Few hibiscus species in Hibiscus Garden
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — Apparent lack of upkeep of the Sector 36 Hibiscus Garden has left it with barely a few hibiscus varieties, known for bearing bright coloured flowers.

The garden, aimed at offering a delightful view of different varieties of the hibiscus species, was set up in 1986-87 by the Horticulture Department of the UT Administration. Initially, about 150 varieties were planted in the garden, it was learnt. The garden was later handed over to the local Municipal Corporation after it came into a being in 1996.

Gradually, it started declining for want of enough attention by the authorities concerned. Thus, today it is adorned with just about 15 varieties of the plant, scattered all over the place. Besides maintenance, a major reason behind perishing of most of varieties is lack of water for irrigation purpose as till recently, the garden had been doing without a water connection.

The absence of maintenance is apparent right from the entrance of the garden.A number of plants along the boundary wall are afflicted with disease and bear wilted leaves and very few flowers. So much so, that a majority of plants are afflicted with termite and are on the verge of death on this account. Trees along the footpath have also been attacked by termite but these are recovering after getting treatment.

The place is frequented by stray animals as a big breach in the boundary wall is awaiting to be bridged for a couple of months.

On proceeding further, one is often confronted with a nauseating smell emanating from the Leisure Valley Nullah passing through the garden. The concrete path is engulfed by an overgrowth of grass and the slabs of the path are broken at a number of places. "Though it is a nice and calm place for morning walks, what puts off the visitors is its neglected state. It is hardly left with hibiscus plants and one has to be content with its green, but unmowed lawns," said Mr Khushi Ram, who occasionally visits the place after a walk at the neighbouring Fragrance Garden. He observed that with a little attention, the place could become a major attraction among the morning walkers.

The condition of the footpath is particularly worst near the bridge on the left of the entry point where a couple of broken slabs are about to fall into the nullah as earth under these has given way due to rains. "It should be repaired at the earliest as broken slabs and uneven surface caused due to it could result in serious injuries to people visiting the place for a walk," said a regular visitor to the place.

Overcharging at public toilets
From A Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — Lack of initiative on part of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), has created hardships for shopkeepers and visitors to the Sector 17 market as attendants of four public toilets have been illegally making money from its users.

It may be recalled that on June 5, 1994, through an agreement made between the then Medical Officer of the UT Administration and one of the market committees of Sector 17, the four toilets situated here were handed over to a committee on certain terms and conditions for a period of two years.

Under the agreement, the market committee was made responsible for the maintenance of both wings (ladies and men) of all the four toilets. It was mutually agreed that these toilets would not be used for any other purpose except for urination and defecation. Through its attendants, the committee was verbally authorised to collect Re 1 for defecation from each user and none for urination.

Though the two-year period of the agreement expired in October, 1996, neither was it renewed nor any initiative taken by the authorities to either take over these toilets or auction them.

The toilets are in a deplorable condition. Water taps, urinal pots, exhaust fans, lighting and wash basins are in bad shape.

These toilets are being used as stores for the goods of footpath and rehri-phari vendors who have encroached upon the premises of this market. As a result, the users of these toilets have to suffer a lot.

According to a government source, it was decided that there should be uniformity in rates charged from both the male and female wings of these toilets and the committee through its attendants was authorised to collect Re 1 from each user for defecation only. But in violation of the agreement, the attendants have been charging Rs 2 for defecation and Re 1 from each woman for urination. In case of tourists and strangers, the charges vary from Rs 5 to Rs 10.

One of the attendants of these toilets, Papan said, "Of the four toilets, three are under me. From the total collection, I pay Rs 230 per day to a so-called President of the committee and the maintenance and upkeep of these toilets are my responsibility. Till now, neither the committee nor the authorities concerned have spent even a single anna."

He admitted that his wards charged Re 1 for urination, Rs 2 for defecation from both men and women whereas from tourists, especially the foreigners, they charged Rs 10.

The President of the Market Committee, Mr Subash Kataria, said the two-year period expired in October, 1996, but the agreement was not renewed. He said that the amounts deposited by the attendants varied from toilet to toilet and if the toilet was in more use, then the they had to deposit more money and vice-versa. He added that he was ready to hand over the public toilets to the corporation, if it desired so.

The General Secretary of a block of Sector 17 market, Mr Ramesh Kapoor, said every block of the market had its own committee. He alleged, "The incidence of overcharging from the users of the toilets and the money collection is the handiwork of a single person who has brought bad name to the whole market."

The Municipal Councillor of the area, Mr Des Raj Tandon, alleged, "Mr Subash Kataria is a 'self-styled' President of the market and under his aegis, the attendants have been making good money. The upkeep of the toilets has not been given attention."

He added that he had raised the issue relating to the taking over of the toilets in the Municipal House, and talked to the authorities but to no avail.

The Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Kanhaya Lal Sharma, said he had received a complaint of overcharging against the attendants of the toilets and he had requested the Commissioner of the corporation to enquire and take over the toilets.

The Commissioner of the MCC, Mr Satish Ghatwal, said he had received a complaint of overcharging and mischief against a person of the market and was enquiring into the matter. After getting a nod from a committee of the MCC, regular auction of the toilets would be done for a stipulated period, he disclosed.

Old Indian books in digital form likely
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — The UK-based Minerva Press, one of the oldest publishing houses of the world, is contemplating to reproduce some of the old and rare Indian books in digital form, according Mr Bob Hamlyn, Chairman of the Minerva Press.

Mr Hamlyn, who was here in connection with the tie-up of his Press with the Punjab Book Centre here and to release a set of five books, said that outside India, the biggest collection of old and rare Indian books was in the Indian Library in England.

Though no old and rare book has been digitalised so far, he says a couple of meetings on the subject had already been held with the authorities concerned. The proceedings have been positive and encouraging. Once this is done, the scholars will have easy access to these rare books and manuscripts.

Mr Hamlyn also talked about the new technology which can help in publication of a single book in New York or Miami within three hours of its publication in New Delhi. He also talked about making books available on the worldwide web.

He announced institution of an annual award of Rs 50,000 to be given to the best critic of books published in English. A three-member independent committee would be set up to give the award annually.

The Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, Prof M.M. Puri, who released the books, said major beneficiaries of the new technology in books industry would be the younger generation. He also lauded the role of the Punjab Book Centre in sensitising readers and general public of the region about the book reading habits.

Mr Randhir Singh, a former Professor of Economics at Delhi University, said the pricing of the books and changing reading habits were major areas of concern for him.

Mr H.S. Bhatti, representative of the Minerva Press in this region, suggested that besides English, Punjabi should be the other language in which book publication should be encouraged. He suggested a minimum honararium to authors of Punjabi books even if their manuscripts are not accepted for publication.

An egg a day keeps stroke away
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — Even as the Union Territory of Chandigarh can boast of the highest per capita egg consumption in the country, eating an egg a day is not likely to trigger the risk of heart disease, says a US study involving more than 1 lakh persons.

The study conducted by Mr Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health and his associates and procured by the city-based North India Broilers Breeders Association, wards off the general fear that egg is harmful to heart owing to a high level of cholesterol present in it. "Nutrients in eggs, particularly if an egg is taken a day, help prevent heart disease and counterbalance any harm done by high cholesterol content present in these," says the study. It says that though eggs contain substantial amount of cholesterol, moderate consumption, coupled with a balanced diet, does not seem to majorly affect a heart patient. "There are numerous other nutrients in eggs, so one need not avoid these and one can include these in one's diet," says the report.

Meanwhile, statistics available with the association revealed that in India, approximately 30,000 million eggs were being consumed daily. The consumption was rising at the rate of 5 to 7 per cent per annum, with the City Beautiful leading with an annual per capita consumption of about 240 eggs. Following the city are Andhra Pradesh and Punjab where per capita consumption was 92 and 72 eggs. With regard to the regional breakup, it was the southern part of the country where annual per capita consumption was 57 eggs followed by the western region at 29 eggs, the northern region at 21 eggs and the eastern at 18 eggs. "The consumption of eggs is rising at an average rate of 5 to 7 per cent per year in every part of the country, except Punjab, which is the only state to slap sales tax on poultry. It is also the only state where the egg consumption has been on a decline," said Mr Surjit Singh, the President of the association. He agreed with the US study, involving two groups of female nurses in 11 American states and male dentists, followed since 1986, saying there was no harm in taking one egg a day.

"In these two large coherent studies of men and women, we found no positive overall positive association between egg consumption (one a day) and risk of coronary heart disease or stroke, even after a long term use in the past decade," said the report.

"It is conceivable that small adverse effect of cholesterol in an egg on plasma low density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) level is counterbalanced by its potential beneficial effects on high density cholesterol (good cholesterol) and triglyceride, and of other nutrients, including antioxidants, folate and other B vitamins and unsaturated fat," the study adds.

The eggs in study were whole eggs, eaten as such and not eggs included in processed foods. "We hope the study will once and for all exonerate the egg," quoted an expert in the study.

Leaking taps, poor water supply
By A Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — Most of the residents of the city complain about poor water supply in the morning hours. A number of residents can be seen carrying buckets of water from lower storeys of houses. At some places water runs continuously from taps.Most of the taps in the city markets leak throughout the day.

At some places the taps have been leaking for the last many months. The shopkeepers in the market say if taps are installed, these are stolen.

The tap near the general post office (GPO) in Sector 17 has been leaking for the last couple of months, according to the shopkeepers in the area. Most of the shopkeepers say the leakage creates a nuisance and is wastage of resources.

Though everybody criticises the role of the corporation, nobody has made any complaint to the department concerned.

A shopkeeper says the officials of the corporation have often visited the area but hardly taken notice of the problem. He adds that the Municipal Councillor of the ward has hardly ever come to listen to the problems.

Senior officials of the CMC admit that taps in some areas are in a bad state. They stressed on the role of the public. They say the public acts irresponsibly and is itself responsible for the problems it is facing.

They ask the public to develop better civic sense. An official of the CMC states that there is a proposal to introduce metered water supply in the markets and the decision is under consideration.

Power cuts continue
From Our Correspondent

MANAULI (SAS Nagar), July 3 — Frequent power cuts have led the residents in periphery areas of Chandigarh to suffer in the prevalent humid and scorching weather.

A visit by The Tribune team to villages Manauli, Pappri, Mullanpur-Garibdass, Zirakpur, among others, showed that there is poor power supply to the rural areas. Almost all villages have the complaint of erratic power supply. Power cuts, varying from five to eight hours, have become routine.

Mr Diwan Singh, Sarpanch of Mullanpur village, said the power crisis had been prevailing for the past fortnight in the area and despite various complaints to the authorities, nothing had been done.

Villagers complained of frequent tripping, fearing damage to electronic gadgets. Mr Bachitter Singh, another local resident, said a pocket of the village was without power on Thursday night and was restored on Friday afternoon.

Another complaint of consumers was the attitude of the maintenance staff. Mr Rattan Singh, resident of Manauli village, said one had to approach the power station to register complaint, as the department staff does not entertain complaints made on telephone.

Due to frequent power failures, villagers have to switch over to generators. The crisis has further burdened the residents who questions the relevance of power connections if they have to depend upon generators, he added.

The poor power supply has affected water supply in several areas. Several villages in Zirakpur, Manauli and adjoining villages are not connected with rural water supply and have to rely on their own water lifting pump sets. We have to carry water from where hand pumps are installed where one could get a bucket full of water waiting in long queues, said several residents.

DERA BASSI: Erratic power supply to various villages, including Zirakpur and Lalru, has put the residents to great inconvenience. They complain that unannounced power cuts hinder their routine works. The residents alleged that the department authorities never informed them about the power cuts in advance so that they could make alternative arrangements.

The condition of domestic as well as commercial power supply is worse. Residents of the area have to spend sleepless nights and face mosquito bites as their fans and the coolers do not work due to the absence of the power.

Mr Rajbir Singh, a resident of Lalru, said their complaints remain unattended for long. Employees of the electricity department are seen sitting idle and remain busy chatting, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Surinder Pal Singh, General Secretary, Congress cell, Punjab, has demanded uninterrupted power in the villages so that paddy crop may be transplanted within proper timing of the season.

Link road full of potholes
From Our Correspondent

BANUR, July 3 — Potholes on the Banur-Ambala link road have become a major traffic hazard for the road users. The pitiable condition of this link road is because of neglect on the part of the authorities concerned.

The vehicles start rattling on this bumpy road as one drives towards Ambala. This 19-km stretch from Banur to Shambhu barrier on the Ambala road is in a deplorable condition. Vehicles cannot move beyond the speed of 10 km per hour.

Residents of various villages along this road face a lot of difficulties due to knee-deep potholes in this partially carpeted road. Even cyclists prefer to skip this stretch.

People say that this the problem becomes serious during rains as water collects in these potholes and gets splashed on road users when a speeding vehicle passes on the road. Chances of accidents are maximised during nights as the drivers of vehicles are unable to notice the potholes.

Mrs Jasjit Kaur, President of the Punjab Civil and Consumer Welfare Front, Banur, complains that the PWD authorities have ignored this link road for the past about six years. Even no patch work has been done by the department concerned since long.

Truck drivers say that while driving on this road their vehicles get damaged and they have to spend a lot on their repair.

A truck driver says that they have to cover an extra distance of 13 km to reach Ambala via Rajpura. He complains that their loaded trucks get stuck in deep potholes.

Tent dealers encroach on public land
By Rupesh Kumar

CHANDIGARH, July 3 — There is a rise in the encroachments by tent dealers. The necessary steps have not taken regularly to end or remove these encroachments.

The intrusions have put some shopkeepers and residents to inconvenience. A shopkeeper at Sector 30 said the encroachments made by a tent dealer had blocked the passage. "They have inflicted a financial loss to my business as very few persons like to visit the shop," he complained, while demanding harsh steps against such encroachments.

Tents, benches, chairs, carpets, poles and wooden and metal pegs occupy space in the corridors as well as in the parking lots.

Mr Ramesh Kumar, a company salesman, said, "On several occasions, encroachments on public land have led to the challaning of my goods delivery vehicle as I do not get space to park it. "

A tent dealer, while accepting that the encroachments have become a routine phenomenon, said lack of required space to keep the material had forced them to encroach on public land. "In spite of being challaned by the Enforcement Wing of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, the absence of adequate space has compelled me to encroach on public land."

A resident of Sector 32, Mr Surinder Singh, said, "A couple of months back, when I was strolling in the market, I had a narrow escape when a bunch of around 50 chairs fell just near my feet." He demanded that severe action should be taken against the erring tent dealers.

The Chairman of the Chandigarh Tent Dealers Society, Mr Sukhdev Singh, is of the view that a tent or shamiana is an integral feature of India's social and cultural life and added, "Our business is seasonal and we have not been allotted any place or godown in and around the city for the upkeep and housing of our material. So during the rainy season, we use government or public land to dry the wet materials of our tent houses."

He said that the tent dealers, on occasions of Independence Day, Republic Day and group marriages, used to provide their services free of cost to the UT Administration, but it had not allotted them any space to run their business.

The Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, Mr Satish Ghatwal, said he only had the power to impose a maximum fine of Rs 500 on an encroacher.

Breach in nullah worries villagers
From Our Correspondent

CHILLA (SAS Nagar), July 3— Tension has gripped residents of Chilla and Manauli villages due to a breach in a sewer nullah following heavy rain during the past four days. The villagers fear that the water channel may be broken if necessary steps are not taken immediately.

The villages, near Phase XI of SAS Nagar, suffer due to heavy rain every year. A sewer from Chandigarh and SAS Nagar which passes through the area swells in the rainy season and enters villages.

Last year, the sewer nullah entered Manauli village, damaging the boundary wall of a school.

The nullah carrying city slush was breached near Chilla village last month. Though it had been plugged by the authorities, residents feel it is not sufficient. Villagers fear water could enter their fields if the gap was not plugged in time. On previous occasions, too, water destroyed fields, houses and human lives in the area, said Mr Kultar Singh, a resident of Chilla village.

The breached nullah has also affected the only connecting road to more than a dozen villages here. Water coming out of it is approaching the link road and eroding the berms. Residents said it was dangerous to drive on the road.

Sources said the Punjab Irrigation Department had undertaken some preventive steps. Though the work has been completed, the occurrence of any mishap cannot be ruled out.

Last month, a public grievances meeting was held by the Ropar district authorities. On the occasion, the problem of nullah was highlighted, said Mrs Surinder Kaur, sarpanch of Manauli village.

In recent years, more than a dozen fatal accidents have taken place in the absence of any safety measures on the nullah. A kutcha causeway leading to Premgarh and other adjoining villages constructed by the local panchayat is also under the threat of being submerged in the flowing water. Though the officials promised to take best possible measures, nothing has been done so far.

Several houses are situated near the flowing water and it is threatening these as the swollen nullah may hit the structures.