Monday, December 20, 1999
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N E W S Monday, December 20, 1999 |
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Jailbreak accused blames
SSP CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Claiming to be innocent, human rights advocate D.S. Rajput today stated that he was implicated in the jailbreak case with the connivance of the then UT Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, for filing writ petitions against "highly placed" police officers. Deposing before the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr R.C. Godara, in the makeshift courtroom at Model Jail, Burail, near here, Mr Rajput stated that Mr Reddy, a Punjab cadre officer, was under then Director-General of Police P.C. Dogra's "control". Describing the prosecution version as "concocted, afterthought and with mala fide intention", the advocate stated that the investigating agency in the case was not before the court "with clean hands". The documents of the mobile phone, alleged to have been smuggled inside the jail, were fabricated and falsely prepared, he elaborated. The alleged conspiracy, it may be recalled, was unearthed after an accused in the case, Satnam Singh, was apprehended by the Chandigarh police in June, 1998. According to the prosecution, explosives, in the shape of ladoos, were to be employed for blowing up a portion of the jail for releasing "hardcore terrorist" Jagtar Singh Hawara and certain other alleged assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Meanwhile, yesterday the accused stated that he had neither purchased any mobile phone, nor had he recommended its purchase to anyone. Rajput also denied the allegation of knowing S.P. Mishra, Jaswinder Singh, Jaspal Singh Dhillon or any other co-accused in the case prior to his arrest. The advocate stated that
he had met Jagtar Singh Hawara and Shamsher Singh in the
interviewing cell on June 11, 1998, in the presence of
Chandigarh police officials and the CID staff as he was
their counsel and had to seek instructions. |
Houses crack as well caves in KANSAL (Kharar), Dec 19 — Cracks in walls of more than six houses due to caving in of an ancient well has spread fear among the residents of Kansal village, about 6 km from the PGI. When The Tribune team reached the village in the evening, frightened villagers were tying ropes around the site to avoid any accident. As many as six houses around the well have been vacated due to cracks developed in walls and ceilings. The well located in the middle of the village started collapsing on Friday afternoon at 1.30, causing tension in the village. "It was a deafening sound that made us realise the danger and we went out of our houses," said Mr Balwinder Gill. A portion of the well, which holds religious value to the villagers, had caved in last month and since then it was going down in the earth, said Mr Pawan Kumar, a resident. "Initially, the well had a depth of about 140 feet but it has been reduced to less than 50 feet and it is still caving in," he added. The house of Mr Naseeb Chand is vacant since the last month when the well initially collapsed. The front portion of the house caved in. The damaged part of the dwelling unit include a toilet and a room. Since then, the scared family has not turned to the house. An old lady lit a diya and started a prayer for the welfare of the villagers. An elderly person present near the well, said the well was very old. "I have been seeing it since my childhood and never heard of such an incident." Some residents revealed that as per a folklore, the well had various caves at its base. "It is common belief that the caves are big enough for an elephant to enter and spread underground to the outer parts of the village. Even, normally certain branches of these 'caves' were visible prior to the collapse", said another villager. Due to the sudden collapse of the well, water supply to a pocket of adjacent areas has been disrupted. The kutcha way to the street has also collapsed and the villagers complained of a lot of inconvenience following the collapse. Villagers, gathered near the well, maintained that they had not slept for the past couple of days. They blamed district officials of inaction. "We approached the DC, Ropar, and the SDM, Kharar, and they visited the spot, but did nothing to rectify the situation," they complained. "If immediate steps
are not taken a more serious and emergency situation may
develop," they feared. |
Kids get 3rd dose of polio
drops CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — A total of 98,572 children up to five years of age were administered oral polio drops in the city on the first day of the third round of the four-phased Intensified Pulse Polio Eradication Programme today. Besides this, 4,883 children above five years of age were also administered polio drops at 325 immunisation booths in various parts of the city. Twenty mobile vans, which were moving about to reach out to people covered a total of 4,333 children under the age of five and 232 above five years of age. Dr M.P. Minocha, Director Family Welfare and coordinator of the drive, revealed that due to cold weather conditions and it being a Sunday, the response to the campaign was lukewarm in the morning, but as the day progressed people came in large numbers to get their children immunised against the deadly disease. Health officials along with medical students, interns, nurses, nursing students, anganwari workers and various non-government organisations were manning these booths at various places. The Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mrs Vineeta Rai, and the UT Health Secretary, Mr Rakesh Singh, visited certain areas to supervise the work of the officials and NGOs and to raise their morale, it is learnt. Dr Minocha has appealed to the people to get their children immunised at government dispensaries, General Hospital, Sector 16; GMCH-32 or Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir within the next two days. Various non-government organisations, including the Rotary and Lions Club, in the city were actively involved in this campaign to fulfil the target of zero polio by the year 2000. According to the Zone Chairman, Mr K.K Monga, nearly 6,000 children were given polio drops at various booths in Colony No:5, Kajheri, Badheri, Mohali barrier and Civil dispensary, Sector 42. These booths had been put up by the local branches of State Bank of India NRI and Treasury Branch in collaboration with the Lions Club. A total of 6,238 children were administered these drops at 23 centres in Sectors 36, 39, 40, Peer colony, Shastri Colony, Mohali barrier and Palsora village by the Citizens Awareness Group in collaboration with the Family Welfare Bureau. Earlier, while addressing the NSS volunteers of Government High School, Sector 27, Mr Surinder Verma imparted knowledge about the pulse polio campaign. More than 4,479 children were administered polio drops in Sectors 44, 45, Ram Darbar, Hallo Majra and Punjab Raj Bhavan by officers and men of the 127 Bn CRPF. More than 2,000 children were immunised at three centres set up by the Lions Club Rose, Chandigarh, and Leo Cub Rose at the Sector 31 colony and The Tribune chowk. The last and final round of the campaign will be organised on January 23. PANCHKULA Polio drops were administered to 53,712 children of the district in the age group of 0 to 5 years against a target of 54,611 here today. A total of 98.3 per cent children were covered by eight rural and two urban posts set up in the district. Report of the highest number of children to be administered the drops came from the rural post of Old Panchkula where 7,295 children reported against an expected number of 5,140 while in Kalka 6,400 children reported against a target of 5,778. In Kot also, 500 children over and above the target were given the drops. Dr H.C. Nagpal, Chief Medical Officer, said, "In the past few months, the population has grown and the number of births during these months has also contributed to the increase in the number.'' In the two urban posts of Kalka and Panchkula, the number of children who were administered drops has shown a fall. While the target in Kalka fell short by over 1,000 as many as 12,269 children reported in Panchkula against a target of 15,028. Dr Nagpal informed that efforts to cover the maximum number of children was made by deploying mobile vans for the purpose. "During the second phase of the drive, we had missed covering pockets in the Sector 21 jhuggis. This time, we made special arrangements to cover this area,'' he said. Door-to-door administration will be carried out by the Health Department tomorrow for two days to cover the children left out today. SAS NAGAR Over 10,000 children below five years of age were given polio drops here today. The Government Civil Hospital in Phase 6 set up at least 33 posts, including three mobile posts, to immunise the children. The in charge of the hospital, Dr Tirath Goel, said 8,810 children were immunised. The door-to-door campaign would be carried out on December 20 and 21. Besides, the Ranbaxy Health Care Society gave polio drops to 1,214 children at three posts set up in Mohali village, Chandigarh-SAS Nagar barrier and Palsora village in Chandigarh. DERA BASSI As many as 24,232 children were administered the polio drops in various villages of the Dera Bassi subdivision. The Rotary Club in the association with local Health Department participated in the drive. Children from about 90 villages were administered the drops. Five teams constituting members of Rotary Club and the Nirankari Sangat helped administer drops to children from the labour colony and other poor families. To mobilise the local
population for the campaign, lucky draws were held for
children visiting the centres before 11 am. |
PGI entrance being
beautified CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Stench and filth identifiable with unauthorised footpath vendors sitting near the entrance to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research may soon disappear as a local industrialist has voluntarily taken up the "beautification" of the area. The area on the left hand side of the main entrance of the PGI facing Panjab University has been cleared of unauthorised encroachers and fenced. Work has been going on a war footing to beautify it after proper landscaping. "We hope to complete the work by the end of this month," a supervisor at the site told the Chandigarh Tribune on Sunday afternoon. "The project will cost around Rs 1.3 lakh which is being borne by a Panchkula-based industrialist," he said. The entrance to the PGI will now have an artificial water feature with a provision for recycling water. All existing trees and plants have been protected. The designers have used bricks, white stones and boulders for the landscaping of the stretch from the main gate up to the bus queue shelter. A variety of herbs, shrubs and grass would be grown to make it neat, clean, green and soothing for the eye, with water cascading a couple of steps down. Until recently, all efforts of the PGI authorities and the enforcement staff of the Administration and the Municipal Corporation had failed to clear this "eye sore". The PGI authorities had conducted tests from time to time to find the soil samples "highly contaminated with bacteria". With the beautification of this entry point, one chronic source of infection would be gone. The footpath adjoining the "beautified" entrance will also need repairs. Meanwhile, work on the completion of new entrance to the PGI from the side facing Sector 11is in progress. The small entrance, which usually remained closed, is being replaced by a bigger gate with a security check point in between and the PGI emblem and insignia being erected in the middle on the lines of the main entrance facing Panjab University. Work on this second entrance is also expected to be completed by end of this month. The second entrance has
been planned to end congestion on the main entrance on
the Madhya Marg. Work has also been in progress for
provision of slip roads at the intersection of Sectors
11, 12, 14 and 15 where a large number of trees face the
axe. Though this intersection does not have much traffic
to justify the provision of slip roads, the Engineering
Department of the Administration has been going full
steam to complete the work before the end of current
financial year. |
All set to meet long-lost
kin CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Khurshida (now Gurnam) is all set to meet her brothers and sisters across the border, thanks to the efforts being made by the Jati Umra Indo-Pak Parivar Milap Trust, which has embarked upon the task of reuniting families separated during Partition. When she was a teenager, Khurshida had been abducted. She had later adopted Sikhism. She was in the city yesterday to attend a meeting organised by the trust to chalk out plans of sending such persons to Pakistan to meet their long-lost family members. "I am excited at the very thought of going to Pakistan and meeting my younger brother, with whom I am out of touch since we separated," said Khurshida. She is in her sixties now. She is hopeful that the trust will be able to arrange her meeting. Nayati Bai, a Muslim woman hailing from Amritsar district, narrated the tale as to how she was abducted from a big caravan and hidden in a heap of hay for a few days. She was later married by a zamindar. She looks forward to meeting her sisters in Pakistan. Earlier, addressing a press conference, former Lt-Governor of Goa, Col P.S. Gill (retd), said there were thousands of such women on both sides of the border who were forcibly kept back and later married. "The objective of the trust, formed last year, is to help establish contact between separated parents and children or brothers and sisters," he said. The trust plans to send the first batch of five such women, two men and a coordinator, who will be a member of the trust, to make the reunion possible. During the past one year, the trust has, through personal contacts and the support of the government, identified 30-odd families in India and 10 in Pakistan. While passports are ready, Colonel Gill has appealed to the Pakistan High Commission to grant them 30 days' visa so that they can spend some time with their relatives. Col Gill said the presence of Gen Pervez Musharraf, Chief Executive of Pakistan, would facilitate these reunions. Answering a question, he said the not-so-congenial relations between the two governments would not be a hindrance as the people would go all out to help them. Some persons who had accompanied Colonel Gill to Pakistan in April, 1998, had located and met some of their family members. Gurmohinder, who as young Muslim boy Manna, had been separated from his mother and sister, met his sister in Multan during his visit. He has converted to Sikhism and is living in Punjab. Sardar Ali says: "By God's grace and efforts of the trust, I should be able to meet my brother in Mian Mir Chauni". Din Mohammed, now Diwan Singh, who also attended the meeting, had similar plans. The Vice-Chairman of the
trust, Khalifa Sayyed Mohammed Yayiha, and other members
of the trust were present at the meeting. Later, they
called upon the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator,
Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) and apprised him of their
venture. |
Visitors relive Kargil days CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — As the two-day Army show and equipment exhibition drew to a close this evening, hordes of visitors were still at the gates, pleading to be let in to have a glimpse of the weapons and other equipment displayed at the Sector 17 Parade Ground. Visitors began crowding the ground in the morning when yesterday's show, including the flypast, motor cycle display, cultural programme, skydiving and mass band display, was repeated before the exhibition was opened. The entry into the ground was restricted while the display was on, but Armymen and the military police outside the ground had a tough time controlling the crowd. The stands were packed and persons had also climbed atop buildings in Sector 22 overlooking the ground. A large number of persons had also gathered on top of Hotel Shivalikview. A special audio-video presentation on the Kargil conflict and weapons captured from Pakistani intruders drew the maximum crowd. The 25-minute programme kept the audience captivated, as the screen came alive with troops battling the enemy and the sound of gunfire filled the enclosure. The effort put in by the Army to create awareness about the overwhelming odds faced by the troops was commendable. An impressive video film on the Kargil operations was preceded by video clips of the 1971 war. A massive sand model of the area showing strategic points like Tiger Hill, Jubbar, Kargil, Kaksar, Batalik, Mushkoh, National Highway 1-A and Skardu (in POK) was also set up. ''The initial plan was to hold three shows in the afternoon. However, the public response is so good that we are screening the film every half hour,'' said an officer of the 119 Assault Engineer Regiment, which has organised the show. ''Yesterday, we were closing down when an elderly visitor pleaded that he had come from 150 km away to watch this show. We could not say no to him,'' he said. Officers said one of the visitors recited a patriotic poem which the others greeted with wet eyes. Statistics on Operation Vijay, including the number of troops involved and casualties on the either side, duration of the conflict, artillery guns deployed, rounds fired and the cost of the war were also highlighted. The cost of the 74-day operation was stated to be Rs 1,110 crore, with the daily expenditure being Rs 15 crore. The crowds had to be
virtually marshalled through the equipment display.
Visitors, especially children, bombarded the Army
personnel with questions, demanding to know each aspect
of the equipment displayed. |
City student second in Limca
quiz CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Vivek Ghai, a class XII student of the local DAV College, has won the second prize in the Limca national quiz contest held at Delhi recently. The team included Sahil Sood and Sidharth Chauhan, also local students. Vivek is also a holder of the best quizzer in St John's School. Vivek developed interest in quizzing in class IV and since has participated in a number of contests. He won all but one contests at the local level. This went on for more than five years. In 1996 he along with
Ashish Jhina won the Limca contest at the city level and
stood fifth at the national level. Having won the local
contest in 1998, his team was third at the national
level. This year he figures among the runners-up team at
the national level. |
Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu is Golf
Club President CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Mr Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu, an IAS officer of the 1978 batch belonging to the Punjab cadre, was today elected President of the Chandigarh Golf Club. He defeated his rival and sitting President, Mr Tegvir Singh Sibia, by a margin of 86 votes in a straight contest.Mr Sandhu polled 571 of the 1060 votes cast yesterday. Mr Sibia polled 485, while the remaining four were declared invalid. Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu (46) becomes the 13th President of the club. With the exception of Mr R.S. Mann, no one has been elected twice as President of the Club. Dr P.N. Chhuttani had the longest tenure as President from 1967 to 1975. Mr Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu, in an informal chat with Chandigarh Tribune, said that since Chandigarh Golf Club was a social club, his emphasis would be more on the golf course, besides making it more interactive and transparent."We will encourage more members' participation in all activities," he added. In the election of the executive committee, the lone woman contestant, Ms Jaishree Thakur, was among those declared elected. Two doctors — Dr J.S. Chadha and Dr Ravinder Chadha — were also among those elected. Three ex-defence officers — Brig Santokh Singh, Col B.S. Kahlon and Brig Harmel Singh Bath — are also among executive members. Meanwhile, the following
have been elected members of the executive committee of
the club : Mr G.S. Gill,Mr Gurjit Singh Lehal, Mr Alamgir
Singh Grewal, Brig Santokh Singh, Ms Jaishree Thakur, Mr
G.S. Attariwala, Dr J.S. Chadha, Col B.S. Kahlon, Dr
Ravinder Chadha, Mr Yashpal Chowdhary and Brig Harmel
Singh Bath. |
CHEMCOM ’99 begins today CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — The Indian Chemical Engineers Congress which opens here tomorrow in Panjab University will feature top gurus from the field of chemical engineering.The congress coincides with the 52nd annual session of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers. The conference, CHEMCOM ’99, features lectures by top academicians in the field. Prof M.M.Sharma will deliver the key-note address. Prof N.Subrahmanyam, President of the ICHE, will preside over the inaugural function. Prof S.K.Sharma, chairman of the local organising committee, said that chemical issues needed immediate redress because developments had come to a critical juncture in fields of raw materials, energy , processing and in view of policies of organisations like the World Trade Organisation. Professor Sharma said this was the third opportunity for the university to host the Chemcon.Earlier it was organised in 1977.This time great care had been taken about infrastructure and other facilities. He said that old students of the department had contributed more than 90 per cent for the show. Interestingly, more than 100 students have vacated their hostels to accommodate the guests.Nearly 400 guests are expected from Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa, UK, Germany and Japan for the seminar. 'Chemical engineering and sustainable development' has been pointed out as the central theme of the seminar. This finds relevance in the context of industrial hazards and more importantly environmental hazards. Tomorrow there will be
the Dr H L Roy memorial lecture by Professor Ghosh ;the
Dr N R Kamath memorial lecture by Mr A Panjwani , and the
Dr CK Murthy memorial lecture by Mr A.Venugopal. The
conference will conclude on December 23. |
From the schools PANCHKULA, Dec 19 — Dances and songs marked the 23rd annual function celebrations of Satluj Public School (junior wing), Sector 2, at Satluj Stadiam in Sector 4 here today. The programme got off to a colourful start with the students jiving to the catchy tune of boogie woogie. Gaurav Singh (class V) and Anubha Pathak (class IV) were awarded prizes for the best boy student and best girl student for the year, respectively, while Harcharan Brar (nursery) was awarded a trophy for being the second generation pupil. Reekrit Serai (class IV) was also given a trophy for excelling in trekking and touring in India and abroad. Speaking after the function, the chief guest, Fr Thomas V Kunnunkal, former Chairman of the CBSE, said that India must aspire for 100 per cent literacy in the country beginning with children. He emphasised the need for making the children computer-literate to enable them to meet the challenges of the next century. Earlier, the Principal, Mr P.S. Serai, said that one of the most important aims of education was to initiate children into good health living. A spectacular variety programme marked the annual day celebrations of Satluj Public School in Sector 4 here yesterday. The chief guest, Mr Daniel Riou, Director of Alliance Francaise, distributed prizes to meritorious students. The function ended with fireworks and balloons released in the air to welcome the new year. The Principal of the school, Mr Krit G.S. Serai, read the annual report. For parents An orientation programme for parents to gear up their children for the next millennium was held at Shemrock international, Industrial Area, Phase I, here today. While discussing new concepts in child psychology with emphasis on the parent-child relationship, Dr A.K. Sahni, General Secretary of the Parent-Teacher Association of India, spoke on the new education policy. Mr Sahni said that there was a lot of talk on the ''playway method of teaching'' and yet nobody had been able to grasp the real essence of the concept. He warned the parents from being over-ambitious, assertiveness and criticism of their wards. Mr and Mrs S.L. Gupta, associated with child psychology, spoke on the falling standards of morality, while the Principal, Mrs Tinu Jolly, informed the parents on how they could contribute towards the education of their children. CHANDIGARH Fete by students The students of Tender Heart School, Sector 33, today held a fete on the school premises to herald the institution into the new millennium. The theme of the fete was ''Self-expression through art'', which included various craft items on display for the parents and the children. Some of the students were also seen sitting on a potter's wheel to display their pottery skills, which was a major attraction. X-mas function at St
Mary’s CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — St Mary's School, Sector 46, Chandigarh, yesterday celebrated millennium Christmas in the school. Father Thomas Anjanickal delivered the Christmas message and students from nursery to class VIII performed various programmes befitting the occasion. In the inter-house Christmas tree competition, Nehru House won the prize. To mark the celebrations, students collected Rs 16,295 for donation to the HelpAge India Charitable project. Akhil Sharma of class IV collected the highest amount of Rs 2,001. After the cultural programmes, Santa Claus visited the classes and distributed sweets and gifts among the children. Cultural show by kids Chandigarh, Dec 19 — Golden Bells Public School, Sohana, yesterday celebrated its annual day function at Lecma, 3 BRD, Air Force Station, with a cultural programme presented by its students. The function, which began almost one hour late, since the chief guest arrived one hour behind schedule, started off with a shabad recital followed by vandana. The other items of the day included English, Hindi and Punjabi plays, raas leela, bhangra and modelling. The chief guest of day was Mr N.S. Kalsi, Director, Technical Education and Information Technology, Punjab, and the guest of honour Mr A.S. Sodhi, a former Sessions Judge. Patriotic songs at school function CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — The primary school of Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, celebrated its annual prize distribution function yesterday. Items like vandana, patriotic songs, a Hindi skit, English dance, a Haryanavi dance and a Punjabi dance were presented. Mr Vijaya Saihgal, Editor, Dainik Tribune, distributed prizes among the students. Meanwhile, the students of secondary section, who excelled in academics, sports and co-curricular activities, were also given prizes. City students for math olympiad CHANDIGARH, Dec 19 — Six students from Chandigarh will participate in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad-2000. The event, sponsored by the National Board of Higher Mathematics, will be held on February 6, 2000, locally. Twentysix students have been selected from the north-west region. A total of 30 students will be selected at the national level who will undergo a training camp. The six students ultimately selected will participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Korea in July next year. The winners from the
city are all from the DAV College. They are Divesh
Aggarwal, Himjeet Singh Bains, Mandeep Singh Pasricha,
Anuj Madan, Udit Kapoor and Roopak Suri. |
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1 held for not
registering tenant According to the police, Ashish, owner of house No 43, Nehru Colony, was arrested as he had not given information about his tenant to the police. A case under Section 188 of the IPC has been registered. Protest
against govt's attitude Residents of Kansal, Nada, Naya Gaon, Karopan and Janata Colony are demanding the merger of the villages to form a nagar panchayat. Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, a former minister, said that the Punjab Government should not make any discrimination in the development. The population of this area was about 50,000 and the development was going on unplanned. Even the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) was harassing residents of this area and had stopped releasing power connections. Besides the sarpanches of the villages, those who addressed the rally included Mr Jai Chand, Mr Gopal Singh and Mr Rattan Singh. Women
pledge for peace School children presented songs and dances. The local MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, and a former MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, were among those present. Ms Rai earlier met delegations of various women organisations who had merged to form the Joint Women's Front. Dog
show in Feb Major Singh also
announced introduction of new events, including Young
Handlers Competition, in addition to a Doggy Fashion Show
for the public. |
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