One killed in road mishap
Tribune News Service

KHARAR, June 27 — One person was killed and two were injured in a road accident at Jhajeri village near here today.

According to the police, the accident occurred when Man Singh, his wife and their son Manmohan Singh were going to Chunni on their motorcycle. As the motorcycle was overtaking a three-wheeler, the driver of the three-wheeler turned his vehicle to the right without any indication.

This resulted in a collision of the motorcycle and the three-wheeler, leading to the death of Manmohan Singh and injuries to his parents. They were admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh.

No arrest has been made. A case has been registered against the driver of the three-wheeler.

CHANDIGARH

Molester held
A youth, Satnam Singh of Ram Darbar, was arrested for allegedly molesting a woman in Ram Darbar. He was arrested under section 354 of the IPC.

Scooterist hurt
Harish Chander of Kansal village was injured when a car (CH-01-U-8361) hit his scooter (CH-01-L-7448) near the petrol pump in sector 4 here. The car sped off. A case has been registered.

Theft attempt
Magan Singh of Tehri Garhwal was arrested for allegedly trying to steal items from a jewellery shop in sector 17. He was arrested and booked under section 457 of the IPC.

SAS NAGAR

One injured
The driver of a three-wheeler was injured in a collision of his vehicle with a car near the Punjab School Education Board office in Phase IX here.

According to the police, the accident took place in the afternoon when the three-wheeler, coming from the office of the board, hit a car on the main road. The driver was admitted to the hospital in Phase VI. A case has been registered.

Insurance co. directed to pay balance amount
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 27 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II has directed an insurance company to pay the balance amount of Rs 6,065 out of the originally assessed claim, along with interest and costs.

The complainant, Mr Darshan Singh of Sector 10, Chandigarh, had alleged that his truck had met with an accident on December 24, 1992, during the operation of the insurance policy.

On the claim being lodged, the company appointed Mr R.S. Gill the surveyor, who assessed the loss at Rs 34,873.

The company paid Rs 28,808 on November 11, 1993. The complainant had claimed Rs 93,270. In its reply, the company contended that another surveyor, Mr G.S. Riar, was appointed to scrutinise and investigate into the complaint. He assessed the loss at Rs 28,808, which was paid towards full and final settlement of his claim.

Therefore, he could not claim any further amount. The company contended that the surveyor had to be appointed because the report submitted by Mr R.S. Gill was found to be sketchy and incomplete. Though originally the complainant claimed Rs 93,270 but at the time of arguments, he limited the claim to the amount assessed by the first surveyor.

After going through the records, the forum bench, comprising its President, Mr R.P. Bajaj, and member Mr H.S. Walia, observed that no reason had been put forth on behalf of the company to discard the report submitted by Mr Gill.

No specific defect has been pointed out in the report to show that it was sketchy or incomplete. Courts did not favour the appointment of second and subsequent surveyor without any valid reason.

The forum also noticed that the second surveyor was appointed at a later stage and therefore, could not be considered to be in an effective position to correctly assess the loss. It held that the delay in the settlement of the claim of the complainant and the reduction of the amount on the basis of the report of the second surveyor was an act of deficiency in service on the part of the company.

The forum also rejected the contention of the company regarding full and final settlement of the claim by observing that "it is a fact of common knowledge that the company would not have paid even the reduced amount to the complainant, had he refused to sign on the dotted line". The payment had already been delayed.

The complainant had spent the amount from his pocket to get the vehicle repaired. In such circumstances, the complainant could agitate on the point of reduced compensation.

It allowed the complainant costs of Rs 1,100 and interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum with effect from November 11, 1993, till the date of payment.

Rise in litchi price
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 27— Even as ‘jamun’ registered its entry in the market today, litchi has become costlier during the past two days.

During a survey of the market today, it was found that for the first time in the season, ‘jamun’ could be seen in some fruit shops in different city markets. The fruit, which is coming from surrounding areas of the city was priced at Rs 40 a kg in the retail market and at Rs 30 a kg in the wholesale market. Another new entrant in the market is apple from J&K. The quality of the fruit is not very good these days and is priced at Rs 30 a kg in the market. The wholesale price of the fruit is Rs 75 per 4-5 kg pack.

Litchi has started witnessing an upward trend in its price during the past two days. A kg of litchi, priced between Rs 35 and Rs 40, could be purchased today for Rs 50. According to traders, the price has increased as the local crop was almost at its fag end, and these days the fruit was coming from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

Similarly, the price of cherry has also increased during this period. A kg of the fruit, priced between Rs 50 and Rs 60 two days back, was available today for Rs 70. The price has increased following less arrivals from Himachal Pradesh. Most of the fruit is coming from Jammu and Kashmir these days.

While ‘safeda’ variety of mango has started vanishing from the market, the arrival of ‘langra’ variety is witnessing an upward trend, resulting in lowering of the price. If a kg of ‘safeda’ variety of the fruit was priced at Rs 20, ‘langra’ could be relished by paying Rs 15. The juicy, but small ‘kupi’ variety could be purchased for Rs 20 a kg. The price of ‘dasehri’ variety of the fruit has also come down from Rs 25 to Rs 15-20 a kg depending upon its quality. Some of vendors were even selling the fruit for Rs 10 a kg in the Sector 26 vegetable market. According to Mr Ganpat Rai Hans, a wholesaler, the price has come down due to fresh arrivals from Lucknow and other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

There was no change in the price of some other fruits. A kg of apricot was available for Rs 35, while a kg of good quality Rajgarh peach was priced in the market between Rs 20 and Rs 25. The arrival of the local variety is almost over. Similarly, a dozen of banana could be purchased at the old price of Rs 20. A kg of melon and water melon was also priced at Rs 15 and Rs 5 a kg in different parts of the city.

Salony wins two skating golds
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, June 27 — Salony Bhardwaj who will be four years of age on July 2, today became the youngest participant to win two gold medals on the concluding day of the 9th City Skating Carnival organised by the Rollerbones here at the Sector 10 skating rink. Salony, a student of Sacred Heart School and daughter of an engineer, today won the road race in below-four-years category. Earlier, she bagged the first position in the rink race in the same age group.

Other young participants who claimed two titles in their respective categories include Kashish Vohra, Pallavi Brara and Kriti Puri in girls' and Sameer Gupta in boys' sections.

The two-day carnival evoked a massive response as nearly 300 participants vied for top honours in skating, roller hockey and fun games like fancy dress, balloon bursting, musical chairs, tug-of-war and obstacle race. According to Mr H.S. Ranauta of the Rollerbones, the club every year organises such a carnival during summer vacations. Mr Anjum Ahmed, a former international roller skater said that the activities of the club had become regional as teams from Delhi and Patiala had taken part in the roller hockey event.

The results of various competitions are as follows: Road race (Under-4 boys) — Digvijay Singh 1; girls — Salony Bhardwaj 1, Kezia Sharma 2; boys 4 to 6 years — Sameer Gupta 1, Jatin Rana 2, Shivram Thakur 3; girls — Sakshi Arora 1, Nehal Salwan 2; boys 6 to 9 years — Gurmohit Singh 1, Kumar Gandhi 2, Anant Vidhu Puri 3; girls 6 to 9 years — Kashish Vohra 1, Karishma Ahuja 2, Gurleen 3.

Boys 9 to 12 years — Chetan Kumar 1, Nishant Dahiya 2, Gulsagar Jassar 3; girls 9 to 12 years — Kriti Puri 1, Harjapji 2, Geetika Anand 3.

Boys 12 to 16 years — Charkiran Singh 1, Gautam Narang 2, Daksh Gaddi 3; girls — Pallavi Brara 1, Manisha Dhillon 2, Suparna 3; above 16 years boys — Vishal Mor 1; girls — Indu Madan 1, Priyanka Sharma 2, Meenakshi Sharma 3.

Rink race I (under-4 boys) — Sabhijeet Sandhu 1, Digvijay Singh 2; girls — Salony Bhardwaj 1, Kezia Sharma 2; boys 4 to 6 years — Vipul Kamboj 1, Shivam Thakur 2, Jatin Rana 3; girls — Nehal Salwan 1, Mitali Pathak 2.

In the roller hockey girls' final, the Hansraj Skating Club secured first position followed by the Roller Hawk Club. Roller Hawks however, bagged the sub-junior boys' title while Roller Falcons finished second and the third place went to the Sector 10 team.

Camp concludes

The 13-day summer badminton camp organised by the Chandigarh Badminton Association concluded here today at the Panjab University indoor hall. As many as 25 boys and girls attended this camp during which players were given practical guidance by various experts of this game. Mr M.C. Sethi, President of the CBA, gave away mementoes to the campers. Mr T.P.S. Puri, a former national badminton coach, sponsored kit bags for some selected players. These players will participate in the All-India grand Prix Badminton Tournament to be held in Chennai from July 2.

The names of the selected players are as follows: Vivek Sharma, Deepak Sidhu (boys) and Parneeta Verma (girls) in the under-19 category; Puneet Bansal, Akash Sethi (boys) and Mala Gaba (girls) in the under-16 category; and Oscar Bansal in the under-10 section.

Mr Surinder Mahajan will accompany the team as its coach-cum-manager.

TT tournament

The Second Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in all age groups will commence tomorrow at the Sector 23 table tennis hall. Earlier, the Chandigarh Table Tennis Association had organised the First Ranking Tournament in the first week of June. The three-day tournament is expected to attract nearly 150 players in both boys' and girls' sections. Except the seniors' event, all other events will start tomorrow.

Shooting competition

The Chandigarh Rifle Association today organised the Sunday Shooting competition at the Patiali Rao shooting range, Sector 25. The following are the results of the competition: .22 standard rifle open sight (NR) men's — Tej Pal Singh 1, Harpreet Singh 2.

Air rifle open sight (NR) senior men's — Jatin Kukreja 1, Gurparneet Singh 2, Tej Pal Singh 3. Air rifle open sight (NR) junior men's — Jatin Kukreja 1, Tej Pal Singh 2.

Air rifle (ISSF) senior women's — Sabeena Dhillon 1. Sabeena was also declared the best shooter.

Facts about Joy Lall’s death

I, the father of Joy Lall, the deceased Deputy Commandant, ITBP, wish to thank you for highlighting the sacrifice of my son in J&K while on duty with the ITBP, 4th Battalion.

However, I feel that the correct position has not come to your notice and Joy Lall is being reported to have “lost his life when the bus in which he was travelling was blown up by a landmine about 150 km from Srinagar.” It gives the impression that Joy Lall was not on duty and was travelling in a private bus.

Actually Joy Lall was returning from Srinagar to his base in Amritsar where his unit — 4th Battalion of the ITBP — was based. He was on duty. Besides the landmine explosion, the militants responsible for the explosion also resorted to firing with their AK 47 rifles which actually killed Joy Lall, as one of the bullets went through his head.

I, therefore, request you to give the proper impression about his sacrifice in future while reporting about him.

Hargo Lall
Panchkula

PUTA resolution

It is really shocking to read about the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) executive resolution on the Kargil issue, which instead of outrightly condemning Pakistan or joining the world at large in doing so has opted to “appeal to governments at war to understand that more constructive way of resolving the crisis was through dialogue and not war.”

The PUTA executive seems to be totally unaware of the Kargil crisis. The role and restraint shown by India in dealing with the Kargil situation has been appreciated by countries like the USA, the UK and Germany who are of the view that solution to the crisis would not be possible without the withdrawal of the Pakistani intruders.

Nonetheless, I strongly feel the PUTA executive should have condemned Pakistan for its nefarious designs.

Dr K Tankeshwar,
Dept of Physics,
Panjab University
Chandigarh

Mini zoo facts

I want to state some facts regarding the mini zoo news item dated 22.6.99 which appeared in your paper on page 2.

First of all I am working in the mini zoo as a Forester and not as in charge of the zoo. I did not give any information regarding the mini zoo to your correspondent which is attributed to me.

It is punishable conduct under the Civil Services rules to give unauthorised statement regarding government working by a government servant. My officers had, therefore, asked for my explanation regarding this news item. I think some disgruntled worker of the zoo used my name to harm me.

It is requested that my position is cleared to save me from unnecessary departmental harassment.

Romesh Chander Gujral
Chandigarh

Road sense

It is disheartening to note that the cultivation of road sense does not seem to register with the “road hogs” of Chandigarh. If only good sense prevails among such persons, commuting would no longer be an ordeal as it is at present. And the traffic on Chandigarh roads would not only be saner but a lot safer too.

I can still distinctly remember the time when, not many years ago, driving a vehicle on smooth and wide roads of Chandigarh, especially on Madhya Marg, used to be a matter of great delight. To outstation relatives and friends who visited us, our roads used to be matter of envy.

Sadly, however, driving daily on the very same roads (now they are wider though; Madhya Marg used to be single lane, imagine!) has become a terrible ordeal today. All joy one could derive out of good motoring has disappeared. Almost everyone appears to have a motorised vehicle or two but it’s another question how many have actually earned their driving licences. Most driving licence holders have managed to procure these in absentia. Even those who have got theirs through lawful means are ignorant of traffic rules, regulations and highway code.

Why do we keep on making such shameless exhibition of or utter disregard for traffic rules and regulations. This shows a complete lack of civic sense.

For safer roads and a saner traffic in Chandigarh, it is imperative that a few points are hammered into the heads of city drivers. The first and the foremost is the concept of hte right of way — what type of vehicle, coming from which direction has the priority right of passage. The absence of this concept is annoyingly clear at and near roundabouts and turnings. Then, strict deterrent action alone, it seems, will make impatient commuters refrain from overtaking from the wrong side.

There should be proper use of indicators while turning, overtaking, and at roundabouts. It is strange, and utterly baffling to see people first make a right signal on approaching a roundabout and then left, while all the while it emerges they intended to simply keep going straight! Does it make any sense at all? All these may appear insignificant points to most drivers, but what they do not realise is that in emergent situations, it is these very trifles which can make the huge difference between life an death! With a little bit of responsibility and a change in attitude, we can make driving a pleasure, not a terrifying ordeal.

Vivek Khanna
Panchkula

Voluntary Disclosure Scheme

The Electricity Department, Chandigarh Administration, has encouraged the consumers to disclose the installed electric load. It has simplified the procedure and provided guidance and information to the consumers so that the load could be calculated by the consumers themselves.

However, there are divergent views regarding the treatment of load for high power consuming domestic appliances such as geysers etc and also for electric motors used for pumping water to overhead tanks. While in some offices of the Electricity Department it has been suggested that the above load should be calculated and added to the load derived/arrived at by counting the 5 amps and 15 amps power plugs, some offices suggest that the appliances and electric motors are run on power plugs, for which the load has been calculated on the basis of number of such points, and hence are covered automatically. There is a substantial difference in the connected load when the appliances of electric motors are included or excluded for load calculations.

The Electricity Department may examine the applications for VDS, and check these for correctness and uniformity.

H. Singh

Lensman's price!

IN a city where everybody loves to strut around as a somebody, it is not surprising that most would like to have their 15 minutes of fame.

At a party recently, when a photo journalist was busy photographing hordes of lovely and skimpily dressed women jiving away the Saturday night, he obviously had a lot of offers from people willing to be featured in the newspaper the next day. But the DJ of the evening, who was arranging the music for the frenzied crowd, thought of attracting attention in a different way. Tapping the shoulder of the photo journalist, this DJ expressed the desire to shake hands with him.

And the result? A crisp 100-rupee note — obviously his fee for getting his name printed in the write-up — left in the hand of the photo journalist. The DJ was rebuffed for this act, but what bothered the journalist was also the amount that the photo was thought to be worth. Just 100 rupees?

"Chhota Tribune"
With the city residents still getting used to the Chandigarh edition of 'The Tribune', people tend to give their own nicknames to Chandigarh Tribune.

When a colleague was interviewing one child, who had topped in an examination, she was asked by his parents pointedly: "Madam, where will this get published? Chandigarh Tribune or the 'Simple Tribune"?

Another old-time loyalist of The Tribune asked a reporter: "With which branch do you work? The Tribune which I read or the 'chhota' Tribune which my son reads?".

Afterthought
Though summer vacations in the city have always meant very little action, the various Akademis, both of Punjab and Chandigarh, seem to thrive these days on 'blanket functions", in which they invite various people and honour them by giving blankets, or "book-release functions", where anybody and everybody who has ever authored a book finds a mention and is then obviously honoured by the Akademi.

One such function at the Punjab Arts Council started an hour late, because though the author and even the audience for once managed to reach much before time, the chief guest was nowhere in sight. The reason? Well, he was informed just half an hour before the function!

Who do you blame, when the organisers tell you quite innocently that it was only at the last moment that they thought of having "at least a chief guest", since one is never sure whether any audience would turn up at such functions, and that the said chief guest has always proved to be a friend in need!

For Olympiad
Amit Aggarwal, a student of DAV College, Sector 10, has been selected for the International Physics Olympiad to be held at Padua (Italy) from July 17 to 27.

Amit, who was placed second in the prestigious joint entrance test (JET) for admission to various IITs in the country, was selected following an all-India test conducted by the International Association of Physics Teachers. On the basis of the test, 35 students were shortlisted for the the training camp which concluded at Mumbai recently. Ultimately, five students were selected to represent the country in the mega event.

Amit, who has had a brilliant academic record, intends to join computer stream at the IIT, Delhi.

Women's magazine
"Nari Pahchan", a new magazine for women, will be launched in the city on June 29. To be brought out by Manu Multimedia, this Hindi monthly, according to its publishers, will highlight primarily basic problems faced by women of our society. It will cover all fields from childhood to old age. Special stories on upliftment of women, current issues, women rights, interviews with personalities and personal experiences of successful women will be the major attractions of this publication.

Mr Hari Jaisingh, Editor, the Tribune, will release the inaugural issue on June 29 at Gandhi Smarak Bhavan here. Two old women, both victims of the 1947 partition, who spent their life in ashram since then, would be felicitated at the inaugural ceremony.

Pt Mohan Lal
In recognition of his glorious and outstanding contribution in the field of education, religion and social service, the Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Lt. Gen. BKN Chhibber (retd), has conferred a degree of Doctor of Philosophy (honoris causa) upon 94-year-young Pandit Mohan Lal. Pandit Mohan Lal served the undivided Punjab holding important portfolios like Home, Finance, Education, Industry, Parliamentary Affairs, Food and Supplies, Law and Justice, Excise and Taxation, Local Bodies, Jails and Labour etc. in Partap Singh Kairon's cabinet. He served on the National Development Council too.

Pandit Mohan Lal, who is known for working with a deep sense of involvement, devoted much of his time towards education, religious and social services. He served on the Syndicate and Senate of Panjab University, Chandigarh and later opted to serve the GNDU, Amritsar in the same capacity. At present, he heads Sanatan Dharam Education Board which controls about 118 educational institutions spread over five States i.e. Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Parking corridor
Officials of the Haryana Handicraft and Handloom Centre, Sector 10, maintain an interesting theory regarding the parking of their vehicles. The staff members prefer to park their vehicles in the corridor of the office (see photograph on top of the page).

The official car of the Chairman, whose office is in the capitol complex, is parked in the Sector 10 office. The vehicles of other employees are also parked along the car in the corridor.

The driver of the car, Bhoop Singh, said the vehicle was hardly used and it was generally parked here because it was a "safe place". Other employees of the office say they face problems as the vehicles hinder their movement in the corridors. One of them says that the senior authorities had closed their eyes towards this nuisance. She points out that special arrangements were made to park the car in the corridors by removing the furniture. Vehicles are parked right next to the door of the office.

A senior official said that the Press must try to look at the things positively. The car was parked here because it protected from the sunlight. Otherwise it might get worn out. He also pointed that as the Chairman and the Director had their cars this was a spare vehicle and exclaimed that it needed a safe place.

Above law
School children were sometime back given instructions by the Chandigarh police to inform their headmasters/principals if the drivers of school buses violated traffic rules and crossed the red-light signals in particular. On June 26, a CTU bus (No.... 5325) with its driver using a horn loudly from quite a distance crossed the red light signal at the intersection of Sectors 20 and 30, scaring others waiting for change of light. A local resident, Mr S.C. Dhall, accosted two police officials alighting from that very bus at a distance with the query as to why they did not check the rash driver from crossing the red light signal. The answer was: It's not our duty to do so. "We are not from the traffic police," said one of them wearing police uniform with one star decoration.

Headless
While the State Bank of Patiala was without a head for a month before Mr Alok Batra, Chief General Manager of the State Bank of India, Mumbai, took charge as its Managing Director, at Patiala, it is now the turn of the State Bank of India to be without a head for an even longer period.

Generally, the bank management are very quick to fill top posts for which aspirants waiting for promotion remain almost in a queue. The post of Chief General Manager who heads the local head office of the SBI has been lying vacant since April 1 when its then CGM, Mr K.K. Narula, retired. Since that day, the charge of the post has been held by Mr R.C. Aggarwala, General Manager, who remains handicapped because as per recent government instructions he is unable to use CGM's powers in sanctioning of loans.