Wednesday, December 22, 1999
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N E W S Wednesday, December 22, 1999 |
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Work on slow carriageway
in Sector 31 begins CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Work has started on the construction of a slow carriageway in Sector 31 along Dakshin Marg (National Highway No 21). Tippers, bulldozers and other heavy machinery of the Engineering Department have been pressed into action with the start of the initial work of land filling. According to sources, more than six lakh cubic feet of earth will be required for bringing this depressed stretch of the slow carriageway to the level of Dakshin Marg. The earth is being brought to the site from the Sukhna cho area. The land filling and the subsequent construction of the slow carriageway will provide direct access to both the new building being constructed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the northern region headquarters of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Engineering Department has also approved estimates for the construction of a similar slow carriageway in Sector 33 along the same Dakshin Marg. Once both these stretches — Sectors 31 and 33 — are completed, the entire stretch of Dakshin Marg — from the Industrial Area, Phase II to Bougainvillaea Garden in Sector 36 — will have a slow carriageway on one side. Up to the intersection of Sectors 21, 22, 34 and 35, this Dakshin Marg is part of National Highway No 21. The remaining stretches along Dakshin Marg — Sectors 32, 34 and 35 — already have slow carriageways. The Sector 34 slow carriageway was commissioned recently after it was constructed by the Chandigarh Housing Board. The problem with the Sector 31 stretch had been its undulating terrain and large depressions, which need huge quantities of earth for filling. The other reason had been the services lying underneath. Huge pipes and chambers of sewerage and sullage criss-cross the area where slow carriageway is to come up. “This will not be of a problem”, say engineers working on the project. Once the filing is more than two to three feet, the services lying underneath would not be affected. Further, since only slow and light traffic would be diverted to slow carriageways, the underground pipelines would remain unaffected. Though there is a heavy green cover in this undulating and uneven terrain, the engineers maintain that no tree would be felled to make this slow carriageway. “The alignment of the slow carriageway has been designed in such a way to save all the trees,” he added. With the completion of
slow carriageways in Sector 31 and 33, the road users,
especially slow traffic, will get the much needed relief.
With the volume of heavy traffic growing rapidly on this
road because of closure of Madhya Marg during day time to
heavy traffic, the need for slow carriageways was being
felt for a long time. |
VIPs’ security cover to
be cut Chandigarh, Dec 21 — The security cover provided by the Chandigarh Police to a close aide of a former UT Administrator will be withdrawn, while it will be reduced in the case of many others. This was recommended by the Protection Review Group (PRG), which meets quarterly to review the degrees of threat perception and recommend the number of persons to be provided to protect an individual. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the CID and security wings of the local police. According to sources, the PRG has recommended the complete withdrawal of security to Parminder Singh alias Pinky, who is stated to be a close aide of Lt Gen B K N Chhibber, a former Punjab Governor and UT Administrator. He has a full detail of guards to protect him. Interestingly, the IB had recommended the withdrawal of security to him in the past few meetings but every time the proposal was overruled by the authorities. This was done as he reportedly had no threat perception and was “enjoying the security only due to his proximity to the Administrator,” the sources pointed out. The others whose security is likely to be reduced include Mr Satya Pal Jain, former MP, and Mr Venod Sharma, a former Union minister and a former chief of the local unit of the Congress. The security of Mr Dhanik Lal Mandal, a former Haryana Governor, and the station director of the All India Radio Station, is also likely to be reduced. The PRG has also received intimation that the security of Gen Chhibber has been downgraded from Z plus to Z, while Mr P.K. Verma, a former secretary to the general, has been asked to make alternate arrangements at his present place of posting. The security of the
Director, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL),
and Mr Jai Singh Jagat, a son of Mr Gurbachan Jagat, DG,
Jammu and Kashmir Police, who resides in the city, will
be increased. The security provided to Mr R K Handa, CBI
counsel, will also stay. |
No increase in water quota CHANDIGARH, Dec 21— Following a virtual refusal by the Central Government to give its nod for the revised plan of the fourth phase of the augmentation of the water supply scheme at Kajauli village, near here, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has now decided to start work on the earlier scheme to bring only 20 million gallons of water per day (MGDs). The work on the Rs 47-crore scheme was likely to begin in February next year. The modalities for the start of the project were being worked, and in fact the civic body authorities had held discussions with the Punjab Government in this regard, sources told The Tribune today. As per the plan, the work on laying to 27.5 km mainline machines would be first taken up, which would be followed up by the construction of a water works in Sector 52 here. It may be recalled that earlier that the Chandigarh Administration had okayed the Rs 125-crore revised plan for bringing 60 MGDs of water as against 20 MGDs originally planned. The need for the revised plan was felt in view of the widening gap between the supply and demand. The corporation drew 51 MGDs of water from the first three phases of the Kajauli water as against a total supply of about 60 MGDs — the rest being met through the supply from tubewells. The sources said the
completion of the work on the fourth phase would only be
a long-term option to offset the shortage of water. In
the short term, the MCC had installed 20 new tubewells,
though a slightly costlier option, this year, of which 16
had already started functioning. In fact, during his
press conference, the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal,
announced yesterday that the project would be completed
in three years. |
Police hushing up other cases,
too CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — After the infamous missing files case earlier this year, the Chandigarh police has allegedly been hushing other cases also. Little is known about 10 cases registered at the Sector 26 police station 15 to 19 years ago. The number of such cases detected at this police station has now reached 14 and the records of the earlier years have yet to be tallied for finding out such irregularities. To stop the recurrence of such incidents, the then SSP had directed all police stations to check and tally all the FIRs registered since 1966 along with the case properties and the follow-up action, convictions and other information. Sources said in one of the cases, an FIR was registered against Dr C. Kapooria, a resident of Sector 29, on a compliant filed by Mr Prem Sagar Jain, President of the local unit of the BJP and a member of the Local Advisory Committee, in 1984. The complainant had alleged that the accused ran a firm called Shiksha and reportedly gave fake pharmacy degrees to people. Also, allegedly, the accused claimed to get anyone such a degree from the Pharmacy Council in Jaipur for Rs 2,500, following which the holder would be become a registered pharmacist. After the persons he had duped came to know that they had been cheated, they asked him to return the money, but, he refused to do so. A case was registered under Sections 420 and 406 of the IPC. Although the challan was prepared, the case was not filed in the court, as per records available with the department. In another case, registered in 1983, a storeroom and the money chest of the Sector 20 Kalghidar Gurdwara were broken into by some persons who had floated a parallel body in violation of norms. As per the FIR filed in the case, Rs 1,195 was reportedly taken away by three of the accused. A case under Sections 380 and 452 of the IPC was registered and as per records, the case was never put in court for trial. Other cases in which the FIRs were registered but were not followed up include the FIR 493, registered under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act, in 1980; FIR 528, registered under Sections 324 and 34 of the IPC in 1982; FIR 99, registered under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC in 1983; FIR 246, registered under Sections 13, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act in 1983; FIR 559, registered under Section 379 of the IPC in 1983; FIR 641, registered under Section 435 in 1983; FIR 19, registered under Sections 365 and 34 of the IPC in 1984; and FIR 546, registered under Section 379 of the IPC in 1984. The other cases which were hushed up included the infamous beef tallow case and the property grab case, both registered nearly 15 years ago, the sources said. The office of the Home
Secretary had sought the report from the police in the
cases after these were highlighted in The Tribune in
November. The department had reportedly admitted that no
investigation was carried out in both these cases. |
No consensus on alliance
candidate CHANDIGARH, Dec 21— Even as an Akali councillor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, withdrew her nomination from the post of Senior Deputy Mayor today, the consensus on who is the official BJP-SAD alliance candidate for the post of the Deputy Mayor continues to elude the alliance. With just a day left for the election to take place on December 23, both the Akali councillors — Ms Harjinder Kaur and Mr Mohinder Singh — remained in the contest for the post of the Deputy Mayor.Though Ms Harjinder Kaur withdrew in favour of Mr Des Raj Tandon, official alliance candidate, differing statements by top BJP functionaries only added to the confusion. The official BJP spokesman, Mr Mahaveer Prasad, in a written statement, expressed the hope that the official alliance candidates for the posts — Ms Shanta Abhilashi, Mr Des Raj Tandon and Mr Mohinder Singh — will sweep the poll slated to be held on December 23. However, the party
president, Mr Dharam Paul Gupta, when contacted, said it
was the internal matter of SAD, and the party president,
Mr Gurpartap Singh Riar, should decide the candidate. |
Captivating performance by children CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Students of Guru Nanak Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Sector 30, this evening celebrated their annual day at the Tagore Theatre. The function was presided over by Mr G.S. Tohra. The programme commenced with a shabad, Dey Shiva Varmohey, Following this, attired in bright colourful clothes, the tiny tots of the school danced their way on a medley of nursery rhymes. Students also staged an impressive ballet ‘Sassi Punnu’ and their dancing skills could be seen in the various western dances, and Haryanvi, Bhangra and Gidha dances. The other highlights of the day were martial art dances, qawwali and choreography on the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa Panth. The welcome address was given by the Chairman of the school, Mr Joginder Singh Sawhney and the vote of thanks was delivered by Mr Kamaljit Singh, the Manager of the school. Meanwhile, the annual function of the Kendriya Vidyalaya No 2, Chandimandir, was celebrated today at the school premises. On this occasion the students of the school presented an entertaining programme. The various lively dances delighted the set of parents present at the show. The prizes to various
position holders were given by the chief guest of the
day, Brig S K Rathee, Chairman, VMC. |
Play on socio-political
situation CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Janashtru, a story of an idealist truth-teller, who also seems to carry within him a strain of destructiveness, was staged this evening at the studio theatre of Panjab University. A Hindi version of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the people’, the play, which had the trademark Ibsen’s order of moral analysis set against a middle-class background, was directed by Kumara Varma from the department. It had penetrating dialogues and a good storyline and outlined the socio-political situation of the present day society. The story of Dr Ramnath Mishra, the protagonist, who is a medical officer in charge of inspecting streams and rivers of the town and finds these to be contaminated, sometimes comes across as a grim representation of all that is distasteful in our world. The play revolves around how town officials and people try to silence the doctor when he goes public regarding his findings about the water being contaminated, and how Dr Mishra is portrayed the victim of the system. The character of
‘Awasthiji’, a trader with loud and obtrusive
manner, manages to bring a whiff of fresh air to the
play. |
RI for assaulting conductor CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Convicting four residents of Khuda Ali Sher of assaulting a bus conductor, the UT Judicial Magistrate (first class), Mrs Jatinder Walia, today sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for six months, besides imposing a fine of Rs 1300 each. The convicts — Sucha Singh, Darshan Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Harnek Singh — were earlier booked by the Chandigarh Police under Sections 332 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code for assaulting a conductor of a CTU bus near Nayagaon village in January 1996. According to the
prosecution, two boys had boarded the Khuda Ali
Sher-bound bus and had stood at the door of the bus,
blocking the entrance passage. On the objections of the
conductor, Amar Singh, they had heated arguments with
him. This resulted in a scuffle and the bus was stopped
in Nayagaon village. The boys approached same Nihangs
there. Armed with kirpans and dandas, the latter attacked
Amar Singh and Kesar Singh, driver of the bus. |
Qawwali by nursery kids PANCHKULA, Dec 21—A colourful cultural programme marked the annual day and Christmas Day celebrations at Firststep Montessori School, Sector 7, here today. The programme began with a welcome song followed by a fancy dress competition. Vishakha dressed as a ‘granny’ came first, while Tamanna dressed as a fairy came second from the nursery class. From the kindergarten class, the first prize was bagged by Shivam (a beggar), Vani (an army officer) was second and Anuka (a doctor) was declared third. The qawwali presentation by students on ‘Hai agar dushman zamana’ of nursery class was appreciated by the audience. An item on a fruit-fair by the kindergarten students highlighted the importance of each fruit. Tiny tots dressed as apples, bananas and grapes danced through the entire length of the item. A western dance item by students of Class III, IV and V was highly applauded. The item on environment titled “Save the Earth” conveyed the message of saving the fast deteriorating environment, which would ultimately have a bearing on the human race. ‘Eklavya’ depicted the teacher-student relationship while the item on Daler Mehndi’s Tunak Tunak was highly appreciated. Numerous action songs on nursery rhymes were also presented on the occasion. A prize distribution function was held after the principal, Mrs Madhu Trehan, read out the annual report of the school. Abhishek Ahlawat (Class III) was declared ‘Best Boy’, while Kavya Bali (Class V) was declared Best Girl. The scholarship for the session, 1998-99, was given to Abhishek Puri. The school magazine was also released by Mrs Sudesh Trehan, Chairperson of the Ashok Trehan Memorial Trust. Later, Santa Claus came
loaded with sweets, which wetre distributed among the
children, even as students sang Christmas carols and the
rest joined in. |
Compensation not paid KHARAR, Dec 21 — Kaka Singh, a resident of nearby Manana village, whose 42 goats were reportedly killed by a wild animal, has not been provided any compensation in spite of promises made by a minister. Mr Ajaib Singh, a resident of the village and Director of IFFCO, said that the wild animal killed all goats about one and a half years ago. According to him, the man, who did not have any other source of income, suffered a loss of more than Rs 1 lakh. He said that a deputation of villagers at that time met the SDM of Kharar and other senior officers of the district for compensation. A few days later Mr Harmail Singh Tohra, the then PWD Minister, Punjab, visited Kharar and in the presence of Mrs Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, the then MP from Ropar, and Mrs Daljeet Kaur, MLA, Kharar, a request was made to him by some villagers to give compensation to Kaka Singh. Mr Ajaib Singh said the
matter was also raised at the District Grievances Removal
Committee meeting, which was chaired by Mr Tohra, who
told the Deputy Commissioner to immediately release the
compensation. Mr Ajaib Singh added that he had come to
know that the SDM, Kharar, at that time had recommended a
compensation of Rs 2,000 per goat for Kaka Singh. |
Rs 3,000 fine in cheating
case PANCHKULA, Dec 21 — A cheating case registered in 1985 against an assistant programme officer with the District Rural Development Agency culminated today with the Judicial Magistrate, Mr S.K. Garg, imposing a fine of Rs 3,000. The accused, Sunil Sharma, was earlier booked by the police for cheating and a criminal breach of the trust by a public servant under Sections 420 and 409 of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of a report by Mr J.S. Kohli, a programme officer. He had been appointed by the then Additional Deputy Commissioner to inquire into the total number of solar cookers supplied by Sunil Kumar in the Raipur Rani area. According to Mr Kohli's report, it was found that against a list of 70 persons submitted to the agency by the accused only 20 persons had received cookers. The report added that 36 such persons who had not applied for the solar cookers also formed part of the list, while addresses of six persons furnished in the list did not exist. Further, Mr Kohli, in
his findings, added that the provision of 70 solar
cookers at subsidised rates had led to a revenue loss of
over Rs 6,000 to the state government. A complaint in
this regard was lodged against Sunil Kumar in 1983 while
a case was registered in 1985. |
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BHU alumni
function The Malaviya lecture is an annual affair. Earlier, Mr Chandrasekhar, former Prime Minister, Dr Subramanian Swamy, former Union Minister, Dr A.R. Verma, Director, National Physical Laboratory, and other eminent personalities have delivered this lecture. Hike in mess rates resented Ms Manjit Kaur, a student, said that mess contractors told them that the fee had been increased in order to pay the canteen and mess staff above the existing salaries. However, when the staff was contacted, they said no change had been made in their salaries. Students also complained against the quality of food served. There is also a complaint about absence of a health centre. The toilets continue to beg for attention for cleanliness. The place of serving meals presents a pitiable condition. Girls are not allowed regular outings. The authorities need to look deeply into the matter, a letter of the college students said. NOC
condition done away with The order was passed today after its approval by the Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Mr A.K. Dubey. The Chief Administrator of PUDA, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, said though obtaining an NOC from PUDA was not a statutory requirement under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, it had been made mandatory as part of the erstwhile regulatory regime. Salary,
pension by December 24 Ban
on PTV goes Bail
granted |
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