& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, August 31, 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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Monday, August 31, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Snag in cable car leaves 50
stranded Centre
overlooks UT plea on DC's post No
light at the end of tunnel |
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Forum
asks UTI to pay consumer Jain
hails move on Prasar Bharti Panel
files report on Pinky's suicide Housing
coops seek allotment of land |
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Graft in judiciary under attack CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — Prevalence of corruption in the Indian judicial system came in for severe criticism at an open discussion on "judicial system, corruption and the common man" organised by Janshakti, a forum of debate of the Servants of the People Society here today. Justice D.V. Sehgal, a retired judge, in his presidential address said the overall corruption in the society was also being reflected in the judiciary."It pinches us the most when we come across corruption in the judiciary. A large number of lawyers were not looking for ways to earn more money", he said according to a press release. Prof Veer Singh, chairperson of the Department of Laws in Panjab University, lamented the fact that the Indian judicial system was not open to the scrutiny of the public eye. Judicial bureaucracy was worse than administrative bureaucracy. Prof Veer Singh said there were nearly three lakh cases lying with the Supreme Court , nearly 25 lakh with various high courts and approximately three crore in lower courts in the country. He also referred to cases which had taken 38 years for a decision. Indian judiciary has become the last resort of the economic offenders and judicial corruption is extensive, deep and pervasive because of the closeness of the system. There was a need for increase in judicial accountability and modification in the Contempt of Court Act so that the statement of truth against a judge could also be heard, Prof Veer Singh added. Mr Roshan Lal Batta, a bar-at-law and a senior advocate, decried political favours to judges after retirement. He also spoke on the necessity of simplifying the procedures of impeaching a judge. Others who spoke on the
occasion included Mr Onkar Chand, secretary of the
Servants of the People Society, and Dr P .P. Arya,
convener of the Janshakti.... |
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Snag in cable car leaves 50
stranded CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — About 50 visitors to Timber Trail Heights resort near Parwanoo were stranded for over five hours today following a snag in one of the trolleys, sources said here today. The incident occurred around 10 a.m. when one of the bearings on a wheel that hauls up the trolleys reportedly broke, leading to suspension of the service. One of the persons stranded at the resort while talking to the TNS, said he had stayed at the heights last night. When, he, along with his team, came to take the trolley for the journey back today morning, they were informed of the problem. No arrangements could be made till lunch. Later, arrangements were made for transporting those who needed to go back immediately by car over an alternate route "which was dusty and bumpy. The visitor said some passengers in the trolley which developed the snag sustained injuries and had to be attended to by doctors staying at the heights. This was, however, vehemently denied by Mr R.K. Garg, chairman of the resort. Mr Garg said a bearing of the trolley needed repair, and the system would be functional by tomorrow morning. All the passengers stranded at heights had been transported back. When asked whether regular check up were not carried out, Mr Garg said checks were carried our regularly. However, some things were beyond human control. In a previous incident in
1992, one of the cables broke. One person died in the
incident and others had to be rescued in a daring
operation by an officer of the Indian Army. |
Centre overlooks UT plea on DC's
post CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — The Union Home Ministry is believed to have overlooked the recommendation of the Chandigarh Administration and recommended Mr T.C. Gupta for the post of Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh. The administration had recommended the name of Mr Ramasekhar. This is for the second time in less than a month that the Home Ministry has not accepted the recommendation of the administration. Earlier, the administration had recommended the name of Mr Prag Jain for the post of Senior Superintendent of Police. But the ministry cleared Mr Dinkar Gupta for the post. After the approval by the Home Ministry, the names have now gone to the Cabinet Committee on appointments before formal orders are issued. Another post pending before the Union Government for clearance is of the Joint Secretary, Finance. The Home Ministry is also yet to take a final decision about the appointment of new Inspector-General of Police. Mr Sumedh Singh Saini, who earlier worked as Senior Superintendent of Police in the city, is among hot contenders for the post. According to reliable sources, the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, has been actively involved in getting "officers of his choice posted in the city. It is at his instance that the Home Ministry overlooked recommendations of the administration both for the post of DC and SSP of Chandigarh." The arguments being advanced in support of Mr Saini by Mr Jain appear to be the recent reports of intelligence agencies warning against increased infiltration by the ISI and attempts by its agents to disrupt peace in the region. In the neighbouring Punjab, the state government has already ordered suspension of night operation of buses, including private buses. In the evenings, nakas or check barriers are put up by each police station where vehicles are subjected to random checks by the security personnel. In fact, the administration is all set to have a new look. A number of new officials have either been appointed or are expected to join here in the next few weeks. Dr G. Vijralingam took over as the new Finance Secretary late last month. Mr Satish Chandra joined as Managing Director of the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) last month only. Formal orders about the appointment of new Inspector-General of Police; Joint Secretary, Finance; Deputy Commissioner; Senior Superintendent of Police; Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation; and Chief Executive Officer of the Chandigarh Housing Board are expected in the coming weeks. Mr Ashwani Kumar, who earlier worked as a Tehsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate in the city, is expected to rejoin the administration on deputation from Haryana. The Municipal Corporation is also waiting for a Haryana cadre Superintending Engineer (PWD) to join. His selection has already been approved. A young IAS couple of UT
cadre, Mr Anish Kundra and Ms Geetanjali G. Kundra, has
also already joined the administration. |
Radhashtami celebrated CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — The Radhashtami was celebrated by the local branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), at Hare Krishna Dham, Sector 36-B, here today. The programme started with an aarti and guru puja followed by abhishek of Radha and a kirtan. On the occasion, 108 dishes were offered to the deity of Radha . About 900 devotees participated, according to Mr Vinod Dasa Prabhu, president of the local unit of ISKCON. In the evening, devotees
witnessed a nauka vihar programme arranged by the
management. |
Forum asks UTI to pay consumer CHANDIGARH , Aug 30
—The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum Mr R.P. Bajaj, president, and Mr H.S.Walia and Ms Kamlesh Gupta, both members, handed down the order on a written complaint filed by Mr Madan Gopal Singh Madaan, a resident of Sector 43. Mr Madaan in his written complaint alleged that he did not receive the dividend for the year ending June 1995 for the UTI units that he held. However, during the pendency of the complaint the amount was paid to him. He demanded compensation and interest for the delayed payment. The forum upheld that the
delay in payment amounted to deficiency in service. The
UTI has been directed to pay 15 per cent interest on Rs
1,040, the amount of the dividend, for a period of 19
months. The order has to be complied within one month of
the receipt of the copy of the order. |
Jain hails move on Prasar
Bharti CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — Mr Satya Pal Jain, local MP and whip of the BJP parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, today welcomed the ordinance to amend the Prasar Bharti Act. He said the amendment would "restore real autonomy to the electronic media". In a statement issued here, Mr Jain said the amendment would put into operation the original Act as passed by both Houses of Parliament in 1990. But the Congress government did not notify it until November, 1997. At the time of notification by the United Front government, drastic changes were made without getting the ordinance approved by any of the Houses of Parliament. Now Prasar Bharti shall be accountable to the Lok Sabha Committee represented by members of different political parties. Mr Jain said the provision
of maximum age of 65 years for the Chief Executive
Officer was perfectly legal, valid and constitutional. |
Bishops meet CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 —
Bishops of Delhi, Chandigarh and Shimla Diocese and of
Jalandhar met at the regional pastoral meeting held at
the Sector 19 Cathedral Church this morning to discuss
the problems being faced by domestic helps and migrant
labourers from Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh. |
CHANDIGARH , Aug 30 — The local police has arrested the driver of the taxi involved in the accident yesterday in which three persons were charred to death , sources in the police said here today . The driver has been identified as Bhupinder Singh, a resident of a village near Dera Bassi in Patiala district. He was working at a taxi stand in Sector 20 . Mustafa his wife Aasia and his son Aamir Khan who were travelling on a scooter died after they collided head on with the taxi. Both vehicles had caught fire due to impact of the collision. While Aasia and Aamir Khan died on the spot, Mustafa succumbed to his injuries at the PGI. Mr Param Dev Sharma, an employee of the Punwire who was travelling in the car and was injured is understood to have been discharged. The bodies of the victims were handed back to the relatives after post-mortem this evening. Relatives intended taking them to Bijnour, from where the family hails in Uttar Pradesh Suicide: A resident of Dadu Majra allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of a roof, police sources said here today. Baru Ahmed in his early 20's, went to a room meant for housing milch cattle here around noon and latched the door from inside. The exact cause of his death could not be ascertained. In another incident Munish, a resident of SAS nagar, allegedly committed suicide after consuming a poisonous substance. He was working as a property dealer in Sector 40, police sources said. In the afternoon when his brother was away at lunch he reportedly consumed a poisonous substance. He died at the PGI, sources added. Killed:
An unidentified person was killed when he was hit by a
truck in Mani Majra yesterday evening. The man died on
the spot, police sources said here on Sunday. |
Panel files report on Pinky's
suicide CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — A 15-page report on incidents leading up to the suicide by 12-year-old Pinky of Sector 38 Government School was submitted by a three-member committee, headed by Mr Pirthi Chand, Director, Social Welfare, here last night. The terms of reference of the enquiry committee were to find out sequence of events that took place in the school prior to committing of suicide by Pinky on her return to home. The committee had the District Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Kalia, and Deputy Director, Vocational Education, Mrs Pritpal Kaur, as its members. Since the scope of the committee was limited to finding out what happened on the school premises, it is understood to have made no recommendations. It has only given its findings based on interviews it conducted during a day-long sitting at the Sector 38-C Government Model School. Earlier, the parents of the deceased student had refused to participate in enquiry in case the sitting was held at the school. The committee also recorded statements of three teachers — Mr K.P. Singh, Ms Ravinder Kaur and Mr Bhagirath Singh. The girl, who had lodged the initial complaint with her teachers about her money being stolen, did not come to school on the days the committee held its sitting and her statement was not recorded. The committee, however, recorded the statement of Seema, a companion of Pinky. Prior to day-long sitting at the Sector 38-C Model School, the Enquiry Officer, Mr Pirthi Chand, had visited the school and spent two hours recording the statements of students of Class VI-B of which Pinky was a student. The Enquiry Committee was
officially informed that corporal punishment was banned
in all schools. The Committee, according to sources, only
tried to establish whether Pinky was beaten in the school
and if so, the quantum of corporal punishment given to
her. |
Housing coops seek allotment of
land CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — The general house of the Action Committee Cooperative House Building Societies, which met today, criticised the Chandigarh Administration for not allotting land to the societies which had made the deposit of earnest money. Members were critical that after making payments of 10 per cent of earnest money in 1991 and the remaining 15 per cent with 18 per cent interest in February this year crores of rupees in all, they still had no plots. Some of them pointed that
the administration had 160 acres of land in Sector 48 and
49 earmarked for allotment to societies. He said that
delay was creating resentment. It decided to raise the
issue with the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain. The president
of the committee, Mr A.P. Sanwaria, urged the
Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber
(retd), to look into the matter and instruct the official
concerned to take immediate steps to allot land. |
No light at the end of tunnel
CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — For the residents of Chandigarh this was indeed bad news. With the consumer price index at 24 per cent, the city has got the dubious distinction of topping the country. It is not that the people who had been reeling under the twin burden of inflation and recession for months did not know this. It only focussed on the harsh reality. And tragically there is no light at the end of the tunnel.It is indeed a strange phenomenon. The prices of all commodities particularly of the foodstuff and vegetables, have been skyrocketing. leaving people aghast. Yet there are no takers for many of the products, both consumer durables, non-durables, land and houses. Look around the markets. More and more people now do window-shopping. Rarely a store in the city’s posh market of Sector 17 does not display the sign-sale 20 or 50 per cent. And, yet as Mr Ramesh Kapoor of Trendsetter says, “customers come, see and leave.” He agrees that the rising prices are one major reason.Take vegetables, the pheriwala now hawks 250 grams of onions for Rs 5. The same is true about other vegetables. Intriguingly, the price of wheat, which was available for Rs 550 per quintal a month ago, is now around Rs 650 to 670 per quintal. Wheat flour costs from Rs 7 to 10 per kg. Prices of medicines have shot up by 25 to 70 per cent in one year.Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha is predicting a turn-around next month. But his prediction of GDP growth is already down. Skeptics predict inflation crossing the 10 per cent mark in the next two to three months. It is already 8.5 per cent. Foodgrain output is expected to be lower at 194 million tonnes. Industrial production is down to 5 per cent and will touch 4 per cent. Fiscal deficit, which Mr Sinha kept at 5.6 per cent of the GDP, would now be over 6 per cent. Exports are expected to be around 4.5 per cent and imports growth will be 5.5 per cent, most economists say.Industrialists in Punjab no longer feel confident that they can maintain an export target of 20 to 25 per cent. They are feeling the pinch of disadvantage of being far away from the raw material area, from ports and even power, the cheap input is becoming costly. Only skilled labour is still cheap. But how long. Same is true about Haryana. Mr Avinash Arora, a local industrialist with interest in vanaspati, leather goods and export of Basmati, feels that the role of the common man, the ultimate buyer, is very important. He should have the money and a desire to buy and only then one can think of recovery. “The sizable chunk of population of this country, after meeting the very necessary expenditure, is left with no disposable income or with minor disposable income. In the absence of disposable income their expenditure on standard secondary products is negligible. Actually this low demand is the root cause behind the slowing down of economic activities resulting in recession”, he says. The data for January 1998 showed that only 1 of the 17 sub-sectors into which the Central Statistical Organisation segregate manufacturing industry actually posted a drop in production in January 1998 to January 1997. With the secondary sector growing at the rate of 9.60 per cent that month, it was taken as a sure sign of industrial recovery. However, those early signs have proved nothing but a mirage as subsequent data shows that the economy is not just stuck in the slowdown but actually is in recession.For the last three years there is a continuous fall in industrial production. The industrial growth almost remains one third (about 4.5 per cent) in the 1997-98 from 1995-96 level. It was 12 per cent in 1995-96 and 6.8 per cent in 1996-97.The pattern of economic data suggests that there is a demand recession in every industrial segment. The deceleration in demand, which first started in consumer goods segment, is all pervasive. From the consumer goods sector it went to the intermediate goods sector.The capital goods sector is effectively lost.The financial performance of 1000 top Indian companies (as per BS 1000) showed only a marginal increase in their sales and net profits. That is the clear indications that the economy is nowhere near recovery.A study of 406 companies quarterly April-June 1998 results shows that their net profits in this period rose by only 8 per cent and sales increased by 16.6 per cent over the same months of 1997-98. However, even this marginally positive growth in net profits was entirely due to the inclusion of six oil refineries — exclude these and the positive growth in net profits disappears altogether. The April-June 1998-99 results of 400 non refinery companies, including Reliance Industries Limited, showed a lower net profit decline of 10.1 per cent and a higher sales growth of 8.3 per cent. According for inflation at 6 per cent, the actual sales growth comes down to 2.3 per cent only.Little wonder then that the industry leaders are not very positive in their assessment for future recovery with the general refrain being that although no further downturn is expected, the recovery would be conditional. But what are those conditions which would enable the industrial sector to recover from the recession. On this point there is no unanimity. Some are of the view that it is the cost structure of the Indian companies and supply bottlenecks which are to blame whereas the rest are blaming the lack of demand as the main reason. As Mr Arora said, “The fact is that the key to industrial recovery lies in consumer demand. Here two factors become important — the desire to buy more and the capacity to spend more”. However, it is the singular lack of both the desire to buy” and the capacity to spend more which is the real cause . The reason for lack of
both factors is not very far to seek. The prevailing
political instability, dampening stock market conditions,
general economic slowdown all over Japan and East Asian
countries, the falling rupee and the single most
important factor that can fuel the desire to buy —
the feel good factor — is entirely absent . In the
atmosphere of pervasive gloom, nobody is really bullish
about entering the market in a big way. |
Airman’s struggle for PF CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — The day he had donned the Air Force uniform, Mamraj Singh had sworn to serve his motherland with devotion. As a disciplined airman. He did serve his nation with unflinching loyalty for 27 years and 32 days. And what did the nation do to reward him for his meritorious service? It denied him his provident fund, even after struggling for 28 years. He died in the second week of August without getting his provident fund which he had saved by scrapping the bottom of the barrel. At the time of his retirement in 1970, Mamraj Singh had held the rank of a sergeant. He has a total of Rs 18,000 in his provident fund account. Under the rules governing the service conditions of Air Force personnel, he was entitled to get his provident fund immediately after his retirement. Before marching out of the Air Force Station in Kanpur — the place of his last posting before his retirement — Mamraj Singh had put in his application to the authorities stating that the first instalment of his provident fund be sent to Punjab National Bank’s Harjinder Nagar branch at Chekeri. Kanpur, for crediting it in his savings bank (Account No. 2855). Month after month, Mamraj Singh continued to frequent the bank for years enquiring whether the cheque of his provident fund had been received. On being told in the negative every time, he was disappointed. Then he shot off a series of communications to the authorities enquiring about the fate of the payment of his provident fund. It was on April 7, 1994, that the authorities informed him that a cheque of Rs 6,000 (and not for Rs 7,000 as he had requested) had been wrongly sent to some other bank. Instead of sending the cheque to Punjab National bank’s Harjinder Nagar branch, the cheque had been sent to the Chakeri branch. This branch had allegedly "dishonestly obtained the payment of the cheque". He again wrote letter to the Union Defence Ministry reiterating the facts of his case. On May 14, 1993, the case about the "dishonest withdrawal of the payment of his cheque for payment" was referred to the CBI for investigation. He also wrote to the Prime Minister for directing the authorities to sort out the matter about the release of his provident fund. When he did not receive any convincing reply from any of the authorities, he filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 12, 1997. The High Court issued notices to the authorities and adjourned the case. The next date of hearing of his case is fixed for October 24, 1998. However, Mamraj Singh left the world without knowing the outcome of his petition. According to the price
index fixed by the Centre, the value of Re 1 in 1960 was
100 paise. In 1970, its value reduced to 55 paise and now
Re1is worth 6 paise. Thus, since 1970 the value of Re 1
has eroded nearly 10 times. The government thus now owes
him Rs 1.80 lakh. If one adds interest to it, the payment
of provident fund of Mamraj runs into several lakhs. |
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BHANGRA, the energetic and robust dance form of Punjab, is in the eye of a controversy. It seems that Dr Gurcharan Singh, a former vice-chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, has claimed that he is the "father of bhangra" because he "founded" the folk dance on November 29, 1954! This and another claim that there was no bhangra before that has been contested by two university dons — Dr Iqbal Singh Dhillon and Dr Nahar Singh — both of whom have been awarded Ph.D degrees for their research on the folk dances of Punjab. They say that all these "contributions" have been put down in a booklet written by Dr Singh which was circulated on the campus. Maintaining that each dance form evolves over the centuries they say it was damaging for someone as learned as Dr Gurcharan Singh to make preposterous claims. This amounted to distorting cultural history of the region. In fact, public performances of bhangra, including the one sponsored by the erstwhile PEPSU government in 1954, had been staged since 1948, they added. Record term The electoral college comprised retired judges of High Courts, the Supreme Court, including three former Chief Justices of India, advocates, engineers, high ranking defence officers, chartered accountants and others. The other elected member is Mr O.P. Goel, former Director-General, CPWD. In all, 11 candidates were in the fray for two positions. Mr Markanda polled 598 votes out of a maximum of 846. Mr Markanda has written two books on arbitration and conciliation with forewards by Mr Justice M.M. Punchhi, Chief Justice of India, and Mr Justice A.M. Ahmadi, a former Chief Justice of India. Besides, he has authored several papers and delivered lectures both at home and abroad. He started his engineering career in 1958 and sought retirement from Panjab University as an Executive Engineer to start in legal practice. During his tenure as an engineer, he was a member of the governing council of the Indian Concrete institute besides being a visiting Professor at Chandigarh College of Architecture. At present, he looks after educational institutions run by SD Education Board at Jalandhar as its Secretary. Red Cross "The use of Red Cross on vehicles, clinics and even houses of doctors, medical representatives and chemists is illegal. The class IV employee of the PGI and the Sectors 16 and 32 Hospitals use this mark on their bicycles and scooters. The signboard of the Sector 32 Medical College Hospital emergency ward, too, bears the Red Cross on both sides of the word "emergency". This is perhaps the only country where you find such gross misuse of the Red Cross," alleges Dr Dewan. He maintains that he had never seen the Red Cross on vehicles of doctors, hospitals and clinics in the US, UK or any other European country. Even in India, no doctor ever used this mark before partition of the country in 1947 He says that it is an enigma as to who started this practice and why the Medical Council of India or other authorities have not taken any action against this illegal practice. The use of Red Cross is prohibited by law. It can be used only by Army doctors. Dr Dewan reveals that
Section 12 of the Geneva Convention Act of 1960 to which
India is a signatory prohibits the use of Red Cross
without the permission of the Government. Under Section
13, a fine of Rs 500 can be imposed and the vehicle or
property on which the mark is painted can be confiscated
or impounded. Annual function The Federation has urged the Chandigarh Administration to set up a museum on the cultural life of people from West Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, NWFP who migrated to India in the wake of partition in 1947. The Federation has also requested the Haryana Government to set up Seraiki/Multani Academy in Haryana for the promotion and research of Seraiki culture. Many people in Haryana speak Seraiki Multani. Made to suffer Blessed are those who are provided with official or unofficial vehicles of their parents. The less fortunate have to make do with rickshaws, auto-rickshaws or school buses. They are herded into these like sheep. No rules apply. But the worst sufferers are those depending on the local bus service. They can be seen waiting for long at local stops. On seeing them, most of the drivers do not stop the buses. Those who do, misbehave with school children, especially pass-holders. The fellow travellers occupy the seats first and try to board the buses ahead of them. When the young children somehow make their way in the buses, none cares for them and they are made to stand all the way. The photo on top of the page was taken by Manoj Mahajan last week. Sage advice According to the advice, which has been put forth by the U.T. Conservator of Forests, Mr H.S. Sohal, the priests should serve humanity by offering saplings to the devotees along with prasada. During a function in connection with the tree plantation drive at Maloya village, Mr Sohal in his address said the devotees going to religious places for paying obeisance to the Almighty, should be roped in to make the earth green, by priests by telling them that planting trees was also a form of worship. Reading habit In an effort to bring the pleasure of reading back into the leisure of children, the Durga Das Foundation at Nehru Bhavan in Sector 24 has opened an exclusive children's library offering tempting titles. There is a fine variety of books available here, in English, ranging from classics to comics, encyclopaedias, early world of learning books for tiny tots and P.G. Wodehouse for adolescents. The library, which caters to the young in the age group of 13 to 16, is done up tastefully and is open to all children for reference. The borrowing members, however, have to give the security. It is open daily from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Story-telling sessions and interesting movies for children are other attractions. Many children come to
refer to the books of knowledge for their homework and
the most popular story books are those written by Enid
Blyton and Franklin W. Dixon. |
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