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November 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Property dealers spring up on Naya Gaon horizon Naya Gaon, November 6 With around 20 per cent hike in the real estate price in the area ever since the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, announced the formation of NAC in the area, there has been a sudden surfacing of property dealers in the village in anticipation of land prices likely to shoot as soon as the announcement turns into reality. The mobile dealers have set up their temporary camps in the property likely to be offered for sale. The village seems to have been filled with such dealers (so-called consultants) who are even planning to create infrastructure on their own to maximise the potential for hike in the land prices. They have no offices. Several local residents were seen sitting on chairs at various vacant plots in the village. The real estate market has not really picked up but potential buyers will start making enquires by the weekend, hope property dealers. This correspondent met a few tailors, mechanics and even former government employees who are trying their luck in the real estate business. However, the first day did not turn ‘‘good’’ for them as these were practically no buyers. ‘‘People take time in buying property and by the weekend they will start making enquires’’, said a former bank employee, now a ‘‘property consultant’’. The real estate business in the area is at a standstill, claims a property dealer. After talking to several of them, it was learnt that the farmers (plots actually fall on farm lands) are waiting for the NAC notification. ‘‘Once the NAC status is granted to the area, there will be buyers’’, said a property dealer. The land prices in the area started soaring after Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal at a sangat darshan programme at Ratwara village, a couple of months ago, announced that the area will be granted the NAC status. However, the announcement of regularising the structures raised after December 9, 1998, raised the prices. According to property dealers and local residents, the past couple of days saw a rise in the land prices by 20 to 25 per cent. They believe that prices are not expected to rise further till the NAC status is granted. A property dealer, however, said that the prices in the area are already quite high. He was also of the opinion that big investors are conspicuous by their absence and people interested in small plots for constructing houses for themselves will flock to the property dealers. Some of the property dealers are of the view that a large number of investors and ‘‘influential people’’ have already purchased land in the area and now its the turn of actual buyers. By this they mean, people will buy 6 marlas to 1 kanal of land for constructing houses for themselves.
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Panjab University employee held Chandigarh, November 6 The police said that on receiving secret information that a person selling fake certificates was operating from the Sector 15 market, a decoy customer was sent to the person, Suraj Parkash Joshi, employed as an assistant in the General Branch, who struck a deal with him. The police said that he was given Rs 500 as advance payment after which he gave the decoy a BA degree certificate, with promise to provide a detailed marks card later after getting the full payment. He was apprehended from the Sector 15 market and the marked money (currency notes given as payment) and certificate was seized from his possession. The police was also looking into the possible involvement of other persons in the racket. The accused, while talking to TNS, maintained that he had found a set of blank degree certificate and marks sheet in a brown envelope lying in a corridor about three months back and at that time did not know what to do with them. He added that a few days earlier, he was approached by an old acquaintance for a fake degree, for which he asked Rs 30,000. The person paid him Rs 25,000, with the balance money to be paid later. The acquaintance also gave him a photo copy of a BA-II marks sheet for particulars of the person in whose name the fake degree was to be made. Joshi said that he could not recall the name of the person mentioned in the mark sheet. Joshi, who joined the university as an assistant in 1976, claimed that this was the first time that he tried to sell such a certificate. He said that he took the money as he was heavily in debt because he had invested money in his son’s business ventures, which turned to be a failure. The money he received for the degree was spent in paying some bills and returning it to friends, he added. |
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PUDA regularises 561 daily-wagers SAS Nagar, November 6 A formal decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the authority held under the chairmanship of Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, held at Chandigarh today. The Chairman and Managing Director of HUDCO, Mr V. Suresh also attended the meeting. The above staff, which included skilled mazdoors, sweepers, sewer men, chowkidars, beldars, malis and skilled workers like pump operators, electricians and plumbers, who had been drawing their wages against 2 per cent provision for maintenance incorporated by PUDA on annual basis in all its estimates — as per the PWD norms. These posts would, however, automatically cease to exist upon the retirement of the employees in question. Dr Upinderjit Kaur said a decision had also been taken to extend the term of contractual employment of 35 clerks, two steno typists and three data entry operators by another one year. These employees had completed three years of service and were given a jump of 25 per cent from the present monthly contract fee of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. The contractual appointment of a retired naib tehsildar, who was handling revenue work relating to disposal of government property, had also been extended by one year. The PUDA’s Chief Administrator, Mr KBS Sidhu said 18 posts of steno typists, currently attached with Divisional Engineers, were upgraded to the level of junior scale stenographers. Two posts of personal assistants were also upgraded to the level of private secretaries. In the authority meeting it was decided to create two selection posts of subdivisional engineers (Roads and Bridges) at the expense of vacant direct recruitment posts. These shall be filled up by selection from among the existing junior engineers in PUDA cadre subject to the fulfillment of the prescribed qualifications for direct recruitment and had five years of experience in construction of roads and bridges. By a resolution the authority also decided to provide employment on compassionate grounds to the next of kin of a work-charge employee dying when in harness. It was also decided to relax the condition of qualification in case of entry into Class IV service on compassionate grounds. The new qualification would be Class V pass certificate and working knowledge of Punjabi. The authority also decided to continue the existing rates of house rent allowance, TA/ DA, medical reimbursement etc. The authority also amended its regulations in respect of promotion of steno typists to junior scale stenographers, in line with the Punjab Government policy. The authority formally approved the allotment of 400 sq yard plots to nine members of Indian hockey team belonging to Punjab and Chandigarh, who won the World Hockey Championship recently. The total subsidy amount of Rs. 1.35 crore would be recovered from the Sports Department or the Punjab State Sports Council. |
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Special patrolling staff Panchkula, November 6 The round-the-clock patrolling introduced by the top brass of the police has reportedly brought down the crime rate in the township by around 50 percent. Burglaries and thefts, which, until a few weeks ago were more of a routine than an exception, are now a thing of the past. This inspite of the fact that the township has a meagre strength of 150 personnel at its disposal. These cops—including Inspectors, Sub Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors, Head Constables and constables — have been drawn from the Sector 5 police station and Sector 19 police station. “Though the strength of the force is too less as compared to the burgeoning population, effective policing with the available strength has to be managed to ensure that law and order is maintained, “ said the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Manoj Yadav. It was thus that 50 personnel from office duty have been drawn and a city patrolling staff has been formulated. These cops have been assigned work independent of the exigencies of routine work (going for evidence in courts, for raids and for producing accused in the courts). Four personnel are assigned duty of a particular sector and work in pairs on a day-night rotation. It is learnt that with a large number of theft and snatching cases being reported outside banks and shopping establishments, cops have also been deputed here. The deployment of patrolling staff has been so worked out that in sectors where a police station or a police post is already situated, the job of patrolling rests with the staff of the concerned station or post. In addition five police control room jeeps/ gypsies and a motor- cycle has been strategically located at various points in the township in order to cover the entire length and breadth. In fact, the authorities are now propose to plug the various entry and exit points of the township to ensure that an accused is trapped here and is not allowed to escape. Wherever the township shares a boundary with the neighbouring state of Punjab — near Ramgarh and Zirakpur, permanent nakas are being set up. Other than this, the police is also using its 20- odd strong security branch for human intelligence in slum and other labour colonies. Of late, the hand of migrant labour in various heinous crimes have been reported. |
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Birth certificate before birth The childbirth is expected on December 29, 2001, but the birth of a girl child has already been registered on January 16, 2001. Though officials of the civic body say that it has been inadvertently mentioned in the document that the child was born on December 29, 2001, instead of December 29, 2000, the state of affairs in the MC are evident. Sources in the civic body say that the error was not detected by the dealing clerk and the Executive Officer (EO) of the MC, who put his signatures on the certificate. A person called Mr Tarun Kumar had applied for the birth certificate of his daughter. The MC employees who issued the certificate first mentioned the girl as a boy and, then, as a girl in the certificate. Several senior officials as well could not detect the mistake. When the mistake was brought to the notice of the officials concerned, a new certificate was issued, where the date of the birth of the girl child was written as December 29, 2001. The civic body chief, Mr Kulwant Singh, when contacted, said he would look into the case. He said the work of registration of births was of the Health Department and, though the civic body could not take action against the erring officials, it would write to the Health Department about it. |
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Fine
‘mehndi’ begets fine Chandigarh, November 6 They were made to stand in hands-up position outside the office of the Principal and fined Rs 100 each. Parents of some of these students said that they had sought exemption for their wards from the punishment, but the requests had been dismissed by the school authorities. They said the authorities had announced on Friday last, asking students not to come to school with ‘mehndi’ on their hands. “However, some of the children had applied ‘mehndi’ on their hands before the announcement. Our requests for exemption were still turned down,” a parent said. When contacted, the Principal of the school, Sister Oleen, said the students had been punished, so that, they could be disciplined and the fine had been imposed on them to ensure it was brought to the notice of their parents. “We don’t want money, but want to make the parents know that their wards are violating the school rules,” she said. |
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TRIBUNE VIGIL Chandigarh, November 6 Such death traps are all over the garden and the problem is that these traps are not visible from a distance. Existing in the form of bare electric wires in the most inconceivable places of the garden, these traps are waiting for a tragedy to happen. The situation has not changed for over a year now. Creator of Rock Garden, Nek Chand, said, “The problem began when the Engineering Department of the UT engaged a contractor to lay electricity cables in Phase III of the garden over a year ago. He said, “For over a year now, these wires have been lying bare because the contractor has not been able to complete the work. Most of the wires were not fixed properly. These can prove to be dangerous for labourers who are engaged in work all over the garden. I also make about 10 rounds of the garden along sidewalls for this purpose.” Nek Chand has written at least five letters of requests to the UT Engineering Department about the problem, but the situation remains unchanged. A survey of the garden showed that, while many electric wires were bare, some others had been joined at several places. At some places, two joints could be seen at less than a metre. The most dangerous spot is perhaps where a water-supply pipe runs parallel to bare live electric wires. Nek Chand said, “If some day, one of these wires touches the water pipe, you can well imagine the consequences. The pipe runs across entire Rock Garden.” Meanwhile, labourers on duty have started covering bare wires with polythene bags to protect themselves. One of the workers said, “We have no other choice. Mild shocks have now become a routine. We have now stopped visiting ‘sahib’ to take up this problem with him. When one of our colleagues received a shock six days ago, we did not inform sahib about it. Covering live wires with polythene bags might prevent tragedy.” With the expansion work in Phase III in full swing, about 50 workers are on duty there every day and Nek Chand is worried about their safety. He said, “Till now, God has been kind, but anything can happen anytime. I can only hope that the Engineering Department sends someone here to fix the problem.” |
Panel discusses need to check corruption in government Chandigarh, November 6 This came out of a panel discussion on ‘Need for a new initiative to eradicate corruption from the government’ organised by the Central Excise and Customs Commissionerates I and II, Chandigarh. The panelists included the Director-General of the Central Excise and Customs Academy, Faridabad, Mr Dalbir Singh, DGP Vigilance, Haryana, Mr M. S. Malik, ADGP Vigilance, Punjab, Mr S. K. Verma, Chairman, Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Council, Mr Anmol Ratan and the Punjab University Law Department Chairman, Mr V. K. Bansal. Mr Bansal said that there was corruption reportedly in recruitment of PCS officers and also added that the tuition menace was one of the most corrupt acts. Mr Malik, sounding confident to deal with the menace, said that the Haryana Police had started recovery of cost from those whose actions had caused quantified loss to the state exchequer. He said the law was now closing in on politicians also, which was unheard of earlier and even a former Prime Minister also witnessed registration of a case of corruption. Mr Rattan said that though there were legal procedures of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and others to punish the corrupt but it could not be eradicated unless even children started asking their parents about where they got extra money from. Mr Dalbir Singh said a person who indulged in petty gratification thought that it was not he who was indulging in corruption but others. Even children of the corrupt in the long run did not benefit as easy money made them shirk their individual efforts for making a living bringing disharmony to the home. The Director General said that observance of a vigilance week would not serve any purpose, if individuals did not realise what harm the corruption could cause. Mr Verma while pointing out holes in the system, said that personal integrity had to be enforced in all conditions. He said the Emergency was a watershed in spreading corruption as it was this period where bureaucracy learnt bending backwards to please their political masters. |
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1 lakh reward for informant of Chandigarh, November 6 The informer, Mr Vijay Kakkar, owns an electronics shop in the Kalamboli area of Navi Mumbai. while watching ‘India’s Most Wanted’ on Sunday night, Mr Kakkar and his wife recognised Surinder Singh since the wanted man had purchased a TV set and a fridge from his shop — VN Electronics. Even before the telecast ended at 11.30 pm, Mr Kakkar had informed the local police station — giving them the exact address of the wanted couple. Surinder Singh and his wife were wanted by the Jammu police for allegedly duping more than 500 investors of over Rs 15 crore. They had fled Jammu on June 8 last year. Inspector Sheikh of Kalamboli police station had arrested the absconding duo by 5.45 am and recovered some FDRs and several blank school certificates —triggering off an additional investigation. Immediately after his arrest, Surinder Singh, a lawyer by profession, complained of chest pain and was admitted in a hospital in police custody. His wife, Surjit Kaur, was detained at Kalamboli police station. A police party today left Jammu for Navi Mumbai to take custody of the two, disclosed Mr M.A. Anjum, SSP, Crime and Railways, Jammu. |
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Vigilance Awareness Week Chandigarh, November 6 The chief guest, Mr Jatinder Bhatia, President of the Welfare Association, in his address laid stress on eradicating ‘corruption’. Lion Daljit Arora, Director, Lions Club Chandigarh Supreme, in his presidential address said society would go to the dogs, if collective efforts to uproot this social evil was not done. Principal D.S. Pilkhwal emphasised on the role of the teacher in making the society corruption-free. Mr O.P. Sachdeva organised the programme. Various skits were performed indicating the message of dire consequences of this evil. Mr Jatinder Bhatia administered the oath to the audience. Deepak Mishra was adjudged the overall best performer. Amit of Class IX-A got the prize for the quiz item. Mr S.K. Mehndiratta, ex-president of Lions Club Chandigarh Supreme, was the special guest of honour. |
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Signatures forged, says BJP cell chief Chandigarh, November 6 Mr Dayal urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr B. S. Bassi, to probe the matter. He said his signatures had been forged and he had never issued any such press note. Mr Dayal, however, did not name anyone. Meanwhile, a former city chief of the BJP, Mr Dharampal Gupta, wrote a letter to the head of the BJP ad-hoc committee, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, here today, urging him to call a meeting of the committee. His letter has come in the wake of a report that Ms Ranjana Shahi may be denied party ticket for opposing the Mayor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, on the proposal of expenditure on developing a green belt from the councillor’s and MP’s fund. |
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HUDA urged
to lift ‘malba’ Panchkula, November 6 Mr Deepak Rai Walia, president of the New Kuteer Group Housing Society, stated as HUDA had retained Rs 2000 from every society as “malba” lifting charges, this money should be used to clear the complex area of “malba” immediately. He said a memorandum was submitted to the HUDA Administrator in this connection on September 6. In view of the magnitude of civic-related problems which Mansa Devi Complex residents continue to face, it is also suggested that a nodal officer should be nominated to look into and solve these. |
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‘Don’t let them access porn’ Chandigarh, November 6 At a meeting called by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Parag Jain, here today, it was decided that all cyber-cafe owners would maintain a register containing names and particulars of all visitors. The police would check these registers from time to time. Warnings regarding legal implications for under-age surfers accessing pornographic sites are to be displayed prominently at all cyber cafes. The SSP said it was the responsibility of cyber-cafe owners to ensue that minors did not access pornographic sites. On the issue of the blocking of pornographic sites by Internet service providers or cyber-cafe owners, it was decided that a demonstration of software packages for this purpose would be held within a week. The SSP said legal machinery would be activated and the police would crackdown on those violators. Besides a large number of cyber-cafe owners, the SP (city), Mr Baldev Singh, and a representative of the National Informatics Centre, Mr Arjun Rampal, also attended the meeting. |
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Rallies
by road workers Chandigarh, November 6 Rallies were also held in Sectors 8, 28, 29 and 24. The workers were addressed by Mr Kam Raj, Mr Balkishan, Mr Rakesh Kumar and Mr Ajit Singh. |
Husband arrested
on murder charge Panchkula, November 6 Sources in the police said that the duo, Raj Kumar and his bother Surinder Kumar, were arrested following a complaint lodged by the parents of the deceased against them last week. It may be recalled that Raksha Devi (20) was found drowned in an underground water tank of a house owned by Narsimha Chhabra in Sector 2 on August 26. A prominent hotelier of Shimla, Mr Chhabra and Raj Kumar, husband of the deceased, had reported the incident as natural death. But Raksha’s parents approached the Panchkula police last week and lodged a complaint against Raj Kumar and Narsimha Chhabra alleging that they had physically as well as mentally tortured her, which led her commit suicide. |
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3 held for stealing, selling scooter parts Chandigarh, November 6 On receiving secret information that a junk-deaker in Naya Gaon, identified as Moti Lal Chaurasia, was selling stolen items, a team led by SI Gurjeet Kaur apprehended the accused. The side panel of a scooter (DHS 7521), which was earlier reported to be stolen from the PGI, by a Sector 38 resident Thang Singh, was recovered from his possession. Following interrogation of the accused, police arrested two other persons, Avtar Singh, a resident of Naya Gaon, and Ravi Raj, alias Filter, a resident of PGI campus. The stolen scooter was
recovered from Avtar’s possession, while the scooter’s wheels were recovered from Ravi. All three have been remanded to judicial custody. Two held: Two persons, Inderjit, a resident of Sector 47 and Vinod, a resident of Ram Darbar were apprehended by a night chowkidar in Industrial Area, Phase II, and stolen goods were recovered from their possession. The police has arrested them and registered a case. Liquor seized: Two persons have been arrested by the police from near the PGI chowk and 495 pouches of countrymade liquor were seized from their possession. The accused, Hari Kumar, a resident of Mauli Jagran, and Shiv Kumar, a resident of Burail, were travelling in a three-wheeler when they were apprehended. They were later bailed out. A resident of Sango near Kaithal, Subash, has been apprehended by an officer of the Excise and Taxation Department for allegedly selling liquor on the black market near the VIP flats in Sector 19. Four bottles of whisky have been recovered from his possession. A case has been registered under the Excise Act. PGI clerk held: The police has arrested Tikal Raj, employed as a clerk in the PGI, for reportedly misbehaving with two Class-IV employees while in an inebriated state. A case has been registered. Caught: A resident of Kurali, Ramesh was caught red-handed by a resident of Hallo Majra while stealing a cycle near the Poultry Farm chowk. He was handed over to the police. Abducted: A resident of Colony No. 5, Saheeda, has reported that her 13-year-old daughter has been abducted from her residence by a person from the same colony. A case has been registered. Stolen: A Sector 20 resident P. Dheer has reported that his Hero Honda motor cycle (UP-31-D-1301) has been stolen from his residence. A resident of Manak Tabra near Panchkula has reported that his scooter (JKR-5135) has been stolen from Sector 22. Cases have been registered. PANCHKULA 2 killed in mishaps: A youth was found to be crushed in his car in the wee hours of the morning in Chandi Mandir here today. According to information available, Sunil Sharma was found dead in his car ( CAP- 6417) after the car crushed in a road accident. The car was reportedly crushed between two trucks (HR- 37A- 934 and HR- 38C- 2614). The truck drivers fled away from the spot. In another accident, car driver was killed and four others were injured on the Mattawal- Yamunanagar highway. All the persons, employees of Central Cooperative Bank, were travelling in an Ambassador car when they were hit by a truck. While, driver Kewal Ram was killed on the spot, others were rushed to PGI for treatment. Criminal intimidation: A driver in the Wildlife Department has accused his senior of criminal intimidation. In a complaint sent to the Sector 5 Police Station, Mr Satish Kumar Satija, a driver in the department, has accused the Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr Krishan Lal Minhas, of threatening him with dire consequences. Four booked: The Raipur Rani police has booked Mam Chand, Gurbachan, Puran Chand and Karun Pal on charges of assaulting Anil Kumar, Baldev, Phulo Devi, Asha and Kusum on November 4. A case has been registered. Two booked: Surmukh Singh and an unknown person have been accused of assaulting Babloo Kumar in Bhaisa Tibba yesterday. A case has been registered in Police Station Sector 5. Scooter stolen: A scooter ( HR- 03C- 2977) was stolen from outside a Sector 15 house yesterday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered on the complaint of Mr Vinay Kumar
Kalra. |
SBP holds “Coin Mela” Chandigarh, November 6 Mr M.R. Goyal, Assistant General Manager who inaugurated the mela, said coins worth Rs 2 lakh were distributed amongst 400 persons including traders. The bank would organise more such melas during the week at various centres. |
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SAS Nagar, November 6
