Chandigarh pavilion big draw at IITF
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — The ongoing India International Trade Fair '99 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi is proving to be a mirror of the Indian society with people of different states and from all walks of life thronging to the venue. The stall-owners in the pavilions of various states are doing brisk business.

The Chandigarh pavilion houses 35 stalls of products manufactured by small-scale industries. The pottery stall has been a big draw, besides the ancillary units of the mechanical goods industry which has spare parts of motor vehicles on display.

Stalls with ready-to-wear collections from units of the city and those making shoes and leather goods are also an attraction. Candles which are available in different shapes and sizes also attract those who visit the pavilion. A stall displaying personal gymnasium at a reasonable cost also got good response from the visitors.

Addressing a press conference, Mr R.K. Kaushik, Director of Industries, said the fair aimed at boosting the small-scale industries sector. He said there were 2,950 industrial units in the city and 100 units were manufacturing handicrafts and pottery.

Mr Kaushik added that the Prime Minister's Rozgar Yogna had an annual target of 100 beneficiaries and that the Industry Department had already received 98 applications for it. "The aim is to help these persons get loans and promote the establishment business in an effort to make them self-dependent. We have recommended their and forwarded their applications to the banks for sanctions,'' he said. Under the scheme, an applicant is provided a loan of Rs 2 lakh, while a joint venture between two persons entitles individuals to avail themselves of a loan of Rs 5 lakh to set up their company.

However, Mr Kaushik said though their was maximum landing of funds, the city was notorious for a low level of recovery. "This is because of the problem of migrant labour. Usually, they are keen on taking funds and fail to set up an industry which finally results in the complete loss of finances,'' he said.

He said that their were 15 large and medium industries generating revenue of over Rs 600 crore and 20 exporting units in the city were exporting goods to the tune of Rs 40 crore annually. Also, he said the Reserve Bank of India had not identified any sick unit in the city and all units were doing well.

Speaking of the Software Technology Park at Punjab Engineering College in the city, he said this was another effort on part of the industry to provide a platform to software exporting units. Made in association with the Chandigarh Administration, he said the industries could avail themselves of the full package of infrastructure and services on the college campus.

Players impressed by City Beautiful
By Sonoo Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — "This city is quite amazing. Huge clean roads, very modern, very less pollution. But so boring!", said 15- year-old Vishal Ghai, a tennis player from Poonch, who is in the city to play in the 61st Junior National Table Tennis Championship.

And this is what most of the young players from many cities had to say, when asked about their impressions about the City Beautiful. In fact most of these young and restless souls said that the city could be a "nice" place to stay in for those who "do not want to do much", but not for those who want to have a good time as well!

Niharika, from Vishakapatam, who studies in the eighth standard and is in the city for the second time, said, "It is quite strange that there is only one main shopping centre here, Sector 17. Back at home we have huge shopping centres everywhere. But here it seems that there are hardly any markets existing, only some kind of booths in each sector. Four years back, when I was in the city it seemed more or less the same to me".

A 15-year-old from Jammu, Anil Dutta, also supported her statement and added, "It is sometimes so confusing here, because all sectors are the same. You cannot distinguish one from the other". And for someone coming from a not-so-peaceful area like Jammu, it does come as a surprise when he says that the hustle-bustle of his area soothes him much more than the stillness of the city.

These children wondered what their counterparts did in a "boring and a deadpan" city like Chandigarh.

Said 13-year-old Niharika from Hyderabad, "This is mostly a residential area, and that is all about this place. Very quite, very peaceful. One does get impressed by the lack of large traffic or even the amount of planning that must have gone to build a city like this. But I still have to go around the city to get to know this place better and to really comment about it".

A group of youngsters sitting in the sun, from the state of Maharashtra, when asked about their impressions about the city, said, "cool". When queried what it meant, these youngsters again reiterated about the big roads and the beautiful round-abouts and the same-looking sectors. "Very modern", they quipped. But this young group had hardly anything to say on people food.

Tanuja (14 ) from Andhra Pradesh said, "We have not yet mixed much with the people of the city, but I reckon they are friendly". She, along with her friends, added that they had even tried some Punjabi food, "which we loved".

Chandpreet Kaur, a 14-year- old tennis player, who was born in the city but now lives in Jammu, said, "The city has the charm of being very clean and beautiful, and that is what I like about here. But yes, there is not much to do here. I love this city since it is my birth-place".

Her 13-year-old friend, Rashi Anand, also from Jammu, added that the city was something worth seeing, especially after living in not-so-clean and over-populated parts of India.

Some children from Tamil Nadu, who had problems with the language of this area, also managed to convey that though they had not travelled much around the city because of the tournament, they did find this area slightly chilly and the people and children of this region to be slightly formal and distant.

These children from different parts of the country reached the city on November 19 and will stay on till November 25.