Friday, December 3, 1999
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N E W S Friday, December 3, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
Greenery and grandeur put to the
sword CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Work on barricading Madhya Marg, the pride of the city, has started. Huge steel grills were unloaded along the Sectors 26 and 27 stretch of this dual carriageway for erection on the road divider. Officials of the Engineering Department maintain that by erecting these heavy steel grills, they would be able not only to cut down the glare level of headlights of motor vehicles on this busy road but also prevent its criss-crossing by pedestrians to reduce the number of accidents. To support their arguments, they refer to a similar experiment undertaken from the Sector 26 Transport Chowk to the bridge on the Sukhna Cho. The Transport Chowk had emerged as “killer intersection” with maximum number of pedestrians getting killed while crossing the longest and biggest intersection of the city. They do not agree that erection of huge steel grills would spoil the openness, greenery, grandeur and aesthetics of Madhya Marg. Investigations, however, reveal that though the drawings for barricading of entire Madhya Marg — from Sector 26 Grain Market intersection to the PGI — were released by the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture long time back, the sanction for execution of work was made during the current financial year with the Superintending Engineer, Planning Circle, exercising his powers to approve estimate upto Rs 10 lakh. Besides, the Executive Engineer has powers to approve an estimate of upto Rs 2.5 lakh at his own level. The Superintending Engineer (Planning Circle) and Executive Engineer (Roads) were not available for comments for the exact amount of estimates approved for this entire project. It is believed that it will be more than a crore of rupees. A lot of concern has been expressed over this “callous waste” of steel on barricading this prestigious road. “There are better options available both for minimising “glare” and to prevent criss crossing of this busy road. A similar experiment made on the road dividing Sectors 17 and 22 in front of the Sector 17 Inter-State Bus Terminus is all before us. People jump over the identical steel grills erected there. In that case, the Administration has now decided to double the height of steel grills,” remarked a former senior engineer of the Administration. Investigations reveal that once the steel grills are installed, the green cover of Madhya Marg will diminish further. Of late, the Horticulture Wing of the Engineering Department has during the past two years planted less than 100 saplings along this road. These saplings, protected by tree guards, are only to fill the existing gaps. No fresh plantation as a replacement for the trees cut to make room for slip roads all along Madhya Marg has been made this year. In fact the number of trees, which have dried or fallen due to diseases, termites or because of natural calamities over the years is also about a hundred. As such, now when bougainvillaea plants grown on the road divider on the entire stretch of Madhya Marg would become difficult to maintain, this would become another carriageway of steel grills and electricity poles. Barricading would also pose a series of problems, especially for students and parents of students of both the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and the Ambedkar Institute, besides the National Institute of Fashion Design and Jat Bhavan. Students who have been crossing the road to be picked by their parents, friends and relatives across the road in vehicles will now be required to circle the entire stretch of Madhya Marg to go on other side of this road.There is only one bus queue shelter on other side of Madhya Marg which is almost opposite the Sector 27 Jat Bhavan. There is no “zebra crossing” on this stretch and even if one existed earlier, it would be closed because of erection of steel barricades. This, fear some of the
private planners, would rather increase than lower the
rate of road accidents involving pedestrians. |
A crore of rupees down the drain?
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Real chill
yet to set in CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The onset of winter has been slow this year. The minimum temperatures and the day-time temperatures have been above normal since the middle of November. And with December having begun, the real chill is yet to experienced by residents of the city and its surrounding areas. The morning and evenings are still pleasant and have not forced people indoors. No bonfires are visible, the sun can still be very warm during the day and several residents can be seen moving around in shirts or just light pullovers. Thick jackets or overcoats are yet to go to the dry cleaners. Even at night, blankets are being used while sleeping with no immediate sign of the quilts or blowers. This may also spell a bad beginning for those in the business of manufacturing quilts, blowers and warm clothes. On the other hand, this is good for the common man. Though no concrete reason has been forwarded by the local Meteorological Department, total lack of rain in the month of November seems to be one plausible explanation. Normal rain in November should have been 7 ml. This is also the driest month of the year. The “western disturbances’’ that usually leads to rain in these parts of the country have not occurred, said Mr S.C. Bhan, Director of the local met office. He explained that the temperatures were between 2° to 3° above normal for this time of the year. The day-time temperatures have not fallen, thus creating an impression that winter has been slow in coming. Psychologically it is the day time temperature, or the temperatures prevailing during working hours, that create an impression of winter, Mr Bhan said. This year nothing of the sort has been happening. The day-time temperatures hovered at 27°C yesterday and today. These are 2° above normal. Since the last week of November the minimum temperatures have been almost 3° above normal. Between November 15 and 21 the minimum temperature was between 4° and 5°C above normal. The temperatures have been fluctuating between highs and lows. There has been no gradual decline. The met office said that
normally the rains during winter months start after
December 15. |
Jacob’s
friendly surprise CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen JFR Jacob (retd), surprised senior functionaries of the Chandigarh Administration by visiting their offices unannounced this morning. General Jacob, who came out to see off a delegation of Dev Samaj Society, which came to present to him a bunch of bank drafts worth Rs 1.54 lakh for the welfare of families of Kargil heroes, first went to the office of the Chief Engineer, Mr R.K. Jain. After spending a few minutes there, General Jacob then went to the office of the Adviser, Mrs Vineeta Rai, and stayed there for a while. General Jacob also made
enquiries about the “Reader” who sits opposite
the room of the Adviser to the Administrator. Otherwise,
he had called the Finance Secretary for a meeting on
finance and budget. Today was his second day at the UT
secretariat after assuming charge last Saturday. |
Oh...
those creatures from Mars CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — A fashion show, "Fashion retrospect — countdown to the new millennium", showcasing the haute couture from the 1920s onwards, was held at Hotel Mountview here this evening. It was presented on the occasion of Texcon '99, the third international conference on textiles and clothing. The highlight of the show was not clothes or garments, but top-ranking models of the country. Big names of the Indian modeling industry who participated included Madhu Sapre, Helen Brodie, Nyonika Chatterji, Bipasha Basu and Nina Emannuelle. Beginning the rounds with a "winter show", the first to come on to the ramp were male models, followed by female models in pullovers in shades of blue, yellow, red and green. The "countdown" round began with the "Victorian times", with the models sashying down the ramp in corsets, gowns, ruffles and laces. To add a bit of fun and frolic to this round were big flowers atop the heads of the models, see-through gowns and balloons inside the dresses. This was followed by sequined dresses in black, creating a feel of the 1920s, with an abundance of revealing cuts and short hemlines. Black was the mood of the 1990s, where the "women of today" walked on the ramp in muted coloured and sequined clothes. The spell and the magic of Hollywood was created in the next round, when models arrived on the stage flaunting furs and cigarettes in their hands, dressed in dazzling shimmery see-through pants in pinks and purples and bodices. The show represented the 1940s through Indian fashion inspired by the genre of Mughal-e-Azam films, which had the models donning churidars and short kurtas, along with caps and flowing dupattas. This round was all in black, which seemed to be the statement at the end of this millennium. Narrow waists, bouncing balloon skirts, bush-shirts and trousers and the hip-hop of the 1950s was the feel of the next round. Male and female models captured the spirit of this generation with guitars and clutch-bags in hands and big sunglasses. The cult fashion of the swinging 1960s, which had recently staged a comeback in the mid-1990s, was all about models wearing a loud look, with bright clothes and shoes in plastic finishes. The rock and roll cuture of the 1970s was represented in a similar fashion, with big hoops in ears, knotted blouses and short skirts in bold prints. The 1980s round was one of the most appreciated rounds, with these models dancing to the tune of Kala sha kala and eating sugarcane, while dressed in Punjabi suits and juttis and phulkari dupattas. The 'Countdown to the
millennium' finally drew curtains with the last round
called "The style of the millennium". Various
models cavorted on the ramp with cellular phones in their
hands and all dolled up with antennae and huge beads on
their bodies. This made both men and women look like
"creatures from Mars". |
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With fashion shows
becoming a rage in the City Beautiful, it is not
surprising to see both young and old jostling and
scuffling with each other to get a view of the ramp and
the models there. This was what the fashion show today
was all about. Even the so-called elite of the city were
seen elbowing and scrambling for seats at the show, while
most of the journalists had to sit on the floor. Some
wives of officials were even seen screaming at those who
tried to adjust with others on the few seats available. |
'Need to
curb indecent beauty contests' CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Under the dazzling lights, they cat-walked. Models in mini-skirts, even sarees with their backs uncovered. Complete nudity was off the premises, but the "element of indecency could not be ruled out". "Such attempts" on the part of the so-called organisers "need to be curbed with an iron hand," stated advocate Rajinder Mahajan in his report on a fashion show held on November 27. An opportunity should not be given to the organisers to exploit the innocent young girls, to bring in westernisation and to divert their minds, further stated Mahajan in his two-page report submitted to the UT Civil Judge (Junior Division), Mr Jasbir Singh, today. He was appointed local commissioner in the civil suit filed by two social organisations along with a Panchkula resident for restraining the organisers from holding the show. Claiming "indecent representation of women" during the contest, the plaintiffs — Lawyers for Social Reforms, Yuvsatta and Chetan Kumar Sharma — had earlier alleged that scantily dressed models "would be brought on the stage with the intent to satisfy the desires of the spectators by exposing". Expressing apprehension about the outraging of their modesty, counsel for the plaintiffs had stated that the spectators might touch or even embrace the models serving liquor, "in the name of enjoyment". The intention behind organising the context, counsel had added, was to promote a brand of beer among the elite by advertising the product through glamorous models. The use of female models, he had added, as an advertisement tool "amounted to indecent representation of women within the meaning of Section 2 (c) of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986". Further alleging exploitation of the models for commercial purposes, counsel had stated that the event was "opposed to decency, morality, dignity of women, besides the Indian culture, social values and the tradition". The contest, if allowed
to be organised, would also "bring down the respect
for women in the eyes of the general public",
besides violating the "human rights of the weaker
sex", the counsel had concluded. |
MCC move
will ‘burden’ viewers CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Chandigarh Cable Operators Federation has opposed the proposal of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) to levy charges on the cable operators in the city. A press note of the federation today termed the proposal as a "heavy burden" on TV viewers. The security deposit is unfair to the small multi-system operators (MSO), who laid cables overhead and did not interfere with the underground public utilities such as water, sewerage and electricity. The huge security deposit was designed to force the cable operators out of business. The note added that a 7-mm single cable with no electric current crossing the city streets could be an eyesore when five 7-mm high-voltage electric distribution wires were criss-crossing every part of the city. The note alleged that certain councillors were favouring a major cable TV network, which was trying to monopolise the cable TV business by driving small cable operators out of business and depriving the viewers of the competitive rates. The federation asked the
civic body to hold a public debate on the issue before
taking a final decision. PGI: No comment,says Centre NEW DELHI, Dec 2 — The stalemate over the appointment of the PGI Director, Chandigarh, is expected to continue and the prestigious institute remains headless as the Centre has not yet decided on the next move. The Health Ministry is seized of the matter following the Punjab and Haryana High Court staying the order of the Union Government on the appointment of Mr N.K. Ganguli as acting Director. However, Health Ministry
officials when contacted today refused to comment on the
issue stating that the matter was
‘‘sub-judice’’. |
Villagers
flay Administration CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The residents of Mauli Jagran today assailed the Chandigarh Administration for poor civic amenities in the colony. They voiced their grievances at a meeting convened by the local unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (Ambedkar). Ms Bimla Sapna, President of the unit, presided over the meeting, where complaints about non-availability of kerosene at ration depots and fair price shops, poor and inadequate supply of drinking water, poor condition of open spaces, unsatisfactory garbage disposal system and poor upkeep of roads and streetlights were highlighted. It was resolved to take up the grievances with the Administration. Meanwhile, the following
have been elected office-bearers of the Ambedkar
Employees Federation: President — Mr Parvesh Kumar;
Chairman — Mr Raj Kumar; General Secretary — Mr
Madan Lal; Adviser — Mr Jagdish Rai; and Cashier
— Mr Pritam Singh. |
Paging
service onto new mode CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Modi Korea Telecom, one of the three paging service providers in the city, today turned its system onto a new access mode. Anyone wanting to leave a message for a Modi page subscriber will have to dial 9610, followed by the six-digit pager number. Till yesterday, Modi paging service could be reached by dialling 9610, the access code, while the operators used to take down the pager number over the telephone for further transmission of the message. Under the new system, the dialling party will have to dial the entire ten-digit number. The operators will greet
the caller with the personal or company name. Besides
this, the subscriber will be reminded of meetings,
appointments and birthdays and can also have his messages
forwarded to friends or colleagues while they are away. A
unique caller identification feature will tell the user
of the pager the telephone number from which the call has
been made. |
Partish
Bisht wins science quiz CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Partish Bisht from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, was awarded the first prize in the science category of a quiz contest among primary section students of the city at a function of the State Institution of Education here today. Vidya Vati from GHS(40) and Anita (GSSS, 38W) were second and third, respectively. The winners in the upper primary level were Shandesh (Manav Mangal), Gagandeep and Tarandeep (both from GMSSS, Sector 16), Pardeep (GHS, 16 ) and Vivek (GMS, Mani Majra) . Esther Gill (GMSSS, 40), Jyoti (GGSSS, 18), Jagmohan Singh (GHS 38) and Rozina were the winners in the seniors category. The mathematics quiz contest at the primary level was won by Rohit Singla (Manav Mangal), Sanjiv (GHS 32) and Vikram (GHS Mauli colony). Rahul Mittal (Shishu Niketan), Jyoti Joshi (GHS 38), Hardeep Kaur (GGSSS 18) and Parmod Kumar (GGSSS 38) were the winners in the upper primary level section of the contest. Nav Neeraj Sharma (Shishu Niketan), Kavita (IS Dev Samaj SSS 21) and Kuldeep Kaur were the winners in the secondary school level. Radhika Dhamija was awarded the prize for the contest in the physics and chemistry categories. Manpreet Kaur from GMSSS, Sector 35 and Nidhi Bansal from Sacred Heart were awarded in the biology and maths category. A total of 62 schools
participated. Dr H.C. Sharma, Director of the SIE, gave
away the prizes. Painting contest for retarded kids CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Mentally retarded children from various mentally retarded schools for these children in Chandigarh and Panchkula participated in a painting competition organised by the Government Institute for Mentally Retarded Children here today. The followinng are the results of the drawing and painting competition in order of merit: (Age Group 7 to 12 years) : Ashish Kumar Dhiman ( Little Flower); Imroze and Akash Deep ( St Soldier). (Age Group 12 to 20 and Above) : Deepak Katyal ( Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan); Gurpreet Singh (Government Institute for Mentally Retarded Children) and Ravinder (Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan). Meanwhile, a sports meet was also organised for these children on November 30 in the Sector 46 sports stadium. The objective of the meet was to prepare children for special olympics to be held in February/March 2000. Master Gurpreet and Ms Shalu were declared the best athletes. Following were the results of sports meet: Shalu and Nidhi. (first and second in 50m dash, respectively); age group — 8 to 15 ( boys) : Anil, Amardeep; Below 8 ( Girls) : Paramjeet and Kalpana; Age group 8 to 15 (boys): Mukesh and Angrej; Soft Ball Throw: Mukesh and Hari. Age group 16 to 21 ( boys): Gurpreet and Vinod. Age group 16 to 21 (
boys) Long jump: Gurpreet and Ravender. |
College
Principal to be honoured CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Principal of the local GGDSD College will be awarded the Gyan Jyoti award by the Global Organisation of Business Entrepreneurs at a seminar in Jaipur on December 11, a press release said here today. Dr Vaid is being awarded the prize for his contribution in the field of working and proficiency in fields of corporate performance on productivity, quality, management and innovation. The award will be presented at a national seminar on ‘industrial development in the national economy in the 21st century’. Dr M.S. Gill, Chief Election Commissioner, will inaugurate the seminar. The Indian Economic
Development and Research Association recently conferred
the college and Dr Vaid the National Educational
Excellence award. |
MCC
committee’s meeting put off CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The special meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), called to finalise the property tax bylaws, was today put off indefinitely. According to sources,
the meeting had to be put off as the Commissioner, Mr
M.P. Singh, was to hold consultations for the Plan outlay
for the next year. The other likely reason for the
postponement of the meeting was that the father of the
Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, had been admitted to the
emergency of Government Medical College and Hospital,
Sector 32, following a paralytic stroke a couple of days
back. |
Health
awareness campaign begins CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — A family health awareness campaign was launched today in the city by the State AIDS Control Society. With a view to creating awareness about sexually-transmitted diseases/reproduction tract infections and AIDS and the detection and treatment of STDs and RTIs, the society has planned to organise 17 such camps in villages and colonies of the UT. The awareness of STDs/RTI and AIDS will be created through street plays and folk media by teams of the Song and Drama Division, awareness talks and awareness films. They will ensure re-examination of STD/RTI patients in these colonies by experts from the PGI and the GMCH, counselling services by trained senior faculty from Nursing College, PGI, free medicines to patients, condom distribution and voluntary blood testing. The campaign will be held from December 2 to 9, after a month of training with the objective to seek co-operation of anganwari staff, Nehru Yuvak Kendra, teachers and ANMs/LVs and to encourage motivation in the general public to attend such camps. Two camps for STDs, RTIs, HIV/AIDS awareness-cum-medical camps for diagnosis and treatment of STDs/RTIs were organised today at Badheri and Maloya village in collaboration with the Family Planning Association of India and Lions Club, Rose. The main objective was to reduce the prevalence of STDs and RTIs, which increase susceptibility to HIV. The Song and Drama Division teams of the Government of India and artistes from Theatre Age group performed street plays to educate people through folk media. Films on AIDS were also shown during the camp to create awareness. Information, education and communication material on HIV, AIDS, STDs and RTIs was also distributed during the campaign. Free medicines were given to patients suffering from STDs and RTIs. Awareness and motivation through anganwari workers was also started through house to house contact in their respective areas two days prior to the camp. As many as 443 patients were given treatment and 47 blood samples were collected for testing. Meanwhile, the Population and Development Education Project, State Institute of Education, Sector 32, celebrated World AIDS Day in Government High School, Sector 32. The students of ETT and
GHS-32 covered a one-km race through the colony and
raised slogans about AIDS awareness. As many as 250
students participated in the race, which was flagged off
by the Director of the institute, Mr H C Sharma. |
Rotarian
visits nursing home CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Tony Serrano, trustee of the International Rotary Foundation and Past Director of Rotary International, visited the club from South Africa, along with his wife Mary Serrano. Serrano, accompanied by past Rotary International director Rajendra Sabboo, visited Deep Nursing Home to get first hand knowledge of the ‘Life of Dignity’ project of the club, according to Dharinder Tayal, president. Under the project, the club is carrying out ‘restorative surgery for birth defects’ completely free of cost. While the cost of these operations is high, it has become possible to provide this free to the poor through a US $ 25,000 grant received from Rotary International under their Children’s Opportunity Grant Scheme. The club has already
provided funds for the operations of 14 poor and
underprivileged children, said Mr Tayal. |
World
Disabled Day today CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Government Institute for the Mentally Retarded Children (GIMRC), Sector 32, will observe the World Disabled Day tomorrow. The main activities will include cultural programme by children, painting and sport competitions. Meanwhile, the GIMRC is also planning to introduce additional vocations of chalk making, file making, gardening and running a photostat machine shop and an STD booth. The institute is already running classes in cutting, tailoring, embroidery, cooking and bakery, candle making and canning of chairs. It has also proposed to
establish a sheltered workshop in the institute where
children can be employed. The other plans include
establishing a clinic for mentally retarded and a
diagnostic laboratory to look into various causes of
mental retardation. |
Function
of disabled today SAS NAGAR, Dec 2 — The Physically Handicapped Association, Punjab, will organise a state-level function at Nawanshahr tomorrow. Persons from all over
Punjab are likely to attend the function, Mr Ajit Salani,
chairman of the association, said here today. He said the
state Health Minister, Mr Manoranjan Kalia, would launch
a scheme under which certificates of disability would be
issued. |
Prayaas
function on Disabled Day CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Prayaas Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped Children, a project of the Indian Council for Child Welfare, will celebrate World Disabled Day tomorrow to create awareness regarding the uplift and rehabilitation of the disabled children. More than 12 schools
would participate in the on-the-spot painting and fancy
dress competitions. About 150 students are likely to
participate. |
Outraging
modesty case: 2 get bail CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The UT Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr. H.S. Madaan, today granted bail to two S.A.S. Nagar residents accused of outraging modesty at Technical Teachers' Training Institute in Sector 26. The two — Satinder Singh and Parminder Singh — were directed to be released upon furnishing personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each along with two sureties of the like amount. They were earlier booked by the Chandigarh police for voluntarily causing hurt and use of criminal force with intent to outrage the modesty under Sections 294, 323, 354 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code on complaint of an S.A.S. Nagar resident, Mrs Anita Rani. In her complaint, she
had alleged that the two had outraged her modesty while
she had gone to TTTI in Sector 26. Seeking their release
on bail, counsel for the accused had contended that the
two were being implicated in the case by the complainant. |
Beant
case: cop’s denial CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh's assassination case continued today with prosecution witness DSP Dilbagh Singh of the Punjab police stating that he had no knowledge of the other three human bombs arrested by the police. Deposing before the UT
District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, in the
makeshift courtroom at Model Jail, Burail, the DSP stated
that he had just read about the human bombs in
newspapers. The witness added that he had no information
about the murder of Ropar advocate Kulwant Singh or his
wife. The case will come up for further hearing tomorrow. |
Cracker
case hearing on December 15 CHANDIGARH, Dec 2— Directing the partner and manager of a Tamil Nadu-based cracker manufacturing company to join investigations for two days in a complaint case filed after a school student lost his eye due to bursting cracker in 1995, UT District and Sessions Judge Mr B.S. Bedi today fixed December 15 for arguments on their anticipatory bail plea. Pronouncing the orders in the open court on petition by partner A.P. Selvrajan and manager T. Amudha, the Sessions Judge observed: “The Public Prosecutor for the State submits that the applicants are required for the purpose of interrogation. Counsel for the applicant has stated that they have no objection in joining the investigations”. The Sessions Judge added: “So it is directed that both applicants should join the investigations with the investigating officer at Police Station South at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 12 and 14”. In his complaint before
the court, practising advocate G.S. Bal had earlier
stated that his ward’s eye was damaged after being
hit by splinters from a bursting cracker. He had added 10
packets of “Bullet” fire cracker had been
purchased by them. |
Murder
case: SI's arrest stayed CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Issuing notice for December 8, the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today stayed the arrest of Sub-Inspector Amarjit Singh till then in the Kulwinder Singh Kid murder case. Pronouncing the order in the open court, the Sessions Judge observed: "Bail application be registered. Notice / record for December 8. Till then the arrest of the applicant in the present case is stayed." Seeking the grant of anticipatory bail, counsel for the applicant had earlier stated that there was no evidence regarding Kid's abduction and subsequent murder by the applicant. The Sub-Inspector, counsel had added, was not even present when Kid, a resident of SAS Nagar, was allegedly killed. Claiming to have been implicated in the case, counsel had stated that the allegations against the applicant were false. The first information report, he had added, was lodged after an inordinate delay. Earlier, in his petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court here, Kid's father Tarlochan Singh had alleged that his son was forcibly taken away from their S.A.S. Nagar residence by a police party in plain clothes in July, 1989. Taking up the petition, the high court had directed the then UT Sessions Judge, Mr. M.S. Lobana, to submit a report after investigating the matter. In his report, submitted in September, 1995, the Sessions Judge had observed that on July 22, 1989, a police party in plain clothes, headed by Surjit Singh Grewal of CIA Staff at Patiala, raided house number 752 in SAS Nagar and took away Kulwinder Singh, alias Kid. On the basis of the
inquiry report, the high court, on July 5, 1996, directed
the registration of a case against the accused police
officials and handed over the case to the premier
investigating agency. In its report, the agency stated
that the officials entered into a conspiracy to kill Kid
in a fake encounter and to show him as an absconder. Four fined for gambling CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — Convicting four city residents for playing cards at public places in two separate cases, the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr A.K. Bishnoi, yesterday imposed a fine of Rs 50 on each of them. While Mohammed Azim and Ahmed Miya were caught by the police from Burail village, Inderjit and Rajpal were arrested from the kabari market in Sector 51. They were booked under the Gambling Act. According to the prosecution, Azim and Ahmed were "playing cards at a public place by putting money at stake". The cards, along with the money, were seized from their possession, the prosecution added. In the other case, the
prosecution said Rs 100 were seized from Rajpal and Rs 45
from Inderjit. The prosecution added that Rs 20 were
found on the ground between the two accused when they
were caught. |
Bail plea
dismissed in cheating case CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today dismissed the anticipatory bail application filed by three city residents, accused of cheating while sending people to Dubai. The three — Shalini, Saloni and Chandan — were apprehending arrest in the first information report registered on November 9 under Sections 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, besides Section 24 of the Emigration Act, on the written complaint of one Kartar Singh. According to the prosecution, the complainant’s son Parminder Singh was cheated after being sent to Dubai by the applicants for employment. During the investigations, the prosecution had added, another person Malkiat Singh had also been cheated. Seeking the grant of
anticipatory bail today, the counsel for the applicants
stated that the three were being implicated in the case.
Claiming to have “no hand in the racket”, the
counsel had added that Parminder Singh and Malkiat Singh
had been sent to Dubai by some other firm. Fake ticket accused gets remand CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — City resident Ramesh Chand Kumar, accused of being involved in the sale of fake parking tickets at the railway station here, was remanded to police custody till tomorrow by the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash. Seeking five-day police remand for the accused, the public prosecutor stated that Ramesh, arrested today, was required for interrogation. Co-accused Naval Kishore Sharma, it was added, had stated that one "deputy Babu" (the accused), along with Suresh Manchanda, used to supply tickets for Rs 10 each. Opposing the plea for police remand, counsel for the accused stated that Ramesh, an advocate, was not involved in the commissioning of the alleged offence. The parking contract, counsel added, was in one Suresh Manchanda's name. Remanding the accused to police custody for a day, the CJM observed in the open court that the investigations in the case would suffer if the accused was not interrogated as he had specifically been named by a co-accused. The Chandigarh police, it may be recalled, had registered a cheating and a forgery case under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. According to the
prosecution, two co-accused in the case — Ram Vinay
and Naval Kishore — were caught red-handed after a
decoy customer was sent by the police. Several fake
tickets of Rs 10 denomination were seized from the
accused, the prosecution had added. The two were
subsequently directed to be released on bail by the CJM
after furnishing personal bonds of Rs 15,000 each, along
with sureties of the like amount. |
Internet
service rates slashed CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The local Telecom Department has slashed the rates of its Internet service after facing stiff competition from private Internet service providers who have cornered a large segment of subscribers. Various new categories, including one for students and hours slabs, have been introduced. The registration fee has been reduced from Rs 500 to Rs 100. The usage rates have been lowered by Rs 900 for 100 hours, Rs 1,300 for 250 hours and Rs 1750 for 500 hours. This has been calculated by taking into account the registration fee applicable in the tariff earlier. Besides, the department
has introduced a novel scheme of having off peak hours
for usage. This means 50 per cent of the normal tariff
will be charged for a specific time-frame on weekdays and
for the entire day on Sunday. |
PWD dumps
sewer pipes in school PANCHKULA, Dec 2 — The PWD has been allegedly encroaching upon the land of Nav Bal Niketan School in Sector 12-A for many years, using it to dump sewer pipes and other material which occupy almost two- third of the school's land . Since its inception 1988, the school management committee has been pleading with the authorities concerned to clear the land of the material, but to no effect. The matter has even been brought up at the khula darbars, but nothing more than false assurances have been given. The school authorities complain that snakes and other poisonous insects breed in the midst of dumped pipes which are a constant threat for the children. The encroachment deprives the children of games as this area is intended to be a playground. As the school authorities are unable to maintain this area, stray cattle, migrant labourers and villagers, too, encroach upon it. The school authorities
plans to claim compensation from the department for using
their land over the years. |
SNIPPETS Randhawa yadgari mela SAS NAGAR, Dec 2 — The Punjabi Culture Society is organising the eighth Dr M.S. Randhawa Yadgari Sabhyacharak Mela at Dasehra grounds in Phase 8 here on December 4. Renowned Punjabi singers like Jassi, Sardul Sikandar, Surjit Bindrakhya and Mohammad Sadique are expected to perform.Besides, some known folk artistes and dancers would also perform on the occasion. Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, a Union minister, would be the chief guest. Relief for cyclone victims sent CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — The Deputy Commissioner, Mr M. Ramsekhar, today flagged off a truckload of relief material meant for the cyclone victims of Orissa from the Sector 44 market. The articles, including 400 bags of rice and 25 bags of clothes, had been contributed by various market associations affiliated to the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal. The Deputy Commissioner thanked the trading community for contributing relief for the cyclone victims and appreciated the role of the mandal in mobilising the traders for the good gesture. Kisan mela opens today PANCHKULA, Dec 2 — Information on agriculture equipment, pesticides etc. will be given to farmers of the region at a kisan mela to be organised by the Agriculture Department, Haryana, from tomorrow at Lohgarh, near here. An official spokesman of the department said farmers would be provided vital information on the government’s policy of grant of Rs 30,000 on the purchase of tractors. Latest techniques in farming would be an attraction at the fete. Information on the right use of land, manuring and biogas techniques would be supplied to them. The spokesman said the farmers would be informed about the construction of micro-earthen dams in their areas and to make right use of water for irrigation. Experts at the fete would also provide information on horticulture. Stress on safe injections PANCHKULA, Dec 2 — Nearly 80 traditional medical practitioners in the district will be covered during an awareness drive started by the Environment Society of Haryana, Panchkula, to campaign against the use of unsafe injections and outdated techniques by them. Lecture on moral values PANCHKULA, Dec 2 — The need for an overall personality development at the right stage was stressed at a lecture programme on moral values held at Blue Bird School in Panchkula here yesterday. The lectures were conducted by guests from the Brahm Kumari Rajyog Shiksha Sansthan. They criticised the deteriorating values of the present society and urged students to follow the path of rectitude. Mr S.K. Saxena, President of the Build India Group, distributed prizes to the winners of an on-the-spot painting contest held by the school on November 14. The names of the winners
were as follows: group A — Kunal 1 and Vibhor 2;
group B — Shubita 1 and Himanshu 2; group C —
Saurabh 1 and Mamta 2; group D — Sandhya 1 and
Sonika 2 and group E — Navdeep 1 and Gurpreet 2. |
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