& V I C I N I T Y
Thursday, January 14, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Thursday, January 14, 1999 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
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Migrants' inflow unabated Multi-cornered
contests in panchayat poll Residents
hold up traffic |
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PGI doctors to wear black badges |
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Use
of polythene carrybags banned in Sector 17 Engineers
want vacancies filled Make
teaching of Independence struggle ‘compulsory’ BCA
students in a quandary |
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Migrants'
inflow unabated CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Saturation in the job market notwithstanding, the flow of migrants has been continuing unabated, leading to widening of the gap between the households settled in authorised and unauthorised colonies. This is in spite of the best of efforts of the Chandigarh Administration to rehabilitate slum dwellers. At present there are 23,222 households in authorised colonies and 32,448 in unauthorised colonies. The hope of getting a subsidised plot is the motivating factor for the slum dwellers to continue to live in unauthorised colonies even when they are unable to find work in Chandigarh. Not only that, they also bring their kinsmen for standing in the queue for getting plots. The existing policy of providing alternative sites suffers from some inherent weaknesses. The system is open to abuse as alternative sites or plots could be sold. This calls for a change in the present policy regarding settlement of slum dwellers by linking allotment not only to the duration of stay but also to their workplace. These are some of the findings of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) on the basis of a socio-economic survey of authorised and unauthorised colonies in Chandigarh. The survey was conducted at the instance of the Chandigarh Administration as there was no data, indicating the socio-economic realities and detailed demographic profile of the slum dwellers of the union territory. The survey was conducted by a CRRID team headed by Dr V.P. Dubey and consisting of Mr H.L. Kalia, Bindu Duggal, Ravinder Kaur and Ranjay Vardhan. The report of the CRRID survey was presented during the recently concluded international conference celebrating "Chandigarh 50 years of the idea". The UT Administration agreed to provide services of its teaching staff for collection of data. The staff used was fully trained for conducting the survey on the basis of 100 per cent households. A well-designed operation was planned and implemented to ensure that not only all colonies were covered by the survey but also that no households in a colony was left-out of count. The survey revealed that there are in all 45 colonies, out of which 19 are authorised and 26 unauthorised. The total population is 2,26,230, including 1,08,486(47.96 per cent) in the authorised colonies and 1,17,744 (52.05 per cent) in unauthorised colonies. The highest percentage of migrants came from Uttar Pradesh (55 %), and 12% each from Punjab and Haryana with only 6.5% from Bihar and 4% from Himachal Pradesh. Of the total population,only 68,916 are workers and the rest, 157,314 are non workers. The work participation rate is 30.46 per cent. The occupational structure shows that 17.45 per cent are engaged in government sector, 32 per cent in private sector and 21 per cent as casual labourers. The data also reveals that 33 per cent of the non-workers are in the age group of 15 to 34. This is a serious matter because jobless young slum migrants tend to earn their livelihood through illegal means. This perception also indicates that work opportunities are increasingly getting saturated within the city. Regarding child labour, the UT has a workforce of 1,870 children, 98 per cent of whom are residing in these slums. The growth in population has been tremendous. From 23,864 as enumerated in the 1971 census, the number is now 2,26,230. The causative factors for an increase in the quantum of migration, apart from the availability of better job opportunities, appear to be the possibility of getting a subsidised shelter and eventually making a fast puck through its sale. This has been corroborated by the survey as some of the authorised shelter owners had disposed of their dwelling units here. The study suggests that
the UT Administration should examine its existing policy
framework and provide shelter only to those who have been
serving somewhere within the union territory and living
in Chandigarh for more than the specified period. |
States
losing revenue CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Most State Governments are losing revenue during this financial year. This is directly hitting the Plan targets and a cut in the Annual Plan size by 15 per cent to 20 per cent is being feared by the Planning Commission. Sources in the Planning Commission said that one major reason for the fall in the collection of taxes by the states (with some exceptions) is that the states depend heavily on direct taxes. In states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, there is some laxity in the collection of taxes and they will end up recording just 4 per cent to 6 per cent annual growth. But another more important reason is that recession is now hitting hard and so the share in direct taxes is falling. Sources said that revenue from sales tax continued to remain the highest. Over the past five years it has been continuously increasing. It was 59.5 per cent in 1993-94 and has now jumped to 60.5 per cent. This now means that the current slump in markets will cause shortfall in the collection of sales tax across the country, experts said. States also depend heavily on state excise duties like the one on liquor. It was 15 per cent earlier and it is now down to 13 per cent. While Haryana may not suffer and end up collecting Rs 650 crore, Punjab might lose between Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore. There would be a consequent fall in the total target of Rs 850 crore. These two taxes constitute nearly three-fourth of the total tax revenue of the states. In addition they get their share from income tax, central excise and other central taxes to meet the ever rising demand for development works. But in this otherwise hopeless situation, the states have been able to mop up from taxes on vehicles, stamp duty, registration fee of various kinds and revenue. But taxes on passengers and goods, professional taxes, entertainment tax, and other such taxes have gone down since 1993-94. The share of taxes from income tax was 1.87 per cent of the total revenue of the states 12 years ago, it has now fallen to 0.86 per cent. On the other hand, share from taxes on commodities and services has gone up from 88 per cent to 92 per cent in the same period. Experts feel that the share of taxes like on income should be higher. This means that those who can pay, the states can extract more from them. But taxes on commodities and services means that these taxes are uniform and all have to pay. Lower income groups suffer more when the share of these taxes on commodities and services increases. Their purchasing power falls and in turn adds to the vicious circle of recession. In South Asian economies, the cheap labour on which the industrial boom depended also meant less money in the pockets of vast majority of the people. Their lower purchasing power in the national markets had an adverse affect. This circle is taking roots here also, experts feel. Most states like Punjab,
Haryana, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir are knocking at
the doors of the Centre to provide either grants or loans
so that they could complete the Plan targets. Another
headache is that many states had planned on the basis of
World Bank assistance which finally was refused as a
reaction of India going nuclear. Haryana lost Rs 230
crore aid. Punjab also could not get much except in the
health sector. |
Multi-cornered
contests in panchayat poll CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Multi-cornered contests are evident in all six women-reserved villages as there has been no consensus anywhere and the ladies in reckoning are leaving no stone unturned in capturing post in the panchayats. They seem to have come to grips with the politics involved in contesting an election. It is for the first time that such a large number of villages will be having women sarpanches and this fact is not lost on the contestants. There have been women panches earlier but their numbers were very few. The enthusiasm, in addition to the campaign fatigue, could be seen on their faces and their supporters doing the rounds seeking votes in the villages. In Maloya, which has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste women, Sarangpur and Raipur Khurd, the fight is among four candidates while in Dadumajra it is three-cornered contest. Similarly, in Kaimbwala and Kishengarh, it is a five-cornered contest but in the latter villages the main contest is likely to be between two strong candidates. Villagers claim that the candidates are pulling all stops and have promised the voters to do everything in their powers to get the problems of the villagers solved. However, none of the candidates is forthcoming about how to go about improving the lot of the womenfolk and in some villages most of the talking is done by male supporters or accompanying family members or spouses. Electioneering has picked up after the election symbols were allotted to the candidates. Posters and paintings have appeared on walls in the main bazaars and localities and groups of supporters could be seen going about meeting villagers, seeking votes for their candidates. Like in her villages the caste, outsider and migrant factors are also in play and are likely to determine the outcome of many contestants. Most of the factions claim the support of various groups and sections and to prove their point, reel off names of the panches and supporters that belong to a particular community. In most villages, barring Kaimbwala, as many as 65 per cent of the voters are migrants and outsiders but the going will be tough for the insiders, i.e. the original inhabitants of the village. The outcome of the elections will not only change the face of the panchayat sabhas but make the people more confident. Certain old-timers however, cannot digest the idea of women sarpanches and say the idea is bound to "boomerang". Polling will be held on
January 16 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. |
Residents
hold up traffic on highway CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Residents of the Deep Housing complex held up traffic for more than three hours on the Chandigarh- Ambala highway near Hallomajra village to protest against the announcement of the award to acquire land of the complex. An indefinite relay fast has been started by protesters. Hundreds of residents, including women and children, began assembling at the main road of the village and later accompanied by the villagers blocked the road, forcing the police to divert traffic through alternative routes. A large number of people from Raipur Khurd, Kishengarh and Shastrinagar also joined the agitators. Leaders of various parties also reached the venue and expressed their solidarity with the agitators. Mr Jagtar Singh Beniwal and Mr S.R. Barwaria, president and general secretary of the Deep Complex Welfare Association, respectively, said following an order by the UT Land Acquisition Officer yesterday , more than 35 acres of land had been acquired and the compensation of 6.52 lakh per acre was too meagre. They had invested the savings of their lives and had even taken money on interest to build small houses and after this decision they had nowhere to go. The administration had been assuring them for many years that they would be rehabilitated and the sudden decision had come as a bolt from the blue. The Adviser to the Administrator, at a recent meeting had assured them that the issue of their rehabilitation would be taken after the panchayat poll. The administration had
backtracked on the assurances, affecting a large number
of families. Further course of action would be chalked
out, they added. |
PGI doctors
to wear black badges CHANDIGARH Jan 13 — Doctors at the PGI, the country's premier medical institute are up in arms. They will wear black badges during the course of their work tomorrow to protest against low wages and non implementation of a new pay scheme suggested by a committee headed by the Union Health Secretary. A general body meeting of the PGI Faculty Association — a 250-member body — will be held tomorrow and members will decide upon the future course of action, said the president of the executive body of the association, Prof Jaswant Rai. "If the general body decides upon a strike we will have carry it out but with a heavy heart," Professor Rai, who is an orthopaedic surgeon, explained while talking to mediapersons this afternoon. The black badges are a mark of protest as the faculty has learned that the recommendations of a committee headed by the Union Health Secretary, Mr K.K. Baksi, have been ignored by the Finance Ministry while finalising the pay scales. The Finance Ministry has reportedly said that they will give new scales as admissible under Fifth Pay Commission and will not change according to the recommendations to the committee. The black badges are to draw the attention of the government. Members of the faculty association explain that even some of the suggestions of the committee were not up to the mark but the report could have been acceptable to the doctors after certain changes. For example, the non practising allowance (NPA) for PGI and AIIMS doctors has been fixed at 25 per cent of the basic pay. However, the gross emoluments should not exceed Rs 29,500, says the committee. This is absurd say the doctors "we are not doing a typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job and the profession cannot be compared with other jobs and put in the same bracket in the standard pay scales" Even the fixing of the NPA is wrong. It should be treated as an allowance as it being given for professional competence, opined the faculty. The 25 per cent NPA has been given to all doctors of the Central Health Services, thus equating the PGI and the AIIMS with all other doctors in the country. Another point not liked by the doctors is that the committee has left very little gap between the pay of an Associate Professor and an Additional Professor. The starting wage at the first stage of Assistant Professor is also not acceptable to the faculty. The committee has recommended a scale of Rs 12,750-16,500 while the doctors are demanding a scale of Rs 14,300-18,300. The committee has recommended a pay scale of Rs 15,100-18,300 for Associate Professors while the faculty is demanding a pay scale of Rs 16,400-20,900 for them. The latter pay scale has been suggested for Additional Professors by the committee. The committee was set up specially to fix the scales of the PGI and AIIMS doctors. The recommendation were a research allowance of Rs 2500, a risk allowance of Rs 1000 and training allowance at the rate of 15 per cent of the basic pay. Besides this varying
amounts of special pay were fixed for the Director, Dean,
head of the departments and sub-Deans. |
Mixed
experience for volunteers CHANDIGARH, Jan 13—The three-day international conference "Chandigarh 50 years of the idea" which saw the participation of renowned architects, planners and critics is over. But it was a memorable experience for volunteers of College of Architecture, Sector 12. Paridhi Rishi, looking after the tours and travel of the visitors, says, "It was a tremendous experience to see and meet architects we had only heard of and to take them around the city provided the icing on the cake. My job was to give them a feel of all that Le Corbusier had created." The sad part, she adds, is that though people of the city knew there was something wrong with the city, they could not lay their fingers on the problem and yet they were looking up to people from outside to solve their problem. Her friend, Misha Sra, in charge of the transportation of the delegates, offers a different argument: "It was fun being part of the biggest convention of architects and they came up with some good designs. If these people could handle the problems well, we could do a much better job. Now, the ball is in the court of the Administration which needs to pull up its socks. Saurabh Bhandari, another volunteer, emphasises, "It was beneficial from the point of view of the students who learnt a lot from the experience. We know that such an opportunity will never come our way again. Meeting them and being able to talk to them was a dream come true for us. The outcome of holding this high-level conference, though, is a big naught. All it did was to elucidate Corbusier's achievements, something we have read of and heard all along.'' Manpreet Kaur said: "There was not much interaction with the delegates during the meet. We were not given an opportunity to clarify our doubts or even discuss our thoughts with them". Sunil Kumar Kala speaks of the conference in complete disgust. ``The purpose was completely defeated, nothing concrete came out of the whole thing and it led to wastage of financial resources. Moreover, we were asked to report at the college during our holidays as if the conference could not begin without us. N.N.Malsom also is very
critical of the whole thing. He opines, "It just
served as a meeting ground for the intelligentsia. They
came, presented papers and left without any solutions in
sight. Though each one has gained personally, there are
no results on the whole. This could have been held any
other year. Why now? Why at all?'' |
Lohri, Lohri
all over city CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Traditional "dholis" and vibrant "bolis" persuaded many local residents to break into a dance to mark Lohri celebrations here today. Educational institutes and offices organised bonfires during daytime while warm glow of bonfires could be seen all over the city as the sun descended into the lap of a cold winter night . The Panjab University campus wore a festive look as the fog cleared around 11 a.m. Students gathered in large number adjacent to the Arts Block II. At least three separate bonfires were lighted by different departments. Students danced in groups to the music of stereos and drummers. Groundnut and "rewris" were exchanged. Faculty members joined the students in most of the departments. The main function was held at the Students Centre under the banner of the Panjab University campus Students' Council. Dayal Pratap Singh Randhawa, president of the council, welcomed the guests. Dr Iqbal Nath Choudhary, secretary to the Vice-Chancellor, also joined the students. Lohri was also celebrated in local colleges. Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, Mayor; and Mr Satya Pal Jain, Member of Parliament; attended the Lohri celebrations organised by the employees of the Municipal Corporation in Sector 17. The sports and recreation club of the Accountant General (Audit), Punjab, organised a cultural programme to mark the occasion. Skits, 'bhangra' and ghazals were presented. Mr R.S. Mann, Chief secretary, Punjab, was the chief guest. The Environment Society of India organised a function at the Karuna Sadan. The president, Mr S.K. Sharma, urged the citizens to plant trees in the coming spring to compensate for the loss of wood burnt on the occasion of Lohri. The State Bank of India, Sector 30, in a shift from the normal celebrated the festival with inmates of the Institute of Blind. Socks were distributed to over 100 inmates besides sweets. Lohri was also celebrated
at the Nehru Yuvak Kendra. |
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CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 (UNI) — Dense fog overnight and this morning disrupted normal life at many places in North-West India, besides affecting the air, rail and bus services. In Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport was closed last night, forcing the authorities to cancel or suspend international flights. Some of the incoming flights had to be diverted to other places. However, as the sun shone brightly later, the day temperature which had fallen 7°C to 10°C below normal, rose. Amritsar and Ludhiana with 3.2 ° C each turned out to be the coldest places in the region. The weatherman has forecast sunny days for the next 48 hours, warned of groundfrost at some places in Punjab and a fall in the minimum temperature further in the region during the next two nights. Shimla and the surrounding areas reported the low of 1.9°C. Kalpa in Kinnaur district turned out to be the coldest place with the minimum dipping to 5.5°C below the freezing point. Sundernagar, Bhuntar and Una reported the low of 0.4 °C, 0.5°C and 0.7°C respectively. Srinagar was slightly hotter this morning with the temperature rising to 0.1°C, two degrees above normal. However, Jammu had the coldest night of the season with the minimum dipping to 4.4°C, four degrees below normal. Safdarjung and Palam reported the minimum of 8°C each. Chandigarh and the
surrounding areas recorded the low of 4.8°C, two degrees
below normal, while the day temperature rose to about
16°C from 14.2°C yesterday. |
Use of
polythene carrybags banned in Sector 17 CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The UT Administration today banned the use of polythene carrybags by shopkeepers, vendors, retailers and rehriwallahas in Sector 17. The step has been taken with a view to protecting the health of people and animals and improve the environment of the city. According to an official press note, the step has been taken as polythene carrybags were being used to deliver foodstuff which could cause an adverse effect on the health of the residents. In addition to this, being non-biodegradable, the carrybags, were choking drains and sewers in the city. The Administration has
authorised the Medical Officer of Health of the local
Municipal Corporation, Director Environment, scientists
of the department and the Member-Secretary of the
Chandigarh Pollution Control committee to file complaints
under Section 19 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. |
Lawyers'
dharna continues CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — Lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today continued their boycott of the court of Mr Justice G.C. Garg, to protest against his alleged attempt to forcibly evict Mr J.S. Yadav and his advocate son, Mr Parduman Singh, from his house in Sector 27. Mr G.C. Dhuriwala and Mr S.S. Behl, president and secretary of the Punjab and Haryana Bar Association, respectively, said the advocates also sat in dharna outside the judge's courtroom. They would continue to boycott the court until he was shifted out. Mr Justice Garg, however,
held his court. |
BCA
students in a quandary CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — A number of students of bachelor of computer applications at the Regional Institute of Management and Administration today alleged that they had not been given the roll numbers two days before their semester to be conducted by the Punjab Technical University. Students while talking to TNS said that their institute kept them in the dark about not receiving permission to have additional seats under which they were admitted. They were admitted in December. "We left the courses and the institutes where we were studying earlier", a student said. The institute had charged full fee, students said. A letter from the Registrar of the PTU dated December 26 says: "At no stage the university authorised you to admit students in the1998 batch" and that it was admitting students at its own risk. Another letter dated december 29 said: "No admission be made till the approval of the university". Students have threatened to move the court in case their roll numbers were not released." The director of the institute when contacted said in a letter the Registrar had asked them to take immediate action to assess the number of candidates available to join and send their names and rank number to university. "The institute had subsequently followed up the case with the PTU. The letters are a proof of
these. I will go to Jalandhar tomorrow to get the roll
numbers released so that students are saved from
harassment, the director added. |
Engineers
want vacancies filled SAS NAGAR, Jan 13 — The Ropar regional unit of the PSEB Engineers' Association has demanded the filling of various posts which have been lying vacant for many months. The regional secretary of
the association, Mr R.K. Sahi, said members at a meeting
here today expressed resentment over the attitude of the
electricity board authorities towards their demand on
promotions. The power board management, he said, had also
failed to implement the recommendations of the Wage
Revision Committee and also not fulfilled the commitments
made at a meeting on October 14, 1998. |
Make
teaching of Independence struggle ‘compulsory’ CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — A former MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, today advocated compulsory teaching of the history of the freedom struggle in the educational institutions with a view to maintaining unity in diversity. Speaking at a function organised on the first death anniversary of freedom fighter Jiwan Dass Ahuja here, Mr Bansal said: "We must learn from the past for the development and progress of the nation". He came down heavily on those who misused religion for their petty political gains. Dr Anand Kumar, head of the Department of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and chief coordinator of the Lok Shakti campaign, said a spectre of debt trap was looming large over the country in the next century as the country had deviated from the path shown by the freedom fighters. Paying rich tributes to the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom, he expressed concern at the vanishing moral values. Earlier, Dr Krishan, vice-president of the Freedom Fighters' Association, Punjab, criticised the BJP Government for "withdrawing" various facilities given to the freedom fighters by the I.K. Gujral Government. Mr Rattan Singh Baghi,
general secretary of the All-India Freedom Fighters'
Organisation, Ropar district, lamented that even after 50
years of Independence the country had not been able to
adopt Hindi as the national language. He expressed
anguish at the shabby treatment meted out to freedom
fighters by successive governments. |
Paper-setters'
workshop SAS NAGAR, Jan 13 — The Punjab School Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, will conduct a three-day workshop for the "training of paper-setters" January 14 to 16 at the ICSSR Complex, Panjab University, Chandigarh. A spokesman of the board
said that the workshop would be inaugurated by Mrs S.K.
Sandhu, Secretary, School Education, Punjab, while Dr
Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, chairman of the board, would
preside. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 —The decision of the erstwhile ruling BJP to suspend the paid parking system in Sector 8 and 17 in September last year is likely to be taken up for discussion at the coming meeting of the corporation of Chandigarh scheduled to be held on January 27. The suspension of the paid parking system, which was deferred for one month in September in the wake of strong opposition from traders, employees and political parties, has not been put in cold storage as the item was very much in the leftover agenda of the two meetings of the MCC, sources said. It may be mentioned that the decision to suspend the paid parking sytem from the BJP office in Sector 33 had raised many an eyebrow. Subsequently, a seven-member committee consisting of, among others, the BJP president, Mr Dharam Pal Gupta, a former Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, and the MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, was formed to "review" the decision. The committee, which was to submit its report by October 11, never formally submitted the report to the MCC. The former Mayor when contacted said as it was not an official committee no report was prepared. The panel, however, made certain observations on the paid parking system which could not discussed in the House as meetings were adjourned. Among the observations made by the committee were the introduction single-pass system in Sector 17 and a proposal to shift paid parking to the backsides of the the showrooms and earmarking of free parking sites, Mr Gian Chand Gupta said. The final decision now rested with the House as the item is on the agenda, he added. It may be recalled that the agenda says that matter regarding the parking is placed before House for "appropriate decision". The Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, confirmed that as the matter was on the left-over agenda, it was likely to be taken up for discussion. Demanded: The Sweepers' Union has demanded additional staff for proper cleanliness of the city. In a memorandum to the National Commission for Safaikaramcharis, New Delhi, the union said as per the norms fixed by Central Government, the city with a population touching nine lakhs required over 3,300 sweepers. The present strength of sweepers, including daily-wagers and those on contract, was only 1,900, thus placing a heavy burden on the existing staff. The memorandum urged the
commission to take up the matter with the Chandigarh
Administration so that additional sweepers could be
recruited.
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CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The brother and sister kathak duo of Taposh and Reenu Giri gave a display of intricate footwork at the 31st monthly baithak of Pracheen Kala Kendra here yesterday. These dancers from Agra have already set some sort of a world record and have been recommended for entry into the Guinness Book of Records for their continuous performance of 1025 Chakras in 66 Avartan Paran. They began their programme with Ganesh Stuti — Gana Naam Ganpati Ganesh — based on Raag Kalawati, which was followed by Om Namah Shivaya, an invocation to Lord Shiva based on Rag Bhopali in Teevra Taal. Thereafter, they presented a Bandish-Dha, Dha Dha Sa ... 3, in Raag Bageshri in Rupak Taal. The next item presented by Taposh and Reenu Giri was Kathak Nritya consisting of Aamad, That, Tode, Paran, Tukde with intricate footwork accompanied with rapid rounds in the last Tatkar. They concluded the item with Holi — More Ek Ho Na Mani — in Raag Bahar, followed by Jugalbandi on Tabla and Harmonium. The concluding item of the evening was Thali Dance, dipicting various intricate Laykaris, seldom presented by other more mature artistes. The accompanists giving support to the two dancers were Amar Bhatt on Tabla, M.K. Giri on Pakhawaj and O.P. Gupta on Sitar, while Meenu Giri gave the vocal support. All the accompanists gave good support, which made the programme a success. The programme was well
choreographed. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — A woman whose only son had died years ago was arrested today along with two of her accomplices for allegedly kidnapping a four-year-old male child from a Sector 21 house five months ago. The woman, Saroj Sharma, a resident of Sector 15, had allegedly kidnapped four-year-old Vishal, a son of Inder Bahadur, who works as a domestic helper in the house of Mr Bunty Khanna in Sector 21. According to police sources, the woman along with Seema and Indu had kidnapped the child as he was playing outside the Sector 21 house. When the child was missing, the parents along with their employer lodged a complaint with the police. The child could not be traced. However, with some family contacts they learned that a child, who looked like Vishal, had been living with Saroj in Sector 15. The police arrested the three women and booked them under sections 363,368 and 120-B of the IPC. Three hurt: Three persons have been injured in separate road accidents in the city. Mr Deepak Jagoda of Sector 40 banged his Maruti car into a roundabout in Sector 40 on Tuesday night. Jimathu, riding the pillion of a scooter driven by Jagdish was injured when the scooter was hit by a car (CH-01-Q-8492). The car was driven by Jaswant Singh. A pedestrian, Mani Pal, of Kumhar colony, Sector 25, was injured when a scooter driven by Rattan Kumar banged into him. All the injured have been admitted to hospitals. Booked: A resident of Palsoura colony, Des Raj, has been booked by the police for allegedly making fake papers of a truck. The Secretary, State Transport Authority, had lodged a complaint with the police. A case under sections 420, 467, 468 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered. Assault charge: A Sector 37 resident, Mrs Balbir Kaur, has alleged that she was assaulted by Laxmi Devi, her tenant. A case under sections 447 and 448 of the IPC has been registered. PANCHKULA Four held: Four persons who had allegedly robbed and assaulted two Haryana police personnel on January 5 last have been arrested by the police. The cops, Joginder Singh, a class IV employee attached with the DGP, Haryana, and Gulab Singh, posted at the State Police headquarters here, had alleged that the assailants brandishing knives had robbed them of Rs 300 in cash and valuables. The four robbers have been identified as Sunil alias Mota, Dyanand, Rajesh alias Lakad and Lala — all residents of Rajiv labour colony. All the assailants are in the age group of 20 to 22 years. They were produced before the Duty Magistrate for police remand. The police had registered
a case under Sections 392 and 394 of the IPC against the
robbers after six days of the incident. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The Institute for Pharmaceutical Science in Panjab University is doing a pioneering work on studying mechanism in the brain which leads to drug addiction. The team led by Prof S.K. Kulkarni has made considerable progress in this direction and also recommended certain drugs which are useful in the management of withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms on unavailability of drugs are tough to manage in people who want to quit addiction. Mentat, a drug used for mentally retarded children, has been found effective. Interestingly, Mentat, which is a herbal formation, is also the result of pioneering work by the team under Professor Kulkarni. The drug is being produced by a private company as a result of an MoU. The drug has also been found in improving learning capability of children. Another drug which is used for hypertension patients has been found effective for managing withdrawal symptoms of opium. This also works in case of smokers wishing to quit, Professor Kulkarni said while talking to TNS. The team is studying the changes that take place at the neuronal level and what can be done to reduce the activity of the brain which gets activated during craving for drug which leads to withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms have the potential for initiating a "goal-oriented behaviour, leading to social problems and often crime". Another drug Chandonium, a neuro-muscular blocking agent, was also synthesised in the department by Prof Harkishan Singh and Prof D.P. Jindal. The drug has already been cleared by the drug authorities for marketing. The department has also signed an MoU with a pharmaceutical company for production of a medicine for piles developed by it. Earlier the department used to manufacture the plant based preparation and sell for Rs 5 per course. The income generated was sent to the university kitty. However, the department could not meet the growing demand. Professor Kulkarni said that over 20 products of the department had been patented. The faculty serves as consultant to leading pharmaceutical industries. The Industry Institute Programme Cell has been constituted to interact with the industry around Chandigarh. The department also receives grants from the private industry for research There has been, however, a fall in the grant for projects from the UGC and the CSIR, Prof Kulkarni lamented. The other prominent areas of work include bio-organic medicinal chemistry, the chemistry of natural products, heterosteroids, drug delivery system and cardiovascular pharmacology besides others. Poll row: Certain Fellows of Panjab University have expressed dissatisfaction over the election process for the added members to the faculties scheduled for January 18. A delegation of Fellows had met the Registrar in this regard last week. It is reliably learnt that a Principal had filed seven nominations in the engineering faculty. However, in the subsequent list the number was reduced to six. Consequently, all nominations were rejected. In a letter to the registrar here on Wednesday Dr R.D. Anand said that two separate notifications were made for the elections, one on December 9 and the other on December 12,1998, while elections should be held on the 40th day after notification. It has also been pointed out that the number of added members had changed in the faculties of languages and science in both notifications. While the first list showed the members to be elected in the languages faculty to be 12, it was reduced nine in the subsequent list. The numbers changed from 18 to 21 in the science faculty. Dr Anand claimed that certain nomination papers of candidates that were rejected on various grounds were later admitted. The Registrar, Dr Paramjit
Singh, when contacted said the papers rejected earlier
had been admitted after seeking legal opinion on the
issue. A proper procedure had been followed in all the
aspects, he added. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the FIR registered against Mr Dharam Pal Jangra, District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC), Narnaul, in Mahendragarh district and certain other officials under Sections 7, 10 and 55 of the Essential Commodities Act on August 4, 1997. Mr Justice R.L. Anand, who delivered this order, ruled: "Report of the CBI authorities exonerating the petitioner stands accepted. As a result, FIR No 660 dated August 4, 1997, registered at Narnaul police station in Mahendragarh district stands quashed with all consequential proceedings". The inquiry to the CBI was entrusted by the High Court following the filing of a petition by Mr Jangra seeking quashing of the FIR. In his petition he had alleged that he is a nephew of Mr Ramji Lal, a member of the Rajya Sabha, who is close to Mr Bhajan Lal, former Chief Minister of Haryana. Mr Baljit Singh Kularia, who was posted as Deputy Director, Food and Supplies, is a son of the brother-in-law of Mr Bansi Lal, Chief Minister. Mr Kularia remained under suspension for three and a half years during the Bhajan Lal regime. He exerted his influence on the Bansi Lal Government to implicate Mr Jangra in one case or the other. Mr Jangra had alleged that under Mr Kularia's orders the Deputy Commissioner purporting to act on secret information that the wholesale kerosene dealers, Santosh Oil and Chhano Oil, had received supply which they had sold in the black-market and got an inquiry conducted through the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, tehsildars, naib-tehsildars about the supply and distribution by retail depots and submitted a report to the Director, Food and Supplies Department. A perusal of the inquiry report revealed that the petitioner was not involved anywhere in the sale of kerosene. The petitioner claimed that on instructions of the Deputy Commissioner, the Director of Food and Supplies asked the petitioner to hold an inquiry into the allegations. He conducted the inquiry and sent his report to the Director on July 23, 1997. The report of the petitioner was still under consideration of the department when Mr Kularia got the FIR registered against the petitioner and other persons. In its finding submitted before the Judge, the CBI stated: "During investigation, no evidence could be collected against any of the suspects. Moreover, the allegations of misappropriation of kerosene has not been proved. Hence the FIR registered against the suspects deserved to be closed". The CBI further added that the case registered against Mr D.P. Jangra and others was misconceived for various reasons. First, Mr Ramesh Dayal Sharma, Naib-Tehsildar, Mahendragarh, had also conducted inquiry in 10 villages as ordered by the Deputy Commissioner but no irregularities of any kind were found in kerosene distribution. The SP (CBI), who conducted the inquiry, recorded that Mr A.R. Godara, Joint Director, Food and Supplies, revealed that a message from the Deputy Commissioner of Narnaul had been received requiring the names of the officers responsible for misappropriation. Mr Godara added that the name of A.S.F.O., six Inspectors and Sub Inspectors were forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner. Neither did he forward Mr Jangra's name nor did he know how Mr Jangra's name was added in the FIR. The report said the Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.S. Prasad, was examined on this point. He stated that it was telephonically decided with the Director of Food and Supply that the name of Mr Jangra should be placed in the FIR to be registered. The then Director of Food and Supplies, Mr P. Raghavendra Rao, on the other hand, told the CBI that he had received a call from Narnaul's Deputy Commissioner during which he repeated his request to take action against the defaulters. He had not recommended any particular name like Mr Jangra. The CBI report added that during investigation, Mr Basudev Gupta, proprietor of Hind Oil Store, Narnaul, stated that he was approached by Mr Kularia, and requested to persuade kerosene dealers to file affidavits against Mr Jangra. However, the kerosene dealers refused to oblige him on July 30 and 31, 1997. However, the FIR was lodged on August 4, 1997, through Mr J.D. Arora, DDPO, Narnaul. Another plea on Sikh judicial panel Our Legal Correspondent adds: A petition filed by Mr Kashmir Singh challenging the appointment of three new members of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission and the removal of the three existing members, came up for hearing today before a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Iqbal Singh. It was contended in the petition that the state of Punjab had no powers either to remove or appoint any member of the Sikh judicial commission and that consequent the coming into force of the Punjab Reorganiation Act, 1966, the appointment and removal of a member could be made only by the Central Government. The petitioner further alleged that his removal was on account of mala fides on the part of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chier Minister. For this purpose he relie on two letters allegedly sent by the Chief Minister to the petitioner in February, 1997. The Judgess asked counsel for the petitioner to find but who had handed over the letters to the petitioner and whether any case against them was pending before the commission. The petitioner's counsel could not explain the position and satisfy the Judges on these allegations. Faced with the situation,
counsel made a request for withdrawing the allegations of
mala fides against the Chief Minister and consequently no
notice was issued to the Chief Minister. Notice to the
other respondents was issued for January 28. |
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