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| Monday,
May 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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MC to replace lights at market parking lots Chandigarh, May 11 The MC had recently replaced tiles on the pavements of various markets, besides, recarpeting of parking areas under the MPLAD scheme. As per the details available, the MC would replace streetlights in Sector 35-C market with an estimated cost of Rs 4.81 lakh. The market was earlier provided with 250 watt MVL fittings about 10 years back and has outlived their economical life. An estimated sum of Rs 3.63 lakh has been reserved to replace the market parking lights from Hotel Sunbeam to Hotel Pankaj in Sector 22. The green belt in Sector 27-B near the petrol pump has been provided with footpath for walking purpose but there is no lighting system in the parking. Keeping in view the inconvenience being faced by the people, Rs 1.54 lakh has been reserved for providing a new lighting system in the green belt’s parking. Apart from these areas Rs 3 lakh have been reserved for replacement of lights at parking places in Sector 7-D (from SCF 1 to 44) Rs. 2.68 lakh for Sector 10-D, Rs 3.24 lakh for Sector 11-D, Rs 4.82 lakh for Sector 20 C&D, and Rs 3.92 lakh for market of Sector 34-C and Rs 3.09 lakh for augmentation and shifting of street lights on v-5 roads in Sector 36-A. “All these works are very essential and will bring a new facelift to the parking areas of markets chosen for replacement of lights”, said Mr Pradeep Chhabra, Member of the newly formed Electricity Committee of the MC. |
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Engineering entrance paper distributed late Chandigarh, May 11 Similar complaints were received from another centre as well. They alleged that this 10-minute delay had cost them dearly. A team of students that visited The Tribune office said, due to this callous attitude of the school authority, the examinees had lost about 25 minutes, as they had to fill up the particulars columns on the answer-sheets after the final bell, while according to rules, answer-sheets were distributed 15 minutes before the final bell. “We were unable to attempt 25 questions out of a total of 75 due to the paucity of time, as question-papers came in 10 minutes late and another 15 minutes were lost in filling up the particulars,” said a dejected group of students. This delay may affect the outcome of the results for about 400 students who took this test at this particular centre today. For Aparajita, Richa Batra and Sonia, aspirating architects, the blow was harder, as the mathematics paper is the key to entering the stream. “In architecture, physics and chemistry play little roles but the mathematics paper was the one which was going to determine our result,” they said. Mr M.L. Batra whose ward had taken the test at the centre said, though parents had created a lot of hue and cry over this issue, the Principal of the school, Mr Dilbagh Singh, had refused to listen to them. “If they were late in distributing answer-sheets they could at least have extended the allotted time,” he said. The Principal of the school was not available for comment. When contacted, Ms Rajesh Choudhury, District Education Officer, of the UT, said she had no information about any such incident, but she would look into the matter. However the irked parents and students plan to bring the matter to the notice of the CBSE regional head, Mr Yog Raj Sachdeva tomorrow. |
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Placement cell constituted at PU Chandigarh, May 11 The Information Technology Centre for College Education (ITCCE) on the campus will be organising placement services from the ongoing summer vacations. In the first step, the cell will cater exclusively to the students of aster in science (information technology). A detailed work plan has been chalked out to have consultancy with the industrial houses and provide personality development kits to students. Prof Ramesh Kapoor, Dean of the College Development Council, said at least two five-day programmes were scheduled one of which was from June 14-18 at Chandigarh and another one from June 17-22 at Ludhiana. The counselling for students at Ludhiana will be conducted at the Khalsa College for Women, Civil Lines, and locally at the GGDSD College. Professor Kapoor said the aim of the workshop was to concentrate on personality development, giving subject expertise and tips of preparing for interview. At the moment, 13 affiliated colleges of the university were offering the M. Sc (IT) course. Professor Kapoor has been appointed as the honorary director of the cell. Students will be giving Rs 5 as a special fee for the ITCCE. Prof C.M. Bahl and Prof R.K. Singla from the university have been appointed as coordinators of the programme. As many as 13 senior college teachers are also members of the core team. Professor Kapoor said the university was printing a 90-page brochure, copies of which would be given to industrial houses. About 200 industrial houses have been identified by the cell where the information brochure would be sent. The cell would also invite representatives from the industry to participate in the special programmes to directly interact with the interested candidates. After the placement orientation programmes, the cell would attempt to arrange for direct interface of students with the industrial houses. Teams of students would also be constituted to visit the industrial houses and project the strength of the course for the prospective buyers. Professor Kapoor said the cell would also make a detailed assessment of other courses and identify possible sectors of absorption to launch similar placement programmes for them. |
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Police remand for four financiers Panchkula, May 11 The accused — Amit Kumar Juneja, Puneet Aggarwal, Som Nath Ghai and Krishna Kumar Goel — were produced before the Duty Magistrate, Mr P.K. Yadav, this morning. They were arrested for violating the Reserve Bank of India’s rules on money lending by charging very high rates of interest from their customers. They were arrested under Sections 420, 384, 342, 506 and 323 of the IPC. They were allegedly lending money at a very high rate of interest, varying from 12 to 20 per cent, which is more than that specified by the RBI. The money was being lent only after 12 per cent rate of interest was initially deducted from the principal amount. For example, if a loan for Rs 10,000 was given, the customer would get Rs 8,800, after Rs 1,200 had been deducted as interest. They were taking an installment of 1 per cent of the principal amount each day from their customers. In case of default, a penalty at the rate of 0.2 per cent was charged. The Station House Officer of Sector 19 police station, Mr Mahinder Singh, who led the police offensive last night, said the accused would take two post-dated blank cheques from their customers per case. In case their client faultered repeatedly in his daily installment, the financiers would not only get him beaten up, but also submit the cheque for a huge amount, so that the cheque got bounced and they could then embroil him in a cheque-bounce case. The case came to light when Surinder Kumar, who runs a sweet shop at Railly village, approached the police and narrated his tale of woes. When he failed to repay the loan to financier Amit Juneja, he was picked up and taken to the financier’s office in Sector 20 and assaulted. He was also reportedly threatened that his cheque would be used and he would be embroiled in a cheque-bounce case. After Amit was arrested by the police, he revealed the names of his accomplices and they were arrested. A large number of customers today converged on the Sector 15 police post to lodge their complaints with the police. One of their victims, Mr Ajay Kumar of Abheypur village, who runs a paan kiosk, said he was forced to sell off his house in order to pay back the principal sum and penalty on the defaulting loan. “I had asked for Rs 10,000 as loan from Som Nath Ghai. I was harassed repeatedly and had to ultimately sell off my house to pay back the loan”, he said. It may be noted that Mr Ghai is the only one among the accused to have a licence for running private finance services. However, the police said he was charging interest higher than what was being charged by banks. The police has seized a large number of printed passbooks issued by these financiers to their clients. Police officers however say account books and ledgers maintained by the accused will have to be seized for further investigation. |
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Tehsildar’s car taken away at gunpoint Panchkula, May 11 Mr Nagra was travelling in his Esteem car (CH-01V-9117) along with the driver, Deen Dayal, when they noticed a silver Indica car (CH-01W-8703) following them. Near the unmanned police barricade ahead of the Mauli police post, the Indica whized past the Esteem and blocked its way. Mr Nagra told TNS, that three youths had come out of the car with country-made pistols in hand. “They pointed the guns at us. While one of them quickly came at the wheel, the others sat beside me on the backseat. They, then, turned the car back towards
Barwala, with the Indica leading our car,” he said. When the two cars reached a secluded spot on the Kot-Bunga road, his captors took away his mobile phone and Rs 15,000 cash he was carrying. “They, then, asked me and my driver, Deen Dayal, to come out of the car and run towards the fields. However, a fourth youth came out of the Indica car and told his accomplices that we were not the “right men”. Then, they left us there and took away our car.” Mr Nagra and the driver walked for almost a kilometre till they reached the village of Dabkauri, from where they called up the police. They boarded a local bus and reached the Ramgarh police post. The DSP City, Mr Om Vir, reached there and began investigations. An FIR has been registered in this regard. |
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Child labour to end by 2007, assures Sahib Chandigarh, May 11 Disclosing this to The Tribune here yesterday, Dr Sahib Singh Verma, Union Minister of Labour, said the NDA government had decided to open 6,000 elementary schools to provide free and mandatory education to poor children, especially for child labour. He was in the city to preside over a seminar on “Social dialogue as an instrument of decent work”, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce (PHDCCI) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Council of Indian Employers (CIE). He said the government had selected 150 districts from various states of the country to open these schools. “The child labourers and children from poor families, who are deprived of education facilities, will be identified to provide basic education with vocational training in these schools,” said the minister. In a reply to a question, he said the nation was facing a crisis of social security as at least 37 crore people were working in the unorganised sector. He assured that the Government would soon bring out a new legislation to ensure social security in the form of pension and medical facilities for these labourers. “The draft policy of this legislation is expected to be ready by the middle of June, this year”, he said. Dr Verma said the Labour Ministry had objected to the move of the Finance Ministry to reduce the rate of interest on the provident fund of employees to 8.5 per cent. “A special committee has been constituted to look into the possibilities of benefiting the employees, the report of which is awaited within a month,” he said. He advocated at least 9.5 per cent interest on the provident fund. He said due to poverty, under-employment, lack of advanced technology and value-added training, favourable conditions did not exist in developing countries for attaining the desired level of social security for the labourers and a programme for improving labour market information, vocational guidance and skill training were required to bridge the existing deficits. Dr Verma called upon employers to ensure that conditions of work and service do not fall below certain accepted norms. “In a world of globalisation, our main thrust should be to organise work force and involve its participation in improving the overall economy of the nation,” he added. |
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With an increase in temperature everywhere, we face an acute scarcity of water. Wasteful or extravagant use of water worsens the crisis. Under the National Green Corps (NGC) programme, the Environment Society of India has launched a campaign on water conservation in schools at Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Parwanoo (HP). Students are asked to save water by placing a plastic/glass bottle filled with water in each flushing cistern. By doing so, an average family can save about 60 litres of water daily. Students are also encouraged to place drip water plastic bottles around the young plants which die especially during the summer vacations in schools. At the morning assembly, the principals or teachers can advise the students to do homework on water conservation. Surely, all the students will comply. Elusive Mongia Over the years the city has produced cricketers like Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra, and Chetan Sharma who have excelled in the game at the international level but one does not remember having to chase any one of them to get an interview or a personal meeting even when there was nothing important to discuss with them. They would oblige the media even when they were on ‘‘hurricane’’ visits to the city during their international careers. It was on Wednesday evening that one heard that Dinesh Mongia was getting married to a girl from Chennai. But there was no way one could contact him to confirm the news. His phone in his house in Sector 40 was picked up either by his sister or his mother and repeated pleas to them to help The Tribune contact Dinesh fell on deaf ears. They too would not confirm the news of the wedding in the family. In the meanwhile it was learnt that Dinesh had changed his mobile number and there was no way one could get across to him. The exercise was repeated again on Thursday and the sequence of events followed along expected lines. Dinesh Mongia was simply not available! It is a pity that Dinesh Mongia is still to realise he should not acquire starry airs while at home. Immediately after returning from the World Cup campaign he fell foul with a number of photographers who were waiting patiently outside his house. According to reports he pushed around a photographer of a local daily. And now he is making media men run around in circles in an effort to contact him to confirm his wedding plans! Dinesh must learn that with fame he must not lose his moorings and in any case he is yet to cement his place in the Indian team.
Traffic lights Can traffic lights at one intersection behave differently? Yes, if you happen to be in Panchkula. The cactus garden intersection (Sector 8, 9 and 5) is a case in point. While the traffic lights leading to cactus garden-K.C. Palace and Shakti Bhavan get green at one go for those who want to go straight or turn to their left or right, the light doesn’t go green simultaneously for those heading from Shakti Bhavan to bus stand. Here, lights first turn green for those heading towards bus stand and then for those wishing to take the Sector 8-9 dividing road thereby causing confusion. This arterial road is also frequented by state transport buses thereby compounding the problem. Even otherwise, there are no cops around to man busy intersections in Panchkula and the might-is-right rule gets the better of the traffic rule on any given day. Cars meekly surrender to HTVs and two-wheelers yield to whizzing cars. Perhaps Panchkula policemen are waiting for some accident to happen. Or they have other jobs on hand. Like harassing couples, both wed and unwed.
Songs without soul The other day the State Bank of India organised a function to honour the memory of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, where Batalvi’s wife Arun Batalvi had been invited as a special guest. Although the function was organised in good humour and all the arrangements were well-made, there was something about the show that was not in such a good taste. The organisers had arranged a musical evening that was to feature the songs of Batalvi. As singers took charge of the stage, very few of them could actually do justice to the immortal verses of the poet, whose very identification is pain. In fact, one of the singers forgot a major portion of the song and kept struggling to put things into shape, even as Arun Batalvi watched. The presentation turned out to be quite a messup because the presenter did not know the song at all. His so-called song was bereft of rhythm, of feeling and of passion, so symbolic of Batalvi’s writings. Many in the gathering were later heard saying that when tributes are being paid to great artistes like Batalvi, extra care needs to be taken with arrangements — especially with who will form a part of the show. Arun Batalvi would have cherished the evening had the singers left a warm impression on her heart.
Stop . . . Stop, look and proceed — you must have read this sign so many times at the intersections while driving down the roads cutting through the sectors. But there is something unusual about the sign recently installed at the Sector 18-19-20-21 rotary. It simply reads “Stop — Mosquito breeding”. Well, city residents zipping up and down the road fail to comprehend the meaning. Are you supposed to stop mosquito breeding or stop because the mosquitoes are breeding ? Otherwise also, the brightly painted sign is nothing less than a traffic hazard. Will the authorities do something about it, please?
Mad about “V” Channel V’s Popstar hunt drew magical response, despite the fact that most of the youngsters were taking their examination. Right from the morning the aspirants started lining up in front of the gate of the venue and kept waiting for their chance till well about 7 pm. Not everyone standing in the queue was, however, called for auditions. A group of 30 young boys, who had been slogging it out in the heat for eight hours was finally asked by the organisers to leave. When this happened, a big hue and cry was raised by the humbled camp, that would just not budge. They immediately got into action and wrote a protest letter, that was signed by each one of them. After the formalities were over, the boys began threatening the organisers with a court case. “We will slam harassment charges on you, You have wasted our time and have disregarded our zeal,” said one of them. The gender issues also came under focus, with the boys alleging that the organisers were much more accommodating with the girls standing in the queue. “This is injustice. We want compensation,” shouted another boy, who had been denied a chance to audition. Finally, however, nothing materialised. The boys had to return home heart broken.
Disciplined gathering Kalagram finally had some audience, courtesy the doyen of Indian classical music Ustad Sultan Khan who was in the city for a special recital. Much to the surprise of Kalagram authorities, who have long been struggling for a decent visitation on special occasions, the evening saw a very disciplined crowd turn up for the recital. All the more heartening was the fact that the visitors waited patiently with Ustad Sultan Khan to arrive and present a sarangi and then a vocal recital. The show rolled about half an hour later than the schedule, but there was peace in the ambience, with no one in the crowd playing a spoilsport. Perhaps most of them were waiting to hear Ustad Sultan Khan’s famous song: Piya basanti re.... Once that came, many visitors started leaving the venue.
— Sentinel |
IMPOSITION OF PROPERTY TAX Chandigarh, May 11 The traditional rent deeds are also likely to find an additional clause putting the responsibility of municipal rent on the tenant. This will be possible after the Chandigarh Administration withdrew the Rent Control Act giving immunity from eviction of premises to tenants. The experts in the real estate market admit that though Chandigarh was among those cities where the corporation has lost crores of rupees due to delay in decision, but it is likely to result in lot of litigation among landlords and tenants as regard to the payment of tax. Mr Amarjit Singh Sethi, chief patron, Property Consultants Association, Chandigarh, claimed that initially the municipal corporation would get a small amount through 5 per cent property tax on commercial property, but once a beginning had been made, it would be definitely increased in the coming years. He said, “Since it is a type of user charge to be paid by the property users, the landlords will like to pass on the tax to tenants. But there will be lot of court cases among the tenants and property owners, where tenants are not ready to pay the amount.” He admitted that the landlords would demand inclusion of that rent at the time of signing of new rent deeds and this would increase the rent rates subsequently. Another dealer in the Sector 35 market said, “Till recently, a number of customers were coming here from Delhi to buy commercial property due to absence of any property tax The Delhi Government has imposed 22 per cent tax on commercial property, thus affecting the real estate market. However, now onwards, the auction price of Administration’s properties would be affected downward.” He claimed that the exact position would be clear after the issue of notification, but as per reports, the occupants would be also made responsible for the payment of tax. But it would have to be seen ‘legally’ whether they could be held accountable or not. The tenants in Sectors 17, 22, 34 and other commercial centres were apprehending that in case of disputed properties the landlords would use “the property tax as an excuse to vacate the showrooms.” Said Mr Raminder Pal Singh, a tenant in Sector 35 market, “In case the landlords fail to pay the tax in time, the MC may disconnect water and sewerage connections. We will be the sufferers in that case without any fault.” |
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Mass marriages solemnised Panchkula, May 11 A large number of people from nearby villages and slum colonies in this region had gathered here to attend the ceremony. The entire place was reverberating with gaiety as families of the 10 couples expressed their gratitude at the benevolence of club members. All marriages were performed according to Vedic rites. The couples were also given some necessities to start their new life — folding beds, quilts, mattresses, bicycles, besides some silver jewellery. The Sri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board headed by the Deputy Commissioner as Chief Executive Officer had donated as many as six sarees, five suits, two suit lengths, one fan and steel utencils to each of these couples. A spokesman of the club informed that a screening committee of the club had been set up to ensure that only genuine couples were married off. He said while Sewa Bharti had helped them in identifying eligible couples, it was after a thorough verification of the age of the couple and their economic status that they were considered. |
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IN FOCUS Kharar, May 11 Residents of Kharar come from a largely rural background. Habits and styles of city youth picked up by those frequenting Chandigarh often tend to beat variance with the embedded culture of this township, which in turn is making an impact on the lifestyle of others here. “Those frequenting Chandigarh or SAS Nagar try to copy the manner of dressing, behaviour and attitude of city people, which is frowned upon by local residents,” said Mr S.P. Dhillon, a trader. “For example, if a girl wearing a skirt or a western dress ventures out into the market, people stare at her as if they have never seen a girl before,” he added. Local residents say a lot of negative habits like smoking, consuming alcohol, loitering, hooliganism and discourtesy, being adopted by youngsters in this township, is a result of local youth trying to ape big-city culture. “There are instances where students play truant to go to movies or discotheque in Chandigarh,” a local high school teacher remarked. “We do not even have a library or park here,” said Vandana Setia, a BA-III student. “Since there are no facilities here, those who get an opportunity to go to Chandigarh seize it, but those who are not able to go feel jealous of others,” she added. However there is a positive side to it too. Inclination towards city culture has also brought in greater awareness among Kharar youth. “Students here are more aware of career options and serious about their future, which was not the case three or four years ago,” said Neha Bhardwaj, a local student. The change in attitude has also encompassed girls. “Over the past two to three years, the number of girls taking up jobs has risen significantly,” Deep Shikha, another local student remarked. “There is no forum here for cultural outlet,” Dr S.N. Dua, a retired teacher, said. “Retired teachers, social workers and local residents need to join hands to provide a forum as well as education and awareness for the cultural uplift of this small township,” he added. |
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Rumours that kept cops on their toes Panchkula, May 11 The police has arrested two labourers in connection with consuming liquor at a public place. The discovery of a liquor case 350 yards from the statue in front of the Sports Complex in Sector 3 here gave rise to a speculation that somebody might have attempted to pour liquor on the statue. ASI Balwant Singh, who investigated the matter, found out that labourers working in the stadium had consumed liquor near the statue and left the case there. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Ranbir S. Sharma said the labourers had been chased away when they had tried to consume liquor near the statue. |
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‘Proposed service charges unreasonable’ Chandigarh, May 11 The body said the proposed rate of Rs 20 per household was not justified in view of the area being a large cluster of densely packed Chandigarh Housing Board dwelling units. While the collection would come out to be about Rs 7,000 per 200 houses with 2-3 families staying in one unit, it will not take more than 2 hours for two persons to collect the garbage. The minimum charges should not be more than Rs 10 per household, the body said. |
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Save Sukhna The present attempt to raise the water level in the Sukhna by two feet by widening and strengthening the existing embankment by pushing in excavated earth is against the PWD specifications. The outer slopes have to be, first, cleared of bushes and stumps before the digging of horizontal trenches for proper bondage, followed by laying and compacting of earth. Of course, any measure to deepen the lake or raise the embankments has to be supplemented by continuing afforestation and soil conservation in the catchment area. Meanwhile, it has taken about eight feet of excavation to expose the upstream floor of the Sukhna regulators. The working head so attained facilitates drainage of water ponds and cesspools through small channels. The dewatered and drained half portion of the lake towards the regulator can be excavated upto seven feet of depth. The silt can be laid along peripheral foothills, above the high flood level. The excavated material can also be utilised in high embankments of the rail track to Morinda for filling depressions. The process should be extended in subsequent summers to the Lake Club portion. Thus, large-scale mechanical excavation of the almost-dry bed can deepen the lake from six to seven feet.
K.N. Datt |
8-year-old girl crushed to death Chandigarh, May 11 Aarti was rushed to Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32, where she was declared brought dead. As per information, Aarti who was playing on the road. Her mother, a maid, was working in a nearby house at the time of the accident. The victim was a resident of Colony 5. The car driver sped away. A case has been registered. |
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Man commits suicide Panchkula, May 11 In another incident, the police booked Balwinder Singh and Harpreet Kaur for duping Pradeep Kumar of Rs 3. 75 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. |
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