Saturday, December 4, 1999
|
N E W S Saturday, December 4, 1999 |
|
weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
A dash of
sparkle to Carnival kick-off CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — The Millennium Carnival Parade, that preceded the Chandigarh Carnival-99, this afternoon, started off on an impressive note with about seven ‘Nek Chand floats’, colourful cultural troupes from eight northern states dancing atop the tableau, and six local government schools participating in the carnival in fancy dresses and masks and with lively bands. But what seemed to be really missing was the participation of the people of the City Beautiful. The carnival was flagged off by Mrs Vineeta Rai, Adviser to the Administrator, UT, from the Leisure Valley, Sector 10, and terminated at the Sector 17 Plaza. The almost one-and-a-half hour long parade went through Sector 9 showrooms and the Government Press chowk, providing not only colour to these streets of the city but also stopping traffic at various points. This seemingly was the only interaction of the city people with the Carnival, which this year was also devoid of floats from various schools and colleges. The floats with Nek Chand creations had both male and female human size dolls atop the tableau, which looked like real men and women clustered and heaped up together.The students of the Foodcrafts Institute, Sector 42, and Government College of Arts, Sector 10, decorated their vehicles to form a part of the parade. A local Hindi daily also participated in the Carnival Parade, along with some college students carrying the ply cards. The tableau presented folk dances of Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. Later at the Sector 17 Plaza, dances and demonstrations were carried out by the North Zone Cultural centre (NZCC) artistes. Hot air balloons were also released by the school children, cheered by the people present there. Meanwhile, the children and their teachers complained that no provision of any water or food had been made for them in the parade. Reportedly, it was only after the intervention of a local college Principal that the authorities finally relented to provide cold drinks to all the participants. Also present at the flagging-off ceremony were Mr N K Jain, Home Secretary, UT, Mr M Ramsekhar, Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.P. Arora, Director Tourism, Mr D.S. Saroya, DPI (Schools) and Mr V N Singh, Director, Museum-cum-Secretary Chandigarh Carnival Society. The Chandigarh Carnival-99, being marked as the milliennium event by the Chandigarh Administration, will be inaugurated tomorrow by Lt-Gen JFR Jacob (retd), Governor of Punjab and Administrator UT. The attractions of the
carnival would predictably be the star-studded pop star
musical nite on December 4 at the Cricket Stadium, Sector
16, which would include Jasbir Jassi of the hugely
successful Dil Lagayee Kudi Gujrat Di and Anamika of the
Intezaar and ‘Cat-walk’ fame and the
‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’ on December 5. Food
festival at the Carnival village and also ‘create
your own Rock Garden’, a workshop with Nek Chand,
creator-director Rock Garden, on both the days at Leisure
Valley would also be the other major attractions. |
The trauma
of the young and the restless CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Permanent disabilities among people belonging to the 20-40 age group have been on the rise following the continuously upward moving graph of vehicular accidents leading to orthopaedic and neuro trauma cases. An equally important contributing factor has been the military-related trauma cases, including those injured in land mine and anti-personnel mine blasts, besides those getting permanent disabilities during their tenures at inhospitable terrains like Siachen and snow-clad Kargil areas. A number of experts dealing with physical disabilities interviewed by Chandigarh Tribune on the World Disabled Day are of the view that not only have the man-made disabilities increased during the last decade due to velocity of trauma, they have also witnessed certain new trends. They suggested certain remedial measures, which could bring down the incidence of trauma cases and rehabilitate the afflicted ones. However, Dr Raj Bahadur, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32 , maintains that though the number of injuries sustained as a result of motor accidents has gone up, with the advancement in the methods of fixation of fracture and early mobilisation of various joints, the total disabilities pertaining to the overall body have come down, and will further decrease. “The fractures of the bones of the extremities is most common among people in the younger age group ( 20-40), and leads to disabilities such as shortening of limbs, stiffness of joints etc,’’ said Dr Bahadur. He further pointed out that disabilities among college-going girls driving two wheelers have also become very common with one or two cases of multiple injuries reported every month. He suggests that since they are not too confident on the road, they should either wear helmets or drive four-wheelers. Keeping in view a significant increase in trauma cases, Dr Bahadur highlights the need for trauma centres in at least major hospitals, with a designated operation theatre and anaesthetist for giving priority to emergency cases, which need urgent fixation within 6-12 hours. Among his other suggestions are stringent rules for issuing driving licences and police to constantly monitor the alcohol levels of drivers on the highways to check the incidence of drunken driving. With an increase in the life span, fractures in old neck femur among older people and the problem of arthritis among women due to degeneration of joints have also shown an increase, he pointed out. Dr M.S. Dhillon, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, PGI, attributes the increase in the incidence of disabilities to mechanisation causing danger to life and limbs. He revealed that the increase is more pronounced in poly trauma cases as high speed trauma causes multiple injuries in the head, abdomen in serious accident cases. The residual disabilities as a result of crush injuries sustained due to high speed driving of small cars often lead to amputation of limbs. Among the older people, hip fractures leading to disabilities has increased. Dr Dhillon also suggests better trauma care as serious disabilities due to lack of treatment cause vegetable existence of patients. Prompt first aid of bringing the injured patient to the hospital and immediate attention will reduce the disbilities in case of neurosurgery cases.Even Dr N.K Arora, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, General Hospital, Sector 16, maintains that over the last few years, the incidence of highway trauma cases has increased, However the incidence of polio has decreased due to the intensive national campaign to eradicate polio by the year 2000. “The treatment of complex fractures often lead to residual disabilities and the degree of disability depends on the magnitude of injuries,’ ‘ he added. Dr R.S. Rana, an orthopaedic surgeon in GH-16, opines that proper education about traffic rules among the general public will bring down the number of accidents in the younger age group segment. He pointed out that diversion of slow traffic to slow carriage ways by the Administration has brought down the number of accidents on the Madhya Marg in recent years and regulation of speed of vehicles particularly at the round abouts and better lane driving will further check it. Meanwhile, Dr BNS Walia, a former Director of PGI and technical advisor, Prayaas Rehabilitation Centre, Sector 38, disclosed that damage to brain during delivery process leads to cerebral palsy, mental retardation, hyper kinetic syndrome, deafness etc. Of the 5-6 per cent children with disabilities, 2 per cent have congenital disorders, the remaining suffering from the acquired disabilities need to be focussed more in terms of corrective measures. Dr Walia is of the view
that by improving the facilities for the care of the
handicapped and children, we can reduce the handicap and
make them productive individuals with a better quality of
life. Compassion is the soul of a town and government
should extend all possible support to the institutions
working in this direction, he adds. |
Weak in
body but strong in will CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Mentally challenged children did not allow their physical disability to come in the way as they danced their way to the hearts of the audience while performing bhangra at a function at the Government Institute for Mentally Retarded Children, Sector 32, to mark the World Disabled Day today. A variety of items, including group songs and dances, were presented by these young performers. A skit showing a forgetful doctor performing a heart operation and dress and display of cultures of different states were the major attractions of the programme. Speaking on the occasion, Prof B.C. Chavan, Joint Director of the institute, said that there are approximately 6000-7000 mentally challenged children in the city. The Institute is planning to reach out to these children through home-based programmes, community awareness programmes to ensure early detection as well as their participation in community vocational programmes. Highlighting the need of social security, he said that government authorities must come up with a social institute to take care of these children when their parents are no more. Dr V.K Kak, Director-Principal of Govern-ment Medical College, Sector 32, stressed the need of joint efforts by teachers, parents and society to train these children. He said the institute was planning to start a mental retardation clinic where mentally challenged children can come for check-up, medical treatment and counselling free of cost. He also talked about the new vocations which the institute was planning to start shortly — file making, running an STD booth, chalk making etc. He also highlighted the need for a diagnostic lab in the Institute for finding out the cause of mental retardation, which can also play a significant role in the counselling of parents who plan to have a second child after the first is mentally retarded. Later, Mrs Vani Venkat, the officer in charge of the Institute stressed on the need of early detection and prevention of mental retardation. Prayaas’’ Rehabilitation Centre for handicapped children, Sector 38- B also observed the day by organising a function to highlight the responsibility of society towards the handicapped children. As many as 200 children from various schools and Institutions for disabled children participated in an on-the-spot painting competition and fancy dress and cultural programme. Mrs Usha Suri, Honorary Secretary, Indian Council for Child Welfare, who was the chief guest at the function gave away prizes to the winners of the competition. More than 85 disabled children and youth were present at a function organised by the Youth Technical Training Society (YTTS) in collaboration with the Society for Social Health at Mauli Jagran Colony. Mr Prithi Chand, Director, Social Welfare Department, chief guest on the occasion, gave details of various beneficiary schemes for the disabled. While talking to some of them he found out that many of them did not have disability certificates. Mr Vineet Khanna, Director YTTS said that due to the official apathy towards the disabled, many of them could not get the certificates made. He urged that the Health Department should hold camps in the colonies to issue disability certificates so that they could avail the benefits of social welfare schemes. He also highlighted the need for a rehabilitation centre for the disabled in the slums and colonies, where they could be provided with counselling and support. PANCHKULA Happiness reflected on the faces of disabled children and adults at a function held to observe World Disabled Day in the Saket Institute for Orthopaedically Handicapped and Rehabilitation, Sector 1, here, on Friday. The programme, inaugurated by Mr S. D. Sharma, Chief Manager of Punjab National Bank, Chandigarh, was organised by the Haryana Saket Council, Panchkula. The President of the Bharat Vikas Parishad, Mr C.B. Goel, was the guest of honour. About 80 handicapped children and adults took part in sports competitions. The function started with a group song by the students of the Saket Rehabilitation Centre. The Director, Rehabilitation, of the Saket institute, Dr Rakesh Jhalani, urged the need for setting up a nodal agency to coordinate and support their efforts to rehabilitate the disabled. The rehabilitation centre distributed 10 aids and appliances to the handicapped children. An on-the-spot painting contest was also held at the function. The results of competitions are: Musical chairs—Ajay 1; Mamta 2; Amarjeet 3. Carrom board (seniors) — Hanuman 1; Sonu 2; Virender3; (juniors) — Sunil 1; Aadarsh 2. Table tennis—Vinod 1; Babli 2; Avtal 3. Basket the ball — Surjeet 1; Kimti Lal 2; Raghoo 3. In the painting contest,
Sonia stood first and Ajay second. |
Upholding
a tradition in true style ZIRAKPUR (Patiala), Dec 3 — True to the tradition of the Indian armed forces, Flying Officer Pankaj Joshi — the pilot of the ill-fated MiG 21 that caught fire and exploded mid-air soon after take-off here this afternoon — sacrificed his life to save lives and property of thousands of villagers in Himmatgarh and Dhakauli. “Had the pilot ejected 2 seconds earlier, the plane would have probably crashed on the houses. From the point of take-off to the point of crash, it is just 30 seconds of flying time,” said an Air Force officer. The 25-year-old pilot who had been injured critically in the accident died at the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, at 6. 45 p.m. The collar bones of the pilot had beenbroken, the spine was injured and internal bleeding in the stomach had occurred. He had slipped into a coma. Flying Officer Joshi hailed from Haldwani in UP. He was married to Ms Payal, also of the same town, about an year ago and had been posted in Chandigarh for more than a year. His wife, who was visiting the couple’s home town is being brought here tonight. Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended over the air base. According to sources, the pilot was in a two-aircraft formation. He was following the first aircraft being flown by Flight Lt S. Shukla, who orbited the area several times to find out what had happened. The jet being flown by the pilot exploded mid air above a stretch of land between Himmatgarh and Dhakauli just seconds before the pilot ejected and fell with a thud while his parachute did not open even partially. The seat that ejects with the chute was buried almost 10 inches in the mud. “The aircraft was rolling at the time of the incident and was probably upside down when the pilot ejected, hurtling him towards the earth rather than the reverse of it, happening, when the seat normally ejects towards the sky. This seems to be the reason why the parachute did not get the requisite height for a safe landing,” said an Air Force officer. Residents of the two villages, were in tears while explaining how the young pilot steered his aircraft, that was already on fire, away from Himmatgarh village in the nick of time. Little children could be seen tugging at the shirts of the elders to know more on how they had been saved. The jet was on fire while it was flying over Himmatgarh. Had he (the pilot) not steered it away towards the vacant land, it would have been a major tragedy, said Mrs Mehar Kaur while wiping off her tears. She prayed “May he live long,” while facing and bowing towards a local religious place. Had the aircraft carried on its flight path, the village of Dhakauli would have been destroyed. The jet fell just 300 m short of Dhakauli . Mr Ravinder Singh, an eye-witness, said that we only know that his name is “Joshi” while referring to the real life Hero of the villages located just off the Zirakpur-Panchkula road. Due to security reasons, several residents did not even know the name of their saviour. If the pilot did a good deed, Mr Ravinder Singh along with his friend Mr Harjit Singh Bhullar did the best possible for the pilot in return. They picked up the injured and unconscious pilot before moving towards Bhullar’s car to shift the airman to a hospital when a jeep of the Army arrived to take away the pilot. Mrs Gurmeet Kaur, a
resident of Dhakauli village, said the family was just to
take lunch as it heard the news of the plane crash.
“We left our plates and rushed to the spot.
Thousands of people would have died, property destroyed
and cattle perished but for the timely action of the
Flying Officer, she added. HC holiday list for next year CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court will observe as holidays next year all Sundays, second Saturdays, except January 8, March 11, April 8, October 14 and December 9. The following is the list of holidays . Guru Gobind Singh birthday January 5. Id-ul-Fitr January 9; Republic day January 26; Guru Ravi Dass jayanti February 19; Mahashivratri March 4; Holi March 20; Hola March 21; Ram Naumi April 12; Baisakhi April 13; Ambedkar jayanti April 14; Mahavir jayanti April 16; Good Friday April 21; Martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev June 5; Independence Day August 15; Janmashtmi August 22; Mahatma Gandhi jayanti October 2; Dussehra October 7; Divali October 26; Guru Nanak Dev jayanti November 11; Martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur December 1; Christmas December 25; Jor Mela December 26 and 27; Id-ul-Fitr December 28. The following will be
the local holidays: January 3, January 4, January 6,
January 7, March 22, April 10, April 11, October 16,
October 23, October 24, October 25, October 27 and
December 29. |
4th air
crash in the vicinity ZIRAKPUR, Dec 3 — Today’s mishap in which a young Air Force pilot was critically injured, is the fourth air crash in the vicinity of this site and the third incident involving a MiG-21 over the past four years. In June this year, a Jaguar aircraft on a routine sortie from the adjacent Ambala airbase, crashed into the fields at Banur, about 25 km from here. The pilot escaped with minor injuries after bailing out. The aircraft’s engine had reportedly flamed out after developing a technical fault. Prior to this, a MiG-21 from the Chandigarh Air Force Station had developed a technical fault while taking off in October, 1996. The plane crashlanded in the fields near the site of today’s crash, seriously injuring the pilot — the squadron’s flight commander. Just a few months before
this incident, another MiG-21, also from Chandigarh, had
been forced to make a belly landing in the fields
adjoining the airfield’s perimeter. Since the
ploughed-up fields had cushioned the impact while landing
and thereby causing little damage to the air frame, the
aircraft had been retrieved by a Mi-26 heavy lift
helicopter. |
Teachers
robbed of Rs 1.10 lakh PANCHKULA, Dec 3 — Four persons who were in a blue Maruti van, robbed two teachers of Government Middle School in Sector 17, here this afternoon. The robbers took away Rs 1.10 lakh after overpowering the teachers who initially resisted but gave up when they were reportedly strangled by the robbers near the school in Sector17. The teachers were in a rickshaw when they were reportedly stopped. During the encounter, Rs 1.04 lakh fell on the road which was later recovered by the police. The police sources said one of the teachers, Ms Saiyogita Kripal, was the headmistress of the school and the other Ms Saroj taught in the same school. The two teachers were cornered at around 12.30 pm, when they were returning from a local bank in Sector 7, after withdrawing Rs 2.14 lakh for salaries and other expenses. Sources indicate that
the robbers had prior information that the teachers would
carry the cash. The local police has registered a case
under Section 392 of the IPC. However, no arrests have
been made so far. |
Anamika
likes to experiment PANCHKULA, Dec 3 — “I like to experiment, and that is what my music has been all about”, said singer-performer Anamika in an interview with TNS at a hotel here in Panchkula. Anamika is here to perform at the Chandigarh Carnival ‘99 on December 4. Meanwhile, tonight she sang and jived at Aerizonna, Sector 9. Talking about her latest album, ‘Naina’, Anamika said, “I have put an amalgamation of everything, from classical to hip-hop to qawwali to even a patriotic song in this album. It is all about experimentation”. Her latest album has a qawwali dedicated to the Kargil heroes, called ‘Aman Key Pujari’ and a Punjabi song written by her, “Soney Disda”. Hailing from Jalandhar, this ‘otherwise Delhi-girl’, claims that the love of her Punjabi language is massive and she loves to sing in Punjabi. Meanwhile, another of her hip-hop song from ‘Naina’, titled ‘Why Pretend’ is due to be released internationally. Talking about her change of image from ‘Cat-Walk’, a “young- pop” album, which was her debut, to the another catchy and young song ‘Intezaar’, to the Punjabi soft song ‘Nindra’ to now the latest video on air called ‘Dil Diya’, in which the singer transports the viewers to the Mughal era, she says, “People seem to have got fed up watching just dancing bodies jumping up and down on the screen. So I wanted to go into a different mode of singing and the video has been totally inspired by the Mughal-e-azam times”. The ‘Intezaar’ girl, has been trained in Indian classical music by Pandit Sharma, who had been involved with Pandit Jasraj. Her plans for the future include producing a show, on the lines of ‘Oprah Winfrey’, to promote real challenge, which would be titled, ‘One life to Live’. And one of her “lifetime dreams” is to open a restaurant, “where I can sing every night”, to put her degree in hotel management from the US of A to use! This three-album-old
singer, when asked about her impressions about the City
Beautiful said in her full throated voice, “Oh, this
is the fifth time I’m here, and I love it. It is so
beautiful. But now I’m surprised that finally clubs
are opening up in this quiet city, and finally this is
also a happening place”. |
Secretariat
employees stage rally CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Punjab Civil Secretariat employees staged a rally to protest against the non-payment of salaries for this month on the Secretariat premises here today. The employees raised slogans against the government for allegedly pursuing faulty practises which had led to the current problem. A court had attached the account head from which the salaries were disbursed. Mr K.S. Saini, General Secretary of the Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association, the position could have been averted if timely action had been initiated by the administration. He alleged that senior officials, as usual, were indifferent towards their plight. Their problems were increasing with each day and there was still no machinery for redressing their grievances. He added that the government had adopted an anti-employee stance which was evident from the stopping of the LTC facility and non-payment of the DA. The employees resolved
to stop work from Monday onwards if their salaries were
not disbursed by then. |
Notice
issued in murder case CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — On Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaspal Singh's application for anticipatory bail in Ropar advocate Kulwant Singh's murder case, the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for CBI cases, Mr S.S. Lamba, today issued notice for December 8. Seeking the grant of bail, counsel for the petitioner stated that the DSP had already joined investigations in the case and had remained in judicial lock-up for about 10 months. The petitioner, counsel added, was no longer required for interrogation as the challan had already been presented in the court "as per the orders of the Supreme Court." He also stated that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the petitioner in police or judicial custody. The additional challan presented by the CBI, he further stated, had arisen out of the case "in which the petitioner had already been released on bail by the Supreme Court on August 26, 1997." The court, it may be recalled, had issued bailable warrants against the petitioner for January 11, 2000, after the additional challan was presented by the premier investigating agency. The petitioner, along with other accused, had earlier filed an application for being discharged as the report under Section 173, CrPC, according to them, had not disclosed the commission of any offence. The application was dismissed by the designated court. Even the criminal miscellaneous application filed against the order was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The apex court, partly allowing the SLP against the order, on August 5, 1998, had directed the designated court to make a complaint to the Magistrate. The CBI had also been directed to file an additional challan. The incident dates back to January, 1993. Kulwant Singh's father had reported to the police that the advocate, his wife and two-year-old son had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The police had, however, failed to trace them. The CBI was subsequently
directed to investigate the matter by the apex court.
Meanwhile, trial was initiated against Harpreet Singh,
alias Lucky. The investigating agency, after the
investigation, stated that Lucky was innocent and DSP
Jaspal Singh, Inspector Balwant Singh, Sub-Inspector
Arvinder Bir Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector Darshan
Singh were responsible for the fabrication of evidence
against him. |
Surpise
guest strikes again CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — It was the turn of Superintendents of the UT Secretariat to receive a surprise guest just before lunch break today. And the guest was none else than the Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), who before leaving for Raj Bhavan after his official engagements at the UT Secretariat, decided to visit rooms of various office superintendents on first floor. He made inquiries about the files pending with each of the three Superintendents — General, Establishment and Budget — of the Engineering Department and wanted that no file should be pending for more than three days. Some of the files, it was learnt, had been pending even for more than three months. General Jacob even went through some of the pending files. After the first floor, he went to the fourth floor and visited some of the rooms of the Secretariat Staff and made similar inquiries. General Jacob also went to the rooms of both the Home Secretary and the Finance Secretary, besides the Legal Remembrancer. He made inquiries from a couple of women employees who were out to go for lunch a little in advance. During the day, he held
meetings with the Home Secretary and the Finance
Secretary. |
Educating
and challaning CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — School children will be involved in regulating traffic and the emphasis of the traffic police will now be on educating the people rather than challaning. This was disclosed by Mr Parag Jain, SSP, during an informal discussion with The Tribune here today. He went around the city to see things for himself and observed that haphazard parking was one of the major problems. Also the people were averse to frequent challaning drives initiated by the police from time to time. A revamp of the challaning system and certain areas where the cooperation of the public, especially students, could be solicited were identified. From now the challaning would not be the sole job of the traffic police. It had been directed to use the public address system at various roundabouts and on the PCR vehicles to educate the people about the traffic rules. This did not, however, mean that gross and frequent violators would be let off scot-free, he added. Mr Jain said to tap the potential of the students and to inculcate in them a habit of obeying traffic rules, a meeting of all the school principals was convened by him today. It was decided that a group of teachers, non-teaching staff and students would be identified by the school and nominated to regulate traffic outside their respective schools for the time being. Also present at the meeting was Mr D.S. Saroya, DPI (School). All those nominated would be given some insignia by the police and the school so that they were not taken lightly by the people. Such persons would be given a day's training in regulating and spreading traffic awareness. They would direct traffic before the school begins and at the time of closing. If need arose their personnel could also be deputed for a couple of days initially. Those present also gave their views on various other aspects and stressed the need to tackle the menace of eve-teasing and the growing number of minor children driving to schools. It had been decided that the principals would ensure that no children drove to school without valid driving licence. However, chronic offenders in this category would be dealt with as per law, he added. The other new features to be manned included parking lots all over the city. A beginning in this direction had been made in Sector 22. The market committees would also be urged to provide the manpower needed for the job. In case people did not cooperate or still insist on parking their vehicles on the road and in the parking lots in a haphazard manner the cranes would be used to tow them away. The SSP said all the accident-prone spots had been identified and steps taken to either have them manned or install regulating devices. From now onwards the police would come down heavily on people who oversped and those who drove while under the influence of liquor. The breath analysers would be more frequently used on the highways and major roads. He said that presently
drivers who drove on high beam were being challaned as
many accidents occurred due to this aspect alone. |
'Administration
late in replying to suit' CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Alleging a delay of over one year by the UT Administration in replying to a civil suit for restraining the respondents from passing plans of fire-prone buildings, plaintiff — Janata Party's local unit president Ajay Jagga — today sought forfeiture of their right to file a written statement. Claiming the involvement of an "important matter", the plaintiff stated that the delay was adversely "affecting the rights of the plaintiff and the public at large." If the "state of affairs continued as such, the occurrence of any disaster any day could not be ruled out", he added. Seeking the passing of "appropriate orders", the plaintiff added that the defendant was "evidently adopting adamant attitude so as to disobey the orders of the court". Taking up the application, the UT Civil Judge (Junior Division), Mr A.K. Bishnoi, issued notice. The suit will now come up for further hearing on January 6, 2000. Earlier, asking for directions to restrain the UT Administration, besides the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh from passing plans of fire-prone buildings, the plaintiff had also sought the adoption of fire safety measures in the city buildings. Directions to the UT Chief Fire Officer to seal the "premises where safety norms had been flouted", besides the removal of encroachments in the markets, had also been asked for. In their reply, counsel for the corporation had stated on the last date of hearing that fire-fighting measures had been adopted in hospitals, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, besides the cinema halls. The other buildings
where fire-fighting measures had been taken included the
UT Secretariat, discotheques and pubs, counsel had added.
Measures, counsel had added, were also being taken in
government buildings, including the 30 Bays Building, the
Municipal Corporation building and the Deputy
Commissioner's office. |
3,000
take part in painting contest CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — About 3,000 children from 22 schools of Chandigarh, SAS Nagar, Panchkula, Chandi Mandir, Kharar and Morinda participated in an on-the-spot painting contest organised by the SSIS Computer Education and Sylvan at Shivalik Public School here today. The results are as
follow: group A (classes III to VI) — Harmanjot
Singh (1), Prabhdeep Kaur (2) and Harshal (3); group B
(classes VII to IX) — Gurpreet Singh (1), Sai Pooja
(2) and Guneet Singh (3); group C (classes X to XII)
— Chetan (1), Manpal Singh (2) and Shivani Sharma
(3); and group D (open category) — Simranjeet Singh
(1), Inder Singh (2) and Priyanshu (3). |
PU
Syndicate poll CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — The annual elections to select 15 members for the syndicate body of Panjab University will be held on December 27 and 28. This will be a day after the Senate body of PU meets for its third and last meeting of the calendar on December 26, sources said today. The syndicate body has 18 members. The Chairman is the Vice Chancellor of the University. Two are ex-officio members — the Director Public Instruction (DPI) of Punjab and Haryana. The elections will be for medical science faculty ( 2 seats), science faculty (3 seats), language faculty (2 seats ), combined faculty ( 3 seats), and law faculty ( 2 seats). On the same day, the
Dean of business management and commerce and Dean
dairying and animal husbandry will be elected . The
Secretary and Deans of law, medical sciences and
pharmaceutical sciences will be elected. On December 28
Deans of arts, languages, business, education, design and
fine arts , science faculty and engineering and
technology faculties will be elected. |
Probe
complaint against factory, SHO told CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Directing the Station House Officer of Police Station, Sector 31, to investigate into a complaint against a Saharanpur-based factory alleging breach of trust, the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Jasbir Singh, has asked him to submit the report on February 17, 2000. In their complaint before the Magistrate, Sonex Plast Private Limited had earlier alleged that Cooperative Company Limited had "intentionally and dishonestly" withheld Rs 3,46,232 without any reason, committing "breach of trust punishable under Section 405 / 406 of the Indian Penal Code". Counsel for the complainant added that only Rs 7,33,674 was paid by the accused for goods worth Rs 10,79, 907 earlier delivered to them. Today, pronouncing the
orders in the open court, the Magistrate observed:
"Advocate for the complainant has moved an
application that his case may be sent to the SHO for
investigation under Section 156 (30) of the CrPC. In view
of the request, SHO, Police Station 31, is directed to
investigate the matter". |
700
attend AIDS awareness camps CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — As many as 700 persons attended two AIDS awareness-cum-medical camps, organised for the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and reproductive tract infections (RTIs), by the State AIDS Control Society of the UT in collaboration with the local branch of the Indian Red Cross Society on the second day of the Family Health Awareness Campaign. House-to-house-contact cards were distributed by Anganwari workers and awareness and motivation drives were also undertaken by volunteers of NGOs. The Project Director of the State AIDS Control Society of the UT, Dr N.M. Sharma, in a press note issued here said nearly 11,000 persons in the age group of 15 to 49 were reached and motivated to attend these camps in Dadu Majra and Janta Colony-Kumhar Colony. The campaign is being evaluated by the Community Medicine Department of the GMCH-32. A street play on AIDS awareness presented by the Theatre Age Group and the Song and Drama Division generated tremendous response. A team of doctors of the PGI and GMCH-32, besides counsellors and interns of the Department of Nursing attended to the persons and also counselled them on risk behaviour and need for behavioural change. Director of Health Services, Dr Joginder Singh, visited both camps and interacted with the general public and Angnwari workers to assess the problems. In all, 362 patients suffering from STDs or RTIs received free medicines at these camps and 53 persons suspected of having STDs or RTIs offered voluntary blood tests here. Meanwhile, the NSS units
of SGGS College, Sector 26, organised a workshop on AIDS
awareness in the college. The college Principal, Mr P.S.
Sangha, called upon the youth to save the society from
destruction. The volunteers also participated in an AIDS
awareness rally organised in collaboration with the NSS
Department of Panjab University. |
‘Rationalise
new tax’ CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Cable TV operators are up in arms against the decision of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) to impose tax on the multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable operators. Terming the levy of Rs 1 lakh on the MSOs and Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per year on cable operators as arbitrary, they alleged that the operators were not taken into confidence before taking the decision. The Managing Director of Siti Cable, Mr Sandeep Bansal, who along with Siti Cable franchisees met the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, today said the rate of taxation was very high and it seemed that the MCC authorities were oblivious of the ground reality. With a number of channels turning into pay channels, the cable business was already facing a number of problems. With the new tax structure, it would become difficult to pass on the burden to the customer, he informed. Saying that the cable operators were not in a position to absorb the new taxes, Mr Bansal demanded that the proposed high tax should be rationalised in consultation with the MSOs and the cable operators. The Combined Cables Operators Network (C-Con), while urging the authorities to review the decision, wondered why the MCC wanted the operators to lay underground cables when the overhead system had been running successfully for many years. This had been done to favour a multi-national company, which had dug up a large part of the city, a statement of the network alleged. All over the country,
the cable operators were run on the overhead wires. In
Faridabad, which has the same bylaws as Chandigarh, the
cables operators have been allowed the use of electricity
poles at the rate of Rs 100 per pole. |
Architects
meet today to sort out problems CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Octogenarian Giani Rattan Singh, who worked as a modeller with Le Corbusier, will be among a galaxy of serving and retired architects, including Chief Architects of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the NDMC, invited for a one-day interactive programme "on the threshold of the new millennium-2000'' to be held here tomorrow. Among the 200 eminent architects expected are Mr M.N. Sharma, who had the longest tenure as Chief Architect of joint Punjab, including Chandigarh, from 1965 to 1979, Mr Jeet Lal Malhotra, Mr Charanjit Singh, Mr Roshan Malhotra and Mr V.P. Anil — all former Chief Architects of Punjab — and Mr D.K. Bhal, a former Additional Chief Architect of Punjab. The present Chief Architects of Jammu and Kashmir (Mr Hament Mangotra), the NDMC, New Delhi, (Mr Rattan Lal Aggarwal), Chandigarh (Mr Sarabjit Singh Sandhu), Himachal Pradesh (Mr B.P. Malhotra), Haryana (Mr S.C. Thukral) and Punjab (Mr P.R. Luthra) will also participate in the programme. They will be joined by Mr Aditya Prakash, a former Principal of the College of Architecture, and Col I.J.S. Bakshi, his successor. Never before such an eminent gathering of architects has ever been organised. The purpose of this interactive programme, says Mr Luthra, is to do some introspection as the invitees are part of the transition from one millennium to another. The unusual feature of this interactive programme, says Mr Luthra, will be a technical session where the serving architects will pose questions on the problems faced by them and seek the guidance and guidelines from their seniors and those who pioneered urban planning and modern architecture in this part of the country. It is this region where the biggest experiment of urban planning — Chandigarh — was carried out by none other than the architects of Punjab. Besides the special invitees, other participants, including young and practising architects, will also be free to join the technical session and discussions. Several important issues agitating the minds of general public, planners and designers pertaining to violations, encroachments, parking problems and other such issues are likely to come up for discussion at the technical session. Then there will be a general quiz for the participants who have been divided into five teams named after five rivers of Punjab. A cultural programme to be held in the evening will unveil hidden cultural talent of these designers. The programme, which is being organised under the patronage of the Punjab Service of Architects Association, will also include felicitation of some of the architects and others who have worked in the department. The Chief Secretary of Punjab, Mr R.S. Mann, will inaugurate the programme at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, while Mr Mohinder Singh, Secretary, PWD and Architecture, will be the guest of honour. The associatiion plans to have a group photograph of the participants as a memrablia and a directory of its members. A souvenir, Threshold, will be released at the opening session. The Department of
Architecture of joint Punjab and now reorganised Punjab,
from the days of Pierre Jearreret, the first Chief
Architect of Punjab, has been responsible for designing
various prestigious buildings like the District Courts
Complex in Sector 17, Panjab University, UT Guest House,
the Sector 17 ISBT, the Sector 16 General Hospital and
the PGI, besides a large number of buildings in both
Punjab and Haryana, and development of Sri Anandpur
Sahib. |
SAS Nagar
to get fish market KHARAR, Dec 3 — The Punjab Government has decided to set up and construct a market in SAS Nagar for the sale of fish soon so that farmers could get proper rates. Fish sellers would be provided pucca platforms, said Dr Rattan Singh Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Punjab, yesterday. He was inspecting developed fish at a pond of 22 acres in Mullanpur Garibdas village. According to a press not issued here, such markets have already been constructed in Ludhiana and Patiala. He said the Kandi area of Ropar district would be developed for fish farming so that the barren land could be put to use. He said that nearly Rs 207 crore would be spent for the development of such areas. He assured the fish farmers that they would be provided good quality seed at subsidised rates. He also desired to set up an ornamental fish farm for fish lovers. Mr V.N. Ohja, Financial Commissioner, stated a fishermen’s cooperative had been set up in the district with the help of the National Fisherman Cooperative Federation, New Delhi. A team of World Bank would visit Punjab to studying development projects in Kandi area. He would stress that fish farming be included in the list of projects. Mr S.K. Sharma, Director
and Warden of Fisheries, Punjab, said 7034 hectares was
under fish farming in Punjab. He said that per
hectare/per year production of fish in Punjab was 4700 kg
as compared with the national average of 3, 000 kg. |
JE
succumbs to injuries SAS NAGAR, Dec 3 — Mr Kanwaljit Singh, a Junior Engineer posted at the local office of PUDA, died yesterday at the PGI, following a road accident on Tuesday. The JE had been admitted to the PGI following an accident in Phase XI here. He had received a head injury. Mr KBS Sidhu, Chief Administrator of PUDA, employees and contractors attended the funeral held at the local cremation ground. Kanwaljit Singh is survived by his widow, a son and a daughter. Meanwhile, the
Additional Chief Administrator (ACA), PUDA, Mr Dipinder
Singh, and Additional Chief Engineer, PUDA, Mr G.R.Jakhu,
today visited the house of Kanwaljit Singh and assured
all possible help to members of the family at the
earliest. |
Contest
against social evils CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Under a campaign against social evils, Government High School, Sector 40, today organised a drawing and painting competition against social evils. About 2,200 students participated in this contest. According to the Headmaster of the school, Mr Bahadur Singh, the purpose of the competition was to make the children aware of the present-day social evils like dowry, drug addiction, child marriage, smoking and untouchability. The children were free to choose from any of these topics. The results are as follow: nursery — Kamlesh (1), Deep Chand (2) and Deepak (3); primary school students — Reeta (1), Suresh (2) and Deepak (3); middle school students — Gobind Kumar (1), Krishan Gopal (2) and Hema Rawat (3); senior school students — Manoj Kumar and Vikas Giri (1), parveen (2) and Priya Verma (3). Founder's day: Mount Carmel School, Sector 46, today celebrated its annual-cum-founder's day function at Lecma, 3 BRD, Air Force station, with a cultural programme presented by students. The function began with upasana by students who carried lighted diyas in their hands. The tiny-tots then regaled the audiences with a dance on an adorable number called ''Hello mamma, hello papa'' followed by a Rajasthani dance performance by Tanya, a student of class II. The other items of the day included a Bengali dance and the Punjabi giddha. The chief guest of the
day was Mr Pius Pandarwani, Commissioner, and the Special
Secretary, Finance, Haryana, Mrs Usha Pandarwani, was the
guest of honour. |
SNIPPETS Computer lab inaugurated CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — A computer laboratory at Government College, Sector 46, was inaugurated today by Mr Satya Pal Jain, ex-Member of Parliament. In his inaugural address, Mr Jain said computer education should be made compulsory for all students in India if the country was to keep pace with the rapidly changing world. Earlier, while welcoming the chief guest, Major D.P Singh (retd), Principal of the college, said he wished to introduce MCA classes in the college. He has taken up the matter with Panjab University and Chandigarh Administration. 340 NCC cadets attend camp CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — As many as 340 cadets from no 2 Chandigarh NCC Battalion are undergoing training at the annual camp of the battalion at Barotiwala, near here, according to a statement issued today. The camp, which began on November 24, is being commanded by the unit's Commanding Officer, Lieut-Col Onkar Singh. It will terminate on December 5, which will be marked by a barakhana and a cultural programme. In addition to drill and weapons training, cadets will also get training in field craft, section battle drill, first-aid and shooting. several competions are also being organised. DSP deposes in Beant case CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — The assassination case of former Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh, continued today with a prosecution witness, Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dilbagh Singh, stating that certain pamphlets and posters distributed after the incident were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Deposing before the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr. B.S. Bedi, in the make-shift courtroom at Model Jail in Burail village near here, the DSP stated that he had been instructed by a senior officer to deliver the pamphlets. Replying to the defence counsel's query regarding the source, the witness stated that the pamphlets were distributed in the public by someone. Kant, Puri conferred Silver Star CHANDIGARH, Dec 3 — Mr Ravi Kant and Mr Prem Puri, organising commissioner, and state secretary, Bharat Scouts and Guides, respectively, have been conferred the Silver Star, a national award, for furthering the movement. The award was presented to them at a ceremony in New Delhi. Mother seeks justice SAS NAGAR, Dec 3 — Ms Satya Devi, mother of a chowkidar, who was employed with the Punjab State Electricity Board, and had died of burn injuries an year ago while on duty, is running from pillar to post to bring to book the persons responsible for the death of her son. The grieved mother in a
statement alleged that her son, Dinesh Kumar, had
received burn injuries on December 6, 1998. He had
succumbed to his injuries at the PGI on December 12. In
her representation to the Chairman of the PSEB, she
alleged that a Junior Engineer of the board who was
supposed to be present along with her son on duty was
absent. |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
