Saturday, December 25, 1999
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N E W S Saturday, December 25, 1999 |
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Businessman
robbed of Rs 2.76 lakh PANCHKULA, Dec 24 — In yet another daring attempt, four persons robbed a man of Rs 2.76 lakh in the congested residential area of Sector 17 here today and managed to get away in a blue Maruti 800. In an attempt to retrieve the briefcase, Vikrant Shrivastava, 30, was injured and is still in a shock. In a detailed account to the police, Vikrant, a businessman, informed that the incident took place around 2:30 pm when he had returned with his mother, Mrs Lajwanti Shrivastava, to his house. The two were returning after withdrawing cash and important documents from Allahabad Bank in Sector 11. At the residence, while Mrs Shrivastava got off to ask her driver to reverse the official car parked in the driveway to make way for their car. Meanwhile, Vikrant waited in his car on the roadside with the briefcase at his feet. In a split second, a man, nearly 35 years, over 5’-10’’ with a strong built, fair and moustached, came on the scene, pulled out the briefcase with the money and documents and started to make his way towards a blue Maruti parked nearby. Vikrant, in an attempt to get hold of the briefcase, clung on to the window of the car when he realised that three other men were waiting in the car. As soon as the culprit was seated, the driver started to reverse the car and when Vikrant did not let go, he shouted in typical Haryanvi, “Maar dalo saale ne’’. Vikrant was dragged to quite a distance before a parked car came to his rescue. The car of the robbers banged against the parked car and the victim fell down. He, however, managed to catch a glimpse of the driver, who, he says, was about 35 years with a wheatish complexion with a moustache and a hefty built. He says he has no idea about the other two but is sure that there were four persons involved in the crime. He has no idea of the car number. Eyewitnesses, while adding to the account, state that after the boy fell down near the parked car, the four reversed till the end of the lane, one got out and shut the dicky of the car before driving off. “The dicky had probably been kept open with a view to hide the car number. When I came out, the car was already at quite a distance, and the number on the front could not be seen clearly,’’ a neighbour informs. He points out that had the car of the robbers not hit the parked car, Vikrant would have been dead. “It is only his falling down that actually saved his life,’’ he says. Within minutes of the incident, he accompanied Mrs Lajwanti Shrivastava, and they informed the police at the barrier near the bridge in Sector 7 of the incident. It was then that policemen at all nakas were alerted. Also, the incident was reported at the office of the Superintendent of Police. Another neighbour adds: “Just seconds before the incident, the man driving the car got out and tried to engage me in a conversation while I stood on my terrace. He inquired if there was one Mr Sharma, working in a bank, living in the vicinity. I, too, asked them which house number he was looking for. When he informed me that he had no idea, I just shrugged my shoulders and walked away, little realising that I had just talked to a man who would be a part of a robbery attempt. Consequently, I have no recollection of what he looks like.’’ A case under Section 382, 427 of the IPC has been registered by the police and further investigations are on. Interestingly, two
teachers had been robbed of Rs 1.10 lakh in the same
sector some time back. They had withdrawn money from a
bank in Sector 7 and had arrived at their school in
Sector 7 when three men had forcibly taken away their
cash in broad daylight. |
Full alert
at IAF station CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Full hijack protocols were put into effect at the Chandigarh Air Force station after the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi, in case the plane landed here. As per standard operating procedures, a "K-broadcast" was sent out to air defence installations and air traffic control centres all over the country when the first message about the incident was received from the hijacked aircraft. It is a universal broadcast sent to all controlling centres, intimating them of serious eventualties. The first flash was received here by the Air Traffic Control, manned by the Air Force, and the Air Officer Commanding, Chandigarh Air Force Station, Air Cmde S.K. Banerjee, was intimated about the hijack at about 5.30 pm. The aircraft was then reported to be 15 miles from Delhi. The hijackers, suspected to be Kashmiri militants, are said to be armed with one AK-47, five handguns and five grenades. Every airport has a hijack activation plan and an anti-hijack committee. The duty air traffic control officer is the first to receive the message, who passes it down the established chain of communication. On receipt of the message, the chairman of the committee, who is the station commander in case of a military airfield or the senior aviation official in case of a civil airport, is intimated. As per procedure, the next to be informed were the civil authorities — Mr S.K. Singh, Inspector-General of Police, and Mr M. Ramsekhar, Deputy Commissioner. The Army, though intimated, was not at the scene. DSPs and inspectors were posted with requsite force to cordon off the air field perimeter, in addition to steps taken by the Air Force authorities. "We had about 20 vehicles, several ambulances and medical staff at the spot," Mr S.K. Singh said. Fire tenders from Chandigarh were also requisitioned. Senior Air Force officers reached the ATC to monitor incoming reports and assess the situation. "The policy in such a situation is to wait and watch," an IAF officer said. "Between Delhi and Lahore, there are about half a dozen airports, including Chandigarh, Halwara, Adampur, Pathankot, Amritsar and Jammu, which are capable of accomodating a jet liner," he added. The aircraft, depending on fuel reserves and the hijackers' whims, could have been diverted anywhere. While entry into the Air Force Station's technical area was restricted, local policemen on security duty at the civil terminal appeared to be relaxed. "Any action to take place will be at the technical area and not here," one of them commented. The role of the local police in these cases is secondary. The primary role in neutralising hijackers is that of the National Security Guards. A team from the NSG's 13 Special Ranger Group, which had been scrambled for the purpose and were trailing the hijacked aircraft in an IL-76 aircraft, rushed from Delhi. Storming the aircraft, if negotiations fail, is left to the NSG. Till then, the role of the local police is restricted to cordon off the area, maintain communication with the hijacker, arrange for aviation fuel, provide support services and ensure that emergency facilities are geared up, according to the IGP. "The aircraft took
off from Amritsar at 1901 hours and touched down at
Lahore at 1951 hours. It was only after that we lowered
our level of alertness," an IAF officer said.
"Our teams are still on stand-by," he added. Panic at city airport CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — It was around 6 p.m. when Alliance Air flight from Chandigah to New Delhi was about to take off that the news about the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was received here. The Captain of the delayed flight, Capt DS Virk, was informed about the hijacking while he was already in the cockpit. There was some panic as initial reports suggested that the hijacked aircraft was moving towards Moga. The Air Force bases at Halwara and Adampur, besides the civil airports at Amritsar, Jammu and Chandigarh, were alerted. The Alliance Air flight left a couple of hours behind schedule. Senior Indian Airline officials, including Station Manager, Mr Kashmiri Lal, were at the airport to pacify the agitated passengers. Since the aircraft was running short of fuel, it was expected to land anywhere after the Pakistani authorities refused it permission to land at Lahore. The Airline officials had another onerous task on hand. They started scurrying through the computer reservation system to find out whether any of the passengers of the ill-fated IC 814 flight belonged to Chandigarh. Until late night, they could not find one. They were still at work at their Sector 17 office late into the night. They even did not receive any telephone call from any relative or friend of any of the 174 passengers on board of the hijacked aircraft. This is nothing new for Chandigarhians, for they have witnessed more than one hijackings before. There was hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in August,1984, also. Another hijacking had
ended in the killing of the main accused at Raja Sansi
airport in Amritsar while in yet another case, the
hijacker served a long sentence in Pakistan jails before
fighting a legal battle for emigration in Canada. |
Fun City
proprietors absconding DERA BASSI, Dec 24 — The proprietors of Fun City, a resort near Ramgarh, are absconding while seven persons were arrested by the Dera Bassi police for allegedly allowing gambling at the resort following a raid. Talking to this correspondent, Mr H.S. Bhullar, DSP, Dera Bassi, said a police party raided the resort yesterday evening following a tip-off that gambling was being openly allowed by the management. A well-organised gang comprising Gulzar Singh, Ashok Kumar, Narinder Pal, Ramesh, Babu Lal, Deepak Kumar, Tula Ram and Gurjit Singh were involved in the criminal act. The gang was active for the past many months and was headed by Gulzar Singh and Gurjit Singh. All the members were arrested during a raid, while Gulzar Singh managed to escape from the spot. The police recovered Rs 14,054 from the accused. The DSP said the gang was operating in connivance with the owners of Fun City. The gang members cheated the public by playing certain ‘gambling’ games including “lucky seven”, “ three stagle games” and by playing cards. The kingpin duo had “appointed” other members to lure other unsuspecting people to play with them. The gang duped the visitors by losing money in the initial games and enticed them to win more money by playing with the “opposite” team which comprised their people. . The gang had reportedly duped Harpal Singh and Kulpreet Singh, residents of Ambala City, of Rs 22,000 while gambling a day before. The owners of Fun City were reportedly involved in the criminal activity and are said to have charged Rs 25,000 per month from the gang to operate from their premises. Mr Bhullar further added that the police had raided at various places but the owners of the resort could not be traced. Meanwhile, the police
had registered under sections 417, 420, 120-B and 13, 13-
A of the Gambling Act and further investigations are on,
he added. |
Telecom
dept told to refund sum CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum II has directed the General Manager of Telecommunications in Chandigarh to refund Rs 7,500 to a resident of Sector 16 for wrongfully depriving him of the telephone facility. Pronouncing the order, the President of the Forum, Mr R.P. Bajaj said, "We allow this complaint with consolidated costs, including compensation for wrongful deprivation of the facility of the telephone to the complainant for seven months." The President further directed that complainant be refunded the rent charged from him from March 30, 1994, to August 11, 1994, Rs 100 charged as reconnection fee and the cost of 320 calls included in the bill for April, 1994. The total amount thus calculated will carry 12 per cent interest from the date of the filing of the complaint till the payment is made. Mr Rajinder Kumar Arora, who died while the case was pending, had filed a complaint that his telephone went out of order in March, 1994, in spite of regular payment of bills to the department, On enquiry, he was told that Rs 588 was due against him as unpaid telephone bill for June, 1992. In his complaint, Mr
Arora said he had cleared the bill on June 27, 1994, and
had also paid Rs 100 as reconnection charges. The
telephone was not reconnected and another demand of Rs
111 was made on account of another bill for August, 1992.
The amount was paid by the complainant on August 2, 1994,
and in spite of that, the telephone was not restored till
August 18, 1994, he had alleged. |
UT
directive on missing files’ case CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The Chandigarh Administration has asked the police to expedite the enquiry in the missing files’ case and submit a report at the earliest. According to sources, the report has been asked by the Home Department as it was being felt that the enquiry was getting delayed. The case is being investigated to affix responsibility on who was entrusted to investigate the case, who did not carry out his responsibility and who hushed up the case by not even submitting the case diaries. The role of the then SHO in the whole matter would also be looked into. The missing files case came into light when four files pertaining to the murder of a BJP leader and documents of other cases were found dumped in a disused store room on the first floor of the Sector 26 police station. The cases pertained to the same station only. It may be recalled that
during perusal of the record of this police station as
many as 14 files have been found missing till 1980, the
year till which the records have been scrutinised. Accused ordered to be freed CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr G.S. Sandhu, today granted bail to a woman accused of being involved in setting a person on fire. Savitri Devi of Mani Majra was directed to be released after furnishing bail bond of Rs 20,000 along with a surety of the like amount, "to the satisfaction of the ilaqua magistrate." She was booked by the
Chandigarh police for attempt to murder and
"voluntarily causing hurt" under Sections 323,
307, 452 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint
of Subhash. According to the prosecution, the accused had
caught hold of the complainant from the hair while her
husband had sprinkled oil on him. Court directive PANCHKULA, Dec 24 — The district court directed by way of an ex parte ad-interim injunction order that the Board of Directors of Polo Hotels shall not hold the proposed meeting on December 31 at the office of thecompany at North Park Hotel, near here. The case for the same
was filed by Mr Surinder Kumar Madan, a resident of
Sector 33, Chandigarh. Assault accused freed on bail CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — A city resident, accused of being involved in an attack on Colony Number 5 dwellers, was yesterday granted bail by UT Additional District and Sessions Judge G.S. Sandhu. The accused — Mithlesh — was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police for rioting, criminal intimidation and attempt to murder under Sections 147, 148, 452, 307 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of Raj Kumar after five persons were injured in the attack. According to the prosecution, the accused, armed with batons, had attacked the complainant and others sitting around a bonfire on November 27. Two of the injured, the prosecution had added, had sustained injuries on the head. Seeking his release on bail, the defence counsel had stated that the accused was being implicated in the case. Counsel had added that Mithlesh had not been named in the first information report. Pronouncing the orders
on the application, the Additional Sessions Judge
observed: “I am of the view that it is a fit case
where the accused should be released on bail.” Four students granted bail CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Four students accused of attacking a city resident with a knife were today granted bail by UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Naval Kumar. The accused — Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Geetish Sharma and Munish Sharma — were booked by the Chandigarh police under Sections 147, 149, 323, 452 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the prosecution, they had attacked complainant Raj Kumar with a knife in an STD booth. Arguing before the Judicial Magistrate, the public prosecutor had stated that the allegations were serious in nature. He had added that the accused might tamper with the evidence. Today, pronouncing the orders in the open court, the Judicial Magistrate observed: "The accused are now in judicial custody. The presentation of challan and its disposal is likely to take time. No useful purpose would
be served by detaining the accused in judicial custody,
particularly when they are stated to be students and of
young age. Keeping in view all the facts and
circumstances of the case, all accused are admitted to
bail ." |
85 pc
quota in PEC to hit quality of education? CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Does the move to introduce 85 per cent reservation for local students in engineering college of the city take away the qualitative standing of Punjab Engineering College at the national level? Maybe no. But staff and nearly all students fear that such a move would deter national companies to come for campus interviews. The reservation 'means nothing more than PEC coming to the level of a local institution", a student leader says. A students' forum on the issue feels that there will be hardly any support at the political level to stall the move. A section of them, however, concedes a loss in the quality of education. The students' forum interviewed 750 students on the campus. Nearly 96 per cent response was in favour of continuing with the practice of 60 per cent and 40 per cent resevation for localities and outsiders, respectively. The Home Secretary, Mr N.K.Jain, said that change to 85 per cent reservation for local students should have no bearing on the quality of education. Mr Jain said that the move to reserve 85 per cent seats for local students was justified keeping in view the education systems in the region. Punjab, Haryana and Delhi kept 85 per cent seats for local students. He said that he had received no representation or any demand to do away with the reservation. The student survey, however, has the support of the college administration and even senior faculty members. "There is near unanimity on the demand that the college be let to run as it was currently running. In case the administration was over concerned about education of local students, a separate engineering college could be opened," Sandeep Kumar, a student of Computer Engineering representing his group said. The forum, which has received signatures from the campus students on the change, talked about the 150-year history of the institution. A written communication says that "it was the darkest hour of despair where we look for support of the residents of the city. The apathy of the decision has led to the ratification of a decision which spells ultimate doom of the seat of learning." The decision was no based on logic. In the existing system, the merit of the candidates from the city was far low as compared to outsiders. Increasing the strength only means more relaxation. There were chances that city candidates who sought admission outside could leave when they got their choice area in other institute. This wasted a seat, it was pointed out. The move, however, is seen to effect the placement cell definitely. Private commercial companies tended to lose interest in the institutions making distinctions between the local and the outsiders while deciding the merit, a student said referring to a senior manager of a company on the campus recently. Supporters of the change in policy are largely among those who had blood relations seeking admission in the same line, a student representative said. A cross-section of students, approached on the subject, were opposed to the change. There was, however, a section which wanted reservation for city youth to promise them a secure future. "The reservation does not mean that non-merited students would be given a chance," a student said. Certain students had no response on the issue. A senior functionary
said PEC had a separate identity and the administration
should take steps to maintain its identity. It could
increase the number of seats for locals, but not at the
cost of deserving candidates. |
No
solution
in sight to garbage problem SAS NAGAR, Dec 24 — The problem of disposal of tonnes of garbage in the town has become more acute with the PUDA authorities and the Municipal Council merely tossing the ball into each other’s court and failing to find a solution. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that the civic body is being compelled to transport huge quantities of garbage almost 13 km away in a low-lying area of Raipur Bet village. This is only a temporary arrangement, which will have to be stopped in a month or so once the site gets filled up. Some days ago the civic body had started dumping garbage in a low-lying area near the microwave tower in Phase IIIA, but with protests from nearby residents, this too, had to be halted. Prior to this the council began disposing of a part of the garbage in the cremation ground area in the Industrial Area though the civic body said this was done “by mistake”. This, too, had drawn flak from residents. An agitated council president, Mr Harinder Pal Singh Billa, said when the town’s distribution of land and planning came under PUDA it was the duty of that organisation to provide a suitable site for garbage disposal. Mr Harinder Pal Singh said the situation was extremely bad and the council would not be responsible in case disease broke out in the town. He said taking garbage to Raipur Bet had put an additional financial burden on the council, and was a waste of time for the sanitation wing, which was already short of staff. At a meeting with PUDA officials the council was given an assurance that a solution would be found to the problem, but even after three months matters stood as before. It is learnt that a few months ago land near Badd Majra village had been offered by a resident on rent to the council for the purpose. The rent amount was fixed by the Ropar Deputy Commissioner and the council sent a request to PUDA to secure the site and also pay the rent. However, so far nothing further has happened. Mr Dipinder Singh, Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, said no land was available at present with PUDA to give to the council for garbage disposal. He said PUDA officials felt the council should buy its own land or get it on rent at an appropriate place. In future planning, however, PUDA would make a provision for garbage disposal. He said PUDA would have no objection from the planning angle if the council got land on rent at Badd Majra for disposal. The problem arose many
months ago when PUDA acquired land near Balongi village
for building a bypass. When work on that road began, the
council was asked by PUDA to stop dumping garbage in a
seasonal rivulet near the cremation ground.
4 PUDA sites for Telecom
Department SAS NAGAR, Dec 24 — With a view towards the expansion of the telecom infrastructure in the township, the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has offered at least four sites at concessional rates to the Telecom Department. The offer was made following a meeting between the Chief Administrator of the PUDA, Mr K.B.Sidhu, and the Deputy General Manager of Chandigarh Telecom Circle, Mr Naresh Sharma. The sites include a 1810 sq yard plot in Sector 53, a 2000 sq yard in Sector 65, a 1753 sq yard in Sector 70 and two acres of land in Sector 66. The Sector 66 site has to be used for construction of a residential colony for employees of the Telecom Department. Mr Sidhu said the site
for the telephone exchange in Sector 65 had been offered
at a rate of Rs 7,200 per sq yard against a reserved
price of Rs 26,000. Similarly, the site in Sectors 53 and
70 had been offered at a reserve price of Rs 28,000 and
Rs 43,000, respectively. The site of residential use had
been offered at a reserve price of Rs 1,860 against a
reserve price of Rs 3,600 per sq yard. |
Industrial
pollution in Balaungi KHARAR, Dec 24 — Residents of Balaungi village, on the Kharar-Mohali road, are facing problems because of the pullution by some industrial units situated in and around the village. Mr Raghbir Singh, former
Sarpanch, today said that the smoke being released by
these units was creating breathing problems for the
residents. He has written that in spite of the fact that
the matter has been brought in the notice of the owners,
no action has been taken by them. |
Bringing
alive X-mas spirit CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — "It's Christmas Day today, everybody's happy and gay. The joyous time of year, a time for song and cheer. It's Christmas Day today." And such was the spirit that prevailed around City Beautiful today, on the eve of Christmas, a festival not only dedicated to the birth of Lord Jesus but also to the spirit of sharing joy, merriment, happiness and, of course, presents. The season for mistletoes, gifts and goodies and of course for the patron of gift giving — the bearded "Ha, Ha, Ho", Santa Claus! In fact, there is no certain tradition of the date of Christ's birth. It is believed that the creation of the world took place at the spring equinox, then reckoned as March 25, hence the new creation in the incarnation and death of Christ must have occurred on the same day, with his birth following nine months later, on the winter solstice, December 25. The plaza carnival at the Sector 17 Plaza today celebrated X-Mas with Santa Claus prancing about with the audiences and carol singing. Citizens did not only have their share of sweets and goodies from the Santa Claus and other cartoon characters here, but the shops in this main shopping centre were also decked and lighted up to welcome visitors and especially children! A 'Kidz Time' and a bonfire dance party was organised by the Pinnacle group at Phase VI, SAS Nagar, in which an on-the-spot painting competition for children between the age groups of five and 15 years was held. Various games were also organised for the children. Meanwhile, students of Ajit Karam Singh International Public School, Sector 41, decided to celebrate the event in an unusual manner. The kids of nursery class made greeting cards and were then taken to a nearby post-office to post these cards to their parents! The many bashes and balls organised by the various city joints and discotheques and also the endless private parties kept up with the buoyant mood of the festival. But there were also those who chose to stay away from all this revelry to take part in simply spreading the message of love, peace and brotherhood. The Christ Church, CNI,
Sector 18, held its midnight mass, and the Catholic
Church, Sector 19, also started its Midnight Service one
hour before midnight. This was preceded by carol singing.
Both these churches would also start off with their main
services from tomorrow on Christmas Day. Tearing passion at bash CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Exhilarated figures, illuminated by colourful blinking lights, swayed to the wild-‘n’-wacky beat of tantalising music at a Christmas eve bash late in the evening here today. Pretty earth-angels from all over the city descended upon the marble dance floor, covered with cheerful red balloon hearts. For them, the December chill was no dampener. In pink and black body hugging inners and under open jackets, they twirled all around the floor with “guys” in cardigans, their fair uncovered waist changing colour — from red to blue to purple — under the high-wattage “intelligent lights”. As the overhead speakers boomed with Laura Branigan’s mid-80s hit “Self Control” and Pet Shop Boys’ “Its a sin”, tearing passion broke loose. Jackets went up in the air. There was no stopping the crowd. The bash did not take
off till about 9.45 p.m. The polished floor reflected the
lights. Vengaboy’s hits reverberated against the
decked up walls. The “crowd” was there. Somehow
no one was dancing. Then a pair dared, another followed
and then another. By 10 p.m., there was no room on the
floor. X-mas play by children CHANDIGARH, Dec 24
— An X-mas play was staged on Thursday at the Sector
9 Central Club by children of Government Senior Secondary
School, Sector 27. It was organised by Mrs Banga
President, Ladies Club. The main characters of play were
Shanu (Mary), Raghav (Joseph), Kings (Brijdeep,
Shivpreet, Paras, Inder Mohan), Angels (Ishita, Jaismith,
Zenia and Nikhita). Mrs Pressy Chandi wrote the script
and Jasminder was the director. Colourful programme by children CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Residents of Water Works Colony, Mani Majra, held a colourful programme on the eve of Christmas here this evening. According to Mr Kashmira
Singh, an organiser, the children of the colony presented
skits, mimes gidha and bhangra. Songs by Nusrat Sukhi,
were highly appreciated by the audience. Mr K.K. Addiwal,
a former mayor, was the chief guest. He gave away prizes
to the participants. Special midnight services CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Full-throated singing of all time favourites “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Silent Night, Holy Night”, rent the Chandigarh air as Christians ushered in Christmas at special midnight services in various churches of the city. The devout thronged the various churches. And when the services ended they trooped out wishing each other “A Happy Chritsmas”. Christmas trees were very much in demand. At the Sukhna Lake Santa Claus came to CITCO’s Sukhna Lake outlet on a motorboat. Children and elders crowded the stairs from where Santa Claus came towards the outlet. Children from the slums of Sector 25 were given gifts and things to eat by Father Christmas. At the Sector 22
Piccadily Hotel there was a painting competition to mark
Christmas Eve. Here again Santa Clause distributed
sweets. |
New CAT
building ready CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The office of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh branch, will start functioning from the new four-storey building adjacent to the Sector 17 Parade Ground from January, 2000. Constructed at a cost of about Rs 2.5 crore by the Central Public Works Department, the building has come up in about two years. Designed by a city-based civil engineer, the building will be the first one in north India to be used by CAT independently. The Vice-Chairman of CAT will have his office in this building. The Chandigarh branch of CAT deals with litigants from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. At present, the CAT is functioning from a congested office on the ground floor of Kendriya Sadan in Sector 9. Before this, the office was housed in a rented building in Sector 34. The new building has two courtrooms for a double Bench and four air-conditioned chambers for the judges on the first floor. It has separate rooms for a registrar, a deputy registrar and a joint registrar. There is also provision for a bar room and library for the lawyers, a computer room and a hall. The reception lounge and canteen are on the ground floor. Besides a staircase, two lifts — one for the judges and another for the litigants and lawyers — will serve the visitors from the basement to the top of the building. Observing the fire norms, four water hydrants with sprinklers, fire alarm and a smoke detector system have been installed in the building. An underground water tank with a capacity of 3 lakh litres has been constructed to meet the water requirements. A parking space for the vehicles of the judges and staff members has been provided in the basement. In case of power failure, a generator has been set up in the basement, said Mr A.K. Mahajan, Junior Engineer of the CPWD, who is in charge of the construction of the building. But a major drawback is
that no space has been kept for the lawyers' chambers and
for the parking of the vehicles of the litigants and
lawyers. Unit hospital inaugurated CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The unit hospital of the Transport Battalion of the Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) was inaugurated by Mr Gautam Kaul, Director General of the force, here yesterday. Also present were the Director (Medical), DIG (Provisioning), DIG (Administration), ADIG (Engineer), ADIG (Ops and Trg) and the Commandant, Tpt Battalion. The hospital has been equipped with various modern equipment like computerised ECG, EEG, ECT, X - ray and state of the art operation theatre. The hospital has the equipment to conduct tests for HIV infection and facilities for indoor patients. In addition to this, the hospital has referral status for all types of mentally affected patients, including epileptic diseases, for all personnel posted in remote areas where the force is deployed. The DG visited the wards and enquired about the welfare of the patients and distributed sweets among them. A 50-bed hospital of the CPOs is also coming up at the ITBP campus, Behlana village, and would be an extension of the present hospital. Before leaving, Mr Kaul
planted a mango sapling at the campus. |
Painting,
drawing contests CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — More than 100 children participated in a painting and drawing competition organised by Piccadily group here today to celebrate Christmas. The competition was held in two groups — 5-12 years and 12-18 years. The prizes were given away by Mr Aditya Sharma, Ms Pooja Sharma and Ms Nidhi Gupta, the judges. A person dressed as Santa Claus visited the site and distributed gifts among the participants. According to Ms Adrita
Khanna, the organiser, the competition was organised to
promote skills in drawing and painting.They plan to
organise more such activities, which will include
planting fruit trees. Tiny-tots at their creative best CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Tiny-tots of pre-nursery, nursery and kindergarten classes of Totta Chan School, Sector 42, celebrated Christmas here today. They participated in
creative games. The celebrations culminated with a person
dressed as Santa Claus distributing toys and sweets. |
Felling
of trees continues CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Despite legal restraint from chopping trees in Sector 25 Janata Colony, the practice has been going on unchecked once again, a press release of Yuvsatta said here today. This was stated by Mr Pramod Kumar, president of the Yuvsatta , while talking to The Tribune here today. The order seeking directions to declare a contract for cutting 50 mango, neem and pipal trees as void and against public interest was yet to be settled. The attempt to chop
trees by digging the earth around them by mischievous
persons along with the contractor in Sector 25 was foiled
due to the active resistance and initiation by local
students under the guidance of the Yuvsatta’ . |
MCC for
set-up to remove encroachments CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — With a view to tackling the menace of ever-increasing encroachments in the city, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has submitted a comprehensive note to the Chandigarh Administration. The note, which was circulated among senior officers at a recent meeting called to discuss the issue, favours an independent agency headed by a senior IAS officer with administrative, magisterial, engineering and policing support . The meeting was attended, among others, by the Adviser to the Administrator, the Home Secretary, the Finance Secretary, the Commissioner of the MCC, the UT Chief Engineer and the MCC Chief Engineer. The proposal, while warning that the quantum and dimension of the problem has grown many times over the years, wanted a proper set-up with the sole responsibility of removing the encroachments so that the original beauty of the city could be restored. The present set-up of the Estate Officer with several other responsibilities had not been able to tackle the gigantic problem, the note said, adding that the MCC and the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) might not be able to tackle the problem on their own. The proposed set-up includes the Estate Officer, an IAS officer, who will be assisted by three state civil services officials, an Xen and an SP. They, in turn, will be supported by four SDOs and three DSPs and the other staff. The unified agency of officers drawn from the administration, corporation and the CHB will deal with all, property matters, licensing, sanctions and approval for use, removal of encroachments, building sanctions, building violations,. permission for allowing constructions, malba dumping and permissions to use various areas. The area could be divided into three independent zones, and to support these independent set-ups, requisite machinery in the form of JCBs and trucks could be acquired. While calling for some relaxations in the building byelaws keeping in view the changing lifestyle, the proposal calls for a closer coordination among the three agencies involved in clearing the encroachments. A practical approach needed to be adopted, and certain areas, which are currently being used by the adjoining hotels and are not of much use to public, can be leased out on commercial terms to them. This way good revenue and maintenance could be assured to the authorities. Talking about the large number of road-side vendors such as tandoorias, dhobies, cycle repairshops and barbers, the paper said the service booths, which were initially meant to provide such services, had, over the years, been converted into lucrative businesses on account of high-value of these booths. Certain open spaces along V-3,V-4 and V-5 roads in the city could be used in a planned manner to provide these services. An attractive, low-cost design in the form of clusters could be planned merging with the surroundings.The top can be an umbrella-type in fibre glass, asbestos and PVC to take care of hot or rainy season. If built for 2,000 to 2,500 such mini trades, the monthly return could be to the tune of Rs 10 to 15 lakh, paper predicted. Suggesting a tough stand against the sale and misuse of booths in the rehri markets, the paper wanted the resumption of booths and the registration of a case of breach of trust. The resumed property should be auctioned, which will bring much-needed revenue to the administration. Similarly, to check the growth of new slums which have come up even after the rehabilitation of the jhuggi dwellers, strict action should be taken. The administration is well aware of the fact that lower-level employees, who had served the administration for the whole of their lives, have no houses while those who encroached upon the public property got rewarded, the proposal rued. The paper also stressed
the need to regulate a large number of rickshaws, water
tankers and rehris plying without licences and occupying
open spaces in the city. |
Nehru to
address BHU alumni CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — On the birth anniversary celebrations of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mr B.K. Nehru, an eminent diplomat and administrator, will deliver a memorial lecture tomorrow on the need for review of the Indian Constitution. The topic assumes great importance in view of the socio-political turmoil in the country after more than fifty years of independence. The views expressed by Mr Nehru on this occasion will definitely attract the attention of all those who are concerned with the deteriorating condition in the country. Mr R.K. Saboo,
industrialist and rotarian, will preside over the
function. The lecture is being organised by the BHU
Alumni Association, Chandigarh, at 11.15 a.m. at the
ICSSR Complex, Panjab University campus, according to a
press note by Dr Hari Har Lal, President of the
association. |
Sector 36
SHO booked CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — In a cop versus cop case, the Station House Officer of Sector 36 Police Station —Inspector Baljit Singh Chadha — was today booked by the Chandigarh Police, for allegedly torturing a constable, within minutes after a city court directed the registration of a First Information Report against him. The Inspector, according to sources, has been booked for “voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon or means” and “voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession or information” under Section 166, 326, 330, 331 of the Indian Penal Code. Sources added that the Station House Officer of Sector 17 police station Inspector K.I.P. Singh, who had earlier submitted a report before court after investigating the allegations, will investigate the case now also. Earlier, at about 6.15 pm, the directions for registering the FIR, on the basis of a complaint submitted by constable Bhag Singh, were issued by UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Jasbir Singh. Arguing before court, the complainant’s counsel had stated that the police, directed by the Judicial Magistrate to investigate the matter, should have registered an FIR. Counsel, to substantiate his contentions, also placed several Supreme Court orders before the Magistrate. Seeking the registration
of the case, complainant constable Bhag Chand had earlier
alleged that he was tortured by the defendants after
being picked up from Sector 22 at about 9.45 p.m. while
he was having ice-cream on October 1. The chain snatching
incidents were then at their peak. Services of cops confirmed CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — The Chandigarh police has confirmed the services of 147 constables and 78 Class IV employees on the reccomendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) chaired by Mr Ajay Kashyap, SSP, HQ. As many as 90 constables and four Class IV employees were ignored due to unsatisfactory record and conduct. Those confirmed include constables recruited up to the year 1990 and Class IV staff recruited in 1978. Confirmation cases of
the next batch of about 900 constables recruited in 1991
is under way and is likely to be completed in January,
2000. |
Journalist
bereaved CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Teja Singh, father of Prof Jaspal Singh, literary columnist of The Tribune and Director of the Ambedkar Institute of Careers and Courses, died here this morning after a massive heart attack. He was 80. He is survived by
another son, Mr Surjit Singh, an engineer of the Punjab
State Electricity Board, and a daughter. He was cremated
this evening. |
Chani,
Harleen's film in fest CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — G. S. Chani and Harleen Kohli's 45-minute film Chilkana Camp was included in a three-day film festival, called 'Prakriti '99' in Bhopal, recently. The festival, which was kicked off in 1997, is a forum for films on environment, development and human rights. Chani, Chairman of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi, and his wife Harleen are both well-known theatre people and film makers of the region. Chilkana Camp is based on a health education camp organised in a village of north India. The film, which was evolved with the villagers of Sultanpur-Chilkana, involves the participant-actors with their real-life situations. It is about women's health, poverty, welfare and the management of health. The festival was
presented by the Consortium for Educational Communication
(CEC), New Delhi, and Ekalvya, a non-government
organisation. |
Call to
revive Ghaggar project PANCHKULA, Dec 24— A receding ground water level and the absence of any adequate functional policy to deal with the situation has made it difficult to overcome the water shortage in the township. The water table in the area has been falling for the past many years. Experts feel that the situation could become alarming with the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) approving the installation of 22 additional tubewells to boost the water supply to the township. They feel that such temporary measures to solve the water problem would have a drastic effect in the long run. The Shivalik Vikas Manch holds that a solution to the water shortage, not only in the township but also in the adjoining states, lies in the construction of the Ghaggar dam project, a project which has been shelved by the Haryana Government. The General Secretary of the manch, Mr Ravi Sharma, said that the Haryana Irrigation Department had spent almost Rs 1 crore on the upgradation of the Ghaggar dam project report and other field investigations. “To shelve a project of inter-state importance without informing and consulting the beneficiary states is very astonishing”, he said. Experts feel that a durable solution would be to inject into the ground, rainwater and overflown water and subsequently raise it to the ground level, which, at present, is being allowed to go waste through drains. For this purpose, additional injecting stations should be installed. They apprehend that if the process of declining water table continues, brackish water from adjoining areas will intrude into the underground consumable water bed. Statistics available with the Shivalik Vikas Manch reveal that the tubewells in the state, numbering over 14 lakh, will become useless if a solution is not found soon. The manch has appealed
to various social organisations, environmentalists and
political parties to extend their support to the demand
for the revival of the Ghaggar dam project. |
Live
surgeries performed CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Endoscopic surgeries were performed on patients suffering from chronic sinusitis, nasal polyposis and optic nerve injury for the benefit of young ENT surgeons of the region on the first day of the two-day first North Chapter Live Functional Endoscopic Surgery (FESS) Workshop at PGIMER here today. The surgeries, which were being performed by Dr S.K Kaluskar, an eminent surgeon of England, were shown live on a big screen in the lecture theatre. The delegates addressed their queries during the show to him. It was inaugurated by Prof V.K. Kak, Director Principal of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. He stressed the need for increasing interaction among the ENT surgons and neurosurgeons in managing patients with skull base lesions. Dr Kak also stressed the need for using endoscopes, which provide a better illuminated and magnified view to deal with pituitary tumours, optic nerve decompression, beides chronic sinusitis cases. Nearly 80 delegates, including faculty members, senior residents, residents and private practitioners of the region are participating in various scientific deliberations here. In his inaugural address, Prof S.B.S. Mann, Head of the ENT Department of the PGI, also recommended the use of endoscopic surgery which through illumination and magnification, makes the surgery better and thorough. He also talked on the use of endoscopes in teaching and training young ENT surgeons by transmitting images on the screen. Earlier, Dr S.K. Kaluskar briefed the delegates on the recent advances in this field and its advantages over the conventional surgery. An update on endoscopic sinus surgery was also released by Prof Y.N. Mehra. The Organising Secretary, Dr Ashok Gupta, said one should have thorough knowledge of the anatomy of nose and para nasal sinuses in order to perform a successful endoscopic sinus surgery. He also said there was a need for developing better cadaver dissection facilities in the medical colleges of the region. Dr S.C. Sharma, one of the ENT Department's faculty members, discussed the role of endoscopes in optic nerve decompression to patients suffering from vision loss, following roadside accidents or to check the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid through the nose. Dr Vikas I. Nehru
moderated a panel discussion on the existing
controversies in the management of chronic sinusitis.
During the discussion, Dr Ravi Ramalingam of Madras
highlighted the indications for conservative endoscopic
sinus surgery. Advances in endoscopic surgery discussed CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — A majority of chronic sinusitis cases can now be cured through functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), a super speciality which relieves a patient of 90-95 per cent of his problems. However, the success rate depends on the expertise of the surgeon using the technique. This was the consensus of the experts attending the first north chapter live functional endoscopic surgery, which began at the PGIMER today. Highlighting the recent advances in the field, Dr S.K. Kaluskar, an ENT surgeon from Ireland, pointed out that the surgery is very effective for recurring sinus infections. The cardinal symptoms such as nasal obstruction, phlegm in the throat and headaches are often not diagnosed properly. Dr Kaluskar said nose sinuses and chest area are inter- related but very often the disease is not diagnosed easily. However, with the help of advanced telescopes, we are now able to reach the interiors and have a better understanding of the behaviour of the sinuses. According to Dr Kaluskar, “In the past, we used to cut the face from outisde to go to the sinuses and one had to be hospitalised for several days, but with the help of this non-invasive surgery, we are even able to perform safe surgeries near the eye or the brain”. The surgery is extremely useful in removing multiple polyps (a bunch of grapes like growth) around the opening of the sinuses , nose bleed, other fungal infections and even brain tumours. The surgery is normally performed under local anaesthesia and the patient is normally discharged the next day. The time taken in the surgery, however, depends on the extent of the disease and the expertise of the surgeon. Dr R.C. Deka, Professor and Head of the ENT department, AIIMS, New Delhi, also said that by using telescopic endoscopes, we can see the disease in the nose and para nasal sinues very clearly. The technique is generally employed to remove multiple and single polyps, besides fungal infections. Since only the diseased tissue is removed, it reduces the tissue damage which was earlier seen in the conventional surgery. It also helps in identifying a bleeding point from nose and also to cauterise it. Early malignancy in nose and par nasal sinuses can also be cured through it, he pointed out. It can also be used for the early diagnosis of nose and nasal pharyngal cancer. Dr Sanjay Sachdeva, an
expert from Apollo Hospital, New Delhi revealed that
increasing use of endoscopic surgery in recent times has
made it possible to reach even the interior areas of the
brain, which earlier the neurologists could not reach
without opening the brain. There have been instances of
brain tumour being removed through the nose. In many
cases, the chest infection can be cured by tackling the
nose or the sinus infection. Since they are
inter-related, 70-80 per cent of asthma can be cured
through this.
PGI doctor gets INOR fellowship CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Dr Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, PGI, has been selected for the prestigious INOR Foreign Fellowship of the Indian Orthopaedic Association, the result of which was declared at the annual conference of the IOA held recently in Hyderabad. He has been selected from applicants from all over India on the basis of meritorious academic work during the career. He will be presented a paper on “Tuberculosis of the foot and complex mid-tarsal” in English next year. Dr Dhillon has more than
100 publications to his credit with 50 of these in
international journals. During this conference, Dr
Dhillon was also elected as an editorial member of the
journal of the Indian Orthopaedic Association. Nuclear physics symposium CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Aspects of nuclear physics will come up for deliberations at the 42nd symposium of the Department of Atomic Energy at Panjab University from December 27 to 31. Addressing a press conference today, Dr I.M.Govil, Chairperson of the Physics Department, said the department was hosting the event after 27 years' gap. Approximately 200 participants from research institutes and universities of India and abroad are likely to feature in the event. Those likely to attend
the event include Dr R. Ramanna, a Member of Parliament,
and a former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission;
Prof V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary of the Department of
Science and Technology. |
SNIPPETS Punwire meeting SAS NAGAR, Dec 24 — A meeting of the board of directors of the Punjab Wireless Systems Limited (Punwire) was held today at Chandigarh. Besides Mr D.S.Guru, who had been appointed as OSD after the suspension of the Managing Director of the company, other senior officials of the Punjab Government also participated in the meeting. 450 found ineligible for pension KHARAR, Dec 24 — About 450 of the 1500 persons who were getting pensions under the old age pension and widow pension scheme in Kharar and its surrounding 15 villages were found to be not eligible for these pensions in the 100% verification carried out in Kharar. According to official sources, the inspecting team found that 195 were found to be death cases, 80 persons had left their places, 35 were found to be below the eligible age and 100 were found to be economically unfit to get these pensions. The pensions of these persons would be stopped soon. 31 stray dogs vaccinated SAS NAGAR, Dec 24 — As many as 31 stray dogs were vaccinated against rabies at a camp organised by the local Society for Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (SPCA) in Phase 3B 1, here, yesterday. The President of the society, Mr N.S. Gill, said the camp was organised as part of a programme of the Central Government to vaccinate stray dogs against rabies. The vaccinated dogs were caught with the held of trained personnel from the same phase. Phone demanded for cremation
ground KHARAR, Dec 24 — Some residents of Kharar, in a letter sent to the Principal General Manager, Chandigarh Telephone, have demanded that a Departmental C.C.B. Type Public Telephone be installed at the cremation ground here. They have written that the population of Kharar is more than 60,000 and the cremation ground is about 1.5 km away from the main town. District courts’ winter break CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — Urgent civil and criminal matters during the week-long winter break will be taken up by UT District and Sessions Judge B.S. Bedi for three days from December 25. Additional District and Sessions Judge S.K. Goel will take up the “urgent matters” for two days from December 28, while Additional District and Sessions Judge R.C. Godara will be on duty for the next two days. On January 1, 2000, imperative matters will be heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge G.S. Sandhu, while Additional District and Sessions Judge S.S. Lamba will be on duty the next day. Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Sant Parkash will be on duty for four days
from December 25, while Judicial Magistrate (First
Class)-cum-Civil Judge (Junior Division) A.K. Bishnoi
will function as the Duty Magistrate from December 29 to
January 2, 2000. The district courts, observes winter
break from tomorrow, will start functioning regularly
from January 3, 2000. |
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