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Panchkula spends good money on no-good work
Panchkula, November 25 However, the dismal condition of all works undertaken so far point to the fact that the money has virtually gone down the drain. A majority of the roads that have been resurfaced in the town over the past six months have huge holes; piles of garbage can be seen at most places and several internal roads in the residential areas are not cleaned for days at a stretch. This, while a monthly contract of Rs 11.80 lakh has been given for sanitation services in town. The contract was just Rs 3.87 lakh a month last year. During the current financial year the council has spent Rs 3.50 crore on the repair or resurfacing of all C- roads in Sectors 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12-A, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. A sum of Rs 1.50 crore has been spent on the development of 67 parks. But the swings and benches installed in various public parks in sectors within the municipal limits came apart within days of being installed. “Two days ago, a small child fractured his leg while on a swing in a park in Sector 10. The swings were installed only a few days back,” said Mr B. B. Singhal, a BJP leader and resident of Sector 10. While paths have been laid around these parks, at several places these are over water supply pipes. Streetlights on most of the sector-dividing roads are defunct and stray cattle seem to have completely taken over the town. The council spends Rs 1.70 lakh on the maintenance of about 8,400 streetlights each month. When HUDA was maintaining the lights, they were doing it at the rate of Rs 6 per light point, but the council is doing it at Rs 25. The MC has now sought permission from the administration to use its corpus for carrying on the remaining works. The money spent on all these services provided by the council has increased manifold, but the maintenance remains poor. As residents of the town continue to suffer because of the failure of the council to provide basic civic facilities, the district administration has now formed four committees, headed by its officials, to oversee the works being carried out by the MC, especially the maintenance of streetlights and sanitation services. Other than this, two Vigilance inquiries have already been ordered in connection with the sub-standard work being done by the council. The MC President, Ms Seema Chaudhary, conceding that the works carried out by the contractors were not up to the mark, said she had today issued instructions that no payment would be released to the road contractors till their samples were tested for quality in approved Haryana Government laboratories. “I have also stopped payments to the contractor hired for installing swings, after hearing of reports of sub-standard material being used. The streetlights contractor and the sanitation contractor are also being regularly challaned for discrepancies in work,” she said. Ms Chaudhary said the stray cattle menace was increasing because of the contract for rounding up the animals had been cancelled earlier this month. “We are waiting for the district administration’s permission to hire our own men for rounding up cattle,” she said.
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10 more school sites on offer
Chandigarh, November 25 An advertisement in this regard would be issued soon. The deadline for the schools in residential areas to close is March 31, 2005. Though the exact number of sites to be offered is being worked out, around 10 sites for primary schools are likely to be advertised. The process is being expedited so that schools running in the residential areas may avail of the benefit before the March 31 deadline. The sites are likely to be allotted by January next year. An official in the Estate Office told Chandigarh Tribune that most of the sites would be in southern sectors and the villages as the number of schools running in residential areas in these areas is large. Some of the sites would be in Sectors 33, 52, 56 and 38 (West) and Kajheri, Badheri and other villages. Another official said the 10 sites would be like a drop in the ocean, as there were around 220 schools in residential areas. Mr Arun Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, said an advertisement in this regard would be issued soon. The offer would be open for all. No preference would be given to schools running from residential areas, he added. A screening committee would evaluate the applications. Mr U.S. Gujral, president of the Recognised Schools Management Association, said very few sites were being offered. “The Kothari Committee had suggested that a primary-level student should not travel beyond 1 km. Offering such few sites would not solve the problem. Rather, the administration should not offer any sites,” he said. Two years ago the administration had allotted 11 sites and most of those who got the sites were not from the city. The Estate Office has asked school managements to submit affidavits by December 9, stating that they would close their operations by March 31. Those running from housing board houses have already submitted affidavits in this regard. The schools association said the schools in residential areas were catering to children from families with low income. Around 35,000 students would be looking for alternatives by the end of the current academic session once the schools are shut down. “The children would be forced to join expensive public schools running from allotted sites. At least 5,000 teachers would also be rendered jobless,” said Ms Uma Wadhera, president of the Association of Private Educational Institutions.
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50 motorists challaned for violating rules at Zirakpur crossing
Zirakpur, November 25 The traffic police personnel, however, let off some motorists after warning them against parking vehicles on either side of the highway in Zirakpur market that has been restricted by the local administration following the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions. While the police has initiated action against the violators, the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat has turned a blind eye towards the aggravating problem. Sources maintained that the Nagar Panchayat had not taken action against the encroachments that had become a major bottleneck on the highway. The Executive Officer of the civic body, Mr Girish Verma, however, claimed that the encroachments had been removed from the market. He, however, expressed ignorance about the exact number of the encroachments removed from the market over the past three days. Mr Manmohan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Dera Bassi, said drivers of long route buses who stop their vehicles at the intersection for passengers had also been cautioned. The drivers of various Delhi-bound buses were also directed to stop their vehicles at lay-byes of the bus-stop along the busy highway. Mr Sharma added that the drivers of government vehicles would soon be challaned for causing traffic congestion on the highway. He claimed that the violators would not be spared at the cost of road congestion. The Sub Divisional Magistrate of Dera Bassi, Mr Narinder Sangha, held a meeting of officials of the Punjab Public Works Department (PPWD) and the Punjab Forest Department and asked them to cooperate with the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat officials in tackling the problem of encroachments on the government land. Mr P.K. Kalia, Sub Divisional Officer of the Building and Roads wing of the PPWD, Mr Sukhminder Singh, and Mr Jagir Singh, forest range officers of Dera Bassi and Rajpura and officials of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat were also present at the meeting. The SDM asked the officers to chalk out plans for beautifying Zirakpur, a satellite town coming up on the periphery of Chandigarh, as a gateway to Punjab. He also asked the forest officials to cooperate with the civic body in laying sewerage lines on the forest land along the Chandigarh-Zirakpur and the Kalka-Ambala highways within the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat limits. The land along the highways belongs to the Punjab Forest Department and the forest authorities had issued a notice to the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat directing the authorities to obtain a “No Objection Certificate (NOCs)” before laying sewerage lines on their land. While talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Sukhminder Singh, Forest Range Officer of Dera Bassi, revealed that the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat authorities had earlier started laying sewerage pipes along the highways on the forest land without getting any NOC. He also said the forest department would provide ornamental plants to the civic body for beautification purposes.
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Agro Tech to showcase latest in technology
Chandigarh, November 25 The mega event will also feature six concurrent international expos and nine international F&A conferences, covering different sectors of agriculture and related economy which are likely to spur agri-sector growth in the country. Though the main exhibition area will be the Sector 17 Parade Ground and Circus Ground, some of the seminars and workshops will be held at both Hotel Shivalik View and the regional headquarters of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). A team of nearly 300 people have started working 18 hours a day to set up the fair, including 11 hangars with a covered area of 10,500 sq. metres. Over 400 tonnes of steel, 240 tonnes of wood, 8,000 sq. metres of cloth, hundreds of metres of tarpaulin and nylon fabric etc are being used to set up the hangars . At the Parade Ground, the first hangar will have the Food Expo with stalls of companies like ITC, Hindustan Lever, Blue Star, Frick India, RINAC, RAC, Ministry of Food Processing etc. With a population of over one billion people, food is vital to India. In fact nothing is more fundamental to India’s success than food. With food being a top priority agenda item on the Indian Government’s reform programme, the Indian food processing industry is undergoing a revolution that will modernise the entire food chain and Food Expo will showcase this. The second hangar will host the Agri Expo and participating international companies. Agri Expo, 2004, will feature the best of domestic and international firms engaged in horticulture, floriculture, sericulture, bio-technology, hybrid seeds, greenhouse technology, agro chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and water irrigation system. These include Carraro, DSCL, Graziano Trasmissioni, NRB Bearings, Tata Chemicals, etc. The third and the fourth hangar will showcase 6 states, including the partner state Rajasthan, host states Haryana and Punjab and the states of West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. The fifth hangar will house poultry, livestock and Dairy Expo with companies like Venkateswara Hatcheries, Godrej Agrovet, Allensons, Kemin India, Nestle, Milkfed, Vita, Amul and Tetrapak etc. Also at Parade Ground will be a show case of farm equipment of Mahindra & Mahindra as well as pavilions of companies like Sonalika, HMT, Escorts etc The Agri Services sector in India has seen some unparalleled technological advancements and R&D developments, both in the private and public sectors. The Agri Services Showcase will be at Circus ground. It will be a step forward from the model village concept of Agro Tech 2002. It will not only present the latest agri services to the farmers, but would also bring them face to face with service providers and government agencies. Specially being set up for farmers are Tata Kissan Kendras, ITC’s E-Choupal and DSCL’s Hariyali Kissan Bazar. A special Agri Theatre is being set up with three different sound-proofed halls which will screen agri-based films for the benefit of farmers. Also coming up is a unique Futures Trading Floor, a Farm Management Arena and a Financial-Risk Management World pavilion. A number of Kisan Ghostis will be organised at Agri Services, 2004, for the benefit of farmers. Over two lakh people are expected to participate in the fair.
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Guru Nanak’s birthday celebrated
Mohali, November 25 The school director, Col.
C.S. Bawa encouraged the students to follow the path of truth and humanity. The function culminated with the ardas and prasad was distributed after the students had paid obeisance in a gurdwara. The winners of the various events were: Jaspreet Singh, Simarpreet Kaur, Amarvir Singh, Jasveer Singh, Parminder Kaur, Navneet, Supneet Kaur, Satinder Singh and Harinder Pal Singh.
Little Peals
Foundation School
Students of Little Peals Foundation School, Sector 66, celebrated gurpurab today. School teachers told the students about the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev. Stories from his life were also told to the students of
playway. Shabad gayan by the students was also organised.
Sri Hemkunt Public School
Students and staff of Sri Hemkunt Public School, Sector 71, here celebrated Gurpurab today. Gurbani path, shabad kirtan and sakhis of Guru Nanak were recited. A drawing competition on the theme “Avoid drugs and adopt teachings of Guru Nanak” was also organised. Mr
G.S. Bhalla, director of the school, told the students about the teachings of Guru Nanak and Ms Iqbal Kaur, school Principal exhorted the students to adopt Guru Nanak’s teachings.
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Guru Granth Sahib translation project launched
Mohali, November 25 The project, undertaken by the Guru Granth Sahib Sewa Mission here, has been dedicated to the 400 years of the installation of the Granth. The work is expected to be completed by 2008. Scholars of 11 Indian languages apart from Hindi have been engaged for the purpose. The Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, who was to accompany Mr Barnala, cancelled his visit. Talking to mediapersons, Mr Barnala appreciated the project saying he would ensure that the mission received funds from the Shatabdi Committee, of which he was a member. Mr Gurinder Pal Singh
Dhanola, chief organiser of the project, said the mission would distribute 1 lakh copies of Japji Sahib in each of these languages free of cost. Another 1,000 copies of Guru Granth Sahib would be distributed free to established libraries and organisations in the country and abroad. Another 5,000 copies of Japji Sahib and Guru Granth Sahib in Hindi would also be distributed free of cost. The mission’s website,
www.gurugranthsahibsewamission.org, was also launched by Mr Barnala. A monthly report of the mission would be posted on the website to ensure transparency in the working of the mission. Mr Dhanola said scholars considered masters in their language had been chosen for the work. Prof Vasant R. Kushtagi would be translating Guru Granth Sahib into Kannada, Prof R. Kannan into Tamil, Dr S. Mohanta Assamese, Dr N.C. Panda Oriya, Prof M. Shiva Ramamurti Telegu, Dr A.A. Ahluwalia Gujarati, Ms Ranjita Roy Bangla, Prof M.S. Vishambhram Malyalam and Bhai Devinder Pal Singh from Rampura would translate it into Urdu. Dr Dhanola explained that a master translation in English would be first compiled, which would be given to these scholars to work with. “We have five different English translations of Guru Granth Sahib. Text would be picked from all these to create a master copy, which would then be distributed for translation.” He added that a Hindi translation was already available and the mission would request for a copyright from its publishers, he said. Mr Mewa Singh Sidhu of Punjab Agro represented the Chief Minister at the function and assured the mission all help.
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Want to bypass bylaws? Just do it!
Chandigarh, November 25 Just as residents have failed to contain themselves within the limits laid down under the building bylaws, the Administration too has failed to adapt to the changing needs and in allowing modifications and granting permission for change in the use of property. The infrastructure to check the misuse of the existing provisions of the law is also lacking. There is hardly any sector in Chandigarh in which you do not find encroachments or a building facade that is not permissible. With the property prices in the city soaring and the population increasing, everyone wants to make the maximum possible use of the available infrastructure and resources. The biggest casualty in this is the civic law pertaining to residential and commercial property in variance to the plan given by Le Corbusier. Hundreds of examples can be cited where houses and commercial buildings have been altered extensively on the inside and redone in accordance with plans from modern architectural experts, but not conforming to the city’s bylaws. In most flats, like the ones in Sector 45, balconies have been constructed in violation of the building bylaws. At many places the violations are obvious even at a casual glance. House owners have encroached upon adjoining government land meant for parking. A large number of people have built walls around public land adjoining their property to keep others out. If the Administration is unaware, it can look at any ground-floor flat in the Housing Board Complex at Manimajra or any other Chandigarh Housing Board flat. Again, in almost all cases wherever a six-foot space is available between houses and the road, it has been encroached upon and in many cases fenced. Every market in the city has encroachments by rehri and phariwallahs; big shops too have taken their slice. While sectors 18 or 19 may be leading in this matter, even the city centre, Sector 17 market, has clogged corridors and occupied open spaces. The bridge market and its surroundings in the sector are no different. One difference between Sector 17 and the other markets in the city is that in this sector it is mainly small hawkers who set up business during the day and pack up at night. In other markets, like in Sector 28, dhaba owners put chairs and tables outside their establishments, converting public places into open-air eating places. All this happens allegedly in connivance with inspectors of the Municipal Corporation. A classic example of encroachment that is taken to be normal is the taxi stand adjoining the hockey ground in Sector 18. Apart from the illegal taxi stand, water tankers too are parked in this public parking lot, leaving no parking space for the visitors to the Sector 18 booths. One educational institute in the city has even converted a one-marla house into a hostel for the students who come for specialised coaching from outstations. The hostel houses five students on bunker beds in one room. A caterer is using another house in Sector 40-A for storing cooking gas cylinders. Time and again notices have been issued to violators of building bylaws and encroachers. But in this city of VIPs, there is hardly any follow-up action. In many cases, money changes hands and violations are overlooked. MC inspectors allegedly charge a weekly fee for allowing vendors to run their businesses. Without the involvement of officials, it would be difficult to explain a restaurant in Sector 26 opening an entrance in the service lane or a restaurant in Sector 7 barricading an adjoining green space for parties and even charging for it. It is time the Administration made an overall review of the architectural controls, zoning plans and building bylaws on residential, commercial and institutional property. Once finalised, violators must be dealt with firmly.
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Cops come to rescue of couple
Mohali, November 25 Sources said that a Phase-3B2 resident, Bunty Bhalla, along with a woman went to Sector 18, Chandigarh. The police said the woman had to pay Bunty some money and she told him that the could repay him only after she got the money from a Sector 18 resident. Sources said that the couple went to collect money but were taken captive by some persons present at the house.
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Bassi is Chandigarh Club president
Chandigarh, November 25 In his order, Mr KC Ganjwal, member of the Principal Bench of the CLB, declared Mr Mukesh Bassi and Mr Sandeep Sahni as president and vice-president, respectively, of the prestigious club. The executive members are: Mr Sandeep Bansal, Mr Naresh Chaudhary, Mr Ajay Bir Singh, Mr Sonaal
Nurpuri, Mr Raj Kumar Mittal, Mr Sanjeev Mehan, Mr Ravinderpal Singh Palli and Capt Sanjeev Gandotra. It may be recalled that certain members had moved the CLB against voting by 461 members in the April 3 elections alleging that their membership was “illegal” as they did not come under the original ceiling of 5,000 life and permanent members, who were eligible to vote under the Article Association of the Chandigarh Club. Mr Justice Amar Dutt of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while allowing the counting of the votes, had stayed the declaration of the results on October 19 till the main petition was disposed of by the CLB. Going into the background of the controversy, Mr Ganjwal observed that it was clear from the report of the
committee constituted by the CLB that only 262 of the 461 “non-eligible” persons had cast their votes in the elections. “At the most, these 262 members could have voted in favour or against any particular candidate. I, therefore, feel that in case of the president and the vice-president, the difference of 262 votes should be deducted and the candidate securing maximum votes be declared a winner,” the order, a copy of which was procured by the Chandigarh Tribune, said. However, in the case of the executive members there was no way except to declare the winner on the basis of maximum votes polled by the candidates. The board ordered that a committee comprising Mr Neeraj Chaudhary, the CLB observer, and Mr Ashwani Kumar, Chartered Accountant, would identify the “non-eligible” members to complete the list of 5,000 by December 15. The new management committee will display the list of eligible 5,000 members, after inviting objections, by the end of December. The committee will also go into the cases of all members enrolled after 1998 and submit them to the management committee after scrutiny. After the completion of the list of 5,000, a general body meeting would be called in January next year to consider their
cases. Besides, a special audit of the club from April 1,1998 to March 31,2004, has been ordered, which will be considered at the annual general meeting of the club. Mr Bassi expressed happiness over the decision of the CLB and said he would outline his priorities in due course of time.
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MC poll: NCP withdraws support to Cong
Chandigarh, November 25 The NCP president announced that the party had decided to support Independent candidate, Rajesh Gupta, a Congress dissident. Meanwhile, the Congress candidate from Ward No. 11 of the Municipal Corporation, Mr Harmohinder Singh Lucky, today complained to the Election Commissioner, that the BJP candidate was using banned cone speakers atop vehicles for canvassing.
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Councillor alleges discrimination
against wife
Chandigarh, November 25 In a letter written to the Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, Mr Badhran, who is associated with the ruling Indian National Lok Dal, said though his wife was to join her duties on March 28, 2001, after completing her training, she was not allowed to do so for about eight months. She could join only after she filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Badhran alleged that she had been denied her annual increment and other benefits admissible to her as per terms of appointment due to the “discriminatory attitude” of the authorities concerned. He said if justice was not done to his wife, he would go on an indefinite
fast.
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50-yr-old dies
in bus
Chandigarh, November 25 The police said Sunder Singh, a resident of Dehra Dun had come to the city to visit his brother Prithvi Singh in Sector 7. Sunder Singh was taking treatment from the PGI. His nephew Ravinder Singh had come along with him to the ISBT to see him off. According to the eyewitness as the bus started off from the bus stand, he fell on his seat. He was rushed to the General Hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead.
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Man caught red-handed while stealing money
Chandigarh, November 25 Vinod of Durjanpur village in Gonda district (Uttar Pradesh) was caught red-handed by Mr Dharam Pal of SCO No. 39 while stealing the money from a safe in his shop. They immediately called the police and handed over the accused to them. The police recovered the stolen money from his possession. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 26 police station.
Burglary
Mr B.P. Dhingra of Sector 39 filed a complaint that a mobile phone, a wrist watch, some gold jewellery and Rs 2,000 were stolen from his residence yesterday during day time. A case under Sections 454 and 380 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 39 police station.
Motorcycles stolen
Mr Sunny Bansal of Sector 21-C reported to the police that his Bullet motorcycle (HR-25-A-6788) was stolen from his residence during the intervening night of November 23-24. A case of theft under Section 379 of the IPC was registered in the Sector 19 police station. Mr Gurmohan Singh, a resident of Hostel No. 3 of Panjab University campus, filed a complaint that his motorcycle (PB-10-AM-0895) was stolen from hostel parking, yesterday. A case of theft was registered in the Sector 11 police station.
Dowry case
Ms Kaushalia Devi of Sector 32-C reported to the police that her husband, Rajinder Kumar, of Sector 30-B was maltreating and harassing her for dowry. She said, she was married in December, 2001. A case under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC has been registered against him at Sector 34 police station.
Booked
The police today booked a son of a commission agent, who allegedly abused and manhandled the secretary of the Market Committee, Chandigarh. The secretary was manhandled when he, accompanied by two of his staff, went to inspect a godown at Darua village. According to the police, R.K. Prashar, secretary of the committee, Chandigarh, went to check the stock of groundnuts in the godown of Raj Kumar. Mr Prashar told the police that he had received complaints of the pilfering of sale tax. Mr Prashar in his complaint alleged that they went to Raj Kumar’s godown at around 4:45 pm. As he asked them to show their stock, they, Raj Kumar and his son Naresh Kumar, abused him. Later, they locked the door and manhandled him and his staff members. He also complained that Naresh Kumar slapped his car driver. The police got the information at 5 pm and visited the godown. A case of preventing a government servant from discharging his duties under Sections 332 and 353 of the IPC was registered against Naresh Kumar in the Industrial Area police station. The police arrested Naresh Kumar and later released him on bail.
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Body of 25-yr-old fished out from Sukhna
Chandigarh, November 25 The police started the exercise to fish out the body early in the morning and the body was spotted by 12.30 pm, some 60 meters away from the staircases near a pepul tree. The spectacles that he was wearing were still on, barefooted and his watch had stopped at 6.10 p.m. The police said the father of the deceased, Mr Satinder Paul Singh came to know about the death of his son today morning. As Gurbir Singh was under depression, his family members went to inquire about him with their relatives after he did not return home last night. In the morning they read news reports about a turbaned man, who had drowned in the lake. They went to Sector 19 police station to file a report of their missing son. The police told them to contact the lake police post as a man had drowned in the lake and the police had a pink-coloured turban and a black patka with them. They recognised the turban of their son and also found his Kinetic Honda scooter (CH-01-F-4357) parked at the lake. Gurbir Singh was an engineering student. He had failed in examinations about two years back and had stopped studying. He had been under depression for the past two years and was taking treatment from the PGI. He was the only son of his parents. The police further said, Satinder Paul Singh, the father of the deceased requested to the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) not to conduct the post mortem of the body. The body was taken to the General Hospital from where it was later handed over to the relatives. The police has initiated the inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC in Sector 3 police station.
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Body found hanging from tree
Chandigarh, November 25 Hori Lal, in his early 20s, was found hanging from a tree this morning. The police said the body was four-five days’ old and was decaying. It was not noticed for several days as the area was secluded and overgrown with shrubs. Chet Lal, father of the deceased, told the police that Hori Lal was married to Prabha four months ago. Prabha left the home without informing him some days ago. He even filed a report of a missing person on November 16. He went into depression over her departure and could not come out of it. The police found some papers from Hori Lal’s pocket in which the name and phone number of a contractor were written. The police traced the contractor who gave him the description of the deceased. The contractor told the police that Hori Lal was working with him at a Gaushala in Maloya. He led the police to Chet Ram later in the evening. The body was taken to the General Hospital and kept in the mortuary. The postmortem of the body will be conducted tomorrow, the police said. The police has initiated the inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC at Sector 36 police station.
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MC seeks tenders
Panchkula, November 25 Officials in the MC say that the public toilets in most of the markets were useless because no repair work had been carried out there.
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