& V I C I N I T Y
Thursday, September 3, 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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Thursday, September 3, 1998 |
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 — A Tribune photograph by Karam Singh UT-Mohali
causeway collapses |
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 Agencies violate LPG safety rules CHANDIGARH Sept 2 — A major fire tragedy can occur anytime in the city as a large number of gas agencies are not allegedly taking the prescribed safety measures in regard to transportation, handling and storage of liquid petroleum gas cylinders.
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Investigation on, says
police Pay
15,000 as damages, car company told Samples
of pickles collected My
sister was murdered, says brother Lyallpuri
flays BJP government Unfazed
Tara makes confessional statement Suspects'
bail plea rejected in Burail jail case |
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UT-Mohali causeway collapses CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — Weather-beaten causeway connecting the Union Territory of Chandigarh with SAS Nagar finally gave way today and hundreds of daily users of the causeway had to be diverted through alternative routes. Repair work was under progress when The Tribune team visited the scene. Police officials at the diversion point said that the traffic on this causeway had been stalled since 8 a.m. Local residents, however, pointed out that a major portion of the causeway gave away yesterday. Officials of the engineering department at the scene said that the collar connecting two pipes had been damaged . This led to a seepage in the land under the pipes and due to the constant pressure the land sagged. The repair work would take a minimum of 20 days for completion and rains too pose a threat of a possible delay, the official said. Apart from the broken joint of pipes, one could also see underground telephone cables. There was a visible damage to them. No one from the telecommunication department was present at the scene in the morning. The official added that even the telephone cables would have to be shifted, and services to those connected through these cables were likely to be affected. It has been a long-standing demand of the residents to construct a permanent bridge at the scene. The problem of water flowing the causeway and blocking traffic for hours during the monsoon is a perennial problem. There have also been cases of vehicles being washed away in the water current. The causeway was built
during the Congress session at Kamagata Maru. |
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Agencies violate LPG safety rules CHANDIGARH Sept 2 — A major fire tragedy can occur anytime in the city as a large number of gas agencies are not allegedly taking the prescribed safety measures in regard to transportation, handling and storage of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders. According to sources, a majority of agencies have been violating fire safety norms prescribed under Rule 10 of the Gas Cylinders Rules 1981, especially in case of transportation and storage of cylinders. The cylinders are transported to the houses of the customers through vehicles such as tractor-trailers or horse-driven carts, without taking safety aspects into consideration to cut costs. According to sources in the Department of Explosives, such a practice is not in accordance with the safety norms, as cylinders, particularly leaking ones, could catch fire due to friction caused by jerks owing to unreliable braking system of these vehicles or in the case of cylinders falling off such vehicles due to their unstability. The gas agencies are flouting the norms in spite of warnings by the department which has also suggested that not more than seven cylinders be ferried at a time on three-wheelers. Another thing which is disturbing the officials of the department is the non-compliance of safety rules by the licensees while storing the cylinders. Many agencies were not taking proper care towards the maintenance of the godowns storing the cylinders. During inspections, they found that the safety meshes in the godown ventilators were damaged. And in almost 90 per cent of the buildings, proper stacking of cylinders was not being undertaken. The norms specify that there should be a distance of about 60 cm between two rows of cylinders having no more than three cylinders in vertical manner, so as to make the task of identification and replacement of a leaking cylinder from amongst the rows easy. Similarly, the floors of the godowns should be properly metalled, but in reality, even the buildings of a number of godowns were not being maintained properly and were even without boundary walls, the sources disclosed. The department had issued warning notices to nearly eight of such 'erring' licensees. The Deputy Chief
Controller of Explosives, Mr O. P. Upadhaya, confirmed
that the 'erring' licence holders have been warned
against all such unsafe practices. However, no extreme
action — revocation or suspension of their licences
— had been taken, keeping in view the harassment to
the public in that case. |
CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — In the wake of stiff opposition from traders, employees and political parties, the paid parking process in Sector 17 remained suspended for the second day today. As soon as the contractors at the three parking lots in the sector — in front of the Empire Stores, GPO and from the Bata shoe store to the traffic light point — started issuing parking slip, employees, traders and leaders of the Congress and the SJP, opposed them and urged the vehicle users entering the area not to pay the contractors for using the parking lots. Tension ensued between the contractors and the protesters at the parking lot in front of the GPO. A shopkeeper, Mr Sarbjit Cheema, allegedly sustained minor injuries on his hand when he was allegedly attacked by an employee of the contractor. Sensing trouble, Mr P. S. Gill, SDM, accompanied by a strong contingent of police arrived at the scene and tried to pacify the agitators, but in vain. The agitators were particularly objecting to the contractors' claims that in case of theft of a vehicle the contractors would not be responsible. At this moment the SDM met the officials of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh (MCC) to thrash out a solution. A contractor at the parking lot in front of the Empire Stores told The Tribune that though he had issued nearly 100 parking slips in the morning he had to discontinue the process as he had been ordered by the SDM to do so. The SDM could not be contacted for his version till late in the evening. Later addressing a press conference, Mr Subhash Chawla, a Congress leader, and Mr Devinder Babla, an SJP leader, and representatives of the traders and employees said the agitation would continue till the MCC withdrew its decision to levy a parking fee. They urged the Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, to withdraw the decision in public interest. Meanwhile, bank and LIC employees at a meeting here today decided to intensify their agitation against the implementation of the parking fee scheme by the MCC. Mr Gupta, when contacted, said there was no question of withdrawing the MCC decision as it had been passed by the House of the civic body. He added that from the MCC side the levy of parking fee had started and it was for the Chandigarh Administration to ensure that there was no law and order problem. In fact the MCC had written to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard, he added. Mr Gupta alleged that the
issue had been politicised by a handful of leaders and
traders. The MCC decision had the support of an
overwhelming majority of residents, including traders of
Sector 17, he claimed. |
CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — Two cyclists have been injured in separate accidents in the city in the past 24 hours. Mr Musafer Singh Yadav of Sector 25 was hit by a car near Panjab University while an unidentified cyclist was hit by a truck near Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47. The driver of the truck, Balwinder Singh, has been arrested. The injured have been admitted to the PGI. Booked for duping: Kamaljit Singh, a peon working in the Punjab Civil Secretariat, has been booked for allegedly duping Mr O.P. Puri a fellow employee, of Rs 2,963. Mr Puri had been given the peon the amount to pay his water and electricity bills. The accused however, did not deposit the bills and signed the receipt himself. Scooter stolen: A scooter (PB-27-9169) owned by Mr Mahipal Gir of Chandpur village, in Ropar district has reportedly been stolen from the GMCH parking. Body found: The body of a girl aged around 15 was found from Sukhna Lake here on Wednesday. The cause of the death could not be ascertained immediately, the police said. PANCHKULA Cyclist dead: A cyclist died after being hit by a truck near the roundabout of Sectors 11 and 12 here on Tuesday. The victims, Arjun Dev, a resident of Sector, 2 succumbed to his injuries at the PGI. A case under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC, had been registered. Cycle stolen: Som Nath in a complaint lodged with the police said his bicycle was stolen from the parking in front of the HUDA office in Sector 8 here on Tuesday. A case under Section 379,
IPC, has been registered. |
Pay 15,000 as damages, car
company told CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Premier Automobiles to pay Rs 15,000 as damages to a local consumer who alleged dissatisfactory service of his car. Mr J.B. Garg, president, and Mr Sada Nand and Mrs P. Ojha, both members, gave the order on a written complaint filed by Mr Sanjay Majithia, a resident of Sector 9. Mr Majithia in his complaint alleged that the car he purchased from Delhi Automobiles in Industrial Area of the UT in June, 1993, did not give him satisfactory service. He made a complaint to the Consumer Redressal Forum which was dismissed. The commission noticed that "on behalf of the appellant, considerable stress has been laid on the fact that why merely after covering 27,000 km, the dealers felt the necessity to open the engine and that too without prior notice of the owner. Maybe, the dealers wanted to conceal that the working of the engine was really not found satisfactory." The commission noticed that "normally a perfect engine does not require extensive repairs and replacement of rings merely after 27,000 km." The commission added that the vehicle in question was not up to the mark and it constituted deficiency in service. The commission ordered
that a sum of Rs 15,000 should be paid to Mr Majithia
within a period of two months. |
Lyallpuri flays BJP government CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The "treacherous collaborationist policies" of the CPM and the CPI with the Congress and the United Front were responsible for the growth of the BJP in the country, and the continuation of the ruling party was a bad omen for the minorities. This was stated by Mr Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, secretary of the Marxist Communist Party of India (MCPI), while addressing a press conference to announce the holding of the third four-day congress of the party in Chandigarh from September 10 in which 250 delegates from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the city will take part. The congress will deliberate on capitalism versus Socialism and the present economic situation in the country, he revealed. Mr Lyallpuri said the failure of the Left democratic forces to fight the anti-people economic and political forces had resulted in growth of communal, fundamentalist and casteist forces in the country. Therefore, the holding of the congress was an attempt to call upon all "genuine Marxist Leninists", including the lowest cadres in the CPM and the CPI to come together and unite on one platform to challenge the "neo-colonialism" in India. Given the present economic condition in the country, the congress would also give a call to march towards the people's democratic revolution, leading to a Socialist system, he added. Commenting on the Pokhran nuclear blasts, he said the BJP had managed to "internationalise" the Kashmir issue. Emphasising the need to
come together at this juncture, Mr Lyallpuri said that
the "failure of economic policies" being
pursued at the behest of the capitalist system in South
East Asia had dangerous portends for the future of the
country if the government persisted with the current
liberalisation policy. |
Unfazed Tara makes confessional
statement CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — In a sensational revelation, Jagtar Singh Tara, one of the suspects in the Beant Singh assassination case, today made a confessional statement before the Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, who is conducting trial of the case in high-security Burail jail, that he was with Bhai Dilawar Singh at the time of Beant Singh's assassination. In a two-page hand written statement that he filed in the court, Tara stated: "If killing Beant Singh is an offence, then I am prepared for the consequences". Later "Tara raised slogans like "Khalistan zindabad," "Bhai Dilawar Singh zindabad", "Babbar Khalsa zindabad" and "Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale zindabad". Attired in grey colour T-shirt and blue pant and sporting kesri 'patka', Tara appeared to be unfazed in the courtroom while making the confessional statement. Later the judge enquired who was the defence counsel. Mr D.S. Chimni told the court that Balwant Singh had also moved a similar application in the court which was placed on the record of the court for consideration at the appropriate time. CBI counsel, too, corroborated what was said by Mr Chimni. Meanwhile, the Sessions Judge has started the examination-in-chief of Mr Madanjit Singh Chhinna, an employee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Madanjit Singh had introduced Lakhvinder Singh, another accused in the case, to painter Surinder Sharma. Tara and Jagtar Singh
Hawara had purchased a white Ambassador car which was
used in perpetrating the crime. |
Investigation on, says police PANCHKULA, Sept 2 — The police is investigating a case in which two persons, including a retired Army officer, were allegedly cheated by an Ambala-based property dealer for selling a plot on the basis of a fake general power of attorney (GPA) in Haripur village in Sector 4 here. A case under sections 420, 463, 468 and 471 of the IPC has already been registered against the property dealer. Major S.P. Singh and Mr Raj Malhotra in a complaint to the police alleged that the property dealer who was known to them came to their house in 1995 and offered a piece of land, measuring 916 sq yard in Haripur village. The property dealer told them that he had the power of attorney of Mr Jarnail Singh for the said plot , which was lying vacant. On June 25, 1995, the deal was finalised for Rs 25 lakh. Of the total amount Rs 3.50 lakh was paid to the property dealer. The purchasers were assured that they would be shown the original power of attorney before they made any further payment on August 27, 1995. They alleged that after sometime the property dealer refused completely that he had taken money from them and entered into an agreement for the sale of the plot. On enquiries the complainants found that on the plot shown to them by the property dealer the building of a school had come up and the GPA shown to them was a fake document. Major S.P. Singh, said that the police had done little to arrest the property dealer. The SP, Mr Alok Mittal,
when contacted said the case was being investigated. |
Samples of pickles collected CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — Keeping in mind the ongoing dropsy scare, teams of the UT health department today collected samples of pickles being sold in the city while the PGI announced that a seminar on dropsy will be organised on September 9. A total of six samples of pickles were collected from various shops of the city this evening. These include locally made bottled pickles and the pickles that area sold loose in the market, sources said. If the mustard oil used in the pickles is bad it could be like slow poisoning, doctors said. No case of dropsy has so far been reported in any of the three hospitals in the city. Meanwhile, the PGI is organising a symposium on dropsy. It will cover the clinical features, the effect of the disease on the eyes and how dropsy is caused among humans beings. Apart from doctors of the PGI, doctors from General Hospital, Sector 16, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and Army Hospital will participate in the symposium, PGI authorities said. The PGI has also invited
the local unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to
ensure participation of private practitioners. |
My sister was murdered, says
brother SAS NAGAR, Sept 2 — Brother of a 27-year-old woman who died at Shahbad yesterday, has alleged that his sister was murdered over a property dispute. Mr Jasminder Singh, who lives in Phase I here, said that his sister, Pardeep Kaur, had handed over some jewellery and cash to her brothers-in-law when her husband died in April this year. However, they refused to give them back to her when she asked for them. Instead they were asking her to vacate the house in which she was living. She refused to do so as the house had been built by her late husband. The brother said that Pardeep Kaur was stabbed several times yesterday with sharp-edged weapons. Her body was brought here today from Shahbad and cremated. A case in this regard was
registered yesterday at Shahbad on the statement made by
the eight-year-old daughter of the deceased. |
Honesty pays, not always PANCHKULA, Sept 2 — A constable of the Haryana Police would never have dreamt that doing his duty could cost him dearly. The constable, Surinder, who had seized 12 cartons of different brands of IMFL, being carried in an autorickshaw near Shakti bhavan chowk yesterday, had a taste of it. According to sources in the police two persons — Karam Singh, an employee of local Gymkhana Club, and Paras Nath,driver of the autorickshaw — were nabbed for carrying the liquor without permission. They were taken to the Sector 5 police station and a case under the Excise Act was registered against them. The employee of the Gymkhana Club then reportedly called up his employer following which the relevant papers were produced after over two hours. Sources said that a phone call from high-ups spelled doom for the unsuspecting cop who was sent to the police lines. The SP, Mr Alok Mittal, when contacted said as the relevant papers were produced soon after the incident the case against the two persons would be cancelled. He termed the move to send
the constable to the police lines as a "departmental
matter." |
Warning to
loose-oil sellers CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The UT Health Department has said those found selling loose mustard oil will be liable for punishment under Section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Violators of the ban can
be imprisoned for six months not exceeding three years
and a fine not less than Rs 1000 can be imposed on them. |
Plant herbal saplings, says Governor CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, today exhorted the people and voluntary organisations to plant maximum number of herbal saplings and shrubs in and around religious, educational, social and public places during the annual vanamahotsava celebrations. He was participating in the vanamahotsava celebrations at Sri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine at Panchkula, where he planted a sapling of "Belpatra". Mr M.K Miglani, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Local Bodies, assured the Governor that the Local Government Department would accord top priority to plant medicinal trees in the temple complex during the ongoing vanamahotsava celebrations. Mrs Saroj Siwach, Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, informed the Governor that the state forest department had planted 1000 herbal saplings and shrubs of various species in Herbal Garden, Morni. Over 800 saplings of different species had been planted in today's mass saplings, plantation campaign at the temple complex which was sponsored by the Rotary Club and Inner Wheel Club of Panchkula. Earlier, the Governor
instructed the temple authorities to get repaired all the
rich and ancient wall murals of the temple keeping in
view the original form of these art works. |
MA II
(music vocals) results out CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The results of MA II (music vocals) conducted by Panjab University in April were declared here today. Copies of the result
gazette will be available at enquiry counter of the
university at gymnasium hall on all working days. |
Blood
donation camp by regiment CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — A medium Artillery regiment organised a two-day blood donation camp at Ambala as part of its silver jubilee celebrations. Aimed at inculcating the spirit of helping the needy, the camp was a great success. To instil a sense of adventure, a six-day trekking expedition, 'Badhe Chalo', was organised from Kalka to Nahan. During the expedition, a
team comprising two officers, two JCOs and six other
ranks covered a distance of 225 km. |
Toddlers'
club PANCHKULA, Sept 2 — The JPA Public School in Sector 10 has launched a toddlers' club that will teach alphabets, numbers, colours, nursery rhymes and other related aspects on the computer. The school management says
this is a new playway method of teaching children aged
between two and three. |
Suspects' bail plea rejected in
Burail jail case CHANDIGARH, Sept 2 — The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr G.S. Sandhu, today turned down the bail applications of Satnam Singh and Baljit Singh, two suspects in the Burail jail blow-up conspiracy case. The plea of the applicants was that the police had failed to file challan in the court within the statutory period of 60 days. Therefore, they were entitled to be enlarge on bail. The argument of the
prosecution, on the other hand, was that the time for
filing the challan was 90 days. Therefore, the suspects
were not entitled to bail. |
Stone crushers' plea PANCHKULA, Sept 2 — The Chandimandir — Surajpur Stone Crushers' Association has urged the state government to relax the distance parameters mandatory to run stone crushers. The president of the association, Mr Varinder Sidhu, has sought relaxation of the distance parameters as applicable in Punjab. He said the minimum
distance for setting of stone crushers from a village
'abadi deh' (lal dora) should be 250 meters of the
present 850 metres. |
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