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| Saturday,
December 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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Alert cops nab purse snatchers Chandigarh, December 20 HONOUR FOR COPS According to information available, the two youths have snatched a purse from Ms Veena Sood, employed as an article reporter in Haryana. She, along with a friend, had gone to visit her acquittance in Sector 20. The duo were about to alight from a rickshaw when the two scooter-borne youths snatched the purse containing two rings and about Rs 1,000 in cash. But the victim managed to note the number of the scooter (HR-03-3311) on which the snatchers had fled. On receiving the message at around 4.04 pm, message was flashed to all PCR vehicles in the city. An alert PCR patrol party, comprising constables Surinder Singh and Nasib Singh, sighted the scooter near the Sector 38-39 roundabout and gave the culprits a hot chase. Finally the snatchers were overpowered near the Shahpur chowk. The snatchers were questioned by the CIA staff. The DSP (East), Mr Surjeet Singh, said one of the snatchers, Sanjeev, had done engineering from Neelokheri in Haryana. The other suspect, Rajeev, had passed senior secondary examination. During their questioning, they said they had stolen the scooter from Sector 17 about a month ago and painted a fake registration number on it. The registration number on the scooter was that of a car belonging to Parkash Singh of Jolluwal in Pinjore. |
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Court allows PU to hold law exams Chandigarh, December 20 Pronouncing the orders in the open court, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta, ruled: "The permission granted by the university to those candidates who had earlier not fulfilled the “minimum lecture condition” will, however, be subject to the final decision of the case". The judges added: "Accordingly, it will be imperative for the university, while issuing roll numbers to such candidates, to inform them that their results would be subject to the result of the instant case". In their detailed order, the judges observed: "Counsel for the respondents had filed an affidavit of the university Registrar in compliance with the directions issued by the court on December 17. He, however, seeks an adjournment to enable him to file the written statement. The prayer is allowed. A written statement be filed within two weeks from today with a copy in advance to counsel for the petitioner". The case will now come up for further hearing on January 6 next year. In his petition, student Jitin Talwar had earlier sought the quashing of an order dated December 7, whereby the ongoing examinations had been rescheduled "not withstanding the fact that the papers had already commenced". |
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IAF notification unjustified: panel Zirakpur, December 20 The panel comprising Mr Deepinder Singh Dhillon, Additional Advocate-General of Punjab; Mr Krishan Pal Sharma and Mr Narinder Sharma, general secretary of the Ilaqua Zirakpur Bachao Committee, has prepared a report based on facts relating to the notifications issued by the IAF under the Act. The five-page reportsays that the notification issued on May 22, 2001, is a general one, but the authorities have failed to mention the applicability of it. The report also says: “Under Section 3 (II) of the Act, a declaration should be published in the official gazette and applied statewide wherever the restrictions on the use of land have to be imposed. Under Section 4 of the Act, no such restriction can be imposed until the declaration under Section 3 has been made.” Mr Dhillon said the notification was incomplete and not complying with the provisions of the Act. The notification gave no area where the restrictions were to be imposed. The panel says that the ban is unjustified. It has sought an immediate withdrawal of the decision taken by the Punjab
Government. It wants that the IAF should be asked to clarify its
position on the issue. At a press conference organised here, Mr
Krishan Pal Sharma, a member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee
and one of the panelists, said the panel led by Mr R.R. Bhardwaj,
Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board, would submit its report
on the issue to the Punjab Chief Minister in a day or two. The CM
should be urged to take up the matter on a priority basis, he said. |
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92 fake CDs seized Chandigarh, December 20 Sleuths of the CIA wing of the Chandigarh police on receiving information about the sale of fake audio and video discs raided shops in Sectors 19 and 40. As many as 92 video CDs and three audio CDs were seized. The raids were conducted on a complaint lodged by Mr Vipin Kumar Vig, manager of the anti-piracy cell of T-Series. Three persons, Satnam of Rishi Video Audio in Sector 19, Gaurav Kumar of KK Music Centre in Sector 40 and another shop in Sector 40 were rounded up during the raid. An official of the CIA wing said at least 80 fake CDs were seized from the Sector 40 shop about a month ago. During questioning the owner of the shop disclosed that persons selling the fake CDs came from Delhi. A fake CD was being sold at Rs 100 each. |
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A year of achievements Chandigarh, December 20
A controversy was generated over the amendment in the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. Barring this, the year was full of achievements for the administration as it saw more jobs for teachers, new roads, new projects and addition of facilities besides a boost in IT sector. The Rent Act amendment made on November 7 gave more powers to landlords to deal with their tenants. It had a visible impact on the auctions this year as the price of commercial property skyrocketed. Though tenants were up in arms against UT Administrator Lt -Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), he remained firm despite two bandhs and several agitations. One of the biggest things to happen was the signing of an MoU between IT giant Infosys and the UT Administration. The company’s upcoming IT park, spread across 20 acres, will have an investment of Rs 100 crore and provide jobs to 2500 youths. Stamp duty on real estate was drastically reduced, benefiting the public. For transfer within the family, stamp duty was completely scrapped. The administration also ventured into the area of biotechnology. The idea was to seek suggestions from the PGI, Panjab University, NIPER, IMTECH and CSIO on boosting biotechnology industry and research in the city. As a result, a world-class bio-technology lab, which would benefit all research scientists of the institutes, is coming up. The botanical garden is planned on the lines of the ‘‘kew gardens ’’, London. For the elderly, the much-awaited Cheshire Home was also inaugurated in a transit building. Regarding infrastructure, an attempt was made to bridge the north-south gap. Commuters from SAS Nagar were a happier lot as General Jacob inaugurated five more link roads to the township. Commuting to Panchkula is still a tough job. However, the main road was widened to add another lane. The third alternate route to Panchkula is ready to be commissioned within two months. The city got a direct link with the Northern Power Grid when a 220 kv substation was inaugurated in June. For various cooperative group housing societies the struggle to get allotment letters ended. However, a lot needs to be done as some of the societies are still suffering as land allotted to them is encroached upon. On the education front, 280 more posts of teachers were sanctioned. A total of 555 new selections were made during the past two years. All middle schools in the city were upgraded to high schools. With IT being the focus, the administration laid emphasis on human resource development for the upcoming industry. Punjab Engineering College became a deemed University. As part of the infrastructure sector, Optical Fibre Centre (OFC) in the city was completed. A wired link between the DC office in Sector 17 and the Main secretariat has been established. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking got a world-class workshop following surprise raids by General Jacob. In 2002, the city got its first Hockey Academy whereas the one-year-old Football Academy showed positive results as its players won many national tournaments. Ex-servicemen of the city got free medical treatment facility in all government hospitals. Moreover, ex-servicemen benefited from a decision that date of sewerage connection would be deemed as date of completion for houses and they did not have to pay 33 per cent un-earned charges to the Estate Office at the time of transfer of their property. The power of the UT Administrator to sanction works was enhanced from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 5 crore. The experiment of the Chandigarh administration to educate street children in night school showed positive results. CITCO opened a new outlet ‘‘Drop In’’ and Parkview is being upgraded. The residents of peripheral areas of the city got a relief as SDM office opened in Industrial Area and Sports Stadium, Sector 42. In the southern sectors, Sector 48 got a new greenbelt and the roads in Sector 48 and 49 were repaired. |
Parwanoo-Pinjore bypass remains a dream Parwanoo, December 20 The bypass was to take off from the 55 km mile stone of the National Highway-22, near HMT, was to join near Datyar village on the Kalka-Shimla highway, near Timber Trail Hotel. The bypass would have helped reduce the distance between Ambala and Shimla by about 55 km and ease the traffic around Pinjore, Kalka and Parwanoo. The existing NH-22 passes through Pinjore and Kalka in Haryana and Parwanoo, Dharampur, Solan, Shimla and Wangoo in Himachal Pradesh. The high density corridor of the NH-22, passing through Pinjore, Kalka and Parwanoo, presently serves the industrial belt of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Keeping in view the congestion of the traffic in Solan and Shimla, bypasses have already been constructed there to ease out the traffic. According to officials, a feasibility report for the project was completed 2 years back and handed over to the government. Sources said the total cost of the construction of the project, as projected in the feasibility report, was about Rs 60 crore at that time. The officials added that besides industrial activities, including marketing and distribution of apples and other fruits, the road also caters to tourists and heavy machinery being carried for hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh. They added that during the recent years, the socio-economic activities had resulted in increasing traffic congestion, delays and accidents, causing huge economic losses. The officials added that in order to relieve congestion on this section of the NH-22 and to ensure safe, efficient, economic and channelised flow of the traffic, the Union Minister of Surface Transport proposed the construction of the integrated bypass. They said the length of the bypass in Haryana Sector was 5.610 km up to Tipra village, where the Himachal Preadesh sector begins. In the Himachal Pradesh sector, which starts from Tipra and joins the existing NH-22 near Datyar village, the length of the bypass was 8.73 km. |
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CMs urged to implement rent Act Chandigarh, December 20 The president of the committee, Mr Angrez Singh Badheri, requested all intellectuals of Punjab and Haryana and the Bharat Kissan Unions of Punjab and Haryana to come forward and support the cause of the property owners in Chandigarh as and when a call for the same is given by the Pind Bachao Committee or the Property Owners Welfare Association (POWA). Because a large number of owners in Chandigarh are oustees who have already lost their lands and profession of agriculture and allied professions from villages without alternative rehabilitations for the coming up of the Capitol Project, Chandigarh. The next course of action in reaction to the partial bandh by traders will be decided by the joint action committee of POWA at a meeting on Sunday. In a message of protest against yesterday’s bandh by the Beopar
Mandal, Mr Badheri warned the leaders that they had been unethically agitating not only against the Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) but against the Constitution, Parliament and the President of India. |
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MC poll: dissent brewing in Cong Panchkula, December 20 The Congress announced its decision of not participating, directly or indirectly, in the forthcoming MC elections, here on December 14. While a section of the party has honoured the decision, there is resentment amongst the majority who feel that the party will not do justice to its vote bank by opting out. A number of office-bearers, who earlier announced their decision to be in the fray, are now contemplating leaving the party. A number of Congressmen feel the party will lose on its vote bank by opting out of the poll. “The Congress has not been in the power in the state for the past six years and there are still two more years for the next Assembly elections. Eight years is a long time to be out of power. The party could have benefitted by renewing its popularity here at the hustings,” said an office-bearer, who is contesting the elections. Also, the fact that a number of Congress leaders are contesting against each other in various wards has added to the worries of senior party leaders. They feel the Congress vote bank will be divided and a number of their supporters will shift towards candidates supported by rival parties. A decision to abstain from elections was taken in protest against the formation of the MC in Panchkula and the party decided not to support any candidates in the election fray. While reiterating the party’s support for democracy and delegating more powers at the local bodies level, the Congress said Panchkula was not yet a fully developed town and thus not ready for local governance. The party also filed a civil writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the constitution of the MC. The decision on these petitions is still pending. |
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RUN-UP TO MC POLL WARD NOS. 19 & 20 Panchkula, December 20 The voters of Ward No. 19, i.e., Sector 12-A and village Railley, and Ward No. 20 i.e. Sector 14 (Kendriya, Shakti Vihar, IOC, HSIDC, Aaloankar, HAFED apartments, HB Colony, BEL Colony) think that the main issue for these elections will be proper maintenance of roads, removal of garbage and better streetlight maintenance, especially on B-roads within the sectors. Though both these wards will see a three cornered contest between candidates supported by the Indian National Lok Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party and Independents, the latter, say residents will have a definite edge. Mr S.C. Chaddha from Ward No. 19 and Dr Satish Chakravarty and Mr Randhir Badhran from Ward No. 20 have already jumped in the election fray. As many as 7054 voters (4508 and 2546 in Ward Nos. 19 and 20, respectively) will exercise their franchise to elect their representative to the Municipal Council. Both wards are general wards. Most residents of these wards feel that civic amenities — better streetlighting facilities, cleanliness; better roads; clean water supply (low water pressure is a major problem) are the main issues they would like to be redressed. Residents of Sector 12-A and Railley village say that the roads are in a pitiable condition. The gradient of the roads is not proper and water stagnates, especially on the B-roads within the Sector. They also complain that Congress grass is another malice, which has to be redressed. In Ward No. 20, the residents feel that other than improving the condition of roads, the malba had to be removed regularly from the road sides. They also complained of low water pressure, which caused problem in the number of highrise buildings here. |
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75 file papers on ‘auspicious’ day Panchkula, December 20 With most of the candidates consulting astrologers for the “right day and time”, the colour to be worn while filing of nomination papers, and even the number of vehicles of supporters to be taken while filing the nominations are being planned by candidates only after the go- ahead has been given by the respective astrologers. With the dholi being considered a quintessential part of any group of supporters coming to the Mini Secretariat for filing nominations, the entire place was rent with the beats of dhol and supporters jiving to the beats. Even yesterday was considered a lucky day, when 59 candidates had filed their nomination papers. Till date 173 candidates have filed their nominations for contesting the elections from 31 wards of the Panchkula Municipal Council. |
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‘Signs of change in
the Valley’ Chandigarh, December 20 He said the people of the state expected some relief from the new government. “Earlier, the atmosphere in the state was charged, but, now, the masses are enjoying more freedom,” he said. The elections had given people an opportunity to bring about a change for the better. The opportunity should be seized now. “We urge all major political forces not to make Kashmir a battleground for partition. Certain steps will have to be taken to overcome the crisis,” he said. He also said the root cause of the Kashmir problem was that India and Pakistan had still not got over the trauma of the Partition. The other reasons are Pakistan’s belief that it has a “divine” right to meddle in the affairs of the state and its unwillingness to accept that the balance of power in South Asia is in India’s favour. “Militancy cannot be wished away. To address the situation, we have to try and win over the minds of the people to narrow down the militancy affected zone,” he said. Militancy, he said, was a two-dimensional problem, arising out of the political situation in India and interference from across the border, which required a serious and sustained dialogue if it had to be ended. There was no doubt that the people of the state were fed up of violence. “There may not be a change in the political mood of the people, but they want to lead honourable and peaceful lives,” he said. He stressed the need for rejuvenating the state’s economy. “Removal of youth unemployment and revival of the tourism and horticulture industries can yield rich dividends. The wounds require a h Earlier, the conference where he spoke was attended by a number of experts from India and abroad. A panel discussion on conflict resolution was also held. |
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Organic foods enter city market Chandigarh, December 20 WHY ORGANIC FOODS?
As the festival opened, the counter of Manthan, a non profit, non-political organisation devoted to organic food movement in the country, also opened on the hypermarket premises. After struggling for over a year to manage a sale outlet in the city, Manthan, which works under the aegis of the Ministry of Rural Development, finally opened its branch in the city today. It may be mentioned here that Manthan’s Kalagram outlet was not showing good sales on account of its being away from the city. Now as the organic foods are available in the heart of the city, farmers involved in their growth feel they have a reason to pursue organic farming. Almost all organic products — from pulses to vermicompost — are now available in the city sub-centre. Manthan has especially procured organically (fertiliser and pesticide-free) grown wheat flour, corn flour, green raungi, basmati rice, exotic varieties of pulses grown without any chemical input at any level. The manure used in growing all the organic foods are vermicompost, nadep compost, biomass, and only vermiwash, neem, tulsi base is used as the pest repellent for growing such produce. Crop rotation is adopted for natural pest control. |
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Kids make merry while snow falls Dera Bassi, December 20 Snow in Dera Bassi, how is that possible? If the question is making your head spin as if you have gulped three large pegs of invigorating hard drink in one go, you can ask the organisers. They have an explanation to offer. “Real snow has been created with the help of giant machines. Once you switch them on, large areas are covered with snowflakes. You do not even have to wait for the miracle to take place. It happens within minutes,” the organisers claim. For those of you who missed the fun today, there is no reason to despair. You can still go and feel soft fresh snow under the ruthless soles of your shoes till January 19, for “Ice games” will continue till then. The best thing about the entire show is that you do not have to be fresh out of school for having a good time. There is something special for everyone — no doubt about it. If you like to cut footloose to the thumping beat of pulsating music, you can dance and feel the snowflakes all over even as the DJ mixes some real fast numbers. You can even slide down the specially created slopes in “Santa sledge” — one that is straight, other that is “more like a pendulum”. Kids can even play in a snow cave. Those of you who have always tried to imagine how “bad a blizzard can be” after hearing Jim Reeves’ famous number, walk into a special room. “As soon as you enter, you will feel snow falling all over you, making you feel as if you have been trapped in the Arctic”, the organisers assert. This is not all. You can get yourself photographed next to a giant Christmas tree decorated with bells, frills and stars. Santa will also present nice alluring gifts. Kids can also pose after dressing up like eskimos. A money machine will also be there for little ones, enabling them to catch “flying fake money”. So folks, have a nice time, you have enough time for it. |
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‘Devi Roopak’ to promote family welfare Panchkula, December 20 Stating this here yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Satwanti Ahalawat, said that this scheme would augment the existing family welfare services and to motivate more and more couples to adopt these norms. To avail the benefit of this scheme, a couple, who are not income tax payees, should register themselves with the local gram panchayat of the municipality of the area The age of the husband should be below 45 years and that of his wife less than 40 years as on September 25, 2002. She said that a couple having only one child would have to adopt terminal method of family planning and at the birth of the first girl child would get a monthly incentive at Rs 500 per month up to 20 years and on the birth of the first male child the government would give a monthly incentive of Rs 200 per month for 20 years. On the birth of the second girl child (provided first child is a girl child), the government would give monthly incentive at Rs 200 per month up to 20 years. |
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Bharat Vikas Parishad zonal conference Chandigarh, December 20 Various topics pertaining to national integration, social service, swadeshi, healthcare, spiritual discourses and activities of the BVP will be discussed at the conference. The Governor of Punjab, Lt-Gen JFR Jacob (retd), will inaugurate the conference. Mr Jacob will also release Samarpan, a souvenir. A colourful cultural extravaganza — ‘Ekta’ — will be organised for the delegates depicting age-old cultures of different states, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, J&K, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala and West Bengal, Mr Vinod Jaidka, a parishad spokesman, said in a press note today. |
Cash, jewellery stolen Panchkula, December 20 Two arrested Liquor seized Chandigarh Burn injuries Head Constable Suman, who came to the rescue of the victim, also received injuries on his hands. In another case, 65-year-old Archi of Madrasi colony in Bapu Dham allegedly immolated herself after pouring kerosene on her. A police official said the victim was mentally unstable for the past few years. Both the victim were admitted to the PGI. Knocked down |
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Held with stolen motor cycle SAS Nagar, December 20 According to the police, Ajai Pal was driving from Chandigarh to SAS Nagar when he was stopped at the police naka in Phase X and asked for papers. He reportedly did not have any papers of the motor cycle and it was later found that the vehicle was a stolen one. The accused, who is a resident of Phase X also had a mobile phone with him which the police has taken in custody. |
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