Tuesday, October 26, 1999
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N E W S Tuesday, October 26, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
Zirakpur
to have first taste of octroi CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — The residents of the newly created nagar panchayat at Zirakpur will soon have the first taste of municipal taxes with the levying of octroi on almost all articles of food and drinks, tobacco, alcoholic drinks and other intoxicants as notified by the Punjab Government. The government notification lists more than 100 items on which octroi will be charged. Majority of food articles, including all grains, flour, pulses, paddy, rice, suji, maida, refined sugar, gur shakkar, fresh fish, eggs, tea, ghee, butter, khoa and cream, hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils, fresh milk, betel leaves, confectionery, biscuits, coffee, cakes,fruit juice, all cold drinks, bread, potato and potato seed, onions and other vegetables, sugarcane, all dry fruit, groundnut, pista, kernels of almonds, kaju, munaqqa, fresh fruit, all items of grocery, all kinds of spices, cotton seeds, oil seeds, rice husk, bran, poultry feed, fish manure and meals will now attract octroi at varying rates. The worst-hit by the levying of octroi will be consumers of liquor, both country and Indian Made Foreign Liquor. The rate of duty fixed is 10 per cent against 5 per cent on tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, bhang, opium, charas, paan masal, scented tobacco and scented supari and all kinds of intoxicating drugs. All toilet soaps, cosmetics, perfumes, utensils, electrical gadgets, including lamps, stoves, candles, wax, washing soaps, washing powders are also covered under the notification. The list includes cinematographic equipment, including cameras, projections, all kinds of scientific, mathematical, optical, surgical and dentistry equipment, watch, watch glass, chains and spare parts,, consumer electronic goods,, including VCRs, VCPs, video and audio cassettes, washing machines, amplifiers, loudspeakers, refrigerators, airconditioners, sports goods, clay toys, all kinds of stationery items,lottery tickets, raw hides, dressed hides manufactured leather, rubber solution, raw rubber, iron, pig iron, iron sheets, galvanised iron sheets, conduit iron pipes, agriculture machinery, new tractors, motor cars, jeeps, station wagons, motor cycles and scooters, scooter rickshaws, tempos, all tools and other such materials. Petrol,power alcohol, kerosene, lubricating oils and grease will have 1 per cent ad valorem Octroi while in case of diesel, Octroi would be 2 per cent ad valorem. Similarly, those bringing in cows, buffaloes, sheep, and goat to the nagar panchayat limits will also be liable to pay octroi at rates varying between Rs 1.25 per tail to Rs 12.50 per tail. The octroi on commercial heavy chemicals, chemicals and medicines will be between 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent. Similarly, octroi will also be chargeable on raw cotton, ginned cotton, raw wool, animal hair, wool tops, nylon tops, cotton yarn, all types of knitting wool, silk and artificial silk, hand embroidered items and shawls, cotton piece goods, cotton waste, sanitary fittings, plywood sheets, superior furniture items, aluminium furniture and steel furniture, cane furniture, paints, varnishes and dyes. The notification also
lists a number of items which are exempt from the payment
of octroi. These include bonafide personal and household
belongings, printed books, including newspapers, stamps,
stamp paper and petition paper, hand woven cloth,
examination answer books, and all items already granted
exemption by the state government on the payment of
octroi. |
Traffic
chaos near school CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — It was a traffic chaos this morning. Parents and guardians had a trying time dropping their wards at St Stephen’s School in Sector 45. The reason: the front gates of the school opening out on to the main road had been sealed as per a notification of the Chandigarh Administration. Entry was open only through the gate on the Burail side. The narrow lane leading to the gate, with flats on either side, was a difficult path to negotiate. Students on cycles, rickshaws, autorickshaws and cars, besides school buses, inched their way through the chaotic conditions prevailing on the narrow path. But it goes to the credit of the school staff that they averted what could have been a major traffic bottleneck. They asked the parents to move on towards Sector 46, as going back on the same road would have caused a difficult situation. In the afternoon the students joined in the traffic control exercise. The police was also at hand. The Sub-Inspector on duty, Mr Amarjit Singh, said one-way traffic during school hours was the only answer to the traffic bottlenecks. He wanted the park to be developed into a car park. But the residents of the area insist on the park being retained. The residents of the small pathway to the school objected to the school bus running on the narrow road. They feared accidents. The school authorities did everything they could. They stopped the parents on the narrow road leading to the school. It was a tough job. The school now does not have a direct pathway to the road. The only narrow road goes past a row of flats on either side. They are appealing to the Dev Samaj College for Women to allow them a 30-ft pathway through the college compound. That could be the only way out, feel parents and others. But the residents of the area are adamant. They would not like the narrow road to be used as the entry point for buses and cars. One of the parents wanted to know why the front gate of the school had been closed. The same police deputed today could ensure smooth flow of traffic on the main road was their refrain. But in the afternoon the
traffic was cleared within half an hour of the school
closure. And behind this exercise was the disciplined lot
of students and teachers manning the road. |
PCR cops
to be shifted CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — The functioning of the police control room (PCR) is being revamped and all the personnel who have served for more than six years will be shifted to the various police stations in the city. The vehicles on patrol duty too will be re-stationed as per a revised plan. The changes have been brought about to streamline the PCR and make night patrolling more effective and comprehensive. The mobility between the points assigned to each vehicle has been reduced. Stress is to stay put at any given point for some duration so that the people can report any untoward incident or unlawful activity. According to police sources, this practice was changed after a spate of chain-snatching incidents rocked the city and large-scale transfers at the SHO level and below were effected. As many as 30 strategic points in the city were then identified and the entire fleet of the PCR was redeployed. As per the revised plan, the vehicles will be assigned four to six points where they will remain stationed for fixed intervals. This will ensure greater visibility and would also serve the purpose of easy accessibility to the public. Action against those who are not found at their designated area will be initiated. Persons who have put in more than six years of service in the PCR will be transferred so that they have the experience of working in other wings of the force. It has been felt that those posted here for longer durations have lost their zeal and enthusiasm for the job. Sources said there have been numerous instances when personnel attached with the motor cycles and Gypsies have been found asleep on duty by the officers while on night checking duty. A couple of cops were suspended in this context a few days back. There are numerous instances where personnel have spent almost a decade out of their 12 to 14 years of service in the PCR. Such persons after a while would not have the aptitude to do other duties which was a waste of trained manpower. It has often been seen that after being posted in other wings, they did not know what to do and kept on trying their best to get back to their home turf. The transfer orders of
33 persons have been cleared while another 20 to 20
persons are likely to be posted out in the next few days,
the sources added. |
Copsmail
boxes to return CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — The small blue boxes installed earlier at various places by the police as part of the Copsmail scheme will soon reappear in the city. The scheme, launched in the city almost three years ago, was aimed at making the process of redressing grievances easier for the public. As many as 50 boxes, made of fibreglass and painted in blue with the logo 'Copsmail', had been installed in the city. Almost all sector markets of the city, besides popular shopping spots, had been covered. A campaign had been launched to popularise the use of such units to mail complaints and petitions regarding the force, besides suggestions from the general public. The response had been good in the beginning but had declined subsequently. According to police sources, people had flooded the mail boxes with complaints regarding police officials of their areas. The reason for the declining popularity of the scheme was that many of the complaints were dealt by the same officers against whom the grievance had been voiced. This happened because the mail was cleared by the beat staff and read by officers of the respective police stations. A large amount of the mail was put in by persons who had confused these with boxes of the Department of Posts. Many of these were vandalised or broken by miscreants and had to be replaced. According to Mr C.S.R. Reddy, SSP, the lack of maintenance had taken its toll and the mail boxes had to be removed for repairs. These are presently stored at the police lines. Efforts are underway to get funds to get these repaired. Most of these had been sponsored by business establishments and private banks. He said a proposal to change the design of the mail boxes and requisition for more funds had been sent to the administration. The feedback had been helpful for the police but most of all, the people expressed their feelings and viewpoints, even though many of the letters were unsigned. These were also beneficial in the way that many documents and items found by people also found their way in these boxes and were returned to their owners by the police. Mr Reddy said the
removal was only temporary and the boxes would be
reinstalled soon. |
Luxury
train inaugural runs in Shimla hills start CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — Inaugural runs of the much-awaited luxury train in the Shimla hills have started. Modelled on the lines of the world famous “Palace On Wheels”, running on the popular tourist circuit in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the train will start its regular runs from Delhi on December 10. At present, the second run of the four-day and five-night trip is underway. Railway authorities were reportedly happy with the bookings. It has been planned by the Railways in association with the Himachal Government. The cost of the ticket — approximately Rs 7000 for AC I class and Rs 5,700 for AC II class travel — will cover everything from accommodation to sight-seeing and meals. The cost of tickets for children will be Rs 3,700 for AC I class and Rs 3,050 for AC II class, respectively. The journey from Delhi to Shimla, will be taken care of by the Railways while sight-seeing of nearby resorts like Naldhera, Chail and Narkanda, besides Shimla, will be handled by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department. Each week, the trip will start on Friday night with tourists boarding the Kalka mail from the Old Delhi railway station. The travellers will return to Delhi on Wednesday morning. A special coach will be attached with the Kalka mail and will have sleeping capacity for 30 passengers. At Kalka, the first class passengers will be taken by rail car to Shimla while those travelling in AC II class will be ferried on the super fast Shivalik Deluxe express. These trains run on the narrow gauge lines. The five-night package includes night stay in Chail and Narkanda. Both hill stations are about 3 hour’s journey by road from Shimla. The tour package will be with all luxury trappings on board special coaches, besides top class hotel accommodation and facilities. The second run is presently on, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala Division, Mr Vijay Kumar said. Reservations will be available on the countrywide computerised reservation network of the Railways. He said at present there was no provision of passengers to embark from Chandigarh or Kalka to join the package. Such a thing can be worked out later if the package does well. The Railways and the state government was keen to exploit the tourist potential of the hill state. The proposal to run the package on the Kalka mail was finalised as it leaves the Delhi railway station at a convenient time of around 10:30 at night. Most flights from within the country or long distance trains reach the Capital around the evening, enabling passengers from other destinations to board the Kalka mail. This package will also
sort out the problem of visiting surrounding destinations
that is faced by tourists, especially those who come with
their families. |
PUDA puts
off drive against hedges SAS NAGAR, Oct 25 — In a surprise move the local estate office of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has deferred its drive to remove hedges, fences, grills and tow walls raised by residents in front of their houses in the township for at least two weeks. The drive was scheduled to begin today. Earlier PUDA, through a public notice inserted in local newspapers, had asked the house owners to remove the encroachments on public land within 10 days with effect from October 15, failing which the same would be removed at the risk and cost of the violators. An official of PUDA said
that the drive would be launched after Divali. He said
the decision was taken after a number of resident welfare
associations of the township represented to the PUDA
authorities seeking more time before the drive was
started. |
Stenography students boycott classes CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — Students of the stenography course in Government Central Crafts Institute, Sector 11, today boycotted their classes and observed strike to protest against the extension in the timings of the teaching schedule from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. instead of 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A delegation of students led by Amarjot, Secretary of the local unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, met the Principal and submitted a memorandum, demanding a review of the decision to extend the timings and the consequent increase in teaching hours. Later, the delegation went to meet the Director, Technical Education, Dr S.K. Aggarwal, to demand early solution to the problem, but since he was out of station, they left a copy of the memorandum. The students have decided to observe indefinite strike till the decision is revised. The Principal, Mrs K.
Ranga Rajyam, said that no decision could be taken till
the Director returned. |
'Exit
polls represent vested interests' CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — Prof Pradeep Kumar of Department of Political Science, PU, denounced market-driven polls including exit polls as representing vested interests and narrow sections of society like urban educated classes, mostly males and those belonging to particular ethnic or communal groups. He was delivering the lecture organised by Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) at Gandhi Bhavan today. He spoke on why and how the opinion polls are conducted and why there are variations in the results obtained from polls conducted by different agencies. He emphasised on the quality of random sampling, honesty in the survey and quality of questions asked. He said that the survey must be conducted in such a manner that even a clone of a randomly selected individual should not be used as a substitute for the real one. He also said that honestly and rigorously conducted opinion polls orient opinions in all different manners and they should not be seen as prejudicing the voter. Prof. Swaranjit Mehta,
Director ICSSR, presided over the talk. About 60 teachers
and students attended the lecture. There was a lively
discussion at the end of the talk. |
Polio
drive continues CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — On the second day of the first phase of the four-phased Intensified Pulse-Polio Immunisation 1999-2000, the Health Department of the UT and the Chandigarh Administration today carried out a door-to-door immunisation programme to cover all those children in the age group of zero to five, who had not made it to the polio-immunisation booths yesterday. Till yesterday, 90,818 children were immunised, which includes 65,221 from the urban sector and 25,597 from the rural sector. According to authorities, since the rural area in the city records a target population of 25,750, the target achievement in this area has been almost 100 per cent. Mobile vans recorded 5,068 polio vaccinations yesterday. Many experts in the field today said many children were not brought to the booths, since most persons had been made aware of the fact that the door-to-door rounds of the drive would be carried for two days in the city. Reportedly, the house-to-house-immunisation teams today vaccinated about 3,000 to 4,000 already vaccinated children, since these children had not been 'marked' properly. For this intensified vaccination programme, enthusiastic health workers were today seen stopping buses at the Zirakpur road to provide polio drops to children and sometimes even catching kids in schools and kindergartens. Such rounds will be carried on in the city tomorrow as well. SAS NAGAR As part of the first
phase of the Pulse Polio Immunization Campaign, 879
children below the age of five were given polio drops at
five posts manned by the staff of the government
dispensary in Phase VII here yesterday. The head of the
dispensary, Dr Rajbir Singh Kang, said the maximum number
of children out of these, 354, were immunized at the
dispensary itself. Meanwhile, at least 132 teams of the
Health Department were participating in the door-to-door
drive to immunise the remaining children. |
SNIPPETS 250 participate in science
exhibition SAS NAGAR, Oct 25 — As many as 250 students of different local schools participated in a tehsil-level science exhibition organised by the State Education Department at Sant Isher Singh Model Senior Secondary School in Phase 7 here today. The participants had displayed at least 125 science models on different themes. While Sant Isher Singh Model Senior Secondary School bagged the first position, BSH Arya Senior Secondary School, Sohana, got the second position. Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sohana, and Gem Public School, SAS Nagar, got the third and fourth positions, respectively. The District Education Officer, Ropar, Dr Ajmer Singh, who gave away the prizes to the winners, disclosed that the first three position holders would participate in a three-day district level science exhibition being held at Ropar from November 3. Inter-class painting contest CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — An on-the-spot inter-class painting competition, organised by Camlin India Ltd, Mumbai, at Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Sector 20, here today evoked a tremendous response with most of the students from nursery to class XII participating in it. The event was organised by the school principal, Mr Varinder Singh, and a fine arts master, Mr Sanjeev Arora. Mr Arora has been actively involved in promoting this event since 1991. The DPI (Colleges), Mr K.A.P. Sinha, and Mrs S. Tangri, Principal, Government College of Education, Sector 20-D, also encouraged the participants during their brief visit to the school. The students could draw on any topic of their choice. The results: group A: Jatinder Kumar 1 and Sugan 2; group B: Lalit Kumar 1 and Anita Devi 2; group C: Ranjeet Kumar 1 and Anil Kumar 2; group D: Vijay Kumar 1 and Vijay Kumar 2; and group E: Amrinder Singh 1 and Bharat Sindhwani 2. UN day celebrated CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — The UNESCO centre in Panjab University celebrated the foundation day of the United Nations here today. Presiding over the function, Prof Jitendra Mohan, Honorary Director of the centre, attributed the success of peace and development of democracy to the efforts of the UNO. He said in spite of the over dominance of one superpower and the failure to adhere to the principles of the UNO by some countries, the world is a safer place now than ever before in the history of mankind. Talk on fashion designing held SAS NAGAR, Oct 25 — A talk on "Future of Indian design industry" was organised at the Northern India Institute of Fashion Design here today. Mr Aki Narula, a fashion designer from Delhi, interacted with about 70 students of a fashion designing course being run at the institute. Before answering queries from students, Mr Narula talked at length about the fashion industry in the country. He said the quality of designer clothes in the country was gaining importance at the international level. Comparing the growth of fashion industry in the region, he said there were more prospects for the budding fashion designers in Delhi compared to Chandigarh. "Since the big names in the fashion industry were based at Delhi, the students of fashion designing there had a better and frequent interaction with them", he said. Appreciating the works of the students of the local institute, he said fashion clothes reflect a thought and concept. Later, he answered queries from students about retailing of products. The Director of the institute, Ms Vijay Sharma, was also present on the occasion. 300 students get prizes CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — As many as 300 students, who had excelled in academics and extra-curricular activities were awarded prizes at a function of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37-B. Mr Brahmjit Kalia, district Education Officer, who was the chief guest, gave away the prizes. He also planted saplings as part of the tree plantation function. He also visited the newly developed park on the campus and lauded the role of the volunteers at the 10-day NSS camp. Honey Moudgil was honoured for participating in the pre-republic day parade at Agra. The 12 students who had received president's award for scouts and guides were also honoured at the function. Ajay Singla was awarded the best NCC cadet prize. Earlier, the principal, Mrs N.K. Bhatia, presented the annual reports for the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 and highlighted the achievements of the school in various fields. Speaking at the
function, Mr Kalia lauded the staff and students for
their sincere efforts.
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