& V I C I N I T Y
Thursday, February 18, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Thursday, February 18, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Admn asks Centre for free
NTPC consultancy Dredger
to remove silt from lake Chandigarh
may regulate entry of trucks |
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Lecturer's
recall upheld Visits
help ties with Pak grow 2-day
strike by PGI doctors from tomorrow
PU step to prevent fleecing
of students University
debars 3 girl weightlifters Overloaded
vehicles a hazard It’s
like home-coming for Pak writers Effluents
in Ghaggar a health hazard Excitement
over PM’s Pak visit Admn
to check LPG agencies Housing
problems for post offices |
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Admn asks Centre for free NTPC
consultancy CHANDIGARH February 17 — The Chandigarh Administration has sought the intervention of the Union Power Minister in persuading the NTPC to provide consultancy on setting up its captive power generation plants free of cost. The Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), is reported to have talked to Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam, on the telephone regarding the issue. A detailed letter on the subject is also being addressed by General Chhibber to the Power Minister. The letter is likely to be despatched later this week. The Administration has taken the stand that Chandigarh, being a small Union Territory, cannot afford Rs 41 lakh as consultancy fee for setting up its captive power generation plants. It may be recalled here that the NTPC had initially demanded Rs 41 lakh as consultancy fee and Rs 5,000 per manday for the duration of its work on the Chandigarh project. The additional fee of Rs 5,000 per manday was withdrawn late last month for an aggregate saving of about Rs 20 lakh. The second argument advanced by Chandigarh Administration for consultancy fee waiver is that making provision for funds at the fag end of a financial year is almost nil. The decision to entrust consultancy to the NTPC was taken in July last year when Mr P.R. Kumaramangalam held a meeting with senior functionaries of the Chandigarh Administration. The NTPC has also been requested to provide a feedback on the environmental effects of captive power generation units in the city. No progress has been made since the last meeting. The Chandigarh Administration is keen that the NTPC must start its work at the earliest so that the actual work on the ground starts before next summer. Though Punjab and Eastern Grid has offered power to Chandigarh at global rates on long-term basis, the thinking in the Administration has been that the Union Territory must have its own source of supply. Initially, the Administration proposes generation of 100 MW. The capacity may ultimately be doubled. The consumption of power in Chandigarh has reached 26.20 lakh units a day while during peak of summer last year, it touched 32.78 lakh units and is expected to go up in the coming summer. The demand of Chandigarh
for partnership status in the Bhakra Beas Management
Board is also pending though the Union Government has
more than once agreed to the proposal but partner states
of the BBMB have been opposing this. |
Dredger to remove silt from lake CHANDIGARH February 17—Perturbed by the shrinking water body of Sukhna Lake due to a heavy inflow of silt, the Engineering Department of the Chandigarh Administration is planning to use a wet dredger to remove silt from the bed. According to sources in the department, the ponding capacity of one of the protected wetlands and a major city tourist spot has been decreasing with each passing day due to large quantities of silt making its way to the lake from catchment areas. Efforts had been made by various social organisations with Government help to remove silt manually and to some extent mechanically. But these efforts have failed to solve the problem largely due to an alarming increase in the flow of silt owing to deforestation of the catchment areas. “The damage has been so alarming that at present the lake has been left with only one-third of its original ponding capacity,” said a senior official of the Engineering Department. The plan to remove silt by wet dredging was drawn up after the department was alarmed by statistics supplied by the Amritsar-based Irrigation and Power Research Institute engaged to assess the extent of damage to the lake by silt after 1952, when it was set up. The figures supplied by the institute reveal that at present the ponding capacity of the lake is just 2848 acre feet as out of the total capacity of 8710 acre feet, 5861 acre feet are full of silt. As a result, the depth of the lake was reduced from about 13 feet to about 11 feet. The figures show that the maximum damage was caused due to an all-time heavy inflow of silt due to heavy rains in 1998, when 66.31 acre feet of the area was gobbled up by silt. The department had decided to remove silt through a wet dredger and tenders inviting private companies interested in undertaking the job were floated in the second week of February. But it is facing certain problems which have resulted in postponement of the tenders. Mr R.K. Jain, Chief Engineer, was not available for comments. But a senior official of the department said,” The major hurdle is that we have failed to locate an open space for dumping large amounts of slurry, which is to be produced by the dredger in the process, as the water body is surrounded by residential areas and fields”. He said the revised tenders would be floated again in the last week of this month. According to the sources,
there is only one such dredger in the entire northern
region and that has been pressed into service for removal
of silt from Dal Lake at Srinagar in J&K. “It
might take about two months to reach here after
completing the job there,” he added. |
Musical fountains lose rhythm CHANDIGARH February 17 — Tourists and music lovers visiting the musical fountains of the Terraced Garden in Sector 33, are in for a big disappointment. The reason: The fountains of the garden, perhaps the only major entertainment spot in the southern part of City Beautiful, have not been working for the past over two weeks following the alleged theft of the costly music system equipment from the “control room” of the fountains last month. According to sources, two decks, an amplifier, a mike and some cassettes were stolen from the “control room” on the night of January 29. As a result, the working of the fountains had been suspended temporarily. The fountains in the 10-acre picturesque garden of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) are not likely to entertain the visitors till the costly equipment, understood to be costing over Rs 1 lakh, is replaced. A decision to replace the stolen equipment is likely to be taken at the top level in the MCC. Though the theft was allegedly committed on the intervening night of January 29 and 30, the civic body, true to its reputation of delaying the things, reported the matter to the police only a couple of days ago. Police sources confirmed that the inquiry officer received the complaint today only. The police sources said the exact value of the stolen equipment would be determined only after the investigations were over which were likely to take a some more days. Meanwhile, regular visitors to the garden have urged the civic body to reinstall the music equipment so that the crowds, which once used to throng the garden, returned. “Since it is a major entertainment spot, the civic body should install the new music system so that the people of the southern sectors, who do not have as many places for relaxation as to their northern counterparts, were not discriminated against”, says Mr Gurmukh Singh, a retired Punjab Government official and resident of Sector 45. A newly-wed couple from Ahmedabad, Gita and Suresh Kumar, who are on a visit to the city, complained that they went to the garden last night to enjoy the music only to be told that it was not functional. It may be recalled that the Chandigarh Administration had inaugurated the fountains with much fanfare in 1996. At that time it was acclaimed a major “tourist spot” in the southern sectors of the city. An official of the Electricity Division of the corporation claimed that an “FIR” had been lodged with the SSP. The matter would be brought to the notice of the higher civic body officials and the new equipment would be installed when a decision to this effect was taken. He assured that adequate
security arrangements would be made so that such a thing
did not happen in the future. |
Chandigarh may regulate entry of
trucks CHANDIGARH February 17 — Worried over the growing traffic on city roads as well as the rise in the number of persons being killed annually on roads, the Chandigarh Traffic Police has proposed a ban on the entry of trucks as is the practice in Delhi. The SP Traffic, Mr Balbir Singh says “we have proposed to allow trucks into the city only between 10 pm and 6 am.” However, the final nod has to be given by the transport authorities. A provision of special permits can be made for trucks destined for construction sites and trucks carrying bricks, he added. Presently, more than 4000 trucks enter the city daily, out of which only 1500 are destined for places within the city, while all others just pass through, according to figures available with the police. Already safe movement of vehicular traffic in small-sized Chandigarh is becoming a thing of the past. With hundreds of vehicles being added every day, roads are getting congested with pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders coming in the high-risk group. On an average, each year, around 130 persons die in accidents due to their own faults, negligent and rash driving by other drivers or simple ignorance of traffic rules. The police lists 57 accidents that occurred at major accident-prone spots in the city last year. Out of these, four-wheeler drivers were the victims only in five cases while the rest were pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders. The pattern repeated itself when three persons died in two separate road accidents in the past two days. Besides, several spots, including the main roads like the Madhya Marg, the Dakshin Marg and the road that divides sectors 31 and 47 running through the entire belt of southern sectors, have emerged as accident-prone spots. In the first 47 days of this year, 18 persons have already died in road accidents. Last year the death toll had fallen to 128 from an all-time high of 150 in 1997. However, in 1998 the number of road accident deaths in the city was the second highest. There are several contributory factors like checks for over speeding and drunken driving behind the decrease in the number of deaths. The road along the Dakshin Marg from the roundabout at the airport to the roundabout at Kisan Bhavan is accident-prone. The Chandigarh-Panchkula road and the entire stretch of the Madhya Marg from the traffic lights at the transport area in Sector 26 to the PGI in Sector 12 is another such area. On the Dakshin Marg, the turning points towards Hallo Majra village and the resettlement colony at Ram Darbar have become accident-prone. Elsewhere on the Dakshin Marg, pedestrians and two wheelers keep on crossing the road dividers. The SP, Traffic, said: “We have proposed to have railings or barbed wire fencing all along the dividers of the road.” This will definitely prevent a large number of accidents, he opined. A similar experiment on a section of the Chandigarh-Panchkula road has been success, a police official pointed out The chief cause of accidents on the Madhya Marg is the habit of pedestrians to jump across the road dividers without bothering to look out for the traffic. Seven persons have died near the traffic lights at the transport area alone. Another accident-prone spot is the turning at sectors 16 and 17 where four people died last year. Another cause of worry for
traffic planners is the road that divides sectors 31 and
47 and runs through the southern sectors. This road has
little scope for expansion and double-laning. On this
road, the worst stretch is division at sectors 33/45,
34/44, 35/43, 36/42, 37/41 and 38/40. It is on this
stretch that the scope for further widening is negligible
as houses are very near to the road berms. |
Lecturer's recall upheld CHANDIGARH, Feb 17 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the Haryana Government decision recalling Mr Piara Singh Sra, lecturer in physical education, at the Government College in Sector 46 here. Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Iqbal Singh, who handed down this order, held: "In the absence of any evidence we cannot record any finding of mala fides against the Chief Minister merely because the petitioner has been reverted to his parent cadre in view of the order passed by him. To us, it appears that the Chief Minister gave the impugned direction because the petitioner has manipulated or managed to stay out of his parent service for over eight years — a situation certainly not in the interest of the state. The learned counsel could not show any provision of law under which the petitioner could remain on deputation for more than eight years and that too without sanction of the competent authority." In his petition Mr Piara Singh Sra had alleged that he had been recalled due to mala fide intentions and arbitrary exercise of power. He claimed that he and one more lecturer, Mr Dilbag Singh, had exposed the fraud committed by the college principal, Mr D.P. Singh. He claimed that when the administration decided to hold an inquiry into the allegations levelled against Mr D.P. Singh, he manipulated the petitioner's reversion from the U.T. administration. The petitioner added that Mr Bansi Lal did not have the authority to recall him. However, with a view to bail out Mr D.P. Singh, the Chief Minister ordered the termination of his deputation and the impugned order had been passed by Mr Bansi Lal on his asking.
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Visits help ties with Pak grow CHANDIGARH, Feb 17 — Well before the proposed high profile historic visit of Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee to Lahore via Wagah border, both India and Pakistan governments seem to have opened all borders for encouraging people-to-people contact. A team of poets, writers and journalists arrived here this morning from Pakistan. Another team of members of lions clubs is already here from the neighbouring country. A kabaddi team from Faislabad, which was earlier known as Layallpur in Pakistan is also touring Punjab these days. It has already played some kabaddi matches in various towns of Punjab. Only a few days ago Mr Ali Mohammad Khawja, Adviser, Government of Pakistan, was here in City Beautiful to invite Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, to be present at the "Prime Minister's kabaddi cup" being held in Islamabad from March 19 to 23. He was a guest of Mr Manpreet Singh Badal, MLA, who is president of the Amateur Circle Style Kabaddi Federation of India. A junior lawn tennis team from Pakistan was in the city last week. It had come here after a long time. The ties between cricket teams of both countries were recently revived and following this Pakistan team played two Test matches here — one at Chennai and other in Delhi. The cricket team is still here and playing at Calcutta in Asia Test Championship tournament. Pakistan's hockey team was also here last week and played four Tests. Recently singers from Pakistan visited India and performed at various places. Even members of Rotary Club from Pakistan had come to visit India but they could not secure entry through Wagah border due to technical reasons. Pakistani Rangers sent them back from Wagah border to secure the permission of the Pakistan Government. It is not one-way traffic.
Several delegations in recent days have gone from India
to Pakistan on friendship missions. A team of 27 members
of Parliament returned from Pakistan today. It was led by
Mr Balram Jakhar, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and
was accompanied by Indian journalists. It was given a
rousing reception in Pakistan and it also participated in
"Basant" festival in Lahore. |
2-day strike by PGI doctors from
tomorrow CHANDIGARH February 17 — Faculty members of the PGI will go on a two-day strike commencing on the morning of February 19. As a result all planned surgeries and special clinics will be put off. Doctors are protesting against low wages and non-implementation of the modified Baksi Committee report on new pay scales. Today doctors were on a day-long fast but carried on with their work. A decision to go on a two-day strike was taken following a general body meeting of the PGI Faculty Association here this evening. The association decided not to attend to routine hospital work but agreed to provided their expertise to patients already admitted to the PGI. Talks between doctors and a high-powered ministerial committee had failed a few days ago. Since then doctors, with
an exception of a day-long token strike on February 13,
had carried out peaceful protests like wearing black
badges and going on fast. A spokesperson of the
association while regretting the hardship caused to the
patients, hoped that the members of the public would
understand the hardship of the doctors. |
Names for SSP’s post sought CHANDIGARH February 17 — The Chandigarh Administration has invited a fresh panel of names of IPS officers from the Punjab Government for the appointment of a Senior Superintendent of Police in place of present incumbent, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, who has already completed his tenure here. Earlier, the Punjab Government had decided not to relieve Mr Dinkar Gupta for posting in Chandigarh. Meanwhile, the
Administration is awaiting Mr K.A.P. Sinha to join as
Joint Secretary, Finance, against a vacant post. The
appointment of Mr Sinha was made by the Administration
after his name was cleared by the Union Government, a
couple of weeks ago. Similarly, the Administration is
also waiting for Mr B.D. Bansal of the Punjab PWD
(Electrical wing), to join here as Executive Engineer
against a vacant post. |
Workshop for secretaries SAS NAGAR February 17
— The local institution for secretarial practices
and development (INSPIRE) will organise a workshop on
“Information Technology — Challenges and
opportunities for secretaries” on February 21 on the
CDETI premises.
Behlana phones dead CHANDIGARH February 17 — Residents of Behlana have complained that all the telephones in the village are “dead” for the past three days. In a press note signed by the village sarpanch and members of the panchayat, residents have said that despite repeated requests to the authorities, concerned no action has been initiated. Both the incoming as well
as the outgoing services have been hit. |
Punjab school board despatches
roll nos S.A.S.NAGAR February, 17 — The roll numbers for the class X and XII examinations scheduled to be conducted by the Punjab School Education Board from March 4 and 9, respectively, have been despatched by the board. According to a spokesman
of the board, if any candidate has not received his roll
number, he could contact the Deputy Secretary (Exams) of
the district concerned between February 18 and 25. |
Who cares for senior citizens? CHANDIGARH February 17 — Le Corbusier’s planned city, and essentially the “city of babus”, seems to be still at a loss when it comes to the woes and problems of senior citizens. Though Chandigarh has innumerable organisations, and even the administration is coming forward with schemes for the aged, their implementation still seems to have a long way to go. “I don’t know anything about schemes or the government. I am not literate so who do I ask for help and where do I go?” moaned Shanti Devi, who thinks she is 75 years old and lives off the random help from her relatives. The Social Welfare Board of the Chandigarh Administration started issuing identity-cards to senior citizens, all those above 65 in June, 1996, along with which it also listed certain facilities. Anyone interested in availing of these facilities needs to approach the office of the Social Welfare Board and wait for “two-three days” for the card. Interestingly the registration of these cards, which needs a proof of residence and a date of birth certificate, has been done only for 5,014 people till date. As per the 1991 census about 28,851 people out of the total population of 6,42,015 of Chandigarh are above the age of 60. The facilities like 50 per cent concession in fares for travelling in CTU buses and separate queues in all OPDs in General Hospital, dispensaries, poly-clinics and other public places are to be provided to all those with the identity-cards. A doctor in a government dispensary, said: “What separate queues for the aged we talk about, when we don’t have any queues at all. In some hospitals preference might be given to senior citizens, but in other public places this definitely does not happen”. Standing at the end of a long queue in a post office, where “Senior Citizens” is written in bold letters, 60-year-old Kirat Singh said, “Who looks after the likes of us. Do you think that anyone would listen even if I tell any of the youngsters standing here that this is meant only for old people like me? Such things look good only on paper”. Mr Prithi Chand, Joint Secretary, Finance, who holds the additional charge of the Social Welfare Board, said: “We issue letters regarding the beneficiary schemes for senior citizens to all heads of the departments of the Chandigarh Administration. But we do not have any staff available to see how these are being implemented”. The Board, which keeps no records of complaints or the death of any of their “members”, confessed that nobody had visited any public place to check if the needs of the senior citizens were being met. The Chandigarh police also introduced such a scheme, called HAPS (Help the Aged Police Scheme), in May 1998. Anyone above the age of 58 years and living without any immediate able-bodied help can become a member of this scheme. HAPS, which promises medical help and even arranges for the necessary jobs like payment of household bills, etc. has till date adopted only 43 persons. “Most of these schemes have cooled off now. I am at least educated enough to know that these schemes do exist because these are advertised through newspapers. But what about all those old and helpless people living in the streets or even in their own homes and being treated badly”, asked Sheila Gauri, a retired school teacher, living alone in a room in an Arya Samaj Mandir. Mr J.C. Malhotra and his wife, Mrs Tara, who look after the Senior Citizens Healthcare Centre at Lajpat Rai Bhavan, said: “It is the overall attitude of the people towards the aged which needs to be addressed. We have 2,000 members and we provide them a platform to hold monthly meetings, discuss their problems and even celebrate their birthdays together”. Help Age India, which has earmarked seven sites at Dadumajra, Dhanoa, Palsora, Bapu Dham, Ram Darbar,Mauli Jagran and Guru Nanak Colony, provides mobile service medical care free of charge to the aged. With two doctors it covers around 1,300 patients every month. “We provide medical facilities to all those aged who are from the lower strata of society”, said Dr Amrik Singh, who has been associated with the organisation for the last one and a half years. “In case proper care
of people like me was being taken by the government,
would we be living in a sorry state like this. I need
both financial and emotional help. Who has the
time?”, queried 70-year-old Mohan Preet, who is
planning to shift to an old people’s home to get
away from his domestic problems. |
PU step to prevent fleecing of
students CHANDIGARH February 17 — Taking serious view of allegations of over-charging from students, a panel of Panjab University has recommended the opening of a fee-collection counter for Shri Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College on the campus. The fees will be charged annually and not in a lumpsum for the entire course. The fee structure will be in accordance with the notification of the State Government till a committee appointed by the university decides a new fee structure. The recommendations have been made by a committee on issues relating to ayurvedic colleges at Moga and Chandigarh. The suggestions will come up for consideration at the forthcoming Syndicate meeting. It was also pointed out that certain colleges maintained “two types of registers”: one for inspection by the university authorities and the other having the records of ad hoc and regular teachers. “Although having two registers has been denied by the colleges, frequent and surprise checks may unveil this and other irregularities”, members said. Frequent and surprise visits have been recommended. Two representatives of the universities will have to be taken by the colleges on their governing bodies in addition to teachers’ representatives. Colleges have been asked to follow the norms for staff strength at the earliest. This includes 14 professors, 16 readers and 24 lecturers. It was pointed out that there were only 38 teachers at the college in the city and 31 at Moga. Absence of regular principals has also been taken note of and the colleges asked to fill these posts immediately. Lack of career-advancement facilities for teachers also came up for discussion. The committee recommended that colleges should grant study leave to teachers. If the stipend was more than the college salary, teachers should be allowed to opt for the stipend. Flowers day: Flowers Day was celebrated at the Students Centre of Panjab University on Wednesday. Due to lack of publicity, most of the students seemed unaware of the event. The majority of the crowd was from local colleges. “Dil lai gayee kudee Gujarat di”, a current pop hit, was played the maximum members of times at the request stall, which also conveyed messages for the “dear ones”. By and large, the event turned out to be a low-key affair. The Haryana Students Association, however, lodged its protest against the celebrations, saying that the “Basant celebrations”, as it was being portrayed, were nothing more than a modified version of Valentine’s Day and the university should have refrained from allowing it. Antakshri: The Panjab University Campus Students Council will organise an “antakshri” session at Law Auditorium on February 19, a press note said here today. Jagmeet Samundri, a former student of the university currently an assistant director in Mumbai, will anchor the show. Literary contest: The K.K.
Grover declamation contest will be organised at English
Auditorium on February 25, a press note of the Hindi
Department said here today. The AC Bali memorial contest
will also be held on the same day. |
University debars 3 girl
weightlifters CHANDIGARH February 17 — The discipline committee of Panjab University has taken action against defaulting sportspersons and colleges who send ineligible players for sports meets. Three girls of the PU weightlifting team have been debarred from further participation in university competitions. A coach had complained that they had shown indiscipline during a competition at Pt Ravi Shanker University, Raipur. It was found that the girls had “committed a serious offence”. Three boys indicted in the same complaint have been asked to tender a written apology. The coach has also been held responsible for his failure to handle the situation. It has been suggested that care should be taken while appointing coaches and team managers. The cricket team of the local GGDSD College has been disqualified from competitions in the current as well as the coming academic year. The college was found to have fielded a player whose admission was not confirmed in the session 1997-98. He had taken the university examination and his result was “candidate suspended”. On a complaint of MCM DAV College, a swimmer of the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, has been disqualified. The girl was also working as a coach with PUDA. She will not be allowed to participate in the inter-college tournament next year. About 28 players have been found guilty of not joining the camps or not accompanying university teams when required. Rule 9 says, “The players evading, to the satisfaction of the secretary of the disciplinary committee, to play on behalf of Panjab University in the inter-university tournaments shall be debarred from participation in the next two inter-college tournaments. Colleges including such members will not be allowed to play in inter-college tournaments till the players in this category are dropped”. Another rule says that players will give their loyalties first to their own college and then to PU and its teams. In view of the existing rules, the committee took a serious note of the players who did not play for the university in the inter-university competitions. The committee members resolved that serious action must be taken against such players. The PU prize distribution
function is likely to be held in the second week of
March. The general body meeting of the sports committee
is likely to be held in the second week of April. |
Productivity week seminar held CHANDIGARH February 17 — As part of the “productivity week”, the office of the Regional Provident Commissioner organised a seminar and workshop here today. Presiding over the workshop, the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner(I), Mr ML Meena, stressed the role of efficiency and perseverance in enhancing productivity. The workshop was attended by a large number of young officials. Later, inaugurating the seminar on the role of the information technology in enhancing productivity, Mr Meena impressed upon the rationale behind the integration of information and communication technology and its effect on productivity. Mr Vikram Grover of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) explained various facets of the information technology vis-a-vis technology. The Labour Bureau organised an essay writing competition on the topic of the information technology for productivity. According to a press note,
an exhibition on information technology will be
inaugurated by the Director-General of the Labour Bureau,
Mr RS Gill, in the Sector 17 office of the bureau
tomorrow. |
Labour Colony survey on to CHANDIGARH February 17 — Ms Ranjana Shahi, Councillor, today called upon the residents of the Sector 31 Labour Colony to remain present for the survey being conducted by the Estate Office to identify rightful claimants for alternative sites, under the rehabilitation scheme of the Chandigarh Administration. Addressing the residents, she said that a fresh door-to-door survey was being conducted to make sure that no genuine claimant was left out. More than 3200 forms had been collected, out of which 600 were left out for one reason or the other, she added. The local unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha will organise a padyatra from Chandigarh to Fatehgarh Sahib on the eve of the tercentenary celebrations of Khalsa. According to a spokesman
of the local unit of Bharatiya Janata Party, a sammelan
of party workers will be held at Kamlam on March 7. The
unit also proposes to organise an eye camp in March,
besides holding a training camp for women workers. |
Overloaded vehicles a hazard CHANDIGARH, February 17 — Little has been done to check the plying of overloaded trucks and tractor trollies, although a large number of them are involved in accidents in the city. Overloaded trucks and trollies are a common sight in the city, but nothing has been done by the authorities to regulate their entry in the main roads end in other parts of the city, particularly on the outer roads. While trucks passing through the city use the outer roads or are allowed to use the Sector 26 Transport yard, it is the tractor trollies that have aggravated the traffic hazard in some parts of the city. As the city is surrounded by several villages, the incidence of tractor trollies bringing farmers’ produce to the Sector 26 grain market has increased over the years. Their popularity has rubbed off on the owners of various business establishments in the city, who use them to transport their goods. Not only are such vehicles stacked perilously high, but the skills of the person behind the wheel leave much to be desired. It is not uncommon to see broken-down vehicles holding up traffic and in some cases even being involved in accidents. Many drivers lose control on their overloaded vehicles, resulting in their vehicles turning turtle. The reason is that the goods loaded on them are far beyond the prescribed limit. Yesterday evening one such vehicle, overloaded with steel bars, gave some anxious moments to passersby on the busy Dakshin Marg, near the Tribune roundabout. The tractor, unable to pull the load, got lifted off the road. The bars fell down the trolley, narrowly missing some of the vehicles coming behind it. The driver, who himself escaped by jumping off the vehicle, was seen apologising for the accident and said that he was acting on the orders of his employer. The owner of the vehicle was however unrepentant, and said that the vehicle was not overloaded, but the bars had been wrongly stacked. A common sight at the
grain and vegetable market has been the cranes pulling
out the vehicles stuck up in potholes due to overloading. |
Kumhar Colony to be relocated,
says VC CHANDIGARH, February 17 — ``We will sign on the dotted line’’, Prof M.M. Puri, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, said here yesterday, while speaking on the issue of surrendering approximately 70 acres of land to the “jhuggi” dwellers of Kumhar Colony and Janata Colony at another location in the same sector. These colonies have allegedly encroached upon university land in Sector 25. Prof Puri admits, ``In principle, the land in Sector 25, no doubt, belongs to us. When it comes to ground realities, the picture is a little different. This decision was taken in the larger interest of the university and an end to the stalemate could come with conceding to the said proposal or we would be in this situation perpetually. The Administration, too, had no other option.’’ Prof Puri reasons it as a small price to pay if prime land can be restored to the university and activity can be resumed at the location. He also adds that the university has been duly compensated with a 12-acre patch in Sector 14, referred to as the “mandir-gurdwara land’’ in official lingo of the university. This, though, is not “compensation’’ in the true sense of the word as the land was allotted to the university way back in 1990 while the possession of this piece came in 1997. The records with the Xen department confirm the fact. The Vice Chancellor explains, “Though the land did belong to us on paper, yet we had no possession over it. The Administration is helping us get possession which is a big thing and we have decided to accommodate the `jhuggi’ dwellers.’’ “As far as I understand, political patronage to the vote bank has rendered the Administration helpless in removing these “jhuggis”. They sought our help and we reached the decision through mutual discussions. The issue stands resolved though no land has been surrendered to the Administration yet’’, he states justifying the stand of the university. As many as 223 acres of
land in Sector 25 were bought in two instalments, the
first one in 1964 which gave the university possession of
130 acres of land. The second instalment was paid in 1986
and the university became the owner of an additional 120
acres on paper. However, approximately 18 acres, the
commercial belt of the sector, was retained by the
Administration then. |
Big response to refresher
course CHANDIGARH February 17 — There has been an overwhelming response from lecturers to a refresher course on gender studies being organised by the Centre of Women’s Studies, Panjab University, from February 25 to March 17. From the 71 applications received by the centre, only 35 to 40 applicants are being taken for the course. Those rejected are sore about the whole affair, but Dr Pam Rajput, Chairperson, justifies, “We are happy the course has been well received by the lecturers, but we have our limitations. We will try to organise another course of the kind very soon for candidates who could not make it this time.” An effort was made to take lecturers from every subject to enable a broader discussion on the issue. Most of those involved with libraries were rejected because of their large number and since the “pick and choose” policy would invite undue criticism. Applicants from the commerce stream were not taken because a refresher course is being organised for them very soon, explained Dr Rajput. The reason lecturers are
making a beeline for this particular course is that
refresher courses organised by the centre and those on
environment can be attended by lecturers, irrespective of
the subject they are teaching. It is required of every
lecturer to attend two such courses before they are
eligible for the next scale. |
Seven inspectors shuffled CHANDIGARH February 17 — In an unexpected development, the Chandigarh Police authorities shuffled seven inspectors, including two Station House Officers (SHOs), this afternoon. Mr Kultar Singh Kahlon , SHO, Police Station, Sector 26 and Mr Sukh Pal Singh Rana, SHO, Police Station, Sector 39 were shifted out to the VIP Security wing. Both had been appointed at their respective posts less than six months ago. Mr P.M. Walia, posted in the VIP Security wing has replaced Mr Kultar Singh. Mr Chambel Singh, Inspector, Traffic, has been posted as SHO, Police Station , Sector 39 in place of Mr Rana. It is for first time that Mr Chambel Singh has been appointed SHO while Mr Walia had been SHO , Police Station, Sector 39 for a brief period around four years ago. Replacing Mr Chambel Singh
in the traffic wing will be Mr Sahib Singh, who was
posted in the VIP Security wing. Mr K.I. P. Singh ,
Inspector, CIA wing, has been posted to Airport ,
Security while Mr J.S. Cheema, posted in the lines
replaces him in the CIA wing . |
It’s
like
home-coming for Pak writers CHANDIGARH February 17 — With the element of euphoria surrounding the historic event of the ‘open-buggy’ 10-minute ride of Atal Behari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, in the Lahore Fort, the visit of a 23-member delegation of Pakistani writers and intellectuals today was more than welcomed by the city. The delegation, led by Dr Khalid Javaid Jan, a poet of eminence, includes writers, poets, journalists, students and businessmen. “We don’t belong to the generation which witnessed the gruesome times of Partition. That puts all the more responsibility on the younger generation to do away with the past, and also to atone for the ‘sins’ of our seniors”, said Dr Jan, while speaking on how the present generation was fortunate to be living in times when there was hope for a “better tomorrow”. Commenting on the traditional hostile mind-set on both sides regarding cricket, Mr Riaz-ul-Haq, an educationist, said, “The media hype surrounding all these events is obviously immense. But as far as the layman is concerned, the Pakistanis are always happy to interact with the Indians. My 14-year old nephew asked me to bring some ‘mitti’ of India, on my way back!” “We are here to tell our brothers in India that a lesson needs to be learnt from the past. The mistakes done in the past need to be forgotten with such cultural interactions”, added Dr Jan. For Prof Abdul Rashid Misbah, Principal Dean’s College of Commerce, Faislabad, and poet-writer, the very fact that he had stepped into India was “something that he did not know how to react to”. Commenting on the fourth estate in his country and its ‘interaction’ with the government, this educationist said, “In today’s Pakistan, the Press has reached a stage where it cannot be put down. Also, there is no chance of the military regime coming back to power”. “The Press has become quite powerful in our country today, as compared to earlier times. Look what happened when the controversy over ‘Jung’ was raised. The whole press was up against the government. The kind of support from the world press, especially the Indian Press, was overwhelming. The government has lost its game”, said Lawrence Bhatti, Chief Editor of ‘The Christian Times’, Lahore. The people on both sides of the border still might be debating the significance of the extension of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s invitation to our Prime Minister, but the elation and the enthusiasm of the people on meeting the ‘long-lost’ from the other side of the border definitely comes as a harbinger of positive signs. “I’m more than happy to be here in your country. This is just like home-coming”, said Afzal Saaher, a poet and a journalist. With most of the member-delegates not giving much weightage to the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party, which has threatened to disrupt Mr Vajpayee’s visit, the Pakistani nationals felt that the time had come for both India and Pakistan “to break the ice and finish the stalemate”. Mohammad Ali Jan and Ammer Ali Jan, both students, who had joined the ‘intellectual gang’ looked like any two curious teenagers trying to fill in the gaps left by the media in portraying the ‘other side’. Inquisitive looks about Kajols and Sharukh Khans, on the street? The delegation, which reportedly was granted visas for Delhi after a delay of about 12 days, will also be visiting Patiala, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Ferozepore, Hussainiwalia, Jalandhar and Amritsar. The delegation also
presented an ‘Urdu-Punjabi Mushaira’ at DAV
College, Sector 10, in the evening. |
Effluents in Ghaggar a health hazard Bhankharpur (District Patiala) February 17 — Untreated waste water drained out of numerous industrial units here is posing a threat to the ecology along the Ghaggar. Not only does the river water stink, it has also turned black in some areas. Residents of Mubarakpur and Bhankharpur villages are worried as the river water also poses a serious threat to their lives, livestock as also to the vegetation. Villagers of Bhankarpur and Mubarakpur are unhappy as no action has been taken against the offending industrial units. Sarpanch of the Bhankarpur village, Mr Gurnam Singh, says, “a number of complaints to the administration have fallen on deaf ears.” He fears if timely action is not taken potable water in the area could become unfit for drinking. The villagers also fear an epidemic in the surrounding areas. There are at least two paper manufacturing units on the Ramgarh-Mubarakpur road. A visit to the area presents a picture of sheer neglect. A paper mill in Mubarakpur has converted the land outside the factory premises into a dump yard. A 20-foot huge heap of ash-like material is thrown adjacent to the Ghaggar choe. During the rainy season, ash gets washed into the river, according to the villagers. Paper waste and other waste materials are littered near the factory. Residents say during monsoons, the dumped ash not only washes into the river but makes is impossible for the local populace to pass through the area due to slush and stink. A resident of Mubarakpur village, Mr Hoshiara Singh, demands strict action against the defaulting units. He fears that animals drinking water from the polluted source could have harmful effects on them. Villagers expressed concern over the impact the polluted water could have on agriculture lands. Repeated representations to the higher authorities have failed to have any effect, villagers alleged. Paper manufacturing unit Vishal Paper Tech officials while refuting the allegations, said, “ “Ours is a totally modern plant which uses the latest technology and recycles paper and waste.” General Manager A.B. Mukherjee added that the plant had no place for pollution. A factory source, however, revealed that the untreated water was released into the river during the night through several underground pipes. The jhuggi dwellers are worst hit in the locality as they had no other source of drinking water. Interestingly, Mr
Mukherjee, who insists that the unit is non-polluting,
argues, “if industrial unit gives employment to say
300-400 families and even if it adds to pollution and
environmental degradation it should not be considered as
a serious matter.” |
Excitement over PM’s Pak visit CHANDIGARH February 17 — There is lot of excitement in Pakistan over the proposed visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on February 20, says Mr Satya Pal Jain, MP, who returned yesterday after a five-day visit to Pakistan. Mr Jain was a member of an Indian Parliamentary delegation which was led by a former Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Balram Jakhar, and comprised MPs from almost all political parties. He said that the 27-member delegation called on Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, a former Prime Minister, Mrs Benazir Bhutto, and leaders of other political parties. The delegation visited the historic temples at Kattasraj and gurdwaras at Lahore. Mr Jain said that people in Pakistan wanted cordial and friendly relations with India. “They are keen on better economic cooperation to solve each other’s problems than to continue spending on war preparedness. Wherever we had interaction with political leaders and others, everyone expressed the wish for cordial relations between the two neighbouring countries. Though some of the problems cannot be solved overnight, yet people want negotiated settlement of all pending issues.” He disclosed that there was heavy demand of Indian film songs. People watched proceedings of the Indian Parliament on TV sets and identified almost all political leaders. In Lahore, many enthusiasts asked for autographs of Mrs Sushma Swaraj. Political differences
apart, members of the delegation were unanimous in
conveying the message of brotherhood and goodwill towards
their Pakistani counterparts. At many places people were
surprised when some members of the delegation made
speeches in chaste Urdu. |
Admn to check LPG agencies CHANDIGARH February 17 — The Weights and Measures Department of the Chandigarh Administration is conducting “routine checking” of various LPG agencies in the city. According to sources, the checking followed complaints against certain agencies, that they were “forcibly” selling the hotplates to the new consumers along with the release of new connections at a higher rate than the maximum retail price. The premises of a gas agency in Sector 35 was today searched and it was found that it was selling hotplates at a higher price than retail price. The sources added that about 15 hotplates of the agency were taken away by the department. The checking is likely to continue till the end of this week.
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Housing problems for post offices PANCHKULA February 17 — Providing proper accommodation for post offices in the township appears to be low on the agenda of the Department of Post. Apart from affecting the functioning of the postal services, residents face many problems. Two of the sub-post offices of sectors 4 and 15 here are housed in one building, while sub-post office in Old Panchkula is functioning from an old dilapidated building. Another sub-post office is being run from a rented accommodation, which is reportedly going to be evicted. Residents of Sector 15 expressed unhappiness with the postal authorities for dilly-dallying on the issue of its own building, land for which has already been allotted by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). Citing a case, they say that furniture and records of the Sector 15 sub-post office, which had been functioning from a rented accommodation before shifting to the present premises, was thrown on the road after the house owner got eviction orders from the court. Residents of Sector 15 have to go all the way to Sector 4. Mr Gyan Chand, a senior citizen of Sector 15, who operated a monthly income deposit scheme at the Sector 15 post office, has now to go to the Sector 8 sub-post office. When a TNS team visited the Sector 4 sub-post office, Mr V.P.Verma, a retired administrative officer and a resident of Sector 4, complained that due to the functioning of two sub-post offices from the same building, there was chaos during rush days, especially when telephone bills had to be deposited. The entry to the sub-post office covering Sector 15 and its surrounding areas , has been given from the backside of the building. Any sign-board indicating entry to the sub-post office is, however, missing. The sorting staff of the two sub-post offices have been accommodated in two small rooms. People visiting the post office are exposed to the vagaries of the weather, especially in summers. Moreover, the building of the Sector 4 sub-post office, which has been constructed by the department, has not been approved by HUDA. The sewer connection of the building was reported “illegal”. The Assistant Superintendent of Post offices, Panchkula sub-division, Mr Shish Pal, says that building plans of the Sector 8 and 15, to be constructed by the department, have been submitted to HUDA. On being asked why a district-level post office had not been established in the township, he said there were 17 sub-post offices in the district, whereas at least 25 sub-post offices were required to establish a main post office. The building housing Sector 8 sub-post office had also been served notice by HUDA for running commercial activity from residential premises. The building of the
Gurukul sub-post office at Old Panchkula is in a
shambles. Two dark and dingy rooms are being used to
accommodate staff of four people. The sub-post office
handles the mail of the mini-secretariat, Government
College in Sector 1, Majri and Kharak Mangoli villages
and surrounding areas. |
Bomb hoax in Mani Majra CHANDIGARH February 17 — A bomb hoax was reported from Mani Majra this evening. According to police sources, an abandoned suitcase, placed behind the Motor Market complex, was mistaken by residents to be containing some explosive device. A dog squad was pressed
into service and the suitcase was found to contain phenyl
tablets, the sources added. |
Summons issued in kickbacks case CHANDIGARH February 17 — The District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, Mr B.S. Bedi, today issued summons to the persons accused in the kickbacks case of the Union Territory’s Engineering Department, regarding which the Vigilance Cell had lodged FIR number 1 last year. The summons were issued following the submission of the charge sheet by the prosecution. Documents were supplied to the accused in the FIR number 3 and the case would now come up for hearing on March 22 for scrutiny of records. The next hearing in the
case has been fixed for March 30. |
Workshop on entrepreneurship CHANDIGARH February 17 — The UT Department of Industries, in collaboration with the Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (RCED), organised an entrepreneurship awareness programme at Government College for Girls, Sector 11, here today. Ms Lalitha Venkatesan, Deputy General Manager of the NABARD, provided information to the participants, regarding the various incentives schemes of the bank, for setting up non-farming industries in rural areas. Ms Manju Matta, Assistant
General Manager, SIDBI, highlighted the “Mahila
Udyan Nidhi Scheme”. |
Child
hurt in accident CHANDIGARH February 17 — A child, Sidharth, who was playing outside his house in Sector 20 was injured when a scooter (CH-01-T-5516), driven by Ms Nirmala hit him. He was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. A case has been registered under sections 279 and 337 of the IPC. In a separate accident, Mr V.K. Arora of Sector 22 was injured and admitted to the PGI after his motor cycle skidded. Car stolen: A Maruti car (CH-01-C-0937), owned by Mr Yoginder Puri of Sector 38-A, was stolen from General Hospital, Sector 16. In another incident, a car stereo was stolen from a car (CH-01-S-5953) parked in Sector 17 and owned by Mr Charanjit Singh Arrested: A resident of Sector 22, Gopi, was arrested by the police for allegedly assaulting Bharat Singh, a resident of Dhanas village, a few days ago. Bharat was admitted to the PGI after the assault and a medical examination was carried out. PANCHKULA Woman cheated: A woman of Sector 16 was cheated of her jewellery by a couple on the pretext of correcting her son’s planetary influences here on Tuesday. The woman, Ms Shankuntla said she was returning home when a couple approached her saying they were followers of a saint and that her son was going to fall in great difficulty. During the course of impressing the woman, she was deprived of her gold jewellery. Injured: A scooterist Raj Kumar, resident of HMT Colony, Pinjore, was injured after he was hit by a Maruti car near PWD store at Pinjore on Tuesday. A case under sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered. Booked: Sushil Kumar, a resident of Raipur Rani has been booked by the police for allegedly kidnapping and raping a minor girl. According to the information available, the youth abducted the girl on the pretext of marrying her. A case under Sections 363, 366 and 376 of the IPC has been registered against the youth. Theft: Mr
J.J.Bhalla, a resident of Sector 11, has complained to
the police that his cycle was stolen from in front of his
house on Tuesday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has
been registered. |
A
variety of art frames CHANDIGARH — Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University, is the venue where one can get to see works of very senior artists. All five of them from Amritsar are into the teaching profession. Four of them Neeta Mohindera, Gopal Kirodiwal, E.K. Raj and Baldev Gambhir are painters and O.P. Verma is a sculptor. What one sees displayed is of high calibre, having a lot of variety. Neeta is interested in stage and theatre. She has treated her canvas like a stage and has done bold, impressionistic work. Her frames have illuminated scenes just as are seen during a play where the characters are performing. Some of the works show rural life, which is again an active field of Neeta’s interest. Gopal, a Rajasthani by birth, has worked in acrylic. He has basically worked on mythological subjects and has painted Ganesh, Srinath (Rajasthani idol), Radha Krishna. He has depicted reality in modern trend and the colours used conform to Rajasthani style — green, orange, yellow all bright colours. Flora and fauna attract E.K. Raj greatly. He also works in style. Colours used are intensive giving a closer view of the lives of the downtrodden. Raj says: “I started with water colours and gradually evolved my own style. In my painting I feel as if the graces from the sky are coming down and the plants are moving upwards to embrace each other.” Baldev Gambhir likes to play with oils. Leaves and their intricate textures seem to have fascinated him for his canvases are full of them. There is a neatness in his paintings which make them seem like photographs. He has also worked on group of stones in which Gambhir has given a three dimensional effect. In these a bird is also perched which is a symbol of love. Sculptures by O.P. Verma are in varied medium. He has employed, metal, wood, fibre, glass, stone to carve out beautiful figures. Sculptures titled “Bhangra”, “Vigilant”, “Prophet”, stand out amongst the lot. The exhibition remain open till February 20. ***** Exquisite pencil work: Sheilyadeep and Chirdeep Singh Chouhan, brother and sister team, have done some exquisite pencil work. The intense labour put in is for all to see. Seeing that the interest in Indian culture is catching up in the West while in their own country it is going down they chose images on Khajuraho temples as their subject. This is their effort to revive the rich Indian culture going dormant. The figurines selected have been taken from photographs. Sheilyadeep, an ex-student of College of Art, Chandigarh, specialised in applied art but tools took drawing to prepare for the exhibition. Her brother Chirdeep has no formal training and the difference in their styles is quite evident. The drawings are in correct proportions, having the right seriousness and delicacy. The duo has used glass marker pencils along with other soft pencils. Through delicate and deft application of light and shade they have brought out the contours of the body as well as the expressions. The exhibition will be
open at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10,
till February 21. Pak poets feted at mushaira CHANDIGARH, Feb 17 — A 23-member delegation of Pakistani writers and intellectuals visited the city today. The Folklore Research Academy, Chandigarh, organised a 'Hind-Pak Mitarta (Friendship) Urdu-Punjabi Mushaira on the occasion, at the DAV College, Sector 10. The programme, which started almost three hours behind schedule, included poets from Pakistan and from region. The programme commenced with recitation of quick poetry by Lawrence Bhatti, a journalist by profession, and Arshad Ali, a businessman-cum-poet. With 25 year-old Afzal Saaher's luscious Punjabi poetry the mood of the mushaira picked up. Saaher's "Laashan tey dafnande suniya, roohan nu kis dafnaya" had the audience clamouring for more. He was invited on stage a second time to read out more nazms'. His "Sade pale dookh chinta de, aasi loki kine saade", spoke volumes on the love between the people of India and Pakistan. This emotional strain was carried further by Sahid Nadeem rendition of Anjum Salim's poem "Saanu ik muth hon deeyo, aaje wi sade dil de sub bhue khule". With poets stressing the fact that even after Partition their "hearts beat for each other", the evening's programme had some poignant moments which the organisers dissolved by serving tea and samosas in middle of the mushaira. Indian writers who participated in the mushaira included Maj Piara Singh, Amrik Singh Kohli, Dr Gurminder Sidhu, Prof Nirmal Dutt and Kanna Singh. Pakistan poets included Ali Baba, Dr Rashid Misbah, Javed Iqbal and Dr Khalid Javaid Jan. Earlier in the day the delegation visited the SD College, Sector 32 for a felicitation function.
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Garlic
prices go up CHANDIGARH February, 17 — While the prices of cauliflower, cabbage and some other commonly used vegetables have seen a further decline, garlic has become costly during the past two days. A survey of different city markets today revealed that a kg of cauliflower and cabbage, which was selling at Rs 4 to Rs 5 was today priced at Rs 2 in certain markets. So much so cauliflower was being sold at Re 1 a kg by roadside vendors and farmers from nearby areas, who have descended on the city and can be seen selling the commodity by stationing their tractor-trailers in different areas. According to vegetable vendors, the prices of these commodities have crashed due to a glut-like situation created in the market by fresh arrivals from nearby areas. Mr Kishan Singh, a farmer selling cauliflower in Sector 34, said he was forced to indulge in direct marketing of his produce as middlemen were offering a price of 50 paise a kg in the Sector 27 vegetable market. The prices of other common vegetables have also come down during this period. A kg of tomato, which was selling at Rs 10 last week, was available today at Rs 8. Similarly, same quantity of beans, priced at Rs 20 last week, was priced at Rs 16 today. On the other hand, the price of garlic has seen an upward trend during this period. A kg of good quality dry garlic, priced between Rs 50 and Rs 60 last week was available at between Rs 70 and Rs 80 in different markets. The price of the fresh crop, which has been arriving in the market for the past two days, is, however, low as it was available in the market today at between Rs 50 and Rs 60 a kg. The following are the minimum retail prices of good quality vegetables and other food items Vegetable/Fruit Sector 11 Sector 20 Cauliflower 2 2 Cabbage 2 2 Peas 8 8 Capsicum 20 16 Carrot 5 5 Brinjal 10 12 Beans 16 16 Ginger 30 25 Garlic 70 80 Radish 2 2 Sugarbeet 4 3 Onion 8 8 Potato 4 3 Cucumber 12 12 Gourd 12 12 Lemon 24 30 Tomato 8 8 Grapes 35 35 Banana 18 16 Apple 40 35 Pomegranate 40 40 Papaya 20 20 Pulses (Sector 11) Moong dhuli 30, Moong
sabat 28, Moong chilka 28, Mah sabat 28, Mah chilka 28,
Mah dhuli 30, Malika masoor 28, Masri 24, Kala masar 22,
Dal chana 20, Kala chana 18, White chana 38, Arhar 36,
Rajmah 34, Roungi 35, Besan 19, Suji 12, Maida 10, Atta,
8, Zira, 100, Blackpepper 280, Turmeric, 60, Red chilies
80, Mustard oil 50, Vanaspati ghee 45, Groundnut oil 60. |
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