Cops hold another meeting;
media kept at bay
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The UT police, following criticism from the local units of the SAD-BJP alliance, SP and Lok Shakti over its alleged failure on the law and order front during a meeting from where the leaders of these parties had staged a walkout yesterday, today held a closed door meeting with leaders of these parties, keeping the media at an arm's length.

Interestingly, most of the leaders of these parties, who had created a pandemonium in the UT Police Conference Hall, too, were either tight-lipped about what happened in today's meeting with the IGP or 'not available' for comments all through the day. At yesterday's meeting, called by the IGP for discussing the deteriorating law and order situation in the city, these leaders had criticised the police for its alleged inefficiency and left the meeting midway. They accused the police of having a partisanship, saying that it had extended numerous invitations to Congressmen, while for leaders of other parties, a condition was laid that they should not be accompanied by more than four office-bearers. The leaders of these parties had even submitted a memorandum to the Adviser, who, it was learnt, instructed the police authorities to reconvene the meeting and to involve all those who had participated in the boycott yesterday. Accordingly, the IGP again sent invitation letters to these leaders for the meeting this morning at the office of the IGP. However, the Congress, BSP and CPM were not invited, with the justification that only those who did not participate in the meeting yesterday were called.

While the media was invited to the meeting yesterday, the police authorities did not do the same today even though the topic to be discussed was the same — the law and order situation and finding a solution for curbing the growing incidence of crime in the city. According to official sources, the media was kept away to avoid adverse publicity in case there was chaos again.

"The IGP will call you later and brief about the meeting," was repeated answer of the police officials when mediamen made queries about the meeting, but no such thing happened till late in the afternoon.

When contacted on phone in the evening, the IGP, Mr S.K. Singh, said the media was not allowed as it was not a public meeting. About what happened in the meeting, he said there was nothing special and that the 'locality level' problems raised by participants were discussed.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that a wide range of problems were discussed in the meeting which lasted for about two hours.

Leaders of different political parties demanded that to curb crime in the city, strong measures like regulating the number of 'rickshawallahs' and the introduction of a proper registration procedure for them should be taken. Some demanded that efforts should be done to check the menace of drug addiction by keeping a close watch on the activities of druggists. The participants also urged action against employers who did not give information to the police about their servants, a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles in central parts of the city between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and action against those who park their buses on or along road berms in city, particularly in Sectors 21, 22 and 23. It was also demanded that in view of the increasing traffic in the city, the period of green and yellow signals at traffic lights should be extended to a minimum of 1.5 minutes.

While the IGP assured the participants to take measures to solve problems faced by residents, he is said to have assured the participants that an enquiry into the number of invitations issued for Tuesday's meeting would be held by the SSP.

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (I) has offered to publicly withdraw any derogatory remark if used by any of its leaders.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Sunil Parti, official spokesman, and Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri, Secretary of the CTCC, denied that any of its leaders used abusive language against any leader of any other party during the meeting yesterday. Mr Parti said, "If Mr Davinder Babla had indulged in such a thing, the CTCC had no say in it as Mr Babla is not a Congressman and not even a primary member of the party."

The CTCC leaders said mere transfers of some police officials will not result in a solution to the deteriorating law and order situation in the city. "Only shifting them from outside the UT could solve the problem as they have deep connections within the city and they do not initiate action for personal reasons," the statement said.

Agitating farmers teargassed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The UT Police today resorted to cane charge and tear gas shelling to disperse hundreds of farmers who had converged from all over Punjab to protest against low paddy price at the Sector 17, Housing Board roundabout here today. The rally was organised by Bhartiya Kisan Ekta, a farmers’ organisation.

Farmers from Punjab, who had been demanding a hike in the support price were lathi-charged and teargassed when they tried to proceed to the Punjab secretariat after breaking the barricades created by the UT Police.

A number of farmers complained to have received injuries in the process.

Meanwhile, the Punjab State Council of the CPI has condemned the treatment meted out to the farmers, who, it said, were the backbone of the state economy.

Mr Joginder Dayal secretary of the council, said the situation was so bad that the farmers were not even getting the minimum support price of Rs 520 a quintal due to harsh specification imposed by the procurement agencies.

Shatabdi takes 10 minutes more
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — Contrary to expectations, the running time of the Shatabdi Express between Chandigarh and New Delhi has increased by 10 minutes from three hours following electrification of the train.

Though the morning Shatabdi Express from New Delhi to Chandigarh and the afternoon train from here to the union capital has been electrified since September 21, the Northern Railway has modified the time table a little by extending the running time by 10 minutes for each journey.

According to the revised schedule, the train now leaves the Delhi at 7.35 a.m. against 7.30 earlier, and is officially scheduled to reach here at 10.45 a.m. instead of 10.30 earlier.

Similarly, the Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi Express in the afternoon continues to depart from here at 12.20 p.m. but its arrival time in Delhi has been changed from 3.20 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.

Initially, the impression given was that the running time between New Delhi and Chandigarh would be reduced from three hours to two hours and 40 or 45 minutes after the electrification. Earlier, with the diesel engine and because of engineering restrictions en route, the train had been normally clocking between three hours and 10 minutes and three hours and 30 minutes. The average engineering restrictions account for a delay of 15 to 20 minutes in each journey. But the official extension of the running time has come as a surprise.

The Delhi-Ambala segment had already been electrified. The Ambala-Chandigarh sector, which was to be electrified by March 31 was, however, delayed and the trial run was conducted only early this month.

Timings of some other major trains, including the Swaran Shatabdi, Himalayan Queen and Shan-e-Punjab have also been slightly modified.

Interestingly, the repair of the track between Delhi and Chandigarh has been a continuous process. Latest equipment was not used for expeditious and reliable repair of the track.

Though one brand new rake has been introduced, it is used only occasionally. Perhaps, it is reserved for VIP movements only. The old rakes because of their continuous and non-stop use are in urgent need of immediate repairs.

Some regular travellers in the Shatabdi Express maintain that only a few coaches have bottle holders. The serving tables are mostly tilted and unsafe. They are seldom cleaned hygienically and efficiently.

Toilet floors of some of the old coaches, because of their uneven surfaces, have a problem of stagnant water and are not clean.

2 held for servant's murder
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 29 — The local police has arrested Kamal Singh and Vijay Singh, natives of Rudraprayaag and residents of Mani Majra, for their involvement in the murder of Gopal, a servant of Justice S.P. Goyal, who was found dead on September 22.

Another accused, Bhim Bahadur, a Nepali, has absconded and efforts are on to trace him. His employers, former and present, have no clue of his residence or any address which may be of help to the police.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr Alok Mittal, said prima facie evidence was indicated that the culprits were known to the deceased. Also, the spot was visited by the "scene of crime" team from Madhuban and fingerprint experts and a dog squad was pressed into service.

Two teams, under Inspector Fateh Singh and Inspector Balbir Singh, were deployed to work out the motive behind the crime and catch the culprits. Interrogation of persons detained during investigation revealed that Gopal was a drunkard, had illicit relations with two women and was a frequent visitor to the lottery stall in Mani Majra. On the basis of this and the information of his "friends'', the police teams carried out raids in Chandigarh, Mani Majra and Baddi.

From Mani Majra, the police recovered a blood-stained shirt and a bedsheet soaked in water. The team also recovered a purse, some foreign coins and a camera that matched the description given by Justice Goyal. The description of the other missing items which are likely to be in the possession of Bhim Bahadur given by the two accused tallies with the remaining items which have been stated missing by the complainant, Mr Mittal said.

The police carried out a raid at the residence of Bhim Bahadur, working as a watchman in house number 489 in Sector 8, where construction work is in progress. The police has recovered a couple of door latches which are similar to those found on the blood-soaked mattress on the scene of crime, indicating Bhim Bahadur's involvement in the crime.

Reconstructing the story, Mr Mittal said that Gopal had spread word among his friends that the owner, Justice Goyal, was selling the house and had accepted Rs 5 lakh after finalising the deal with a customer. The three came with the intention of looting that sum in the absence of the owner.

It is believed that Gopal consumed liquor after speaking to a relative of Justice Goyal while informing him that all was well. The three, Vijay Singh, Kamal Singh and Bhim Bahadur, came into the house between 9.30 pm and 11 pm, the time when the murder is likely to have taken place. When the intentions of the three became known, Gopal resisted and was given a sharp blow with the ceiling fan lying nearby for repair. Later, he was dragged out of the way and left in the bathroom where he died after a few hours due to excessive bleeding.

Mr Mittal added that the three could not rummage through the articles in the three rooms where the locks had been broken in, due to the anxiety and tension caused by murder of Gopal, they left in a hurry, taking only what they could lay their hands on easily.

The police contend that Kamal Singh, a driver, was very well known to Gopal and the two would visit each other frequently. In fact, the two women having an illicit relationship with Gopal would come to his house in the presence of Kamal Singh. Vijay Singh, the other accused, is a first cousin of Kamal Singh and was working in the factory where Kamal Singh was employed as a driver. The two were known to Bhim Bahadur.

Earlier, Justice Goyal has stated that Rs 15,000 along with a couple of cameras and watches were missing. However, when the house was set in order after the visit of experts, the briefcase containing Rs 15,000 was recovered while coins collected from foreign countries by Justice Goyal's wife were found missing with a purse.

The police is trying to establish a link between the robbery on September 16 in a house in the same sector. Since the faces of the four culprits were covered, the only clue is that the four were short-statured and young. The two accused in the murder also fit the bill. However, investigations on the possibility of their involvement are on and the police is working on this theory also besides exploring other options.

Who will be Controller of Examination?
Emergency meeting of board convened
By Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Sept 29 — Who will be the new Controller of Examination of the Punjab School Education Board? The question has assumed importance as the term of the present incumbent ends tomorrow and the issue of filling of the post threatens to snowball into a major controversy.

The sensitivity of the issue can be gauged from the fact that no senior official of the board was ready to discuss the issue though leaders of the Punjab School Education Board Karamchari Association have already threatened to agitate if the present incumbent was allowed to continue in the post.

What has raised many a eyebrows was that an emergency meeting of the board members has been convened for tomorrow at Punjab Bhavan, a rare practice, to discuss the points on the agenda which include confirmation of the proceedings of the agenda of the last meeting, appointment of members to the Finance Committee, appointment of teachers of the Welfare Committee and appeals of certain board employees against their punishment orders.

Sources revealed that the decision to convene the meeting, reportedly called at the instance of the Education Minister and the Education Secretary, was conveyed to the members on September 25 and the agenda was sent to them on September 26. Claiming that none of the agenda points were of that importance which called for an emergency meeting, the union leaders allege that the issue of appointment of the Controller of Examination and appointment of an Assistant Secretary to the board were on the "hidden"agenda.

On the other hand investigations reveal that as per the rules and regulations of the board, the Chairman can call an emergency meeting at short notice and is empowered to include points other than on the agenda on the spot. But the controversy has arisen over the new incumbent against the post of Controller of Examination.

The General Secretary of the employees association, Mr Jarnail Singh Brar, alleged:" We fear that the board management will give another extension to the present incumbent and show favouritism in filling the post of Assistant Secretary". Sources revealed that some of the eligible officials in the board were also eyeing the post of Controller of Examination.

It may be pertinent to mention that the board management and the employees union were at loggerheads after mass irregularities in the tabulation of results were detected and at least five board employees, including the General Secretary of the employees association, were suspended. The Chairman of the board, Dr Kehar Singh, was not available for comments as he was out of station.

Sector 7 businessman hurt in attack
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 29 — A Sector 7 businessman, Jaspal Singh, was seriously injured by armed assailants when he went to the basement rented out to him in the same market to wind up some deals here today.

While the agreement of the letting out of the basement was finalised with the owner, Ms Amita Jain of Dharamapur, last year, the possession was taken a month ago. Prior to this agreement, the basement was rented out to Mr R.L. Kapoor of Chandigarh.

He had assured Rajnikant Modi, a businessman in the city, that he would ensure that the basement was rented out to him when Mr Kapoor checked out. Meanwhile, the deal between Ms Jain and Jaspal Singh was finalised and the chances of the basement being rented out to Modi fell through.

Police sources added that Modi, accompanied by five others, attacked Jaspal Singh in an effort to gain possession of the basement. A hammer and rods were recovered from the scene of the crime. Jaspal Singh was thrashed and he received a severe blow on his head.

His brother, Mr Harbinder Pal Singh, who was summoned from his shop, raised an alarm. The public and shopkeepers nearby apprehended two of the six, Vishal and Rajneesh, involved in the incident. The remaining managed to flee. The police from the nearby post reached the spot.

Mr Harbinder Pal Singh added that the six had tried to push their way into the basement when it was opened and threw out the goods stocked in the basement. Jaspal Singh tried to convince them that he was not party to the dispute between the landlord and them before asking them to leave.

The police has registered a case under Sections 323, 506 annd 452 of the IPC. Two persons, allegedly involved in the incident and apprehended by the public, have been handed over to the police.

Cop beats up PEC student
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — In a case of police high-handedness, Tushar Moudgil, a student of Punjab Engineering College (PEC), faced the lathi of a policeman at a naka in the Sector 27 market here at around 7.15 p.m. yesterday.

Mr Moudgil of Sector 21 alleged that he was sigalled by a policeman to stop his motorcycle at a naka. "I could not stop my bike immediately as I could not see the signal. The cop ran after me and hit me with his lathi on my face and back. I lost two of my upper teeth and received injuries on my lower lip," he complained.

"I was stunned and was able to reach home with a great difficulty," said Mr Moudgil. He added that he had lodged a complaint with the Sector 26 police station and he was medically examined at General Hospital, Sector 16. He urged the IGP, Chandigarh, to take action against the policeman without delay.

The SHO was not available for comment. Enquiries with the Sector 26 police station revealed that no case had been registered so far, though an official conceded that the complainant had been got medically examined.

Doctor booked for negligence
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Sept 29 — The local police has booked an orthopaedic surgeon running a private clinic in Phase 2 here for causing death of a 34-year-old patient due to alleged negligence. The victim, Ravinder Dhawan, had been admitted at his clinic for being operated upon for a leg injury on September 22.

A case under Sections 304-A and 34 of the IPC has been registered by the police against Dr S. Saha on the basis of a statement given by the wife of the victim, Ms Alka Dhawan. Earlier, the police had initiated inquest proceedings in the case under Section 174 of the CrPC.

The victim, who had suffered a leg injury was admitted at the clinic on September 22. The next day, when he was administered local anaesthesia before being operated upon, he died. Mrs Dhawan had alleged that her husband had died to negligence of the doctors concerned.

The autopsy did not revealed the exact cause of death and viscera were sent for chemical examination.

'Problems plague industrial units'
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 29 — The industrial units in the township are plagued by problems like bad roads, inadequate water supply, inefficient solid waste disposal management and transport system and insufficient electricity supply.

This was stated by Mr C.B. Goel, Chairman of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at a press conference here yesterday.

He said there was a demand from the units to be placed in the low potential zone, which was one of the three sub-divisions the industrial areas of Haryana were divided into. "By putting our district in the medium potential zone category, the government has put us at a disadvantage. Industrial plot owners cannot lease out their plots or transfer it to somebody before having run the unit successfully for five years," he explained.

Mr Goel said the units had also demanded a uniform taxation policy, as it existed in neighbouring states, and stepping up of maintenance of law and order, in view of the 'jhuggis' coming up in the industrial area.

He added that workers staying in nearby villages and slums were forced to stay in sub-human conditions and that steps must be taken to improve the area. There was also a demand for a hospital and a community centre in the area.

The President of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Manmohan Singhal, said developing countries had entered the liberalised regime at a disadvantage, since units were being asked to manufacture cost-effective quality products and compete with low-priced products of developed countries. He said there was immediate need for upgradation of technology and improving the marketing of products.

He was all praise for the single window system, whereby an entrepreneur could pour out his grievances at one place. "We are pressing for the revival of the system in our state as well," he said.

Earlier, an inaugural function of the 'Packaging for Export Training' course was held in Sector 1. Delegates from Punjab and Haryana are participating in the three-day course, which has been organised by the Small Industries Service Institute, Karnal, in collaboration with the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Panchkula district.

Updating parents on flaw of wards
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — Updating parents on the flaws and drawbacks of their wards in the written examination marked the counselling camp at DAV Public School, Sector 8, here today.

The cap was aimed at including parents in the process of teaching and learning. The visible areas of drawbacks of a child were highlighted for the parents to ensure greater attention.

Talking to The Tribune, Ms S.Manuja, Principal, said parents were allowed to interact directly with the teachers. However, parents "shy" of talking to the teachers could highlight their expressions on a slip and hand it to the teacher concerned.

One of the parents of a student said that in case parents were dissatisfied with the classroom teaching or with the evaluation, they could interact directly. In certain cases original copies were handed out to the parents for relaxed study at homes.

The school saw that very few parents of children who were among the last rankers in the class turned up for counselling. This was an usual routine, Ms Manuja said. However, the school made all efforts to contact them even at later stages.

The direct interaction in counselling was on different influences on children which effected their studies. The school gave the liberty to parents to point out drawbacks in teachers which they thought did not attract their child to concentrate on the subject.

The morning session saw a big rush with the parents collecting their answer-sheets from the reception and being handed out slips. It was an established fact that a child tended to score more in the paper taught by a teacher which he liked, the Principal said. The interaction also was beneficial and development oriented step for the teachers.

The Principal said that the school in another shift from the mainstream practices in teaching, did not have books oriented studies in primary classes. The development encouraged through continuous evaluation which practically meant that the parents received the body and mind growth of their wards on a day-to-day basis. The primary classes also have certain other personality development activities on the curricula, she added.

Challan served in kickbacks case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — In the ongoing kickbacks case, the Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today served on the accused copies of supplementary challan filed by the Chandigarh Administration.

The supplementary challan names two more suspects. They are R.K. Gupta, a former Executive Engineer, and S.S. Dheer, a former Superintending Engineer, with the Chandigarh Administration.

The challan alleges that there are eight entries in the diaries recovered from the alleged middleman about the kickbacks paid to Gupta. He is accused of taking Rs 1,000 on September 25, 1995, Rs 1,600 on October 3, 1995, Rs 1,600 on October 22, 1995, Rs 10,000 on January 10, 1996, Rs 5,000 on January 31, 1996, Rs 1,500 on February 13, 1996, Rs 4,000 on June 3, 1996, and Rs 4,000 on August 26, 1996.

There are two entries against Dheer’s name. He is charged with taking Rs 16,000 on February 13, 1996, and Rs 2,550 on August 28, 1996.

The original challan in this case (FIR No. 1 of 1998) was presented in the court on February 4, naming 37 engineers of the Chandigarh Administration and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, apart from three alleged middlemen. These are Sunil Kalia, Dinesh Sharma and Suresh Sharma.

Protest rally by doctors
From Our Correspondent

LALRU, Sept 29 — Medical Officers of Dera Bassi subdivision yesterday held a rally in the civil hospital to protest against the decision of the Punjab Government to give panchayats the task of supervising the work of doctors.

The paramedical staff also participated in the protest which was held on the call of the PCMS Association of Punjab.

The staff of dispensaries and civil hospitals in this subdivision also wore black badges during their duty hours. However, routine work of hospitals and dispensaries was not disturbed in any way.

The President of the PCMS Association, Dera Bassi, Mr Daler Singh Multani, addressing the rally said the government was trying to divert the attention of the public from the lack of basic amenities, essential medicines and equipment in the hospitals and dispensaries in the state. To supervise the working of the department was the duty of the senior staff and this should be ensured by the Government, he added.

The Senior Medical Officer, Ms Satwant Bhalla, said that instead of making such irrational decisions, the government should encourage the doctors who were doing duty in remote areas without any basic facilities.

The association has demanded withdrawal of the decision, failing which the agitation would be intensified.

Villagers stage dharna
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, Sept 29 — More than 150 persons, including women, all residents of Chhat village and its surrounding areas, today staged a dharna for about four hours to protest against the arrest of Mr Gurcharan Singh, a former Sarpanch of Chhat village, in front of Lohgarh police post here today.

Mr Gurcharan Singh was arrested last night for allegedly misappropriating funds granted by the government for the development of the village during his term as Sarpanch.

The villagers also raised slogans against the government and held Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister of Punjab, responsible for the arrest of the former Sarpanch.

They alleged that the police had called Mr Gurcharan Singh to the Lohgarh police post in connection with a complaint by the election observer during the polling in Chhat village and then arrested him.

Various political leaders, including Mr Deepinder Singh Dhillon, Treasurer, PPCC (Legal Cell), Mr R.S. Sohi, a former Chairman of the Zila Parishad, Mr Jaswant Singh Saini, Senior Vice-President, DCC, Patiala, Mr Amrit Pal Singh, a former President of the Dera Bassi Municipal Council, and Mr Sunehri Lal, President of the Zirakpur Shopkeepers' Welfare Association, also participated in the dharna.

On a complaint of the Block Development Project Officer, Rajpura, the police had arrested Mr Gurcharan Singh on the charge of misappropriating Rs 3.20 lakh released by the government for village development when he was the Sarpanch .

GMCH to have blood component centre
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The Sector 32 Government Medical College Hospital will soon have a blood component complex with all modern facilities for conserving blood. At present, only 5 per cent of the 1,000 blood centres in the country use their potential for conserving the blood.

Since October 1 is Blood Donation Day, this centre and its mobile collection units will be inaugurated on that day.

The prime object of the proposed centre would be to provide the necessary technology and manpower for conserving blood in such a manner that each unit of blood collected from a single donor is split into components like red cells, platelets, white cells, plasma, and coagulating factors. This would facilitate the transfusion of the actual component of blood to the patient and save the other components for other needy patients.

This facility can be practised only at those centres which have equipment like blood plastic bags, refrigerated centrifuge, platelet shaker and incubator, refrigerated water bath, cold storage temperature from 4° C to -80° C in an environment which is not be injurious to the functional aspect of the blood cells. Trained manpower will be an additional prerequisite for this centre.

Octroi at SAS Nagar to be privatised
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Sept 29 — Even as the councillors of the local Municipal Council today unanimously opposed the move of privatisation of octroi collection in the municipal limits, the Executive Officer of the council, acting on the directives of the government, has decided to go ahead with the privatisation move.

The issue came up for discussion at an emergency meeting of the council here today. The councillors opposed the move, saying that it was against the interests of the people. Another reason behind the opposition to the privatisation of octroi collection by the councillors was the coming elections of the council.

The Executive Officer of the local Municipal Council, Mr Yash Goyal, said the government had expressed its resentment over the discontinuation of the private contract of octroi collection last year. The exercise to privatise the octroi collection in the town will be started soon.

Conference in city on radiodiagnosis from October 1
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — More than 4,000 delegates from all over India are expected to participate in the sixth national conference of the Indian Association of Radiological Technologists to be organised by the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging of the PGI here from October 1 to 3.

Talking to newspersons here Prof (Mrs) S. Suri and Mr S.C. Bansal, chairperson and organising secretary of the conference, said the Department of Radiodiagnosis at the PGI was equipped with the state-of-art machinery that includes MRI, CT, DSA, digital fluoroscopy, mammography and ultrasonography besides the conventional x-ray units.

The department had been acting as regional centre in northern India which has been providing radiological services to patients referred from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh apart from Jammu & Kashmir and other states.

They said the conference has been organised to create awareness among the radiological technologists about the latest technical advances in the field of radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy such as CT,MRI,DSA and digital radiography. A workshop on “quality assurance” and a symposium on “breast cancer” will be the main highlights of the conference.

Order reserved on Brar’s plea
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today reserved order on the application moved by Mr Baldev Singh Brar, praying for impleading Mr G.S. Tohra, former SGPC president, Bhai Ranjit Singh , former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Mr Justice R.S. Narula and Dr H.K. Manmohan Singh in the suit seeking directions for restraining Mr Justice Kuldip Singh from functioning as president of the World Sikh Council.

Earlier, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr H.S. Madan, had declined the application moved by Mr Brar for impleading them as respondents in this case.

The stand of Mr Brar before the Sessions Judge in his revision petition was that all these persons had filed reply to the suit.

Mr Bedi reserved the order for October 4.

Generation gap “not a major problem”
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The Senior Citizens Association of Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, celebrated the International Year of Senior Citizens at Lajpat Rai Bhavan here today.

Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister of Punjab, gave a grant of Rs 50,000 to the association and dwelt at length on the theme,” generation gap”.

Mr Kamaleshwar Sinha, formerly of Visva-Bharati and Santiniketan, in his keynote address, described “generation gap” as an avoidably irritable concept. Senior citizens represented the season of mellow fruitfulness in life, he said, and urged them to lead the young people to the glorious high noon of tomorrow.

Mr P.H. Vaishnav, former Chief Secretary of Punjab, and President of the association, lauded the role of elderly people in shaping the future of the country and sustaining its heritage.

Prof Jagat Mohan Jerath, Prof P.P. Arya, Maj-Gen K.S. Bajwa (retd), Dr T.P.S. Chawla, Miss Cauvery Shah, Mr Arun Arora and Miss Pratibha, among others, made significant comments on the tenability of the idea of “generation gap”.

Mr R.P. Puri conducted the proceedings in an admirable manner. Mr Ashok Kumar, Joint Director, Directorate of Field Publicity, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Chandigarh, proposed a vote of thanks.

SNIPPETS

'Get community centres vacated'
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The Art, Culture and Sports Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has urged the Chandigarh Administration to get the community centres of Sectors 20, 29 and 40 vacated by Kashmiri migrants.

At its meeting here today, members of the committee were of the view that the centres should be vacated so that they could be used for community use. They urged the Chandigarh Housing Board to speed-up the process of allotment of flats to these migrants which it had promised them some months back.

While stressing the need for repairing these centres, the members said toilets and kitchens should be constructed outside main halls in these centres for the convenience of parties who used these centres.

Use Hindi "in routine work"
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) organised a function in connection with Hindi week here today.

Dr Sansar Chandra, a former Professor in the Department of Hindi, Panjab University, who was the chief guest, stressed the role of Hindi in the multi-lingual country and its importance as the national language.

Poll results to go via Internet
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Sept 29 — Arrangements have been made here for the first time to send the Lok Sabha election results to the Election Commission in Delhi via the Internet.

Giving this information here today, the SDM and Assistant Returning Officer for the Ropar constituency, Mr O.P. Popli, said the computer system for election purposes had been brought from the office of the ADC, Development, Ropar. It would be run with the help of four employees of the Punjab National Bank.

New PCS officer joins duty
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — Mr R.K. Kaushik, a PCS officer, today joined the Chandigarh Administration.

Mr Kaushik, who has come as replacement for Mr Arun Sekhri, Director of Industries, is likely to be posted as Secretary of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB). The post of the CHB Secretary has been lying vacant after the repatriation of Mr Abhey Singh Yadav, HCS, to his parent state.

Since Mr Sekhri is one for the Assistant Returning Officers for the Chandigarh parliamentary seat, he will relinquish charge only after the counting of votes on October 6.

CM's decision lauded
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Sept 29 — The Haryana Government Retired Officers' Welfare Association has applauded the announcement made by the Chief Minister, Mr O.P. Chautala, pertaining to implementation of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission in toto.

The pensioners who retired before January 1, 1986, have appealed to the Chief Minister to implement the remaining recommendations also. They have further appealed for the creation of an independent department of pension and pensioners to look into matters concerning pensioners and family pensioners to save them the trouble of running from pillar to post to get what is rightfully theirs.

Senior officers to tour city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 29 — To restore confidence of residents in view of increasing incidents of snatching and other petty crimes, the UT Administration has decided to organise joint touring of residential areas by senior civil and police officers.

The decision was taken during a high-level meeting of senior civil and police officers. According to it, the officers, including the DC, SSP, SDMs and DSPs will go to different parts of the city and hold meetings with the residents and representatives of resident welfare associations. “The aim of the exercise is to restore residents’ confidence in the Administration and to activate the official machinery,” said Mr N.K. Jain, the UT Home Secretary. He said in addition to routine and notified touring these officers would also conduct surprise visits to different areas to take stock of the situation.