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Varsity probe upholds
students’ complaint
Chandigarh, August 20
The college management is encouraging favouritism. Vested interests play a role in its functioning, much to the disadvantage of the helpless students, says an enquiry report of Panjab University. The extent of the interference of the management into the college functioning became so much that the Principal of the college, Mr D. K. Baldev, had to resign on March 31, this year. After receiving the complaints of two students of BAMS third year, 1999 batch of Dhanwantry college ,Ravinder Singh, and Gurbej Singh, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof K. N. Pathak, had constituted a committee and had deputed Prof R. K. Kohli of the Centre for Environment Studies, Botany Department, to inquire the matter. The students had alleged that their teacher was not fair while giving the marks of internal assessment in the subject of “Shalya Tantra”. They complained of injustice. Prof Kohli during probe found that the college lacked in a congenial environment. Moreover, the ties between between teachers and the students were strained. When the views of students were sought, a fact came to the light that these two complainants were student leaders. The two were active in students' politics and had fought for the rights of students and of the college. On the other hand, few teachers alleged that the two students used to misbehave in the class. It was also learnt that these two students were even suspended from the college for their intolerable behaviour but they were readmitted on the intervention of the court. Two girl students of the college on the condition of anonymity revealed that because of lack of transparency and irrational evaluation parameters adopted by the college, they were not satisfied with the marks awarded to them. They also said there was hardly any teaching in the college. They claimed that there was factionalism among the management. Besides this, there were schisms between the teachers and non-teaching staff. Internal politicking had virtually choked the college atmosphere. Prof Kohli, Inquiry officer, said: “I feel that there is a substance in the complaints of the students. The internal assessment is done to check the intellectual abilities. I think their academic record was quite good. I know that students can be miscreant but they should not be punished on the academic grounds", Prof Kohli, has now submitted his report which will be deliberated at the meeting of the Syndicate on August 27.
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Another suicide at Sukhna
Chandigarh, August 20 Sources in the Chandigarh Police say the youth, in his mid-twenties, jumped into the lake at about 5.30 am from stairs located towards the regulatory end after removing his shoes. Clad in a light-orange shirt over jeans, he had Rs 22 in his pocket. The victim was not carrying a suicide note or any other document to establish his identity. Though data is not readily available with the police, the sources in the police headquarters say almost every other week there is a case of attempted suicide. Suicide pacts are also known to have taken place. Around 10 days back, 34-year-old Arun Kumar of Dadu Majra Colony allegedly tried to end his life by jumping into the Sukhna Lake. He was rescued by cops on duty. In June, a Panjab University student, Chandani Bansal, jumped into the lake following alleged differences with a friend. About a month ago, another girl drowned herself to death in the lake. Before that, peon in Panjab University’s Registrar’s Office Brij Pal jumped to death into the lake. A suicide note recovered from him said no one was responsible for his extreme step. Senior officers of the Chandigarh Police claim that its personnel patrol the entire length of the lake on cycles throughout the day to prevent such incidents. This is in addition to the regular watch maintained by the police. Besides this, boards and signs prohibiting swimming in the lake have been displayed at different places to enable the police to detect attempts to end lives. The sources in the police headquarters say the police is considering the feasibility of installing a wire mesh all around the lake to prevent further suicide attempts. But senior officers are divided over the issue.
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UT nod to 500-bed “acute care” hospital
Chandigarh, August 20
Inspired by the experiences of medical establishments in Mumbai, the top brass of Administration has planned a 500-bedded hospital for the city. The Hospital will cater to acute emergencies and will also offer counselling and insurance facilities to visiting patients. The proposal has been cleared by the UT Administrator, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), and has been sent to the Ministry of Health for approval. Another decision is to have a revolving fund for the improvement of healthcare in Chandigarh. User charges collected in hospitals will be ploughed back into the system so they can be used for the further facilitation of health services. Speaking to The Tribune today, the Secretary, Health and Medical Research UT, Mr Krishna Mohan said the new hospital would deal with cases that need acute care and would be exclusive dedicated to emergencies. “Acute care is the latest buzzword in medical realm and it is time that Chandigarh witnessed a specimen of that. The new hospital will cater to the population which otherwise remains neglected due to the overload in the three main hospitals. It will handle cases like heart attacks, asthmatic attacks and urgent orthopedic care cases especially in events of accidents.” The hospital economics of which is still being worked out will serve as a second campus of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and will primarily address the requirements of southern sectors. It will also relieve three main hospitals of the existing burden. This proposal is linked to the expected acceptance of deemed university status for GMCH-32 by the Government of India. The new hospital will be a medical college and hospital so that the required number of senior residents can be appointed to take care of emergencies which are rising day by day in Chandigarh. It will work in conjunction with GMCH-32 and will facilitate diagnosis as well as experimentation. The Administration is also focusing its attention on those who die in harness, in homes and on the roads, Mr Mohan pointed out, “We are planning a network of radio equipped ambulances which will run 24 hours on all seven days. The Red Cross has already been associated and a common number is being worked out. The service will start in six months. Shortly we will also ensure that medical and health related information is available to the people on dialing 8888 on their mobiles. Right now they get information about electricity bills, et al from this number.” Very shortly, the PGI, the GH-16 and the GMCH-32 are also expected to get the proposed trauma centres to cater to emergencies on the roads.
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UT to make money out of scrap
Chandigarh, August 20 The venue is likely to witness a heavy rush from the interested parties, particularly scrap dealers. The scrap material includes building material, tin sheets, folding beds, plastic household accessories and wooden planks. The list includes a collection of cooking aids of roadside vendors — stoves, frying pans and utencils —picked during various raids. The store of the Enforcement Wing of the Estate Office in Sector 17 is overflowing with material seized during the raids. Impounded rickshaws are usually handed over to the Estate Office. The store also has handcarts and over 24 ‘rehris’. The auctions are held at least twice a year. The last auction fetched nearly Rs 3.40 lakh. Official sources said a higher collection was expected this year. It was pointed out that when the rickshaws were challaned for wrong parking, a negligent number of offenders came forward for their release on payment of challan fees. The challan varies between Rs 500 and Rs 700. “The amount for the challan was too high for a rickshaw puller, who was not the owner in a sizeable number of cases,” explained Ram Singh, a rickshawala. The administration had recently lowered he amount for the challan in case of violation for the first time. The amount increases each time the rickshawpuller is caught repeating the offence. A rickshaw purchased during the auction can be taken to the Estate Office for registration. The auctions usually witness a heavy rush of scrap dealers from the region. Mr Dhani Ram, a dealer from Burail, said “ A number of items are in good working conditions. Rehris, stoves, frying pans, beds and even rickshaws promise us good returns after a little sprucing. There is a pretty big market for these items, particularly among the migratory labour. Majority of the rickshaws at the auction find their way to markets in adjoining states of Punjab and Haryana”, he explained. The Administration has asked the interested parties to deposit Rs 5,000 in advance with the Estate Office before the auction.
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This Indian monopolises global immigration
Chandigarh, August 20 There is no looking back for Mr Vaidyamath. “From a time when I did not have £ 10 in my pocket to eat a snack at Heathrow Airport on my way to the US, now by the grace of God, software developed by my company is used in 700 top law firms around the world”, he says recalling his struggle to succeed. For nearly a decade he worked for companies like Intel, developing software till he launched his own company in 2000. Talking to The Tribune during his visit to a local law firm run by Malhotra Brothers, Mr Vaidyamath narrated how he came to float a company that has clients with top names in computers such as Motorola, Patni, IFlex, etc. “An immigration attorney from Punjab, Mr Hardip Singh Rai, came up with a suggestion to develop software for law firms. The project started small, but once I realised the potential, there was no looking back”. INSZoom has its office in San Ramon, California and another one in Bangalore, where nearly 50 software developers prepare products for global clients. What does INSZoom do? For a common man, the software that provides an interface between the common man and the law firms is what INSZoom develops. The company works closely with law firms and customizes software based on requirements and amendments in immigration laws of different countries.
Mr Vaidyamath estimates that nearly 4 million immigration related forms are filled on his software in 45 countries. The entire business is now being managed by three brothers Umesh, Raj and Shiva. While Umesh and Raj are based in the USA, Shiva looks after the Bangalore office. The software is particularly very useful to large companies which have 2000 to 3000 employees working in different parts of the world. “The product is a fusion of technology with law”, is how Mr Vidyamath puts it. He recently met with the NASSCOM chief, Mr Kiran Karnik and it has been decided to hold a conference where human resource experts will discuss immigration issues with Mr Vidyamath in the lead. Motorola, Inc. has INSZoom software as its “preferred platform for managing global immigration at its worldwide offices. INSZoom proudly repeats what Belkis Muldoon, Director of Global Immigration Services at Motorola said about the company “INSZoom was the only solution that met the company’s rigorous requirements. Most of the other solutions that we reviewed were desktop modules, or did not offer us complete control over our data.” Mr Vaidyamath says he consciously decided to come back to Bangalore because he wanted to give back something to his country that “made him what he is today”.
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Q: What brings you to Chandigarh?
A: I am here with a troupe of 18 persons from different countries. We are here on an exchange programme of the aiesec, which involves conducting workshops in schools to educate students of fifth to 10th standards about the career opportunities, environment culture etc. Q: How did you join AIESEC? A: Back in the netherlands, after completing master’s degree in science and innovation management, I had no immediate plans. So I joined the AIESEC, which is an international students’ organisation with its branches in more than 70 countries. I volunteered for a two- month project in India. Q: What kind of project are you working on? A: the name of the project is ‘World View’ and it involves around 11schools of the city. Under this project we conduct workshops in different schools and educate the children about environment, health and nutrition. I did a vast study on environment. We generally focus on the renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, water and bio energy. Q: How do you like Chandigarh? A: It is a planned city. Its lush green lawns, wide roads and beautiful roundabouts are very impressive. I live in Utrecht city, where there is more of a pub culture and less of club culture and I have found it to be other way round here. — G.S. Paul
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Child beggars create nuisance
Chandigarh, August 20 On Saturdays, they switch over to begging, in the name of “Shani Dev”. When the green light appears, the honking of the horns begins, then they can be seen running in different directions, risking their tender lives. Chandigarh Traffic personnel standing on the roundabouts hardly interfere in this going-on between the vehicle drivers and these beggars. They seem more interested in performing their duty to challan the traffic violators. “These people get ‘violent’ and ‘abusive’ when we shoo them away. If we try to take some ‘stern’ action, they plead to us saying that this is their only livelihood,” a traffic police man said. A number of them sell different types of car decorative articles like soft toys, windshield mats and even tissue papers. “I buy them from Delhi and sell them at good profit here. On August 14 and 15, I sold many “tiranga khilona” (Tricolour miniatures),” exclaimed a seven-year- old ‘businessman’ operating on the traffic signal of Sector 21. In order to discourage these “beggars on the traffic light points”, the Delhi police has reportedly started the practice of challaning those motorists who give alms to them. “No, we have not tried this kind of practice yet, but it is otherwise a good idea because if the motorists stop giving them alms, this problem will automatically be solved,” said a police personnel. “These beggars would not leave your car until you give them something. They appear suddenly and start cleaning the wind screen of the car. Sometimes, you get irritated, but ultimately, you get rid of them by giving them something,” complained another motorist. “You don’t have time to argue with them. As the light turns green you have to move your vehicle,” said Madhu Sudan Sharma, an executive, who passes through the Sector 17-18-8-9 traffic lights point to go to work. “Last Tuesday, a begging child was injured when he hit my car. Obviously I had to bear the medical expenses for it. Even these ‘policewalas’ find faults with the motorists only. They do not care to find who is at fault,” rued another motorist Sandeep Singh.
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Roadways, CTU impasse persists
Mohali, August 20 Roadways employees did not allow CTU buses to operate in Punjab. Local commuters were also a harassed lot as they had to depend on autorickshaws to reach various parts in Mohali and Kharar. Local buses of the CTU were also not allowed to operate at both places. According to information available, a CTU driver who tried to take a bus bound for Baijnath through the town last night had to face the wrath of roadways employees, once they got to know about the move. The bus was stopped by protesting employees before it could leave Mohali and the tyres were deflated. This led to heated exchanges between employees of both government transport agencies. The situation became tense and the SDM and the police had to reach the scene. Mr Jarnail Singh general secretary of the Punjab Karamchari Dal told Chandigarh Tribune that eversince the roadways employees had stopped CTU buses from operating in Punjab, profits earned by the Punjab Roadways had increased drastically. He said till the management of the CTU conceded to their demands the protest would continue. He said roadways would not allow special buses of the CTU to operate in the state and would ply its buses from the ISBT, Sector 17, and not from the Sector 43 bus stand. Moreover, they would follow the same route as was being done by CTU buses while leaving for outer destinations. He said the Chandigarh Administration had asked the roadways employees to follow a longer route through the city while leaving for outstations while CTU buses followed the shortest route. On the other hand, a press note issued by the joint action committee of the CTU stated that no bus of the Punjab Roadways was stopped from plying in Chandigarh. Only private buses were not allowed to operate in the Union Territory. Union leaders said the Punjab Government had not entered into any agreement with the Chandigarh Administration to ply its new buses from the Union Territory.
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End to serpentine queues, e-ticketing is here
In case of online booking through credit cards, service providers take at least 24 hours to deliver the ticket. But in this case, the ticket is in the hands of a passenger within seconds, said an officer of the Northern Railways. Those availing of the facility are not required to carry the regular paper ticket. All a passenger has to do is get a computer print out of the electronic reservation slip (ERS) and while boarding the train carry any photo identity card like voter the Identity card, passport, PAN, driving licence, service identity card, and passport. The documents along with the ERS will be sufficient travel on the train, said an officer of the Northern Railways. The scheme has been launched on a pilot basis on Shatabdi Express following an agreement between the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Intrex India to enable e-ticketing through the Internet using the pre-paid Itz cash cards as the payment mechanism. Mr Naveen Surya, Executive Director of Intrex India, said: “A large number of potential customers wanting to buy e-tickets online do not own or are reluctant in using these for online transactions due to the reported risk associated with it. The Itz cash is available in denominations of Rs 250, Rs 500, 1000, Rs 1500, Rs 3000, Rs 5000, Rs 7500 and Rs 10,000 “. The card can also be used for online shopping, buying an internet connection package and playing online games. The service provider has tied up with the IRCTC, Indiatimes.com, Rediff.com, Asian Sky Shop, Zee Interactive Learning Systems, HCL Infinet, Dish TV and play win. In case the card is lost, there is the option to freeze the misuse of balance payment on the card.
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Defence officers to be trained as
Chandigarh, August 20 Director, Sainik Welfare, Brig J S Jaswal (retd), said the seminar would be followed by a week-long training programme and a subsequent one-month complimentary training, for which a certificate would be awarded. The training would enable the officers to further train students for service industry like travel and tourism, hospitality, airline, management of retail outlets, event management services, BPO, health administration, education consultancy, real estate, banking and insurance. Brigadier Jaswal said the department would provide the infrastructure and support to the selected officers at each of its Sainik Rest House complexes while the ITFT would help the trainees for their placement in the service industry by organising placements camps at respective training centres.
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Brig S.S. Gill to depose in Tehelka case
Chandigarh, August 20 Earlier, replying to the court’s question, Brigadier Iqbal Singh denied having met any representative of West End International, including Mathews Samuel or Lieut-Col V P Sayal (retd). He said he was not required to seek permission to meet Colonel Sayal or report his meeting him to his superiors as Colonel Sayal was a retied officer and a former colleague. He further stated that he had not accepted Rs 50,000 from the Tehelka team and had spurned the money offered to him, He added that the call girl had been thrust upon him by Mathews Samuel.
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Run over by train
Panchkula, August 20 According to the Railway police officials, the child was run over by the 2 UC passenger train at about 7 p.m.
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2 killed as jeep rams into truck
Lalru, August 20 The jeep carrying vegetables was on its way from Swarghat in Himachal Pradesh to Sonepat when it collided with a truck (HR-37A-4543) parked along the highway. In the collision, Mr Naveen Kumar of Sonepat and Mr Ashok Kumar of Bhadson, Punjab, died on the spot Mr Sandeep Kumar of Sonepat sustained serious injuries. The jeep (CH-23-3849) driver Hari Krishan, a resident of Swarghat, however, escaped unhurt. According to the police, passersby assembled at the spot and helped the police to extricate the bodies. The injured was rushed to the Ambala Civil Hospital. The bodies will be sent to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem tomorrow. The police has impounded the vehicles. Body found:
A decomposed body of a Dera Bassi resident was found in a ditch adjacent to a gurdwara in Issanpur village, this morning. According to the police, Mr Amarjit Singh (45), who ran a shop in the village, was missing for the past two days. Residents of the locality located the body in the ditch after it started emitting foul smell. They identified the body and subsequently, the victims father Mr Ujugar Singh, was informed. The police has sent the body to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for postmortem. Inquest proceeding have been initiated by the police.
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Chandigarh, August 20