& V I C I N I T Y
Wednesday, November 18, 1998
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Wednesday, November 18, 1998 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
NOS plan to expand distant schooling Mishap
victim left to die on roadside |
 |
 IAF safety record better:
Air Chief Tomatoes
'dethrone' onions |
|
Grievances
panel holds meeting Nine
booths fetch CHB Rs 1.84 crore Two
killed, 5 hurt in mishap Jerath
case adjourned Plays
captivate audience Sacred
Heart team tops quiz contest Eucalyptus
‘not depleting’ water table |
||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
Chowkidar "sights"
mysterious fireball CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Did a mysterious fireball of the size of a soccer ball strike Sector 29-D in the small hours of this morning? If the chowkidar of the Sector 29-D market and his burnt clothes are to be believed, yes, it did. Ram Charan, a 70-year-old bearded chowkidar of the market, says he was on his routine "patrol" near the market last night. At about 1.30 a.m., when he paused for a while leaning against the railing of the Rehri Market he noticed a big fireball coming down rapidly. The fireball, he says, was as big as a soccer ball. "It was amazing. I saw it coming down and heading towards the Government School building. My eyes followed it till my view was blocked by trees around the school building. I did not hear any sound or blast. What happened to the fireball, I did not care. To be frank, I was little scared. "After about 10 minutes, I started feeling as if my head was becoming hot. The moment I moved my hand over my head, I got a burning sensation. The blanket I use at night for keeping myself warm was burning. Another piece of cloth with which I had covered my head as a turban was also burning. "Immediately, I tried to put out the fire. Though I was scared and became suspicious, nothing happened afterwards. I am still not able to find out how the blanket and a piece of cloth with which I had covered my head caught fire," says Ram Charan. "Did anyone else notice the fireball?" we asked the old man. "There were about 20 persons lying in the corridor of the Booths Market. But all were asleep. Such a thing has never happened in my life before," he adds. Even in the morning, he could not pick up enough courage to go to the school building or nearby area to find out where that fireball had landed. Ram Charan showed us his
burnt blanket and piece of cloth. Before taking up the
present assignment, he had worked as a chowkidar for a
contractor in Sector 29-D and lives behind the CBI
Colony. |
NOS plan to expand distant
schooling CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — With a view to providing an opportunity of education to those having failed in attaining formal education owing to multiple factors, the National Open School is planning to expand its network in the country as well as abroad. As a part of the expansion programme, a regional centre of the NOS is being set up here which will be inaugurated at the ICSSR complex of Panjab University tomorrow. In addition to catering to the needs of the students, the centre will coordinate with state governments to widen the scope of distant school education. Addressing a press conference at the Press Club here today, the Chairman of the school, Prof M.B. Menon, said the NOS was striving to popularise the concept of the distant school so as to enable the poor and deprived to change their lot by mingling work with studies. As a step towards this direction, the NOS was planning to open more study centres in the northern region as the present strength of these centres in Punjab(10), Himachal (2) and Jammu and Kashmir was not enough to cope with the requirements of students belonging to these states. "Owing to a large number of requests we are going to set up a study centre in Nepal, which will be functional by January next," he added while saying that during the Ninth Five-Year Plan the number of regional centres would be increased from eight to 18."Now we are concentrating more on rural areas as out of 80 millions of uneducated children a large number hail from rural areas," he said. Regarding recognition of NOS courses and job avenues available to those opting for different courses, Professor Menon said as many as 101 out of 203 universities of the country had accorded recognition and there was no problem for getting jobs in the private sector. "The NOS students were, however, facing problems in the public sector on account of difference of curriculum in different states," he admitted. He said to enable the students to get employment after clearing their matriculation, the NOS had included several vocational courses like cycle repair, X-ray technology, agriculture, computer applications in the curriculum. Regarding the medium of education, he said the students could opt out of English, Hindi and Urdu, and Punjabi was going to be introduced as a language shortly. He said the NOS was getting a good response and there were four lakh students on its roles from all over the country with an addition of 1.3 lakh students during the current year. "Though people are
reluctant and largely unaware of this mode of education,
even then, they are coming to us in a big way since,
unlike formal education, the open school system is
flexible and sans any rigidities regarding subjects,
syllabus and duration of the courses," he added. |
IAF safety record better: Air
Chief CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — While stressing the need to ensure stringent flight safety standards and better maintenance of aircraft and equipment, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen, said today that the flight safety record of the Indian Air Force had improved substantially during the past two years. The Air Chief accompanied by his wife, Aruna, was on a farewell visit to the Air Force Station here. While addressing the personnel of 12 wing 3 Base Repair Depot, the Air Chief Marshal said it was a matter of pride for the officers and other ranks that due to their efforts only 16 air crashes had occurred during last year which was the lowest and a record in the history of the force. "I think this is a matter of tremendous success in the recent past, especially when the figure was as alarming as 34 crashes in 1990," he added. Referring to the painstaking efforts put in by both ground and operational staff in ensuring better maintenance of aircraft, Air Chief Marshal Sareen said owing to a high degree of dedication among all ranks, the flying target of 20 hours was achieved in the past three years. Admitting that the flying hours had touched an all-time low at six to seven hours due to a shortage of spares after fragmentation of the erstwhile USSR, the Air Chief Marshal said with the hard work of all ranks it had become possible to undertake 28 per cent more flights during the past one year. Referring to an agitation by the pilots and other staff last year, he said though the force faced a little problem when a few "misguided" opted for an agitational course," we have come off well during the past 12 months and were able to successfully organise the largest flypast and air shows over 24 major cities all over the country." Referring to the welfare measures being undertaken for the Air Force personnel, he said more and more attention was being paid for providing accommodation to the personnel by earmarking Rs 112 crore for this purpose during this year as compared to Rs 85 crore, an accumulated amount of the past two years. Besides this, 15 hostels have been set up in different cities to solve the problem of accommodation of wards of the Air Force personnel. Similarly, the insurance policy amount was increased by three times, and there was a two-fold hike in the amount of loan for housing and vehicles, he said. The president of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association, Mrs Aruna Sareen, also addressed a gathering of the members of the local unit of AFWWA. Earlier, on his arrival
the Air Chief was received by Air Vice-Marshal T.M.
Asthana, Air Officer Commanding, Advance Headquarters,
Air Commodore R.V. Kumar, and other senior officers. A
guard of hounour was also presented to him. |
Mishap victim left to die on
roadside SAS NAGAR, Nov 17 — In a shocking case, a 56-year-old man, who was involved in an accident, died the next morning after lying on the roadside overnight within a walking distance from the local Civil Hospital. Residents have condemned the police for not acting responsibly and failing to do its duty. The president of Durga Mandir in Phase VI here, Mr Rajinder Prasad Sharma, said today that the victim, Karam Singh, a resident of Khooni Majra, probably fell down while trying to board a CTU bus (route No. 38) at the bus stop near the temple. It was around 9.25 p.m. on Saturday. The victim's right leg, he said, seemed to have come under a tyre of the vehicle. Mr Sharma said persons at the autorickshaw stand near the accident scene informed the local police. He then left for a satsang near Sector 71 here. Witnesses today said people meanwhile put the seriously injured man on a bench on the roadside. Two policemen then came there on a scooter. As the victim did not want to be taken to the hospital, but to his home in Khooni Majra, the policemen left without taking any further action. Mr Sharma said he was shocked to see around 6.30 a.m. the next day that the victim had not been shifted to the hospital. He then rushed Karam Singh in an autorickshaw to the Civil Hospital where he was initially told by a doctor to take the injured man to the PGI. Ultimately, the victim was admitted to the hospital. Mr Sharma said he then
rang up the police station as well as the SP's office
repeatedly, but no one came. An address was found in the
victim's pocket and Mr Sharma then informed his relatives
in the village. However, Karam Singh died around 11.15
a.m. The police came much later and did the necessary
paper work. A post-mortem was done yesterday which
indicated that the lower leg had been crushed. |
Tomatoes 'dethrone' onions CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Tomatoes seem to have "dethroned" onions as far as their prices are concerned. During a survey of different sector markets, it was found that tomatoes were available at a minimum price of Rs 45 a kg. However, tomatoes of good quality were even priced more for Rs 50 a kg. Only yesterday the commodity was priced at Rs 40 and during last week at Rs 30. Similarly, in the markets in Sectors 18 and 19 ginger was priced at Rs 32 and Rs 28 a kg, respectively.The same was available at a price between Rs 20 and Rs 24 in the Sector 20 and Sector 29 markets, respectively. Likewise, a kg of garlic
was priced on a higher side at Rs 60. However, there was
no major difference in the prices of other commodities. |
Court orders on common wall CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The Civil Judge, Mr K.C. Garg, today restrained a house owner in sector 16 from demolishing a common boundary wall between his house and that of his neighbour. The problem surfaced when
Joginder Shangari, Jatinder Shangari, Anil Bhasin and
Shalini Bhasin , owners of a house demolished the
boundary wall and started the construction of a room.
Their neighbour, Mr Tilak Raj Malhotra, objected to it
saying that this would block access to sun light, fresh
air and other rights he was enjoying in the past 30
years. |
Grievances panel holds meeting PANCHKULA, Nov17— The Sarpanch of Bagwali village today complained to the Deputy Commissioner that a priest was allegedly trying to usurp 36 acres of land registered in the name of Thakur Mandir at the village. He alleged that the priest, who was residing at Ram Darbar in Chandigarh, had brought anti-social elements in the mandir complex for the purpose. This, along with 12 other complaints, was received at the monthly meeting of the District Grievances Redressal Committee which was conducted by the Deputy Commissioner at the Mini-Secretariat here today. In another complaint, the House Owners Welfare Association of Sector 19 complained that a bus service, run by the Haryana Roadways for government employees from their sector to Sector 17 in Chandigarh, had been suspended since September 14, 1997. Some complaints of
personal nature were also received at the darbar. Of the
total complaints received, eight complaints were
redressed on the spot. |
Nine booths fetch CHB Rs 1.84 crore CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) today netted an amount of Rs 1.84 crore through the auction of nine commercial booths in the MIG Housing Complex in Sector 61. The auction witnessed a good response from the public with a large number of bidders thronging the auction site since morning. As the market was strategically located to cater to the needs of a large population in the Housing Complex, Phase VII, SAS Nagar, and the Rehabilitation Colony, Sector 52, there was a keen competition among the bidders. The highest price fetched by a booth was Rs 34 lakh. Two other booths also fetched a price of over Rs 30 lakh. The Chief Executive
Officer of the CHB, Mr M.L. Sharma, under whose
supervision the auction was conducted, said this was one
of the highest prices fetched by a booth in the auctions
by the board. |
Jerath case adjourned CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh today adjourned to November 26 the application moved by Mr Kapil Jerath, son of the former Chief Engineer of Chandigarh Administration, Mr K.K. Jerath, raising objections to the move of the Administration to attach his father's property. Earlier, counsel for Mr Jerath told the court that there was need for framing issues on this subject, as certain points would have to be proved by the prosecution by leading evidence. The Magistrate adjourned
the case with a view to considering the question raised
by Mr Jerath's counsel. |
Plays captivate audience CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The second day of the ongoing Panjab University Zone "B" Youth Festival in DAV College, Sector 10 was steeped in colour and entertainment. The day began with a debate on "The elders have failed, let the youth take over" followed by a poetry recitation competition which saw a couple of passionate speakers with self-composed poems to their credit. The round was presided over by Prof. Romesh Chandra, former Head of the Department of the host college. Simultaneously, in the college lawns, participants tried their hand at cartooning, rangoli, drawing from life, landscape and still life. Mr Prem Singh, a renowned artist and a faculty member of the Arts College was the Chief Guest. Most of the participants of the histrionics event were not fully prepared as they registered their names at the last moment. The day clearly belonged to the drama category. Perfidy formed the central theme in most plays. Powerful performances by SGGS and SD College kept the audience captivated and glued to their seats. Fillers between five plays were interesting but the performance by the orchestra of the host college outshone the rest. The results for today's
events are as follows: Debate: Ankit Goyal of SD College,
Sector 32 (1st) and Ashminder Singh of SGGS, Sector 26
(2nd); Poetry: Aakarshan of DAV College, Sector 10 (1st)
and RamBhaj `Rusic' of Government College, Sector 46
(2nd); Cartooning: Amandeep Shukla of DAV College, Sector
10 (1st) and Balkrishan Joshi of Government College,
Sector 46 (2nd); Rangoli: Kamalpreet Kaur of Government
College, Sector 46 (1st) and Nishi Mithali of SD College,
Sector 32 (2nd); Landscape: Devinder of Government
College, Sector 46 (1st) and Amandeep of Government
Colllege, Sector 46 (2nd); Still Life: Manoj of
Government College, Sector 46 (1st) and Sumit Rinwa of
Government College, Sector 11 (2nd); Drawing From Life:
Manu Sharma of Government College, Sector 46 (1st) and
Golmei Jendum of DAV College, Sector 10 (2nd);
Histrionics: Kapil Kalyan of Government College, Sector
11(1st); Drama: SD College, Sector 32 (1st) and
Government College, Sector 11 (2nd). |
Two killed, 5 hurt in mishap CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Two persons, including a city resident, died in an accident on the Chandigarh-Delhi highway near Gharaunda in Karnal district this morning. One of the deceased, Balbir Singh, is a resident of Sector 37 here. A truck (CH-01-N-2014) owned by Suraj Bhan was carrying 30 persons who were returning after attending a Nirankari samagam in Delhi. Five persons, all of Sector 37, received serious injuries and were admitted to the PGI. The injured have been identified as Satnam Singh, his wife Somi, Ms Sudesh, Ms Mamata and Ms Sudhesh. The identity of second
deceased could not be known. |
Sacred Heart team tops quiz
contest CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Cartoon-making, slogan writing and quiz contests were the highlights on the second day of the Children Day-cum-book week being organised Central State Library, Sector 17, here today. While Rakesh Kumar bagged the first prize in the sub-junior section of the cartoon-making, Vinay won the first prize in the junior section. Parkash Vashisht won the first prize in the senior section. In the slogan-writing contest, Jyoti won the first prize in the sub-junior group. Apoorv Pandhi and Deepa Seth won the first prizes, respectively in the junior and senior groups. In the quiz contest, teams
from Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Vivek High
School, and Shishu Niketan Model High School won the
first, second and third prizes, respectively. |
Eucalyptus ‘not depleting’
water table CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The studies conducted on eucalyptus at Forest Research Institute , Dehradun and elsewhere have proved that eucalyptus was not depleting the water table but it is the most efficient user of available water as it produces more biomasses per litre of water consumed as compared to indigenous shisham and jamun. The Minister of State for Forests, Mr Jagdish Yadav, today said that eucalyptus was ready for harvesting after eight years and if properly seasoned, eucalyptus wood would become as good as other timber species. He said that the demand for planting eucalyptus was again rising in Haryana. The planting of eucalyptus in Haryana had got a temporary setback during 1987-88 when drought forced the farmers to fell eucalyptus trees growing on their farm boundaries. Because of the sudden felling of eucalyptus, the market was flooded with wood, he added. The Minister said that in case it consumed more water, it also produced more wood within the shortest period. He called upon the people to plant eucalyptus at least at such places where there was stagnant water and it was not possible to grow anything there. Mr Yadav said that
eucalyptus could also untilise waste water like sewerage
and industrial effluent for which very less species had
tolerance. He assured the farmers of Haryana that the
prices of eucalyptus would not come down in future as the
Forests Development Corporation had been established in
the state to promote afforestation. He revealed that the
price of eucalyptus, poplar and many other species had
not only stabilised but also increased since the setting
up of the Haryana Forests Development Corporation. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — A teenager reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree this afternoon while, in separate incidents, two other persons have died in and around the city within past 24 hours. Surinder, alias Dillu, 18, a son of a labourer living in Janata colony, Sector 25, was found hanging from a tree in the woods near Sector 25. The police suspect that a failed love affair may have provoked driven youth to such act. A poetry book on which he had penned a romantic line for his yet unidentified beloved has been recovered by the police, according to sources. Meanwhile, the Sector 26 police has found the body of a taxi driver who reportedly died due to excessive drinking. Balbir Singh of Alipur village in Ropar district used to ply his cab from the Sector 27 taxi stand, his body was found at the same stand. The driver was in his forties and habitual drinker. Shankar Lal, a resident of the Kansal village had received internal injuries in an accident on November 14. He, however, did not disclosed this to his family. The injuries probably led to his death this morning, according to sources. The bodies of all the three have been sent for post mortem examination. 2 cops booked: Two constables of the Chandigarh police have been booked for allegedly harassing a Sector 40 woman, who is the wife of a Punjab police personnel. A case was registered in the Sector 36 police station today against Ravinder Singh and Thakur Singh, both posted in the lines. They had allegedly manhandled her in civil clothes a few weeks ago. The woman complained to the police about it, however, no action was taken. On the other hand, the constables reached the woman's home to threaten her. She then lodged a complaint to the Inspector-General of Police and a case under Sections 323, 354, 341, 506 and 34 of the IPC was registered following an inquiry, police sources confirmed. Women take poison: Three persons, including two women, have been admitted to the PGI after they consumed a poisonous substance in separate incidents. Harpreet Singh of Sector 14, Panchkula, reportedly consumed some substance that led to his hospitalisation. Gurjeet Kaur of Sector 22 consumed a substance at home while Sashikala, 20, a resident of Solan was admitted after she consumed poisonous substance near Pallika Bazaar in Sector 19. In a separate incident, Kabul Singh of Phase XI SAS Nagar, fell off the roof of his home and was hospitalised. Proclaimed offenders held: The Sector 26 police has nabbed three proclaimed offenders who had jumped bail from court. Parminder Singh, Pradeep Kumar and Rajinder Kumar were nabbed today. A case under Sections 325 and 34 of the IPC is already pending against them, sources said. Drug peddler held: The CIA wing of the Police today nabbed an inter state drug peddler from the city and seized 15 kg of poppy husk from him. A party of the CIA staff led by Inspector K.I.P. Singh laid a trap near Dhillon Cinema and nabbed Gurdev Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib district. He has been booked under the NDPS Act. Hurt: Two women have been injured in separate road accidents in the city since this morning. Ms Uma Ahuja of Sector 27 was riding a scooter when she was hit by a car near KC Cinema this afternoon. Jyoti of Sector 22 was walking when she was hit by a scooter in the same sector. Both have been admitted to the PGI. Arrested: Sarwan
Kumar alias Bhola, was arrested by the police tonight for
running a gambling racket in the grain market here. Bhola
used to issue chits with numbers on them. The payment
used to be paid through a countrywide network. A case
under the Gambling Act has been registered. |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
