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| Saturday, January 19, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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60 acres to be acquired for sewage treatment plant
SAS Nagar, January 18 The proposed treatment plant will treat the sullage ( presently around 8MGD) generated in residential sectors of the town. For treating industrial discharge, the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC) has been asked to set up a separate treatment plant. Officials of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority have been asked to begin the land acquisition proceedings for the project. A sewage treatment plant of 15 MGD capacity is expected to be completed in three-and-a-half year. Elections in Punjab could delay the land acquisition proceedings by few months. An official of PUDA said after the Chandigarh Administration announced to set up an independent treatment plant at a new site near Jagatpura village, it was decided to start work on the long-pending project. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had also directed PUDA to set up a treatment plant. Sources in PUDA said, the treatment plant was expected to cost around Rs 42 crore. Acquiring of 15 acres of land to carry the sewer trunk line. The seven kilometre sewer trunk line was expected to cost around Rs 6 crore. The trunk line would be laid from a point near Sector 66 and 67 to the treatment plant. Earlier the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) and the Chandigarh civic body had planned to jointly set up a sewage treatment plant at a Dairi village. Against the earlier proposal to acquire around 120 acres of land for the joint project, PUDA had now decided to acquire 60 acres of land for the project. For the joint project plant, an interim report based on a study conducted by a private consultant had put the cost of the project at Rs 225 crore. The total capacity of that plant, in the first phase, would have been 60 MGD — 15 MGD of SAS Nagar and 30 MGD of Chandigarh. Its capacity was to be extended to 90 MGD, if required. But now, the plant would be of 30 MGD capacity.
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Mortar shell found on road Chandigarh, January 18 The bomb was discovered by a scrap dealer, who informed the beat officers about it. The beat officers informed the control room. Senior police functionaries and commandoes of the Operations Cell also visited the spot. According to a senior police official, the bomb is yet to be moved from the place. A bomb disposal squad has been requisitioned from the National Security Guards in New Delhi. Sandbags have been placed around the bomb as a precaution. Till the bomb disposal squad arrives, a police guard will remain near the cordoned-off area to keep away curious spectators. The police says that the bomb appears to be several years old and may have been thrown away by a scrap dealer
who might have found it in other scrap. The other theory is that it was disposed of by a serving or retired Army officer who was keeping it as a memento. |
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Cable guys refuse to budge Panchkula, January 18 The operators said those subscribers who were not willing to pay the tariff of Rs 225 per month for cable connection would be disconnected by the operator. “We have to make advance payment to pay channels on behalf of the customers and if a customer backs out later on and does not make the payment, we have to bear the loss,” they said. Mr Maninder Singh Lovely of C. CON Cable Network and Rajesh Sondhi, president of the Panchkula Cable TV Association, regretted that some persons were misguiding the public and asking the administration to intervene in the matter. They said the “It is a free-market system. If it suits the individual pocket, he may have the cable connection or forego it. We cannot be forced to provide services at a price dictated to us,” they said. Meanwhile, members of the local unit of the Haryana Youth Congress began their 11-day dharna outside the DC office today. They are protesting against the hike in cable tariff, imposition of house tax and hike in water charges. The agitation of the residents had got a fresh impetus with the Congress MLA from Kalka Mr Chander Mohan, joining hands with them yesterday. The dharna staged by Mr Hemant Kinger under the banner of the Panchkula Joint Welfare Association Forum entered the fifth day today. The protesters said they would not pay more than Rs 150 per connection as cable tariff for 50 channels. More than 40 representatives of various associations participated in the
dharna. |
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50 lakh MCD ballot papers to be printed in city Chandigarh, January 18 The Joint Election Commissioner, Union Territory, Delhi, and Chandigarh, Mr D.M. Khaneta, informed this here today. Mr Khaneta was here to see arrangements for printing of ballot papers for the MCD poll. Out of 90 lakh ballot papers the Government Textbook Press in Industrial Area, Chandigarh, will print 30 lakh and the UT Press 20 lakh. Rest of the ballot papers will be printed in Delhi. The EC had to take services of presses in Chandigarh as they did not even have the option of getting ballot papers printed at Faridabad where the Railway Budget for 2002-2003 will be published. The Chandigarh Administration will also send 2000 ballot boxes for the elections. These boxes will be taken to Delhi within 10 days as they would require servicing. Mr Khaneta said ballot papers from Chandigarh will start getting published after February 5, a tentative date of withdrawal of nominations in Delhi and they will be sent to the national Capital around February 15. The Government Textbook Press is being used for the first time for Delhi elections as last time only the UT Press was used. |
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Jacob gauges city’s firefighting capacity Chandigarh, January 18 The General was on a surprise visit to the fire stations in Sector 32, Industrial Area, Phase II and Sector 38 to see the improvements, if any, after the last surprise visit to these stations. Accompanied by the Home Secretary, Mr R.S Gujral, General Jacob first reached the fire station in Sector 32. Two drivers and four firemen were present. Mr M.P. Singh, who in the meantime also reached the their, informed the Administrator that every Fire Station in the city has a dedicated storage tank and a booster pump. When General Jacob asked about the hydrants in the city, Mr MP Singh informed that not a single hydrant in the city was working as the network broke down few years back and was never repaired. The Administrator asked the Commissioner to get the hydrant network operationalised at the earliest. Mr M.P. Singh assured that there was sufficient water supply to the fire stations for the time being. He informed the Administrator that all the vehicles except two emergency vans have been repaired. General Jacob inquired about the residential facilities for firemen and drivers working in the fire stations. The Commissioner informed him that on an average every station in the city was having eight residential quarters for the employees, which were fully occupied. The Home Secretary informed the Administrator that a jeep and an ambulance have been shifted to the Public Health Wing. When asked about the new recruitments of firemen and the drivers to fill the vacancies, the Commissioner informed that on temporary basis 20 retired firemen and ex-servicemen had already been recalled on an emergency basis. The regular recruitment process was going on for the posts of 44 firemen and 13 drivers, which would be completed by the end of the month. Later, General Jacob reached, Industrial Area, Ram Darbar fire station. He asked the Commissioner to explore the possibility of constructing residential quarters on 1st and 2nd floor of the newly built fire station. Two emergency fire tenders should be repaired from the CTU workshop at the earliest, which have the facilities of winch, generator, stretcher and cutting tools. General Jacob said he would again visit fire station to inspect these vehicles. The Administrator asked the Chief Fire Officers to introduce a system of log book which would record time of receiving telephone calls, time of fire tender leaving the fire station and time of fire tenders reaching the site of fire and corrective action required, if any. Later in Sector 38 fire station, General Jacob was happy to see the improvement in overall working of Fire Station but suggested that old fire tenders which has been repaired be repainted from CTU work shop. The visit of General Jacob to all the three Fire Stations was without any notice. |
Paid parking — a facility
or a burden? Chandigarh, January 18 In a statement issued here, Mr Malhotra said the views expressed by a few traders should not be taken by the UT Administration as the sentiments of one. The demand of the majority of the population for scrapping the paid parking system should be considered sympathetically by adopting some alternative modes of revenue generation. “The statement issued by a few affluent shopkeepers of Sector 17 in favour of paid parking is highly deplorable in view of the interests of the less privileged class of clientele and shopkeepers. Going by the list of the trader who have signed the statement, it is clear that all of them cater to the creamy layer of society to whom this entry tax does not matter much. In addition, these traders have a fixed clientele and they don’t need to run after the customer. “No doubt a regularised parking is the need of the hour in the shopping area, rather in the entire city but at the same time, stiff opposition shown by the trading community as well as the employees to the scheme shall also have to be looked in to. Paid parking system, implemented in a pick and choose manner, is definitely going to affect the clientele as compared to the free parking areas”, he said. Samadhaan and other social/welfare bodies had earlier suggested various alternate measures to generate revenue without implementing the unpopular paid parking but still making it workable to employ staff to regularise the parking for the facility of the public.  |
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know your councillors MAJ-GEN Amarjit Singh Kahlon (retd), who has been nominated as one of the councillors on the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, feels that the tremendous ambience of the city, if not improved upon, should be protected. He desires to do, whatever he can, in getting the greenery of the city enhanced. And he actually did it last year by requesting the Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob, who is also the Administrator of Chandigarh, in his “humble way” to plant one lakh additional trees more than what was planned by the Administration. Having led a disciplined life in the Army, he wants discipline to be maintained in the corporation. He was the presiding officer at the election of the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, and he saw to it that there was no hooliganism. No wonder there were no irregularities in the election of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Born on February 9, 1934, he passed out of the Indian Military Academy in December, 1953, with a gold medal. He was commissioned in Corp of Signals, where he was awarded the Plaque of Honour on the basic course. He, thereafter, completed his degree course in telecommunication at Pune, postgraduation in micro-wave engineering in U.K., computer system and programming with ICL, U.K., and specialised in electro magnetic compatibility with the U.K. Defence Ministry. He is a graduate of the National Defence University, Washington, U.S.A. in National Security Management. General Kahlon commanded units in Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir and was Chief Signals Officer of a Corps in Punjab. As Major-General he held the assignments of Additional Director General (Telecommunication) at Army Headquarters, Chief Signal Officer, Central Command, Deputy Commandant, Military College of Telecommunication Engineering. He retired in 1990 as Additional Director General (Organisation) from Army Headquarters. During his service he contributed in imparting contemporary training and induction of state of art systems in the defence services. He made a significant contribution in planning and execution of online realtime computer-based management information system and Field and Static Area and Communication Systems for which he received Distinguished Service Awards. Gen Kahlon has widely travelled in India and abroad both officially and privately. He is now settled here. He is a Rotarian and has been involved in a number of humanitarian projects. He has two children. While his son runs a small scale industry at Mohali, his daughter is happily married. MR Didar Khan, who has been nominated on the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation as a councillor, is a social scientist who has done tremendous research work. An alumnae of Aligarh Muslim University, he is at present working with the Institute for Development and Communication as Director of IDC Extension Centre. His main specialisation is community work and has been imparting vocational and technical skills to rural poor, depressed castes, dropouts and street children. He has been actively involved in empowerment of weaker sections of society. He has been Consultant for the Havard University project titled “One Image, Multiple Realities: Hindu-Muslim Relations in India”. He has been associated with social welfare societies like Muslim Welfare Society, Saharanpur, Institute for Development Studies, Aligarh , and the Sector 42 Citizens Welfare Society Born on July 15, 1950, he has been involved in capacity building of NSS Youth Coordinators and officers for initiating social work programmes for the past three years. The main research work of Mr Khan dwelt on “Multi-sectorial plan for minorities”, “Evaluation of Demographic and social-culture behaviour of Muslims in Kashmir” sponsored by the Planning Commission, Evaluation of the Impact of Family Planning Programmes on Muslims in UP” and Youth for social harmony (a baseline survey) for Human Resource Development.” Mr Khan did his postgraduation in psychology and his M.Phil also in the same subject from the Aligrah Muslim University. |
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Kamla
is BJP leader in House Chandigarh, January 18 Her election has come at a time when the lone Akali councillor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, is said to be out of town. The BJP ad hoc committee convener, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, said the Chandigarh Vikas Manch (CVM) had told the party that the elections of the respective leaders of the House should held separately. However, the BJP would cooperate with the CVM on important issues, he said. A CVM councillor, Mr Jitender Bhatia, said the party would hold a meeting on Sunday to decide the leader. The Congress has already announced that Mr Subhash Chawla would be its leader in the House. |
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EATING OUT Chandigarh KC’s Mezbaan in Sector 17 here is a reflection of the grandeur of the happy encounter of two different traditions. The ambience and the setting transport one to the land of the interesting merger of the sophisticated and highly stylised Persian system and the vital and vivid arts of India. The fountains and water body cruising through the centre of the basement eatery, the thick plush curtains, the lattice-walled winding staircase, the Kashmiri wazwaan are all an attempt to reproduce Shalimar Gardens of J & K in miniature. The interior decorator, Mr Loomba, has also fused Rajasthani designs into the décor, specially the ceiling, giving a striking effect to the restaurant. Completing the nawabi shaan is the live musical group that belts out old Hindi numbers of your choice as you savour the dishes. Old-timers and movie buffs will recall the staid and stark canteen of the cinema hall. Well, Mr Ashok Mahajan, the proprietor, razed it and in its place has sprung up Mezbaan, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in January, 2002, with a 10-day Kashmiri food festival. The beautiful lawns, the new banquet hall, celebrations, the pub, the kitty room, restaurant with 150 covers, besides the verdant lawns (a luxury few other eateries can boast of), all ensure a regular flow of revelers celebrating birthdays, engagements, shagans, conferences etc. The dance floor added to the banquet hall in October has already become a hit with the youth and those who think its no party if you can’t get good space to shake a leg along with eating one. The restaurant even arranges for DJs, of course, at extra cost. The specialty of this multi-cuisine restaurant is the huge variety of Kashmiri fare it offers. Rehman, the chef brought from Baramulla in Jammu Kashmir, cooks in the unique and distinct style of the mountain state. On the menu are, for around Rs 100 to Rs 140, are such delights as gushtaba. They are meatballs blended in yoghurt gravy along with the slightly hot special spices and herbs. If you prefer the balls in red gravy, go for rishta. Mirchi korma is mutton cooked in masala with an overtone of Kashmiri red
chillies. Then there is the all-time favourite, rogan josh, the traditional saag and methi maas (boneless mutton mixed in spicy fenugreek gravy with aromatic herbs). Panir mirchi korma and rajmah are for the vegetarians. The cup of zaffrani kahwa (tea) for Rs 35 is refreshing. The regulars swear by the special sweet ending offered here — phirni. Available in two flavours of orange and kesar (for Rs 60), I suggest that you must try it. Mezbaan also has a big range of other Indian cuisines in addition to the Chinese and Continental repertoire of soups, shorbas, andaz-e-tandoor, salads, raita, beverages and beer. However, their rotiyon-ki-tokri needs to be improved. The rotis become hard like rubber within minutes, making them difficult to cut and chew. Perhaps, a change of the chakki is needed. |
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Baldev Singh remembered Kharar, January 18 Baldev Singh was born in Dumna village, near Morinda, in 1902 and he became the first Defence Minister of India. A large number of prominent persons paid tributes to Baldev Singh and talked in detail about his qualities and service towards mankind. Baldev Singh started many schools in this area which at present are being looked after by the Ambala Board of Education and Mr Ravi Inder Singh, a nephew of Baldev Singh and former Punjab Speaker, is the chairman of the board. These schools are running in Kharar, Ropar, Kurali, Chamkaur Sahib, Mohali, Khant Manpur and Kainor. Among others, Mr Sarabjot Singh Bedi, convener Panthic Morcha, Mr Raja Singh, Mr Jugraj Singh Gill, Mr Arjan Singh Lit (all former MLAs), and Amrik Singh addressed the gathering. |
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Congress to stage dharna outside DC office Panchkula, January 18 Mr Chander Mohan, MLA from Kalka, yesterday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora, raising these demands. He also demanded that the sales tax in Panchkula should be brought on a par with that of in Chandigarh and Kalka be excluded from the Periphery Act. Mr Chander Mohan was accompanied by about 70 supporters and other leaders, including Mr Ravinder Rawal and Mr Vijay Bansal, General Secretaries of the Haryana Youth Congress, Mr S.K. Nayar, president of the Citizen’s Welfare Association and Mr Om Prakash of Devi Nagar. Meanwhile, the dharna staged by Mr Hemant Kinger under the banner of the Panchkula Joint Welfare Association Forum entered the fourth day today. The association has decided to extend dharna for two more weeks as there is ‘no response’ from the administration towards their demands. A meeting of senior citizens and representatives of various residents’ welfare associations, was called by Mr H.S. Ratta at the Sector 15 Day Care Centre today. It was decided that the residents should fight for their cause by putting up a united front and should not remain a divided lot. They also decided to organise a protest rally in Panchkula. |
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W.R. Rishi invited to Moscow Chandigarh, January 18 Mr Rishi, who entered the 86th year of his active life on January 4 last week, will be accompanied by Mr N.S. Brar, honorary Additional Director of the institute. Mr Rishi is the author of the first ever produced Russian-Hindi dictionary with foreword by Jawaharlal Nehru published by the Sahitya Academy and many other books on Russian language and literature. He was awarded the honour of Padmashri in 1970 for his contribution in the field of linguistics. He was awarded by the Soviet Land Nehru Award for his book “India and Russia —
Linguistic and Cultural Affinity”, copies of which were presented to the Russian President by the Prime Minister of India and also by the Russian Ambassador, Mr Alexander M.
Kadakin, during Mr Putin’s visit to India last year. |
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Bills unpaid, DC’s telephone
connection cut Chandigarh, January 18 Today, a duplicate bill was procured from the BSNL and the office staff of the DC made the payment to get the connection restored. Sources said the incident could be due to an oversight by clerical staff as well. |
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Couple
commit suicide Kharar, January 18 According to ASI Balkar Singh, Surinder Singh and his wife consumed some poisonous substance to and their lives. He said family
feud was the cause of the suicide. Surinder Singh died in the PGI, Chandigarh, and his wife, Jaspal Kaur, died in Civil Hospital, Kharar. They were cremated here today. |
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Six cows found dead SAS Nagar, January 18 In another incident, at least 25 pigs reared by inhabitants of Janata Colony in Nayagaon died after they consumed the standing crop of wheat which was sprayed with an insecticide. According to information available, the owner of the land, Jasbir Singh, lamented that pigs often damaged his crop. The inhabitants of Janata Colony came to Nayagaon police station seeking compensation for the loss of the animals. No case was registered as the owner of the land agreed to pay for the loss. |
2 women pickpockets held Chandigarh, January 18 An employee of the Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Centre, Mansa Devi, Munna Lal, had reported that Nethi had picked his purse containing Rs 20, while Sarda had tried to pick the pocket of another person. The accused were handed over to the police, which has registered a case against them. Whisky seized: A resident of Mauli Jagran, Sanjiv Kumar, was arrested by the police from near the railway station and 350 pouches of Hero whisky were recovered from his possession. A case under the Excise Act has been registered. Injured: A resident of Sector 30, Jasbir Singh, was injured after he was hit by a scooter while he was walking near his house. He has been admitted to Command Hospital in Chandi Mandir. The police has registered a case. House burgled: Palsora resident Laxmi Devi has reported that her house was broken into and an briefcase containing a gold ring, a gold chain, two pairs of gold ear-rings, a silver set, two silver anklets, sarees and Rs 1200 had been stolen. A case has been registered. Vehicle thefts: Sector 20 resident Mohinder Singh has reported that his Maruti car (CH-01-Q-0095) has been stolen from Sector 35. The police has registered a case. Sector 30 resident Shiv Kumar has reported that his LML scooter (CH-01-R-5849) has been stolen from the PGI. The police has registered a case. PANCHKULA Abduction case: A minor girl was allegedly abducted by Ramesh Kumar from Gugga Mari, near Kalka, yesterday. A case of abduction has been registered against the accused on the complaint of the victim’s mother, Shakuntala Devi. Two arrested: The police has arrested Rajbeer and Munna of Rampur Siyori village on the charge of gambling at a public place near Surajpur bridge. A sum of Rs 190 was seized from them. They have been booked under Sections 13, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act. Power theft: The police has booked Bal Krishan of Pyarewala village in Barwala block on the charge of stealing power by tampering with his electric meter. A case under Section 379, IPC has been registered. Assault: Surjeet Singh and Pradeep have been booked by the police on the charge of assaulting Om Chand in Bhairon Ki Sair village and threatening him. Chain Snatched: Two scooter-borne youths reportedly snatched a gold chain from Ms Sunita in Sector 4 today. The youths, who were reportedly on a scooter, also took away her purse. The police has registered a case under Section 382, IPC. |
MARKET PULSE Chandigarh, January 18 This is Sify’s way of creating awareness about environmental issues like deforestation. The special six-week promotion ‘Go Sify Greenmail, Go Down Under’ beginning on Friday, aims at broadbasing the appeal of Sify GreenMail and preserving environment through planting of more trees. Every user of Sify GreenMail can pledge his/her support for the environment by sending five or more e-mails every week through a Sify mail box. Every week Sify would identify “the top 100 e-mail senders” who have used their Sify mail boxes the most and recognise their efforts by planting trees and also award them “Sify green thumb” digital certificates. In all, 6000 users would be identified and recognised during the promotion. In addition, every week 100 winners can look forward to eco-friendly gifts. At the end of the promotion period, the 6000 winners would qualify for a lucky draw for which, the first prize is a six night / seven day trip for two to Australia — including visits to Sydney and Gold Coast — sponsored by SOTC. There are two second prizes of a trip for two to Kanha National Park, India. Commenting on the launch of the new promotion, Mr Vivek Bali, President, Portals, Sify, said, “The Sify GreenMail campaign emerged out of the growing concern for our deteriorating environment among today’s young, educated Indians, who have felt the need to save trees and plant more trees. Sify GreenMail helps to do both. I am confident that the new promotion will get a very enthusiastic response from e-mail users”. The Sify GreenMail movement is supported by the World Wide Fund-India (WWF). Both WWF and Sify hope that consumers will move closer to a paper-free environment by maximising the use of paperless communication like e-mail. Sify.com’s micro-site, www.green.sify.com is targeted at today’s young Internet users and give details of how Sify GreenMail will help the environment. |
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