Srivastva, nodal officer for the programme.
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e-stamp proposal under study
Chandigarh, August 16 An official said instead of buying a number of stamp papers of different denominations, the buyer could pay the amount at the designated counter, either at a bank or at e-sampark centres. A special stamp generated from a franking machine would be printed on a paper and the same would be considered as a stamp paper.
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Mohali ISBT — a picture of neglect
Mohali, August 16 The terminus has been virtually turned into a lake after showers that lashed the city two days back. Knee-deep waterlogged potholes at both, the entry and exit gates, are just waiting for tragedy to happen. Bus drivers and commuters face a lot of inconvenience due to these perilous pits. The terminus lacks even the basic facilities like a water cooler. There are a total of six shops in the building housing the terminus out of which five are lying vacant. “No one has ever shown interest in these five shops due to the poor condition of the terminus”, said the station supervisor. To add to the woes, the terminus is surrounded by congress grass but no one has ever taken any step to check the menace. On the matter of poor upkeep of the terminus, station supervisor Jarnail Singh said, “Our department has already given a draft of Rs 10 lakh for the repair of the compound to the concerned department. Various officials have inspected the terminus but no scheme has been carried out to improve the condition”. Bus drivers are also having a tough time. “These big potholes are a threat to the buses. Many times we have become victims of breakdowns due to these but no step has been taken yet to solve the problem”, rued Narender Singh, a private bus driver.
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Violations galore as GMADA fails to act
Kulwinder Sangha
Mohali, August 16 A large number of residents are indulging in various kinds of violations of the building bylaws, the most common being opening of a gate in the rear boundary wall along roads. This not only leads to misuse of residential premises but is also a traffic hazard when such gates are used to park vehicles. Though GMADA has been issuing notices to violators every now and then, it has failed to get the desired response as strict action was not initiated. Now once again, the GMADA has directed the residents of the town to close these illegal gates by September 9, failing which, the plots would be seized and eviction proceedings initiated against the violators. According to rules, residents are not allowed to open up gates along the roads, especially main roads (A-roads). However, such gates are a common sight in most of the houses of almost all the sectors of the town. In many cases, these gates are used to park vehicles in the back courtyard while in others, residents use these gates to rent out a part of the building for commercial purposes. A classic example is a group of houses falling in Phase IV, whose owners have given their back courtyard on rent to persons who have opened up shops along the main road near Madanpur chowk. The area is slowly developing into a market with more shops slowly adding up. It is learnt that residents open up such gates only after they have been given occupation certificates by the concerned authorities. Occupation certificates are generally given by the GMADA after completion of 25 per cent construction on the plot. The landowners indulges in these violations, depending on their requirements and these are not shown in the buildings plans which they get cleared from the GMADA. Infact these are added only at a later stage. GMADA officials, however, are of the view that such violations are on the rise because of political intervention. Whenever the authority has tried to take action, residents have sought the help of politicians, bringing the activity to a halt. However, the GMADA continues to issue notices to the violators, hoping to drive home some sense, but in vain.
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Krishna Pandit praises Hooda govt on I-Day
Panchkula, August 16 Recalling the sacrifices made by the martyrs in the freedom struggle, she said that protecting our boundaries was the responsibility of every citizen. Speaking of the progress Haryana had made, she said the state had set new records of development and credit for that goes to the leadership of UPA president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda. She said the Hooda government had taken a number of initiatives for the welfare of common man which included a hike in pension to freedom fighters from Rs 1,525 to Rs
5,125. Emphasising that big leaps had been made in the heath sector, Krishna Pandit said 435 delivery huts had been opened for safe deliveries, hospitals were being. A modern operation theatre had been started at Raipur Rani and medical camps were being organised on a large scale.
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‘Possessed’ teenager tries to kill herself
Chandigarh, August 16 Sonia suffered 95 per cent burns and was admitted to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital. Her condition was stated to be ‘serious.’ Sources in the Industrial Area police station said the incident took place at 8.30 pm. Sonia went to the bathroom, sprinkled kerosene on her clothes and set these on fire. She came out crying for help. She was rushed to the hospital in critical state. Sonia’s statement was recorded before a magistrate. She said she had been undergoing stress for the past over four days, as she was ‘possessed by spirits.’ The police has registered a case of attempt to suicide under Section 309 of the IPC.
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Jail inmates get ready to log in
Chandigarh, August 16 The police said Noor, which is working for the welfare of inmates corresponding to behavioral change, reformation, correction and rehabilitation, will organise a month-long computer training programme for the young inmates in collaboration with Commonwealth Youth Programme, Asia Centre in Model Jail, Burail. UT IG (Prisons) Dinesh Bhatt inaugurated the programme and apprised the inmates about the benefits of the programme. He also said certificates would be given to successful candidates. Programme manager, Youth Development, Hassan Shifau also took part in the launching ceremony. Briefing inmates about the course, he said it would empower them with the latest technological trends and computer skills so that they could be rehabilitated into the society after their release. Deputy Superintendent jail Subhash Chander said more than 100 inmates had shown interest in enrolling for the programme.
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Letters
Infringement of consumer rights is criminal and punishable under consumer laws of this land. In the past also, the international companies have done such crimes and almost gone stock free. On the eve of 60th Independence Day once again a shocking truth came to light. Over 4.6 crore dangerous mobile batteries have been supplied for over a period of one year. On the other hand, toys made of toxic material had been supplied putting life of small kids in danger. The two multinationals have done a crime but no one is even talking about it because they are big brands. No political leader has issued any statement or initiated any action. Where are the human right lawyers, consumer courts or high courts that take cognisance of small things? Are they going to take suo motu note of the fact and start a PIL against the culprits? R.K. Garg Chandigarh Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at news@tribuneindia.com or, write in, at: Letters, Chandigarh Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh – 160 030
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Man held with 4.5 kg ganja
Chandigarh, August 16 The police said Asharfi of Raipur Kalan was arrested from near AKM Brick kiln in Mauli Jagran on Wednesday. His search led to the recovery of 4.5 kg contraband. A case under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) has been registered.
Theft
Jatinder Singh of Sector 44 reported that his laptop and camera were stolen form his car, which was parked at his residence, on Wednesday. A case of theft was registered.
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Shopkeeper booked for abetment to suicide
Dera Bassi, August 16 A 20-year-old migrant from Bihar was found dead under mysterious circumstances from the shop of Gurjeet Gulati on Tuesday evening. The victim, Madan, was working in Zirakpur and had come to visit his friends at Dera Bassi. According to police, Madan owed Rs 3500 to the shopkeeper and the latter had asked him to pay the money when he visited his shop on Tuesday. The police had found Madan lying on the floor with an electricity wire around his neck. Madan had reportedly hung himself from the fan in the shop. The ceiling fan also had loose wires hanging from it. Meanwhile, Gulati has been booked under Sections 306 and 342 of the IPC.
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3 booked for quarrel
Kharar, August 16 Meanwhile, three youths, in a car, halted near his bus and started abusing him. He alighted from bus to talk to the youths but instead of talking, they started hitting him. He sustained injuries in the quarrel and was rushed to the Kharar civil hospital. The youths have been identified as Simranjeet Singh from Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Ramandeep Singh from Gharuan and Parminder Singh from ward no 2, Mundi Kharar. No arrest has been made so far.
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Booked for fraud
Mohali, August 16
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