Territorial Army seeks officers
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 19 — The territorial army (TA) is looking for young officers — individuals gainfully employed in the government or corporate sector — who are willing to serve the motherland for short duration. The requisite talent in the right age group is not being attracted to a life in olive green.

The selection is tough as the standards of recruitment have not been diluted despite the perceptible fall in applications from youngsters. While there is no shortfall in the number of "quality" applicants for joining as junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks (ORs), persons willing to join as officers are on the wrong side of 30. The ideal age is 22 to 25 years.

Brig Khushwant Singh, Commander, Territorial Army Group Headquarters, Western Command, says the TA is a citizens' army and meets a useful objective in the security of the nation. The increasing involvement of the army in counter insurgency operations, internal security duties and aid to civil authorities has meant that more TA units are being called upon to be a part of the regular army formations and units.

He says more youngsters should come forward and enrol themselves. This not being the regular army, individuals can be a part of the army and yet carry on with their avocation. Youngsters can be an asset to their parent organisations as they will not only be physically fit but will be highly-trained professionals with management skills and will be an epitome of discipline, he adds.

All recruited officers and men have to put in two months of physical service a year and are entitled to all benefits of the armed forces during embodiment for training and service embodiment. The Brigadier also cites cases where officers opted for a career in the regular army after successfully clearing the Staff Selection Board.

Dismissing all talk of large scale embodiment of TA units in the wake of Kargil operations, he says but for normal peace time duties, no additional units are being embodied. Presently, in the course of routine exercise, two infantry battalions have moved to Jammu and Kashmir for internal security duties. The TA units are also employed for augmenting the regular army in counter insurgency environment and guarding of ordnance/ASCON installations.

The TA is organised on departmental and non-departmental lines. The recruitment to the former is made from within the department concerned for which the unit is raised. These units are fully financed by the department or the Defence Ministry.

The units in this category include five infantry\ecological\wasteland battalions, 11 Railway Engineer Regiments (six defence-paid and five railways-financed), two defence-financed Railway Bridge Construction Companies, one oil sector-paid Engineer Regiment Refinery and Pipeline, one ASC Battalion Marketing, one Engineer regiment ONGC, seven defence-paid General Hospitals and one Signal Regiment Telecommunications. There are 25 non- departmental infantry battalions which are made up from among civilian volunteers. These units are affiliated to different infantry regiments of the regular army and are financed from the Defence budget.

While some departmental units have no peace-time role, some have been raised for specific tasks. For example, Railway Engineer units maintain essential rail communications in forward areas during hostilities and also during emergencies during peace time.On the other hand, non-departmental units are primarily employed for defence of air fields, static installations, protection of lines of communications, provision of escorts, organisation of Prisoner of War camps and escorts of Prisoners of War.

The role of the citizens force, functioning since 1948, has been acknowledged by various defence ministers. Following its good performance in the 1962 and 1971 operations, the force was entrusted with an increasing spectrum of tasks.

Infantry units guarded airfields, strategic installations, lines of communications, stores and ammunition dumps and towards the end of the war, took on the responsibility of large number of Prisoners of War camps established for the Pakistanis captured\surrendered in Bangladesh. Some units took part in active operations in Eastern and Western Sectors.

The Air Defence Units covered themselves with glory shooting down many Pakistani aircrafts. The Railway Engineer Units, the Inland Water Transport units and the General Hospitals carried out their duties creditably. For bravery and outstanding performance in different sectors, TA personnel were awarded five Vir Chakras, five Sena Medals, 14 Mention-in-Despatches and seven Chief of Army Staff Commendation Cards.

The history of the TA can be traced to 1897, when it was raised as Volunteers, who were recruited from among Europeans and Anglo-Indians only. The force was reorganised in two separate wings — the Auxiliary Force and the Indian Territorial Force — in 1920. The former was meant for Europeans and the latter was meant for Indians.

Stray animals menace in city
By A Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, June 19 — The increasing number of stray animals on the city roads have not only defaced the city’s beauty but have also created nuisance. During the past couple of months, there has been a great increase in the number of cows, buffaloes, bulls, horses and pigs on the city roads.

Ms Manjit Kaur, of Sector 41 says stray cattle have been creating nuisance in the area for the past few months. She says she often sees her plants eaten up in the morning. She says residents of the area should not give eatables to these animals as they permanently visit that area afterwards.

She blames the administration for ignoring the issue. She says open garbage bins and neglect of duty of enforcement staff are the causes of these animals strolling in the area.

Another resident of the area, Mr Charanjit Singh, says horses have been causing nuisance in the area. He says he has been watching a particular group of horses for a couple of years. He adds that these animals have made it very risky for the residents to drive vehicles in the area.

He blames the mushrooming of colonies and slums within city limits. He says the administration must take steps to stop the nuisance created by these animals.

Mr Naresh Kumar of Sector 24 criticises the corporation for neglecting the issue. He says pigs have been creating nuisance in the area. He says they have been meeting senior officials of the corporation in this connection but to no avail.

On the other hand, Mr Prem Singh, inspector of the enforcement staff of the Municipal Corporation, maintains that the number of stray animals caught during the past couple of months is more than the number in the past few years. He says the enforcement staff faces a number of problems as there are few vehicles. He demands more staff in order to perform the duties in a better way. He also suggests that the facility of a police van should be given to the department.

Ray of hope for leper
By Gaurav Sood

CHANDIGARH, June 19 — Leprosy was once regarded a curse, with the patients being forced to hold a begging bowl as they were isolated by society. But today leprosy is no longer incurable. Early detection and treatment of the disease can help a patient lead a normal life.

Mukandi Lal, a leprosy patient, smilingly tells that one lucky day he was spotted by officials of the Leprosy Society, Chandigarh. After having lost all hope of a normal life forced by unfortunate circumstances and ignorance, Dr Uma Vasudev, was a ray of light in the dark for him. He tearfully tells that he thought that he was a beggar and would die one.

Today, Mukandi is under treatment of Lt- Col Dr Uma Vasudev of General Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh. He has been given special padded shoes and advised to take care of his eyes and limbs. Mukandi happily shows his medicines, shoes and a pair of spectacles given by the doctor.

However, before reaching this stage, Mukandi has had to go through hell. Official records maintain that Mukandi developed leprosy at the age of 16. He was then forced to leave his home and dear ones.

Mukandi, who once lived in Muradabad, recalls that he was not allowed to mix with his relatives. He couldn't even eat with his brothers. After the death of his father, he had to leave his home. He sadly tells that the whole village which once loved him wanted him to leave.

As a result, Mukandi started begging near the Mansa Devi Shrine and lived in a small hut. His hut is so small that he has to crawl to enter it. As the disease advanced, he developed deformities of his feet and hands. He lost his eyebrows and eyelashes and couldn't even blink and slept with his eyes open.

This life changed when he was spotted by the good samaritans, who took charge of his cure.

Today he can hope to lead a normal life and throw away his begging bowl. Mukandi wishes to be a chowkidar and live a respectful life.

Phone shifting no, bill yes
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 19 — For Mrs Manju Sikand of Panchkula, getting her telephone shifted from Sector 15 to Sector 4 of the same town, has been a herculean task. Even after four months it remains to be accomplished. And all these months, though she had been without a telephone, she still got a telephone bill.

"It was on February 19 that I applied for shifting of my telephone no 578052 from Sector 15 to my new house in Sector 4.

"After no action was taken on my application made on the prescribed form, I made yet another application on April 1. But two applications for one job are, perhaps, not enough.

"Since February 19, I have made every effort to meet everyone, including the Commercial Officer, Telephones, Panchkula; SDO Telephones of Panchkula and Mr Jagdish Gupta, Junior Engineer, Telephones, Panchkula. I have visited each one of them personally and so many times but without any success.

"Though my telephone is yet to be shifted, the Commercial Officer raised a bill of Rs 299 on May 1,1999 (Bill No. 27601940) and sent it to my old address. At the time of making my application for shifting of telephone, I had asked for disconnection of the phone from the existing premises. Now when the telephone has been out of operations for the past more than four months, the bill has come as a big shock and surprise.

"As a last resort, I have sent an application to the Principal General Manager of Chandigarh Telecom by explaining to him my agony," she says.

Under the rules, if the telephone remains dead or out of operation for more than 10 or 15 days at a stretch, the bimonthly rent is waived. But in this case, even when the telephone has been literally in departmental custody, sending a bill to a subscriber, already unhappy with the services is like applying salt to her wounds.

Mrs Sikand hopes that the Principal General Manager would get both the problems of shifting of telephone and withdrawal of bill sorted out.

She suggests that there should be some system or mechanism where such cases of harassment of telephone subscribers can be handled expeditiously and action taken against officials responsible for such "tortures".

Auctioning of school sites ‘unjustified’
By Gautam Dheer
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, June 19 — With the trend of auction gaining momentum in Panchkula during the past couple of months, HUDA will now auction commercial sites for schools here on June 21. The big question is whether it is morally, socially and traditionally in order to do such auctions of commercial sites for schools and educational institutions.

The system of auction of commercial sites for schools and colleges started after 1992, before which sites were not auctioned but were allocated by HUDA. With the growing demands of competition, everybody wants his child to go to the best of school and colleges with proper infrastructure and facilities.

Mr Anil Behl, Assistant Manager, Videocon, feels that these auctions would commercialise education and add to the predicament of parents. “If you look at things from a school owners point of view, it will be unfair if he is not able to ensure viability of his project and that is only possible through increased admission fee amounts”, he added.

There are 16 sites to be auctioned at a reserve price of Rs 9.22 per sq.yard — all in new sectors under development at Panch-kula. The auction will include site for a college with a total area of 50932.9 sq.mtr and also sites for nursery, primary and high schools with a total scattered area of around 8 acres.

Ms Jaunita, a school teacher of Holy Child School, Sector 2, Panchkula, said “It is unjustified and immoral to have such auctions if no adequate ceiling is ensured to limit the fee structure charged by the private school owners”. The ultimate sufferer will only be the average parent who has to pay exorbitant fees for his children she added. Although HUDA has laid down that these private schools would charge the fees at par with government schools but practically it is neither executed nor is it possible to do so in order to ensure adequate rate of return on investments.

Ms Swaran Kaushal, a teacher of Hansraj Public School, Panchkula, said the allotment of sites rather than auction could lead to manipulation. She added that some system of evaluation, checks and balances should be incorporated and executed sincerely so that it does not over burden the parents.

HUDA under its act 18 1(b) 18 B (2) had given a notice to resume commercial school properties falling in residential area which had at one time led to panic amongst parents and school owners. This resulted in a large influx of admission in sited schools here, with commercially auctioned HUDA sites almost becoming mandatory.

Prof. H.S. Takulia, an educationist, said, “the big gap between increased demand for admissions and reduced supply of sited schools is well exploited by private school owners as they feel much obliged charging fees and large amounts in the form of ‘funds’.

Some system should be developed wherein allotment is done to reputed organisations, trusts, social institutions etc. which is free from bias and manipulation, he added. Although HUDA has laid down 20 per cent reserved seats for the economically weaker sections and for the students of ‘merit and means’, yet according to trends it would be something out of ordinary for the authorities to ensure adherence to rules by private school-owners.

Mr Rajesh Rajpal, a businessman, feels that the auctions are justified as all schools should have proper facilities and infrastructure along with authorised sites so as to ensure optimum motivational levels of a child. “All this would give rise to positive competition, greater excellence in all fields and no parent would like to compromise on quality education of their child regardless of increased fee amounts,” he said.

HUDA has laid down certain parameters after auction for the schools to be brought up in this area, but for it to implement these laid down norms is something which nobody is sure of.

Library that has few readers
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 19 — Few know that the Government Museum, Sector 10, also houses a well-equipped reference library within its premises. Abu-l-Fazl's 'Akbar Nama', Firdausi's 'Shah Nama', D.P. Astha's 'Poetry of Dasam Granth', Sir Mortimer's Commemorative Volume — 'Frontiers of the Indus Civilization' and old volumes of journals like the 'Marg' and the 'Reader's Digest' are some of the kind of books stocked in the library.

However, this library seems to be on an endless wait for readers. With a collection of over 5,000 books, including a special section of some rare manuscripts and books donated by Dr M.S. Randhawa, the museum is not only devoid of students of art, but even teachers and artists of the city.

Shiv Singh, eminent sculptor-artist of the region and Chairman of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, who visits the premises regularly, also could not immediately recall that a library existed inside the Museum. "There is need to publicise this reference library. Otherwise how do you expect even those who are interested to visit it?" he said.

Dr B.N. Goswami, eminent art-historian and member of the book selection committee of this library said, "It first needs to be understood that museums are supposed to be repositories of knowledge, and they must have a reference library. Our museum library is quite well-stocked, but I myself have a very good library at home, so I hardly go to the museum. And since I have easy access to the university library as well, I do not need to go the museum".

As far as accessibility to this museum is concerned, people have to normally seek permission of the Director of the Museum and also get a letter of introduction from one's department. Revealing this, one of the employees of the museum said, "When people from outside (foreigners) come, we allow them to use the references on our own. Otherwise, if students of the Art College or the Architecture College come, we send them to the Director. But very few students come during the summer vacation. We do have a few trooping in during examinations, but it is true that the traffic of readers is quite less".

Said an art student, Shivani, "I never knew that a library also existed inside the museum. Me and my friends sometimes have to run around to locate references, and now that I know that another library exists I would certainly like to use it".

But the library, otherwise very impressively stocked, would certainly prove to be tedious in the summer months without any air-conditioning and only three pedestal fans. Who would like to sweat it out in the heat and try to sift through the books on the shelf proclaiming 'Study of Natural resources and Agriculture' and then finally come across 'Kangra Paintings of Gita Govinda' ?

10-year struggle with IAF bears fruit
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, June 19 — For Harsev Singh Saini, Junior Warrant Officer of the Indian Air Force who was discharged from the force after 24 years of service on account of cent per cent disability, struggle stretched for over 10 years before he got justice in the shape of employment for his son.

The sufferings of Harsev Singh, then a Corporal posted in Delhi, started in 1974, when he was operated upon for a brain tumour, after which he developed a peculiar ailment of weakening of legs. His condition further deteriorated when he was posted at Guwahati, where his condition was such that he was barely able to walk and was transferred by the Air Force authorities to the III BRD at Chandigarh. Ultimately, he was declared to be 'medically unfit' in 1989 for service of the force by a medical board, which found that Mr Saini was suffering from neuro-fibroma lower cervical region. Interestingly, while the board declared that the disability of Mr Saini was 100 per cent and he could not be retained in the force, but at the same time it said he was fit for civil employment.

But the real struggle for the ailing and cash-strapped soldier with five family members depending on his earnings, started in 1993, when he thought that most of sufferings could end if his son was employed in the force under the category reserved for wards of disabled personnel. His dreams crashed when the Air Force authorities stated that his son could not be considered for employment as he had not attained 18 years of age, which is mandatory for recruitment in the service. Next shock was waiting for him when the authorities, in contradiction to the medical board report turned down his plea that he should be given employment in the civil wing of the force. As Mr Saini had spent a major part of his earnings on his treatment, what proved to be more painful, was that neither was he given medical pension nor granted pension for the rank of Junior Warrant Officer, which was his rank at the time of retirement.

"Strangely enough, I retired as a JWO, but was being given pension for the rank of Corporal. I had to knock the doors of the court, which ultimately granted me the benefit,"said Mr Saini. Due to the indifferent attitude of the Air Force authorities, Mr Saini says he has had to fight a number of long legal battles for a period of more than 10 years with the help of the All-India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association President, Mr Bhim Sen Sehgal.

"During this period, I was virtually penniless, particularly when I was paying a monthly instalment of Rs 1,750 against the MIG flat purchased my me, out of my pension totalling about Rs 2,900. But I never lost heart as I was inspired by Mr Sehgal, who fought my cases without charging any money from me," said Mr Saini.

Mr Saini said the Air Force authorities did not consider the case of his son for appointment as a lower division clerk even after he attained the age of 18 years. "It left me a totally broken man and I had no choice but to go to the court, which once again came to my rescue, by directing the authorities concerned to appoint my son Amritpal Singh. But the worst part of the story is that even after court directions things failed to move due to which I had to file a contempt suit against the authorities twice after which an appointment letter was issued to my son in May this year," said Mr Saini, who cannot even move without the help of an attendant.

In this fight, what hurts him most is the fact that he has not been able to get a good education for his children.