Chandigarh, October 21
The Chandigarh Administration today communicated to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to give its consent on the inclusion of another 14 villages in the civic body. The corporation has been asked to decide on the matter within three months.

Though the issue would be taken up at the next meeting of the corporation, the administration has the prerogative to “thrust” any responsibility on the civic body under the relevant provisions of the Punjab Municipal Act.

Sources said the move was the outcome of the issues discussed at the Home Ministry’s Advisory Council meeting held at Delhi last month. The administration had to reply on the action taken during the meeting.

After receiving the communication from the administration, the issue was discussed among the officers and the elected representatives. Though the final action would emerge after the general house meeting, sources said a survey would be carried out in the villages to ascertain the financial liability involved in the exercise. The corporation would ask for extra funds or demand that the villages be developed as model villages before being transferred to the corporation.

Apart from political mileage to the party in power, the reported move could directly benefit hundreds of illegally constructed dwelling units outside the lal dora of the UT villages. On being included within the MC limits, the administration would have greater control on managing the vacant lands outside the lal dora of the villages. Carrying out demolitions within the villages would also be possible for the administration. This would also mean end of the Panchayati Raj institutions.

The sources said on inclusion around 40,000 additional voters in the 14 villages would be eligible to cast their ballot in the municipal elections which were due in December 2006. The inclusion would necessitate the strengthening of the basic amenities.

The elected representatives and the officials in the corporation were opposed to the inclusion of the villages as it would badly affect the ongoing development works in the city and put additional burden on the civic body, confirmed the sources.

The sources said before holding the elections to the corporation, the exercise to delimit the wards would have to be undertaken. Since the election of the corporation were due in December 2006, the delimitation had to done before that.

Chandigarh, October 21
The Governor of Haryana, Dr A.R. Kidwai, released a group insurance scheme for 52 journalists of the National Capital Region, Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh at Haryana Raj Bhavan yesterday.

The Haryana Patarkar Mahasangh (HPM) has sponsored the above scheme for the welfare of decedents family members of the journalists if they met with any incident while reporting.

Dr Kidwai said the journalists were the fourth pillars of democracy, who played a vital role for creating awareness among the masses. The role of journalists acted as a bridge between the public and the government. He made a fervent appeal to the journalists to come forward for the welfare of the society with impartial journalism. He said the journalists were always at risk who reach to report over crisis situations so the life insurance of such journalists were compulsory.

Dr Kidwai honoured state president of the HPM Nafe Singh Saini, Hindustan Times reporter Balwan Singh Malik, NRI TV channel Bureau Chief Yashpal Sharma, among others, on the occasion.

On behalf of the HPM Bhupinder Singh Dahiya handed over a charter of demands to Dr Kidwai, who assured the mahasangh to forward the memorandum with his full recommendations to the government for a favourable consideration.

Earlier, B.S. Malik and other portfolio holders of the mahasangh welcomed the Governor.

Chandigarh, October 21
The Chandigarh Administration has shifted the function of registration of births and deaths from under its control to the Municipal Corporation. A notification in this regard has been issued, official sources said.

The corporation will also look after the pest control in the city. It has been entrusted with the function of constructing schools and hospitals under its purview. It is also expected to construct new libraries, gymnasiums and stadiums.

The corporation will play the role of identifying dangerous buildings. It will look after all roads except the national and the state highways and responsible for maintenance and construction of parking areas.

The corporation will be responsible for the removal of noxious vegetation. A new role also envisages preparation of plans for economic development and social justice, surveys of buildings and land, organisation and management of fairs and exhibitions, management of chemical or bacteriological laboratories for the examination or analysis of water, food and drugs for the detection of diseases and provision of relief to the destitute and disabled, besides others.

The notification also specifies the role of organisation and management of cottage industry under the corporation besides the construction and maintenance of warehouses, godowns, sheds and cattle biers.

The corporation has also been given a free hand in establishment and maintenance of hospitals, dispensaries and maternity and child care centres. It will also be responsible for organisation and management of farms and dairies for supply, distribution and processing of milk and milk products.

Urban planning lies in the court of the Administration. Development of new sectors and the development of vacant unplanned pockets of land within the municipal areas will continue to be done by the Engineering Department of the Administration. The development will include the construction of roads, landscaping, provision of sewerage, water supply, storm water and power supply.

The corporation has also been entrusted with the responsibility of naming and numbering of the streets and premises. It is expected to act according to the edict of the Capital Project for naming and numbering process.

The notification has also underlined the normal functions of the corporation, including construction and maintenance of works for supply of water, cremation grounds and drains. The corporation is responsible for maintenance of fire brigade equipment. It handles construction and maintenance of cattle ponds, regulation and abetment of offensive or dangerous trades, civic reception to persons of distinction and building and maintenance of residential quarters for the corporation employees, besides others.

Chandigarh, October 21
The notification regarding the transfer of certain powers to the Municipal Corporation by the Chandigarh Administration has come in for severe criticism from members of the corporation and political parties in the city.

Calling the notification a mere eyewash, Mr Chander Mukhi, a councillor, said: “The changes in the name of birth and death control and the pest control wings were a mere eyewash. Any department which is shifted to the MC corporation be given the full charge”.

He said: “The corporation does not have money to start big projects like setting up new schools and hospitals. In the scenario where the Administration was giving land to the private parties for setting up schools, the power meant little for the corporation”.

Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former Member of Parliament, said: “The situation of no actual power in the notification was a reflection on the Congress rule in the city. The Congress enjoyed power in Punjab, Haryana and even in the Centre, yet the bureaucracy managed to keep all actual power in its hands. In the first place it is the government in power which can take initiatives and initiate a change”.

At least half a dozen councillors have expressed their difference of opinion with the provisions in the notification. It is learnt that a formal press conference on the issue is likely to be organised to express their point of view later.

A Congress councillor said: “The Administration never let the political wing to get any special powers. Extreme caution in drafting of the notification, yielding no real power to the corporation, was a clear reflection on the lack of will in power being transferred to the elected leaders”.

A woman councillor said: “The corporation does not have a number of departments under its control as envisaged in the Constitution. Transport and licensing are just two examples which are under the control of the corporation in a number states. The corporation should be given more areas for revenue generation”.

Panchkula, October 21
Sanskrit has been described as an appropriate language for computer application as it is very systematic, rational and scientific language.

The Director, Haryana Higher Education Department, Mr Anil Kumar, who presided over a function to celebrate birthday of Maharishi Valmiki here yesterday, said Sanskrit was an important language and should be popularised. The function was organised by the Haryana Sanskrit Academy.

He said for developing a liking for any language it was not necessary to have a command over that language. Most of the speakers addressed the function in Sanskrit.

Dr Ramakant Angiras, former Chairman, Kalidas Peeth, Panjab University, Chandigarh, presided over the meeting. Dr R.D. Sharma, Director, Haryana Sanskrit Academy, spoke about the schemes and activities of the academy. Nearly, 100 writers of Sanskrit participated at the meeting.

Dr Shadhu Ram Shardha and Mr Vikram Kumar Viveke presented their papers on Maharishi Valmiki.

Other present on the occasion includes Mr Radhey Shyam Sharma, Director Haryana Sahitya Academy, Mr K.L. Zakir, Secretary, Haryana Urdu Academy, Dr Sansar Chand, litteratuer.

Panchkula, October 21
The Congress councillors who had moved the no-trust motion against their party member and Municipal Council president, Tarun Bhandari today said they were willing to support him on the issue of development.

These councillors said they were for the development of Panchkula and would not boycott the MC meetings. They would support any development works initiated by the MC president.

However, these councillors, who owe allegiance to Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan led by District Congress President, Mr R S Chauhan, said they would lodge a complaint against Mr Tarun Bhandari for indulging in anti-party activities by taking support of Indian National Lok Dal councillors to retain his position as president.

Interestingly, these councillors had themselves sought the support of nine INLD councillors in the MC to oust Mr Bhandari. After the INLD decided not to support the no-trust motion by abstaining from attending the meeting on October 19, councillor and Congress City President, Mr R.K. Kakkar had expressed his disappointment with the INLD, claiming hat it was only after the INLD councillors promised support that they had made the move for no-confidence motion. They retracted from their statements given earlier that they had sought support from INLD councillors.

Tracking down culprits in criminal cases and ensuring securities of the VIPs or the public at large is a taxing proposition for the police of any area. Although a number of scientific gazettes have been invented to assist investigating officials in their work, the centuries-old method of tracking down criminals using dogs has not lost its relevance. Dog squads still have an important role to play in the functioning of the police.

The dog squad of the Chandigarh Police, which is based at Sector 26 Police Lines, has seven canines. All of these are Labradors and age between 3 and 6 years. Two of these are trackers (used to track down criminals), while five are sniffers (used to detect hidden explosives, etc).

For every dog there is one trainer, who is responsible for the training and the upkeep of the animal assigned to him. The trainer accompanies the animal to the spot of crime. This is because he understands the nature of his dog and can make out from its activities what these hinted at.

According to Mr Narinder Singh, in charge of the squad, training a dog is a time consuming proposition and requires patience. "You have to go on repeating a training session so long as the dog does not become adept in that," he says. A pup should be at least nine-month old before you start training it, he adds. The sniffers have to undergo six-month training, while the trackers undergo training for nine months.

For the first three months, the training regime is same for both categories. During this period, they are disciplined to obey basic commands of the trainer. After three months, when a dog gets disciplined, it is trained to be a sniffer or a tracker. A sniffer's training includes smelling gunpowder and other explosives. Once trained, it can detect explosives with ease.

Trackers are trained to follow human scent. Their training starts with making them follow the traces of chicken soup deliberately spilled on the ground in a line. By the time their training is over, these can track down any person after they have been made to smell any article belonging to him.

Sniffers have a more busy daily schedule than trackers, says Mr Shingara Masih, another trainer. While trackers are taken to the spot of crime only when a new crime is reported in the area, sniffers are taken to the Punjab Raj Bhavan, the police headquarters, the Burail Jail and the airport every morning to make sure that these places are properly sanitised. These are also taken to the venues where functions are to be addressed by VIPs. Besides this, sniffers have to do additional duty of visiting the airport before any VIP's arrival or departure.

Besides Labradors, German Shepherd and Doberman make good sniffers and trackers, believes Mr Narinder Singh.

When asked what factors can affect the outcome of investigations using canines, he says trackers follow human scent and these need to be taken to the spot before the scent fades away. In summers, the scent fades away very quickly and for effective investigation a tracker needs to be taken to the spot within six hours of the commission of the crime. In winters, this duration can be up to even 12 hours. But in most of the cases, the police is informed about the commission of a crime much later than this. This delay generally makes the task of the squad very difficult, he adds.

Culprits' making use of vehicle for fleeing the spot is another factor that adversely affects the investigation. Dogs follow the scent smelling the ground, but if the criminal uses a vehicle to flee, he leaves no trace of scent on the ground from that point onwards, thus the trackers generally come to a halt at that place and fail to track the culprit, he says.

Moreover, in most cases of theft and murder, members of the affected family generally start moving around in the house and in their curiosity to ascertain details about the crime they displace things, thus making their own scent replace the scent of the culprits. This again makes the task of the dog squad difficult, he says. "It is always better if the family members do not touch things and move around in the house before the dog squad has visited the place," he says.

Chandigarh, October 21
Even without hi-tech interceptors, mobile phones can ring in trouble.

In several cases, the Chandigarh Police managed to trace the culprits or gather clinching evidence against them with the help of mobile phone records. If the assertion is not ringing any bell, read on:

An accused in a blast case was reportedly nabbed by the police after the men in khaki went through the record of mobile phone conversations just prior to the explosion.

Though senior police officials refuse to comment on the issue, sources in the police headquarters say the cops basically identified the persons roaming in the vicinity of the blast site.

They, subsequently, zeroed in on the ones receiving frequent phone calls minutes before the explosion. After checking their antecedents, the police managed to get hold of the accused.

In another case, the cops nabbed two brothers on the allegations of stealing money belonging to a friend. The sources say that the friend, after withdrawing money from a bank, bumped into one of the brothers. They went to a fast food joint only to come out and discover stones, instead of money, in a bag kept on the car’s back seat.

The fact that the thief had replaced money with stones, instead of taking away the bag, indicated an inside job. After checking the conversation record, the police discovered that the friend accompanying the victim at the time of the theft was in constant touch with his brother. Interrogation revealed that the two, in connivance with each other, had grabbed the money for repaying debt.

In city resident Chandni Bansal’s suicide case, the police used the mobile conversation record to establish “relationship” between the prime accused and a colleague. The police later claimed that Chandni Bansal, who was to marry the prime accused, ended her life because of their relationship.

The police used technology to arrest the alleged killers of an Inspector with the Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Department. The accused were taken into custody after a friend of theirs called from the victim’s mobile a few days after the murder.

The sources assert that mobile phones are undoubtedly convenient, but can spell doom for the misusers. They add that the technology is so advanced that one can find out within minutes the location of a person at a particular time, besides the persons he was in touch with. In case of theft, the phone can be traced with the help of the IMEI number even if the sim card is disposed of.

Chandigarh, October 21
Commuters from the city to Ambala and beyond on the Chandigarh-Ambala national highway will have to take a longer route via Rajpura or Barwala on Sunday. A vital bridge on the river Ghaggar near Bhankarpur is being closed for urgent repair.

It is learnt that the bridge, whose span had collapsed a few months ago, has to be repaired by fixing a carbon strip on the crack that had appeared on the span. The Punjab PWD (National Highways) says the repair work will be undertaken for Rs 3 lakh and will take 24 hours to be accomplished.

The 50-year-old structure on the Ghaggar was severely damaged after a span developed a crack. Though the crack was temporarily filled, and vehicular traffic was restored, the permanent repair is being undertaken now.

It may be noted that tenders for the four-laning of the Ambala — Zirakpur (National Highway 22 and about 35 km. in length) have already been allotted, and widening work on this highway will be undertaken. When the four-laning work begins, a new bridge will be built here.

Chandigarh, October 21
On the occasion of its golden jubilee celebrations, LIC's Chandigarh Division has adopted the park in its residential colony in Sector 15-D here. Saplings of neem, peepal, bargad and shisham will be planted in the park.

Ms Anu Chatrath, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, inaugurated the park today by planting a sapling. Mr N.P. Chawla, Senior Divisional Manager, was also present. Ms Chatrath appreciated the gesture of LIC and promised all assistance.

Chandigarh, October 21
Few educationists have managed to use information and communication technology skills (ICT) to the benefit of special pupils. Ms Vivien Lewis from UK is certainly one among them.

With 17 years of experience in the field of assistive technology that empowers children with special educational needs, she recently retired as the Head of the ICT Department at Blackfrairs Special School in the Staffordshire county of UK.

During the job and after that, her concern has been “enabling special pupils to access national curricula in a non-judgmental environment.” And what better way could be to achieve the goal than project computer as a friend of special children.

With a positive approach, Ms Lewis managed brilliant results in her special school at Staffordshire. At least 63 per cent of the 185 students with various disabilities attending the school went into the mainstream and even attended university.

“This became possible with the help of assistive technology which offers equipment and software sensitive to the needs of children with disabilities as severe as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, visual and hearing impairment, epilepsy and more,” the visiting expert said.

In Chandigarh as part of Dr B.N.S. Walia's special project related to the empowerment of special children through computers, Ms Lewis imparted her skills to the teachers of the region. Held at Prayaas in Sector 38, the workshop was unique with Ms Lewis talking about assistive technology and its use in the facilitation of learning among children with learning disabilities like dyslexia and autism.

For her demonstration, she relied on the software developed by UK companies. She said, “We have software called CRICK which addresses special needs of disabled children. It helps them access curricula and by using low-tech devices like symbols, text and speech to reinforce learning.”

The best part of the assistive technology is its success rate. Mr Lewis said, “The technology helps people from 17 to 60 years access the same level of work as their peers. Although best suited for children with disabilities, the software is equally beneficial for those with abilities. There is no discrimination in so far as structure is concerned.”

In Chandigarh, Ms Lewis is focusing on ICT solutions with special reference to dyslexia, which is very complex area. “The idea is to impart skills to teachers so that they can facilitate special children's integration into the mainstream. The process includes customising the computer for the child so that he can treat it as a friend, not a machine.”

For his part, Dr Walia, the man behind the project funded by the Hindu Cultural Centre, Liverpool, said, “We need more ventures like these. Although we have intelligence technology in India but we have not managed to implement it in the disabilities sector. We have made a humble start with help from assistive technology experts from UK. We plan to take the effort far.”

Chandigarh, October 21
Her agonised eyes narrate the woeful tale of rejection and desertion even before six-year-old Rani utters a single word. As she tries to speak, emotions overpower her. Breaking down, she questions: Why did mama leave us?

Rani is not the only one sobbing her heart out. Clinging to their father Rotash Kumar, her year younger sister Khusboo has been asking the same question ever since her mother Parveen Lata went away, along with her 12-year-old son Raju, after a “minor argument”.

Rotash, a small-time businessman, tries to console them; Patting their heads with slightly trembling hands, he lies, “Don’t you worry. I have just talked to your mother over the phone. She will soon be back”.

Even as he speaks, Rotash realises that his voice lacks conviction. Though he wishes that his predictions would come true, Rotash knows he is not all that lucky. For, it’s already been over three days since she left without a trace.

Pulling out a chair before collapsing into it, the colony number four resident says, “Every thing was absolutely fine till the moment she decided to leave us, along with our eldest son. Since then, it’s been sleepless nights for all of us”.

Going into the background of the matter, he says, “We had a minor argument on October 16, a day before she went. But till the moment she left us, Parveen Lata gave no indication of her intention to go away”.

He adds: “In fact, we all went to a fair organised in Sector 24. Ours was one happy family. We shopped around and even purchased slippers worth Rs 100 for her. After leaving the fair, I asked her to go back home with Raju, while I left for my shop.... There was no way for me to know that the two would not be home when I would return.”

Still shocked over the development, he says, “I opened the door to discover the newly-purchased slippers lying on the floor. Suspecting that something was wrong, I looked around for the place, only to find that they had disappeared. Though I have lodged a missing person’s report with the police, they have so far not been able to find her”.

Confirming the receipt of Rotash’s complaint, a senior officer says, “It is a case of domestic quarrel. The two, married for 12 years, had their differences. But there is nothing on record to show deep animosity between them. As such, we are sure she will soon return”. Till then, it is a long wait for the family. 

Mohali, October 21
A resident of Phase XI complained here today that a stall put up by her in connection with the Karva Chauth festival was illegally removed by Municipal Council employees in the presence of policemen.

Mrs Deepak Sharma said she had put up a stall for selling bangles. The council employees had approached her last evening and allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from her for putting up the stall. She said that she gave them Rs 500 for which she was given a tehbazari receipt. They again came and demanded money today. When she refused to give the amount her stall was removed even when others in the area were carrying out their business. She alleged that a large number of bangles also got broken during the operation by council employees.

The Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) celebrated International White Cane Day. White canes were distributed among 200 visually challenged children at a function organised at the Vocational Rehabilitation Training Centre for Blind /Disabled in Ludhiana on Thursday.

Mr Ajmar Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner, and Mrs Harmeet Kaur, Principal, Ramgarhia Girls College, were the chief guests. Amway distributors distributed white canes among visually challenged children

“This series of functions is a reiteration of the AOFs and indeed Amway’s commitment to the visually challenged children in India,” said Mr William Pinckney, Chairman, AOF. — OC

Chandigarh, October 21
The police today claimed to have solved three cases of laptop thefts with the arrest of two city residents.

Giving details, Deputy Superintendent of Chandigarh Police (South), S.S. Randhawa said, acting on information, the police arrested 35-year-old Benson Massey of Sector 38 last night. He was trying to dispose of a stolen laptop when he was nabbed. The police recovered two stolen laptops from his possession. He added that the interrogation of Benson today led to the arrest of 25-year-old Romy, also a resident of Sector 38-D. One laptop was recovered from him.

The accused stole the laptops over a period of five months. Two of the laptops were stolen from the Sector 9-based branch of the ICICI bank in May and September, while the third one was stolen from the Sector 9-based showroom of Reliance company in September.

Three separate cases of thefts have been registered in the Sector 3 police station in this regard.

Elaborating on the modus operandi of the accused, the DSP said the accused would go to the offices, posing as trainees. Both these offices were conducting training-cum-refreshers courses for their employees from time to time. The accused would visit the office during the lunch hours when the course was suspended for a break, and take away an unattended laptop.

Giving profiles of the accused, the DSP said both accused studied up to matriculation and were unemployed. Benson Massey is married and has five children, while Romy married recently.

Chandigarh, October 21
A pedestrian was killed after a three-wheeler rammed into him near Aroma Hotel in Sector 22.

Chandigarh, October 21
Upset over his suspension, an operational manager of Bharat Petroleum went to the residence of his officer in Sector 44 and set his car on fire this evening here.

He fled the spot after committing the crime.

A case under Section 425 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in this regard. Efforts are on to trace the suspect, said the police.

Giving the details, police sources said Territorial Manager of Bharat Petroleum M.N. Rao in his complaint alleged that Ramandeep Singh had come to his residence at around 5 pm.

He saw the accused throwing some burning cloth on his car. By the time he rushed to his car it was already on fire. He along with his family put out the flames. He alleged that his car was badly damaged.

Mr M.N. Rao added that Ramandeep has been placed under suspension for alleged misconduct.