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May 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Sewerage system for city villages Chandigarh, May 11 The decision to allocate the money was taken at the second meeting of the Zila Parishad held recently under the chairmanship of Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri. Ballana, Palsora, Khuda Alisher, Khuda Lahora and Dhanas will now have the facility, Mr Badheri told the Chandigarh Tribune. The parishad also decided to review the sanitation condition of villages. During the review, it decided to give sanitation contracts to private parties in Kajheri and Hallo Majra villages on an experimental basis. Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has already given sanitation contracts of villages under its jurisdiction to private parties. But the councillors, finding the private sanitation arrangements unsatisfactory, reviewed the same. They later decided to ensure minimum wages for the government employed sweepers, as announced by government from time to time and maintained the ratio of sweepers per 1,000 persons as recommended by the National Safai Karmchari Ayog. Sources said the system of private sanitation contractors was introduced amid complaints that the staff was only working at influential people’s houses. The Zila Parishad has a budget of Rs 50 lakh for the year. The parishad decided to allocate a sum of Rs 13 lakh to Kajheri village for its development. The rural body also authorised the chairman to spend upto Rs 50,000 for developmental work, Vice-Chairman for an expenditure of Rs 25,000 and the Block Development Officer for Rs 5000. Rs 5.5 lakh were allocated for building a dharmashala in Kajheri village. The chairman of the parishad said he would request the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, to allocate more funds for the development of villages from his fund as the area falling under Zila Parishad was backward as compared to the city. Mr Bansal himself has been taking a stand to transfer more powers to rural bodies and had recently sent a question in the Lok Sabha on the issue. Despite Mr Bansal’s endeavors, however, it seems unlikely that the MP would be able to transfer much of the funds to villages, as the city itself had been facing a shortage of funds for recarpeting roads, maintaining parkings, gardens and parks and carrying out sanitation activities. |
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Are evening colleges on their way out? Chandigarh, May 11 The matter has featured in the university senate and the syndicate and concerns regarding lopsided functioning were pointed out. Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, assured to look into the matter. Mr B.G. Verghese, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, in a letter addressed to the Vice Chancellor suggested “that the concept of evening colleges had now become utterly outlandish and warped. Encouraging everyone to become a BA or a MA to join the burgeoning numbers of unemployed is a national waste that eventually tells on the social health of a civil society.” Mr Verghese suggested that “PU should concentrate on core subjects and emerging advanced disciplines. More routine learning should be taken over by Department of Correspondence Studies and Distance Education Learning courses. I would suggest a separate committee be set up to review such structural reforms.” A senior faculty member pointed out that “the situation of the Department of Evening Studies at PU was no different. It provides nothing special and exclusive. Most of the students admitted to these courses are employed only on papers. A large number of them could not secure admission in regular courses because of their low academic performance. The department is already violating the prescribed University Grants Commission norms and PU regulations in providing instructions”. The university regulations provide that undergraduates in arts require a minimum of 36 teaching periods in a week whereas in the Department of Evening Studies it was limited to only 25 periods at the maximum. The commutative effect of each weeks deficit may total to well over 350 periods during an entire session of 180 teaching days. Even for the BCom courses (tutorial system is necessary) the university regulations are not adhered to. During the available time, the Department of Evening Studies can work for a maximum of about 17 hours in a week against 30 hours required by the UGC. It was pointed out that inefficiency was visible in the pattern of admissions to various undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Whereas 300 students are admitted to BA-I, the numbers fall down to averagely 155 in second year and 115 in third year. The averages are similar for postgraduate courses. A senior professor of the Department of Evening Studies said: “By maintaining and nurturing such courses in evening studies, the university is only aiding and abetting the continuance of a substandard system which tends to dilute objectives and norms set up by own academic bodies.” Sources said in the evening studies six posts of teachers are presently vacant and four more will fall vacant by mid 2003. Restructuring could be done to make up for vacancies in the morning departments also, it was pointed out. |
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Cement traders evading octroi SAS Nagar, May 11 An inspector of the enforcement staff impounded a tractor-trailer carrying cement bags here today while the consignment was being unloaded at a retail outlet in Sector 70. The inspector, Mr Manjeet Singh Dhinsa, said the bags had been brought from a godown in Kumbhra village and billed in the name of Jindal Cement Store of Phase IX of the Industrial Area. Officials of the Octroi Wing said the driver of the
tractor-trailer had confessed that he had brought 50 cement bags from Kumbhra village. A Rs 5,000 fine was imposed on the erring trader. The Opposition councillors said here today that the evasion of octroi on cement was continuing with the support of certain officials of the MC. Mr Manjeet Sethi and Mr Manmohan Singh Langh said: “On September 21, 2001, a truck (PB-13-D-9617) carrying 600 bags of cement entered the town without paying the octroi. Two bills — number 2515 and 22191, issued on September 16, 2001 — had been checked by the then superintendent of the Octroi Wing.” According to a document that this reporter has, the superintendent had noted that the octroi, including the 20 per cent penalty, had come out to be Rs 63,000. However, the erring trader was let off at the payment of a Rs 6,300 octroi on 60 bags of cement, though 600 bags had been seized. With an increased construction activity in new sectors, over 10,000 bags of cement arrive every month in the godowns of Kumbhra. Taking advantage of the location of the village, traders stock their material there to evade the Rs-5-per-bag octroi. The cement brought in thus is carried illegally directly to consumers or small retailers on tractor-trailers. Sources in the MC do not rule out the possibility of the involvement of officials of the Octroi Wing in this racket. |
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SPECIAL STORY Chandigarh, May 11 The project is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 20 lakh, received as grant from Mrs Maneka Gandhi, and the work is being executed by the Chandigarh Animal Welfare and Environment Development Society (CAWEDS), with the Adviser to UT Administrator, Ms Neeru Nanda, as its chairperson. For the first time cow shelters of the city are being provided with special units where vermiculture will be undertaken by mixing cowdung with vermicompost. The idea is to produce manure which will be utilised later for floriculture and other plantation purposes. The high-quality manure, to be produced in cow shelters, will also be extended for sale at reasonable prices to local residents. Potted plants will be prepared and will further be made available to people. About 15 potted plants have been prepared in the Sector 45 cow shelter, now housing six vermicompost pits (see picture). According to sources in the MC, special earthworms have been imported at the cost of Rs 1,500 per kg from the USA for the purpose of creating high-quality compost. The whole project is expected to take shape in another 36 days when the first slot of manure will be ready in the Sector 45 cattle pound. Till now, CAWEDS has received Rs 9.15 lakh, which it is using for execution of the project in the cattle pounds of Sector 45 and Sector 25. The same project will shortly be applied to 2.5 acre of land which CAWEDS has taken on a long lease from the Maloya village panchayat. Fencing work is already going on in Maloya which will have a big cattle pound along with bigger vermicompost units. Talking about the project, Ms Neeru Nanda who is personally overseeing the Sector 45 experimental site, said, ‘‘Cooperation of local people is our biggest advantage. Gradually, beautiful plants, prepared by using vermicompost developed here, will reach the doorstep of people. Very soon, we will extend the use of manure for floriculture.’’ The effort has involved the cooperation of bureaucrats as also local residents. Where fodder for about 250 cows in the Sector 45 pound is being managed by Mr Mahendra Pratap Singla, a Sector 35 resident, the expansion work is being take care of by the MC Commissioner, Mr M.P. Singh, also a member of CAWEDS, told the Tribune, ‘‘We had earlier started vermicomposting in Shantikunj, Sector 16. We also have units in the Sector 36 Fragrance Garden. The idea of installing such units in cattle pounds is only about three months’ old. The Sector 25 cattle pound is also witnessing this activity now. Shortly we will have enough manure for sale to local residents.’’ Presently the compost developed in cattle pounds is being used by the MC for its nurseries in Sector 36 and 29. |
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SOS village may provide home to Gujarat orphans Rajpura, May 11 This was stated by Mr Pradeep Singh, National Director (India), SOS India, while addressing a press conference after inaugration of a four-day ‘Bal Mitra Utsav’ at SOS Children’s Village here today. The utsav has been organised to showcase artistic and cultural talents of school students of Punjab. The SOS Children’s Village here is one of the 34 such villages spread across the country. Painting competitions, exhibition of paintings by SOS children from all over the country and SOS - India exhibition marked the first day of the utsav. The programme began with a folk dance by the children from Bhopal. The utsav was inaugurated by Mr D.S. Bhogal, joint managing director of Bhogal Group of Industries. About 20 schools from Patiala, Chandigarh and Rajpura, along with SOS children would be participating in various events planned over the four days. Addressing a press conference, Mr Pradeep Singh said a SOS village is also planned for Srinagar. Replying to a question he said, “The organisation does not subscribe to any religion but we try our best to put children of same religion in a group headed by a mother subscribing to the same religion”. When asked if the organisation let people adopt children from the village, Mr Pradeep answered in the negative, “The children are living in families”. He further said, “I am sure that after the utsav, more and more people from Punjab will come forward to support our cause of providing the needy children the love and care of a mother and a family’’. The SOS Children Villages of India is a voluntary childcare organisation providing direct and indirect care to more than 2 lakh children in the country. The SOS Children’s Village, Rajpura, was established in June 1996 and is the first such village in Punjab. Presently, there are 168 destitute and orphaned children living in 14 families. Each family is headed by a mother, who takes care of the needs of the family including food, clothing and schooling. For becoming a mother of a SOS family, a woman volunteering to become mother has to pass through a ‘tough selection process’. The village here also has a kindergarten to take care of the pre-school education of the children. The elder children of the village attend the schools in the neighbourhood and are even sent to boarding schools. The first SOS village was founded by Dr Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst, Austria. In India, Mr J.N. Kaul set up the first village at Greenfields in 1964. |
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Sathya Sai Seva function
Chandigarh, May 11 Every item of the show, which started with Ganesh vandana, was aimed at conveying the message of truth, peace, non- violence and love. More than 300 children from Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and neighbouring villages presented skits that included “Karamphal”, “Jaisa Kaho Vaisa Karo”, and ‘Sampooran Ramayan’. Dance items, including ‘Murli wale ne der kari’, ‘Shiv aaradhana’ based on childhood stories of Lord Krishna, bhajans and patriotic songs, were also presented. A few skits on the lives of Sant Ravidas and early life of Sai Baba enthralled the audience. Dr Subhash Mahajan, district president , gave a speech on the values of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and also highlighted the spiritual service and educational activities being undertaken by different units of the organisation. Mr Vivek Atray, Director Public Relations, Chandigarh Administration, was the chief guest on this occasion. |
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National Technology Day celebrated Chandigarh, May 11 The Director of the NIPER, Dr C.L. Kaul, said the institute was concentrating on standarisation of natural products. The focus of the institute is to develop cost-effective medicines for tuberculosis, malaria, and diabetes. The IMTEC was thrown open for the public today it and scientists explained the nitty-gritty of technology involved in their research and development. The Survey of India was opened for public viewing with map making devices and techniques being displayed to students and the general public. The public sector Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) organised an exhibition “Technological developments in machine tools and agricultural machinery” and called students to show them the functioning of the plant at Pinjore. The CSIO also organised a seminar on its premises and invited students from schools for showing them the
facilities the institute of national repute has for the development of instruments in almost all spheres of scientific activity. |
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ISKCON seminar concludes Chandigarh, May 11 The topic of the seminar was ‘Nector of Instruction’. It is one of the ‘bhakti granthas’, which describes the devotional science of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy. Anybody following the path recommended by Nector of Devotion will be blessed by Lord Krishna, says H.G.Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi, who delivered the lectures on the topic from May 7 to 11. It has, in all, 11 “shlokas” which are the guide post of the path of bhakti, she added. H.G. Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi from ISKCON’s Radha Raas Bihari temple at Juhu, Mumbai, a former Assistant General Manager of Industrial Development Bank of India, got her spiritual initiation in 1994. Earlier she conducted a seminar on Isopanisad at Panchkula and Chandigarh during April 2 last year. |
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Water supply to
Sector 9 disrupted
Panchkula, May 11 Hundreds of angry residents of the area took to the streets this evening when the taps in their houses turned dry. Protesting against the disruption of water supply, they said that they did not even have water for drinking. Mr B.N. Bhat, a resident here alleged, “We had not even been informed by the authorities that they were planning to shift supply through the newly-lad water pipelines. Had we been informed earlier, we would have stored water for use.” Meanwhile, a Junior Engineer of HUDA, Mr Jasbir Singh, who had rushed to the spot, said that the water supply could be restored by tomorrow. He said that they had already arranged for water tankers to supply drinking water in the affected areas of the sector. He said that it was in the evening that they had disconnected supply through the old pipeline in order to begin supply through the newly laid pipeline, but because of a technical fault, water supply was disrupted.
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11-yr-old succumbs to injuries Chandigarh, May 11 It may be recalled that the incident occurred while Vinod Kumar, a resident of Sector 30, was returning home along with his family from Panchkula. The Maruti car in which they were travelling was about to take a turn towards the Sector 28-29 dividing road, when a truck coming from the Tribune Chowk rammed into the car. The truck driver is absconding. Vinod's mother-in-law Tankam Menon died on the spot, while his wife Shiela succumbed to her injuries at the PGI later. His two children, Nidhi and 6-year-old Vineet, were seriously injured and admitted to the PGI. |
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READERS WRITE The road dividing Sectors 40 to 47 on one side and Sectors 48 to 55 on the other side in Chandigarh is in a deplorable condition. Road users are put to lot of inconvenience when it rains. Big patches on the road are preventing vehicle users from using the road. During the rainy season, cyclists, two wheelers and cars cannot use the road. Many housing complexes have come up in and around Sectors 48, 49 and so on and residents are forced to use this road as there is no alternative. The Chandigarh Administration should take up the construction of this road on a war footing so that people can use the road without any difficulty. In particular, it should bestow attention on the road between Sector 44 and 45 on one side and Colony No.5 on the other side. This stretch is not a road but a patch of splinters. Worse, this is also accident-prone. It has become a nightmare for the road users. Sometimes, people are forced to skip this stretch and use other interior roads, resulting in congestion and traffic blockade. The authorities should also note that Chandigarh’s outer ring road covering the Sectors as mentioned above has become very busy ever since the new bus stand became operational. Many buses proceeding towards Delhi and Haryana are being pushed on to the road between Sectors 44 and 45 and Colony No.5. Similarly, buses from Delhi and Haryana use this road for entering Chandigarh and for proceeding to various destinations in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir etc. I appeal to the Chandigarh Administration to sympathetically consider the plight of the residents and repair the road expedetiously in the larger interest of all the road users. UJAGAR SINGH,
Courier service The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Panchkula, has authorised a local courier service to deliver the demand drafts/cheques with certain amount of all the unsuccessful candidates who had applied for a one marla plot. The courier service has delivered the same within their reach. However, most of the people are still awaiting the drafts. The courier service has locked its cabin in Sector 11 at Panchkula without intimating others. What will happen to the drafts is anybody’s guess. What is the dictionary meaning of ‘courier’? It is a ‘runner service’ to deliver messages immediately. Courier service gained popularity in India in the 90s. Despite hefty charges, the courier service has expanded in Chandigarh. However, these services ply on their own terms and conditions. Some of them are good and quite necessary though others are completely arbitrary. They are alright if they do not take personal letters, carry jewellery, share certificates, watches and so on. They say that they are not responsible and accountable for articles misplaced in transit\delivery. The courier services should evolve a code of conduct for providing speedy and better services to the customers. The authorities should also formulate guidelines to make the courier services accountable for their acts of omission and commission. M.L.GARG, Chandigarh
Poor cable services The quality of cable TV services being rendered in Panchkula are deteriorating day by day. Compare the cable services between Panchkula and Chandigarh\Mohali. The former always suffer and are not treated on a par with the latter. Surprisingly, Zirakpur gets cable services from Panchkula (40 channels). The quality of services rendered in Zirakpur is definitely better, compared with Panchkula. Chandigarhians get 50 plus channels including two parallel Siti channels relaying both old and new movies simultaneously. They also get news and other programmes\features of Chandigarh in Punjabi and Hindi with a latest movie on Friday night. Siti cable provides live telecast of Gurbani from the gurdwara in Sector 34. They also relay other religious programmes simultaneously in a phased manner in the morning and evening. However, Panchkula operators hardly play Gurbani on their local channel. Even if they play the same sometimes, it will be a repeated cassette without the Punjabi touch of their local channel. All this is shocking because Panchkula residents pay more than those in Chandigarh and Mohali to cable operators. If Siti cable can provide much better services with genuine monthly rates, why can’t the Panchkula operators do the same? Without improving the quality of their services, the latter are always the first to hike the charges whenever a hike is proposed by any pay channel. I do not know why Panchkula and Zirakpur operators charge different rates even though they are closer to Chandigarh. On behalf of the residents of Zirakpur, I request the Siti cable management in Chandigarh to extend its services to Zirakpur because of its good services with total Punjabi touch. The Punjab Government should also clear the hurdles in the way of local operators for connecting cable services with Chandigarh and help bring in Chandigarh’s Siti cable to Zirakpur. PARMINDER SINGH
Headship rotation The system of having the seniormost professor as permanent head of the department (HOD) was discontinued at Panjab University about two decades back. That system perpetuated authoritarianism and snobbery and spoiled many a career in the university. The permanent heads behaved like demi-gods who ran the departments as their personal fiefdoms. Rotation of headship was achieved after a long struggle by the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) and this system has been working successfully. It is only a few self-seekers who have already enjoyed the fruits of rotational system and have now become professors, who are angling for a second term as HOD and are demanding reversal of the process. They may please note that while it would be difficult for one to build an institution than to destroy, institutions are always above personal interests. Dr MOHAMMED KHALID
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Towards better
beat policing
SAS Nagar, May 11 To check the reaction time of the vehicles of the Police Control Room (PCRs), the DSP conducted surprise checking last night. The beat staff was briefed about the nature of their duties at the Phase VIII traffic light point. The wireless sets with the beat staff would be tuned with the frequency of the wireless sets with the senior officials of the police.
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‘Free legal aid an
alternative recourse’ Chandigarh, May 11 Mr Sant Parkash said the State Legal Services in Sector 9, Chandigarh, had been providing free legal aid and services in the Courts of all Judicial Magistrates in Chandigarh, to persons who cannot muster defence due to lack of resources. He said persons eligible for free legal help included persons with disability, members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, victims of human trafficking or beggars, industrial workmen, women or children, having annual income less than Rs 50,000.
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Seminar on self-advancement
Chandigarh, May 11
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‘Let the corrupt be
hanged’ Kharar: The Bar Association, in its meeting held here on Friday demanded that the punishment for corruption cases, which were proved, be raised to capital punishment in order to be a deterrent for the future as has been proposed for rape cases. According to a resolution passed in the meeting, the members appreciated the role of the lawyers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh in fighting corruption. They also lauded the role of the Press in promoting the agitation to fight corruption.
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Man stabbed at marriage party Chandigarh, May 11 Body found:
Sector-41 resident Bhupinder Singh has complained that he was beaten up by several persons after he requested them to move their Tata Suma from the front his house. The complainant said the accused had also attempted to outrage the modesty of his sister. The police has registered a case. Held for eve-teasing:
Man injured:
Car stolen:
Motor cycle stolen:
Scooter stolen:
A resident of Ropar, Surinder Singh, has reported that his Bajaj
Chetak scooter (CHE-6599) was stolen from the District Courts parking. A case has been registered. PANCHKULA According to FIR registered under Section 294 of the IPC, it is alleged that Arvind, a resident of Barnala and Prakash Kumar, a resident of Sector 19 in Ghaziabad, were caught in a compromising position with a girl. The accused girl, who belongs to Gujarat, is staying in Sector 12-A here. Two booked AMBALA
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Son, grandson booked on murder charge Panchkula, May 11 The victim, Sadhu Ram, a resident of Bagpur village near here , was hit with a sharp-edged weapon by his son Ajmer Singh and grandson Mukesh. The incident took place on April 11, when the accused had come to visit Sadhu Ram at his residence. Sadhu Ram has six sons, while four of them, including the accused, were residing in Badi Samour village in Nariangarh sub-division of Ambala , one of them, Jeet Singh was staying with him. The police maintained that there was some dispute over the distribution of a small land holding of Sadhu Ram . Ajmer Singh and his son, Mukesh, arrived at Bagpur on April 11 to take possession of a room in the house. The dispute arose when the duo tried to forcibly take possession of the room by locking it. The old man reportedly objected to this and he himself put another lock on the room. The duo, infuriated at this, took of a sharp-edged weapon lying near by and hit him several times. He was seriously injured . His other son, Jeet Singh, then rushed him to a hospital in Naraingarh, from where he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. It was on the way to Chandigarh that Sadhu Ram breathed his last. The family members, in an attempt to hush up the case, quickly arranged for his funeral which was later performed. The case would not have come to light had it not been for a daughter- in- law of the victim’s brother, Satya Devi, who finally broke her silence today. The police has registered a case under sections 304, 201 and 34 of the IPC. The accused have absconded. |
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