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| Wednesday,
April 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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CBI arrests excise Inspector Chandigarh, April 29 A team of CBI sleuths led by the ASP, Mr Surinder Pal Singh, laid a trap on a complaint by the shopkeeper. When the Inspector, Sanauwlha Khan, came for the money, sleuths arrested him. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. According to the information, the inspector used to frequent the shop of the complainant and demanded money for not possessing the sales tax certificate. Initially, the inspector had demanded Rs 20,000, but the deal was settled for Rs 5,000. Two months back, the inspector started calling the shopkeeper on telephone. He also visited the house of the shopkeeper a number of times. In October, 2002, Harbans Lal closed his shop when another repair shop of refrigerators and air-conditioners opened adjacent to his shop. He then shifted to another place in Mani Majra. The inspector kept on harassing the complainant to bribe him failing which action would be taken by the Excise and Taxation Department. The complainant had applied for a sales tax certificate, but could not arrange a guarantee. After arresting the inspector, the CBI team raided the office of the Inspector. About Rs 27,000 and some documents were recovered from the office almirah of the inspector. Raids were also conducted at the Sector 12-A house of the Inspector and assets worth over Rs 10 lakh were recovered from there. A CBI official said the documents were being examined. The Inspector was working as an insurance agent and his son was also working for a insurance company. The inspector had allegedly tried to injure himself with a pin on his wrist. However, the CBI sleuths detected the act of the inspector. After being examined at the Sector 16 General Hospital, the inspector was sent in the custody of the Sector 31 Police Station. He would be produced in the district courts tomorrow. |
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Sachin’s kidnappers arrested Panchkula, April 29 The case of kidnapping 18-year-old Sachin Garg, son of businessman and philanthropist Mahesh Garg has been solved by a police team led by DSP (Headquarters), Desh Bandhu and Sub-Inspector Sujit Kumar. Four accused, Gaurav Mani of Mani Majra, Govind of Bir Ghaggar, Pankaj Bansal of Sector 10, Panchkula, and Amit Verma have been arrested. Another accused, Gaurav Bhalla, son of a Haryana ministerial employee posted at Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh, who masterminded the kidnapping, has managed to give the police a slip. The police is also looking for Sanjay Naica of Baltana and Munish Bhalla of Ambala. Three accomplices of the arrested persons, Amit, Givid and Sanjay, have been booked for harbouring the remaining four. The accused were arrested after the police tracked down the Airtel mobile phone number from where the ransom calls had been made to the family of the victim. The police said one of the accused, Gaurav Bhalla, had befriended a close relative of victim Sachin Garg. It was through this relative that he gained information about Sachin and then executed the kidnapping. Superintendent of Police Ranbir Singh Sharma informed that the victim was kidnapped for ransom on April 1. The boy, a Class XII student of a local school, had gone to play cricket with his friends. He was reportedly followed by four unidentified men in a car, who managed to stalk his car on the Sector 17/18 dividing road . Two of the accused reportedly got into his car and took control of it at gunpoint. The victim was then blindfolded and taken away to a house in Sector 10 here. Sachin’s car was found abandoned on the Zirakpur-Rajpura road and the family was informed of this on the night of April 1. They reportedly got two calls from the miscreants, demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore and were allowed to talk to the victim briefly on the next day. The police say that the parents were asked to pay the ransom amount at PGI, Chandigarh and the latter had paid around Rs 70 lakh. The boy was finally let off near the Sector 20 market on the night of April 2. |
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Pall of gloom at pilot’s house Panchkula, April 29 Though the Tomars had after receiving the news of their son’s helicopter going missing at about 10.30 a.m., rushed to Manali, it was only around 1.30 p.m. that the news of his death spread in the neighbourhood. The residents, who had seen the news of the crash on TV, gathered to console his sister-in-law Anu Tomar and look after his children. “I cannot believe that he is dead,” said a neighbour. “He was here only last Saturday and was talking of his plans to join the Haryana Civil Aviation Club at Pinjore so that he could be nearer home. He had come here to drop his wife and children after spending a week with them in Manali”, he added. It was the neighbours who received the victim’s in-laws upon their arrival from Delhi. They also arranged for food. “He was a role model for the children of this area. He had made it big in the Indian Air Force and only a few months ago had joined a private company as a pilot. He would inspire the youth to broaden their horizons and do something meaningful in life,” said his friend of 20 years, Mr Naresh Sharma. It is learnt that after Kishan had taken up the job in Manali, his wife Mukta Tomar and their children were staying with her in-laws and she was teaching at Dikshant International School. Kishan had been a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47, Chandigarh. Neighbours remember him as being gregarious. He had done his diploma from the Indo-Swiss Training Centre, CSIO, and later joined the Air Force. He had taken voluntary retirement after 11 years of service last year. It was about four months ago that he had taken up
The victim’s father, Mr Sahib Singh Tomar, Deputy Director of the Indo-Swiss Training Centre (CSIO), Chandigarh, received a call at his office from Manali at about 9.30 am, informing him that the helicopter had gone missing. He came back to Panchkula and headed for Manali along with his wife and Ms Mukta. The victim’s children were in school and Ms Anu Tomar had stayed behind to take care of them. |
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IN FOCUS Kharar, April 29 Consequently, sewage and waste water was being let off in open areas. With no outlet for this waste, dirty water has accumulated in several pockets of the township, posing wealth hazards. Residents say that besides the foul smell, such areas are a breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes. During summers it is difficult to pass by due to the swarm of flies blanketing the area. Residents fear that this could give rise to various diseases. About 70 per cent of the municipal area of Kharar does not has an established sewerage system. In these areas, residents rely on septic tanks or open drains channeling waste water away from their localities. The Khanpur area, Anaj Mandi, Bangla Basti, Swaraj Nagar, Batala Road, Mundi Kharar, Desu Majra and Sante Majra Colony are among the areas particularly hard hit by stagnant water. Residents also say that around 10 colonies developed by private builders, most of them approved by PUDA, have come up in the township. While they are required to have their own sewerage treatment plants, it has not been done so far. As an ad-hoc measure, they have dug wells, into which sewage from the colonies is dumped. Residents complain that this is further polluting ground water. The state of the water supply to the township is no better. Residents allege that 30 per cent of the area within MC limits has no access to potable water as there are no water pipelines laid in these areas. The President of the Kharar Municipal Committee, Mr Charanjit Singh, said during the
committee’s last meeting, a resolution was passed to take a loan of Rs 7 crore from HUDCO to construct a sewerage system and lay water pipes to supply potable water to residents. As far as water supply is concerned, the MC plans to bore five new tubewells are being bored and two overhead water-storage tanks are to be constructed. Besides, a 1.2 km long main water-supply pipeline is to be laid, from which a network of 21.5 km distributaries will branch off to carry potable water to homes. MC officials say that the water pipeline transporting water to the Kajauli waterworks in Chandigarh from the Bhakra-Beas network passes through Kharar and a point has been provided to cater to Kharar’s needs. They add that if this point is activated, Kharar’s water problem could be solved. |
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Fixed phone users to feel the heat from tomorrow
Chandigarh, April 29 It would not be due to shortage of time, but due to substantial hike in call rates with effect from May 1. As per the new tariff, the fixed phone subscribers would have to pay two to six times more for making calls on WLL and cellular networks. For making a local call, the fixed phone users would have to shell out Rs 7.20 for a three-minute call for calling at a mobile phone and Rs 2.40 for a three-minute call for calling at a WLL phone. However, tariff for a call from a fixed phone to another fixed phone remain unchanged. Officials of the BSNL claimed that though some of the landline subscribers may decide to surrender their phones, but they could shift towards the mobile network as well. So there would be no financial loss to the corporation. Further, a section of customers, they said, would be attracted to keep landline and cellular phone simultaneously. They could use landline phones for making calls on landline network and for internet and a mobile could be used for making calls at the cellular network. The pulse rate for a distance of 50-100 kms (say Chandigarh to Patiala) has been reduced from two minutes to one minute for landline to landline calls. So they would have to pay Rs 2.40 for a two-minute call instead of Rs 1.20. At the same rate, said an official of a cellular company, one could easily call from a mobile phone to a fixed phone. According to Namita Sekhon, General Manager (Finance), BSNL Chandigarh, ‘‘the new tariff has been introduced keeping in view interconnect user charges (ICU), but customers can also take economy, special and super packs.’’ In urban areas, said a BSNL official, one could take economy pack for Rs 350, special pack for Rs 750 and super pack for Rs 1650 per month, including rental. They would get 150, 600 and 1000 free calls, respectively, under these schemes. Further, they would get concession for additional calls. The landline and cellular subscribers would also have to pay an additional 12.5 per cent sales tax on monthly rental imposed by Punjab and other state governments, and increased service tax from 5 to 8 per cent, introduced in the current Budget.  |
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K.
K. Mookerjee dead Chandigarh, April 29 Mr Mookerjee was a regular contributor to The Tribune and the first Chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB). Born in Patiala, he later played cricket for Panjab University. Mr D.K. Mukerjee, a former president of the Chandigarh Badminton Association, is his younger brother. During his tenure as the UT Finance Secretary, Mr Mookerjee had initiated the move for establishing a badminton hall in Sector 42. His funeral was attended by former city Mayor Mr Gian Chand Gupta, the UT Chief Engineer Mr Puranjit Singh, the Chief Engineer CHB Mr S.K. Jain and his former colleagues. |
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11-yr-old sets
herself ablaze Chandigarh, April 29 According to information, the parents of the deceased, Nadim and
Afsana, work at a factory in Darwa. The victim is survived by five siblings, including two brothers. A police official said her parents had gone for work and the children were at home. Suddenly, the younger brother of the
deceased left the home looking for his parents. The boy walked down to the factory where his parents were. Fearing that her parents would reprimand her for not looking after her brother, she poured kerosene on herself and set herself ablaze. On seeing his sister ablaze, her elder brother rushed to inform neighbours. The girl was rushed to the PGI where she succumbed to her injuries. |
Suicides: because society
doesn’t care
Chandigarh, April 29 Subjects of nearly 10 cases of parasuicide (failed suicide attempts) in the city reveal in their interviews that they have reached a stage where they are unable to handle interpersonal relationships or cope with the changing trends of society. They see society disintegrating and no longer caring for its people. However, as you get closer to them, you find a hope of opening them to life and its possibilities. When asked what they want, they say: "I want to feel like I am a part of the system; to be loved and cared for. I don't want to have no one to talk." These 10 youngsters who have attempted to end this "prosaic existence" — as they call it — are still low on hope and confidence, and they still talk of death as the only alternative. They describe suicide as the only way to peace. When Chandigarh Tribune spoke to these stressed youngsters at a special session organised by Theater Age in Sector 24, a disturbing fact came to light. They are all scared of future and the lingering sense of despair. Rani's (name changed) wrists bore a testimony to her suicide attempts. She talked of her husband and society with disdain. "I feel mad at myself. My husband left me for another woman." Rani voiced the fears that brought back a recurring feeling of anguish. "I feel like killing myself when I think of him with another woman. I have no money to raise my four-year-old daughter. Once, I found her biting into a piece of roti picked up from the drain. Could you have
survived that moment had you been her mother?" The questions haunts you, while a 14-year-old girl says that she could not cope with her poverty. "I was a brilliant student, but had to drop out because my parents had no money to educate me. I am 14 and working already. When I go to work, men pass derisive
remarks at me. I tried to kill myself because I was frustrated and no one cared to know why?" Gayatri (name changed), 19 has lived with the abuses of her parents. Examination is her acid test. "The burden of performance was immense, but I did not have any energy left. I wanted to prove that I can hurt them by ending my life." Ridden with inferiority complex, Gayatri attempted to kill herself, so that, she could punish her parents. Among the many dropouts who had gathered there to unwind, the feeling of desperation was common. Jyoti Pandey, 16, said: "Parents ask you to perform. Employers ask for experience. People ask you to behave. Everyone passes judgments. This place is just not for us." There is still hope, which appeared when Mr Zulfiqar Khan, Dr Avinish Jolly, Dr S. Lavasa, Prof Kiran Sharma, Mr Sudershan Singh and others present on the occasion offered to reach out to those in need of counsel. |
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Privatisation in through backdoor
Chandigarh, April 29 Privatisation will, now, be ushered in through the backdoor with the Municipal Corporation today allowing the Congress councillors, Ms Shyama Negi, Ms Pushpa Sharma and Ms Geeta Chaudhary to extend to their wards the Mohalla Sudhar Samiti (MSS) sanitation scheme, being implemented by another Congress councillor, Ms Kamlesh, in Ram Darbar. The Sweepers Union president, Mr Shyam Lal Ghavri, said councillors who wanted the MSS to be introduced in their areas would be gheraoed from tomorrow and protests would be intensified with members resorting to fast. He said the sweepers’ strike would not be withdrawn till the contract system was abolished. The MC committee has been asked to examine the issue of privatisation and make recommendations next month for an alternative to keep the city clean. Decision pending, financial tenders will not be opened. The House said, till permanent posts of sweeper were allowed by the Centre, an alternative had to be found. It seemed a bad day for sanitation here with the House also deciding to put on hold for six months the campaign to rid the city of stray cattle and press the Chandigarh Administration for rehabilitating dairy owners away from the city. The MSS scheme has won praise for being able to clean what was once the dirtiest areas of Ram Darbar, but run into controversies on the welfare society’s resistance to audit, demand of grants from the corporation and reluctance to collect charges. The two-hour gherao by the Sweepers Union in front of the MC office, during which, sweepers abused the Mayor and burnt his effigy, also echoed among councillors with the BJP’s Mr Gian Chand Gupta and Ms Kamla Sharma and the Congress councillor Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma raising objection why tenders had been floated without revealing the terms and conditions of the contract to the House. The BJP’s Ms Kamla Sharma and Mr Rajesh Gupta, the Chandigarh Vikas Manch councillors Ms Harpreet Kaur and Mr Jatinder Bhatia, nominated members Dr K.S. Raju and Dr B.M. Verma, besides three members of the Congress, will be on the new committee. The names of the Congress members will be announced after consulting the party. The Congress councillors were opposing each other on the issues of audit of the MSS funds and privatisation of sanitation. The Dalit councillors, Mr Sohan Lal and Mr Balraj Singh, said privatisation and sanitation through the MSS would deprive the Valmiki community of its sources of income. Arguments by some Congress and nominated councillors that privatisation would bring immediate jobs for 700 youths of the community and ensure improvement in sanitation fell on deaf ears. The Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Kuldeep Singh, supported a demand by the BJP councillor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, that the capture of stray cattle from the UT villages be halted. A visibly disturbed Mayor lost temper once and engaged in a verbal duel with the Leader of the Opposition, Ms Kamla Sharma. The corporation also approved the setting up of a Rs 29.39 lakh tubewell to augment the water supply to Pipliwala town and a major concession for the STD-PCO owners operating from houses that their water tariff be brought down to domestic level. |
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Dharna
by Admn, MC employees Chandigarh, April 29 Leaders of the employees criticised the Administration for not accepting their pending demands. They said all employees sent to the municipal corporation should be treated on deputation. They said the Administration should scrap the process of seeking panels from Punjab and Haryana and UT employees should be adjusted against vacant posts. The general secretary of the Federation of UT Employees and Workers, Mr Bhag Mal Rana, said the employees would intensify the stir if the demands were not accepted within 15 days. The demands include restoration of service conditions prevailing in 1966, grant of bonus for the past five years, increase in retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, release of dearness allowance on the Central pattern, treating transferred employees of the Chandigarh Administration on deputation to the MC, and framing of housing scheme for the employees. |
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SAVE SUKHNA Alternatives of wet-dredging and raising the level of the Sukhna lake by 2 feet are not the answers to save it from drying up. The only way of making the life span of the lake equal to that of Chandigarh is to fill it up with desilted water. This can be done by constructing a filter house fitted with self-cleansing vertical filters. The hopes of the lake being an instrument of recreation were dashed to the ground when its water-holding capacity started decreasing. Efforts made to recover this capacity by desilting the silted portions were not fruitful yet these continued for several years. Fed up with the state of affairs, the Government of India considered wet dredging and raising the level of the lake by 2 feet as alternatives. Neither is a permanent solution. S.P. Malhotra,
Former Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation (Haryana), Panchkula |
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Mohali
Press Club poll on May 4 SAS Nagar, April 29 According to a press statement issued by Mr Kuldip Singh, Returning Officer, the last date for filing nominations will be May 2, 2003. Today was the last day of the membership drive of the club. More than 40 journalists of the township have become members of the club. |
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VIVA pop girls coming today Chandigarh, April 29 It will be entertainment, dancing and fun with the NIFDians ready to chill out with the VIVA girls and also getting a chance to meet the compere of Channel V Hotline, Jump Start, Classic etc. The programme is slated for 11.45 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) on the NIFD campus in Sector 8C (Madhya Marg). |
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MC chief denies charge Panchkula, April 29 |
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MC meeting after result notification Panchkula, April 29 Mr O.P. Sihag, Executive Officer of the Municipal Council, said the results of yesterday’s election of Mrs Seema Chaudhary, president and Mrs Kuljit Waraich vice-president have been sent to the Deputy Commissioner for forwarding this to the state government. He said the first meeting of the council would be called as soon as the election of the above mentioned candidates was notified by the state government. |
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Condolence
meeting Chandigarh, April 29 The meeting will be held at the Chandigarh Press Club at 10 a.m. |
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Robber let off, probe against ASI Chandigarh, April 29 The ASI, posted at the
Manimajra police station, had called one of the robbers, Sanjay, to
the police station on March 8 but had let him off after finding that
no cognizable offence could be made out against him, police sources
said. Mechanics in the motor market area also confirmed that the case
had been brought to the light of officials at the Manimajra police
station. Through a censure notice, the SHO of the police station had
been asked to explain this glaring lapse. The sources said the DSP,
(East) who was the supervisory officer of the police station had
reportedly been informed about the development. According to
information, a painter in the Manimajra motor market, Ranbir Singh,
had complained to the police that he had received a truck for a
repaint job and the occupants of the truck appeared to be suspicious.
On the complaint of Ranbir, a entry was made in the Daily Diary
Register (DDR). But Sanjay had told the police that two others were
involved in the theft of the truck. Sanjay was let off by the ASI and
the truck was not impounded. The Chandigarh police had claimed on
April 27 that the truck had led to the arrest of two members of an
organised gang waylaying truckers on highways in the north-western
region. The 18-member gang had robbed goods worth lakhs of rupee in 17
cases. Sanjay and Vinod, who were arrested from Saketri village in
Panchkula, and residents of Jind, had told the police that they along
with Jatinder, of Chabri village in Jind, had waylaid the truck which
was carrying soaps and cosmetic items. The loaded truck was brought to
Chandigarh and given for repainting to Randhir Singh, on March 4. The
stolen goods were loaded into a tractor trailer and later sold in Jind
for over Rs 1 lakh. A case under Sections 379, 411, 473 , 482 and
120-B, IPC, was registered at the Manimajra police station on April
26. |
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Markfed gives away prizes to winners Chandigarh, April 29 The scheme which evoked a good response from the public was introduced on refined and vanaspati oils and was valid till Baisakhi. Among the winners were Anju Dogra, who won a cutlery set, and Manisha from Chandigarh, who won microwave oven. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Channy said organised food retailing in India, as was the case globally, would control the entire food industry by setting the margins and standards for all players in the supply chain. It was also the largest force in organising the supply chain of the food industry. The organised food retail revolution had already commenced in South India and was rapidly spreading to other parts of the country. Markfed could be a pioneer in spreading organised food retailing in Punjab. Markfed would soon launch a guaranteed prize scheme for its Superior and Sohna Basmati Rice in which each customer would get a gift. It was expected to attract a large number of customers, Mr Channy added. |
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