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| Thursday,
July 17, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Poor planning leaves projects in limbo Chandigarh, July 16 The projects that are lying semi-finished are the D-Block of the Government Medical College and Hospital Sector 32, the new wing of the UT Guest House, provision of services in the IT park. Other projects that have not moved beyond the drawing board stage are the new building of the juvenile home, the working women hostel and a new block of the OPD at the General Hospital, Sector 16. Also in the list is the new ISBT in Sector 43, which cannot be expanded vertically as the foundation is not strong enough to support more than the existing ground floor structure. An exhaustive list of such projects was scrutinised by the Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr Virendra Singh, recently and orders were passed to speed up the projects. Various departments that are getting construction carried out by the Engineering Department have been asked to speed up the process of granting approvals to various schemes. The Adviser has pointed out that sanctions are normally made near the end of financial years, thus the money earmarked for schemes invariably lapses. The most glaring example of bad planning is the D block of the GMCH. ‘Somebody’ just forgot to keep a provision for air-conditioning ducts in the building. The block, costing about Rs 20 crore, has been under construction for the past three years. Another example is the new bock of the UT Guest House having 37 rooms. For months, no decision was taken on a small issue like should the building be centrally air-conditioned or should the rooms have separate air-conditioners. Again no action was taken and no one was pulled up for the delay. The information technology park, which is set to bring international focus on the city, is now getting sewerage and storm water drainage pipelines. This was supposed to be done last year. This resulted in delay in laying roads and installing streetlights. Another case is that of the new
OPD block of the General Hospital, Sector 16. About eight months ago, it was planned to have 62,000 sq ft of space in five stories. This was later pruned down to four stories. For this, four old bungalows of doctors, which occupy around six kanals of space adjoining the hospital, were to be demolished. The project is still on the drawing board. The case of a new building of a juvenile home is even more intriguing. The project was approved in June last year, but a formal sanction from the Department of Social Welfare to spend funds on the project was granted a week ago. |
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NCP leader held on fraud
charge SAS Nagar, July 16 Mr Bhupinder Singh, who contested the Assembly elections from the Kharar constituency, was arrested on the charge of fraud. The NCP leader, who runs an overseas consultancy service here, allegedly failed to send a youngster to the UK even after taking lakhs from his father. Mr Bhupinder Singh had allegedly taken Rs 5.5 lakh from Joginder Singh of Akbarpur village for sending his son to the UK. The local police said Mr Bhupinder Singh took Rs 2.5 lakh from Joginder Singh and took his son to Thailand about six months ago but returned with him. The father insisted that his son should be taken to the UK as promised and paid Rs 3 lakh more. But since this did not happen, Joginder Singh complained to the police. An FIR under Sections 420 and 406 of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act was registered on April 11 at Begowal and the police had been on the lookout for Mr Bhupinder Singh since then. The Begowal police today raided his office and arrested him. |
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Indecision bogs down garbage-bin-free scheme Chandigarh, July 16 Sources in the Municipal Corporation admit that unless it is decided whether the city should go in for the plasma gasification technology or the bio-fuel one, the Sahaj Safai Kendras (SSKs), which separate bio-degradable garbage from the non-biodegradable kind, cannot be planned to make the garbage-bin-free scheme successful. The deadline for making arrangements for environmentally managing the Daddu Majra dumping ground expires in December this year. Despite the bin-free scheme having been launched in 10 sectors and Ram Darbar, only six SSKs have been built against a requirement of 133 in the city. If the corporation decides to go in for the plasma technology, there will be no need for segregating garbage and setting up SSKs. But if bio-fuel or bio-fertiliser technologies are chosen, the kendras will be needed. As a result, more than 900 garbage bins are still lying in those areas where the scheme has not been implemented. Almost 90 per cent of the city’s population in 40 sectors, colonies and villages is not covered under the scheme, which was launched from Sector 15 early this year. In the areas which have been covered under the scheme, especially Sectors 27 and 15, there are only 54 bins and their
lifting is done daily against those where 12 bins are kept in each sector. Corporation officials explain that if there are more bins, they will not be lifted till they are filled and it might even take a few days to lift them to save the cost of transportation. The monsoon has aggravated the problem of stink in the areas where the scheme has not been launched. Due to the delay in lifting of bins, the garbage is decaying, according to sweepers. It seems the work of construction of kendras is progressing slowly, even though the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which has adopted the Chandigarh model of sanitation as a pilot project for the country, has approved funds for the purpose. The sources said four more sectors would soon come under the scheme, which the CPCB wanted to extend to the entire city in 18 months. Councillors have been asked to identify the land for the construction of 133 kendras to be finally approved by the Chief Architect. |
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POWER THEFT SAS Nagar, July 16 Residents of the colony, which has about 150 jhuggis, were caught unawares around 1 pm when at least 35 employees of the power board started removing the cables that had been connected to electricity poles near the colony to draw power illegally. While two employees had to climb the poles, the others climbed the boundary wall of the colony and pulled the cable lying on it. Seeing activity in the area, some residents gathered and came out of the colony while others witnessed the operation over the boundary wall. Mostly women and children were present in the colony while the operation was carried out. Some women started questioning the police personnel about the activity. Only a feeble protest was witnessed though the power board officials had come fully equipped to face the wrath of the people. The PSEB team was accompanied by at least 50 police personnel, including commandos, and the Tehsildar, Mr Bhupinder Singh. Board officials said about 100 metres of cable, which had a thickness of 50 mm, was removed from the colony. They said it was being used to draw power from two transformers. The cost of the cable was about Rs 200 per metre. The thick cable had been spread in the colony and at one point the employees could not even pull the cable, which was later tied to the PSEB truck and the vehicle was moved to pull it. The cable was then loaded on the truck and taken away. Virmati, a resident of the colony, said permission to use power by connecting the cable had been taken earlier. But she did not know who had given the permission. Another resident, Kamla Wati, said the cable should have been removed after talking to Shanti, the president of the colony. She said the cable had been purchased for Rs 16,000 and all residents had contributed money for buying it. Under the drive, which was led by Mr K.S. Sidhu, Additional Superintending Engineer, PSEB, kundis were also removed from a jhuggi colony in Sector 57, another colony near Dara Studio in Phase VI, besides a jhuggi colony located in a nullah near Badmajra village, near here. Board officials said residents of these three colonies had used ordinary wires to draw power illegally. Mr Sidhu was accompanied by Mr J.S. Bains and Mr A.K. Sharma, SDOs. Mr Sidhu said the board had written a letter to the police requesting it to lodge an FIR against three persons of Amb Sahib Colony on the charges of power theft and helping other residents to commit the offence. He said two of them were presidents of the colony and one of them an electrician, who also lived there. Mr Sidhu said the ongoing drive against power theft would be made more vigorous. He said repeated raids were conducted on Udham Singh Colony in the Industrial Area here, following which its residents had stopped using kundli connections. He said raids were also being conducted on the residential areas of the town and 50 cases had come to the board’s notice where residents were indulging in power theft. Fines to the tune of Rs 2 lakh had been imposed by the board, he said. The PSEB drive against power theft, which was to start around 10.30 am started around 1 pm because the local administration allegedly failed to cooperate with the PSEB authorities. A lot of time was wasted in seeking police help even though a request by board officials had been made in this regard yesterday. When the board officials were able to get enough personnel for the operation, the Naib Tehsildar failed to turn up, saying that he was busy at an auction. A number of phone calls to the Naib Tehsildar and the SDM failed to get the desired response. The board officials finally had to approach the Ropar Deputy Commissioner, who directed the Tehsildar to immediately leave for the operation. |
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SBI employee commits fraud; Collects Rs 1 crore from public FACT FILE
* The society has to repay about Rs 1 crore to depositors. * A number of workers already gone home to UP, Bihar. * SBI not ready to take the responsibility. * Behal using union pressure to stop action against him. Chandigarh, July 16 Enquires revealed that Mr S.K. Behal, who was working as an assistant (cash and accounts), at SBI branch in Phase I, near Franco hotel in SAS, had set up the Mohali Cooperative Non-Agricultural Thrift and Credit Society (regd No. 2521) in 1994-95 in collaboration with other employees. The society had collected money from about 1100 members claiming that it would pay 15 per cent annual rate of interest. People were lured in the name of the SBI as well, as Mr Behal allegedly used the branch counter to collect deposits and issue loans at up to 17.5 per cent rate of interest. By 2000, the society started facing problems. Meantime, Mr Behal reportedly issued cheques in the name of ‘self’ to the depositors from his account in sector 35 branch of HDFC Bank. Almost all cheques amounting lakhs of rupees bounced. The Bank has now closed his account. Mr Behal admitted: ‘‘We have deposits worth over Rs 23 lakh and loans worth Rs 26 lakh. Due to the non-payment of loans by the borrowers, we are unable to repay the amount. But I am sure that the issue would resolved by next one month.’’ Sources in the bank claimed that he had spent a large amount of the collected money and it would be impossible for him to repay the deposits and interest. Mr Narinder Singh, who had deposited Rs 2 lakh on April 12, 2002, with to the society, was shocked when after one year he was asked to get a check of Rs 30,000. The check later bounced. Mr Ram Prashad, another industrial worker at SAS Nagar, was issued a cheque of ‘self’ worth Rs 26,000 at his HDFC Bank account. The cheque bounced as there was no money. Mr O.P. Jakhmi (Rs 90,000), Ms Chander Kanta (Rs 1.20 lakh) and Mr Santokh Singh (Rs 40,000) also failed to get any money from him. The officials at the SAS branch claimed that the bank had transferred him due to these frauds in August 2001 to Morinda branch and one increment of his salary was also stopped. The Vigilance Department of the SBI had already received complaints for non-payment of about Rs 70 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. However, Mr Behal denied all these allegations. The sources in the Registrar Cooperative Societies office and the police claimed that his society was registered at house No. 292, phase II, SAS Nagar. They said, ‘‘Summons have been issued at this address, but without any result.’’
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Ranbaxy fire SAS Nagar, July 16 According to sources, the team has prepared a list of persons who have alleged that they have not been paid any compensation or have been paid inadequate compensation by Ranbaxy in this regard. Members of the Gram Welfare Association also met the team. Mr Gurmail Singh, president of the association, talking to TNS stated that 90 per cent of the claimants had been compensated by Ranbaxy and most of these were those who were claiming that they should be given more compensation than what they had been listed for. According to sources in Ranbaxy, a five-member team which included members of the Gram Welfare Association had assessed the damage to the houses and fixed compensation ranging between Rs 1,500 to Rs 20,000. “Compensation has been paid to everyone who have claimed damages. Our list has 284 names and we have receipts of each one of them,” said a Ranbaxy employee. However, a large number of residents from the village today alleged before the team that they had not been paid adequate compensation and some even said they had not been compensated at all. While many raised their voices before the PSHRC team, sources in the village stated that majority of them were only trying to wriggle out more money from Ranbaxy. Some residents even alleged that they had been paid only Rs 1,500 but were made to sign on receipts quoting Rs 15,000. However, the matter was solved once the said receipt was produced bearing Rs 1,500. Meanwhile, the PSHRC has directed the ADGP to enquire into the possible cause of the accident and file the reply within a week. The PSHRC has also stated in its order that “if the inquiry is found to be lacking in some aspect then the commission will seek supplementary report on any left-out aspect from other agencies.” Moreover, the ADGP will inquire whether the location of the present Ranbaxy unit has become a health hazard for the neighbouring areas. The PSHRC Bench comprised the Chairman, Justice N.C Jain, and a member, Justice R.L Anand. The case will now come up for hearing before the PSHRC on July 23. |
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Army trains ITBP to tackle fallout of WMDs Chandigarh, July 16 “Although officers from para-military forces have been attending selected courses at Army training establishments in the past, sending officers to the Army for training in courses related to WMDs is a very recent development,” a senior ITBP officer told The Tribune here today. Training is being conducted at the College of Military Engineering, Pune, which is responsible for laying down the training concepts and conducting various courses concerning WMDs. Weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, biological as well as chemical weapons, commonly referred to as NBC weapons. “So far disaster management was related with floods, cyclones, earthquakes or landslides. Given the changing security environment around the globe, the possibility of WMDs falling in wrong hands and the trend of proxy wars, the perception has now changed and emphasis is also being laid on preparedness for NBC warfare,” a senior government functionary here commented. Officers trained by the Army will form the nucleus of the ITBP’s own training set-up devoted to disaster management, of which containment of the damage caused by WMDs forms an integral part. The ITBP has been designated as the first responder agency during national disasters, whether natural or man-made, and special disaster management battalions are being raised, which would be trained and equipped accordingly. These have been termed as specialised rapid response units for disaster management. Sources said a special ITBP team was also sent to the USA to get training for its additional role. “The training focused on medical response during disaster management,” an ITBP officer said. “Administering first aid and evacuation are the most important elements of medical response, while treatment would be the responsibility of other agencies,” he added. The team returned earlier this month. A special course in disaster management is also under way at the force’s Basic Training Centre at Bhanu, near here. The major aspects of the course are medical relief and collapsed structure search and rescue. Other important areas of focus are coordination with local agencies, including the police, fire brigade, civil defence and medical establishments, logistics and communication, dealing with disasters involving chemicals and toxicants. Stress is also being laid on teaching theoretical aspects related to disaster management such as physical and psychological effects of disasters, role of technology in search and rescue, associated problems and support operations by local agencies including NGOs. |
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Drive against violators of fire safety norms Chandigarh, July 16 According to sources in the department, an attempt would be made by the authorities to either close down the “fire hazardous shops”, or to convince them into adopting the basic fire safety measures, besides adhering to the norms. The sources added that the measures would include keeping buckets full of sand, besides adequate water, to prevent the fire from spreading. They would also be asked to handle kerosene stoves cautiously, besides storing gas cylinder “in a proper manner” to prevent leakage and bursting. They added that the emphasis of the drive would be on educating the masses, rather than taking action against them. “Most of the shops in the colonies are illegal as such nothing much can be done against them,” they asserted. “Even if the shops are ordered to be closed, the owners would take little time to re-open them.” The violators could be booked under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, they maintained, but “nothing much would be achieved as they would continue to function till the conclusion of the trial”. The sources added that special teams had been constituted by the authorities for carrying out detailed surveys of the slum and colonies before educating the masses into adopting the safety measures. Confirming the information, Chief Fire Officer G.S. Bajwa, when contacted, asserted that in Chandigarh there were three colonies — Colony No. 4, Colony No. 5 and Indira Colony in Mani Majra. All three, he asserted, were “sensitive” as far as fire was concerned. Giving details, Mr Bajwa added that several cases had been reported where the fire was caused by children, left alone at home by the dwellers before going out for work. “The blaze was caused by children playing with matchsticks in the absence of supervision,” Mr Bajwa said. He asserted that in case of fire it was almost impossible for them to control the blaze quickly as the jhuggis were so close to each other. “It is extremely difficult for the tenders to move about in case of fire,” Mr Bajwa revealed. “A number of times we have requested the dwellers to maintain distance between the jhuggis, but to no effect.” The dwellers, he said, do not realise that the inferno spreads very fast in the slums and colonies because of the inflammable thatch roofs. “We will try to convince them that the fire safety rules were meant for their own safety and these should be adopted for the safety of their families.” |
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Entries for Bravery Awards
sought Chandigarh, July 16 At a meeting held a few days ago, the Council decided to open the entries for the much-awaited annual Bravery Awards initiated long back under the aegis of the ICCW. Looking for true valour, the council has invited applications for the Bravery Awards for 2003. Children between the age of six and 18 years can contest for the awards that seek to encourage the indomitable ones. Making the eligibility conditions for nominations clear to prospective applicants, the council has stated that children in the above-mentioned (6 to 18) age bracket can apply if they have shown exemplary courage that well deserves to be highlighted to the others. Another clause added to the list of eligibility conditions is: “a child who has some meritorious deed to his credit is eligible to apply for the awards.” The most important part of the eligibility criterion is that the deed or the act of bravery in question should have been performed during the period between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. Notifying the conditions of eligibility for applying, the Indian Council for Child Welfare has added that students from all over the region should forward their applications to the Child Welfare Council, Punjab, which has the office located at the Karuna Sadan, Sector 11-B, Chandigarh. The forms can be obtained from the offices of the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts during office hours. The forms should feature comprehensive details about the applicant as well as considerable details about the act of valour or merit performed by the applicant during the period stipulated by the council. The council has further directed that all applications should reach the office of the Child Welfare Council, Punjab, latest by September 15 this year. Once the applications are processed at the local level, they will be forwarded to the Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi, by the council in Punjab. |
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SHO with a mission SAS Nagar, July 16 While talking to Chandigarh Tribune here this evening, the SHO, who had comeback after checking the nakas in her area, said a big responsibility had been shouldered on her as 54 villages fell under the police station. She said she wanted to eradicate the drug menace as she had been told that almost 70 per cent of the youth in the villages under her jurisdiction had taken to drugs. She would be holding meetings with village sarpanches in this regard. When asked how she would handle cases relating to women, especially dowry cases, she said she would try to find out the truth before holding anybody responsible. She felt that in a number of cases women came up with cooked stories and shed tears but such tactics would fail to move her as I would like to go to the core of the problem. Ms Ghirra, who took over as SHO on July 11, said she had a police background as her father, Mr Parkash Chand, had retired as Inspector-General of Police and her husband, who died in a road accident, too, was a Punjab Police officer. She had been given the job in the place of her husband. She said she would have to maintain a balance between her official duty and her private life. She said she would make all efforts to give ‘quality time’ to her two sons aged 12 and 9 and help them with their studies. |
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AXN also keeps its road show
going Chandigarh, July 16 Titled Hot and Wild road show, which did not take off so wildly yesterday, AXN team went past many hot and happening spots in the city beautiful, searching for local talent that has the heart and the mind to make it big on AXN, known for its bold packaging. The hunting grounds included all the famous colleges in the city, all major hot spots, all big food joints including Barista and Cafe Coffee Day, Hot Millions, the lovers lane, some local cinema halls and so on... AXN’s idea behind scratching the city for talent was to give the youth a feel of what the channel can really offer. There was a lot of action in store for youngsters today, as the AXN team went from one joint to another, hoarding attention. Such road shows are also being conducted in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore. As for the eligibility, anyone who had the guts to say things from the shoulder was being given a fair chance at the AXN deal. The deal is all about looking hot, meaning stylish and glamorous and cool, of course. |
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50 jhuggis razed Panchkula, July 16 The vendors who had set up their shops near the temples and a certain other places in the city were removed by the enforcement team of the Estate Office on the directions of Mr Ashwani Kumar, Estate Officer of the Haryana Urban and Development Authorities. |
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Dowry complaint against in-laws Chandigarh, July 16 Car stolen Motor cycle stolen |
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3 persons commit
suicide Chandigarh, July 16 A police official said the victim was suffering from depression for the past few months. The man reportedly committed suicide in the absence of his wife and other son, who had gone out to meet their relatives. A neighbourer told Chandigarh Tribune that Pratap Singh was working as a mechanic at a petrol pump in Sector 22. In another incident, a 26-year-old man committed suicide at his residence in Kumhar Colony, Sector 25, today by consuming a poisonous substance. He is survived by his wife and two children. The victim has been identified as Gurpal Singh, a rag-picker by profession. In yet another incident, Pandit, a 30-year-old man, committed suicide tonight at his residence in Kajheri village. |
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Man duped of Rs1.60 lakh Chandigarh, July 16 The police has recovered Rs 1.50 lakh during the preliminary investigations. Further investigations were in progress by the investigation team. The sources further said that he had been arrested on a complaint lodged by Mr Ved Prakash, owner of a restaurant in Panchkula. The complainant alleged that Rajesh Kumar had demanded Rs 4 lakh to manipulate higher officials of the Punjab police to get his brother out of a fraud case registered by the Barnala police (Punjab). The Barnala police had recently registered a case of fraud against a chit-fund company allegedly owned by Ved Prakash’s brother. His brother, whose name was not available with the local police, is said to be presently under the police custody. |
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MARKET— 11
Since, its inception in the year 1964-65 the Sector-11 market has now developed into a good business centre attracting customers from all around the city.
With its close proximity to the Punjab University, two Government Colleges (both men and women), PGI, engineering college and Central Crafts Institute (CCI) the market has come out as a 'hang-out' for the students who freak out on the geri route in the afternoon and in the evenings regularly. The main market comprising of 33 SCO's and 6 bay shops has two chemist shops, one beauty parlour, six cloth shops, three dry-cleaner shops, one sweets shop, four departmental stores, one coffee house, a Chinese restaurant, three gift shops besides many other local utility shops. However, the closure of 'Jamp Pack' about two years back disheartened hundreds of youngsters. Shivalik Sweets and Capital Bakery also shut down their business in the market. Two chemists shops-Kumar Brothers and Paul Brothers have in the recent years emerged as leading drug suppliers in the city with speciality in all types of surgical instruments. The business growth of these chemist shops is attributed to their close proximity to the PGI. The main attractions of the market are Ollega Hair Dressers, Weldon Dry Cleaners, J'Sons Tailors & Drapers, Kala Emporium, Shingar wedding collections for ladies and the evergreen rehri market. In other words one can say that the market is better known by these attractions. Weldon, Fancy and Friends are three drycleaners in the market that have all earned a reputation of 'good work' among their customers. People come in from far of sectors especially to get their clothes dry-cleaned from these shops. In the past couple of years, with the opening of 'Shingar'-dress materials for ladies, especially wedding collections the market has become a great attraction for ladies of upper middle and upper class. Earlier, there was the monopoly of 'Kala Emporium' that attracted ladies for their wide range of dress collections for middle as well as upper middle class, as far their price range was concerned. However, both the shops are equally competitive in business. There are few other cloth shops in the market but not in competition with these two shops. The 'J' Sons Tailors and Drapers' are in business for the past 32 years with their speciality in gents wears and stitching. |
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Kaku sweets shop at one end of the market is one the oldest shops of the market that reminds of a time when there were hardly any customers in this market. In the 1990's the market developed into a 'meeting point' for youngsters when the geri route became famous. One could find couples sitting together in 'Jamp Pack', 'Hong Kong' or even outside 'Capital bakery'. 
Barista coffee shop has recently opened its outlet in the market that is the only meeting point left for the youngsters to chat with their friends. 'Hong Kong', a Chinese restaurant is still there for those who love to eat noodles with chopsticks.
Two main gift shops in the market- Dewson (Archies gallery) and the other one Hallmark's gallery having good business depending mostly on youngsters. One could find a wide of range of greeting cards along with other gift items from these two gift shops. There is another gift shop close to the Dewsons with equally good business but with a range of varieties mostly for ladies.
Ollega hairdressers rank among one of the top salons in the city. Most of their customers include young girls and boys. But ladies of the posh areas of Sector-2,3,11 and 10 seems to be not behind their younger generations as they could be seen in the salon making out efforts to look younger.