& V I C I N I T Y
Wednesday, November 11, 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, November 11, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Move to serve liquor on
Shivalik Palace Building
byelaws violated in Sector 9 |
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Shopkeepers told to display
price lists
Notice
to Administration on streetlights Chandigarh
to have heart diseases hospital Police
chiefs to judge cartoon contest Punjabi
film on lines of 'DDLJ' |
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Move to serve liquor on
Shivalik Palace CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — In view of the changing trends in luxury tourism, the Northern Railway has mooted a proposal to serve liquor and beer on board the luxurious Shivalik Palace running on the high density tourist route between Kalka and Shimla. The railway authorities at Ambala have set the ball rolling and sought permission from the Haryana Excise Department to stock and serve liquor and beer on board the Shivalik Palace. The idea of the railway authorities is to serve canned beer and premium quality liquor, sources said. The Shivalik Palace, started almost a year ago, is a luxury coach that has an attendant on board and it can be attached with any train on the Kalka-Shimla section as desired by travellers. A large number of affluent Indians and foreign tourists travel by the Shivalik Palace that is designed like a hotel room. A 'sibling' of the same coach Shivalik Queen, is in the final stages of preparation at the Kalka railway workshop and will be introduced on the section soon. This will have four segregated coupes in it and booking can be made on per coupe basis. This coach is targeted at honeymoon couples, the sources said. As far as permission for selling and stocking the drinks is concerned the Railways has taken the first step and asked for a licence. As the train starts from Kalka in Haryana and enters Himachal Pradesh, formalities of completing paper work will have to be done in the hill state also. The Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Ambala, Mr Boota Singh, when contacted, expressed confidence: "There should be no problem in getting a licence to serve and stock drinks on board as a similar practice is followed on other luxury trains in the country." Luxury trains like the Royal Orient and the Palace on Wheels had had well-stocked bars on board for a number of years and were a big attraction among tourists. The facility of drinks could not be extended on board the Shivalik De Luxe Express on the same route as there was no provision of connecting vestibules between the coaches. Besides this factor the Shivalik Palace was preferred as it was more for the affluent class and was segregated from the rest of the train, the railway authorities said. Further targeting the
honeymoon couples, the Railways will start construction
of a mountain top cottage at Barog. The designs for the
same has been approved. The cottage will have all
facilities, including a badminton court and room service.
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Building byelaws violated in Sector
9 CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — Violations of the city's building byelaws by owners of some showrooms under construction in Sector 9 and the issuance of damp proof course (DPC) certificates in connivance with staff of the Estate Office have come to light. The certificates are mandatory and are issued after it has been ensured by officials that the building is adequately protected from dampness. Any construction above the plinth level is possible only after a certificate is issued by the Estate Office. The sites of the present showrooms, near the CITCO petrol station, were auctioned by the municipal corporation sometime back. Construction work began in July and a couple of shops have been built up to the first floor while digging for construction of the basement is under way in the case of others. Sources revealed many of the shop owners had dug out the area earmarked for the corridors to encroach upon the space to enlarge the basements. As such, an area of nine feet by 17 feet per shop has been added to the basements, which is illegal. As per norms, the area below the corridor cannot be dug out and added to the basement. When the violations came to light, the owners were asked to stop the construction and refill the area. All construction activity was held up for a month due to this. It is alleged following this the staff connived with the owners and a "deal was struck." A way to beat the violations was "suggested". Officials allegedly said a wall should be constructed to cordon off the space, after laying the roof. In this way the owners could beat the norms, obtain the DPC, knock down the wall and use the area, sources added. Talking to TNS, a contractor of one of the shops, said one had to go by the wishes of the owners although it had been brought to light that doing so was illegal. One shop in particular had even allegedly constructed concrete beams to reinforce the area to be used later on. When contacted, Mr S.K.
Sharma, Assistant Estate Officer, said he was unaware of
the violations and would instruct his officers to look
into the matter and report back to him. If found, the
violations would be set right and action would be
initiated against the guilty parties, he assured. |
Masked girls on city roads CHANDIGARH: A new breed of "covered faces" unfettered and disguised is in vogue and the police is disinterested and unperturbed. Covered from head to toe, girls of all age groups on two-wheelers have found refuge in this novel way to beat the chill or the heat, dust and pollution. Hidden behind dark glasses, these girls zip around on their "kinies" and scooties with little care for what the passers-by think of them. Ritika Chopra, a plus two student says: "Most of my classmates come to school like this. Gradually the city has come to accept it and it no longer invites the stares it used to." But Puja Sharma (23) has a different story to tell. She contends, "Every time I move out with my face covered, I am invariably the target of unwanted attention. Since I am allergic to heat and dust, I have to put up with the nonsense." This "dressed-to-mystify" look is justified by Rima Sharma, who opines: "Avoiding direct exposure to sunlight prevents the skin from tanning and the hair from being ruined. I never venture out without a scarf, a cap and gloves." Kulu, Rinu and Annu of the Law Department chime in unison: "All of us drive down to the university with our faces covered because it creates an aura of mystery in other persons' mind about us. It's best when somebody has been staring at you for quite some time and then discovers you are an acquaintance. The few uncomfortable movements that follow provide a thrill to us." Then there is also the regular "heat-and-dust reason". Kinri of the same department says: "It is easy to move in the city with friends when you are sure nobody can see and gossip about you later on. It provides privacy even in the midst of people." The veiled look of the city girls does not sit well with the boys of the town. None of them seem to approve of this trend amongst the girls. Jaggi, a final year student explains: "As I speed down to my house in Panchkula after college, the monotonous drive used to be punctuated by a pretty face once in a while. Now it's only me, my bike and the scarves that hide my 'punctuations'." Manpreet Walia (21) bemoans: "We boys are always on the receiving end. Now it is for the scarves of these girls". Relating an incident, he continues, for two days in a row a girl waved to me while I was on my way to the factory. I did not respond since I didn't know who was behind the mask. In the evening she called up to tell me how upset she was and the talk ended in an argument. A senior citizen of the
city labels these girls as "militants" even
though the city police has no qualms about letting them
go scotfree and what's more turn a blind eye if these
girls stick to the rules.
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Shopkeepers told to display price
lists CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — All shopkeepers selling food items in different parts of the city will have to display prices of different commodities outside their establishments. According to a decision taken at the first meeting of the price monitoring committee here today, all shopkeepers would be asked to display prices of various food items such as vegetables and pulses outside their establishments. The committee, which has been constituted by the Administration to monitor the prices and to prevent hoarding of food items, has taken the step following reports of variation in prices of vegetables and pulses in different markets, resulting in confusion among consumers. The committee felt that there was a general feeling among consumers that the prices were being manipulated at the retailer level. The chairman of the committee, Mr Ashish Kundra, said the deadline for the display of price lists would be fixed soon. He said the Deputy Director of the Food and Supplies Department, Mr Ashwini Kumar, who is also a member of the committee, had been deputed for ensuring that the prices of karyana items were properly displayed by the shopkeepers outside their shops. Similarly, the secretary of the local Market Committee, would keep a tab on vegetable prices and would also ensure that the shopkeepers and vendors displayed prices of the commodities daily. Both officers had been asked to file reports in this regard on weekly basis, Mr Kundra said. In addition, the committee would see to it that no hoarding of food items took place in the UT. The committee had decided to conduct raids and to take action against those found indulging in hoarding of essential goods, the sources said. Meanwhile, the local unit of the Janata Dal has threatened to launch a mass movement in a couple of weeks if the government fails to check the rising prices and to bring to book the unscrupulous businessmen. In a press note issued here today, the general secretary of the unit, Mr Mohammed Shakir, demanded that stringent action should be taken against the corrupt officials who were hand in glove with hoarders. He demanded that the public distribution system should be strengthened. A meeting of the unit
demanded that ration cards should be issued to the
deserving residents of labour colonies and the houses
constructed in villages outside "lal dora"
should be regularised. |
Rally by UT workers CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Members of the Action Committee of UT Employees and Workers held a rally near the Chandigarh Housing Board roundabout today in support of their long-pending demands. The protesters, who in the past week had been holding gate meetings, raised slogans against the Administration. They were addressed by senior leaders of the committee. The leaders appealed to the Administration to accept their genuine and long-pending demands. The main demands include treating the employees transferred from the Administration to the corporation on deputation, grant of proficiency increments to the field staff, release of bonus, DA, CCA and HRA to all daily-wagers, restoration of technical scale to various categories of workers, increasing the salary of the kitchen gardening staff and the aanganwadi workers and helpers, and grant of booti allowance to horticulture workers and parent cadre allowance to the hospital staff. Members of the Municipal
Corporation Public Health Workers Union, the CTU
Conductors Union, the General Hospital Class IV Employees
Union, the Kitchen Gardening Workers Union and the UT
Roads Workers Union participated in the rally. |
Remand for accused in blast case CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr B.C. Gupta, today remanded Gurcharanjit Singh and Gurvinder Singh in judicial custody until November 24. Both of them were arrested on November 5 by the local police for their involvement in a bomb blast at the Sector 26 police station on July 11, 1990. They were booked under
Sections 307, 427, 272 and 120-B, IPC, apart from TADA
and the Explosives Act. |
Notice to Administration on
streetlights CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — Mr Tejwinder Singh, Civil Judge, Junior Division, today issued notice for December 4 to the Chandigarh Administration and the local Municipal Corporation on a civil suit jointly preferred by Mr Pankaj Chandkotia, a city lawyer, and Mr Munish Jain, a Panchkula resident, praying for issuing directions to the respondents for replacing mercury vapour streetlights and sodium lamps on the city's main roads. Seeking replacement and repair of streetlights within one month, the plaintiffs quoted a Tribune news item alleging that the conditions of streetlights was deplorable. Hundreds of streetlights in the city in general and southern sectors in particular remained out of order due to the callous attitude of the Municipal Corporation and the Engineering Department. This sorry state of affairs of the lighting system in the city, the plaintiffs added, led to an increase in the number of accidents and petty thefts. They claimed that
replacement of lights would put an end to the darkness
that engulfed the city. |
Chandigarh to have heart diseases
hospital SAS NAGAR, Nov 10 — The Rotary Club will set up a hospital in Chandigarh to treat congenital heart diseases in children. Stating this at a press conference here yesterday, Dr G.K. Thakral, Governor of Rotary International District 3080, covering 60 clubs, said the project was called the "Gift of Life". Further the club had applied for a two-kanal plot at SAS Nagar to open a centre for the care of infants and children, the project report of which had been sent to Rotary International (RI) for evaluation. The pulse polio campaign, the District Governor said, would be held on December 6 this year and January 17 next year. The aim of the RI was to make the earth polio-free by the year 2005 when the Rotary would celebrate 100 years of its formation. Mr Thakral, who is based
in Mussoorie, said this year the RI's thrust was on
children. The Rotary Foundation had earmarked $ 20
million for projects to benefit children in the 0-16 age
group. The grant amount was up to $ 25,000 for a single
project by a club. |
Police chiefs to judge cartoon
contest CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — The police chiefs of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh will be the judges for Jaspal Bhatti's "Mahaul Theek Hai" police cartoon contest. According to Jaspal
Bhatti: "It is worth appreciating that the officers
have agreed to be the judges and give feedback on the
subject ‘What do you think of a person in police
uniform’, which is the theme of the contest. I feel
it will certainly give clues to the police department to
improve its public image." |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — The Central Government, while modifying the July 27 notification, has announced new pay scales for the university and college teachers in the country. Under the revised notification, the fixation of pay of lecturer (selection grade) and reader in the pre-revised scale of Rs 3,700-125-4,950-150-5,700, who were in the position of lecturer (selection grade) and reader as on January 1,1996, will be made in such a manner that they get their fixed pay at the minimum of Rs 14,940 in the revised scale of Rs 12,000-420-18,300 as and when they complete five years in the grade. The pay of reader and professor, who were in the pre-revised scales of Rs 3,000-4,500 and Rs 4,500-5,700 will be fixed at the appropriate stage of the revised scales of Rs 10,000-325-15,200 and Rs 16,400-450-20,900-500-22,400, respectively, as on January 1,1996. While there would be four advanced increments for Ph.D and two increments for M.Phil at the time of recruitment of lecturers, two advanced increments for lecturers with Ph.D at the time of movement to the selection grade would be given. Similarly, the in-service teachers would get two advanced increments for obtaining the Ph.D degree. The eligibility for placement in the senior scale would be four years for lecturers with Ph.D, five years with M.Phil and six years for others . Now the age of superannuation of 62 years shall also be applicable to the registrars, librarians, physical education personnel, Controllers of Examinations, finance officers and other such employee, who are being treated at a par with the teachers and whose age of superannuation was 60 years All arrears would be paid with effect from January 1,1996. Meanwhile, the Panjab University Teachers' Association (PUTA) and the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), while welcoming the revised notification, have urged the authorities concerned to expediate the implementation of the revised notification. PUTA has also planned a rally for the delay in implementing the revised pay scales. Training programme: A training programme on recent developments in the pharmaceutical sciences started on the university campus yesterday. The programme, which
includes lectures and laboratory classes by expert
faculty, will last up to November 20. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 10 — A woman was arrested for allegedly peddling drugs in the city while another woman and a teenaged girl received burn injuries in separate incidents today. Kulwant Kaur, 30, living in the labour colony near Palsoura village was nabbed by the CIA wing of the Chandigarh Police for allegedly peddling drugs. The police seized 500 gm of charas, measuring scales and small polythene pouches which she used for her activities. Meanwhile, in another incident Sunita (18) received burn injuries at her Sector 55 residence this afternoon. In a separate incident, a married woman, Sonoo, 24, was seriously burnt in a fire at Dhanas village on Tuesday afternoon. Both have been admitted to the PGI. Hurt: Mrs Neelam Khatra of Sector 43 was injured while she was travelling in a rickshaw on Tuesday. Her duppatta got entangled in spokes of a wheel of the rickhsaw pulling her downwards, according to police sources. She has been admitted to the PGI. Arrested: Persons who had allegedly taken away household goods from the house of their tenant in his absence last week were arrested by the Sector 26 police on Monday. Though one of the four had been arrested on November 6, the remaining three were arrested on Monday. Mr Ved Pal Jain, had alleged that Reeta, the landlady, accompanied by Malkiat Singh, Sandeep Singh and Harjeet Kaur had taken away goods from his house in Sector 27. The Sector 26 police seized the goods after recovering them from the house of Malkiat Singh in Sector 18. A case under Sections 380, 454, 448 and 34 of the IPC has been registered. Liquor seized: The Sector 26 police arrested three residents of Ambala while they were carrying more than 1000 pouches of countrymade liquor. The three — Dev Raj, Rajesh Kumar and Hari Narian — were arrested while carrying the liquor in a car (DNH-4359) on Monday night. Meanwhile, six other persons have been arrested in a separate incident. More than 100 bottles of liquor have been seized from them. Babu Ram of Bapu Dham Colony was babbed with 48 bottles of liquor. Besides this, varying quantities of liquor was seized from Lal Bahadur, Rajesh Kumar, Ramzaan, Ayodhaya Prasad and Badal. Separate cases have been registered. Body's identity: The police is yet to establish the identity of the man who was found dead in Sector 22 on Monday. The body had been sent for a post-mortem examination to the Sector 16 General Hospital. PANCHKULA Five booked: Five persons, including a gunman of a Punjab DSP, have been booked by the district police for allegedly demanding dowry from Ms Amrik Kaur, a resident of Khera Jattan (Bora Khera) near here. A case has been registered on the directions of the local courts. The complainant, Ms Amrik Kaur had alleged that Jagtar Singh, Gian Singh, Gurdev Singh, Satto and Gulzar Singh had been harassing her for dowry. Booked for assault: Jitender, a resident of Fatehgarh in a complaint alleged that Anoop Singh, Pritam Singh, Gurdas and Mohinder Singh along with 15 other persons attacked him with lathis. The cause of the alleged attack is reported to be a dispute over an agricultural land. The police has registered a case. At least four persons suspected to be involved in the case have been arrested by the police. Auto thieves arrested: The police claims to have busted a gang of auto thieves with the arrest of Munish, a resident of Patiala. The S.P., Mr Alok Mittal, said a special wing of the police headed by an ASI, Haripal Walia, had arrested Munish, who on being interrogated revealed the names of his four other accomplices — Satbir, Nanak Singh, Vinod and Gurdeep Singh. The gang had been active in Chandigarh and Haryana for the past several months. Two Marutis stolen from the township have been recovered from them. Booked: The police
has registered a case under the Electricity Act against
Jagdish, a resident of Sector 14, for allegedly indulging
in power theft. |
CHANDIGARH: A man always leads a dual life. One image he has for the public and the other for his loved ones. But is he really honest with his dear ones or puts on a mask in front of them too? It is difficult to say unless one knows the other in and out. This concealment of true feelings has led to general mistrust. Even the closest of friends have to think twice before cracking a joke or making a comment. Spontaneity in conversation is lost. At times, it does happen that the man is caught unawares and the mask slips. This is when one comes to know the actual feelings of the other. These masks represent the philosophical and physiological aspects of life around us. They have been very well tackled by a reputed artist of the city Viney Vadhera. Viney an ex-student of Government College of Arts, Chandigarh (he passed out in 1981) has been working on masks till now and has held many exhibitions on them. It is for the first time that he is exhibiting his paintings and drawings at Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University. His paintings depict the same subject, how masking of expressions has become an integral part of our lives. The relationship between a husband and wife is not untouched. Viney says "It is only when they are together and it is at the most intimate moment, when both of them have been transported into ‘shuunya’ that the mask slips. But before and after that everything is the same". Even India's going nuclear has another side for this artist. In his opinion India might have attained a new status in the eye of other countries. But it went against us, the sanctions were stopped. Plus, we are becoming suicidal and teaching violence to younger generation. The topic chosen by Viney might be serious but the colours used are in stark contrast. They are all lively and cheerful lending a pleasantness to the exhibition hall. Along with big canvases he has presented a few miniature masks too, set against black background. All the pieces are interesting and thought provoking. —
Priti Verma |
Punjabi film on lines of 'DDLJ' CHANDIGARH: Clinking glasses, blaring music, autograph hunters, sounds of "Action" — all these and much more set the mood for a filmi party at Kwality, Sector 14, on Monday evening, where the film unit of Punjabi film "Dard Pardesan Da" had gathered for an interaction with the press. Chander Mohan Nilley, who was the associate director with Kamalahassan in 'Chachi 420', is making his directorial debut in this film. It is being produced by C.S. Sindhra, and is written and co-directed by T.P. Singh. The cast includes Avinash Wadhawan, Upasna Singh, Paramvir and Deepshikha in the lead, along with national award winner Vijay Tandon (for his role in Punjabi film 'Kacheri'). "The kind of films made in Punjabi always used to distress me, so I thought to make a Punjabi film which would provide wholesome entertainment", said T.P. Singh, who is a Punjabi NRI from London. Little wonder that 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' seems to be the 'inspiring' source for his film. "Punjabi films have always catered to the lowest denominator and there is hardly any support from the government. But I've learnt my craft from the best people in the Hindi and the South Indian film industry. So I hope to give a better fare to the Punjabi audience", added director Chander Mohan. Avinash Wadhawan, who has been seen in many forgettable Hindi films like 'Papi Gudiya' with Karisma Kapoor and 'Awaaz De Kahan Hai', stated, "I've no plans to leave Hindi films and I'm doing this flim because I found the subject and role interesting. Upasna, a product of the
Indian Theatre, Panjab University, who has acted in many
Rajasthani & Gujarati films, said, "There are
lots of attempts being made today to produce 'good'
Punjabi films & 'Dard Pardesan Da' is one such film.
And if such films do not perform well at the box-office,
then there will be no second chance for Punjabi
films". — Sonoo Singh |
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