& V I C I N I T Y
Wednesday, August 5, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Wednesday, August 5, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Boycott is no solution,
says Preston Manning |
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 Seminar
on city planned |
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College teachers seek PM's
intervention CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Teachers expressed resentment over alleged downgradation of their posts and pay scales as compared to their counterparts in the bureaucracy here on Tuesday. Plea for liberalised
pension fails Life
convict’s release ordered |
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| Four convicted of trespass Vendors submit memo to Adviser Subordinate staff hold rally  |
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Librarians take part in rally Students to stage operetta Remand in Burail case extended  |
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Boycott is no solution, says
Preston Manning CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — "We do not support our government’s stand to boycott India for conducting nuclear tests. As India and Canada have a long history of friendly relations, it would have been better if we had encouraged Indian leaders to visit Canada and give reasons for conducting these tests," says Mr Preston Manning, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons in Canada. In an exclusive interview with The Tribune on his arrival on a day’s visit to Chandigarh and Punjab, Mr Manning said that as a Canadian, he and his party regret the N-tests by both India and Pakistan. "The idea now is to make this region safe and peaceful. This can be best achieved by holding talks and by exchange of views. "In fact this is my first-ever visit to India. We have come at a time when there is a little bit of tension because of the nuclear tests. But since our arrival in India on July 31, we have found the atmosphere very friendly and open," says Mr Manning. Accompanied by two other Members of Parliament — Mr Gurmant Singh Grewal and Mr Bob Mills — both of his Reform Party, Mr Manning had a meeting with the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, besides addressing a joint session of the PHDCCI and the CII delegates before flying to Amritsar for a visit to the Golden Temple. "We have been on a tour of Asia. We have already visited China and Japan and at the end of our visit to India, we intend visiting Pakistan before returning home later this month. "The purpose of the visit is to prove our capability and interest in international trade and foreign affairs. We hope to graduate from the main Opposition party to the ruling party soon. "The second reason is that a majority of our 55 MPs come from the western hemisphere of Canada. It is this area which has a large population of immigrants from Asia. "The third and the last reason has been Indo-Canadian trade. In India, trade is being liberalised. We are here to familiarise ourselves with the ground realities and economic conditions in the subcontinent," Mr Manning said. The Canadian delegation has a special reason to visit India and Punjab. As much as 70 per cent of the Indian-Canadians are of Punjabi origin. In fact two of the MPs of the Reform Party, Mr Gurmant Singh Grewal and Mr Deepak Ubhrai are Punjabis. "In my constituency, Sikhs presented me a picture of the Golden Temple besides a set of books about the history of the Sikhs," says Mr Manning. Talking about the initial image of party as "racist and anti-immigrants", Mr Manning said there had been a "deliberate attempt on some of our opponents to label this like that." "What we had been propagating is that race should not be a factor to determine the grant of immigration. The intake of immigrants should be tight so as to suit the economy and requirements of the country. Canada has a majority of immigrants. In our party, we have leaders from different ethnic communities," asserted Mr Manning. At this stage, Mr Gurmantt Singh Grewal intervened to say that the Reform Party had been advocating for a fair and equitable system. "We oppose back-door entry." Referring to the demand of a separate Quebec outside Canada, Mr Manning said: "They have some proposals for rebalancing powers between the provinces and the Federal Government". "We hope to march into 21st century as unified Canada. With some changes in the present federal system, we hope that a majority of Quebeckers will decide that Canada is the best country to stay in. The present federalism as practiced by the Liberal Government has been creating more problems. We also have a feeling that the support for separatism has been declining." Talking about the Canadian dollar touching a new low against the US dollar, Mr Manning said high debt and high rate of taxation were responsible for the dip of the Canadian currency. Mr Bob Mills intervened to suggest that the present Liberal Government by cutting on health care and other areas was offloading the federal responsibilities to provincial governments and even municipalities. "Our government
intends to be very timid. We are not a threat to any
country in the Asian sub-continent. At this stage, we can
assume the role of leadership and help in defusing the
heat generated by nuclear tests by both India and
Pakistan. We can listen to all and act as mediators. The
people of Canada wants us to get involved and be more
pro-active in our stance," he added. |
Seminar on Chandigarh planned CHANDIGARH, Aug 5 — The future growth and development of Chandigarh is limited because of the geographical strait-jacket in which the union territory finds itself. Notwithstanding this constraint and presuming the existing politico-administrative structure of Chandigarh will continue, the Chandigarh Administration has hired the services of consultancy firm to prepare a "blueprint for discussion" with the two neighbouring states, Punjab and Haryana, as to how best Chandigarh can be expanded into a "greater" unit, it is learnt. Informed sources in the Chandigarh Administration said yesterday there was an urgent need for an "integrated" plan for building an intensive and extensive infrastructure, healthy civic services and to meet the socio-economic needs of the people without ignoring the commercial aspects of life. What is causing concern to the administration is the pattern of "disorderly" growth around Chandigarh, deteriorating public sanitation in the periphery, proliferation of slums and squatters and growing shortage of housing and other services, including drinking water and electricity. These sources do mention the "Chandigarh: 2020 our city in our hands" seminar held way back in 1994, wherein, a long-term "perspective plan" for Chandigarh was prepared for a balanced socio-economic planning. Some of the recommendations of that seminar have been implemented while many more have been forgotten. Thus it is in that context and keeping in mind the ground realities that consultancy services have been hired to prepare ground for a dialogue with Punjab and Haryana. Some preliminary spadework has already been done. The proposed "integrated" plan, involving the administration and the two states, is intended to broadly address itself to the development of sustainable infrastructure, communication, transportation and public utility civic services." The Chandigarh Administration has also embarked on yet another ambitious programme: "celebrating Chandigarh — 50 years of the idea". What this basically means is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the very conception of Chandigarh. For this an international seminar is to be held from January 9 to 11 next in which architects and engineers from all over the world are being invited. They are the ones who admire or criticise Chandigarh or are simply indifferent or are emotionally involved with the concept of Chandigarh. They will deliberate on its future needs. The celebration of the conception of Chandigarh or the idea of Chandigarh is more of "academic interest", as the sources said. Nothing can happen in Chandigarh in isolation of Punjab and Haryana. The conference will expose people to future problems and needs, educate architects on the relevance of such a modern city to life and society's requirements and enable the administration and the two states to pool their sources for a "greater" Chandigarh, an urban conglomeration free of slums. As a fore-runner to the conference, a seminar on town planning is on the anvil; the two-day event is slated for August 6-7. But the conference will focus on process of "conceptualisation, design and implementation" of the city plans of Chandigarh. While discussing alternatives, the conference will talk of "defining direction" of future expansion. The aim, sources said, was to bridge the gap between the perception of the architect and socio-economic realities. Some of the invited brains in the field of architect and engineering include Denise Scott Brown, Charles, Correa, William Curtis, Balkrishan V. Doshi, Kenneth Frampton, Bernard Huet, Charles Jencks, Sir Denys Lasdun, Aditya Parkash, Mahender Raj, Moshe Safdie and M.N. Sharma. Among the many unbuilt projects of the "capitol complex" is the "governor's palace". Taking opportunity of the conference, a "mock" model of the palace will be built in the capital complex. Suggestions will be invited if the same could be actually built. Besides these, issues of immediate concern to the administration include development of the Sector 34 city sub-centre. For this the Chandigarh Housing Board has been asked to take a major plunge. Then there is Sector 25, which has to be cleared of encroachments and exploited commercially. A "Fleet Street" is proposed in a part of that sector for which a preliminary meeting with the media has been held. The Beant Singh memorial and centre of performing arts in Sector 41 is another project high on the priority list. Some approval of Punjab is awaited before work on the first phase begins. Upgradation of Phase II of Chandigarh is to get importance. Taking up work on a
war-footing on slow carriage way, cycle track, developing
Phase III are some other priority areas, sources said. In
future, it is learnt major emphasis in the Chandigarh
Administration's Annual Plans will be on developing
"infrastructure" and "services". |
Chandigarh, Aug 4 — A pickpocket , Jagdal, was arrested for allegedly stealing the purse of Mr Ashish Kumar Jain outside the Neelam cinema last night. Besides cash, the driving licence of Mr Jain was recovered from him. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 17 police station. The pickpocket used to live in Dhanas village. Arrested: A resident of Attawa village, Harbans Singh , was arrested by the police for allegedly carrying 34 pouches of country wine. A case has been registered against him. Group clash: Two groups of youth clashed on Monday night and two persons have been arrested in this connection. Manish Kumar Nanda of Sector 40 and Kamaljit Singh of Sector 24 have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the clash. Body found: The body of Satpal, (40) a carpenter was found in Khuda Lahora village on Tuesday morning. The body was found in a dharamshala, according to the police. The body has been sent for post-mortem. PANCHKULA Smuggler: Man Singh, a resident of Barotiwala in Himachal Pradesh, was caught while trying to smuggle 1 kg of opium. He used to regularly supply opium in Himachal, according to police sources. A case under Section 18 of
the NDPS Act has been registered against him. |
Forum quashes two bills of DoT CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (II) has quashed two telephone bills of a local consumer for overbilling by the Department of Telecommunication. Mr R.P Bajaj, president, and Mr H.S Walia and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta, both members, gave the order on a written complaint filed by Mr R.P Gandhi, a resident of Sector 33. Mr Gandhi in his complaint said the bills dated June 11, '91 for Rs 15,750 and August 11, '91 for Rs 10,813 were on a higher side as compared to his earlier bills. He also submitted the description of other bills received since 1989, average of which comes to Rs 521. The department maintained that the bills were issued on actual usage. It also said that the complaints made by Mr Gandhi were investigated and nothing abnormal was found. The forum, however, noticed that the complaints made by the consumer were not duly investigated which amounted to deficiency in service. The forum quashed the two bills of June and August, '91, and allowed Rs 1100 as costs. The forum said, "With regard to the first bill the department itself had granted the initial rebate. The second bill of August, '91, was not bifurcated. We, therefore, order that the bill be reframed by taking average number of calls registered in the bifurcated bill of June, '91 and two earlier bills. "Under these
circumstances the arrears included in the bill of August,
'92, stand quashed", the order added. |
Plea for liberalised pension
fails CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — The local Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal today dismissed the claim of the Government Pensioners Association and Mr S.K. Jain filed on behalf of retired officers of All-India Services, seeking extension of liberalised pension and retirement benefits announced by the Union Government with effect from January 1, 1986, to all those who had retired before that date. The applicants had prayed for a declaration that all pensioners, irrespective of the date of retirement, who were covered by All India Services (Death-cum-retirement benefits) Rules, 1958, should be entitled to pension as computed under the liberalised pension scheme and that there should be no ceiling. The Bench, comprising Mr S.C. Vaish and Mr J.S.Dhaliwal, observed that the Fifth Pay Commission report had been received and many of its recommendations had been accepted by the central government and implemented in which some of the prayers made by the applicants for relief had been considered and certain benefits extended to them. The government had inter alia accepted that the pension of all pre-1986 retirees should be updated by notional fixation of their pay on January 1, 1986, by adopting the same formula as for serving employees. It was further observed that when due to financial constraints the government took a decision to extend the actual benefits from a specific date — January 1, 1996 — the courts did not interfere in the same unless they find the decision either to be perverse totally or opposed to some law or statutory rules. The Bench also rejected
the plea of one rank, one pension. It said in view of the
law laid down by the Supreme Court in the recent
judgement," we find it difficult to grant relief to
the applicants as claimed in the O.A. |
Life convict’s release
ordered CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Sunita who was given a life sentence for the murder of her sister-in-law, Sarla, for setting her on fire, was today ordered to be released by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, though her conviction was maintained. As per the allegation of the deceased, Sunita had illicit relations with her husband and lived at their house at Bapu Dham Colony, Chandigarh. When the deceased was cooking food, Sunita sprinkled kerosene on her and threw a match-stick on her. Sarla was admitted to the PGI, where she made a dying declaration on the basis of which the Sessions Judge convicted the appellant. The argument advanced before the high court was that as the appellant was a juvenile at the time of commission of the offence, she could not be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. The sentence that had been passed was contrary to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, it was argued. The court then sent the case for inquiry on the point to the Sessions Judge, who agreed that the appellant was between 15 and 16 years of age at the time of the incident. She was juvenile as per Section 2(H) of the Act. It was pointed out during the course of arguments that at Chandigarh no juvenile court was established. In the absence of such a court, the powers of a juvenile court would be exercised by the District Magistrate or even by Judicial Magistrate or Sessions Judge. The Bench, comprising Mr Justice Amarjit Chaudhary and Mr Justice V S Aggarwal, held that the appellant was a juvenile on the date the offence was alleged to have been committed. At present she was about 25 years of age. The purpose of sending her to a reformation school had elapsed. Hence the court without disturbing the finding of the trial court and holding the appellant guilty under Section 302 of the IPC, however, directed the appellant to be released forthwith. Order to reserve seat for LL.B. A Division Bench admitted a writ petition filed by Miss Harinder Kaur seeking weightage on the basis of her M.Phil (Botany) degree for admission to the LL.B. course of Panjab University. The Bench, comprising Chief Justice A.B. Sahariya and Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, directed the university to reserve one seat for the course and fixed the case for final hearing on August 26. It was submitted by the petitioner that as per prospectus issued by Panjab University for admission to the LL.B. course, the admission was to be determined on the basis of 200 marks, of which 150 marks were allocated for the entrance test and 50 marks were to be calculated on the basis of the qualifying examination — bachelor's or post-graduate degree, which ever was better. She was placed at rank No 170 in the merit list on the basis of her marks in the M.Phil examination. But at the time of interview, the Chairman of the Law Department pushed down her merit from 170 to 227-A by computing weightage on the basis of M.Sc. (Botany) degree. The ground taken by the university authorities was that M.Phil degree was a research degree and was not to be considered as basis for granting admission to the LL.B. course. It was argued on behalf of
the petitioner that both the degrees awarded to the
petitioner — M.Sc. (Botany) and M.Phil (Botany) were
post graduate degrees in terms of the university
regulations and therefore the petitioner was entitled to
weightage on the basis of degree in which she had secured
'better' marks. It was further submitted that both the
degrees were of one year duration and that M.Phil degree
could not be ignored merely because it included research
work which was for a period not exceeding three months. |
College teachers seek PM's
intervention CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Teachers expressed resentment over alleged downgradation of their posts and pay scales as compared to their counterparts in the bureaucracy here on Tuesday. Teachers were staging a "dharna" against the non-implementation of the UGC scales by the Centre at the Housing Board roundabout. Teachers affiliated to the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers' Union, the Panjab University Teachers' Association and teachers from government colleges took part in the dharna. Later, teachers from non-aided colleges of Haryana also joined the rally, at the venue. The call for the strike was given by the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers' Union (AIFUCTO). The union has given a call for an indefinite strike all over the country from August 11. A memorandum was later submitted to Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab, urging them to impress upon the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter. Those who addressed the rally included Prof Charanjit Chawla, Dr P.P. Arya, Dr R.R. Rawat, Dr R.D. Anand, Prof S.P. Gautam, Dr N.P. Minocha and zonal secretary of the AIFUCTO, Mr Ram Singh. Speakers said that Prof
Nur-ul-Hassan as Minister of Human Resource Development
in 1973 had equated a Vice-Chancellor to a Chief
Secretary. The pay scales announced recently have placed
him lower. The downgradation has been followed in other
posts. |
Four convicted of trespass CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.K. Bishnoi, today convicted four persons for trespassing into the house of Pandit Bodh Raj and threatening to liquidate his "sewadar," Mr Naresh Kumar. The suspects are Ravi Kumar, Onkar Singh, Vijay Kumar and Pawan Kumar. The magistrate sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for six months. He also slapped a fine of Rs 200 on each of these convicts. According to the prosecution, Onkar Singh, an employee of Mr Tahal Singh's restaurant in Sector 22, went to the house of Pandit Bodh Raj and enquired from his "sewadar" whether he was there or not. On being told that Pandit Bodh Raj was not at home they roughed him up and issued a threat that they would liquidate him. The prosecution further told the court that the convicts had gone to evict Pandit Bodh Raj from the house. The house belongs to Mr
Tahal Singh. |
Vendors submit memo to Adviser CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — A deputation of the Footpath Workers' Rozgar Bachao Samiti met the Adviser, Mr Jagdish Sagar, and submitted a memorandum to him on their demands here today. Mr Ramesh Kumar, president of the samiti, said the Adviser was apprised of the hardship faced by the uprooted vendors during the anti-encroachment drive by the municipal authorities following confiscation of the tools and goods by the authorities. He said the Adviser
assured the members that a survey would be conducted for
their rehabilitation. Subordinate staff hold rally CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Members of the Chandigarh UT Subordinate Services Federation staged a rally in front of the Punjab Secretariat in support of their demands here today. Mr Ramesh Kumar, president
of the federation, said the Administration should fulfil
their long-pending demands which include release of
amended pay scales to all categories of employees,
regularisation of the services of daily wagers, an
increase in CCA, medical allowance and exemption of all
allowances from income tax, and conveyance allowance for
Class III and Class IV employees. |
Librarians take part in rally CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — On a call given by the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations, members of the Confederation of Librarians Associations of Northern India, working in various colleges and institutions of the region went on casual leave enmasse and took part in the rally at the Chandigarh Housing Board chowk here and district headquarters today. The press note issued by Mr I.B. Verma, secretary-general of the confederation stated librarians would also participate in the stir launched by teachers organisations for getting the UGC recommended pay scales for them for August 11. They also wore black
badges resented the attitude of the union government for
denying them their rightful claim. |
Students to stage famous operetta CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — The students of St John's High School here will stage Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat" on August 7, 8 and 9 at Tagore Theatre. The play is a musical operetta from the biblical story of Jacob and his 12 sons. Lyrics from Time Rice, sung by the school choir to the live music provided by Mosin Menezes and his band, promises an enthralling evening to music lovers. Jason Donovan's popular
number, "I close my eyes", will provide the
grand finale. |
Remand in Burail case extended CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.K Bishnoi, today extended the judicial remand of the six suspects in the Burail jail blow-up case until August 14. The suspects are Baljit
Singh, Satnam Singh, constable Jaswinder Singh, Jaswant
Singh, Sitla Prashad Mishra and Balvinder Singh. |
Sharon captures essence of sculptures CHANDIGARH: On the fourth day of the Sangeet, Naritya, Vadya Utsav being held at Tagore Theatre here, a lyrical and sensuous performance of Odissi was presented today by Sharon Lowen. A disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sharon captured the essence of Konark sculptures. Beginning with Veena Varde Varde Mangalacharan, an invocation to Mother Earth, Sharon wove many aesthetic patterns. But at times a sense of obtuse and often distracting heaviness seemed to seep in her movements. It was in Pallavi Taranga her technical virtuosity came in full display. Sharon's rendering of "Mara Udagiya Ghar Ayya Jee" and a piece from Kalidasa's Kumara Shubhavam evoked the shingara rasa. In a dashavataara piece on Jaidev's Geet Govindam Sharon moved from one avtaara to another with felicity. The highlights of the evening were her two pieces on moksha, her final offerings. Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan "Vaishnav Jana To Tinne Kahiye" and proceeding on to the chants of "Omkar Karini", Sharon seemed to complete the circle of life. The serenity of her presentation recreated the images of Konark temple sculptures. Bankim Seth, the vocalist, Prafulla Mangla at the Pakhwaj and R.K. Dal Behra at the flute provided able support to Sharon. —SS |
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