High-speed software facility at PEC
CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — Mr Ravinder Gupta, Secretary, Department of Electronics, Government of India, today inaugurated a high-speed data communication facility at the Software Technology Park complex at Punjab Engineering College here.

Jagjit sways audience
CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — Rustling boughs of poetic imagination whispering gently to serenity-craved hearts describes best the emotion at a rendezvous with Jagjit Singh at the Durga Das Foundation here this evening.

Jaitley moots panel on Judges' appointment
CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — There is need for a comprehensive definition of "breakdown of constitutional machinery" to allow usage of Article 356, said Mr Arun Jaitley while delivering a lecture on "Areas of Constitutional reform" organised by the Panchnad Research Institute here today.

A task accomplished in days
CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — What the district administration could not do for more than three decades in certain remote villages of Ropar district, men and officers of 65 Engineers Regiment have done it in days.

High-speed software facility at PEC
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — Mr Ravinder Gupta, Secretary, Department of Electronics, Government of India, today inaugurated a high-speed data communication (HSDC) facility at the Software Technology Park complex at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) here.

The facility, which will cater to the needs of the software exporting units of the city and the surrounding areas, will provide many services like point-to-point leased lines of 64 Kbps to 2 Mbps, shared Internet connection comprising services like World Wide Web (WWW), remote login, file transfer and E-Mail.

The Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with the college, has provided 10,000 sq feet built-up area for STP units which will enable small and medium units to avail full package of infrastructure and services.

Later, speaking at a seminar on "IT policy and its impact on software exports", Mr Gupta said the national task force on IT and software development, set up by the government had attempted to rationalise various policies and remove bottlenecks. The task force had given thrust for promoting various IT hamlets in the country, he added.

Predicting a bright future for the IT industry, Mr Gupta said that the government, in collaboration with the ICICI and SIDBI was considering promotion of venture capital projects in the country.

Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Home Secretary, said given the space constraints in the city, the Administration was focusing on the industries such as IT industry, which were less-polluting, required less space and futuristic.

The Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, launched the North India Software Companies Association (NISCA).

Mr PS Narotra, Director and head of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), said bigger efforts were required to bring North India on the IT map, and NISCA had been set up for this purpose.

Dr SK Agrawal, director of the Noida centre of the STPI, expressed his organisation’s commitment to bring North India on the global IT map.

Jagjit sways audience
By Sanjeev Bariana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — Rustling boughs of poetic imagination whispering gently to serenity-craved hearts describes best the emotion at a rendezvous with Jagjit Singh at the Durga Das Foundation here this evening.

Lilting tunes in the sonorous voice of the ghazal maestro floated gently on a dreamy dewy evening. It was almost like a sojourn into the self. On the other hand the sombre mood of sad notes never failed to touch the heart.

The event, which has become an annual feature, was expectedly marked by an ambience which any artist would envy. For scores who could not enter the venue it was announced that there would be two performances next year.

Dressed in his trade mark kurta, the melody king took his "aasan" behind the harmonium. Even his accompanists, Deepak Pandit on violin, A. Hussain on harmonium, Arshad Ahmed on guitar and Pandit Giridhar Prasad and Abhinav Uphadyaya, both on tabla, appeared inseparable components of the ambience in the lap of lush lawns and trees bearing colourful flowers.

He began on a nostalgic note of his journey in the world of music. "Mera safar Punjab se hi shuru hua, DAV College, Jalandhar". He started with his first hit ghazal but which was never recorded as part of any album "Rukh se parda utha de aye saakia, abhi range mehfil badal jaayega".

It was, however, "Apni marji se kahan apne safar pe hum hain" which set the mood for the evening and it was received with instant applause. "Today I also remember Shiv Kumar Batalvi with whom I spent some time", he said before the magic of the immortal words "Mainu tera shabaab le baitha" unfolded in his voice .

Myriad moods of raag durbari were a treat to listen as he playfully shifted the mood from devotional to classical. This portion of the evening stood out from the rest simply for what he called, "musical acrobatics".

He juxtaposed with the deftness of a musical wizard the sense of hoplessness in "Kaun aaya hoga yahan koi na aaya hoga" with the feeling of hope in the recent hit "Kabhi yun bhi to ho".

Response to rendering of Jagjit's "hazaaron khwaishain aise ki har khwaish pe dum nikle" went on to show how a poet who was till recently believed to be part of an elitist tradition has been brought to homes of masses.

Old hits "Ye daulat bhi le lo" and "Baat niklegi to phir dur talak jaayegi" received predictable applause as did his other numbers. There were more in the form of "Har taraf beshumaar aadmi" and the song continued till late in the night.

The applause and the demand for more ghazals continued with people unaware that there had been a bomb scare at the venue. Someone called up to say that there was a bomb at the venue which was likely to explode at 8.35 p.m., police sources said.

The police squads carried out checks without disturbing the performance.

The programme was in two parts. The second part proved aesthetically contagious and people started clapping and dancing with each stanza of Punjabi verses sung by Jagjit Singh. The arrangement made by the foundation was flawless. One wished that there was more space for more people and a longer period of delight. The show was memorable and gathering which had the elite of the city and music lovers of all age groups must be longing for the promised two shows next year. The moist night was made glad with songs, thanks to the sponsors and the foundation’s director.

A task accomplished in days
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — What the district administration could not do for more than three decades in certain remote villages of Ropar district, men and officers of 65 Engineers Regiment have done it in days.

Residents of Takhatgarh village had been demanding continuously since 1962 that their village should be connected by a road or a pucca track to Ropar-Nurpur Bedi main road. Villagers faced a plethora of problems in bringing their produce to the nearby grain market. Not only that, they had to take a longer and inhospitable route to reach the main road.

The playground of DAV School of the village, too, needed extension as the existing playfield was small and surrounded by bundhs.

The same was the story of Batarla village where the demand for a 500-metre long link road with the main road and expansion of the village school playfield had been kept in cold store by the district administration for long due to paucity of funds.

But on October 30 when men and officers of 65 Engineers Regiment arrived in the area for training, the villagers became "hopeful". The reason — these men in olive green had executed a number of projects at nearby Tibba and Taprian village in March. These projects, like those of Takhatgarh and Batarla villages, had been languishing for a very long time.

In Takhatgarh village, Sarpanch Ms Vimla Devi, and Headmaster of DAV School, Mr Kewal Krishan Kanda, met the Commanding Officer of 65 Engineers Regiment, Colonel SS Dasaka, and explained to him their problems. The district administration, too, requested the engineers to undertake the projects urgently as the civil authorities due to paucity of funds and resources, could not attend to these for a long time.

After initial recce on October 30 and 31, it was realised that a bulldozer was required for extending the playfield and for providing a 700-metre-long, four-metre-wide road to connect the village with Ropar-Nurpur Bedi main road.

A team of officers comprising Cap Sumit Thukral, Lieutenant Harish Chand, Naib Subedar R P Khanduri, L Nk Virender Partap Singh and Sapper Major Singh worked round the clock, braving the sweltering heat of the day and chilly nights to extend the school playfield by 1,500 sq metres and constructed a 700-metre long road track by cutting numerous bundhs, without causing any damage to the surrounding trees and the standing crops. They accomplished the task in a day, which the civil administration could not do in 36 years.

The story at Batarla village was slightly different. The old track in the village was narrow, dangerous and posed a safety threat to them. The use of tractor-trailers and other traffic on the track was not without risk. The narrow bypass to the village which existed since 1965 was in a shambles because neither the gram panchayat nor the administration had any funds to maintain this bypass.

Wild growth of shrubs and trees, highly undulating and low lying ground and standing crops made the task difficult. With their sheer hardwork and dedication, a team of officers and men , comprising Lieutenants I S Chauhan and PPS Kochar, Hav Jaipal Singh, L Nk P Dutta and Triloki Singh with their dozers not only restored the 33-year-old bypass but also provided a 3000 sq metres playfield in the village school.

Villagers, led by their Sarpanch Gurmeet Singh, were overwhelmed by the spontaneous action by the men and officers of the regiment. The villagers have promised to undertake such projects in future on their own by voluntary service.

Jaitley moots panel on Judges' appointment
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — There is need for a comprehensive definition of "breakdown of constitutional machinery" to allow usage of Article 356, said Mr Arun Jaitley while delivering a lecture on "Areas of Constitutional reform" organised by the Panchnad Research Institute here today.

The former Additional Solicitor-General of India said that this provision had been frequently misused by successive governments. Even the recent recommendation of the BJP Government for its use in Bihar cannot be justified until the parameters of the provision were clearly defined.

Time was ripe for Parliament to think of scrapping all laws in contravention of the Fundamental Rights. There were overlappings in certain laws when one thought of right to equality, be it on basis of gender, or on the basis of religion, he said.

He expressed his difference with provisions in the 10th Schedule, particularly with reference to the anti- defection law and powers of the Speakers. In the same light, there was a need to study the importance of more financial powers to states.

The appointment of a Lok Pal seems a revolutionary idea, Mr Jaitley said. If three judges from Supreme Court, either serving or retired, could take up complaint of a common man against any politician and submit the report to the assembly or parliament concerned the remedial process could be simplified.

The Lok Pal and Parliament, however, should submit time-bound action reports to make the process more credible, he added.

Mr Jaitley suggestion creation of a National Judicial Commission as a constitutional entity. This should look into the appointment of judges.

Mr Jaitley said that between 1983 and 1993 many persons who were less qualified were appointed judges because of political connections. "It could be said that there were two kind of judges — one who knew the law and others who knew the law minister. Between 1993 and 98 the appointments had a tinge of being swayed by the personality of the Chief Justice. The recent changes made by the Supreme Court seem more credible".

While commenting on the Law Commission's recommendation of possibly using the list system in elections, Mr Jaitley said it would provide a remedy worst than the disease. "This is a system in which people will vote for political parties and not candidates and party would send representatives according to percentage votes secured. This could lead to further division of parties on the basis of religion and caste".

Parliament needed to rethink on issue of whether or not the creation of smaller states would be more beneficial for the overall growth of states, he added.

Mr Shyam Khosla , president of the research institute, presided.

Residents oppose road via green belt
From Our Correspondent

SAS NAGAR, Nov 8 — The House Owners' Welfare Society of Phase V has opposed the construction of an approach road by PUDA through a 'green belt' in the area.

The society general secretary said the 'green belt' between houses 1926-27, 1940-41 and 1960-61 was provided in the original plan at the time of plot allotment in Phase V. The cost of the belt land stood recovered from the residents along with the cost of the plots and the use of the 'green belt' could not be changed "without consulting the residents".

The society general secretary said that the construction of the road to the ITI through the 'green belt' would contribute to increased road accidents, deprive the residents of an area being used by them for social functions and encourage encroachments by adjoining house owners on the remaining land of the belt after road construction.

The society said that in 1995 the Punjab Chief Minister had taken a decision to save the 'green belt' and the department had dropped the proposal. Under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, that decision of the government "could not be changed".

The society suggested that a link road could be built through vacant land behind the Municipal Council colony, or a link road for the ITI from the market side now under construction could be developed into a dual carriageway. Under the original plan, it said, the link road to the ITI was to be provided through the council's residential area.

Women's problems reviewed
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Nov 8 — A meet on "Intercity jagrati on crime against women" was organised by the local Inner Wheel Club at Red Bishop Hotel today. It was inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Saroj Siwach.

Mrs Veena Monga, chairman of the intercity meet, said there was need to educate and bring about awareness among the women. She said women were seen as "money minting machines".

Mrs Neerja Pandhi, district president of the club, said women, either housewife or working, had to live with limitations. The evils of physical and mental torture still haunted them.

Views on problems afflicting women were expressed by Ms Sahsi Kir, Ms Kavita Gulati, Ms Usha Sehgal and Ms Samira Saluja.

Cops on looting spree held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 8 — Two commandos of the Punjab Police, allegedly on a looting spree, were nabbed by the local police here today.

Three different cases at police stations in Sectors 31, 34 and 39 have been registered against them under sections 382, 506, 341 and 34 of the IPC, sources said.

The duo has been identified as Jagbir Singh and Kartar Chand, both from 3rd Battalion of Commandos at SAS Nagar.

The cops, who were allegedly drunk, started indulging in "hooliganism" at Hallo Majra by snatching nearly Rs 200 from a "chaat" seller.

Afterwards they stopped a rickshaw on a road adjacent to Sectors 35 and 46 and threatened Mr Uday Singh, the occupant of the rickshaw, to part with money. The cops then went to Sector 39 market where they stopped two rickshaws and looted another Rs 150.

The rickshawpullers raised the alarm, following which a police patrol intervened and the cops were arrested. One of the cops was in uniform while other was sporting a casual wear.

Theft cases: At least three theft cases have been reported in the city.

Mr Jivan Lal of Sector 22 reported that a colour TV and a VCR were stolen from his house when he had gone out of the city on November 5 and 6.

Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Sector 34, reported to the police that a TV, a VCR and a CD player had been stolen from his house.

In another case, Attar Parkash, a resident of Sector 11, reported that a pair of gold bangles, a CD player and a necklace had been stolen from his residence during his absence from the city from November 1 to 7.

Charas seized: The police has seized nearly 750 gm charas from Parminder near the roundabout of Sector 16 and 23.

A case has been registered.

An evening of devotional music

PANCHKULA: Institutions devoted to the promotion of art play an important role in shaping artistic sensibilities. Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Sector 10, Panchkula organised an evening of devotional classical music to commemorate the death anniversary of its founder Ramesh Chandra Dutta, and also to expose its students to higher standards of music.

Suresh Gopal Shareekhande was invited to the Vidyalaya to bless its budding artists as well as to perform. Junior students began the evening with the rendition of Saraswati Vandana set to raga yaman. This was followed by a number of devotional songs by senior students. 'Jiy ki sadhan jiy hi rahi', a composition of Parmanand Swami, made people sway.

Mrs Anita Sharma, Principal, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, sang 'Prabhuji mhare nainan aage rahiyo ji' in raga kalavati.

Suresh Gopal Shreekhande, a disciple of Jitendra Abhisheki undeterred by his demise this morning, did not disappoint the audience. He began his rendering in Shyam Kalyan, the vilambit khayal 'Jiyo more lal banra' and tarana 'tana dera na' proved his maturity and taiyari. The devotional rendering 'nahi aiso janam bar bar' was soulful. He accomplished his rendering by singing a composition of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki — a natyagit in raga bhairavi as a tribute to his dear teacher.

Gopal Dasji on the tabla and Neeraj on the harmonium did justice to their job.

— Vandana Shukla

Subway serving limited purpose

AN underground subway, constructed for avoiding congestion and accidents on the road dividing Sectors 22 and 17, seems to be serving limited purpose only. There are several factors behind this.

First, it is the mentality of the common people who in place of using the subway tend to cross the road by jumping over the iron grills erected over the median. Whenever there is no policeman around, people in groups can be seen crossing the road this way.

It doesn't mean that there is dearth of the followers of the rule of the law. More and more people had started using the subway. The more disciplined people were even seen asking others to go through the subway and thus avoid accidents. But suddenly some obstructions have cropped up on the entry point of the subway in Sector 22. Some rehris can be seen parked near it. Now a booking counter has been installed by the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking. This blocks the subway. Those who are new to Chandigarh are not even able to see it.

Some vehicles parked near this entry point also serve as an obstruction. Removing these obstructions may make the subway more usable and purposeful.

GMT, this is true!

A person approached a housewife in Sector 44-B in July and told her that he was out distributing the new telephone directory in the area but the rain had created a problem for him. He pleaded with her to keep in her house the directories that he was carrying in rickshaw. Seeing that the rain would indeed damage the directories, she agreed to keep the 150-odd directories in one of her rooms. The man promised to return in the evening.

All these months passed but the man did not return. One of his colleagues, however, surfaced recently saying that he wanted to take away 10 of the directories stored in her house. She flared up saying that for those months she had been not able to use one of her rooms because of the directories being stocked there. She made him take away the entire heap.

Her problem is over but what about the hundreds of telephone owners who are still deprived of the new directories?

Cinema, cinema

India may be the largest producer of films of the world, but the number of cinema halls in the country is only a fraction of the number of theatres in other major countries.

For a population of over 900 million, India has only about 11,000 cinema halls, which compares poorly to that of the USA (30,000) and China (40,000). The erstwhile USSR tops the list with over 80,000 theatres. This interesting bit of information was given by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal during the course of a special lecture on the Panjab University campus on November 5.

Now we know why there are long queues outside the cinema halls for buying tickets even for a "B" grade Hindi movie — though for a couple of weeks only.

Stinking "mandi"

While the entire fruit and vegetable market in Sector 26 in Chandigarh is no less than a stinking dumping ground, the decision-makers in the Market Committee have turned a site right at the intersection of four inner roads into an "official dumping site". As a result, almost every consumer who passes through the market to purchase his requirements has to actually step on the garbage of the whole mandi and inhale the stink so that the experience of his visit to the mandi stays in his mind long after he has reached his home or place of work. Not only that, some squatters actually sit on the garbage heap to dispose of their stocks of radish or other such vegetables.

The health authorities have perhaps been rarely visible, except on the occasions of planned visits of the Deputy Commissioner, Adviser to the Chandigarh Administration and Administrator of the Union Territory in the area. On occasions of VIP visits, even the official garbage heap is taken care of.

The Market Committee representatives ought to take a practical view of the scattered garbage and remove it quickly to a site which itself is not a hazard for the visitors to the mandi.

Jivtesh Maini

Punjab has been put on the international infotech map after the inauguration of the Software Technology Park, supported by the department of electronics of Government of India, at SAS Nagar last month. And the man behind this major achievement has been none other than Mr Jivtesh Singh Maini, a Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser, department of electronics, GOI. Infact, Mr Maini, during his earlier tenure as Director, Industries, Punjab, and then Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Beant Singh, had conceived this project.

Mr Maini, a Punjab cadre IAS officer, had also headed the department of environment, science and technology. It was during his tenure that a complete ban on burning of rice husk — a malady which has again raised its head in Punjab — was imposed. During his tenure, the Punjab Government had issued a notification to declare all public places and government premises as non-smoking zones. One hopes that now when the Punjab in general and Sikhs in particular are preparing themselves to celebrate the tercentenary of Khalsa, this notification would be enforced.

At present, he is the only Punjab cadre officer to be a Joint Secretary in the Union Government.

A man to watch

The name of Mr Narinder Singh "International", who was recently honoured by the Chandigarh Administration on World Tourism Day for assisting foreign visitors in the city, appears with distinction in India Handbook. The latest issue of this largely circulated book published in England says this while referring to Chandigarh:

"You may come across Mr Narinder Singh, a 'friend of the tourist" who is very helpful — worth having a chat'."

Mr Narinder Singh's name had earlier in 1982 appeared in The New York Times. One of the world's biggest circulation newspapers had this to say:

"Chandigarh, now a city of a quarter of a million people, even has its own self-styled, unofficial greeter — the boundlessly energetic Narinder Singh, a government clerk turned a local legend who haunts the bus station in the hope of helping the foreigners who stumble into a city where nobody cares one way or another about tourists.

"If you encounter Mr Singh, a Sikh like so many of Chandigarh's residents, be sure to accept his invitation to his home at 1036, Sector 23-C. This may be the most memorable part of your tour of the city. To see the tiny house, with its electricity and gas and running water, is to see what makes this city a paradise to the Indian of modest means. It is what, in the long run, Chandigarh is all about".

Roma and Rishi

In the January-July, 1997, issue of his half-yearly journal Roma, W.R. Rishi had written: "On 4th January 1998, begins the 82nd year of my life.... Since 1971 I have been serving the Roma in their struggle to get their due place in social and cultural fields. Ach Develes (good-bye) if I am not able to produce any further issue due to failing health or... ! Thanks for the patronage, Opre Roma."

The goodbye proved premature. He continues to be as lively as ever and managed to publish the January-July issue of the journal this year. The Romano Kher (Nehru Roma House and Museum) too is fast coming up in its new shape.

His tenacity and devotion have been acknowledged by Romano Dzaniben (Romani studies), a journal published from Prague, which has devoted 17 pages to Roma and Dr Rishi.

And another admirer, David Altheer of The Times, London, writes: "Roma is the only truly international publication for Gypsies".

Dr Rishi's one regret is that his cause evokes less attention in Chandigarh than in the rest of the world.