Wednesday, September 1, 1999
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N E W S Wednesday, September 1, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
Campaigning gathers
momentum CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The Congress candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, today scoffed at the demand of the BJP candidate, Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, asking him to clarify his stand on the status of Chandigarh as a union territory. Addressing election meetings in Sectors 9 and 22, besides some villages, Mr Bansal said that during three joint debates he had strongly asserted that Chandigarh would always remain a union territory and by asking him to clarify his stand on the issue, Mr Sharma has only betrayed his amnesia. It was because of his active role and also that of the Chandigarh Congress that the status of city had withstood all threats, Mr Bansal said. It was during his tenure as member of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996, said Mr Bansal, that the position of Chandigarh as union territory was further consolidated and for the first time there was no threat whatever to its status. Talking about his tenure as member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Bansal asserted that he had always espoused the cause of Chandigarh in no small measure, while Mr Sharma, who now claims to have old links with Chandigarh, did not utter even the name of Chandigarh in either of the two Houses of Parliament. Finding himself confronted with very difficult electoral prospects as an outsider, Mr Sharma was now desperately trying to retrieve himself from a political morass, Mr Bansal said. Mr Sharma had also been wrongly briefed that he (Mr Bansal) was ever a General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Mr Bansal reiterated his earlier stand that in case Chandigarh were to be stripped of its UT status, he would resign his seat. This stand of his, he clarified, was not against the interest of Punjab in any way. Mr Bansal today also
touched upon issues relating to exemption limit in income
tax, houses for employees, development of UT villages as
model villages. |
BSP undecided on UT status CHANDIGARH, Aug 31— Even as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has promised to develop all 22 villages falling in the Union Territory of Chandigarh as model villages, it is still in a quandary over the issue whether the City Beautiful should remain a union territory or it should go to Punjab. While releasing the 30-point manifesto, Mr Mata Ram Dhiman, President of the local unit of the BSP and party candidate for the Lok Sabha seat, said if voted to power the party would strive to ensure allround development of the UT, including that of slum and rural areas. "We promise that after coming to power, the BSP will convert all villages into model villages and provide all modern amenities like model schools there. The party has decided to give full attention towards the villages as these have been neglected during the past 45 years and were considered nothing but mere vote banks,'' he said. Mr Dhiman seemed "cornered" when newspersons asked him about his party's stand on the future status of the union territory. "We will decide whether the UT should retain its status or should go to Punjab after the elections.'' Asked about the stand of the local unit of the party on this particular issue, Mr Dhiman said the local unit would abide by the decision of the high command. "For us the main issue is that of development of the city," Mr Dhiman said. Mr Dhiman, who was accompanied by Mr Joginder Singh Sawhney, President of the local unit of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, the BSP's ally in the elections, said if his party came to power it would abolish the Periphery Control Order within a period of six months. ''Besides, we will make the process of acquiring of the SC\BC certificates easier and simpler. The party had also promised that on its coming to power it would evolve a plan to ensure equal disbursement of funds among villages, colonies and the city on the basis of population. Moreover, the party promised to ensure that residents get uninterrupted water supply for 24 hours a day. "We have planned to abolish the contract system in all development works to ensure that there is no exploitation of workers. We will provide small booths to roadside mechanics and free power and water connections to people living below the poverty line," said Mr Dhiman, expressing the hope that his party would win the seat by a margin of 20,000 votes. He held the Congress and
the BJP responsible for the problems like poverty, lack
of cleanliness in colonies and villages and unemployment
among educated youth. |
SHO shifted to police lines SAS NAGAR, Aug 31 — At the instance of the election commission,the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Phase 1 police station, Mr Raminder Singh,has been transferred to the police lines. For his replacement,names of two officials have been sent to the commission for approval. While confirming the transfer of the SHO, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP),Ropar, Mr G.P.S.Bhullar, said the approval of the name of the official to be posted as SHO at the Phase -1 police station was awaited. The SHO has been transferred following a representation made by the All-India Shiromani Akali Dal (AISAD) to the State Electoral Officer, Punjab, alleging that the police official was a close relative of the SAD candidate from the Ropar parliamentary constituency. In a fax massage to the Chief Electoral Officer the President of the SAS Nagar unit of the AISAD, Mr Arvinder Singh Bedi had alleged that the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Phase -1 police station, Mr Raminder Singh, was a relative of SAD candidate from Ropar seat, Ms Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal. The party had alleged that the SHO was influencing voters in the constituency. Besides, transfer of the Additional Chief Administrator of Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA), Mr Dipinder Singh, alleged to be a nephew of Ms Dhaliwal, has also been sought. The party has further alleged that since staff of PUDA had been deputed in poll duty in the Ropar parliamentary seat, there was possibility of the staff being pressurised to act in a partisan manner. Mr Bedi maintained that
a copy of the representation had also been given to the
Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for the Kharar assembly
segment of the Ropar parliamentary seat. Violation of the
model code of conduct by party workers of the SAD and the
Congress has also been alleged. |
Company booked for bank fraud Chandigarh, Aug 31 — The police has registered a case against the owners of a Sector 35 company which fraudulently withdrew Rs 3.74 lakh from the Sectors 22 and 47 branches of Punjab State Cooperative Bank. According to police sources, Sanjeev Gupta and Gobind Mohan, proprietors of Mid-xpose, connived with some bank officials and withdrew Rs 1.44 lakh in the name of Vineeta Behl, one of their employees. A sum for Rs 30,000 was also withdrawn by them. The first loan was taken to buy a car, while the second time it was taken for the purchase of household goods. Both amounts were withdrawn by them after accepting the cheques by signing for Vineeta in contravention of norms. Similarly, the duo prepared documents and got a loan of Rs 2 lakh sanctioned in the name of Ms Payal Bogra, a resident of Sector 47. The payment was again accepted by the two by signing for the loanee. Mr Sohan Lal, AMD of the bank and complainant, said that the bank while investigating into its loan schemes came across this fraud. The bank officials named in the complaint include Mr Harcharan Singh, then branch manager, and Senior Assistant, Mr Nand Lal. In his letter to the SSP, Mr Sohan Lal has expressed his apprehension that the accused might leave the city and also leave several other people in the lurch. Their involvement in other fraudulent deals cannot be ruled out and the internal inquiry was still under way. A case under Sections
420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered at the
Sector 31 police station. |
Run of electric trains may
be delayed CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — Even though the newly electrified Ambala — Chandigarh rail section is all set to be cleared for operating locos by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS),the actual operation of electric trains on the section may be delayed till the ensuing Lok Sabha poll. The exact date as to when trains on the section will be run is yet be finalised. Actually only two trains terminate at Chandigarh and the rest run up to Kalka. Besides the Shatabadi Express that arrives in Chandigarh from Delhi at around 10.30 am and departs from here around noon, a passenger train terminates at Chandigarh, sources said, while adding that the running time of the train will be reduced. The CRS, Mr V.S. Dutta, based in New Delhi, inspected the newly laid 45 km route today and later said that it would be cleared by this week end. The inspection carried out by him along with senior officials of the Northern Railways revealed that all systems were in order. Mr Dutta, who arrived here by a special inspection train, said that a clearance certificate for the section would be given this week itself after which the railways can extend electric trains on the Delhi-Ambala section up to Chandigarh, thus reducing running time. The team also inspected safety of passenger trains at Lalru and Ghaghar railway station enroute. The team also checked the 25 kv overhead installations. Meanwhile, the actual operation of trains may be allowed after September 5 when the polling takes places in almost all north Indian states, except Himachal Pradesh. It may be so that a permission is given after all phases of polling are completed. Officials are exersing restraint and will seek the permission of the headquarters before allowing the two trains that terminate at Chandigarh to be run on electric locos. The Divisional Railway Manger (DRM), Ambala division, Mr Vijay Kumar, said we will be running the goods trains after the CRS gives the clearance. On an average, three goods trains run between Chandigarh and Ambala daily. It would not make sense to run trains on electric locos till Chandigarh and then change onto diesel locomotives for the short run between Chandigarh and Kalka, the DRM said. The Chief Project
Manager, Electrification, Mr N.K. Singhal, said the 25 km
stretch between Chandigarh and Kalka will be electrified
by March 2000. |
State award for five teachers CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The Chandigarh Administration has selected five city teachers for the annual state awards and commendation certificates for this year. According to information available, the three teachers who have been selected for this year's state awards are Dr Harjit Kaur Sandhu, a Punjabi lecturer in GMSSS-33; Mr Satnam Singh Dhindsa, a social science master in GMSSS-33; and Mrs Palwant Kaur, a social science teacher in GSSS-38 ( West) .The two teachers who will be given commendation certificates are Mrs Vinod, a science teacher in GMSSS-40 and Mr Parkash Chander, a Sanskrit teacher in DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8. These awards will be presented to the teachers at a function, the date of which will be finalised shortly. These awards are normally presented on Teacher's Day ( September 5), but due to polling on that day, the function will be held at a later date. A state award committee
constituted under the chairmanship of the UT Education
Secretary takes into account the teaching experience of a
teacher for the past 10 years, ACRs, results, additional
qualifications, social community service, co-curricular
activities, publications and reputation reports. The
other members of this committee are DPI (Schools);
Regional Director, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti; Director,
State Institute of Education; and a principal of a
private school. |
PIL filed on water supply SAS NAGAR, Aug 31 — A local resident has moved the Punjab State Human Rights Commission, alleging that the supply of water in the township is unfit for human consumption. The State Public Works Department (Public Health) and the State Health Department have been held party to the case. In the public interest litigation filed before the commission, Mr T.S. Chhabra of Sector 60 (Phase 3-B-2), has alleged that for the past one month, the water being supplied by the local public health wing of the PWD has been unfit for human consumption. He has alleged that the officials concerned have failed to take any action and there is risk of spread of water-borne diseases. He has also alleged that
the health department, which is bound to take water
samples regularly, has failed in its duty. The commission
has issued notice of motion to the department concerned
for October 5. |
Dry days in Panchkula PANCHKULA, Aug 31—The District Electoral Officer and Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vivek Joshi, declared here today that September 3 to 5 and October 6 and 7 as dry days on account the polling and counting of votes, respectively. Giving details of the preparation for the elections, Mr Joshi stated at a press conference organised at his office, that polling material would reach BEL Colony on the morning of September 4. Also, 67 trucks had been deployed to transport the ballot boxes after the completion of elections. Voting would be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mr Joshi said that nobody would be allowed to put up tents, campaign or carry mobile phones or pagers within 200 metres of a polling booth. The administration would restrict vehicles carrying voters to the polling booths. ``Each candidate will be allowed one car on polling day with the permission of the Returning Officer. Essential services such as ambulances would be exempted from this order and no permits would be required to run vehicles on national and state highways,'' he explained. The Deputy Commissioner added that nine independent polling parties had been appointed for the villages of Morni along with nine trucks for the transport of polling material. A counter would be opened in room No 318 at the district secretariat for all election related enquiries. These can also be made from telephone numbers 585223 and 585360. Mr Joshi said that 48 hours before the polling all campaigning would come to an end and loudspeakers could not be used on vehicles without the prior permission of the Sub Divisional Magistrate. Vehicles using loudspeakers without permission would be confiscated. Areas for holding rallies and putting up posters had already been specified. He said that the administration had deployed three observers who would inspect the polling booths and ensure that the election was conducted smoothly. Mr Joshi informed that 16 villages had been declared sensitive and a total of 77 polling booths had been established in the villages with greater police deployment. In the hilly areas, the police would take the help of forest guards. Giving details of the police arrangements, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Alok Mittal, said that nakas had been established at 10 points along the boundary of the district. These would begin functioning on September 4. Thirteen patrolling parties had been formed. The parties would carry out checks at the polling centres in the district and in a part of Naraingarh. Each of these parties
would be provided with wireless sets while the police
control room would function as usual. The SHOs of the six
police stations would be provided with additional force
to meet any exigency. Mr Mittal stated that the police
deployment varied from area to area, depending upon the
number of booths. He added that more than 90 per cent of
the registered firearms had been deposited at the police
stations. The SP stated that the police would deal with
bogus voters sternly and that they would be arrested
under Section 171 (d) of the IPC. |
Nutrition education plan for
parents CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The Dietetics Department of Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32, will organise a two-day 'Parent Nutrition Education Programme' for the parents of the mentally retarded children enrolled with Government Institute for the Mentally Retarded Children (GIMRC), Sector 32, at the institute premises. The programme will be organised as part of the Nutrition Week from September 1 to 7. This was announced today at a press conference at Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32. The institute, which has a strength of 130 'special' children and had been taken over by the hospital about six months back, has aimed this programme towards raising the level of awareness on the complexities of nutritional problems faced by these children. According to Prof B S Chavan, Head, Psychiatry Department, GMCH, and the Joint Director of the institute, the programme will not only inform the parents about the right diet to keep these children in the state of optimum health, but will also work towards creating "self-help groups" for the parents. On the first day of the programme a 'nutrition exhibition' will be held with the theme 'Child's Health, Nation's Wealth', where information will be disseminated through charts, posters, models, nutrition games and display of recipes. Ms M Mathur, Chief Dietician, GMCH, said that a talk on 'balanced diet' would also be delivered. An added attraction, she said, would be a display of nutritious packed lunches which children could carry to school, as well as some other food supplements that would be helpful during the growth period. The talk would be followed by an 'Open Forum', in which along with nutrition experts, the parents would also be able to interact with experts from the Department of Psychiatry, ENT, Paediatrics, Clinical Psychology and special educators. On September 2, the parents would be shown three educational films — on anaemia, diarrhoea and balanced diet. A 'Diet Clinic' would be also be set up where parents would be able to approach the experts in the filed of dietics with their problems on an individual basis. Ms Mathur also informed that as part of the nutrition week activities, a food and nutrition quiz for Senior Residents of the College and Hospital would be organised on September 7 at GMCH. Last year, GMCH, had celebrated the week on the theme of 'Infant's Diet' at the Community Centre, Palsora. The Adviser to the
Administrator, Chandigarh, Ms Vineeta Rai, will
inaugurate the week tomorrow morning at GIMRC. |
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Theatre workshop
begins This four-week workshop has been put together with not only students of the school but also other children of the colony who work mostly as rag-pickers. The workshop, held in the evening, is being conducted by Mr Zulfiqar Khan of the Theatre Age, who has been working with street children for the past seven years, in collaboration with the akademi. Mr Munna, Secretary of the akademi, said that the 25-day theatre workshop would end with about 15 shows in the city. The workshop aimed at evolving a play out of experiences of children, without making them learn the text of the play, he added. This workshop will also hold 'enrichment lectures' for these children on various art and craft forms and techniques, targeted at helping them in their day to day life. Rally in BJP's support Mr Sagar said that the country recorded a landslide victory in Kargil under the stewardship of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. He called upon all members of the Himachal Mahasabha, Himachal Students Association, DAV College Union, All Himachal Vidyarathi Sangthan and other organisations to vote for Mr Krishan Lal Sharma. Meanwhile, the Mani Majra unit of the Gujar Mahasabha also decided to support the BJP candidate. Mr Krishan Lal Sharma addressed a meting of the Sector 37-B Volunteer Welfare Society. The Mahila Morcha of the local unit of the BJP organised a procession and demonstration outside Chandigarh Congress Bhavan in Sector 35 in protest against the alleged rape of a woman inside Congress Bhavan in Uttar Pradesh. An effigy of the Congress was also burnt by the protestors. Over 20 polling stations
sensitive According to sources, out of the 159 polling stations in the segment, 20 are having tension due to political rivalry among parties. Besides nine flying squads, more than 335 policemen have been deployed to maintain law and order. Security measures have been tightened at sensitive polling stations and booths. 2 PU students suspended The two students along with two others had allegedly harassed and beaten up 11 first year students of the chemical engineering undergraduate course in a drunken state. The two had earlier been expelled from the hostel. The police had booked all four on charges of illegal confinement and causing hurt. The other two booked were Yogesh Thakur, an ME student who was seeking admission in the same hostel,and Vijay Thakur, a former PU student. Order on closure of shops The Chandigarh Administration has declared that all the factories located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh will observe a weekly holiday on the first day of the week — September 5 — instead of any weekly holiday proceeding or succeeding within three days of such declared weekly holiday for the reason that no worker shall be required or allowed to work in any factory on such day so that they can exercise their right of franchise in the general election to be held on September 5. Warm reception for RRD
candidate The Colonel visited the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he interacted with lawyers. Accompanied by retired defence officers and others, he also visited Dhanas village, where they were apprised of some demands of villagers. He assured the villagers that he and his party would do their best to ameliorate the lot of the villagers and work for overall development of all 22 villages to make these model villages. meanwhile, seven war widows, in a joint appeal to the electorate of Chandigarh, asked it to vote and support Col Harsharan Singh in the ensuing elections. the signatories were Ms Nachhattar Kaur (widowed in 1962 war), Ms Tej Kaur (widowed in 1965 war), Ms Mohinder Kaur (widowed in 1965 war), Ms Chanan Devi, Mrs Rupinder Pal Kaur (widow of Maj Harminder Pal Singh) and Ms Mumlesh Rani. The war widows expressed their anguish at attempts to divide ex-servicemen and war widows. They said unless they stayed united, most of their problems would not be solved. 'Take action against
middlemen' The association has already taken up the matter with the Mandi Board to sort out the problems of the public but no action has been taken.It has stated that over the past three years, farmers have stopped contributing to the mandis and the middlemen are gaining in the process. The association has
urged the board to take action against the middlemen
since the purpose of providing fresh vegetables and fruit
to the consumers is defeated. |
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