& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, September 28, 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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Monday, September 28, 1998 |
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 'Heads' of Ravana, Kumbhkarna and Meghnatha being carried by artists for giving final touches to the effigies as part of Dasehra preparations in Sector 17 in Chandigarh on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma  Man sustains burns in fire CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — One person sustained serious burn injuries in a major fire that broke out in the basement of a showroom in Sector 26 here this morning. |
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‘The
India Run’ flagged off to Ambala Villagers
write to adviser on water supply PGI
venue for eye conference |
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Man sustains burns in basement
fire CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — One person sustained serious burn injuries in a major fire that broke out in the basement of a showroom in Sector 26 here this morning. Though the fire, which broke out in the basement serving as a godown for storing certain chemicals at about 11 a.m., was brought under control in a couple of hours, the nauseating smoke could be seen billowing out of the basement till about 5 p.m. Thick smoke and chemical vapours continued to hamper the fire-fighting operation for hours together as the firemen could not reach the basement on account of narrow stairs and blocking of the passage leading to the basement, the Chief Fire Officer, Mr Darshan Singh, said. Mr Ram Iqbal, reportedly an employee of the two partners — Mr K. C. Puri and Mr Anil Bedi — who had taken the basement on rent, was admitted to the PGI in serious condition. According to eyewitnesses, Mr Iqbal climbed up the stairs and informed about the fire in the basement. He also reportedly informed that another employee, Mr Jang Bahadur, was trapped in the basement but till late in the night his whereabouts were not known. In all probability he is feared dead as the water inside the basement was yet to be drained out. Though the exact cause of the fire could not be ascertained, yet a police official, who was among the first to reach the spot, said he heard a big bang. The rising flames, the eyewitnesses said, did not reach the showrooms above. There was almost no damage to the plywood in the showroom above. At least 13 fire engines belonging to the Chandigarh Fire Service, the Indian Air Force and from SAS Nagar and Panchkula were pressed into service. As the fire engines could not do enough except sprinkling water, the Indian Air Force personnel were summoned , who poured "foam" which helped in controlling the smoke. Officials said the exact
loss of life and property could only be ascertained
tomorrow when the water was drained out. |
Bi-weekly train to Mumbai
from Kalka Chandigarh, Sept 27 — Northern Railway has decided to run a special bi-weekly train between Kalka and Mumbai Central to tide over the Durga Pooja festival rush. The first such train will start from Kalka at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow and reach Mumbai Central the next day at 10: 35 pm, according to railway officials. The train will start from Kalka on Mondays and Thursdays and from Mumbai Central on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Reservation of the train numbered as 407 Up and 408 Dn will be on computer. Booking could be made from all computerised counters of the Railways connected with Mumbai, Secunderabad, Howrah and New Delhi ticket reservations systems. Starting from Kalka the train will numbered 408 Dn and reach Chandigarh at 7: 20 pm. It’s arrival in Delhi is at 11:40 p.m. From Delhi it will leave at 12:05 a.m. and reach Mumbai around 22 hours later at 10:35 p.m. the same day. Between Delhi and Mumbai Central the train will halt at Mathura, Gangapur, Sawai Madhopur, Ratlam, Vadodra, Surat and Dadar. On its return journey the train will start from Mumbai Central at 5:25 a.m. and reach Delhi at 3:35 a.m. Leaving from there at 4:05 a.m. it will reach Chandigarh at 9 a.m. and Kalka at 9:50 a.m. Railway sources said that wait listed passengers on other Mumbai-bound trains could get their tickets converted on to this train. The train will have one AC II-tier coach, six II class sleeper coaches, two general compartments and two brake vans. Half of each brake van has passenger seating facilities. According to sources, the timings of the train have been formulated as so to allow a connection for Shimla. From Kalka all trains towards Shimla leave in the morning and return in the evening. So the long-distance train terminating at Kalka in the morning will allow a connection for Shimla as the last train leaves for Shimla around noon. It will be same for passengers returning from Shimla in the evening as the Mumbai-bound train leave Kalka at 6:30 p.m. There is every possibility
of the train being continued beyond the Pooja holidays
and may be made a regular train, thus meeting the
long-standing demand of the residents of the area. |
Kickback case: vigilance dept to CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The Duty Magistrate, Mr B.C. Gupta, today gave the custody of K.B. Sharma, Superintending Engineer with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, to the vigilance department of the Administration for custodial interrogation. Quoting Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the magistrate recorded that Cr PC clearly provided that when any person is arrested and it appeared that the investigation could not be completed within 24 hours, the prosecution would produce the suspect before the Ilaqa Magistrate for further appropriate orders. The magistrate took note of the verbal request made by counsel for the defence that the suspect suffered from certain problems. He directed that the suspect should be examined by the medical officer on duty at the Sector 16 General Hospital before he was taken for interrogation. Sharma had surrendered in the court of the Judicial Magistrate on September 25. The magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, had remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. Initiating the arguments before the Duty Magistrate, the Public Prosecutor told the court that the prosecution wanted to arrest Sharma in connection with a corruption case registered against him and certain other officials of the Engineering department. He also apprised the court of the fact that both the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court had turned down his request for anticipatory bail. Continuing his arguments, the Public Prosecutor contended that Sharma had taken money from alleged three middlemen, Dinesh Sharma, Suresh Sharma and Sunil Kalia. The prosecution wanted the custody of Sharma with a view to establishing his links both with the middlemen and other officials of the Engineering department, apart from recovering the money paid to him. The Public Prosecutor told the Duty Magistrate that the Administration had moved an application before the Ilaqa Magistrate, urging him to advance the next date of hearing and granting police remand for Sharma. It was for this reason that the Ilaqa Magistrate had fixed the case for Sunday. The Ilaqaa Magistrate had remanded Sharma in judicial custody even without issuing notice to the Administration. Opposing the Administration application, defence counsel took the stand that the Duty Magistrate was not competent to review the order of the Ilaqa Magistrate as had been held by the Supreme Court. Defence counsel further contended that once the accused was remanded in judicial custody, he could not be sent to police lock-up as was ruled by the Supreme Court as early as in 1971. Even before Sharma surrendered in the court of the Ilaqa Magistrate, he had been quizzed by the prosecution for four months. Therefore, the request of the prosecution for the police remand of Sharma was unwarranted. On examining Sharma doctors at the Sector 16 hospital recorded that he suffered from hypertension with cervical spondylosis with AN. He also had pain in the back of the neck. The Sector 16 hospital also took note of the ailments detected earlier by the PGI. As per card No. 479981 dated March 28, 1996, Sharma is a case of "borderline cardiomegaly". He has been advised regular check up in medical OPD and investigation. When the court proceedings
were in progress, the 84-year-old father of Sharma, Mr
Surinder Mohan Sharma, sat on the ground floor of the
district courts complex. Suffering from various diseases,
he was unable to climb the stairs. |
10 poor couples tie the
nuptial knot CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — As many as 10 poor couples tied the nuptial knot during a mass marriage function organised jointly by the Lions Club, Chandigarh Plaza and the Arya Samaj, Sector 12 Panchkula, at Raipur Kalan village near here today. Aimed at facilitating the poor families to arrange the marriages of their wards, these marriages were solemnised amid chanting of 'mantras' and 'shabad kirtan' and in accordance with both Hindu and Sikh rituals. Addressing the gathering comprising of the relatives of the newly wed couples, the local MP Mr Satya Pal Jain, lauded the efforts of the organisers and urged the social organisations to organise such functions regularly to enable the poor and the needy to solemnise the marriages of their children. Talking to the TNS, the chairman of the organising committee, Mr Bhaskar Arya, said most of the couples, had already been engaged but their marriages could not materialise as their parents could not afford the expenses. President of the club, Mr Ashwini Sharma, said each couple had been provided with a utensil set, a clock, five suits and two suits for the bride and bridegroom, respectively, silver jewellery, two beds and other house-hold items. He claimed that the club
and the Arya Samaj and the Shiv Shakti Mandir Samiti had
spent nearly Rs 2.5 lakh on the function and the most of
the amount had been collected by way of donations. |
‘The India Run’ flagged
off to Ambala CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — ‘The India Run’, a long distance running expedition launched by the 16th battalion of the Jat Regiment, was flagged off by Lieut- Gen H.B. Kala, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command for the next leg of the run to Ambala from Raina Stadium at Chandimandir, near here, today. The run spread over a period of 42 days took off from Jaurian in Jammu and Kashmir on September 16, and will culminate at India Gate in New Delhi on October 27 after covering a distance of 1,426 km. The run, headed by Lieut Sumeet Rawat, will pass through Jammu, Punjab and the ‘Jat belt’ of Haryana, before reaching its destination, where it will be finally flagged in by the Director-General Infantry, Lieut-Gen Shankar Prasad. General Kala, after meeting the team members at the stadium, expressed confidence that the event would promote the spirit of adventure among soldiers, in addition to promoting the image of the Army. The expedition, which is
dedicated to the infantry and the Jat Regiment, and has
been sponsored by the Hero Honda Motors Limited with
Addidas India Trading Limited providing kits to the team
members, will be flagged off from Ambala on September 28
for its next leg by Corps Commander, Lieut-Gen G.S.
Sihota. |
Villagers write to adviser on water
supply CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — Residents of Kishangarh village have complained that they have been getting muddy water for past many days. In a complaint to the Adviser, the village panchayat has alleged that there is the danger of outbreak of water-borne diseases in the village due to unhygienic water supply. It also alleged that despite a number of complaints to the authorities nothing had been done to plug the leakage of the pipeline at a number of places. The complaint was signed
by the village sarpanch and as many as 165 residents. |
PGI venue for eye conference CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The country will host an international workshop on "Vision care in children" for the first time and the PGI has been selected as the venue for it. The conference will be part of three-day eighth biennial conference of the Strabismological Society of India being held at the PGI from October 9 to 11. It is being jointly hosted by the Department of Ophthalmology, PGI and the Eye Research Foundation, Dr Kanwar Mohan of the PGI said. Several foreign and Indian
experts are to attend the conference. Foreign experts
will also perform several eye operations to give an
" hands on " training to their Indian
counterparts. |
Jagannath Rath Yatra on Nov 7 CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 —
An executive meeting of ISKCON, Chandigarh, was held
today in which it has been decided to celebrate the
Jagannath Rath Yatra on November 7 in UT. The Rath Yatra
will start from Satsang Bhavan in Grain market, and pass
through markets of Sectors 27, 19, 18, 17, 22, 23 and
terminate at Hare Krishna Dham, Sector 36-B. |
CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The body of Raju, a resident of Sanjay Colony, was found from the colony, here today. The exact cause of death could not be ascertained immediately. The police has registered a case. Suicide: An unidentified girl reportedly committed suicide by jumping into Sukhna Lake here on Sunday. The police is conducting a search for the body. Further investigations are on. Burn injuries: Two women were admitted to the PGI with serious burn injuries on Sunday. While the first victim Ram
Dulari, belonged to Maloya village, the second victim was
a resident of Dadu Majra. |
CHANDIGARH: God has endowed him with more than one creative gift. He is a writer and a poet. Poetry he does not only with his pen but through his photographs too. Not very well known to the art people of the city now but soon he will be a name to reckon with. The name is Sanjay Kumbkarni. Sanjay, hailing from Himachal, a geologist by profession (serving with Geological Survey of India) nurtures a strong passion for photography. He has been running in its pursuit for the past 12 years. He had tried his hand at painting also, "but that is very sedentary. While clicking you can move around, I find photography very gratifying". Because he loves travelling he loves his job as well, as that gives him ample opportunities to visit new places. Wherever he has gone he has brought a handful of mementoes along, all captured in the camera. The results are: superb spontaneous pictures. Each picture is a personal experience to him. For Sanjay, "this exhibition is like sharing my good moments with you. This is the reason my captions are so elaborate". Every caption has its own story to tell and they show his own involvement in each of them. Though based in Chandigarh
since 1981, Sanjay's pictures are from varied locales
— Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and
Rajasthan. They have all the variety ranging from
portraits to landscapes. There is a section of black and
white also. In his words, "I am more fond of colour,
but I do black and white even, when the bug hits me''. In
matt finish, all the frames vividly display his
extraordinary aesthetic sense and brilliant composition.
His instinct to click just at the precise moment has
enabled him to give some exemplary pictures for example
Chandigarh-based snap showing the scene of lightning. The
colours are absolutely real, so much so that all the
frames seem exquisite. This exhibition at Punjab Kala
Bhavan, till September 30 should be a must on everybody's
list. Words are not enough to describe the grandeur of
these prints. Each picture breathes life, beckoning the
visitor to come near and drink in the beauty. —
Priti Verma |
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WITH the beginning of "navratras"on September 21, it is the "Bhagwati jagaran" season again in the city, and consequently, the start of the season of "sleepless nights" for residents on account of the blaring of loudspeakers. A number of "jagaran mandalis" start performing in different parts of the city at a time when the residents are about to retire for the night. With the help of loudspeakers, they start belting out religious numbers, a majority of them based on film songs, much to the inconvenience of the residents. Though the "bhaktas" take special permission for the use of loudspeakers, the law requires them to reduce the volume after a particular hour — a condition which is observed more in breach. Bad roads Promises made by the officials of HUDA to residents of different Sectors notwithstanding, roads continue to cry for attention. Even a promise made by the Chief Minister at a public rally in September last appears to have had no bearing upon HUDA. At a recent monthly meeting of the District Grievances Redressal Committee the issue was raised before the Minister of Local Government, Dr Kamla Verma. Later, the minister admitted before the mediapersons that the condition of roads in the urban estate was indeed poor and assured them that all roads in the township would be repaired within the next two months. The entrepreneurs of industrial units in Industrial Area, Phase-I and II here, are equally unhappy with HUDA for neglecting the roads in the industrial estate. Several roads in the estate have not been repaired for the last several years, they lament. No-entry market A glaring example is the Sector 20 market on Dakshin Marg, which is without a proper entry point. In the absence of an entry point, the visitors have to use the exit point for making an entry to the market, which exposes them to the risk of being hit by a vehicle coming out of the market. However, to overcome the problem, the "marketwallahs" have removed the kerb channels and made a kutcha path as entry point to the market. Will the civic body provide a proper entry to the market, so that the irregular path does not become an accident-prone zone? In race for DC's
post In fact, the Union Home Ministry had approved the name of Mr T.C. Gupta for the post of DC from a panel of three names sent earlier. The administration had recommended the name of Mr Ramasekhar. Now all the three names, including those of Mr Arun Kumar and Mr Ramasekhar, are with the Union Home Ministry to take a final view. The ministry is also yet to clear the name of Mr K. Sinha, an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, who has been recommended by the Chandigarh Administration for the post of Joint Secretary, Finance. The Chandigarh Administration has also sought more names for the post of Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Housing Board. Earlier panel and additional names sent by the Haryana Government probably did not meet the requirements of the administration for this post. Labour of love The earlier book introduced in 1966-67 had virtually withered away, says Prof Sawhney, who was the co-ordinator of the project. He calls it a labour of love. It is for the first time in the history of technical education that all the four TTTIs worked in unison on such a project. The book has been praised by the Education Secretary of the Ministry of Education. Some universities want to adopt it as a textbook for B.A., B.Sc. and B.Com students. The work is Phase 1 of the National Project. Phase II is the preparation of teachers' guides. Clean resources The Ministry of Environment and Forests has invited project proposals for holding seminars, workshops, rallies, science fairs etc under this scheme. Financial assistance will be given to NGOs, educational and training institutions, army units etc depending upon the size of the project up to a sum of Rs 40,000. Those interested are advised to contact the Environment Society of India, Karuna Sadan, Section 11B, Chandigarh (Phone and Fax 546832). Rain supply Wednesday was a day with a difference for the residents, especially those living in upper storey houses in Sector 35. It so happened that these residents who hardly get any water after 7 a.m. continued to get a free flow of water till 10.30 in the morning. They failed to solve the mystery till one of them quipped that the generosity on the part of the civic body was due to incessant rain for three days and made others to presume that there was a link between the rains and the water supply. Helping hand The man behind the show is a serving Haryana Government officer, Mr S.S. Goel, who has been running the trust since 1988. Financial assistance is also provided to the needy people. Rabindra sangeet These classes will be in addition to the existing regular classes of vocal (classical), instrumental, dance and painting currently being run by the centre. Besides imparting classroom teaching, candidates will also be required to appear in a written examination at the end of a course. 14th anniversary The play written and directed by Gurinder Singh and Paramjit Singh explored various aspects of a historical event in Sikh history. The play evoked good response from a select audience. The Governor, Lt-Gen
B.K.N. Chhibber (retd) was the chief guest on the first
day of the performance organised in collaboration with
the Department of Cultural Affairs of Punjab. |
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