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Young woman murdered, husband held
Mohali, April 4 It is alleged that the husband, Saudagar Singh, left the house soon after murdering Harpreet Kaur. He even allegedly locked his four-year-old daughter, Shubreet, inside the house. The whereabouts of a Nepalese servant, who worked for the family, were also not known. Harpreet Kaur was probably murdered between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. The body of the deceased was lying on a bed in one of the bedrooms. One side of the face, near the temple region, had deep marks of a sharp-edged weapon. There were big stains of blood near the head of the deceased. It appears that Harpreet Kaur was allegedly murdered while sleeping as no obvious signs of struggle were there inside the room. Even the bedsheet did not reveal any sign of resistance by the victim. One could see drops of blood on the floor outside the bedroom and on the way to the kitchen. A power switch located near the refrigerator in the house also had a trace of blood on it. The crime came to the notice of neighbours after they heard a small child crying and shouting from a window for help. Shubreet was asking one of the neighbours to open the door. Soon neighbours gathered and the child told them that her father had allegedly attacked her mother with a knife. One of neighbours then informed the police. Neighbours, however, could not open the door as it was locked. The lock was then got broken by the police to gain entry into the house. The little child, who was
oblivious of the tragedy that her struck her, kept telling the same story to everyone, including mediapersons. She said that her parents used to quarrel at times. She said that yesterday the three of them had gone to attend the wedding of a “Chachu” at Ludhiana and came back late. After coming my father lay on a bed and she went to the bed where her mother was lying. She further said that in the morning her “Papa left for Mansa” after allegedly attacking her mother. The child was in the custody of one of the neighbours. A policeman showed a framed photograph of a man to the child whom she identified to be her father. Mrs Gurpreet Kaur, a neighbour, who was keeping the child of the deceased, told The Tribune that the parents of the child had shifted to the rented accommodation on the topmost floor in Darshan Vihar here about a month and a half ago. The deceased did not have much interaction with the neighbours. She said that she came to know Harpreet Kaur about a week ago when they met in a park where they used to take their children to play. The neighbours were even not aware where the deceased worked or where her husband was employed. “I had seen her husband only yesterday when the family was going out to attend a wedding” said Ms Prem, another neighbour. She said that Harpreet Kaur had requested her to tie a saree for her (the deceased) as she was not good at it. Ms Prem said that she went to the house of Harpreet Kaur in this regard. Mr Gaurav Chopra, a colleague of the deceased, said that Harpreet Kaur worked as a medical representative with the Chandigarh office of Elder Pharmaceuticals, a firm based in Bombay. The deceased was covering the PGI, Chandigarh, and even the General Hospital in Sector 16. She had joined the company about two months ago. A police team was sent to Mansa to nab the father of the child. According to the police, Saudagar Singh worked as an ahlmad in a court at Mansa. The police also informed the parents of the deceased, who lived in Bathinda, about the crime. The parents reached Mohali in the evening. The police said that the parents informed that the marriage of Harpreet Kaur and Saudagar Singh was a love marriage but later they had strained relations. It is learnt that Mr Bawa Singh, the father of the deceased, told the police that the family members of Saudagar Singh were opposed to the marriage. As such he had got married to Harpreet Kaur on his own and started living separately. He had reportedly got in touch with his parents about a year ago and started having differences with his wife after coming under their influence. He allegedly gave inadequate money to the deceased for running the house. It was then that she took up a job. SP, Rakesh Agrawal, said that the father of the deceased told the police that Saudagar Singh had allegedly murdered his daughter as the two were having strained relations for the past quite some time. He further told the police that Saudagar Singh was allegedly having illicit relations with some women at Mansa and used to come to his house here rarely. Saudagar Singh told the police that he had left his house at Mohali around 6 a.m. and was informed about the crime later by one of his uncles. The SP said that Saudagar Singh had been arrested by a local police team from Mansa. Though he had made no clear confession so far, investigations were on. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC on the statement of the father of deceased.
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Who heads CHB:
Chandigarh, April 4 UT cadre IAS officer Mr K.S. Wahi, today created flutter in the normally staid bureaucratic circles of Chandigarh. With an order from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Mr Wahi today came and sat on the chair of the Chairman Chandigarh Housing Board claiming that he was the Chairman not Mr Poddar. Present Chairman of CHB Mr Poddar, another UT cadre IAS official, is on official tour to Delhi. Mr Wahi has joined but Mr Poddar has not been relieved. Who is the Chairman Mr Poddar is in Delhi. He said was on tour sanctioned by authorities. The fight between the officers will be decided by the ministry and administration. Mr Wahi was on long leave and join duty today creating a controversy. Ten day ago the MHA ordered that Mr Wahi will be CHB Chairman. The Chandigarh Administration wrote to the MHA that Mr Wahi was unacceptable and sought fresh names. Since the MHA did not reply Mr Wahi joined as Chairman today.
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Uncertainty over April 17 exams
The authorities of Government College (GC), Sector 11, and Government College for Girls (GCG), Sector 11, and Government College for Girls (GCG), Sector 42, said they would hold exam for Intelligence Bureau on April 17. Since the colleges had come as the examination centres of the test, they were not in a position to host the university exams. Demanding a change in the exam schedule, the college authorities said over 2,400 students would appear for IB exams in these three colleges. It was not possible to conduct the Undergraduate exams and the IB examinations, simultaneously. Manjit Kalara, Principal, Government College, Sector 11, "The roll numbers for IB exam have been already despatched. Around 800 candidates will appear for this exam in each of these three Government colleges. The Controller of Examinations, Panjab University, Sodhi Ram held a meeting to discuss the issue but no final decision had been taken as yet. Pahlad Aggarwal, Principal GC, 11, and Aadarsh Puri, Principal, GCG 42, were also present at the meeting". However, Dr Sodhi Ram said, “No such meeting was held today.”
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Prayers held for peace of Pope’s soul
Chandigarh, April 4 In his Homily the Bishop highlighted the remarkable achievements of the Pope in his eventful 26 years of papacy. He called him a man of God, holy man, man of faith and a man of courage who stood for and proclaimed moral and spiritual values with great conviction. The Pope, he said was the conscience and moral voice for the world. The Bishop further said he would like to see this Pope called as ‘John Paul The Great’, a title conferred only on two other Popes so far. The Bishop exhorted the faithfuls to live according to the spiritual and moral teaching of Pope John Paul II, especially emulating his love for the eucharist, devotion to Mother Mary, respect for human life from the moment of conception and work towards building a society based on justice and peace. At St Anne’s School in Sector 32, the sisters prayed for the peace of the departed soul. The Catholics prayed that Lord be merciful to the departed soul and give him eternal peace.
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Better days ahead for commuters
Chandigarh, April 4 Using the simple principle that each Sector in Chandigarh is divided by main roads, the system suggests that buses should continuously run on each main road. Commuters will have to get down and change buses to reach their destination. The idea of the new bus routes seems to be workable and will reduce the travel time between two destinations drastically. Going by the projection, it will be easy to commute from one place to another in lesser time by using the new system. There will be no need for recruiting extra staff. For example, if a person wants to go from the PGI to Sector 47, in the present transport system, he or she boards a bus at the PGI with the vehicle taking a circuitous route before arriving in Sector 47. This usually takes one hour. In the new plan, the same buses will be used in a different manner. The passenger will start from the PGI on the horizontal route on Madhya Marg. He will get down at the intersection of the road going straight to Sector 47 and board another bus running towards Sector 47. The travel time will not be more than 30 minutes. The waiting time will also be less since the buses will move on the same road, up and down. If six to eight buses run on one road, the frequency in one direction will be just 7 to 8 minutes. For example, if a bus starts from Dakshin Marg near Sector 38, on reaching Tribune Chowk, it will take a U-turn and start the reverse journey. During peak hours, more buses can be pressed into service. The Chief Architect has been asked to ensure that the height of bus stop platforms is in congruence with the height of the steps inside the bus for the convenience of passengers. The Chandigarh Administration has placed an order to have 102 low-floor buses designed specially for a comfortable ride within the city. These buses will be delivered in fleets of 20 to 22 each month, thus completing the delivery in less than six months. The new 102 low-floor buses will be aesthetically designed. The buses will have a modern lighting system and emergency bells around the bus in case a commuter needs to stop the bus out of turn. The bus is powered by a 6-litre, 6-cylinder, direct injection turbocharged diesel engine.
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SC seeks govt’s view on use of Forest Hill golf course
New Delhi, April 4 A Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice P.P. Nolekar, which had earlier stayed the High Court’s order but restrained club owner B.S. Sundhu from making any commercial use of the golf course as well as the Hill Resort, told Union Government counsel A.D.N. Rao to submit the response of the Environment and Forest Ministry within two weeks. Mr Sandhu’s counsel Gopal Subramaniam pleaded that his client was ready to furnish an undertaking that expect for using the golf course for existing members, no other commercial activity would be undertaken on it and no new members enrolled. Mr Subramaniam said the closure of the golf course even for existing members, had been causing a huge loss to his client, who had to spend nearly Rs 28 lakh per month on the maintenance of the club. He said since the legal title of the club land was yet to be decided by the apex court, the stay on the use of the club till the decision on Mr Sandhu’s Special Leave Peittion, would not serve any purpose. However, both Punjab’s Advocate-General Harbhagwan Singh and the Union Government counsel strongly opposed the grant of interim permission to the club, saying that it would amount to permitting commercial activities there. “In the garb of playing golf all commercial activities would be carried out by them,” Mr Harbhagwan Singh said. He said if refreshment and kitchen and other things were allowed, they might open it for parties, dinners and lunches. But the court said if the plea for granting permission to play was accepted by it, no party, dinner or lunch and running of the kitchen would be permitted. Since a huge amount was required to maintain the golf course and if it was closed “it may be reduced merely to a grass field,” the court observed.
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Assistant Divisional Engineer held for demanding bribe
Chandigarh, April 4 The sources in the CBI here today said the ADE Ashok Kumar Sanyal demanded Rs 20,000 from contractor Gurvinder Singh for clearing a maintenance bill of Rs 2,00,000 pending for a month. The contractor told the CBI he had already paid the ADE Rs 25,000. Gurvinder Singh had been asking the officer to clear his bill but the ADE allegedly demanded a 10 per cent cut on the payment of the bill. When Gurvinder Singh did not get any favourable response from the ADE, he approached the Jammu office of the CBI narrating the entire story. CBI sleuths got the demand verified by getting the contractor to talk to the engineer and record the conversation. After confirmation, the CBI team trapped the ADE along with money on April 1, the sources in the Chandigarh-based Regional headquarter said. Sanyal was produced in a Jammu court which sent him to police custody till today. He will be again produced for further remand tomorrow. In another interesting case at Badgaon in Kashmir, a head clerk-cum-inspector of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Wali Mohmmed, was arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 6,000 for installing a village public telephone (VPT) from one Ghulam Mohmmed Wani. Interestingly, Wani’s courage to stand up against corruption got him a telephone connection instantly apart from getting the bribe-demanding person behind bars. Wani had been making rounds of the BSNL office when snow storm was every day taking lives of the people in his surroundings. The sources said Wani had been trying for six months to get a VPT installed at his house but nothing happened. Then Wali Mohmmed allegedly told him to make a payment of Rs 6,000 for the connection. Wani found it unacceptable and approached the CBI. The CBI sleuths asked Wani to negotiate the deal and tape the conversation. The BSNL employee ultimately came down to just a payment of 10 per cent of the demand, Rs 600, intially for installing the equipment. The BSNL employee, however, told Wani that his instrument would only be activated after the full payment was made. After the conversation, CBI planned a trap to arrest Wali Mohmmed. Most interestingly, Wani came out as a winner with two caps in his feather as his phone was immediately installed without any payment as well as a corrupt official was arrested. As per a CBI policy, if a source tips off about corruption, the agency takes up his genuine work to get it done after a person has been trapped.
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Change in the definition of ex-serviceman sought
Chandigarh, April 4 A writ petition in this regard has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by one of the affected officers, Major Sudhir Mittal (retd), who is also practicing in the same court. The High Court issued notices to the respondents in this case on Friday. The petitioner served a little over 11 years with the Army, before being released in June, 1993, after his request for pre-mature retirement on personal grounds was accepted by the government. "Yet the petitioner and many other persons in similar situations are not being granted the status of "ex-serviceman" on account of the prevailing definition," the petition states. Revised regulations issued on July 1, 1987, define ex-serviceman as, "any person who had served in any rank in the armed forces and was released / retired with any kind of pension from the defence Budget or released on completion of specific term of engagement with gratuity otherwise that at his request or by way of dismissal or discharge on account of mis-conduct or inefficiency." This definition had been revised repeatedly in the past. Prior to July, 1968, any person who had served in any rank and released from service other than dismissal for misconduct was considered an ex-serviceman. In July, 1968, a condition was incorporated that a person had to serve at least six months to get the status of an ex-serviceman. In 1979, this was again amended to state that a person should have rendered at least five years of service to be called an ex-serviceman in cases where discharge is at one's own request. The definition of ex-serviceman currently in vogue, according to the petition, excludes all persons who have been released at their own request, irrespective of the length of service. These include persons who have been decorated with gallantry awards or other service awards and honours.
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Cop’s wife cheated of jewellery
Chandigarh, April 4 According to the police, Ms Swaran
Lata, wife of Head Constable Ashok Kumar, had gone to admit her children to Shishu Niketan School in Sector 22. On her way back, she was intercepted by two women, who asked her about a jewellery shop as they wanted to sell their
jewellery. They told her that they were short of money to buy tickets for their journey. The women showed Ms Lata some “gold ornaments studded with diamonds.” Ms Lata got lured by them and got ready to exchange them with her
jewellery. Ms Lata handed over her gold chain, gold and Rs 200 in cash and in exchange of the
jewellery. After some time, she got the ornament checked from a jeweller only to find that they were artificial.
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Passing Thru
What causes lung cancer?
A majority of the cases of the disease can be prevented by not smoking. The statistics say that more than 80 per cent of patients had a history of smoking. How do conferences like this help in the prevention of lung cancer? It is at conferences like this that causes, strategies and preventions are discussed. New findings and researches are presented and every participant has a point to add. In European countries, after a conference like this, all members are sent a newsletter giving information on the new findings. As part of the Education Committee of the IASLC, I feel dissemination of information is critical. What is the correct approach once the new findings come out? The best thing to do is to communicate to the general public, strategies for prevention of lung cancer because if they do not accept it, the government or the administration can try as much as they want, the preventive measures will not succeed.
— Gayatri Rajwade
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Saffron robes, hair in a guth resembling a twisted piece of ginger and an utterly remarkable carroty trishul waving in the air. Babaji is in a trance and oblivious to the people of Sector 35, staring curiously at him. His bizarre trishul merits a closer look! The long balloon, fitted with a U curved balloon at one end to make it appear like a trident dancing in the air with gay abandon. A closer look and you see the Babaji in a festive spirit, dancing to the music only he can hear. A tap on his shoulder and he says, “You can buy this and you will get instant karma.” The precious trishul is procured. The ‘handle’ bursts while attempting to stuff it in the car. Babaji remains nonchalant; after all, it was bad karma! Mother kitty
If you thought that kitty parties meant only eating and tambola, you can think again. There are as many variations on the theme as are heads. There is the fresh lime one for dieters who want to shed pounds and count calories. The fitness group meets at a gym and compare health notes, while the young mothers share nappy fatigue and baby talk. There is also a think group in the making that meets over coffee. One had heard of enthusiastic women kitty partying in Delhi when the Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi started. The latest is an enterprising group planning a Singapore ki kitty party, what with declining air fares and rising aspirations. After all why can’t they go global too?
Passionate architect
Architecture is his passion. This is the reason that Surinder Singh Sekhon, who retired recently as Chief Architect of Punjab, has joined as Principal of Indo-Global College of Architecture at Ropar. Actively associated with the city’s art and culture societes, Sekhon has also designed the Museum of Social History of Punjab at Ludhiana and the kisan haveli at Anandpur Sahib.
Sevak machine
Appropriately called Sevak, the fully automatic machine from the Tatas, installed by the PSEB at its office in Phase I, Mohali, for the collection of electricity bills round the clock is a boon for office-goers who earlier had to stand in the serpentine queue for hours on end. Now they can walk in anytime and put in the money and out comes the receipt, as they watch in wonder. In fact Sevak has become an attraction for kids and students of computer sciences who flock to see it functioning. What happens when the machine decides to throw a tantrum? The maintenance man, who should be ideally near the machine, has to be summoned from a distance, while people stand and joke about how nothing really works in this country. Every one is not upbeat about the mechanisation. They bemoan the loss of the personal touch and hail-fellow-well-met brand of geniality.
Testing time
March was a busy month for both teachers and students in Panjab University. There was hectic activity as targets had to be met before March 31 when the academic year ends along with the financial year. April being the examination month, students are busy making up for the lost time. Some of the work has spilled over. Last minute completion of projects and reports is on and those who took care are busy revising their text. If this was not enough, farewell parties are being arranged too. However, most students are confident that they will come out with flying colours. Good luck to them.
Night lamps
The Chandigarh heat is legendary but Manvender Singh remains cheery. After all the potential buyer can pop around the tree he is currently taking refuge under! For, on his shoulder, are hoisted forty to fifty ‘night lamps’. These colourful plastics come with their tiny bulbs. “I have come from Dehradun with a friend to sell these,” he says. The long haul down to the plains of Punjab is the need to earn and feed the family. The blue and orange plastic shells of the lamps are carried from the hometown and are then assembled here. At Rs 60, the lamp - shaped like the quaint olden day oil and wick ones complete with glass like bevelling on the edges, is a steal.
Pappu pass
School students who have cleared their board examinations are in a jubilant mood. An SMS doing the rounds on the city mobiles parodying a television commercial a la Amitabh Bachchan says, “Breaking news, Andar ki khabar, Ek dum fresh, Ek dum hot… hamara Pappu paise de ke pass ho gaya hai!” Of course taking part in such revelry are children who worked hard and can now be party to fun.
Burning leaves
This is the time when trees shed leaves. For the poetic souls it is a time of reflection. The Ministry of Environment and Forest had put a ban on burning these leaves that lie in heaps in parks and by the roadside. In fact the leaves can be turned into manure. However, morning walkers are irritated with smoke getting into their eyes as cleaners gather them and set them aflame. Time they were educated against the pollution of the environment.
Neglected park
The green belt of Sector 47 has some beautiful trees that originally belong to the city soil like kikar, pipal and banyan. However, this area is in a state of utter neglect, as no one seems to be taking care of it. It is an ideal place for walks and recreation but wild growth and lack of seasonal flowers has made it unkempt. Stray dogs wander about and thus people keep away. Will the Municipal Corporation pay some heed to this spot?
Uncle Jhoolewala
Children of Sector 47 were sad when Sham Lal of Bapu Dham colony started dismantling the giant wheel he had put near the Ram Mandir. But that is his life and he moves from sector to sector and makes a living by taking children for a ride up in the air. Now he will move to Mansa Devi, for, during the Navratra fair he has a contract that will fetch him Rs 5000. Never mind kids, it is earning time for Jhoolewala Uncle.
— Sentinel
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Panchkula to have more traffic lights
Panchkula, April 4 He was addressing senior citizens during an interface with members of the Senior Citizens Association at Day Care Centre, Sector 15, this evening. He said he had already asked Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and municipal council officials to install traffic lights. He was replying to requests made by several persons regarding the growing traffic in the township and the need for regulating it. Dr Misra, while admitting that the police was short-staffed, asked the people to take initiatives for security. He urged the residents to set up gates at all entry/ exit points in their neighbourhood and keep watchmen to ensure that no untoward incident took place. On this occasion, Brig R.S. Sharma, president of House Owners Association of Sector 17, pleaded that becuase of the proximity of Sector 17 to slum and labour colonies, a number of thefts were taking place. He urged that the frequency of police patrolling be increased. Mr V.K. Kapoor, councillor from Sector 17, too, requested that verification drives of migrants in the Rajiv and Indira colonies be done regularly. Mr K.L. Narula, a resident of Sector 16, said the police should keep an eye on rehriwallas and salesmen who visit houses and get to know whether any senior citizen is staying alone. Dr S.K. Chabbra, president of the residents Welfare Association, Sector 7, demanded that the Sectors 17/18/7/8 roundabout be cleared of encroachments by fruit sellers, as it was becoming a traffic hazard, with people stopping by to buy fruits. Complaints about checking bus drivers violating traffic rules and regulations were also received. The senior citizens also urged that the Helping Old Age People Police Scheme be launched soon. Under this scheme, the police proposes to assist senior citizens by providing them safety, succour and free services. The scheme was initiated by a former Superintendent of Police, Ms Mamta Singh, but she was transferred before the scheme was launched. Under the scheme, policemen will pay electricity bills, telephone bills, get the pension of these citizens, provide them medical assistance and postal services. Policemen will also assist them in withdrawing or depositing cash in banks. The police will also act as a family counsellor in case of dispute between couples or with their children. Besides, the policemen will also ensure the verification of passport, arms licence, tenant or servant verification. Any citizen over 58 years of age, living in Panchkula city and without any immediate able-bodied help will be a beneficiary under the scheme.
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MC asks govt to hand over water supply, sewerage
Mohali, April 4 The government proposal asking the council to hike water and sewerage charges was kept pending by the House. Councillors argued that the water and sewerage rates were already on the higher side and it would not be justified to hike them further. Mr N.K. Marwaha said that the government would keep “squeezing” the civic body if it failed to take over the work of water supply and maintenance of sewerage system from the Department of Public Health. Councillors said that in Panchkula residents were made to pay Rs 16.50 as sewerage cess for each building while in Chandigarh the cess was Rs 15 per building. In Mohali residents were burdened as they had to pay Rs 15 per toilet seat as sewerage cess. The council would be able to provide water and maintain sewerage system at lower rates if the work was handed over to it. Moreover, the Department of Public Health which was working on behalf of the council, was not giving any account to the latter even when the work of collecting bills was with it. The proposal was kept pending till the work was handed over to the civic body. The proposal of clearing the balance payment of Rs 94,811 in connection with octroi receipt books drew heated discussion. Councillors alleged that receipt books needed by the octroi wing were got printed by the Department of Local Government from a single firm without calling any tenders. This had been going on since 1999. The Executive Officer, however, said that the tenders had been called at the level of the Deputy Director, Urban Local Bodies, Ludhiana. Another proposal that was discussed at length was of giving major punishment to a clerk, Amrit Lal. The Directorate had asked the civic body to take action against the clerk, who, according to Punjab Vigilance Bureau, had refused to do election duty. Nor had he submitted his medical examination after joining his duty. The councillors said that punishment could be decided only after an inquiry by local officials. Without any inquiry at the level of the council, the civic body could not bring up an issue of major punishment before the House. However, it was decided to charge sheet the employee and the extent of punishment to be given to him could be decided after his reply to the charge sheet.
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Despite court orders, justice denied to them
Chandigarh, April 4 It is the same old story the police and a moneyed man are suspected to have colluded to deny justice the court ordered for the poor brothers. Telu Ram (58) and his brother Mukandi Lal, both residents of Theiri village in Patiala, had bought a plot of 317 sq yards from Jai Singh of their village in 1979. Amrao Singh, a landlord, took illegal possession of the piece of land and denied them its possession for the past many years. Telu Ram told The Tribune that on March 15 the court passed a second order in their favour by giving directions to the SSP, Patiala to help the complainant take possession on their plot. He alleged that the police acting in connivance with Amrao Singh forcibly took the signatures of both brothers on papers mentioning that they had taken possession of the land and produced the same in the court and asked the court to close the case. When the same was read out before the brothers, they cried in the court that the police took the signatures forcibly. The judge then marked an inquiry to the SSP. Telu Ram said that they had suffered so much at the hands of the land grabber and the policemen that his brother suffered a massive heart attack on March 24 and was hospitalised. Telu Ram works in a private company while his brother grazes cattle. Telu Ram told the Tribune that even the courts failed to provide him succour due to the nexus between the police and the alleged influential land grabber. He further added that last year, the local court sent a bailiff with them to give them the possession of their land, but the landlord with the help of his musclemen forcibly drove them out of the plot. The bailiff reported to the court that it was a sensitive issue and the court ordered the police to intervene. The troubles stared with the brother when they bought 317 square yards of plot in their village from Jai Singh of their village in 1979. The complainants paid the amount to Jai Singh but he refused to give the registry to them. The brothers filed a suit against Jai Singh, which they won after four years. Thereafter Amrao Singh, who had taken an illegal possession of the land moved an application against the brothers, which was dismissed by the court. Thereafter the four times that the accused tried to drag the brothers in litigation, but, the court gave verdict in favour of them brothers, despite this the possession of plot remained a dream for them. In his order on August 6, 2004, Mr K.C. Puri, Additional District Judge, Patiala, dismissing the objections raised by Amrao Singh, said, “The present objection is clearly abuse of process of the court.” He further added, “In spite of the decree passed in 1982, the other party is dragging the complainants in one type of litigation or the other”. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on the other party.
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HERC pulls up UHBVN officials
Panchkula, April 4 A public hearing was organised by the Commission here today in order to get suggestions for power reforms from consumers and check if the directives issued by it from time to time were followed by the power generation and distribution companies. Since representation from general public was minimal, the Commission asked the staff of these companies to come forward with suggestions. Chairman of Commission, Raghubir Singh and members — Mr T. R. Dhaka and Mr T. S. Tivedia, took the officials of UHBVN to task as they quizzed them about delay in setting up of Consumer Redressal Forum, maintenance of accounts, and efforts being made to control the aggregate technical and common losses. The HERC members pointed out that six months ago, they had ordered that a Consumer Redressal Forum be set up by UHBVN. “However, no effort was made by UHBVN to set up the forum. As per the Electricity Act, the power distribution companies have to abide by legislation laid down by us,” complained the members. The Managing Director of UHBVN, Ms Jyoti Arora, was also questioned about the line losses and efforts being made to control these by installing meters to assess line losses on feeders. She said that by the end of this year, they would instal DT meters on all feeders (8600) in urban areas of Sonepat and Karnal. She was also questioned about the high rate of replacement of meters. Later, in the afternoon, the HERC members held a meeting with officials of Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGC). Officials of HPGC were asked to improved technology operating norms and regulate station heat rate auxiliary energy consumption.
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Punwire staff hail HC order
Mohali, April 4 In a press note issued by Mr Shahid Ahmed, union president, the company’s building, located at B-77, Industrial Area, Phase VII, here had been sold for over Rs 3.11 crore. Buyer, Winsome Company, had also taken the possession of the building. He added that, however, despite the court orders issued on March 30, the possession of the Punwire property had yet to be taken back. On March 30, the high court had set aside the sale of a portion of Punwire to the firm in December, 2004. Taking up an application filed by the Sun group, Mr Justice M.M. Kumar ordered re-auction of the building and other assets. The Judge also ordered that workers of the defunct company should be also involved in the process. It may be recalled that on February 4, the Sun group had deposited Rs 2 crore with official liquidator as part of the Rs 12-crore bid for the company. Earlier, on January 28, the high court had stayed the registration of the sale deed of a portion of Punwire to the Winsome group in December, 2004. In its order, the court also directed Winsome to hand over the possession of the assets of Punwire to the official liquidator. A rally by some former employees of the company was also organised outside the building today.
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Govt-funded rural development institute for Mohali
Mohali, April 4 Being built on 4 acres of land adjacent to the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) Bhawan, the SRID complex was being constructed on the site where earlier the Akali regime had planned the Vikas Bhawan. The SRID would be a centre for training various panchayat members and rural development officers of the state. The Vikas Bhawan was to be the administrative complex of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats Punjab and its foundation stone was laid by the then Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, in November 2001. However, the project never took off and the department was still to pay half the total cost of land to PUDA. The pending amount notwithstanding, the department had now managed to get funds for the construction of the institute from the Government of India. The SRID would be, initially a three-storey building with a basement. The covered area was over 10000 sq feet and space would be distributed between classrooms and conference halls. “Lecture theatres, faculty rooms, over 40 guest rooms for visiting faculty, cubicles and dormitories in the hostel floor, a library, dining hall etc are facilities that would be made available within the building,” said Mr Sarvjit Singh, Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab. The building would be in line with the design of the adjacent PUDA Bhavan and the Fortis Hospital. “The cladding to be used in the building is similar to the ones used in these buildings,” said Mr Sarvjit Singh. He added that the contractor had been asked to finish construction within the next one and half years and if all went well the institute should be functional by the end of next year. “The Central Government has already given us the first installment of the total cost of the project which is now being utilised. We, however, also intend to incorporate our administrative office complex in the building in the future. But for that we would need to enhance the scope of the work and also need at least Rs 3 crore more. These funds would be generated from within the department. For the administrative complex, two more floors would be added to the building under construction,” said Mr Sarvjit Singh. The land was allotted to the department in May 2001 at the cost of Rs 5.96 crore by PUDA. Half of this amount had to be paid within a month of the allotment and it was duly done by the department. “Now the amount pending is about Rs 4 crore calculated by PUDA after adding the interest for the delay in payment. Our department has requested PUDA to waive the interest and a meeting in this regard was also held. But a final decision on the matter is pending at the level of PUDA,” said the director.
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Border area people deserve special concessions
In all wars, people living in the border areas suffer the maximum loss of life and property. The government, therefore, must special provisions to compensate them. A successful war cannot be fought if their morale is low. During the large-scale deployment of our Army in Operation Parakram in 2001-2002, the entire border of Punjab and Rajasthan was strewn with mines. This resulted in the Army and the civil population suffering a sizeable number of mine casualties. What was worse was that most of the farmers lost their livelihood as their land was under mines. Not only that, the people from the border were evacuated to the rear areas and put in camps. Many promises were made by the government to compensate the farmers, but very little has been done so far. Surprisingly, the first instalment of Rs 37,500, out of Rs 1.5 lakh promised to the kin of mine blast victims by the government, is being paid now in Pathankot. The amount promised in the beginning was Rs 2 lakh and not Rs 1.5 lakh. Despite its meagre resources, the Army has always been helping the kin of mine casualties and the civil population. The Headquarters Western Command had paid Rs 25,000 each to the kin of each mine casualty. Free limbs and treatment of civilians were provided at the Command Hospital, Chandimandir. Cantonment can’t forsake security
Some civilians living in the Jalandhar cantonment have objected to the restriction on their entry into the Army’s religious institutions i.e. mandir and gurdwara. A few of them have aired their resentment against this restriction, saying that if they are not allowed entry into these institutions, why are they then allowed to live in the cantonment? What must be remembered by the civilians living in the cantonments is that according to the Cantonment Act 1924, there are two separate areas — the military area and the civil areas. The civil area was meant for ancillary workers such as dhobies, barbers, bhishties, etc, who were not integral to the units in those days. Besides, the cantonments had their own markets. Over the years, the civil areas, the civil areas in the old cantonments have expanded so much that they have almost merged with the military areas. This, system however, was done away with more than 25 years ago. All cantonments, which have come up after that are military stations and do not have civil areas. The basic reason for setting up cantonments was to keep the troops away from the cities so that they were not affected by external influences, diseases and epidemics. The over-riding factor has always been security. This is the reason why the Army units are self-contained in all respects. It seems that certain civilians in the Jalandhar cantonment are trying to give a religious colour to this non-issue for some ulterior motive. The Army should ignore their outbursts.
Treatment of
ex-servicemen
Some of the ex-servicemen who have not become members of the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) are in doubt whether they can continue to take treatment at the Military Hospital. They should know that they remain entitled to the medical facilities available at the hospitals. The membership of the ECHS is not mandatory for ex-servicemen who have retired before April 1, 2003, but those ex-servicemen who retired on or before April 1, 2003, have to become members. Their contribution towards the scheme is automatically deducted from their emoluments before retirement.
ECHS-approved
laboratory
The Apollo clinical laboratory in Sector 9, Chandigarh, has been approved for ECHS members in addition to the other diagnostic centres and laboratories notified earlier.
— Pritam Bhullar
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No salary for 3 months
We are employees of the Punjab Home Guards and Civil Defence, Sector 17, Chandigarh, working on temporary posts. We have not got our salaries for the past three months due to the inability of our officers to submit a satisfactory reply about the total number of posts, place of postings, etc. As a result, the necessary sanction for our salary is not being issued by the department concerned. We are being punished for the financial embezzlements committed by our DCG, AO and Supdt. (Administration) and they are just using delay tactics by not furnishing correct information as the DCG is going to retire in the coming months. The school session of our children will start soon and we have no money for their admissions and books. Mohinder Singh and other affected employeesChandigarh Illegal meat shops
All meat shops in Parwanoo are illegal. These do not have licences from the Nagar Parishad, Parwanoo. Besides, the meat being sold is not inspected by a veterinary doctor as required under the law. Ms Meenakshi Sharma, president of the Nagar Parishad, Parwanoo, says they have not issued any licence to any meat seller and all such shops are illegal. She says due to shortage of staff, they have not been able to check such shops. In the parishad, there is no sanitary inspector to keep a check on such shops. Mr J.K. Sood, Deputy Director, Veterinary, Solan, says the Nagar Parishad, Parwanoo, has not provided space for a veterinary dispensary and also for slaughtering animals. He admits that selling meat without a stamp is illegal, but they cannot take action as this is the duty of the Health Department. Meenakshi Neglected area
The road between Zirakpur and Bartana (Patiala district) and its interior presents a picture of official apathy. So miserable is the condition of the roads in Bartana that the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat should put up huge hoardings advising pregnant women against travelling on these roads and warning patients suffering from backache of a possible slip disc! The pace of laying of sewer lines is so tardy — the work has been going on for more than one year — that it seems as if some kind of ‘‘rasta roko’’ movement is going on! Travelling on these unsteady roads is really a pain in the neck. Rain, timely or untimely, aggravates the situation. What to speak of a bus stop in Zirakpur, there is not even a shed. Commuters have to stand in the open and face the vagaries of the weather. Heaps of garbage can be seen all over. Streetlights are not functioning properly. Fused tubes are replaced once in a blue moon. A wag has rightly called it a “narak panchayat”! D.V. Joshi Bartana Road prone to mishaps
Another victim of a road accident (some pedestrians were mauled by a speeding open jeep on the main road near GH 33, Sector 20) on the night of March 20 has succumbed to her injuries. A woman fell from a speeding Haryana Roadways local bus and died there a few days ago. Accidents involving speeding vehicles on this stretch of the main road near the market area upto the Triveni T-junction are a daily occurrence. The authorities concerned are requested to take the following remedial measures immediately to ensure the safety of people on the main road in Sector 20 as the traffic has increased manifold in this densely populated Sector having multi-storeyed housing complexes: 1. Speed breakers should be laid on the main road along the market area up to the exit point towards Sector 21. 2) Broad footpaths should be laid on both sides of the road after removing encroachments by housing societies along the road in the name of beautification. 3) Parking of vehicles along the road near the community centre, especially when some marriage or function is taking place, should be prohibited. 4) Sufficient floodlights should be arranged on both sides of the road. 5) Dairies in this residential sector need to be removed since their buffaloes roam about freely on the roads, causing risk to motorists and inconvenience to residents. Lalit Bharadwaj
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Major fire averted
Mohali, April 4 Using a candle to complete the work, Surjit Singh, was unmindful of petrol that spilled on the floor. The candle slipped from his hand and it caught fire. An alarm was raised and within minutes many residents of neighbouring houses came forward and extinguished the fire. In fact, the car was pulled away from the spot by these residents. A fire tender was also called but the fire had been controlled before it reached. Mr Mohan Lal, sub fire officer said a major accident was averted due to the villagers timely intervention. The car could have caught fire, along with a tractor that was parked nearby. “Interestingly, Surjit Singh had been taking out petrol from the car like this for the past eight years but it was for the first time such an incident had occurred.”
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Animal welfare camp
Mohali, April 4 Stating that the department was planning to hold nine such workshops in the next fortnight, Dr Ram Singh added that these would be held in different blocks of the district. More than 120 dogs were vaccinated during the camp. Dr R.K. Arora, SVO Mohali, Dr Kanwarjit, Dr Rupinder, Dr Parminder and Dr Gurvinder were present at the camp and educated the villagers about rabies.
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M’rashtra MC team meets Mayor
Chandigarh, April 4 City mayor Anu Chatrath welcomed the delegation. The delegation is on a visit to the city for three days. Also present on the occasion were Deputy Mayor, Sohan Lal Vaid and other councillors.
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One arrested for stealing taps
Chandigarh, April 4 Mr Prem Sagar Trivedi told the police that he heard some noise from the terrace of his house. As he went upstairs to check, he found Ranjit Kumar of Attawa village opening the water pipers from the tank. He caught the accused red-handed and called the police. The police said the accused is a drug addict. A case has been registered against him. he was produced before a local court today, which remanded him to judicial custody.
Vehicles stolen
Mr Soniman, a resident of Sector 12 Panchkula reported that his Maruti Car (HR-03-0434) was stolen from NAC parking in Mani Majra, yesterday. in another incident, Mr Jagan Nath of Sector 46 filed a complaint to the police that his LML Vespa Scooter (CH-01-M-0444) was stolen from his residence during the night of April 1. Two separate cases of thefts have been registered in the various police stations of the police.
Car tyres removed
Ms Surinder Kaur of Sector 41 reported to the police that two front tyres of her Santro Car (CH-01-5702) were stolen during the night of April 2. The car was parked out side her residence. A case has been registered.
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Taxi hijacked, abandoned near Ambala
Chandigarh, April 4 According to the police, Ram Singh of Sector 22, the driver of the Indica Car (CH-02-0831) lodged a complaint with the police that three persons hired a taxi from sector 22-E on April 2 at around 4.30 pm. They told him to take them to Sector 8 in Panchkula, where they met an advocate. Thereafter they asked him to go the Sukhna Lake. They reportedly took a walk at the lake and later asked him to drop them in Sector 34. On reaching Sector 33 and 34 dividing road, one of the accused brought out his knife and asked him to stop the car. The driver told they took control of the vehicle on knife point. They put him forcibly on the back seat and covered his face with a cloth. Later, he was dropped by them in Thol village in Ambala district and sped away with the car. He reported the incident to his owner and came back to the city. A case has been registered under sections 382 and 34 of the IPC in the Sector 17 police station. No arrests have so far been made in this regard, said the police.
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Vehicles kept passing over man’s body
Dera Bassi, April 4 According to villagers, a vehicle hit Avtar Singh, a resident of the village, on the highway last night. As the body of the victim remained unnoticed on the highway, hundreds of speeding vehicles kept passing over it till morning. In the morning, some local passersby noticed the crushed body and called in the police. The body was later taken to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for a post-mortem examination. A case under Sections 279 and 304 A of the IPC has been registered against the driver of an unidentified vehicle.
Body recovered
The body of a teenage girl, Kanta, of Sundran village, who had been missing since March 31, was found floating in a village well this afternoon. According to the police, some children playing nearby found the body in the well. They informed their elders who then informed Mr Labh Singh, father of the girl. The police was subsequently called in. The police fished out the decomposed body from the well and took it to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for a post-mortem examination. The girl’s father had earlier lodged a complaint against two auto-rickshaw drivers of the locality. The police had booked the two under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC at the Dera Bassi police station.
CDs seized
The police today raided two shops running video libraries located in Lalru Mandi and seized 1,150 pirated and pornographic CDs from there. The police arrested an employee of one of the shops while owners of the shops managed to flee. According to the police, a police party lead by SHO Rupinder Kumar Bhardwaj raided Punjab Video Lab and Channi Video Lab and seized 1,080 and 70 CDs, respectively, from there. The raid was conducted on the information from Ramesh Dutt, owner of Star Media Copyright Production, the police said. The police has registered cases under Sections 420 and 292 of the Copyright Act against the accused.
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Burail jail warder arrested
Chandigarh, April 4 Opium was allegedly recovered from the turban Harjit Kumar was wearing. He was today produced before a court which sent him in judicial custoday. Harjit Kumar, who has been working with the jail for 25 years, was lodged in 12 Chakki cell. The warder was caught by AIG (Jails) P.S. Shergill. Harjit on March 3 tested positive when a drug test was carried in the jail. Harjit was earlier issued show cause notice for keeping a cell unlocked for four hours. Harjit had earlier been accused of smuggling liquor to agitationists lodged in the jail. He was once called carrying injections also inside the prison, Mr Shergill said.
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13 hurt in jeep-truck collision
Panchkula, April 4 The police said the accident took place when their jeep (HR-23B-7556) ran into a truck (HR-29A-2565), coming from the opposite direction. The truck was on its way from Zirakpur to Pinjore. The truck driver reportedly fled the spot. The injured were rushed to the General Hospital here. Four of the injured — Babla (23), Chamu (80), Somnath (58), and Bachni Devi (69) — were serious and were rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh. Nine others — Himanshu, Dinesh, Anil, Sonia, Mamta, Rakesh, Chaman Lal, Nirmala and Azad Singh — were given treatment at General Hospital. Two other persons in the jeep escaped with minor bruises. The police has registered a case against the unknown truck driver.
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Suicide bid: boy dies in hospital
Panchkula, April 4 According to the police, Ganga Ram was beaten up by his mother and other women after he broke a common tap in the locality. After the incident, the boy rushed to his house and consumed some poisonous substance. He was later admitted to the PGI.
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Lucky three strike Maruti
Chandigarh, April 4 M. Saleem won a Maruti 800 at Modern, a Maruti dealer, Prabha Mehta at Joshi Auto Zone and Raghuvir Singh at Pasco. The cars were handed over to the winners in the presence of customers who had bought a Maruti vehicle from any of the three dealerships in January, February and March. Under the offer, customers purchasing a Maruti car from the three dealers had a chance to win prizes worth Rs 11 lakh. Other prizes included laptop, handycam, CTV, DVD and watches. Laptops went to P.R. Bhatia, Krishan Kumar, Gurmukh Singh, Daljit Kaur, while handycams were won by Urmila Devi, Harpratap Singh Sekhon, H.S. Bains, Kanwar Bikram, Sanjeev. The CTVs were bagged by Surinder Pal, Bahadur Singh/Amanpreet Singh, Manju Bala, P.K. Kapoor, Ravinder Bedi, Jagdish Manocha, Hari Om, Prem Chand, Ashok Puri and Pardeep Singh and DVDs went to Om Parkash Jain, Ashwani Kumar, Meena Gupta, S.N. Kapoor, Anshu Kalra, Harpreet, H.B. Syal, Dr H.V. Jindal, Ashok Jolly, M/s ICL, Ajay Pathak, Vashisht Kumar, Seema Sharma, Manjeet Singh and Rattan
Chand.
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Pasco to focus on Gurgaon, Delhi
Chandigarh, April 4 In a statement issued here today, Mr Passi said that Pasco continued to remain a member of the Maruti family and he personally continued to enjoy a strong relationship with Maruti.
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Chandigarh, April 4
