tribuneindia...Chandigarh

C H A N D I G A R H
& V I C I N I T Y

Saturday, July 25, 1998

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today's calendar

UT told to demolish shop without delay
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar said today that if the court's directions were not implemented forthwith he would send all officers (concerned) of the Chandigarh Administration to jail

Sushma echoes concern on cultural pollution
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Union Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Communications, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, today emphasised the need to provide quality entertainment without compromising the country's cultural ethos and value system.

Dharna by Sikh women over helmet wearing
CHANDIGARH, July 24— Members of the Sikh Nari Manch staged a dharna to protest against the wearing of helmets by Sikh women this afternoon.

BJP 'committed' to women's Bill
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Union Minister for Communication, Information and Broadcasting today said the BJP was totally committed to reserving 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies.

Governor reviews UT law and order
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Alarmed by recent incidents of shootouts in Chandigarh, the Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), summoned a joint meeting of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh officers to discuss ways and means to correct the situation.

Concern over poor upkeep of schools

Remand of three extended in kickback case

Medical examination of suspect ordered

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UT told to demolish shop without delay
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — "I will send all officers (concerned) of the Chandigarh Administration to jail if directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court (in pollution control and enforcement of traffic rules) for forthwith implementation are not immediately complied with," observed Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar today.
Taking up an application moved by the Chandigarh Administration for seeking a 45-day extension in time for implementation the judgement, the judge enquired: "Where is the Deputy Commissioner? Where is the Chief Architect." Both of them were, however, not present in the courtroom.
Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar ordered: "The shop raised between the two dividing roads in Sector 24 be demolished immediately. And all the officers should be present in the courtroom on Monday at 2 p.m. when I take up this case."
In its judgement the high court had directed that the shop in Sector 24 be demolished forthwith as it was a traffic hazard. The Bench had ordered a compensation of Rs 60,000 to the owner.
The Chandigarh Administration, however, had not complied with this direction of the court until today. Instead, it moved an application for seeking more time to implement the judgement. It also planned to file an appeal in the Supreme Court contesting the high court judgement.
"The police has gone on a challaning spree. Instead of challaning the people, it ought to have educated the public for some time about the traffic regulations," the judge observed.

Order on KPS Gill modified
From Our Legal Correspondent
Mr Justice R.L. Anand of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has suspended till further orders the directive of the Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, against Mr K.P.S. Gill, former Director-General of Police, Punjab, by which he was directed to appear daily before the probation officer.
The Sessions Judge had earlier convicted Mr Gill and released him on probation. The former DGP was also ordered to deposit Rs 2 lakh to be paid as compensation to Mrs Rupan Deol Bajaj an IAS officer whose modesty was allegedly violated by him at a party. Mr Gill has filed the revision petition in the high court against his conviction.
It was pleaded that Mr Gill's appearance before the probation officer involved danger to his personal security and as such he should be exempted from appearance. Mr Justice Anand, while accepting the plea for exemption, directed Mr Gill to give information in a sealed cover about his movements to the probation officer, who should keep the information secret.

Dharna by Sikh women over helmet wearing
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24— Members of the Sikh Nari Manch staged a dharna to protest against the wearing of helmets of Sikh women while driving two-wheelers or riding on pillion in the Sector 17's plaza this afternoon.
The manch members, accompanied by the leaders of the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), raised slogans against the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which has hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs and has also infringed upon its religious beliefs.
Ms Harjinder Kaur, president of the manch, said that Sikh women were not a party to the petition filed in the court and it was natural justice that nobody could be compelled to follow the orders unless one had been heard or given an opportunity to clarify the stand on the issue.
She said that the writ petition was filed in 1995 and the points raised pertained only to pollution. No Sikh or Sikh women's organisation had been arrayed in the petition.
Moreover, a helmet was not the only protective guard to save one's life and in case of an accident a grievous injury to some other part of the body could be fatal as well, she added.
Mr G.S. Riar and Mr N.S. Minhas, president and general secretary of the local unit of the SAD, respectively, said as Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra had already filed a review petition in the court and notice has been issued for July 27, it would be worthwhile if the orders were withheld and the traffic police asked to take a lenient view of Sikh women driving two-wheelers.
A memorandum was submitted to the Administrator later.

Sushma echoes concern on cultural pollution
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Union Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Communications, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, today emphasised the need to provide quality entertainment to the viewers of Doordarshan without compromising the country's cultural ethos and value system.
Speaking after "bhoomi pujan" of the Chandigarh studio of Doordarshan here this afternoon, she said that lot of concern was being expressed over cultural pollution brought about by foreign channels and cable networks.
To check this "cultural pollution", she said the BJP Government at the Centre has already brought before Parliament broadcasting Bill with a two-pronged strategy to contain the pollution.
Under the Bill, for foreign networks and cable operators, it will be mandatory to have uplinking from within the country. Once this is done, these channels would be bound by Indian laws on advertisement control and other related areas. The second part of the Bill dealt with setting up of a Broadcasting Council on the lines of the Press Council of India which on viewers' suggestions and criticism could evaluate programmes to check vulgarity, violence and other things which are violative of India's cultural ethos and value system.
"I do not agree that Doordarshan should follow foreign channels or cable networks. We have to provide a strong alternative with good quality entertainment to the people. I feel that any future war in the world will not be of armament but of cultures which, in fact, has already started," she said.
Talking about Chandigarh studio, she said although proposal was there since 1989, nothing went beyond the foundation stone laying ceremony.
The new kendra would be not only a production centre but also a relay centre.
At present, she said, there were 42 production centres in the country. Twentyone were under construction. Once ready in a year's time, the Chandigarh centre will be able to contribute programmes to the national network.
Earlier, the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, in his address of welcome, thanked the minister for taking up the project which has been hanging fire for the past nine years. Chandigarh, he said, was perhaps the only city which is a joint capital of two states besides a union territory, in itself, which continued to be without a Doordarshan kendra.
Mr B.K. Dey, Engineer-in-Chief, Doordarshan, said that five new kendras would come up in Haryana at Karnal, Yamunanagar, Mahendragarh, Tohana and Ferozepore Jhirka in addition to nine centres already functioning in the state.
A variety programme was organised to mark the occasion.
Earlier, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, accompanied by Mr Jain and senior functionaries of Doordarshan, visited the site and participated in the 'bhoomi pujan".
Meanwhile, a large number of members of the Telecom Engineers of India (TEI), a body of telecom engineers, met Mrs Swaraj and presented her a memorandum on the WLL based village telephones for Uttar Pradesh.
According to a press note of the TEI, the minister said that she had already issued instructions to DoT, including the CGM, Telecom Circle, that the technology fielded by PUNCOM would be tried immediately in 50 villages as offered by the company. The minister committed herself to saying that on successful conclusion of field trials, she would order a network of 72,000 villages for this technology to PUNCOM.
The Chandigarh Journalists' Association in a memorandum demanded setting up of a national fund for promotion of journalism to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Independence.

Campus Beat
Admission to BBA, BCA on merit
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Admission to first-year courses in bachelor of business administration (BBA) and bachelor in computer application (BCA) introduced by Panjab University this year will be held on the basis of merit.
Each college will prepare its separate list on the basis of marks secured by students in plus two. Any candidate of plus two from any discipline having mathematics or statistics as one of the subjects and having obtained 50 per cent marks will be eligible for the course in bachelor of computer application.
Today was the last date for affiliated colleges of the university to apply for the courses. According to Dr Deepak Manmohan Singh, Dean, College Development Council, a total of 19 colleges have applied for both courses, four colleges have applied for the BCA while four others have applied only for the BBA course.
Certain college principals, however, pointed out that the time given for applying was much less as they have no time to go into the details of the courses. Dr Deepak Manmohan said there were chances of the university giving extra time.
Inspection committee for colleges seeking affiliation will be finalised in the coming two days. At least five colleges have already fulfilled the conditions, the dean said. Even teaching unit will have 30 students. Ordinarily , one college will not be given more than one unit.
A candidate seeking admission to the first-year in BBA course should have secured at least 50 per cent marks in plus two from a recognised board or university.
A candidate for the BCA course is expected to pay a fee of Rs 12,000 for one year. The annual fee for the BBA course will be Rs 7000. A chunk of the fee is to be utilised for appointment of staff and other development activities.
Candidates are required to attend at least 75 per cent of the lectures separately in classes as well as in tutorials to qualify for the annual examination. The principal will have the authority to condone 10 per cent of total number of deficient lectures.
Next session (1999-2000) onwards admissions in both courses will be on the basis of entrance examinations to be conducted by PU.
Seats filled: Seats in all streams of engineering, except civil engineering, were filled for Punjab Engineering College on the concluding day of the first round of counselling here on Friday.
The lowest rank which managed admission in production engineering was 1133; rank 1968 in aeronautical; and 1998 in metallurgy.
All candidates eligible for second counselling are required to present themselves before the committee on August 17, Prof D.K. Vohra, Coordinator of Admissions, said.
Campus president: Sartaj Singh Gill, a law student, has been nominated as Panjab University campus president of the NSUI, a press note said.

BJP 'committed' to women's Bill
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Union Minister for Communication, Information and Broadcasting, Mrs Sushma Swaraj today said that the BJP was totally committed to reserving 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies. But she did not see the reservation Bill coming up in the current Budget session of Parliament.
Answering questions at the meet- the-press programme at the local press club, the minister said the Prasar Bharti Bill would be introduced in the current session itself. She once again explained that the BJP-led government had allowed the Prasar Bharti Ordinance to deliberately relapse."
About the foreign print media's entry, the minister asserted that the entire country was one on the issue and the foreign newspapers and magazines would not be allowed to set up their shop here.
Mrs Swaraj said that the government was trying to use all facilities with the Doordarshan and All India Radio. Out of the 900 low powered or high powered transmission centres, 200 were not being used. Many studios, many buildings, transmission centres and other facilities were not being put to use as yet. These are being upgraded or revived. "
The minister said that she was for the resolution of all pending issues concerning contracts about the private telephone companies. These concerned with the Cellular and telephones for the rural areas. Regarding the Puncom, she said that all the five companies have been asked to set up one rural telephone exchange of fifty phones in a rural area and test the technology.
About the HVP-BJP relations in Haryana and her role, Mrs Swaraj said that these are cordial.
She also said that the relations with the allies were cordial and most problems get resolved. There was no threat to the Vajpayee government and the attitude of the BJP towards its allies has not changed after the nuclear tests at Pokhran.
The BJP leader said that Udham Singh Nagar district would be a big gainer if it was part of the proposed hill state of Uttaranchal. She did not share the Akali objections regarding this. Economically and politically, the people of this district would stand to gain much and it was geographically linked to the hill areas, she added.
Mrs Swaraj promised to help the journalists and non-journalists to get the wage board award soon.

Crime File
Scooterist hit by car, in hospital
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Arwind Katyal, a resident of Sector 37, was injured today when his scooter was hit by a car on the road separating Sector 44 from Sector 34.
The injured has been admitted to Government Medical College Hospital in Sector 32. The car has been impounded.
Scooter stolen: Mr Kulwinder Sandhu, a resident of Moga, in a complaint with the police alleged that his scooter (PB-10-G-1610) has been stolen from Sector 3.
A case has been registered.
SAS Nagar
Car stolen: Mr Gaganpreet Singh, a resident of Phase X alleged that his car (DL-1C-2102) has been stolen from his residence.
A case has been registered.

Governor reviews UT law and order
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Alarmed by recent incidents of shootouts in Chandigarh, especially by gunmen of VIPs, the Punjab Governor and Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Lt-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), summoned a joint meeting of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh officers, late last night at Raj Bhavan to discuss ways and means to correct the situation.
It was decided at the meeting that no gunman with arms would be allowed to roam in public places in civilian clothes. He would be booked immediately under the relevant provisions of the law. The state government concerned would also take departmental action against the erring gunman.
Expressing grave concern over misuse of security guards by the relatives and the wards of protected persons, the Administrator said that in such cases the security of the protected persons concerned should be withdrawn immediately.
The Governor asked the Inspector-General of Police, Chandigarh, to take strict action against any security or escort vehicle committing any traffic offence.
Emphasising the need for enforcing the code of conduct for security personnel, General Chhibber asked the Inspector-General to advertise and give an opportunity to the public to send complaints against erring gunmen to put a check on them.
The Inspector-General informed the meeting that since 1995 there were 93 criminal cases involving security personnel and wards and relatives of protected persons in Chandigarh, out of which 23 related to accidents caused by negligent driving by escort vehicles.
The Governor sought the cooperation of Punjab and Haryana in expediting the prosecution of erring police personnel. It was agreed that both states would supply the list of protected persons along with the names of armed guards attached with them to the IG, UT, for better coordination and control.
The Administrator expressed concern over increasing resentment amongst the residents of Chandigarh, because of pitching of tents on public land by the police personnel, as it amounted to encroachment on the privacy of nearby residents.
He asked the Adviser to issue immediate instructions to all the protected persons, especially those living in government accommodation, to shift the tents of security personnel inside the compounds of their houses immediately. In case there was no space for tents inside the compound of protected persons, arrangements would be made for shift-wise detailing of security personnel from the nearest reserve location or unit headquarter.
Earlier, the meeting reviewed the overall law and order scenario in the region and decided to adopt a coordinated approach, including sharing of intelligence, to meet any challenge from terrorist outfits.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr R.S. Mann, the Principal Secretary, Home, Mr G.P.S. Sahi, the Director-General of Police, Punjab, Mr P.C.Dogra, the Financial Commissioner, Home, Haryana, Mr K.G. Verma, the Director-General of Police, Haryana, Mr S.K. Sethi, the Advisor to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Mr P.K. Verma, the Home Secretary, UT, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, and the Inspector-General of Police, Chandigarh, Mr R.P. Singh.

Concern over poor upkeep of schools
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Chandigarh District Congress (S) Committee, Rural, has deplored the attitude of the DPI (Schools) towards upkeep and maintenance of school buildings in rural areas, Mani Majra and colonies.
Mr Sat Pal, president of the committee, in a statement said that the DPI (Schools) had not visited these institutions to see for himself the poor condition of the buildings, endangering lives of hundreds of children studying there.
The Mani Majra High School building could collapse any time, he added.

Remand of three extended in kickback case
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Lamba, today extended the judicial remand of Sunil Kalia, one of the alleged middlemen, N.K. Gupta, a Haryana cadre Executive Engineer, and Jagdish Mitter, a Superintending Engineer with the Chandigarh Administration, until July 29.
All of them were arrested in connection with the kickbacks case registered by the Administration against certain officials of the engineering department.

Medical examination of suspect ordered
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 24 — The Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today directed the prosecution to get Harcharan Singh, one of the suspects in the Sector 17 District Courts firing incident, examined for his reported heart disease.
The judge directed that Harcharan Singh be taken to the PGI Director on July 27 with proper escort.
Mr Bedi ordered the Director of the PGI to constitute a team of three heart specialists to examine Harcharan Singh and asked him to send the report of the team to him on July 29.
Harcharan Singh in his bail application had stated that he had come to Chandigarh on July 4 in connection with a matrimonial proposal for his son. On July 5, he was examined at the Sector 16 General Hospital. On July 6, he was standing outside a clinic in Sector 22 when he was arrested by the police.