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April 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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3 killed as school bus falls into khud Panchkula, March 31 All 23 persons on board the bus including staff of Springdale Public School and their wards who were returning from a picnic, had never anticipated that this deadly silence would follow squeals of laughter mixed with singing that reverberated in the bus only moments ago. The accident took place at around 3:15 pm this afternoon, when the bus belonging to Springdale Public School here was returning to Panchkula from Sabathu. The accident took place when the driver of the bus, Surinder, lost control while overtaking another bus. The conductor of the bus, Narain, while talking to TNS informed that the right hand side front wheel of the bus hit a drum placed on the roadside, while trying to overtake the bus. “The moment the bus hit the drum placed on the roadside, the driver lost the balance and the bus fell in the khud. He however, has no recollection of events thereafter till the time he was lifted by the locals from the mangled remains of the bus and was brought to Panchkula in a taxi. It is learnt that the school authorities had organised a picnic for the staff and their children at Sabathu, after the end of the session. Two of the school teachers and a child were killed on the spot. However, till the time of filing of this report, the deceased could not be identified as the remaining 20 persons were in a serious condition. Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on the school premises, as relatives of the staff members rushed there. Some of the relatives immediately rushed off to the accident spot in Thedpura. Later, as reports of a number of injured reaching Panchkula and Chandigarh began tricking in, these people rushed to General Hospital, Sector 6. The family members and relatives of the accident victims were tensed up as they were unable to ascertain the whereabouts of their kin. One of the teachers, Pinky, who was seriously injured and in a delirious state , kept on calling for her sister, Archana, also a teacher in the school. Her family had been unable to locate her till the time of filing of this report. Mr Raj Kumar Gupta, whose daughter-in-law, Ms Anju Gupta and grandson, Manav Gupta, were hurt in the accident, said he had received information about the accident at around 4 pm. “ It is ironical, but my joy knew no bounds when I saw them being brought here alive. Though they were badly hurt and Anju was bleeding profusely, I was happy that they were safe. We spent the two hours till they reached here, praying for their well being. “ Another school teacher, Ms Sanyogita Gupta, who was on board the ill-fated bus, said had it not been for the residents of Thedpura, the casualties would have been more. “ The local youth rushed to our rescue and immediately began lifting the injured. However, as these patients were in a serious state so they were referred to Primary Health Centre and private Nursing Homes at Pinjore , General Hospital at Panchkula and PGI, Chandigarh. Those admitted at the general Hospital here, include Pinky, Sanyogita Gupta, her son Varun Gupta, Anju Gupta, her son Manav Gupta, Kanwal Saini and bus conductor Narain. Three teachers- Shweta Singla, Renuka and Nikita , alongwith three children- Munish, Aman and Priya had been admitted to PGI, Chandigarh. The school Principal, Ms Rewa Sharma and the driver, Surinder and his two children escaped with minor injuries. |
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Ishan, Neha top Class VIII exam Chandigarh, March 31 The second position for the model category went jointly to Manav Goyal from Shishu Niketan Senior Secondary School and Ankita Sethi from Manav Mangal High School, Sector 21, while in the non-model category Ashish Kumar from Sri Guru Gobind Singh Senior Secondary School, Sector 35, got the second position. The results for the Class VIII annual examinations will be declared tomorrow at 9.30 a.m. at all government schools. The overall pass percentage for this year has been 70.38. The total number of students appearing for the examination was 4,432 while in the non-model category the total number was 7,676. The results for the regular candidates will be displayed at their respective schools, while the results for the private candidates will be available at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19. |
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Top cardiologists
to arrive
on April 7 Chandigarh, March 31 Dr U.P. Singh, Managing Director of the Prime Diagnostic Centre and Heart Institute said here today that this one-day CME would address the issues of latest advances in cardiac care, management of cardiac problems, in which as many as 400 medical practitioners from the region shall be participating. The conference is being held on the April 7, which is observed the world-over as the WHO Day, informed Dr U.P. Singh. |
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Sanitation
contract in jeopardy
SAS Nagar, March 31 An annual expenditure of Rs 76 lakh had been earmarked for the sanitation. The contract expires in May this year. Sources in the civic body reveal that the existing funds were not enough to pay the salaries of employees — around Rs 30 lakh per month. The officials were finding it hard to fill up petrol in the official vehicles. Not ruling out the termination of contract, the officials, say that a 15 days’ notice would have to be given to the contractor. However, the President of the civic body, Mr Kulwant Sigh, is hopeful that the contract would continue till May. The officials said the various measures like deputing civic body staff to collect water and sewerage bills and cutting the departmental expenditure were being undertaken. However, the committee is contemplating to take over the water supply and the sewerage from the Public Health Department, Punjab. The civic body hopes to save around Rs 1 crore annually. After the abolition of octroi, the increasing expenditure with each passing year was becoming a headache for the civic body. The civic body is shelling out around Rs 3.5 crore annually to the Public Health Department for the maintenance of water supply, storm water and sewerage. This includes 14 per cent departmental charges being levied by the civic body. The officials said there had been instances when public funds had been wasted in carrying out development works and then rectifying the same. The move by the civic body to give the exercise of collecting the water and sewerage bills to its own staff instead of the public health department.  |
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CHANDIGARH CALLING In a step which shows a lot of care for the disabled the Chandigarh Administration has decided to reserve 3 per cent of seats for the disabled students in all educational institutions, including professional colleges, engineering colleges, medical colleges, polytechnics and I.T.I.s. The new ruling will be enforced from this academic session. Also on the cards is a plan of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to allot over 50 dwelling units of various categories to the disabled. This comes after instructions were issued to ensure 3 per cent reservation for disabled in all new government recruitments. Already the local administration is working to make the city barrier free to ensure easy access for the disabled. Probably some of the states can learn and implement the same in their offices, and educational institutions.
What heat? The recent rise in temperature has not satisfied those selling room coolers. They want the summer to come in as quickly as possible. The season for selling coolers lasts for a short period and is more or less based on the dry heat. Once it rains, coolers do not sell as they cause humidity. A colleague said he went to buy a fan and started chatting with the dealer about the summer having come early. The dealer remarked: “Sir, what is the use to us as we need more severe temperatures to sell coolers”. He went on to add that in Delhi his counterparts are already doing brisk business as temperature was much more there. One just hopes that such dealers are in minority lest the gods listen to their prayers More on summer. So far, only the fans are required in homes even as commercial areas in the city have switched on the airconditioners. Rain in pre-Holi days helped to bring down the mercury and one hopes it will be another 10 days before the heat really shows up.
Books galore Panchkula-based astrologer P.Khurrana seems to be passing through a particularly auspicious time. His magnum opus, “Love Signs”, released on Valentine’s Day, is registering encouraging sales not only in India but also overseas. A new edition may come in the market in September. Other books ready for release are “Sun Signs”, “The Power of Numbers” and “Mystery of Dreams and Moles”. That is not all. Mr Khurrana tells us that his publisher has engaged him for penning six more books. Does that mean that interest in occult sciences is on the rise?
Real and reel History of sorts was created on the sets of a forthcoming Bollywood movie “The legend of Bhagat Singh” when Kultar Singh, the younger brother of the martyr, met Ajay Devgan, who is portraying the national hero in the film on sets at Pune. Kultar Singh, who was accompanied by his son, had last met his brother on March 3, 1931, when he was just 12 years old. Kultar was overwhelmed when he heard the narration of the script. An official press release says that for a scene in the movie when Bhagat Singh writes to his brother Kultar, he was so involved that he took a pen and scribbled the original words that were fresh in his memory. When he was asked to bless Ajay Devgan (playing Bhagat Singh), he said: “How can I bless my elder brother?” The film being directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi has music by A.R. Rehman.
Leading by example If one goes by the saying leading by example, the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) stands ahead of several people holding such high posts. The General, who is known to follow all rules, has asked his staff and drivers of all vehicles of Punjab Raj Bhavan to wear seat belts. So, if city residents or visitors from outside are challaned for not wearing seat belts they need no crib. The top man is leading by example. Drivers of several other officers have also taken a cue and have started wearing seat belts while driving. The Guv actually went one step ahead and got seat belts installed for himself in the rear seat of the Mercedes he is allotted. Seat belts are not mandatory on the rear seat but the Guv insisted and a source says he reminds his driver and gunman about the seat belts if they ever forget to wear the belt.
Special bus If the trial run of a new special bus with semi-low floor fabrication by the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) passes test, senior citizens and physically challenged residents of the city may not need assistance of fellow citizens in hopping on or off the bus. The bus priced at Rs 8.50 lakh has its first step at a height of eight inches from the ground. The other buses with the CTU have first steps at a height of one foot. The bus was flagged off by the CTU Director, Dr Amarpal, on route number 35B and 2C recently. This 38-seater bus has also capacity for 40 standing passengers. Moreover, large sized windows of the bus would provide a ‘‘wider outside view’’.
What ‘Tribune means!’ Our readers may be knowing what the word “Tribune” stands for. If not, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, “Tribune” means an official elected by the people in ancient Rome to defend their rights, a popular leader. A reader of The Tribune from Ludhiana has, however, written to us to say that the seven alphabets of The “Tribune” have different meanings. “T” stands for “Truly speaking”, “R” for Reaching globally, “Ï” for In the news, “B” for Best featuring, “Ü” for its Utility prints, “N” for Non-stop supply and “E” for Efficient services. The person who sent the letter is Mr Krishan Khera. He lives at Lohian Khas. Thank you reader for giving a new meaning to the word “Tribune”.
Here are the heroes! There have been many fans of the WWF. But now it is the turn of our own wrestlers to command attention. With DD Sports all set to air a programme on wrestling titled Mahakushti in mid-April, all the big time wrestlers of India will now become known to us. One realised the need of such a programme only the other day when Dara Singh himself announced his patronage for the project. Many Indian wrestlers who have international honours to their credit were present at a small function organised by producers of Mahakushti at the Sector 10 Skating Rink where the serial was shot. The irony of the situation was that most people present there were not familiar with the faces of even one out of the four wrestlers present. Further irony was that while one champion (Shamsher Singh) is from Chandigarh itself, the other three are from Punjab. It took referee Ratan Aulakh to introduce the wrestlers and list their achievements. Only after that the real relevance of Mahakushti came to life!
BOT toilets The City Beautiful, which enjoyed a tax-free regime for decades, is wary of taxes and charges. This was reflected in a meeting of the lone political forum of the city — the Municipal Corporation. The BJP Councillor and a former Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, termed the Re 1 urination charge as a tax in the proposed deluxe toilets to be operated on the “build-operate and transfer” basis in the city. The idea of the BOT toilets was brought from Delhi and the MC has adopted that. Mr Gupta wanted a urination visit to be free of charge. The city recently became probably the last city in the country to levy the property tax at possibly the lowest rate of 2 per cent on annual rent. Before the property tax, the city recently won years-old battle of imposing a parking fee in its prime market, Sector 17.
Paid parking An apolitical city has now acquired a new fad of resource generation for the Municipal Corporation that is lagging far behind in taking care of the city infrastructure. The opponents of paid parking in Sector 17 — mainly traders — have suggested to impose a minimum charge of Rs 360 on a car and a little less for a scooter annually. Their argument is that paid parking causes inconvenience to the people. So why not issue passes for the whole city, which is facing parking shortage. Traders calculate that this simple measure could bring the Municipal Corporation Rs 23 crore annually. However, sincerity of their suggestion is not being taken without suspicion as it is being considered a ploy to fail the paid parking system.
Portraits Portraits of eight eminent Punjabis have been installed in the lobby of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. These are in addition to the one of the late Mr Beant Singh, which was put up there a few years ago. Among those whose portraits adorn the gallery are Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Baba Ram Singh, Master Tara Singh, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Mr Hit Abhilashi. These were unveiled at a brief ceremony, attended by MLAs belonging to all parties by Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister. He said that these eminent persons made special contribution for Punjab in their own way. Dr Kewal Krishan, Speaker, said that the portraits remind us of our eventful past. Several meetings were held by a special committee of the previous Vidhan Sabha to finalise the names of those whose portraits have been installed in the lobby. Earlier, the name of Pandit Nehru was missing. It was added to the list later, it is learnt. Painted in gentle colour shades, portraits look attractive and lively.
— Sentinel |
Parking: MC panel steps decried Chandigarh, March 31 The meeting noted that instead of reversing the decision, as promised by the public representatives at various levels and from different platforms, the F&CC by hiking the tariff had further complicated the issue. The meeting was attended by Mr Arun
Talwar, Mr Neeraj Bajaj, Mr Jagdish Pal Singh Kalra, Mr L.C. Arora, Mr Subhash
Kataria, Mr Rajinder Minocha, Mr Sat Pal Kapoor, Mr J.S. Sodhi, Mr
K.L. Jain, Mr H.H. Anand and Mr R.P. Malhotra. The meeting said it was amazing that the same political party
ie. the Congress, which had opposed the move for paid parking tooth and nail when introduced by the BJP, was now bent upon implementing it. The double standards adopted by the Congress party as a whole and its councillors in particular were condemnable. It may be pointed out that the BJP then was a divided house but now there was little opposition from the BJP over this issue. “Still the Congress is earning the wrath of the public by enforcing this unpopular move”, it said. The front members besides criticising the role of the Congress also aired their views about the alleged discriminatory attitude of the F&CC towards the trading community in particular as the recommendations of the committee were “biased, anti-people and anti-traders”. |
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Farewell
to Gen Surjit Singh Chandigarh, March 31 Lt Gen S.S. Mehta, GOC-in-C of the Army Training Command at Shimla, is scheduled to take over as the Western Command chief tomorrow. The General was presented a guard of honour by a contingent of the 8th Battalion of the Dogra Regiment. He also laid a wreath at the Veer Smriti war memorial and paid tributes to the martyrs. Lt Gen Surjit Singh was sent-off from the Command House in an open jeep, driven by Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lt Gen H.S. Kanwar, and pulled by senior officers of the command. Meanwhile, the outgoing president of the Army Wives Welfare Association, Mrs Deep Surjit Singh, was also given a warm farewell by ladies of the station. |
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Review of booth
allotment terms sought SAS Nagar, March 31 In a representation, they said the applicants were to be assigned a seniority number by draw of lots and then to be invited in order of seniority and allowed preference of booth sites. Though there was no mention of preferred sector in the column of the mode of allotment, yet the same was incorporated in the acknowledgement and draw slips. The allottees said the move by PUDA to offer the same booth sites at 10 per cent less price under a similar scheme was unethical. They lamented that the allotment, after having been postponed on two occasions, had now been scheduled for April 10. |
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Modern
face of Berlin’s architecture Chandigarh, March 31 In fact the show has been put up as part of the European perspective. It has been organised by Alliance Francaise Le Corbusier de Chandigarh in association with Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi. Inaugurated by Prof Paramjit Singh, Registrar, Panjab University, the exhibition deals entirely with the new architecture of Berlin and has been especially produced in India as part of the German Festival in India. Enriching as far as construction sites and energy conservation centres now being constructed in Berlin, the exhibition brings out the rejuvenated spirit of the city. Rated as one of the most exciting cities in the world, Berlin has now become a hub of construction activity. Set in the backdrop of German unification, the exhibition traces the growth of Berlin’s architecture over the 10 years after the fall of the wall and unification of both parts of Germany. With unification came changes in the face of the city. And more so in view of the Bonn Parliament that took the decision to move the capital back from Bonn to Berlin. Subsequently, many parts of the city became huge construction sites. The city, as such, has become a project of new design, of new planning, of reconstruction. The present exhibition looks into all these aspects that define the modern face of Berlin. |
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Bacchus
beckons as prices go down Chandigarh, March 31 Most of the popular brands were not available. Liquor was being sold for Rs 40 to Rs 100 less per bottle than the earlier prices. Various brands of whisky were available for Rs 50 to Rs 90 less (per bottle), beer costed Rs 350 to 400 (per case), rum varied from Rs 60 to 90 (per bottle) and Vodka Rs 50 to Rs 100 less. The prices were less at the vends, owned by the contractors who were not allocated the contract for the year 2002-2003. Banners, announcing heavy discount on liquor had been put up at various places. Even drum beaters had been engaged to draw the attention of drinkers. |
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Pandher
to lead Press Club team Chandigarh, March 31 Mr Amardeep Singh Bhattal (senior vice president), Mr Swatantra Saxena (vice-president), Mr Balbir Singh (vice president), Mr Sanjeev Shukla (secretary), Mr Balwant Takshak (joint secretary), Ms Rajesh Sharma (joint secretary), Mr Nand Lal Gupta (treasurer) were also elected. This was announced by the returning officer, Mr Sham Singh. As many as 325 members of the total of 369 voters cast their votes. Mr Ramesh Chaudhary, Mr Amardeep Singh Bhattal, Mr Swatantra Saxena and Mr Nand Lal Gupta are from the Tribune group of newspapers. Mr Sarbjit Pandher represents The Hindu, Mr Balbir Singh the Indian Express, Mr Sanjeev Shukla the Dainik Hindustan, Mr Balwant Takshak, the Dainik Bhaskar and Ms Rajesh Sharma the United News of India. |
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Baisakhi programme Chandigarh, March 31 The Bhog is scheduled for 10.30 am next day. This will be followed by discourses by various kirtan jathas till 1.15 pm, a spokesperson for the gurdwara said. |
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Dr Dhaliwal felicitated Chandigarh, March 31 The team of doctors from PGI have been involved in the Rs 42 lakh ‘Gift of Life’ project of the club. |
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Workshop
on environment SAS Nagar, March 31 |
Fake currency seized, two held Chandigarh, March 31 Hassan (44) originally hails from Saharanpur and was residing here for the past about 25 years. He is a registered medical practitioner of ayurvedic medicine and an office-bearer of a local political outfit. The police got on Hassan’s trail after a passenger at the local Railway Station was duped by him. The passenger had got a Rs 500 note changed from Hassan and received two fake Rs 100 notes. The police thereafter laid a trap and sent a decoy customer to Hassan’s place last night. A deal was struck for Rs 10,000 in fake notes in return for Rs 5,000 in original notes. When the notes changed hands, the police swooped in and arrested Hassan. A sum of Rs 20,000 was recovered from Hassan’s residence, while another Rs 60,000 in fake notes was recovered from his clinic. According to the police, Hassan had met one Guddu, who owns a printing press in Saharanpur, while he had gone there to collect campaign material during the local MC elections. Guddu had come to Chandigarh last month and a deal to supply fake currency notes was struck. Javed, who also worked in a printing press, came here about 15 days back and handed Rs 10,000 in fake currency notes to Hassan, for which he received Rs 7,200. Javed was scheduled to come here again with another consignment today, when he was arrested. A police party left this evening for Saharanpur to arrest Guddu. It is also on the trail of a Delhi-based owner of a printing press, who is involved in printing and supply of fake notes. One killed Resident beaten up Burglary Car stolen Car stereo stolen |
Job guarantee course Chandigarh, March 31 According to Mr Naveen Goyal, Centre Director, Tata Infotech, Sector 9, Tata Infotech has come up with a unique concept of providing competent manpower to companies which are tailor-made to suit their requirements. Though the screening and interview process is tough, once a candidate clears it, he is given an offer letter by the company (an MNC in New Delhi with its offices in the USA) stating that after the completion of the course, the candidate would join them with a starting salary of Rs 10,800, he said. The first batch of nine students have already started their training , said Mr Goyal. The training is basically on MCSE and A plus certification for 35 days on full time basis and the fee for the course is Rs 20,000 which a candidate pays only after selection. The company has decided to start one more batch in the second week of April for which the screening process will start in the first week of April. |
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Craft workshop Chandigarh, March 31 Ms Sarika Sharma, an art expert, who conducted the workshop taught the participants about fabric painting, glass painting, pot making and application of the stick-on colours. Seventy boys and girls of various age groups participated in the workshop. The participants were divided into the junior and senior categories and prizes given to the first three winners in both categories. In the junior category, Kavita Raghav was declared the winner, followed by Richa Kaushal and Navneet Kaur who got the second and third positions respectively. In the senior category, Ravinder Kaur won the first prize, while Kulwant Kaur and Kamaljeet Kaur bagged the second and the third prizes. |
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