Chandigarh, February 23
In the multi-crore scam involving sanctioning of wrong building plans of Fun Republic, Mani Majra, the CBI investigations seem to be heading towards the conversion policy of multiplexes, introduced in 2001.

Probing on the lines of policy, sleuths of the CBI today quizzed officials in the Municipal Corporation regarding the details of the conversion policy since its introduction. After being informed by the MC officials that original policy was formulated by the Finance Department, the sleuths headed for the UT secretariat.

Though none of the senior officials admitted that some records regarding the conversion policy had been sought, sources said specific details relating to the background of the policy were sought. Senior officials in the Administration were present when the record was sought. The CBI officials are learnt to have taken the record with them.

Sources said certain pointed queries had been sought from the Administration. Refusing to divulge details, sources said investigations were moving in a number of directions and something conclusive was expected in the coming days.

The angle of financial gratification and disproportionate assets of the suspects was also being probed into by the Central agency. Sources said a team of the CBI continued with videography at Fun Republic. The management of the multiplex was asked not to remove violations.

It may be mentioned that vice-president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and proprietor of the Dhillon Complex Kewal Dhillon and SDO (Building), Estate Office, T.P. Singh have been booked by the CBI in the case. Role of some other officials is also being probed into.

The SDO, along with some other officials, has reportedly moved applications for anticipatory bail in local courts.

Panchkula, February 23
A 30-year-old NRI from London was allegedly kidnapped from her house in Sector 25 here on February 18. She has alleged that her abductors forced her to sign some property papers before they let her off this evening.

The victim, Harjit Kaur, has now approached the Sector 25 police and sought registration of a case against her abductors. Till the filing of this report, the police was still investigating the complaint and an FIR had not been registered.

Harjit Kaur, who had come from London on November 28 last year, said she had come here for getting the allotment letter of a house in Sector 25. “On February 18 a group of 11 persons forced their way into my house when I was all alone and kidnapped me. They gagged and blindfolded me, bundled me into a Honda Accord car and took me away to an unknown destination. It took us four hours to reach the destination. There I was locked in a dark room,” she alleged.

The NRI woman further said her abductors changed her location several times before they again brought her to the courts in Panchkula on February 20, where she was forced to sign some blank documents. “I was again taken to an undisclosed destination and was let off this evening in Sector 10, Panchkula. They also gave me Rs 3000, though they took away my passport. I do not know who my abductors are, but I know that they were from Doraha,” she said.

Chandigarh, February 23
The Rose Festival got off to a colourful start this morning. Punjab Governor-cum-UT administrator Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd) and first lady Jean Rodrigues reached the venue to inaugurate the three-day event.

Around 300 artistes from across the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttarakhand, are displaying their talent in the floral fiesta. They lined up along the narrow path leading to the impressive floral gates and swayed rhythmically to music as the administrator released a bunch of balloons before cutting the ribbon.

UT mayor Harjinder Kaur, home secretary Krishna Mohan, finance secretary S.K. Sandhu, deputy commissioner R.K. Rao, municipal corporation commissioner P.S. Aujla, chief engineer V.K. Bhardwaj and director (tourism) Vivek Attray were also present on the occasion.

Escorted by the men-in-khaki, General Rodrigues and other VIP guests went around the garden enjoying the festivities.

In all, 10 band parties from the Chandigarh Police, the ITBP, the CRPF, the Haryana Police, the Punjab Police, the PAP, the Home Guards and KB DAV School performed during the “brass and pipe band competition”.

As their dexterous hands played on the musical instruments, the Governor went around shaking hands and congratulating them for playing their part in the festivities. He also released a book on roses by Major Amarjit Singh Bath (retd).

Panchkula, February 23
With the Congress government completing two "successful" years in power in the state, hoardings listing out its achievements and propagating its policies and programmes have come up along every single road and at every roundabout.

These hoardings are also an attempt by local leaders to associate their names with the powers-that-be. These also serve as "invitation cards" urging people to join the February 25 Navyug Rally at Sirsa. The rally is being organised to mark “two years of success” in the state.

All this is being done despite the directions of the Supreme Court, given in 1997, that all highways and important roads should be free from hoardings and display boards.

This publicity is not peculiar to Panchkula alone. The massive programme of “displaying its achievements” has been launched throughout the state. Hoardings have been put up outside public places like bus stands, district courts, mini secretariat and even near some hospitals. Interestingly, the violations are taking place right under the nose of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), with a huge board put up on its boundary wall and two other standing tall at the entry of the adjoining Shakti Bhavan in Sector 6.

The concept of hoardings was introduced during the regime of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government. If the hoardings during the Chautala's rule carried pictures of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his father Devi Lal, the new hoardings have pictures of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his MP son Deepinder Hooda.

While some of these hoarding have been sponsored by individuals, there are others that have been sponsored by various public sector undertakings, educational institutions and other organisations.

While putting up these hoardings, the state agencies perhaps overlooked the directions of the apex court as well as the Punjab and Haryana High Court (in 1998), on regulating vehicular traffic with “greater emphasis on removal of all hoardings and advertisement boards on the roadside”. These directions seem to be gathering dust in the files stashed away in cupboards as various agencies go about making public aware of the "welfare initiatives" of the Haryana Government.

Chandigarh, February 23
It appears that the desire of the middle-income group to get cheap houses in the city will remain unfulfilled. The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) is no mood to allot the proposed 10,000 houses for the middle-income group on a no-profit, no-loss basis.

Though the costing of the proposed houses has not been calculated, sources in the CHB confirmed that its cost will not be less than Rs 32 lakh as fixed by the board in its last housing scheme. “It is not possible to price the houses at no-profit, no-loss basis,” said an official.

The CHB had yesterday announced an extensive plan to create a housing stock in Chandigarh in the next two to three years. The housing schemes are expected to be launched in phases in the next six months.

An official disclosed that about 42 acres in Sector 63 had been earmarked for the construction of about 1,800 houses. The Chandigarh Administration had approved the construction of multi-storey flats there. The planning for the same had started and the scheme might be floated in the next six months.

Similarly, the Administration has allotted about 90 acres for the construction of houses in Sectors 53, 54 and 55. The board was exploring the possibility of constructing about 3,500 houses either through public-private partnership or by allotting the project to private builders.

Sources said it was also being debated that in case the project was given to private builders, a certain percentage of quota would be allotted by the board. The builder would be allowed to sell the remaining. However, the allotment would be under the control of the board.

The following are the different categories of houses being planned by the Chandigarh Housing Board.

Chandigarh, February 23
The Army is planning to increase the number of officers undergoing training in various business schools for post-retirement career opportunities.

Interacting with mediapersons, Maj-Gen Harwant Krishan, Director General, Resettlement at Army Headquarters, said the Army was trying to raise the strength of officers undergoing such courses to 1,000 every year. He was here to participate in a seminar on “Employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for armed forces personnel”, organised jointly by the Directorate General Resettlement and the Institute of Tourism and Future Management Trends.

At present, around 500 officers are attending six-month courses at some premier management institutes like the IIMs, MDI-Gurgaon, XLRI-Jamshedpur and Narsee Monjee-Mumbai. “Officers attending such courses are being placed in pay packets ranging from Rs 7.5 to Rs 20 lakh in the private sector,” he said. “The scheme is getting a good response and we want to expand it,” he added. Around 3,000 officers retire every year.

He said there was also a scheme for reemployment opportunities for jawans, where jawans proceeding on retirement were counselled jointly by the Army and prospective employers and on-the-spot recruitments made.

The Central Government has announced 2007 as the Year of Placement for Ex-Servicemen.

Earlier, Justice V.S. Kokje, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, exhorted business houses to harness the immense and varied talent that comes out of the armed forces and called upon them to explore avenues for employing ex-servicemen. This would be of great mutual benefit for both sides, he added. These personnel, he said, were endowed with stellar qualities and varied talents that could contribute to development and nation-building and, in the process, achieve the very important objective of looking after their welfare. The Governor offered all possible assistance on behalf of the Government of Himachal Pradesh for the cause of ex-servicemen.

GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lieut-Gen Daljeet Singh, highlighted the qualities of tolerance, respect for others and brotherhood. He said these qualities were ingrained in every soldier. These qualities, coupled with a soldier's ability for hard work and physical labour and managerial skills, make him a wonderful material for the corporate world to tap and take advantage of, he added.

In his welcome address, Gulshan Sharma, executive director, ITFT, spoke about the job opportunities available to ex-servicemen and also emphasised upon the need for reorientation of the service personnel to suit the requirements of the corporate world.

Others who spoke on the occasion were Commissioner, NRIs and Secretary IT, Government of Punjab, N.S.Kalsi, president of the Indian Tour Operators Association Subhash Goyal, managing director of the State Bank of Patiala A.C. Verma and chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Lieut-Gen B.S.Thakur (retd).

Chandigarh, February 23
Retired Sikhs across the world are doing things they had never imagined they would. They are overcoming depression, sharing ideas and retracing lives. This change has come about fast, thanks to Chandigarh-based Amritpal Singh’s “online” intervention, which assures the elderly a life beyond sunset years.

The effort is ingenuous as it promises retired Sikhs all and any assistance they require. Whether it is about opening a bank account, getting a new passport, hiring a maid or seeking productive engagement, Amritpal Singh’s portal www.retiredsikhs.com offers every solution. All it requires is registration, following which a person’s profile becomes available on a global database which is accessed every minute by a range of service providers, globally.

The website services are free of cost, its viability well-researched. The idea is to link retired Sikhs on this global platform. This year there will be 42 million internet users in India. The number will increase to 52 million by 2008 and to 100 million by 2010.

“I must admit I made the website only for my community because I feel it still lacks unity," says Amritpal, who runs an international trading firm from Singapore.

Simply put, his website works to prevent retired individuals from wasting talents and plunging into depression. Amritpal says: “I have contacted 2000 job placement companies all over the world and convinced them to hire people from my website which is free of cost. There is no commission, no profit. The effort is solely driven by the motive of helping the old engage constructively and go about their lives independently. My parents are my portal’s first beneficiaries. It feels good to help them and others like them.”

Right now, the website is seen in 49 countries and has profiles of retired Sikhs from 21 countries and 75 cities. The site works simply and at many levels. To begin with, it gives the elderly a standing by listing their achievements. Next, it brings the community together on the discussion corner. Last, it addresses basic problems faced by the elderly - from lack of medical aid or household help to problems pertaining to vehicle registration, ticketing and marriage of wards.

Chandigarh, February 23
The Chandigarh Administration today announced the results of flower arrangements and other competitions. Dr Ashita Singh of Sector 43 has bagged seven positions in the "open to all" flower arrangement category.

The other winners are Sadhna Sangar first and Gogi Pujji second in arrangements with roses only; Bharat of University Institute of Legal Studies Panjab University first in arrangement with dry flowers; Sheba Pujji Singh second in arrangement with fresh foliage and arrangement of flowers on the theme of Advent of Spring; Ravneet Kaur second in the same category and first in making garlands; Anajali Khurana second in the same category.

In the open to college students category; Shivani Sood stood first in arrangement with roses only while Priyanka Jindal was second in the same category; Aarohi Tyagi stood first in arrangement with flowers other than roses; Shivani Sood stood second in the same category; Aarohi Tyagi stood first in arrangement with dry flowers and first for arrangement with fresh foliage. Shivani Sood and Priyanka Jindal stood second in the same category.

Aarti Labhestwar stood first in rangoli with flowers and Babita and Bindu Rai second in the same category. Harsh Papneja and Aarti Labhestwar were first in rangoli with environment-friendly material while Isharpal Kaur, Deepti of Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42-D, Tarjani and Monika were placed second in the same category.

In the open to school-children category: Surabhi Sahgal stood first in arrangement with roses only and Aastha Malhotra second in the same category. Again Surabhi Sahgal was first in arrangement with flowers other than roses while Anmol Negi was second in the same category.

Sukriti Gupta stood second in arrangement with flowers other than roses and first in arrangement with fresh foliage whereas Surabhi Sahgal and Sukriti Gupta were second in the same category.

In open to gardeners category, Har Govind Verma stood first in arrangement with flowers and arrangement with fresh foliage and Shri Ram Maurya stood second in the same category while Shiv Parshad Maurya stood first in bouquet making while Ram Saran Verma stood second in the same category. Ram Saran Verma stood first in making of gajras and garlands while Shiv Parshad Maurya and Prabhu stood second in the same category.

In the open to professional florist, Shergill Agricultural Farm bagged the first prize in arrangement with roses only and second in arrangement with flowers other than roses.

In the cut flower category open to amateurs only: S. Marriya, Principal, DAV College, Sector 10 first in antirrhinum, Sunil Singh second in the same category; Prabhu first in aster; Ram Kumar second in the same category.

Baba Sarup Singh first in stock and T.L. Eshwar second in the same category. S. Marriya first in carnation and Har Govind Verma in the same category.

The other results in the order of merit are:

Candytuft: Prabhu and S. Marriya; dahlia: S. Marriya and Har Govind Verma; gladiolus: Anmol Singh Sandhu and S. Marriya; gerbera: Ranjit Singh Bakshi first, Aneel S. Duggal and Ram Singh second; lupin: S. Marriya; larkspur: Aneel S. Duggal; marigold: Prof Arunashu; pansy: Prof Arunashu, Ram Singh and Prof Arunashu; rose hybrid tea: Baba Sarup Singh, Kulbir Kaur and S. Marriya.

Rose floribunda: Gurpreet Singh and Sunil Singh; sweet peas: Dr Arunanshu and Ram Kumar; any other flower: S. Marriya first, Payal K. Singh and Dr Arunanshu B second.

In the open to government, semi-government and other bodies category, the results in the order of merit are : antirrhinum: Chandigarh Housing Board and CITCO; aster: Deltran Ltd and Continantal Device India Ltd. stock: Ranbaxy Labs Ltd, carnation: Ranbaxy Labs Ltd, P.S.W.H. Corporation.

Candytuft: Chandigarh Housing Board and Ranbaxy Labs Ltd. dahlia: Deltran Ltd and Regional Director, R.I.C.M.; gladiolus: G.P.I. Textile Ltd, P.S.W.H. Corporation; gerbera: Ranbaxy Labs Ltd.C.R.R.I.D, Sector-19, lupin: CITCO, Principal, Home Science College, Sector-10, Larkspur: Ranbaxy Labs Ltd; marigold: C.R.R.I.D. and Chandigarh Housing Board; pansy: regional director, R.I.C.M., Sector 32, C.R.R.I.D and P.S.W.H. Corporation.

Rose hybrid tea: CITCO and C.R.R.I.D. Rose floribunda: Chandigarh Housing Board, Ranbaxy Labs Ltd. Sweet peas: CITCO and Ranbaxy Labs Ltd.

In the vegetables and fruit carving; Sunil Singh, Gurpreet Kaur and Sunil Singh.

Chandigarh, February 23
The Income Tax Department yesterday conducted surveys on the premises of the distributors of a prominent flour maker in the notified area committee in Mani Majra here.

According to sources, the premises of the distributors were surveyed by the department officials to ascertain the possibility of evasion of sales tax. Sources said the premises of certain nursing homes and caterers were also searched. 

Chandigarh, February 23
The Sector 43 Inter -State Bus Terminus (ISBT) is all set for a major revamp. The UT’s Engineering Department is racing against time to complete the new portion of the bus stand by this summer.

“We are much ahead of our schedule and the new structure will be readied much before the deadline of June 30 this year. The construction work is almost complete and the final touches are being given,” said an official of the Engineering Department.

Foreseeing the future, the Administration is spending Rs 3.62 crore on the construction of four-storeyed building besides other features. As many as 38 loading-unloading platforms, workshop, idle parking (where buses can park at night without disturbing any platform) for 66 buses, shops, restaurants, parking in basement, fuel consumption lifts, guest rooms. offices, railway booking counter, cloak rooms, fast food counters and dormitories for the staff are being constructed.

Except for minor changes, the remaining routes might be operated from Sector 17. P S Shergill, Director, CTU, said, “At the moment I have no intimation about the completion or handing over of the structure to us. As we are also going to modernize the ISBT, Sector 17 so we have to work out on the management of bus operations. For the purpose, we will also have to take the view of the traffic police”.

On the question whether all the inter-state bus routes would be shifted to the Sector 43 bus stand, Shergill said there was no such plan.

Many routes to be worked out before the shifting

The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking authorities are still to work out the inter-state bus routes which have to be shifted to the Sector 43 bus stand. At the moment many buses to Punjab and some parts of Himachal Pradesh, are plying from this bus stand. From here (ISBT-43), the buses are plying to all the cities of Punjab via Nawanshahr, Sirhind, Amritsar, Una, Nangal, Katra and Jammu.

But to the other cities of Punjab, one has to go via Ludhiana, Patiala and Rajpura, and the buses have been plying from Sector 17 ISBT. For Baijnath and Manali side of Himachal Pradesh, the buses also ply from Sector 43 but to the other parts of the state like Shimla, the routes start from Sector 17. All the routes to other states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi and Rajasthan also ply from Sector 17. But there is no night service from Sector 43, as all night service buses (from 8 p m to 5 a m) ply from ISBT, Sector 17. 

Chandigarh, February 23
Restaurant and bar owners, shopkeepers, event managers and organisers of reception ceremonies may soon face the music for playing recorded music without obtaining permission from the “owner of the musical work”.

Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) plans to initiate action against those infringing on the Copyright Act. The society is a “non-profit-making organisation”. It has visited several cities across the region, including Amritsar and Jalandhar, for detecting violations. So far, it has been successful in getting court orders against errant parties for depriving royalty to its members.

In Chandigarh on a short visit, society’s Mumbai-based chief executive officer Rakesh Nigam says:“The society came into existence in August, 1969. It administers and controls performing rights of musical works on behalf of its members. The organisation, with associates like Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, A.R. Rehman and Gurdas Mann, collects and distributes royalty among members, including authors, composers and publishers of music.

International music royalties are remitted to foreign societies. It has direct reciprocal agreements with countries like Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong , the USA, the UK and South Africa.

Fee is collected from event organisers, hotels, restaurants, shopping plazas, malls, discos, disc jockeys and clinics and nursing homes. Wedding receptions are also covered.