& V I C I N I T Y
Friday, February 19, 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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Friday, February 19, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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48 crore more for UT CBI
indicts 14 in fraud case
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PGI
OPDs closed on Saturday PU nod for B.Ed course PU
physicists search for Higgs
District
issue in way of proposed MC Shopkeepers
resent PWD order Sector
70 flat allottees an unhappy lot
Pak
delegation calls on Tara Singh Demand
to scrap auction policy 4-kg
tumour removed from uterus Online
cash counter in High Court Bengal
magic on canvas Book
attackers of college guards: staff Finance
Secretary’s assurance to traders on ST A
neglected road Science
Day function on February 22 |
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48 crore
more for UT CHANDIGARH, February 18 — The revised estimates of the Chandigarh Administration showing an increase of nearly Rs 48 crore have been approved. The increase is mainly because of payment of arrears on account of revision of pay scales and purchase of power. The size of the non-Plan has after revised estimates grown to Rs 462.82 crore against the original provision of Rs 414.88 crore. On gross basis (non-Plan), it comes to Rs 572.82 crore. The major component of the increase in the revised estimates has been for payment of arrears on account of revision of pay scales to employees of the Chandigarh Administration. An additional sanction of more than Rs 36 crore has been made in the revised estimates. Similarly, to meet the increased demand of power supply, which reached 32 lakh units a day last summer, the Administration has been sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 33 crore. In lieu of the revised estimates, the Administration was persuaded to generate more revenue on its own to meet the deficit. Though originally the Administration had made a provision of generating Rs 425 crore, the target has now been enhanced to Rs 466 crore, showing an increase of Rs 41 crores. The main areas of revenue have been sales tax (Rs 135 crore), excise (Rs 38 crore) and sale of power (Rs 160 crore). The revision of sales tax on various items, including medicines, petrol and diesel, proposed by the Administration is probably on account of generating additional revenue. Earlier, the budgeted allocation for the year 1998-99 for the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which was initially pegged at Rs 116.87 crore has been finally fixed at Rs 137.76 crore, including Rs 6.18 crore as additional central assistance for Basic Minimum Services and Rs 1 crore for slum development programme. The Plan and non-Plan components put together come to Rs 600.58 crore of which Rs 466 crores would be generated as revenue by the Administration, meaning thereby that on ultimate basis, the Union Territory will virtually have a zero deficit budget for the current year. The Finance Department has
been closely monitoring the utilisation of budgetary
allocations and it has been made clear to all Heads of
Departments that there will be no last-minute clearance
of bills and sanctions this time. The clear directions
are that all allocations should be judiciously used
within the current financial year. |
CBI indicts
14 in bank fraud case CHANDIGARH, February 18 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has indicted 14 persons for allegedly defrauding Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank Limited of Rs 50 lakh. The CBI, during its investigations, found that the then managing director of the bank, four directors, three officials and four others entered into a criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat the bank by misusing their official positions as public servants for pecuniary benefits to members of their families, relatives, friends and even some non- existing persons. The loans of about 200 persons were cleared. Those charged are Gurnam Singh, the then managing director, Gurcharan Dass Kala, Jagtar Singh, Avtar Singh, Gurdial Singh, (all directors), Avtar Singh, Amarjit Singh, Malkiat Singh, (all bank officials), Bant Singh of Chandigarh, Gurmail Singh, Sardul Singh (both residents of Patiala district), Sarwan Singh of Panchkula and Amrik Singh of Ropar district. It was established that the loans sanctioned and disbursed to the loanees were mostly not utilised for the purposes they were meant for. A perusal of the loan documents showed that there were various discrepancies and the norms laid down by the Reserve Bank of India were not adhered to. Interestingly, the loan amounts were directly handed over to the loanees and that too in cash. The first information report (FIR) and charge sheet record that as a result of this Rs 29 lakh is still outstanding and the loans have become “sticky”. It was further revealed that among the loanees, five were members of the family of Gurcharan Dass Kala — his father, mother, wife and two brothers. Similarly, one of the loanees is the father of Avtar Singh, while Gurdial Singh and Jagtar Singh are related to several persons who have availed of the loans . Amarjit Singh, while posted as senior accountant-cum-branch manager, Mani Majra, put the bank to a loss of Rs 19.61 lakh as he did not bother to ask for utilisation certificates of the loan amounts or ascertain whether the documents submitted by the loanees were genuine or not. He also disbursed the highest loan amount, cleared by Gurdial Singh, a director, of Rs 10.28 lakh to Sarwan Singh, a resident of Mani Majra. The latter is the father of Avtar Singh, another director and member of the loan subcommittee. Similarly, an amount of Rs 4.5 lakh each disbursed to Sain Dass and Sadhu Singh, was also not used for the purpose mentioned in the loan application. In the case of Sain Dass, father of Gurcharan Dass Kala, another director and member of the committee, the value of the house pledged to the bank was Rs 7 lakh, which was found to be “vastly exaggerated so as to make it feel that the loan was fully secure”. The land proposed to be bought by Sadhu Singh was in Bartana village (Ropar), whereas the loan was passed from the Mani Majra branch. Loans can be availed of for projects within the city only. No land was, however, bought, the investigations revealed. Avtar Singh while posted as senior accountant-cum-branch in charge, Burail, put the bank to a loss of Rs 5.95 lakh by advancing loans varying from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.95 lakh. Two of the loanees submitted fake and bogus receipts, it was found. Malkiat Singh, while posted as senior accountant-cum-branch incharge, Sector 22, did not care to fulfil any formalities and caused the bank a loss of Rs 2.05 lakh. The highest amount of Rs 1.95 lakh, cleared by him, was to Rachpal Singh, who did not submit the utilisation certificate. The managing directors and directors were members of the loan subcommittee which cleared and sanctioned loans. Interestingly, on becoming managing director, Gurnam Singh issued a letter instructing all branches to supersede the letter written by the bank authorities in this context earlier that permission of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, was mandatory for the clearance of loans. The case came to light in
1994. The charge sheet was presented some time ago and
the accused have been charged under Section 120-B read
with Section 420, IPC, and Section 13(2), read with
Section 13 (1) (d), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. |
PGI OPDs
closed on Saturday CHANDIGARH, February 18 — In view of the strike by faculty members of the PGI, all planned surgeries at the institute have been put off and the out patients departments (OPDs) will remain closed on Saturday. The OPDs will, however, function tomorrow with the help of resident doctors, who are not on strike. The Director of the PGI, Prof B.K. Sharma, said: “We will not be discharging anyone during the two days. However, if the faculty persists with the strike then we may have to think on those lines.” Even in emergency junior doctors could handle only a certain number of surgeries. Emergency services would be run, he added. Later in the evening the PGI officially announced closure of the OPDs on Saturday. The Faculty Association has decided to go on strike to protest against the low wages and non-implementation of the modified Baksi Committee report. The doctors had proposed to go on strike on January 25 when the Prime Minister intervened and formed a high-powered ministerial committee to look into the demands of the doctors. Talks between doctors and the ministerial committee had failed a few days ago. Since then the 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. Doctors at the AIIMS, New
Delhi, are also on strike. |
Man drugged,
robbed in car, dumped CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A local resident, returning from Ludhiana, was drugged and robbed of Rs 45,000 by three car-borne tricksters on the way to Chandigarh before he was dumped in an unconscious state at a remote place in Sector 40 here last night. The man, Mr Arun Sharma of Sector 22, was shifted to the PGI at around 1 a.m. today when a passerby called up his home after checking his pockets for identification. Mr Arun Sharma, in his late thirties, had gone to Ludhiana on some official work of his employer — an S.A.S. Nagar-based engineering company. He was reportedly carrying a sum of Rs 45,000 of the company, besides a cheque of Rs 3.36 lakh, which was, however, not stolen. Though Arun could not talk clearly due to the after-effects of the drug, he recalled that he was waiting for a bus at the Samrala Chowk. Ludhiana, in the late evening hours yesterday when a red Maruti passed by, from which he sought lift. The car bore a Himachal Pradesh registration number and three youths were travelling in it. While one of them was heavily built, two others were of slender frame. On way to Chandigarh, the three men told Mr Sharma that they hailed from Amritsar and were going to Shimla where they studied. When the car had travelled about 15 km, the driver of the car stopped it at a milk-bar. Mr Sharma said he kept on sitting inside the car while the three men walked up and brought four bottles of sweetened milk. A bottle each was consumed by the three and a bottle was offered to Mr Sharma. He accepted it. Within a few minutes he fell unconscious, Mr Sharma said. It may be recalled that a similar incident had occurred a few days also when a resident of Kurukshetra, Randhir Singh, was looted in a likewise manner. He lost a sum of Rs 10,000, a watch and even his shoes. He had boarded a rickshaw from the Inter-State Bus Terminus, Sector 17. The rickshawpuller stopped after travelling a few 100 m to pick up another passenger. The fellow passenger probably put a drug-laced handkerchief around Randhir Singh’s nose. He became unconscious and was dumped in Sector 42. Incidents of drugging and
robbing have been taking place in roadways buses from
time to time. However, this may be the first reported
incident of a man having been drugged and robbed by
car-borne miscreants. |
Reports of
‘miracle’ in Shiva temples CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Thousands of devotees thronged various Shiva temples in the city and the satellite town of Panchkula as the word spread that idols of Lord Shiva had reportedly started changing colours. A Tribune team, which visited various temples, came across a large number of devotees waiting for “darshan” of the idol. A number of persons, claimed that the face of the idol started turning light blue from white in the Sanatan Dharma mandir in Sector 8, Panchkula, around 3.30 p.m. Long queues of devotees could be seen at many temples, including in Sectors 28, 19, 40 and Sector 9, Panchkula. The Tribune office
received many calls from curious devotees who wanted to
give detailed account of this “miracle”. |
PU
physicists search for Higgs CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Physicists of Panjab University are participating in the world’s ultimate experiment in high energy physics expanding vistas in the world of matter. The international quest is on for search of particles thought to be present at the time world expanded after the” Big Bang theory”.One such particle is called the Higgs. The experiments will go a long way in unravelling the mysteries of the unseen world of unimaginable particles involving unprecedented accelerators to generate collisions. It can create a minuscule “ pre- Big Bang ‘ world in laboratories. Panjab University team comprises Prof J.M.Kohli, Dr(Mrs) S.Beri, Dr J.B.Singh and Dr(Mrs) Manjit Kaur. The team had earlier collaborated with Fermilab (USA) during discovery of a particle called “Top quark”.The standard model had predicted the presence of six models out of which five had been identified earlier.The new experiment will make it possible to look into studies beyond the standard model. Talking to TNS, Dr Kohli today said more than 150 laboratories all over the world are working on the joint project of the European Centre for Nuclear Research(CERN), Geneva. Each laboratory will carry out the assigned job which will be assembled in Geneva for final research in 2005. Approximately1700 scientists are involved in the project. The CERN has involved 62 laboratories of member states (European), 50 from non- member states and 38 from the USA. The countries on the project include the UK, France, Germany, Greece, Finland, Hungary and Pakistan, Dr Kohli said. Particles like Higgs have an unimaginably tiny decaying period ( to the tune of 10 seconds).This makes it impossible to capture them.Such experiments need huge accelerators for generation of collisions which produce them.Direct application of such particles is found in the development of technology and computer software and hardware. The project is called the”International collaboration for search for new particles in the large Hadron Collider” at CERN(Geneva). In India, the partners are Bhabha Atomic Energy Centre (BARC), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Delhi University and PU. A “detector fabrication” laboratory will be set up at Panjab University for making important components of the accelerator which will be ultimately assembled in Geneva.The apparatus will be extensively tested on the campus laboratory, Dr Kohli said. The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 19.95 crore for the project.The foreign exchange component is Rs 10.77 crore. The LHC physics programme
at CERN represents the only possibility in the near
future to probe fundamental issues like search for Higg,
exploring beyond the standard model like looking for
supersymmetric; and several others, Dr Kohli added. |
Hindi middle paper out of
syllabus
CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Students taking the Hindi paper of the middle standard board examinations were shocked to find questions worth 60 marks completely out of syllabus. Most of them attempted the 40 marks grammar paper before coming out of the examination hall. The Registrar, Mrs
Joginder Moti, explained that the paper was not out of
syllabus but a mix-up had taken place in the books
prescribed for this session. “Till the last session,
`Aao Hindi Seekhen’ was being used by the students,
This year , however, it was changed to `Bal Bharti Part
V’ but somehow a few schools failed to get the
information. The paper was based on this book and hence
was considered out of syllabus by students who had
studied the earlier prescribed book,’’ she
says. Mrs Moti added, “The primary concern is the
interest of the students. I’m sending a circular to
centre superintendents on Saturday instructing the
re-examination of the affected students for the subject.
The paper will be held on March 1 and questions will be
based on the book these students have
studied.’’ |
Shopkeepers
resent PWD order ZIRAKPUR, February 18 — More than 40 shopkeepers of the town are having sleepless nights as they have been directed by the PWD (B and R) authorities to wind up their business establishments at the intersection on the Old Kalka-Patiala road here. Shopkeepers alleged that a Junior Engineer of the department, after the demarcation work at the Old Kalka-Patiala road, which falls under Lohgarh village, told them to pack up as the road was to be regularised up to Kalka. Meat shop owners, vegetable vendors and scrap dealers and other vendors are likely to be affected by the order. Mr Sandeep Kumar, who is running a general store, said the authorities were punishing the shopkeepers for no fault of theirs. He said that this road had been closed for the last 30 years. It only leads up to the PWD store nearby, he added. Ram Samujh, a teenager, who is dealing in scrap business established by his late father 25 years ago, complains that an officer had told him to vacate the shop as it falls within the marked boundary for the road. He further claimed that he was paying rent at the rate of Rs 40 per month to Gram Panchayats, Lohgarh, and had got the record of payment with him. He wondered how an official could direct them to vacate the shops. Mr Ram Swaroop, another scrap dealer who is doing the business for the last 20 years, laments, “I have four children and whatever I earn is all from scrap dealing. The removal of the shop will compel us to beg or starve”. Mr Baldev Raj, who is running a vegetable stall, said that the Junior Engineer was regularly visiting the spot and threatening them to vacate their shops. He alleged that he had threatened to use a bulldozer for any further delay in the removal of the shops. Mr Ramesh Kumar alleged that some officers of the PWD (B and R) department were threatening them, saying the land belonged to the department on which they were running their business. He said the department had not taken any action against the residents of the village, who had constructed their houses on the road. Some had even set up stone crusher units on the road, he said. Shopkeepers have threatened an agitation, if the authorities did not stop to harass them. The Sub Divisional
Engineer, Mr K.S. Bhinder, and Executive Engineer, Mr
J.S. Jujh, were not available for comments. The
Superintending Engineer, Mr C.J. Lal, when contacted,
said only the Executive Engineer concerned was aware of
the matter and refused to give details. |
Pak
delegation calls on Tara Singh CHANDIGARH, February 18 — The 23-member Pakistani delegation, in the city on the invitation of Folklore Research Academy, Chandigarh, moved around the city today. At a session at the Punjab Arts Council, Sector 16, in the morning, the delegation, led by Dr Khalid Javed Jan, was welcomed by the President of the council, D. Harcharan Singh. Later the delegation also visited the President of the Folklore Research Academy, Dr Tara Singh Sandhu, at his residence, who is convalescing after an accident. Dr Javed Jan expressed his
thanks to the people of the City Beautiful for their
hospitality, and extended an invitation to all the
members of the academy to visit Pakistan in the near
future. The team, which had expressed the desire to meet
Mr Nek Chand and visit the Rose Garden, left for Patiala
today without doing so, as they had been granted visa for
the city only for one day. |
Demand to
scrap auction policy CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Members of the Chandigarh Auto Mechanics Welfare Association have demanded the scrapping of the policy of limited auction of shops, besides including the sites earmarked near petrol pumps in the draw. Mr Mohinder Singh, President of the association, said the auction would only benefit property dealers as the dealers would bid in the name of mechanics. The whole process of
rehabilitation should be done as per the recommendations
of the High Court. The leadership of the association
should also be taken into confidence in all further
deliberations, he added. |
Online cash
counter in High Court CHANDIGARH, February 18
— The Department of Telecom has opened an online
cash counter at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. This
is the 13th cash counter of the department. Subscribers
in Chandigarh, S.A.S. Nagar and Panchkula or the outlying
rural exchanges, can deposit their bills at the cash
counters. |
CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A group of more than 250 students of Panjab University and local colleges today went in a procession to Anandpur Sahib. The “jatha” undertook the journey as part of celebrations of 300 years of the establishment of the Khalsa. The procession was led by “panj piaras” from the Students Centre up to the university gates from where it moved in buses and cars. The procession had a plan to stop at Gurudwara Bhattha Sahib and Kiratpur on the way. Among main organisers at the campus were Amrinder Singh, a member of the SGPC, Mr Devinder Singh, president of the Youth Akali Dal and Prabhsharan Singh, a research scholar of Guru Nanak Chair at PU. The Panjab University Publication Bureau, meanwhile, has decided to allow 10 per cent discount to all bona fide book sellers (over and above the existing discount) as part of the Khalsa celebrations. Government offices and libraries have been allowed 15 per cent discount, which will be available till April, 2000. The general and scholarly books published by the bureau include books on religion, economics, Gandhian studies, and philosophy. The list includes eminent writers such as Mulk Raj Anand, Niharranjan Ray, Jadunath Sarkar, Hari Ram Gupta, J.S.Grewal and V.R.Krishna Iyer. Separate chance: Panjab University has decided to hold separate examination for BA I,II and III students (compartment cases) in the subject of English compulsory only, a press note said here on Thursday. The examination will be held on March 31 at Ferozepore, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Moga only. Venue changed: The Panjab University Alumni Association will organise a cultural evening on February 20 at the auditorium of the Department of Evening Studies instead of Mathematics department, Dr R.C.Sobti, Dean Alumni relations, said here on Thursday. Senior alumni, who are above 75 years of age, will be honoured on the occasion. Sanskrit competition: Jairam Vidyapith (Kurukshetra University) won the Sanskrit shloka shield in a contest organised by the Sanskrit Department here on Thursday. Uchana Vidyapith from Haryana won the shield in the quiz contest. The individual winners were Jai Parkash from SLBS Sanskrit University, Delhi, and Vinod from Meerut University. Memorandum submitted: The National Students Union of India and the Panjab University Students Union in a memorandum submitted to the Vice-Chancellor on Thursday demanded postponement of the annual examination of the under-graduate classes by at least 15 days. It was pointed out that
syllabi was yet to be completed in a number of
colleges.The associations also criticised the DSW for
granting permission to a particular organisation for
organising flower’s day a few days after the
Valentine day. Earlier, the PUSU had been declined
permission on grounds that such events eroded values, the
release added. |
PANCHKULA, February 18 — The local police has booked a 50-year-old local resident for allegedly committing bigamy. His second wife, of four years, Ms Aprajita Kaushik, has alleged that her husband, Mr Ishwar Chandra, hid the fact that he had been married to a Gurgaon based woman more than 20 years ago. He had since then not obtained a divorce from his first wife, according to a compliant lodged by Ms Kaushik. The man was booked under sections 420, 494, 498-A, 406, 495 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Sector 5 police here. Mr Chandra has since then been arrested and remanded in police custody till tomorrow by the Duty Magistrate. The woman alleged that her husband committed bigamy by marrying her in April, 1995, without obtaining a divorce from his first wife. Mr Ishwar Chandra reportedly has a 24-year-old son at Gurgaon, living with his first wife, Ms Kaushik alleged. The marriage between Ms Kaushik, aged about 31 years, and Mr Ishwar Chandra took place against the wishes of the woman’s parents. Running a boutique, a polytechnic and a computer centre at Sector 11 Panchkula, Ms Kaushik apparently changed her name from Ms Seema Chandra to Ms Aprajita Kaushik, via a public notice in May, 1998, when she came to know about the existence of her husband’s first wife. She said that she had met her husband when she had come to Chandigarh from Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab for the purpose of some loan. Over a period of time Mr Chandra, a practising Company Secretary, proposed to her. The woman said that she took pity about the fact that he used to often say that he had no one to look after him. The reality of her husband dawned upon her when she received a phone call from an unknown woman, who said that Mr Chandra was already married. Cops suspended: Two Haryana Police personnel posted at the Sector 6 police post have been placed under suspension for an alleged act of negligence while on night patrol at Old Panchkula last night. Woman cheated: In yet another case a woman of Sector 16, whose name could not be ascertained, was cheated of her jewellery by a couple on the pretext of correcting her planetary influences here on Thursday. Stolen jewellery recovered: The local police has arrested Bala, a resident of Sector 36 in Chandigarh, in connection with the theft of jewellery items from a house in Sector 16 here a few days back. The total jewellery recovered from the woman is worth Rs 10,000. CHANDIGARH Hit and run: A student of Panjab University, Ms Neelam Batra, was injured when a car banged into her scooter and sped off. The police latter arrested the car driver, Manjyot Singh. Ms Batra, who is a resident of Laxmi Bai hostel, was driving her scooter (CH-01-C-3170) when a car ( CH-01-U-3006) hit her outside the PU campus gate No 2 facing Sector 15. The police registered a case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC. Stolen: A
person , who had come for some work to the Industrial
Area Phase II, lost his bag containing a sum of Rs
20,000. The bag was lying in the glove compartment of his
scooter. |
CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Even as the prices of different varieties of turmeric have come down during the past one week, the commodity is still being sold at the old prices in the retail market. A survey reveals that though there is no major fluctuation in the prices of most spices, turmeric prices have started coming down largely due to the arrival of fresh crop in the market. A quintal of the commonly-used ‘Nizamabad phali’ variety of the commodity was priced at Rs 4,000 in the wholesale market today. The same variety had been priced at Rs 4,400 a quintal during last week. Similarly, the price of ‘Erode phali’ variety had come down from Rs 5,000 to Rs 4,700 a quintal during this period. According to sources, the prices of the commodity had come down due to fresh arrivals from Nizamabad and Erode, the two major turmeric-producing areas of the country. “The prices are bound to witness a further decline between Rs 500 and Rs 600 a quintal due to a bumper turmeric crop this year,” predicted Mr Ram Karan Gupta,President of the local Grain Market Association. However, taking advantage of the lack of awareness among consumers, the retailers are selling turmeric at almost double the price than that in the wholesale market. It was found that 1 kg of turmeric was priced between Rs 60 and Rs 70. There was, however, no
change in the prices of other spices such as black
pepper, red chilies and cloves during this period. A
kilogram of ‘zira’ is priced at Rs 75 in the
wholesale market, while the retail price of the commodity
is between Rs 80 and Rs 90 per kg. Similarly,
good-quality blackpepper is available for Rs 280 per kg
in the retail market, while the wholesale price of the
commodity is Rs 240. The price of cloves is stable at Rs
65 per kg since last year, when these were selling at an
astronomical rate of between Rs 200 and Rs 250 a kg. |
Bengal
magic on canvas CHANDIGARH, February 18 — An exhibition of 96 works of 28 artists from Bengal, including Shekhar Roy, Partho Sarthi Chattopadhya, Partho Dutt, Santanu Maity, Asit Sarkar, Subroto Das, Kalipada Puikait, Dipti Narayan, the twins Debashish and Ashish and Ashim Ghosh, will be held at the Sector 9 Art Folio from tomorrow. Most of the participating artists are graduates from the prestigious Government College of Art, Calcutta, and Santiniketan. They belong to the genre of the finest water colourists of the country. Bengal has been a bowl of creative energy, and Bengal washes have not only established a distinct identity but also stand out for their ethereal and rural charm. From water colours,
tempera,oil pastels, charcoal sketches, to ink and pen
and mixed media works, the young artists from Bengal make
a strong statement. Their strength lies in the command of
their technique, a mastery over the medium and a deeply
emotive spirit.Seductive colours and dramatic figurative
work communicate easily with the viewer. |
District
issue in way of proposed MC ZIRAKPUR, February 18 — What has gone wrong with the proposed setting up of a municipal committee here? This is the question repeatedly asked by local residents and others concerned. The unbridled and unplanned growth of this suburb, the gateway to Chandigarh from the Haryana-Delhi side, has become a pock-mark on the face of City Beautiful. In fact, the issue of setting up an MC here is a big deal for all those engaged in the business of real estate. Such people lay a trap for potential buyers of property by telling them that the creation of the committee is just a matter of days. The fate of the proposed MC here is stuck up in the revenue boundaries of two districts — Patiala and Ropar. Only after this issue is resolved, can the committee be set up. Zirakpur, in fact, is a part of a cluster of villages which has grown into a suburb in the past few years. Originally having only 20 houses or so, Zirakpur village falls in Ropar district. Lohgarh village, which shares its revenue boundary with Zirakpur falls in Patiala district as also the area opposite Zirakpur towards Panchkula. The revenue boundaries of both districts zig-zag in such a way in this area that it is very difficult to pin-point which part is in Patiala district and which in Ropar district. Officials told TNS that either side of the Zirakpur-Patiala road within the populated area here falls in Patiala district. In fact, the road passes through the land belonging to Lohgarh village which is a part of Patiala district. This area is popularly known as Zirakpur and nobody makes mention of the name of Lohgarh village. The Local Bodies authorities explained that as the area where the municipal committee is to be set up falls in two districts, it will not be easy to set up the MC until the area is brought in the jurisdiction of one district. They said that they had mooted a proposal for transferring Zirakpur and the adjacent suburb towards Chandigarh side to Patiala district for the purpose of setting up the MC. How long this proposal will take to mature, nobody knows. Whether the Ropar district authorities allow such a transfer of area to Patiala district is another question. Zirakpur, Lohgarh and Pabhat villages are growing as one unit into a suburb. So, it would not be wise to leave the Lohgarh side or other adjacent area out of the proposed municipal committee. The authorities said that as soon as the issue of boundaries and the areas to be included in the proposed municipal committee is resolved, a draft notification would be issued for setting up the MC and people would be given time to file the objections. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, said that local suburb had become a major commercial hub adjacent to Chandigarh. Business of crores was being done here on the daily basis as all big companies had their clearing houses here. The local committee when set up would be self-dependent as it would have a lot of revenue-generating resources. “We are trying our best for the planned growth of the local town and to beautify it by taking certain steps,” he added. Local residents say that
the prevailing chaotic conditions here need to be
controlled. There is no proper traffic management, no
proper schemes for the development and no proper
arrangement to prevent crime. All this is because of
prevailing confusion about the exact boundaries of
Patiala and Ropar revenue districts in this area. |
Sector 70
flat allottees an unhappy lot SAS NAGAR, February 18 — Residents of the newly-built four-storeyed flats in Sector 70 here are unhappy over the construction work in the houses allotted to them by PUDA. Complaints of various kinds of poor quality of work have been received. One wonders what the quality control wing of PUDA was doing when work on the project was going on. As many as 784 flats were built. The possession of these was given to allottees about four months ago. At present, about 200 have been actually occupied. The complaints by the allottees relate mainly to flooring, seepage, woodwork and the delay in getting power connections from the PSEB. Mrs Kawaljit Kaur, a first-floor resident, said that the floors, supposed to be made of white cement, looked rough despite repeated efforts to rub and polish them. There were ugly patches on the floors. The floor level of one of her bathrooms was not right and water overflowed into the bedroom. The wood used was of such a poor quality, she said, that she had to get the cupboards changed at her own expense. Aluminium wiring had been laid in the house which could not bear the additional power load. She had not yet got a power connection and was running the system on a temporary one. It cost her almost double the normal charges. Mr Santokh Singh, a ground-floor resident, also complained about the floor quality. He said that there was seepage in one of his bathrooms and the storeroom. Ironically, this happened even when no one had occupied the upper floors. He said that a proper concrete base had not been provided below the bathroom floors. He had to change the wooden cupboards because of the poor work provided by PUDA. He said that he was compelled to bribe PSEB officials to get the power connection. Mr J.S. Patti, another resident, said he had got the floors rubbed and polished twice but still these looked rough. The floor level in the drawing-cum-dining room was also not right. He said PUDA had specified that ‘hollock” wood would be used in the buildings, instead some inferior quality wood had been used. He regretted that despite applying for a power connection in mid-November and completing all formalities by December-end, he still hadn’t got it. Some residents also complained that the area of flats constructed on top of garages, was more as compared to the other flats. They said that this was unfair as there was no difference in the cost. Ms Seema Jain, Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, said that work on the flats had been done according to the specifications. She also said a major part of the project had been personally supervised by Mr I.S. Sokhi, Divisional Engineer. As far as equal distribution of the area was concerned, there were minor variations in certain flats. This, she said, was because of the design and construction which had to be done according to the space available. Mr G.R. Jakhu, Superintending Engineer, PUDA, said that he had been posted in the town when almost the entire project had been completed. He also said the quality control wing was an independent body and must have checked for quality from time to time. He claimed that in case of
the flooring, white cement had not been used but ordinary
cement as per the specifications. Regarding the woodwork
he said, without subjecting the material to scientific
tests, nothing could be said he said that aluminium
wiring had been done in the flats because of cost
considerations and restrictions by the Government on the
use of copper wire. |
PU nod for
B.Ed course CHANDIGARH, February 18 — In a significant decision the Board of Studies in Education of Panjab University has recommended in principle the introduction of Bachelor of Education course through correspondence from forthcoming session (1999-2000). At a meeting held yesterday the board decided that the course would be of two years’ duration.The modalities in admission procedures would be framed subsequently for which the convener had been authorised to constitute a sub-committee. The board decided that necessary changes be incorporated in the B. Ed syllabus for blind students.The decision was taken following an application of a student of the Government College of Education, Sector 20.The Principal of the college has been authorised to take the necessary action for conduct of examination of the candidate. The tentative date for holding the annual examination of B. Ed and M. Ed courses is April 21. Many members were of the opinion that Ludhiana should be made the centre for spot evaluation from the current session. Certain members, however, showed resentment at the university’ s decision to make the dissertation of M. Ed students at PU campus optional during this session.It was felt that the Vice-Chancellor had “ exceeded his powers” in making the dissertation optional in the current session. Members pointed out that the VC should have at least taken the Dean of the Education, faculty and other members into confidence while taking the decision.A meeting could have been convened. The board approved that in future M. Ed dissertation be made optional. Various topics for dissertation were also approved at the meeting apart from the list of examiners. Delay in submitting the
dissertations was condoned for a period of 45 days.The
board, however, noted that the delay had been condoned
for this year alone and should not be made a precedent.
|
Sector 20
gets a park CHANDIGARH, February 18 — It is a beautiful gift from the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) to the residents of one of the most-congested areas of City Beautiful: Sector 20. With the development of a new major park on the ground behind Gaudiya Math in the Sector , the long-pending demand of the sector and the surrounding areas has been met. Developed at a cost of over Rs 4 lakh made available through the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund, by the MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, the work on the park, a part of the greenbelt of the Sector, began on November 1, 1997. In the first phase, levelling of ground was done and fresh grass laid by the Horticulture wing of the corporation, according to the sources. The sources added that about 250 trees, including shrubs, had been planted in the green belt. Only shrubs had been planted on the side facing the rear of the houses in the Sector so that there was no shadow on the houses. Besides this, about 15 varieties of the winter flowers have been planted in the 25-odd flowers beds. Prominent among the flowers varieties are phlox, dahlia, aster, petunia and allysum. For relaxation of the visitors, benches have been placed on the corners of the park. Swings for children have been installed in one corner. Controlled entry, coupled with the barricading of the green belt, is designed to ensure that the flower beds and grass are not damaged by the stray cattle and trespassers. A visit to the park today revealed that the flowers in most of the beds are in full bloom. The staff of the Horticulture wing was tending to the flower and mowing grass. Meanwhile, the residents have welcomed the development of the park. Mr Madan Gupta “Spatu”, a resident of Sector 20 for the past over 30 years, said it was good that the MCC had developed the park. But efforts should be made to maintain it properly he added. The area councillor, Mrs Shanta Abhilashi, informed that with the development of the park, a major demand of the residents of the area had been met. “As the area is one of the most congested areas of the city, in the absence of a major park, the residents, particularly early morning strollers, faced many a difficulty”, she added. She added that efforts were being made to install more swings for children and fancy lights in the park so that it could be used during the night also. Mr Jain said he had invited suggestions from the residents welfare associations so that such parks could be developed in other sectors also. Meanwhile, the civic body
has decided to develop two more greenbelts in Sectors 44
and 46. Tubewells in these greenbelts have been sunk and
the work is likely to start next month. The work on the
greenbelts is likely to be completed by March next year. |
Finance
Secretary’s assurance CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A delegation of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal today called on the UT Finance Secretary, Dr G Vajralingam, and submitted a memorandum to him. According to a press note of the mandal here, Dr Vajralingam assured the delegation that its demand regarding deposit of sales tax through various nationalised banks instead of the treasury would be conceded soon. The Finance Secretary assured that he would refer all proposals regarding the building bylaws to the Chief Architect. He also assured early rationalisation of the sales tax rates. A copy of the memorandum
was also submitted to the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain,
who promised to take up all issues with the Chandigarh
Administration. |
4-kg tumour
removed from uterus PANCHKULA, February 18 — A 50-year-old woman of Kalka who was made to believe after a test that she was six months pregnant by a private clinic did not know that, instead, she was carrying a 4-kg tumour in her uterus. It was only when she landed at the Outdoor Patients Department (OPD) of the local General Hospital for the termination of the “ unwanted pregnancy” and told the symptoms that the doctors got an ultrasound test done. The test pointed the needle towards the existence of a molar pregnancy. The woman belonging to labour class complained about bleeding from uterus and underwent a test from the a private clinic — in which samples of urine showed symptoms of pregnancy. With this in mind she came to the hospital for abortion. The SMO of the hospital, Dr Kamla Singh, who operated upon the woman on Wednesday disclosed that it had rare clinical symptoms of a pregnancy. It was diagnosed as a fibroid uterus with degenerative changes. Though the ultrasound tests indicated it to be a case of molar pregnancy, a special test ( histopathology), in which parts of the tissue are examined under a microscope, confirmed it to be a tumour. Dr Singh said it took two hours to remove the exceptionally large tumour. Five units of blood were arranged for the patient, of which three units were used. The woman is recovering in the indoor patients ward of the hospital. Three weeks ago, Ms Kamla
Devi, a resident of Manimajra was operated upon to remove
a 2.5-kg tumour and in another case a 1.5-kg tumor was
removed from Ms Sarla at the hospital.
|
Book
attackers of college guards: staff CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A dharna was organised by the non-teaching employees of the SGGS College, Sector 26, outside the principal’s office, here today. They were demanding action against three persons who had beaten up two night watchmen while they were on duty on the campus yesterday. The staff alleged the
three had come in a car (DL-6CE-7128) and had beaten Mr
Krishan Chand and Mr Dhanna Singh without any
provocation.
|
A neglected
road MUBARAKPUR, February 18 — The Ramgarh-Mubarakpur road is a picture of neglect, thanks to the indifferent attitude of the road maintenance authorities. Potholes and unmetalled stretches mark the accident-prone area. The volume of traffic on the approximately 10-km stretch has increased manifold over the past few years. Trucks constitute a major chunk of vehicles largely due to the presence of a large number of crushers in the areas. Hundreds of trucks also pass through this nearly “kutcha” road to the neighbouring Dera Bassi area. Residents of the area blame the authorities as well as the stone crushers of the poor condition of the road. Residents point out that there are at least 30 stone crushing units and all have on an average four to five trucks each. According to an estimate, more than 1,000 heavy vehicles use the road daily. The people blame the authorities for neglecting roads in the area. They say that several complaints to the authorities have not shown any results. Surprisingly, the PWD Rest House, where VIPs stay, is just 50 metres from the market. Residents allege that no repair of the road has been undertaken for over three years. “Some patchwork is done when a VIP visits the area”. The stone crusher owners demand immediate repair of the road. The vice-president of the Mubarakpur Stone Crusher Owners Association, Mr Basant Kumar says: “We pay various taxes yet we are not provided even good roads. The broken road has affected our business as we have to spend more on the maintenance of our vehicles. We have to load the lesser quantity of stone in our trucks as the poor roads do not allow us the standard loading.” The poorly maintained
bridge on the road is a potential accident-prone spot.
The railing on the bridge is also broken. |
Where small
buck fetches gems CHANDIGARH: A college girl saves Shakespeare from rotting away on a pavement. She buys an old volume of the ‘Complete works of William Shakespeare’, off the pavement, for just Rs 150. Mirza Ghalib and Mir Taqi Mir can be bought for as less as Rs 15. The poets, buried in the privacy of the pages of their works, share a dusty patch of land with Ian Fleming, Robin Cook and those tall, dark and handsome men of the ‘Mills and Boons’ series. Welcome to the old books market in Sector 15, outside the university. You have entered the economy zone where a little buck goes a long, long way. The place hasn’t changed much since our fathers’ time. No one knows exactly how long has it been like this. Ask the old timers and the answer would be, “The books have always been here.” The bit of land is not big but it serves the purpose. Rain, dust, mud, bookworms — the books brave everything. A bibliomaniac-like madness descends over all who bend down to look at the books. If prices at the book stores scare you away, it is time to pick up your senses from the shelf, dust them, put them inside your brain and come here to have a look. With a little bit of luck you may find a stray copy, autographed by the author with a note to a friend, as someone actually did. The apartheid seen at a fancy book store is not found here. Books have just been stacked together at random. Those who are patient enough to take a dive in this sea of books, usually fish a gem like ‘Zulfi My Friend’, written by Piloo Mody. You thank the person who sold that copy here, give 30 chips to the shopkeeper and take home the gem. Textbooks sell more than any other books here, followed by popular fiction and magazines. Expect the seller to know the name of every textbook. He knows the entire syllabus of your son’s course. The profit margin for the sellers is from 2 per cent to 10 per cent and they buy the books at 40 per cent of their original price. A little bit of bargaining is always useful, though rarely required. The reason behind their profit margin being so less is perhaps that their turnover is large. The customers trust the prices. Students exchange surprised looks after finding a copy of ‘How to Write Love Letters’. Hard work pays. It is hard for everybody to stay crouched for long, but everyone does that. The books remain there all night, unguarded, they are so badly arranged that a thief will have to sift through all the books before he finds his copy. There are no shutters. To open the shop, the owner would just remove the tarpaulin. Shoplifting is rare and the owners are happy. A jerk once sold a copy of
the Gutenberg Bible at such a place. He did not regret
when he was told that he had thrown away the first
printed book in the history of the mankind, worth several
millions. He said that his copy would have fetched no
money as some fool named Martin Luther had scribbled
notes on it. |
College
teachers strike work CHANDIGARH, February 18 —Teachers working in approximately 160 non- government aided colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh went on a lightning strike today, a press note of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union said here today. Mr N.P.Manocha, Finance Secretary, of PCCTU said rallies were also organised at the district and the tehsil level for immediate release of the revised pay scales.Mr Manocha said any deviation from the notification of the Centre will force teachers to launch an agitation. Prof R.R.Rawat, Secretary of the local unit of the PCCTU, in a separate press note, said the strike was complete in the colleges of the city. He said that teachers were firm on boycotting examination duties in case their demands were not accepted. Dr G.S.Brar, Secretary of the union, asked the Punjab Government to avoid any delay in restoring the academic atmosphere.He said teachers would be forced to court arrest during the Vidhan Sabha session. The Panjab University
Teachers Association, in a note, said university teachers
boycotted two classes for the second day in succession. |
CPI
volunteers court arrest Chandigarh, February 18
— A large number of volunteers of the local unit of
the CPI courted arrest here today. The protesters, led by
Mr Madan Lal Didi, Ms Sheela Didi, Mr H S Gambhir, Ms
Mohinder Kaur Sambhar, Mr Hardayal Hundal, Mr Devi Dayal
Sharma and Mr Dev Raj, were protesting against the rising
attacks on minorities and hike in the prices of essential
commodities. |
Seminar on
teacher education begins CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A three-day seminar-cum-workshop on “Quality teacher education: Policy, planning and strategies for implementation of National Council of Teacher Education curriculum framework’’ began at the ICSSR complex, Panjab University, here today. The NCTE is a statutory body formed to oversee and coordinate multifarious programmes relating to teacher education in the country. The seminar has been organised by the Institute for Development and Communication in collaboration with the Department of Education of the university. The inaugural session began with the keynote address by Prof J.S. Rajput, Chairman of the NCTE, New Delhi. He explained that at the centre of the curriculum was the individual student. It was a document for the consideration of teachers. He stressed, “the NCTE is rooted in Indian reality but committed to progress.” The seminar was inaugurated by Prof M.M. Puri, Vice-Chancellor of the university. He pointed out that the world was shrinking with the media of information increasing. The teacher was no longer the only source of knowledge and there was no point in exaggerating the role of the teacher to the extent of blocking out the other media. The children, too, have a far higher level of information, while most teachers have transcended classrooms. He further added that due to limited time at their disposal, teachers indulge in selectivity, which results in arbitrariness. He advised the teachers to “avoid any pretence at profundity”. The first technical session discussed the structure, pedagogy and policy framework of the curriculum, while the second session concentrated on the proposed increase in the duration of the Bed course from one to two years. The participants at the
sessions were Prof Sudesh Gakhar, Prof Anand Bhushan and
Prof Harish Sharma from the Department of Education,
Panjab University, and Prof Madhosh from the University
of Kashmir, Srinagar.
|
Wasnik’s
call to Cong cells CHANDIGARH, February 18 — Mr Mukul Wasnik, Secretary, All-India Congress Committee, today called upon all women office-bearers of various cells of the party to enrol more women members in the party. He was speaking at a meeting of the party held at the Sector 35 Congress Bhavan here. Mr Venod Sharma,
President, Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee,
appreciated the step taken by the AICC President, Mrs
Sonia Gandhi. |
Dealer-customer
interaction CHANDIGARH, February 18 — It was a customers’ meet with a difference. Unlike most car distributors/dealers who avoid car customers getting together at a place, Mrs Gita Talwar, perhaps the only woman distributor of Hyundai, today took the initiative of securing the feedback of customers who had purchased Santro during the past four months. More than 75 customers who participated in the interaction with manufacturers’ representatives, including the Chairman, Mr Y.S. Kim, had nothing to grumble about the performance or the after-sales service of the car even in times of emergency situations. However, they disputed claims on fuel consumption. Mr B.V.R. Subbu, Director, Marketing and Sales, Hyundai, told newsmen that out of 1,000 cars sold in Punjab and Chandigarh during the past four months, there were reports of merely two or three breakdowns where a mechanic had to be sent to rectify fault. Hyundai, Mr Subhu said, had already won 35 per cent share in the small car market in the country, aimed at selling 20,000 cars in the New Year. The company proposes to bring out a scheme for the salaried-class by staggering payment over six years with a monthly instalment of between Rs 4500 and Rs 4700. Hyundai had already set up
70 dealer workshops — almost each at a distance of
200 km from one another. This number was likely to go up
to 400 by end of the next year. |
Book fair
from Feb 20 CHANDIGARH, February 18 — A feast for book lovers of the city and its surrounding areas is in the offing. The National Book Trust in collaboration with the Chandigarh Administration will organise a book fair at the Sector 17 Circus Ground from February 20 to 28. The major attraction of the fair will be the Punjabi pavilion where publishers of books in Punjabi will display and sell their publications. To encourage participation by publishers of books in other Indian languages, the organisers have decided to give 50 per cent discount in the rental to them. Meet-the-author sessions,
a seminar on Punjabi publishing, an
educational-cum-activity workshop for children, a
“kahani” darbar, a kavi darbar, book release
functions and other books-related activities will be
other attractions of the fair.
|
IT can
‘enhance’ productivity CHANDIGARH, February 18 — An exhibition on information technology and two special lectures were the highlights of productivity week celebrations by the Labour Bureau in Sector 17 here today. Mr Ajit Singh Balhotra, Regional Director of the National Productivity Council, and Mr Sanjiv Bawa, General Manager of the Punjab State Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), stressed the need of using information technology for enhancing productivity. The Managing Director of the PSIEC, Capt Narinder Singh, was the chief guest. Earlier, in the morning, Mr R.S. Gill, Director-General of the Labour Bureau, inaugurated an exhibition on information technology in the conference room of the bureau. A large number of vendors of information technology products participated in the exhibition. Meanwhile, Ms Darshana and
Mr Vinod Ji Talashi, won the first and second prizes,
respectively, in the essay-writing contest organised by
the bureau on the topic of “information technology
for productivity” here yesterday. Ms Swatantar
Sharma bagged the third prize. |
Science Day
function on February 22 CHANDIGARH, February 18— As part of the National Science Day celebrations, the Haryana State Council for Science and Technology (HSCST) will organise a state-level function on February 22 at Panchkula. Stating this here today, the Director, Science and Technology, Mrs Sumita Singh, said a state-level science quiz contest, science exhibition and cultural programme would be held at Panchkula with a view to testing the scientific knowledge of students. It would also provide them a forum for acquiring the latest information in the field of science and technology. The theme selected for the National Science Day celebration this year is "Harnessing information technology". The Haryana Local Government and Social Welfare Minister, Dr Kamla Verma, will be the chief guest. Mrs Singh said various
programmes like science exhibitions, science shows,
declamation contests based on scientific topics, science
model contests would be held at over 40 schools and
colleges. |
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