Tuesday, November 2, 1999
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N E W S Tuesday, November 2, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
HVPN
claims 19 crore for power theft CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has claimed more than Rs 19 crore from the Engineering Department of the UT Administration for alleged pilferage of power by an industrial unit in Chandigarh between January, 1985, and June, 1990. The demand has been made through a writ petition filed by the HVPN in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court has issued notice to the Chandigarh Administration, the Engineering Department of Administration, the Union Government through its Secretary for Irrigation and Power, and the Bhakra Beas Management Board, for February 17. The Chief Engineer, Mr R.K. Jain, and the Superintending Engineer, Mr P.S. Chawla, confirmed that the petition had been filed by the HVPN and that the Administration would contest this claim. "The matter is sub judice as we have maintained that until prima facie charge is established, there is no question of making any payment," they say. The HVPN has maintained that it received a complaint in 1989 that an industrial unit in Chandigarh, Bhushan Industries, was allegedly committing theft of power and violating power regulatory measures. The complaint was received by Vigilance Cell of Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB). The HVPN is the successor body to the HSEB. The complaint was investigated and it was reported that the power connection to Bhushan Industries was released in December, 1984, from 33 KV bus at 66 KV power station in Chandigarh. The inquiry held that the power supplied from the sub-station was being given directly to Bhushan Industries through an independent feeder and an independent feeder was being provided for Chandigarh. No approval was taken from the competent authorities for this. Investigations revealed that the power supply was unmetered. There was no consumer meter on the premises of the unit. The report said the BBMB generated power was to be supplied to consumers through its 66 KV sub-station but an independent 33 KV feeder was given to the unit from this sub-station. It implied only the meter at the BBMB feeder could tap the units being consumed by the industrial unit but the supply remained unchecked. The communication from the HSEB to the BBMB on the subject remained unanswered. After persistent efforts, the matter was investigated and scam was revealed. The matter was handed
over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which held
officials of the UT guilty of connivance with the
industrial unit. The HVPN said the matter was not pursued
to its logical end and the report had been gathering
dust. It maintained that on account of this continuos
pilferage of power, it suffered a loss of Rs 19.33 crore.
It claimed that though there was long correspondence on
the subject, nothing was done to compensate the
petitioner. |
Housing
project on unallotted land? CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — One of the biggest housing schemes of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to build 1700 flats and independent units in Sector 38 (west) at an approximate cost of Rs 75 crore has been reportedly carried out on land that was never actually allotted to the CHB. At present officials in the government are busy making calculations to ascertain as to which wing of the administration owes how much to whom and what amount was paid by the CHB and where did the money go, according to sources. And now after the flats and independent units have been allotted, the Estate Office has refused to give an allotment letter to the CHB citing that payments were pending in lieu of the land. The case has been sent to the finance department of the Chandigarh Administration for calculations of the payments and the interest. Sources said the payments may work out to be in the region of Rs 10 crore after calculation of interest. The issue is so confusing that the estate office did not seem to know that the CHB had already utilised the said land lying west of Sector 38 to build a modern housing colony. Later when the town planning wing of the Chandigarh Administration requested the estate office to develop the land it was discovered that no allotment had been made. In reality, sources said, the land was allotted directly by the Administration to the CHB, which took over and started the construction work. The estate office may or may not have been informed. When the issue broke out the estate office authorities wrote to the CHB asking for money in lieu of the land. In return the CHB, in its reply, sent a detailed letter describing when and how the payments were made to the Land Acquisition Officer (LAO). Meanwhile the office of the LAO informed the higher authorities that the money given the CHB had been used just to compensate the owners of the land when it was acquired. The money had not covered the cost of the land. The Government reportedly earned nothing from the scheme as the cost recovered from the CHB went towards the payment of compensation only. Once the project was complete, the CHB asked for the land lease and other related papers. The case will finally be decided when calculations are completed and responsibility fixed to find out the real picture, an official added. Till then the flats and
independent units stand on lands that have no records of
the lease deed , an allotment letter or other paper work. |
Beant
case: slogans raised in court CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassination case resumed today with slogans of 'Bhai Dilawar Singh zindabad' being raised by the accused in the makeshift courtroom at Burail near here. Just as prosecution witness Chamkaur Singh, a brother of Dilawar Singh, believed to be the human bomb, entered the courtroom in the afternoon to depose before the UT District and Sessions Judge B.S. Bedi, accused Jagtar Singh Hawara, along with the other accused, started raising slogans. They continued this for almost five minutes. Deposing before the judge, Chamkaur Singh stated that Dilawar Singh and Balwant Singh stayed overnight after reaching his residence on August 30, 1995. He added that the two had come in an Ambassador car. Chamkaur Singh said two other accused in the case, Gurmeet Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, arrived on foot as Dilawar Singh and Balwant Singh were about to leave the next morning. He added that Dilawar Singh asked him to go away to avoid trouble by the police as they were planning a major operation. Chamkaur Singh added that following Dilawar Singh's warning, he left the city for Patiala and later reached Malout. He said he had read the news regarding the Chief Minister's assassination in newspapers. He also stated that his statement was recorded by the Central Bureau of Investigation on September 5, 1995. The Punjab Chief
Minister was killed in a blast outside the civil
secretariat here on August 31, 1995. While Dilawar Singh
was reportedly killed in the blast, other accused are
facing trial in the assassination case. |
Two gold
swindlers held CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The police today arrested two persons who had swindled more than 40 g of gold from a Sector 20 resident on the pretext of cleaning it. The accused, Babloo and Shyam, residents of Bhagalpur in Bihar, were nabbed after a short chase by some boys of the locality when Ms Tripta Malhotra raised the alarm on realising that the bangles she had handed over to the duo for cleaning were light. According to Ms Malhotra, she was approached by the duo at about 10 am, saying they cleaned brass and copper utensils. Since she was on the lookout for some cleaners, she handed over three brass utensils to them. They cleaned and polished the containers and seeing the two heavy gold bangles, enquired whether she wanted them cleaned and polished. She handed over the ornaments to them. They immersed the bangles in some liquid and took it out after some time, shining. When she weighed them in her hands, she was shocked to find they were very light. She caught hold of the duo but they managed to flee. She raised the alarm and hearing her shouting and seeing the accused running, Happy, Sunil, Sunil and Ajay, who lived nearby, chased them. They were caught after a 15-minute chase, thrashed and brought back to the house of Ms Malhotra. The police was informed and a police party arrived. Residents wanted the gold to be recovered from the liquid. A gas burner was provided to them and they recovered nearly 10 g of the gold. The rest could not be recovered as some of the liquid had spilled when they were fleeing. On preliminary
interrogation, they revealed that they had received
training in this trade from a person in Ahmedabad. The
gold so swindled was taken there and sold off. They added
that they had been doing the rounds of the city and this
was for the first time that they had attempted to bring
their training to use. Further investigations are on.
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Warrants
against 7 cops CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, today issued bailable warrants against seven Punjab police officials allegedly involved in the killing of Kulwinder Singh Kid of SAS Nagar in a fake encounter in 1989. The warrants were issued after a complete challan, along with sanction orders for prosecuting in charge of CIA staff at Patiala, Surjit Singh Grewal, and six other police officials, was presented in the court on the last date of hearing by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Earlier, in his petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Kid's father, Mr Tarlochan Singh, had alleged that his son was forcibly taken away from their house by a police party in plain clothes in July, 1989. Taking up the petition, the High Court had directed the then UT Sessions Judge, M.S. Lobana, to submit a report after investigating the matter. In his report, submitted in September, 1995, the judge had observed, "On July 22, 1989, a police party in plain clothes, headed by Surjit Singh Grewal of CIA Staff at Patiala, raided house number 752 in SAS Nagar and gunned down Kulwinder Singh. The party later took away the body." On the basis of the
inquiry report, the High Court, on July 5, 1996, directed
the registration of a case against the accused police
officials and handed over the case to the CBI. In its
report, the agency stated that the officials entered into
a conspiracy to kill Kid in a fake encounter and to show
him as an absconder. |
CIA takes
over case CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The cases registered against a wine contractor and a sub-inspector of the local police have been handed over to the CIA for further investigation. An order to this effect was issued today. Mr Pawan Singla, a resident of Sector 33, had alleged that he and his two sons were beaten up by SI Charanjit Singh, who was on duty at a ‘naka’ near the Sector 15 market on October 28. The latter was subsequently suspended and a case was registered. On the other hand,
Charanjit, in his complaint against Singlas, claimed that
he was assaulted by Pawan Singla and his two sons while
in an inebriated state. His uniform was, reportedly, torn
off and an attempt was also made to snatch his wireless
set. A case was registered on his complaint also. |
SHOs asked
to furnish details CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — All SHOs have been asked to furnish details about the cases and case properties at the earliest. A reminder in this context was sent to all the police stations today. This was done following the recurring instances of files lost long time ago being found at various police stations in the city. The UT SSP, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, had issued these directions on October 15 and had said that all details should reach the police headquarters by October 30. According to sources, no police station has done so till date and it is likely that some more time would be given to the officers. Initial reports have been sought to determine the progress so far. There are 11 police
stations in the city and each had been asked to furnish
the information from 1966 onwards. Similar was the case
with case properties.
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IA revises
schedule CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Indian Airlines has revised its schedule from today. According to the Station Manager of the airline, Mr Kashmiri Lal, the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar flight (CD 7485) which will operate on Wednesday and Friday will now arrive here at 11.40 a.m. and depart for Amritsar at 12.05 p.m. The return Amritsar-Chandigarh-Delhi flight (CD 7486) will arrive here at 1.35 p.m. after leaving Amritsar at 1.05 p.m. It will depart for Delhi at 2 p.m. The schedule of the
Chandigarh-Leh flight on Wednesday has also been revised.
The flight (CD 7484) will now arrive here at 9.25 a.m.
and depart for Leh 10 a.m. to reach Leh at 10.55 a.m. |
Bail
denied to fake ASP CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The bail application of Pardeep Singh Negi, accused of 'mixing up with residents and police officials' here after posing as Assistant Superintendent of Police, was today dismissed as withdrawn by the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi. Negi had been booked by the Chandigarh police under Sections 419 and 467 of the IPC after 'secret information' was received by Assistant Sub-Inspector Rajinder Singh. According to the prosecution, the accused, posing as an ASP, was conducting a survey in the Sector 28 market. A fake appointment letter was shown by him to the complainant at the time of his arrest, prosecution had added. Seeking his release on bail, the counsel for the petitioner stated that the accused was being implicated. Describing Negi as
'victim of false allegations', the counsel stated that
neither the public nor the police had been cheated. He
added that 'no person from the public had lodged
complaint against the petitioner'. |
Bail
granted to businessman, advocate CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — City businessman Naresh Batra and advocate Anil Aggarwal, accused of being involved in a trespassing and assault case, were today granted interim anticipatory bail till November 4 by UT Additional District and Sessions Judge S. S. Lamba. The application for anticipatory bail was filed after a news item, on directions by UT Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class) Naval Kumar to the Station House Officer of Sector 19 police station for registering a First Information Report, appeared in a local English daily. 7 Seeking the grant of
anticipatory bail, the counsel for the petitioner had
stated that the two were being implicated in the case.
Claiming innocence, the counsel had added that the
allegations had been inquired into by Sub-Inspector
Jaswant Singh of Sector 19 police station. The counsel
had added that the allegations, as per the report, could
not be established. |
Tipnis
compliments IAF personnel CHANDIGARH Nov, 1 — The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis, arrived at the Chandigarh Air Force Station on an official visit today. He was accompanied by the president of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), Molina Tipnis. On their arrival here, they were received by the Air Officer Commanding, No.3 Base Repair Depot, Air Cdr Arvinda Agrawal and president of the local unit of AFWWA, Madhu Agrawal. The Air Chief inspected various hangers, laboratories and repair facilities to oversee the progress of various projects, especially those related to indigenisation and local manufacture of aero-spares. Later, addressing officers, airmen as well as civilian employees of 3 BRD, Air Chief Marshal Tipnis complimented them for the excellent work done in maintaining the IAF's helicopter fleet which had played a crucial role in the Kargil operations. He commended the role of 3 BRD, in meeting all targets during the conflict despite various constraints. Referring to air operations during the Kargil conflict, the Air Chief highlighted the role of the IAF in creating a situation that finally led to the eviction of intruders from that sector. The Air Chief said that the Air Force was always ready to provide any assistance whether it was during, floods or other natural calamities. He called upon Air Force personnel to further strengthen the legacy that the IAF has inherited. He urged the younger generation to come up with new ideals that would make the world's fourth largest Air Force second to none. He exhorted all personnel to put their best foot forward, saying that it is the quality of work that matters and not the person's rank, branch or trade. Meanwhile, Molina Tipnis went around the AFWWA complex where she was briefed about various welfare activities being undertaken and the measures initiated to improve the quality of life of Air Force personnel. She also visited 3 BRD Air Force School. Apart from a working
lunch with officers, a social get-together was also
organised in honour of the visiting dignitaries. Air
Chief Marshal Tipnis was scheduled to visit No.12wing
tomorrow but he cut short his visit and flew to Delhi. Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi, GOC- in-C,Western Command, with officers at a get-together on the raising day of the Army Aviation Corps at Chandi Mandir on Monday. |
Army
Aviation Corps holds function CHANDI MANDIR, Nov 1 — The Army Aviation Corps celebrated its 14th anniversary in the Western Command here today. The General Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi, who was the chief guest at a function held on the occasion, felicitated all ranks of the corps. Maj-Gen S. J. S.Saighal, Additional Director-General of the corps, in his message congratulated all ranks of the corps for displaying admirable professional skills and maintaining excellent record of flight safety. The erstwhile Air Operation Flights forms the bulk of the Army Aviation Corps which has grown into an effective air arm during the past 14 years. The corps has proved its mettle in war as also in peace time operations, including aid to civil authorities. It has also played a laudable role in maintaining troops posted at the Siachen glacier. The corps was also deployed in overseas assignments in Somalia and Sri Lanka. The Army Aviation personnel performed the onerous task of operating in the highest battlefield during Kargil operation. They carried out reconnaissance and observation, delivery of essential stores and casualty evacuation from the battle area. Two units, 636 and 666, have been awarded Chief of Army Staff citations for their sterling performance in Operation Vijay. Chetak and Cheetah
helicopters, made at HAL, Bangalore under licence from
France, form the backbone of the corps and it also has
the distinction of being the largest operator of
helicopters in Asia. |
Command
Hospital gets eye bank CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — An eye bank and Keratoplasty Centre has become operational at the Western Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, from today. Inaugurating the eye bank and Keratoplasty Centre, the Deputy Director, Medical Services, Western Command, Major-Gen R.P. Arora, said that it was a red-letter day in the history of the Command Hospital that such a specialised service was added to it. He pointed out that out of the 15 million blind persons in the country, 2.5 million people were corneally blind and they could be cured only by corneal transplantation from donated eyes. He also released an information booklet on the bank and eye donation. The hospital Commandant, Major-Gen Virendra Singh, said that with the launch of these services, a long-standing need had been fulfilled. This facility would be available round the clock to serving personnel, their dependents as well as ex-servicemen. He said that in the armed forces, there was a proportionate percentage of the corneally blind as well as as an increasing number of disabled young soldiers. In his lecture, the
Additional Professor of Ophthalmology, PGIMER, Dr. J.S.
Saini, emphasised the need to create mass awareness and
motivation for eye donation. The collection of donated
eyes and their use by corneal surgeons must be perfectly
and timely coordinated by eye banks, he pointed out. |
Physics
department students go on strike CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Students of the Physics Department in Panjab University today boycotted classes and observed strike during the day to protest against the violence leading to the beating up of a student of the department. The agitating students demanded immediate rustication of the culprits involved in the incident. The police had on Friday registered a case of rioting and assault against Amarjot Singh, Vice-President of the ABVP,and other "unidentified'' persons for reportedly thrashing Rajiv Thakur, an M.Sc -I Physics Department student, who is also the departmental representative. However, no arrests have been made so far. The Chairman of the department, Prof I.M. Govil, when contacted said an eight-member committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of senior professor J.M Kohli to inquire into the facts leading to the incident and they will submit their report within the next two-three days. The students will continue the strike indefinitely. The Panjab University Campus Students Council have also in their memorandum submitted to the Chairman demanded a proper unbiased inquiry so that the matter is not made a political issue by student organisations. They have also appealed that the issue be handled at the department level by taking into confidence the students involved in the incident. Meanwhile, a delegation
of students led by Surat Negi, President ABVP unit has in
a memorandum submitted to the Dean Student Welfare and
Chairman of the department demanded an an inquiry and
subsequent disciplinary action against Mr Rajiv Thakur
for allegedly inviting outsiders to the fresher's party
on October 28, for drinking alcohol and behaving in an
unbefitting manner during the function, indulging in
eve-teasing and for levelling false charges with the
intention of sabotaging the career of Mr Amarjot. While
seeking an independent and unbiased inquiry into the
incident, they have appealed that Amarjot should be
absolved of the false and politically motivated charges. |
Stenography
students continue strike CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Students of the Central Craft Institute, Sector 11, today continued their strike to protest against an increase in the timing of the stenography course. The agitating students while staging a demonstration outside the gate of the institute demanded that the timing should be reverted to the old pattern of 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The timing of the stenography course in all the three languages were increased by the institute last week. The students pointed out that the course due to shortage of machinery was conducted in two shifts, while the first would finish by 1 p.m., the second would end by 4 p.m. But now with the shift finishing at 5 p.m., the girl students coming from far-off places like Kalka and Rajpura had problems reaching home in time. A delegation of the
students met the Director, Technical Education, Dr S.K.
Aggarwal, who said that timing would not be changed.
However, in certain cases permission to go an hour
earlier could be given, provided a request to this effect
came from the parents.
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Resource
management key to success: Joshi CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Resource management is the key to success and achievement of objectives. Expressing this here today, a former chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Prof S.K. Joshi, said that due analysis of the market scenario, one's own capability and the future prospects of the subject concerned were required before embarking on any objective. He was speaking at a lecture on ''quantum dots'' organised to mark the 40th foundation day of the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) here today. Quantum dots, he explained, could be compared to electron components in which the motion of electrons was restricted to certain directions. He added that nano-electronics, of which quantum dots formed part, was emerging as one of the most important areas because of which the field of instrumentation might undergo significant changes. Science and technology was progressing rapidly and this would have a lot of implication for everyone. If the CSIO was to remain in the forefront and exhibit its performance, everyone would have to work hard and put in effort to remain abreast of times, he said. Professor Joshi said that things were difficult in India because the industry was not prepared to market its products and services aggressively, adding that things were changing gradually. He suggested that a course of action should be charted out, detailing the optimum path which would bring out the maximum productivity. Professor Joshi said that though there was need to strive for excellence, one could not be the best in all fields and one could hope to become the best in the world in some areas. he said: ''we are capable of doing this and we need to think in a determined way and while deciding on something we should adhere to it by pooling resources in an organised manner.'' Earlier, the CSIO
director, Dr R.P. Bajpai, welcomed Professor Joshi and
highlighted his various achievements. A cultural
programme was also organised on the occasion. |
Demand to
cut interest on housing loans CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — A strong plea to reduce the interest rate on housing loans was made at a seminar organised by the Haryana Group Housing Promoters and Builders Association here last evening. The President of the association, Mr B.K. Sanghi, said the interest rates were maximum in India especially in the government sector. While the prevalent interest rate all over the world was 6 per cent to 7 per cent, in India it was 13.5 per cent. Since housing was a basic necessity, a decrease in this rate would boost up investment in this field. While pleading for the introduction of the flexibility clause so that the benefits of the fluctuation in interest rates could accrue to the beneficiary, he advocated the entry of foreign investment in the housing sector. This step would initiate a whole new world of advancement resulting from the newer experiences in the developed world. The government should declare a set of standards and promote them at the national level to obtain a set panel of construction technology comparable to the international standards, he added. Mr P.S. Khurana, HUDCO Regional chief, detailed the salient features of the HUDCO Niwas, the retail financing scheme of the corporation, which was launched in Chandigarh recently. The Senior Regional Manager of the Punjab National Bank, Mr B.P. Chopra, said that the country faced a shortage of 20 million dwelling units and funds to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore were required for this purpose. Meanwhile, in a memorandum to Mr R.K. Vohra, Chief Town Planner of HUDA, Mr Suresh K Mittal, Chairman and Mr Sanghi, sought the extension of transfer from the date of allotment from six months to two years. The transfer fee leviable on the vendor should be decreased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 5,000. Since the organisation represented the general feeling of the members of the cooperative house-building societies throughout Haryana, HUDA should give representation to the association by taking at least four members in the advisory committee. The provision of constructing the community centre may also be extended to smaller cooperative societies having less than 100 members, said the memorandum. The land allotted to the
societies in Haryana lacked infrastructural facilities
like roads, sewerage, electricity and water. These
facilities should be provided immediately so that they
could start the construction, the memorandum added. |
Persian
teachers' conference held CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Sri Bhagvad Gita was first translated into Persian by Nazar Sohanvi. Many languages have been developed in India. Our Constitution provides equal oppurtunities to all languages and cultures to develop. These views were expressed by Mr I.D. Swami, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, while inaugurating a three-day XXI international session of the All-India Persian Teachers Conference at Law Auditorium, Panjab University, here today. He said Persian was an Indian classical language and had developed in India. He welcomed delegates on behalf of the Government of India. More than 100 delegates from Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, the UK, Russia and the USA are participating. Prof Gulwant Singh, a Persian scholar and former head of Persian Department, Punjabi University, Patiala, was awarded the 'Baba-e-Farsi' award for his contribution to the language. Mr Masood Khalili, Ambassador of Afghanistan, said seed of love destroyed hate and developed the concept of brotherhood. Ms Razudeh, Vice-Chancellor of a university in Iran and daughter of eminent poet Nazir Zadeh, highlighted the position of women in society and in education. She stressed upon need to be broad-minded and have proper interpretations of regulations. The cultural counsellor of Iran, Dr Issa Rezazadeh, said knowledge was the significant point which could lead the person to spiritual intelligence. He stressed upon purity in life. Mr Himesh Raj Sabhlok, Director of International Services of Rotary Shivalik, said the dream of the club was to unify the world, cutting across language barriers. Delivering the presidential adress, Prof Azarmi Dukht Safavi emphasised that such conferences provided teachers, scholars and lovers of Persian with an opportunity to discuss problems and prospects of Persian language, literature and culture. According to her, the need of the hour was to revise the curriculum to make the study of Persian literature more relevant. She stressed upon the need to make drastic changes in teaching methods and research programmes to save Persian from dying a slow death. She lamented that Persian had lost its rightful place. She said the approach to Persian studies should be replanned. She suggested that special attention be paid to teaching Persian at school and college levels and regional workshops and summer schools be organised at regular intervals. Among those present were
Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former MP, Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal,
the Mayor, Prof A.W. Azhar Dehlvi, Head of Persian
Department, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Prof Ahmed
Ansari, Head of Persian Department, Mumbai University. Mr
Dharinder Tayal, President of Rotary Shivalik Chandigarh,
presented mementoes to dignitaries from overseas.
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Fire
station stone laid CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Mr I.D. Swami, Union Minister of State for Home, said here today that after the nuclear blasts and the Kargil conflict the country had emerged stronger and more powerful at the international level, and Pakistan had been isolated. Speaking at the inaugural function of the seventh fire station in the Industrial Area, Phase II, here, he said after 1991 the electorate had given a clear majority to an alliance at the Centre saving the President from asking the NDA to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament. He said no local body or corporation could succeed and provide efficient service to the people if the intelligentsia or residents did not assist or keep check on its working. Earlier, the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, said due to pressure of population higher buildings would be constructed and new fire fighting system would be needed for combating fire incidents. The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh was modernising and equipping fire stations with modern gadgets and wireless sets for better coordination, he added. Senior officers of the
civic body, councillors and former MP Satya Pal Jain
were, among those, present on the occasion. |
SNIPPETS Kirtan procession CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — A colourful nagar kirtan procession will be taken out from the Sector 37 Gurdwara on November 5 at 4 p.m. to mark the Gurgadi Divas of Guru Granth Sahib. The procession will move through sectors 23, 22 and 21 before terminating at the Sector 20 Gurdwara , it was announced here today. Divali fete at school DERA BASSI, Nov 1 — The Divali fete organised today at CVRM DAV Public School in Dera Bassi proved a big draw for children and their parents. Tiny tots dressed in different outfits participated in a fancy dress competition. Deepali, who dressed as 'one-person super bazaar' was adjudged the best in the contest, followed by Priyanka. Competitions were also held for parents. The 'One-Minute King and One-Minute Queen' event was entertaining. Antakshri proved to be another favourite and attracted a large number of participants. Word round, 'dhun' round and correction round were also organised to attract parents. Ms Jaya Bhardwaj, Principal of the school, inaugurated the fete. Mr R.C. Jeewan, Manager of the school, said the management was aware of the needs of the institution, most of which would be met. Awareness rally on crackers CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — Members of the local branch of the National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA) organised a "public awareness rally" at the Sector 17 Plaza this afternoon to make people in general and children in particular aware about the bad effects of "fire works and crackers". More than 70 doctors participated in the rally. Members of the public
were educated about harmful effects of fireworks and
crackers, including burns, permanent disabilities,
allergies, loss of eyes, besides pollution.
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