& V I C I N I T Y
Saturday, February 20, 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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Saturday, February 20, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Senior
PGI doctors on strike |
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Of leaking
tap, thieves & apathetic MCC New
panchayats pass same old resolutions
135
publishers feature in fair Cultural
show by the blind And
they call it a road ‘Priority
to senior citizens’ boards in OPDs sought Chef
Lakeview to get facelift Electronics
firm ‘facing closure’ Enchanting
hostel function ‘SC
gives mothers their due. Will society follow?’ Stench
and sullage all around UK
teachers visit city schools today |
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HUDA to
acquire 900 acres PANCHKULA, February 19 — With a view to protecting vast tracts of agricultural land around Mansa Devi from indiscriminate constructions, the Haryana Government has decided to acquire over 900 acres of land lying north-east of the Sukhna Lake. The area to be acquired, which falls in Haryana and is surrounded on three sides by the Sukhna Lake, the Shivalik hills and the Mani Majra township, is under serious threat from private colonisers. At least 100 unauthorised structures have already come up in the area. The government proposes to develop the area for residential, commercial and recreational purposes. Sources in the Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana, say that the emphasis will be on “eco-friendly urbanisation”. There will be low-density urbanisation, besides keeping sufficient area under green cover. The catchment area of the Sukhna Lake, which falls in Haryana and already stands acquired, is not being considered for urbanisation and would be preserved in its present form. This, the officials say, would protect the natural landscape along the foothills of the Shivaliks from encroachment and haphazard growth. In fact the planned development of the area, which has been divided into Sectors 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Mansa Devi urban complex, could not be undertaken by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) after the Union Government raised certain objections to the project in the late eighties. The Union Ministry of Environment had pointed out that the ecologically fragile catchment area of the Sukhna Lake, which had been declared as one of the major wet lands in the country, would be disturbed by urbanisation. As a result only 267 acres of land was acquired for Sectors 4 and 5 in 1984. The issue of acquiring land was discussed at a recent meeting of the Coordination Committee chaired by the Secretary, Urban Development, Government of India, to discuss sustainable development of Chandigarh and its periphery. It was felt that encroachments in the periphery area should be prevented. Moreover, it was decided to protect the Sukhna Lake and its catchment area from encroachment. After detailed discussions, the proposed development plan of the area was approved by the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal. Sources say that of the 900 acres of land to be acquired , at least 100 acres would be kept for the expansion of the Mansa Devi temple complex and 450 acres for recreational purposes like creating a small lake and a golf course. Views of the Irrigation and Forest Departments have been sought to provide sufficient green cover in the area. Around 50 acres of land in
parts of Sectors 3 and 5 would be used for commercial
purposes. Two villages — Saketri and Bhainsa Tibba
—which would fall within the acquired land, would be
retained as such. The basic amenities in the villages
would be provided by HUDA. |
Senior PGI
doctors on strike CHANDIGARH, February 19 — With senior doctors at the PGI striking work, services at the institute were severely crippled today. All planned surgeries were put off, the OPDs had fewer patients and several patients reporting at the emergency had to be referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. The situation is going to deteriorate tomorrow when the OPDs will be closed and surgeries put off once again due to the strike. On an average, around 70 to 75 major and minor surgeries are performed daily at the PGI. Another 2200 patients visit the OPDs. Today the number stood at 1796. The Medical Superintendent of the PGI, Dr A.K. Gupta, said that rescheduling of the surgeries that have been cancelled for today and tomorrow has been left in the hands of the respective Head of the Departments (HODs) and faculty members. The OPDs were open today as the institute could not inform the public in time. Patients requiring supervision under consultants are being referred to the GMCH and the General Hospital, Sector 16. The usually busy emergency at the PGI could admit only 21 patients till 3 pm. On the other hand, 54 persons had been admitted to the emergency at GMCH by 5 pm. Sources in the GMCH said that they were receiving several patients from the PGI. However, none had a referral slip. At the PGI deliveries were carried out normally. Six operations, all emergency cases, were performed at the PGI. All other emergency cases , including six cases of neuro-surgery, were referred to the GMCH to be operated upon by neurosurgeon V.K. Kak. Meanwhile, the PGI
authorities said they had a contingency plan ready in
case doctors extended their strike. Faculty members of
the PGI are on two-day strike that will end tomorrow. The
doctors are demanding better wages and implementation of
the modified Baksi Committee report on new pay scales.The
future course of action by the doctors will be decided
during a general body meeting of the Faculty Association
on Monday, a spokesperson said. IMA
support for PGI doctors CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The local unit of the Indian Medical Association has condemned the idea of the Chandigarh Administration in penalising doctors who have been running nursing homes from residential areas in the absence of any policy of the Administration. The rates of the alternate sites offered by the Administration were exorbitant and arbitrary, a press release of the IMA said. The IMA has also supported the justified demands of the PGI and AIIMS faculty. The very fact that the
Central Government was not implementing its own report
smacks of bias against the medical profession. The IMA
urged the government to accept the demands of the doctors
so that work could be resumed. |
Few takers
for select numbers CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The numeral eight (8) has the least acceptability as paid registration number for motor vehicles. Of the four series of registration numbers run by the Chandigarh Administration ever since the introduction of fee on selected numbers, there has been only one applicant for number eight. Among the single digit numbers, number 1 has generated the maximum demand. The fee for getting number one of any series is Rs 25,000. Though the remaining single digit numbers and a few double digit numbers are priced at Rs 15,000 each, all other single digit numbers with the exception of eight, have gone. Interestingly, in the double digit series, 14 and 18 have emerged as most acceptable numbers. For example in the CH01U and CH01V series, there were no takers for another common number - 11 (eleven) — while 14 and 18 have been sold in all the four series. Interestingly, there are hardly any takers for double digit identicals like 22, 33, 44, and 55 also. From the CH01U series from which the new scheme, became applicable, only 22 of the specified 269 preferred numbers could be allotted on payment of fee varying between Rs 5,000 for selected four-digit number to Rs 25,000 for number one. The second series, CH01V, performed better and 41 numbers were allotted on payment basis. It generated a revenue of Rs 4.05 lakh. The third series, CH01W, witnessed the sale of 42 of the preferred numbers against a return of Rs 3.60 lakh while the latest series, CH01X, has witnessed the sale of 51 of these preferred numbers to generate the maximum from any series so far - Rs 4.60 lakh. Though the Haryana Government has discontinued the practice of allotting specified registration numbers on payment basis, the Chandigarh Administra-tion, says its Transport Secretary, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, has no such plans to do so. Investigations reveal that even in the Rs 5,000 category, there are hardly any takers for preferred numbers like 1111, 2222, 3333,4444 and 5555. Instead, vehicle owners have preferred 1010, 1313, 2727 etc., etc. Similarly, in the three digit category, vehicle owners have placed more faith in numbers like 202, 303, 567 and 808 than conventionally acceptable numbers like 111, 222, 333 or even 777. It may be recalled that
fee on select numbers was introduced about a year ago. At
that time, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh - all planned
to introduce this system so as to minimise discretion of
the authorities concerned in allotment of some of the
most sought after registration numbers. |
135
publishers feature in fair CHANDIGARH, February 19 —As many as 135 publishers will feature in the Chandigarh Book Fair being organised by the National Book Trust at the Circus Ground, Sector 17, tomorrow onwards. Participants will display books in all languages of India and have arrived from Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, besides others. Exhibitors could be seen giving finishing touches to stalls till late this evening. The highlight of the fair, which will continue till February 28 will be a special pavilion for Punjabi books. As many as 16 publishers will put up their books. The fair was formally inaugurated here this evening by Mr Kartar Singh Duggal, an eminent Punjabi writer and a member of the Rajya Sabha. In his inaugural address Mr Duggal said with spiralling of prices, books today were out of reach of a common man. The solution was a chain of libraries, well-equipped and up to date. He said there was a holistic relationship between public education and public library services. Public libraries support the removal of illiteracy and prevent dropouts from lapsing into illiteracy. What was wrong with library services in India was that a large percentage of funds earmarked for libraries were spent on salaries of staff and maintenance. Nearly 80 per cent of books produced in the country were bought by libraries. It was also true that a bulk of this 80 per cent was “trash”. Another factor responsible for mischief in the library system was the outdated system of tenders.It was important to have a central committee of scholars, educationists and creative writers to make selection of books for libraries, Mr Duggal said. Mr Duggal was critical of the electronic system and went to the extent of saying “with its barrage of advertising, unbridled consumerism, popular audio-visual shows of minimal cultural content, laced with lurid sex and violence,the electronic media is eroding the moral values of society”. Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Education secretary, Chandigarh said while talking of increasing reading habits one should also bear in mind that a child had very less time to read given the workload of the school. The right age to initiate children into reading was six years. She said efforts were being made to strengthen library facilities in primary schools of the city. Santokh Singh Dhir, an eminent Punjabi poet, said there was no book culture in Punjab. People remained largely uneducated towards the value of the books. He said Punjabi book fairs should be held on a regular basis. Harcharan Singh, a renowned Punjabi playwright, stressed the need for women education if book culture was to be made popular. Earlier, Mr Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee, Director of the National Book Trust, underlined the aims and objectives of the trust. He said apart from trade, the fairs provided a platform for interaction between audience, writers and publishers. Interactions with writers will be organised on different evenings. On the evening of February 21, the general public can interact with Mohan Bhandari, winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award. Gulzar Singh Sandhu, another Sahitya Akademi Award winner, will feature in an interaction on February 22. A Punjabi “kahani darbar” will be organised on February 23; renowned Hindi writer Nirmal Verma will interact on February 24; and Arvind Kumar will feature in an interaction on February 25. A children’s creativity workshop will also be held on the same day. The fair will also have a
Punjabi “kavi darbar” on February 26 and a
seminar on problems facing Punjabi publishers. |
Cultural
show by the blind CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The students of the Institute of Blind, Sector 26, Chandigarh, today presented a cultural programme at the school premises, to bid farewell to the outgoing students of Class XII of the institute. Commencing the evening with a welcome song, the students went on to present Balwant Gargi’s Punjabi play, ‘Rayee da Paharh’. The one-act hilarious play, about how rumours can be played up in the society, was directed by Mr Sodhi of the Chandigarh Kala Mandir. Later a Punjabi skit was also presented. The children of the institute also presented songs, ghazals and skits on the occasion. The highly developed music sense of most of these children was duly appreciated by the audience. The programme by the visually handicapped delighted the audience, and certainly did not seem any different from that of any other school’s cultural event. The giggly youngsters, both on-stage and off-stage, seemed to be enjoying every moment of today’s programme. The outgoing students of Class XII of the institute also presented five items on the occasion. The welcome address on the
occasion was given by the Chairman of the
Institute’s Managing Committee, Maj Gen-Rajendra
Nath (retd). |
‘Priority
to senior citizens’ boards in OPDs sought CHANDIGARH, February 19 — A delegation of the Residents Welfare Society, Sector 46, Chandigarh, today met Dr R. S. Sandhu, Director, Health Services (UT), regarding facilities to be provided to senior citizens as per the orders of the UT Administration. It demanded that the sign: ‘Priority to Senior Citizens’ be displayed at all OPDs, registration windows, X-rays and other inquiry sites in General Hospital, Sector 16, Health Centre, Sector 22, and all dispensaries. It also demanded that vacancies in the ayurvedic and homoeopathic dispensaries be filled. A colour dopplar echocardiography machine, to test the heart, and CT scan system was sought at General Hospital, Sector 16. Dr Sandhu promised to look
into the matter. |
Chef
Lakeview to get facelift CHANDIGARH, February 19 — In a bid to attract more tourists and visitors to the Sukhna Lake here, the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) has planned new facilities at Chef Lakeview. According to sources, its entry area and overall look are being improved upon. The parking area of the Lake Club is likely to be closed and entry to Chef Lakeview from this side will be given a facelift. The construction of a new toilet block has started. “The existing toilets are inadequate and located near the kitchen area, with the result that the visitors face inconvenience,” Mr Satish Chandra, Managing Director of CITCO, told TNS. “The Central Government had sanctioned Rs 6 lakh for the construction of the toilet block and it would be ready for public use by March. The existing toilets would then be used by CITCO staff only, he said. With the UT Electricity Department commissioning a new transformer, more power will be generated for the air-conditioners of the banquet hall of Chef Lakeview. Flooring of the roof of Chef Lakeview has been redone and chairs and tables have been placed to give it an “open air restaurant” look so that the visitors can have a better view of the lake from the rooftop. Landscaping of the two small parks on the premises is also being planned. Eight booths are also being renovated, the Managing Director said. A new modern jetty has been constructed in the boating area and 15 new boats, including six double-seater boats and nine four-seater boats, have been added. To make boating in the lake safer, wearing of life jackets has been made mandatory. Meanwhile, signboards
reading: “Swimming and bathing is prohibited in the
lake” have been installed. The Chandigarh
Administration had promised last year that such
signboards would be put up at different places on the
lake following the death of three teenagers who had
jumped into the lake for swimming near its regulator end. |
Enchanting
hostel function CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The sixth annual hostel function of the Government College for Girls, Sector 42, was a long enchanting dream with beautiful women in the best of attire sashaying down the ramp here today. The programme began with a welcome dance followed by a session of modelling. A trekker happens to find himself in a place with statues of women all around. Entranced by the beauty of the statues, the trekker decides to rest there and falls asleep. Then begins his journey through the land of beautiful women. He dreams of the statues dressed in “lehngas”, “laachas”, western wear with minis and trousers dominating this round, plain sarees, suits, heavy sarees, evening gowns and bridal “lehngas”. The round of traditional wear of Ladakh by the girls deserves special mention. This round was followed by girls in heavy “lehngas” returning to the stage, assuming their still forms and the tired adventurer waking up only to realise he was in a dream even as birds continued to twitter. Later the chief guest, Dr Alka Pande, chairperson of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy, gave away certificates to the hostelers securing first divisions in the final examinations. Many others were given certificates for carrying out day to day duties. Namrata Kumar was given the “best hosteler’’ award. Atheletic meet: The 43rd annual athletic meet of the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, was inaugurated by Mrs Nirmal Milkha Singh, former Director, Sports, in the college grounds here today. Beginning with the marchpast followed by hoisting of the flag and lighting of the torch by the chief guest, the versatile gymnasts gave a tremendous performance. Competitions comprised long jump, shotput, discus throw, high jump, 400m race, three-legged race, javeline throw and 800m race. The finals of a few competitions will be held tomorrow. The police band presented a show on the occasion. Quiz contest: The 31st inter-college geography quiz was organised at Government College, Sector 11, which saw a participation of six teams from the university and local colleges. A former Dean of University Instruction, Prof G.S. Gosal, was the chief guest. The team of Kapil Pandey , Navendu and Vikramjit Sandhu of the host college won the contest, while the Department of Geography, Panjab University, represented by Pooja Raman, Pradeep Yadav and Ravinder Kumar, was second. Kshitija Mittal, Amardeep Kaur and Sonia Sukhija representing Government College for Girls, Sector 11, came third. Trekking expedition: A trekking expedition of the Geographical Society of Government College, Sector 11, left for a three-day winter trek to the snow-covered Churdhar peak at a height of 13000 feet in the Sirmaur region of Himachal Pradesh. The 12-member team consists of Kulwinder Virk, Avinash Prasad, Sanjoy Singh, Neelabh Chathley, Deepak Archit, Amit Luthra, Kamaljeet Singh, Gaurav Sood, Yashwant Chauhan, Anil Doon, Chander Singhal and is led by Prof K.P.S. Shante. Fete: Government Home
Science College, Sector 10, is organising a fete on
February 20 and 21. Contests in landscape painting, face
painting, salad competition, dance, singing and kite
flying will also be organised. A fancy dress competition
for children under 10 years will be held. |
Of leaking
tap, thieves & apathetic MCC CHANDIGARH Place: Water standpost near the General Post Office(GPO) in Sector 17. Problem: Water leakage from the standpost for the past several months. History: The water leakage from the standpost, installed for the convenience of a large number of people visiting the sector, particularly the GPO, has been a routine affair. The Public Health wing of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) springs into action only when the problem is highlighted in the Press. Even as the precious commodity goes down the drain, the standpost fails to the serve the purpose for which it has been installed as the water oozing out from it discourages the visitors. The tying of a polythene bag around the tap by a good samaritan failed to stop the leakage. What makes the matter worse is the theft of taps. The inundation of the area around the standpost by the overflowing water further complicates the situation. Public reaction: “When there is already shortage of water in the city, particularly during the summer months, I fail to understand why the civic body has not paid any attention to the leakage of water from the standpost. The corporation should form a special squad for checking the leakage of water as many cases of leakage had been reported from the city,” says Mr Dalip Singh, a government employee. Official version:
Officials of the civic body, while conceding the leakage
of water from a number of standposts in the city, blamed
it on the anti-social elements who either stole the taps
or sabotaged them. The standposts can function properly
if the public cooperates with the civic body as the
public also owes a duty towards manitaining the
standposts, they highlight |
Dispensary
cries for attention ZIRAKPUR, February 19 — Villagers of the areas surrounding Zirakpur have become “guinea pigs” in the hands of private medical practitioners in the absence of a functional government dispensary here. The suburban areas of Zirakpur and its adjoining villages — Bartana, Dhakauli, Singhpura, Bhabhat and Ramgarh Phuddha — have only one government dispensary which is unable to cope with the rush of patients. The demand to set up more such centres over the years have failed to have any effect. Residents of Singhpura village complained that “though the village has a building for a dispensary, but the doctors seldom visit the place”. They said the medical staff arrived only once a week. They further added that the Dhakauli dispensary handles the rush of patients of 20 villages during their visits. On the other hand, the staff claims that “it is not possible to look after each area every day”. Sources said a dispensary was constituted in the area having a population of at least 10,000. Residents of several villages complained that though the staff was expected to visit the area, but they hardly did so. Mrs Jaswant Kaur of Singhpura village said,” it amounts to virtually ignoring us just because we are villagers.” The nearest government hospitals from Zirakpur are at Dera Bassi, Panchkula and Chandigarh, located at a distance of about 12, 9 and 10 km, respectively, from here. The villagers feel that in an emergency they always fear whether they will be able to get the patient to the hospital in time or not. The problem is compounded by the lack of adequate transportation, as there is no regular bus service or taxies. As a result, the residents are at the mercy of private clinics. Most of the medical practitioners in the area are RMPs and charge a minimum of Rs 30 as fees. The people in the area are afraid of being treated by them as the instruments being used by them are reportedly unsterilised, and disposable syringes are “unheard of” and a luxury. A survey by a Tribune team revealed that the dispensaries were without staff and locked. Residents said that the staff had not come for the past several days. The residents also
complained about the lack of medicines. “Most of the
time we have to buy medicines from chemists”. The
sources reveled that even commonly-prescribed medicines
such as paracetamol were not available in the dispensary. |
New
panchayats pass same old resolutions CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The panchayats of the city are gearing up to deliver the promises made to the electorate, with a majority of them having passed resolutions in this context. Elections to 17 panchayats were held on January 16 and the results declared the same day. As many as 57,000 persons exercised their franchise and elected 17 sarpanches and 130 panches. For the first time, the city will have six women sarpanches, besides 47 panches. The expectations from the first timers, who constitute the majority, are high. Some of the earlier sarpanches who had represented the villages for a long time are facing charges of irregularity and had also been identified with various political parties. A comparison of the resolutions passed by the previous and present panchayats reveals that a majority of the grievances of the villagers remain the same. The same resolutions have been passed again, and again but some of them were either termed non feasible by the BDPO’s office or put on hold due to paucity of funds. A common resolution this time is the concern over the growing population and the need for providing basic civic amenities to them although the loans can only be spent on areas inside the lal dora. This reflects the dilemma of the panchayat members as a large chunk of their voters live outside the dora and better civic amenities for them were one of the main assurances given to them. Mrs Bhupinder Kaur, sarpanch of Sarangpur, said she was yet to formally take charge as the records were still with the panchayat secretary who is on leave. She and the panches have been meeting regularly informally and have held consultations with the villagers. The resolutions agreed upon will be formally recorded once the charge is handed to the panchayat. They include sinking a new tubewell to ease the water shortage, setting up of a veterinary dispensary, constructing a causeway to the cremation ground, repairing the non- functional streetlights, iron gratings for covering the manholes and upgradation of the middle school. Although she is yet to formally take charge as the records are being audited, the first priority of Mrs Surjit Kaur, Sarpanch of Maloya village, is to construct a dharamshala for the Dalits who are in a majority. This demand has been pending for quite some time now and no one has made efforts to get the needful done. The other resolutions are old- age pension, repairing of the damaged streets and drains, providing more toilets in the school, construction of the village bus stand and providing shops for those vending their goods on the land near the bus stand. Efforts would also be made to speed up the repair work under way on the approach road to the village. At present, the villagers have to walk to Sector 39, a distance of 2 km, to board a bus, she said. Mr Manmohan Singh, sarpanch of Khuda Lahora, said he was yet to take charge as the records were being audited. No resolutions had, however, been agreed on or passed, he revealed. Mr Kuldip Singh, panch of Kajheri, said they had passed resolutions pertaining to repairing the road to the cremation ground, raising the level of the approach road to the village which gets flooded during the monsoons, upgradation of the village school, repair of the drains and engaging more sweepers for ensuring cleanliness. Mrs Bhupinder Kaur, sarpanch of Kishangarh, said in several meetings held in the past month, it was agreed that more sweepers would be engaged, streets repaired, the level of the approach road to the village raised, the non-functional streetlights repaired, the repair of the dharamshala and the upgradation of the village school. She said the people living outside the lal dora would be accorded all the basic civic amenities. Other panchayats too have
passed similar resolutions, it is learnt. |
Stench and
sullage all around S.A.S. NAGAR, February 19 — Even after spending a couple of lakhs on their dwelling units, the residents of the HIG flats in Phase II here are a disillusioned lot following the failure of the authorities to stop the flow of sullage from Madanpura village into the backyards of their flats. The problem has become so acute that due to the stink emanating from the heaps of garbage, cowdung, and sullage accumulated in an open space belonging to the Punjab Urban Development Authority, the residents find it difficult to live in their houses without keeping their doors and windows closed. What has aggravated the problem is that some residents are even throwing sewer water into the low-lying area after constructing sewers underground between the area and their houses. “Besides being a source of foul smell, the area has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies,” complained Mr Rajinder Singh, a resident of the HIG flats. He said the residents had complained to the PUDA and the Municipal Council authorities many times but nothing had been done either to remove garbage heaps or to prevent the villagers from throwing garbage and cowdung into the backyards of their houses. “Encouraged by the inaction on the part of the authorities, the villagers had started making cowdung cakes in an open space adjacent to our boundary walls,” he added. Mr Jasbir Singh, another resident, said as no action had been taken against those responsible for making their surroundings dirty during the past ten years, the residents had started thinking that they had made a wrong decision by investing a huge amount and by choosing this place as their residence,” he said. “The PUDA has failed to provide a clean environment as had been promised in the brochure supplied by it before the allotment of houses,” lamented Mr Rajinder Singh. He alleged that the residents had approached the Additional Chief Administrator for redressal of their grievances, but this had failed to yield anything except promises. He alleged that the MC, which was responsible for cleaning the city, had also failed to come to their rescue, inspite of a number of complaints. He demanded that to solve this problem, the PUDA authorities should fill up the low-lying areas. “Something should be done to punish those who throw garbage around the flats,” he added. Ms Seema Jain, the
Additional Chief Administrator of the PUDA, was not
available for comment. When contacted, Mr G.R. Jakhu, the
Superintending Engineer of the PUDA, said he was drawing
up a proposal to dispose of sullage of the village into
the main line sewerage network. According to another
proposal to solve the problem, the low-lying areas would
be filled up and a wall would be constructed, separating
the open space and the flats, after the approval of the
proposal by the Additional Chief Administrator. |
Electronics
firm ‘facing closure’ S.A.S NAGAR, February 19 —The Electronic Systems Punjab Employees Union has demanded that a full-time technical director should be appointed to look after the organisation in a ‘better way’. In a press note issued here yesterday, Mr Rajinder Pal Singh, President of the union, said the organisation was on the brink of closure as the Managaing Director was not able to devote his full time to look into the affairs of the company. The union also demanded
that the Punjab Government should accord recognition to
the organisation as had been done in the cases of similar
organisation in the states of U.P., Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Haryana. The union said the ESPL should be
converted into a computer training centre, recognised by
the Punjab Government. |
City trader
caught with $ 20,000 CHANDIGARH, February 19 — A Chandigarh-based businessman has landed in Tihar jail in Delhi after he was allegedly caught carrying $ 20,000 unauthorisedly. The businessman, Dinesh Gupta, was stopped at Indira Gandhi International Airport while he was on his way to Australia via Singapore. During his search by members of the preventive staff of the Customs Department, $ 20,000 was recovered from his possession. Since he could not give any satisfactory explanation for the foreign exchange, he was detained for interrogation. Customs officials referred
him to the police after registering a case under Sections
132 and 135A of the Customs Act. He has been remanded in
judicial custody till February 25. |
And they
call it a road S.A.S NAGAR, February 19 — Residents of city and Sohana village are at the receiving end due to the bad condition of a stretch of road between SAS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib near the village. As the busy road offers a short cut to Fatehgarh Sahib and Sirhind, it is preferred by people as a substitute to the SAS Nagar-Morinda-Fatehgarh Sahib road. It is in such a bad state that it has become almost impossible for loaded vehicles to pass through the road — dotted with potholes. “The main problem is that the level of the road falling in SAS Nagar has been raised by about 3 feet after the repair of the road by the Punjab Urban Development Authority recently. As a result, the stretch of road in the territory of Sohana village has been lowered automatically, resulting in the problem,” said Mr Ishwar Singh, a resident of the village. He said the stretch had become a “no man’s land” as neither PUDA nor the PWD authorities had shown any interest to repair the stretch for the past two years as it fell on the border of the city and the village. “The problem turns acute during rains when the low-level areas turn into a cesspool of water. Such a situation forces drivers of heavy vehicles to use the otherwise long route via Morinda to reach SAS Nagar,” said Mr Bachan Singh, a truck driver. The problem is compounded
by a sharp turn of the road near the village and a large
number of trucks parked near the octroi post .” The
place has become accident-prone as vehicle drivers fail
to see the vehicles coming from the opposite side owing
to obscuring of the view due to the presence of a large
number of trucks on both sides of the road,” said Mr
Kuldip Kumar, a resident of the village. He demanded that
the curb should be removed and the road stretch should be
repaired without any delay. |
Police
Inspector reverted CHANDIGARH, February 19 — An Inspector of the Chandigarh police was tonight reverted to the post of Sub Inspector following an inquiry on two counts. Mr Shiv Raj Singh Sidhu was reverted after it was found that he had levelled unsubstantiated allegations against senior officials to persons other than in the Police Department . Mr Sidhu had written directly to the President of India criticising his seniors and airing his grievances. For this he had not taken permission from his seniors, Mr Baldev Singh, SP, City, confirmed. Besides this, he was found
to be absent from duty during a musical concert a few
years ago. The then SP, Operations , Mr H.S. Sidhu, had
marked him absent. An inquiry into the matter was
conducted. |
‘SC
gives mothers their due. Will society follow?’ CHANDIGARH, February 19 — With the Supreme Court’s judgement on the Hindu Minority and Guardianship (HMG) Act that both the mother and the father would be treated as the natural guardians of their minor child, being hailed as “landmark and historic” TNS spoke to a cross-section of women in the city today. “Living in this patriarchal society, I have mixed feelings about the ruling. Laws can always be made, but then they cannot really change beyond a point. This certainly is a step forward, but then our society has never been sensitive towards women. “Equality’ is not a mere word. For a woman there is a whole lot of pain attached to this word”, said Mrs Poonam, Editor of the Punjabi magazine, ‘Preetlari’. Sharing the viewpoint that laws are not mere end-alls, Mrs Shreshta Mehta, Honorary Secretary of the Indian Council of Social Welfare, and woman activist said, “Laws exist even against dowry, but then they are hardly followed. In India, the mother’s position has always been equated with that of a Goddess, but it took the Supreme Court to give the right due to a mother in society. Who is not aware that it is only a mother who can look after the needs of a child, even if she is working? I had a daughter after 18 years of marriage, and it is me, more than my husband, who is rearing her up”. The judgement, which has placed emphasis on gender equality, with both the parents having equal rights over the matter of guardianship, does have its share of staunch supporters. “I welcome the judgement. In fact I think that in practice it was always there, and the Supreme Court’s ruling has only formalised what was existing in reality. How many men would you find ready to shoulder the responsibility for a minor single-handedly, when women are emotionally more balanced to do so? This judgement on the HMG Act would actually take away a lot of complications and stigmas for the woman”, said Mrs Sneh Mahajan, Principal, MCMDAV College, Sector 36, and who raised two young sons as a single mother, after the demise of her husband. “It certainly is a welcome judgement. It is for the first time that the judiciary has formally recognised that it is the woman who really brings up the children. The judgement is a step forward in the emancipation of the woman, and in providing her gender justice”, added Dr Mrs Raj Mohini Sethi, Chairperson, Department of Sociology, Panjab University. Section 6(A) of the Act says, “In case of a boy or an unmarried girl, the guardianship rests with the father and after him, the mother provided that the custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily be with the mother”. Significantly, the ruling interpreted the word “after” as not necessarily meaning “after the lifetime”. “It is still too early to comment on the judgement. The fact that both the parents would now be considered natural guardians of their minor children could also cause problems. In the given system it is not actually what it seems to be. What about cases where the father has to provide maintenance, and refuses to do so since both would now have equal rights?”, said Ms Veena Kumar, a human rights lawyer practising in the high court. “And what about a child who is five plus? Does the need for a mother disappear after that? We always talk of equality between the equals”, added Mrs Poonam. With single mothers on the rise in today’s society, most mothers certainly have lauded the “recognition” accorded by the judiciary. “The social
conditioning is such that the woman is more well-balanced
to look after children. The ruling of the judiciary to
regard the mother as natural guardian of minor children
is wonderful. I’ve raised two children
single-handedly, after my husband’s demise, who was
a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force at Sri Lanka.
And when I think that if my children had lost me instead
of their father, then maybe my children might not have
been raised in the same manner. It is only the woman who
can manage both home and a career”, said Mrs Lily
Bawa, a business-woman in Panchkula. |
CHANDIGARH, February 19 — At least one problem area should be connected to each technical institute to make teaching and application more relevant, said Dr Mahesh Sharma, chairman of the Khadi Village and Industries Commission ( KVIC), while inaugurating a seminar on “challenges of technical education” here today. The two-day seminar is being organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad. There was a wide gap between classroom teaching and practical application. There was a need for a judicious mix of the indigenous and the latest technology. Dr Seetharamu, head of the Department of Education at ISEC, Bangalore, in his key note address said “ it is a pity that a country which was once a leader in technology was now trailing behind the developed world.” Prof M.M.Puri, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, in his presidential address said it was no use pondering over the past glory. With our feet firm in the present the younger generation had to think about the shape of things to come in future. Prof S.K.Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, chaired the technical session. Dr J.B.G.Tilak, a senior fellow of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, presented a paper on “Financing technical education”. Antakshri: The team of Pankaj and Rita from Panjab University won an antakshri contest organised by the Panjab University Campus Students Council at the Law Auditorium on Friday. Jagmeet Samundri, a Mumbai based professional artist and a former student of PU, conducted the affair. Appointed: Mr Rahul Deswal
has been appointed General Secretary of the Chandigarh
state unit of the National Students Union of India. |
CHANDIGARH, February 19 — A mother and son duo from Mani Majra were injured when a scooter hit them outside the PGI campus this afternoon. Mrs Bhagwant Kaur and Mr Yudhwinder Singh were walking towards the PGI when the incident occurred. They have been admitted to hospital. Meanwhile in a separate accident Mr Dewan Singh of Sector 8 was injured when his car ( CHC—1866) collided with another car in Sector 5. Car stolen: A car owned by Mr Rajiv Verma of Sector 41 was stolen from his residence. Meanwhile, in a separate incident a sum of Rs 4,000 was stolen from the house of Mr Jagdish Pal while he was out of station. Mr Pal lives in a house in village Raipur Khurd. The police has registered a case under Section 380 of the IPC. Suicide: A policeman, Suresh, who was posted at the Sector 16 police post died after he allegedly consumed some poisonous substance here on Friday. His postmortem examinations was conducted at the local General Hospital here. Cheating: A couple of Sector 4 has been booked by the local police for allegedly cheating an NRI by not raising a structure on his plot in Sector 2 even after taking Rs 15 lakh from him. The complainant, Mr Lakhwinder Singh, maintained that he had entered into an agreement with Mr Subash Bansal and Amita Bansal to raise a building on his plot in Sector 2. Under the agreement he made a total payment of Rs 15.30 lakh on different dates during 1998. The couple, he alleged, had promised to raise the 35 per cent of the plot area by November, 1998. The police has registered a case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC. In another case a 65-year old woman, Ms Asha Chabra, was deprived of her jewellery by a couple near Saint Soldier School in Sector 16 here on Thursday. The victim in her complaint with the police said a 3o year man approached her on the pretext on asking the address of Radha Sawami Satsang and was soon joined by a woman. Then she was taken on a
deserted road and was told to give the jewellery items
she was wearing. |
CHANDIGARH, February 19 — The gallery Art Folio is glowing with myriad colours. The reason being, a collection of water colours of Bengali painters which is displayed there till the end of this month. There is not a single piece that cannot be termed ‘good’, all of them are beautiful. Yes, it is a group show and the artists exhibiting are well established in their own fields. They are Shekhar Roy, Partho Dutt, Santanu Maity, Asit Sarkar, Subroto Das, Kalipada Purkait, Ashim Ghosh, the twin brothers Debashish and Ashish. They can be called well-established because their command over their technique and the drawing out of the emotions in their creations is very clear and vivid. Many of these artists are graduates from Government College of Art, Calcutta and, from Shantiniketan. The range of medium put to use in these selective paintings is very wide. There are works in water colours, tempera, oil pastels, charcoal sketches, ink and pen and mixed media. The effect in each is varying and astounding. If one stands to admire the innocence of Baisakhi Basu’s girl with a candle, he is equally impressed with Asit’s work depicting a stormy and cloudy scene. Just as there is a variety
in media, so is there in the subjects tackled. One can
have a glimpse of nature in the form of flowers and
leaves, sea beach and city views in black and white,
village houses in exact muddy colours, horses galloping
with their veins straining in charcoal, and the most
unique and adorable is the presentation of Ganesh. He has
been illustrated by the twin brothers Debashish and
Ashish as a painter who is trying to paint himself on the
canvas. |
Probe funds
use: Congress, CPI SAS NAGAR, February 19 — Four leaders of the Punjab unit of the Congress and one of the CPI today demanded a CBI probe into the Rs 1,600 crore expenditure shown by the State Government on checking waterlogging in the Muktsar area. The demand was made when the leaders gathered here after paying tributes at the samadhi of Beant Singh in Chandigarh. Those present were Mr Avtar Singh Brar, Congress MLA from Faridkot and former minister, Mr Harmohinder Singh, Congress MLA from Raikot, Mr Surinder Gupta, President, District Congress Committee, Faridkot, Mr Lakhwinder Singh, Chairman of the Backward Classes Cell of the PPCC, and Dr Joginder Dayal, Secretary, CPI, Punjab. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Brar condemned the recent lathi-charge on protesting government-aided school teachers. The government, he said, should fulfil the promises made to the teachers instead of treating them in this manner. In the state assembly session starting on March 9, the Congress would take up the issue strongly. Reacting to Punjab Finance
Minister Kanwaljit Singh’s statement that there was
no economic crisis in the state, Mr Brar said the
minister was either not interested in the work of his
department or he did not understand finance. |
UK teachers
visit city schools today CHANDIGARH, February 19 — A 10-member delegation of primary teachers and educational administrators from Lea Campus schools, Slough, United Kingdom, will interact with teachers of DAV schools of the city at Kailash Bahl DAV centenary Public School, Sector 7, on February 21. Stating this, here today,
the Manager of the school, Mr R.C. Jeewan, said that the
delegation was coming on an exchange basis and its visit
had been arranged by the DAV Managing Committee. |
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