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Forest Dept move to check violations ‘checkmated’
Chandigarh, November 13 The state forest department had written to the revenue authorities not to register any sale deeds of the areas, ‘‘locked’’ under the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, without its NOC. But after the revenue authorities issued the instructions to its registering officers, the land transactions are now being done through General Power of Attorneys (GPA), thus causing loss of lakhs of rupees to the state exchequer. It could not be confirmed whether land deeds were still being registered or not. Though the land is owned privately, no forest land can be diverted for non-forestry purposes without the prior approval of the Government of India. The nature of land, ‘‘locked’’ under the above said Acts can’t be changed without the clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Sources in the Forest Department said the letter had been written to the revenue authorities as they come to know about a land transaction after the buyer of the land starts changing the land use at the site. The NOC would ensure that the area of any such violation was clearly demarcated. The forest department was also making announcements in the area about the provisions of the forest law. It may be mentioned that the state Forest Department has recently objected to the move by the state government to constitute NAC in Nayagaon. The objection had been raised following the notification issued by the Department of Local Bodies. A similar objection was raised by the Punjab state forest department in 2001, when the then Akali Government had notified Nayagaon as a NAC. The government proposes to include land of Karoran (Choti and Baddi Karoran), Nadha village and Kansal villages in the civic body. At least 3,700 acres in Karoran village (Choti and Baddi Karoran) is closed under Sections 4 and 5 of the Land Preservation Act. In 2001, the state government had notified around 2000 acres of land in Nadha, Kansal and Karoran villages under the NAC. The sources said certain ‘‘resourceful’’ persons had bought land ‘‘ locked’’ under the provisions of the Forest Act.
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Rs 6,000 snatched from petrol station employee
Chandigarh, November 13 Today’s incident assumes significance as the Chandigarh Police had launched a special anti-snatching drive in this area on Friday. During this drive the police had reportedly sealed the entire area and had thoroughly checked the two-wheeler riders to send a signal to those indulging in such incidents. The drive apparently has left little impact on the miscreants and today’s incident is a testimony to this fact. Sources in the police headquarters said the Station House Officers (SHOs) in the Chandigarh Police were more concerned about snatchings than about any other form of crime, as snatching incidents directly put a question mark on the law and order situation of the area. Quoting figures, sources in the police headquarters say from January 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005, the local police had taken as many as 103 snatchers from various parts of the city in custody. Sources admitted that this was a small figure taking into consideration the number of cases registered with the police during this period. As many as 25 snatchers were caught from the area falling under the jurisdiction of the Sector 36 police station during this time, which is the largest number in the city. The measures taken by the local police got little success as on average at least three incidents of snatchings occur in a week. The purpose behind the anti-snatching drives was to send a signal to the miscreants and make them aware of the presence of the police. Today’s incident revealed that the snatchers were no longer looking for their targets in the dark alleys or people travelling in slow moving vehicles, but they can even manage to escape from as busy a place as a petrol station. The man in
Giving details, Mr Rakesh Kumar, a salesman working at the Bharat Petroleum, Sector 21, alleged that it was about 3.15 pm and he was counting money after filling petrol in a vehicle, when suddenly a motorcyclist pulled the cash from his hands. “By the time I saw what had happened, the motorcyclist sped away. I raised an alarm, but we failed to catch him”, Rakesh told Chandigarh Tribune. He added that the motorcyclist who was wearing a face-covering helmet and was wearing a blue-coloured T-shirt and a red-coloured lower. He acted in such a swift manner that we all were caught by surprise and even failed to jot down the registration number of the motorcycle. The matter was later reported to the police and a case has been registered in this regard.
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An evening of sarod’s magical spell
Chandigarh, November 13 The rare bonanza of Indian classical instrumental music proved to be a veritable confluence of contemplation, melody and aesthetic excellence. The captivating concert brought to the city by Durga Das Foundation and Spice Telcom with the Tribune Group of Newspapers as the media sponsor shall be remembered as a memorable event. It was indeed a delite to watch the versatile sons of ‘‘Sarod King’’, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, as they wove magic by commencing the performance with an immaculate performance of raga Rageshawri. In the short ‘‘alaap’’ they delved deeper to sought emotive character of all possible microtones and establish the raga form before doling out a ‘gat’ (composition) in ‘‘teen taal’’ and ‘‘madhyam laya’’ . Another composition in ‘‘Ada chuatal’’ (14 beats rhythmic cycle) in ‘‘dhrut laya’’ which melted into an
The trio of maverick musicians teamed up to transport the inquisitive audience o a scintillating reverie with an adroit rendition of raga Kirwani. Each tried to outdo the other to extract the best melodic content within the rhythmic discipline ably articulated by internationally renowned tabla maestros Sandeep Das and Rafiuddin Sabri with Subhashish Hazra providing drone on tabla. Ms Sukanya Bala Krishnan compered the programme.
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Media ignoring common man’s woes: Dua
Chandigarh, November 13 Chairing a seminar on the 'Role of the print and electronic media in nation building, development process and communication' at the Centre for Research in Industrial and Rural Development, here, today, Mr Dua regretted that the media were not taking up issues concerning the common man and the reasons behind problems afflicting the vast majority of citizens. "There is no real campaign by the media against the evils of the caste system, misuse of religion, criminalisation of politics, poverty, unemployment, water shortage and housing shortages. What is lacking is the soul and character of the media. Perhaps it is due to the motive for profits or the glut in the number of newspapers around," he added. Even corruption issues were tackled in a jazzy way and only the sensational part becomes news, he said. He also pointed out that national dailies were somewhat distant from the people at the grassroot level and indifferent to the regional issues, where as local and vernacular papers understood the mood of the people better. He said though the situation was improving, a large number of local papers were wanting in their ethics and methodology. Besides lacking adequately trained journalists, they were falling prey to commercialism and had the tendency to fan communalism. Veteran journalist and noted columnist Amita Malik spoke about the advent of the electronic TV channels in India. She said there were fears earlier that the electronic media would swamp out the print media, but these had turned out to be unfounded. "The TV is a transient media while a newspaper is more comprehensive and its contents can be mulled over," she remarked. She also regretted that, barring Doordarshan, other TV channels were not giving due weightage to nation-building activities and airing issues which concern farmers and women. Stating that the sense of fearlessness was now missing in the media, Ms Rita Mukherji, who retired as controller of programmes from Doordarshan, said the content of radio channels which had come up recently was polluting the minds of the younger generation. In his address, former diplomat and journalist Subrata Banerjee said developmental issues no longer made news for the press, particularly the electronic media, and instead their focus was on scams and massacres. The speakers were unanimous in their views that the North-East was being ignored by the media. It was felt that the north-eastern states were not on the map of the press and that most national dailies did not even have permanent correspondents posted in the region.
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Passing Thru
What is the purpose of your visit?
I am in Chandigarh to attend the 5th All-India Convention of Women Bank Employees and Officers. How does it feel to be the only woman Chairman and Managing Director of a public sector bank in India? Keeping in mind the dismal percentage of women at the top echelons in the corporate world, it is a great sense of achievement after years of hard work and dedication to the banking career. How do you rate women as employees in the banking industry? Women are mentally stronger than men and have an astute sense of time and are customer-friendly. Moreover, experience shows that there are less chances of scams when women are at the helm of affairs. As the CMD, how do you rate the performance of public sector banks vis-a-vis private banks? With competition ruling the roost, the performance of the public sector banks has improved tremendously.On the other hand, the private bank lack reach as they are concentrated only in urban areas. Your advice to career-conscious women? Work as a professional and not as a woman in your
organisation .Be prepared for mobility and hard work as there are no short cuts. Never bring domestic problems to the work place. — Pradeep Sharma
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Recruit-training centre eludes UT police
Chandigarh, November 13 The shortage of staff at the existing centre has been communicated to the Ministry of Human Resources on a number of occasions in the past, however, to no avail. Sources said they had been told by the Centre that in the wake of the existing ban on new recruitments, it was not possible to give new staff. The official said: “We are not asking for a staff strength as envisaged in the 10th Five Year Plan. We only want a few people to fill in the emergency positions to make-do till a full-fledged centre was started”. A provision for Rs 50 lakh has been made in the 10th Five Year Plan for the creation of an independent recruit training centre. The Plan provided for the post of a DSP, one Inspector, six Sub-inspectors and six Head Constables. The plan asks for provision of an area separately for the training project. The 10th Plan provided for the Chandigarh Police to have its own recruit training centre to impart training to fresh recruits as well as impart training to the already enlisted men and officers in special refreshers courses. The training centre envisages to impart training to 100 recruits at a time. It was clarified in the Plan outlay that initial reliance for the centre will be on external experts faculty. Only a skeletal instructional staff was sought. A senior official said, “The proposal for a full-fledged training centre will be pursued once again with the Centre. The ban on recruitments is not a permanent one so we are hopeful that we will get permission for a separate staff for the centre and allotting a separate site can also be looked into.” A police official said the existing college faced certain difficulties particularly concerning the training infrastructure and the staff deployment. The city police besides training fresh recruits also needs training programmes for the existing staff who need to be regularly updated about the changed crime scenario. The staff also needs to be updated about the latest crime handling devices, particularly those which are vital in investigation.
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Good response to PG verification camps
Chandigarh, November 13 A spokesman of the Chandigarh police said 2,398 paying guests and 1,534 servants and tenants came to the various camps for registration. The local police had set up 26 such camps in the different parts of the city for the public’s convenience. The camps were held from 10 am to 4 pm and the Deputy Superintendents of Police and all the Station House Officers (SHOs) were present there to supervise the camps. The SHO of Sector 36 police station, Mr Ishwar Singh Mann, said as many as 1,028 paying guest registered in the camps held under the jurisdiction of his police station. It was said the camps were held following orders of the UT administration directing the landlords to inform in writing to the concerned SHO failing which they should be liable to prosecuted under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.
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Rs 50,000 cr to develop 60 cities
Chandigarh, November 13 Stating this here today, Ms Adarsh Misra, Principal Adviser in the Planning Commission, added that the range of activities for developing urban infrastructure included redevelopment of water supply to inner city areas, sewerage and solid waste management, laying and improvement of arterial roads, ring roads and bypasses, construction of bus and truck terminals and city beautification schemes. She was speaking on the role of urban development in nation building at a seminar organised at the Centre for Research in Industrial and Rural Development here. The provision of basic services to the urban poor will involve an integrated development of slums, including housing and infrastructural projects, development and maintenance of basic services, slum improvement and rehabilitation projects, environment improvement and solid waste management as provision of civic amenities like community halls and child care centres, she added. The Principal Adviser said mandatory reforms at the urban local body
(ULB) level had been proposed. These entail the adoption of modern, accrual-based double entry system of accounting, introduction of e-governance in housing and IT applications for various services and reforms in property tax so that it becomes the major source of revenue for
ULBs. The reforms include the provision of basic services to urban poor, including housing, water supply, sanitation and ensuring delivery of other already existing universal services of the government for education, health and social security, she said. Ms Misra said the implementation of the decentralisation measures should ensure meaningful association and engagement of ULBs in planning function as well as the delivery of services to the citizens. Reform of rent control laws balancing the interests of the landlords and tenants as well as rationalisation of stamp duty to bring it down to no more that five per cent in the next five years are also proposed under the reforms. The outcome of the reforms, she said, was to have a modern and transparent city-wide framework for planning, budgeting, accounting and governance, financially self-sustaining agencies for urban governance and introduction of e-governance applications as the core of ULB functioning.
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Remove gender bias, AITUC secretary
Chandigarh, November 13 Addressing the inaugural session of the 5th convention of the All-India Women Bank Employees and Officers,Ms Amarjit Kaur, said till the mindset of society changed the women would continue to be at the receiving end of the male-dominated system. Terming trade union activities as “tools for empowerment”, the trade union leader urged the delegates to fight for their rights. Earlier, expressing serious concern at female foeticide, Mr Nirmala Venkatesh, a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW), urged the woman staff to report the incidents of sexual harassment to the commission as these violated their “dignity and fundamental rights”. Ms Daruwala, Chairman and Managing Director of the Central Bank of India,expressed concern at the low representation of women at the top level in the corporate world. Mr Rajan Nagar and Mr C.H. Venkatachalam, president and general secretary of the All-India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), respectively, urged the Central Government to come out with a law making industrialists personally responsible for the loans raised by them. They came down heavily on the disinvestment up to 49 per cent in the public sector banks terming it as a “dangerous step” towards privatisation The Central Government’s proposal to merge 27 public sector banks into five or six large banks for international competition would deal a death knell to the banking industry as India had only 0.75 per cent share in the global trade. Similarly, allowing 74 per cent FDI in banks will leave the banks at the mercy of the MNCs, Mr Venkatachalam alleged. Prominent among those, who spoke were the local Mayor, Ms Anu Chatrath, and Ms Lalita Joshi, convener of the women’s council of the AIBEA.
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Changing CDs, combing hair too can cause mishaps
Chandigarh, November 13 It is going to be campaign of a different kind, say Chandigarh Police personnel. Armed with the results of a recent study conducted by the British Department for Transport, they plan to generate awareness among the motorists by holding special camps at different places in the city, besides making announcements on the public address system. Quoting the contents of the study, they say drivers using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel are four times more likely to be involved in road accidents. They add that changing cassettes or setting or combing hair too while looking in the rear-view mirror, too, can cause mishaps. Using hand-free mobiles too can distract the driver. So far the Chandigarh Police has been challaning “distracted” motorists talking over the phone or smoking while driving. Out of the total challans, an estimated 4 per cent are issued annually to motorists talking over the phone. Police sources say that an order pronounced by the Punjab and Haryana High Court prohibits the motorists from using mobile phones or smoking while driving. A Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Mr Justice Sat Pal and Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar, had issued the orders in interest of road safety while taking up the traffic regulation and pollution control case, the sources add. The sources assert that over 140 fatal accidents were reported last year. The number of fatal mishaps was more or less the same in year before that. Distracted drivers were responsible for a substantial number of these accidents, the sources say, adding that figures for 2005 were not readily available with the police. A senior officer of the Chandigarh Police says driving is the most dangerous thing most people indulge in on a daily basis. Though it requires full attention, the motorists read maps, use mobile phones, apply make up and smoke. Describing “distracted” motorists as the ones who take their mind off the road while driving, the officer adds that it is absolutely essential to teach about road safety so that they do not endanger precious lives. Reacting to the move, the chairman of Chandigarh Parents’ Association Bhim Sein Sehgal says, “Hands-free kits should be provided with every new phone. Besides, more traffic police personnel should be deployed on the roads for enforcing the mobile phone laws. Efforts should be made to amended the traffic safety rules to make them more relevant in the present context.”
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Kidney patient needs help
Chandigarh, November 13 His father Yamuna Singh, too, has been diagnosed with two damaged kidneys and doctors at the PGI have diagnosed Pankaj to be suffering from polycystic renal disease. “The doctors told me by the time I reach 30-35 years, my kidneys would also fail,” he says. Pankaj, along with his family, had moved to the PGI from Bihar last year. After more than a year, his father still remains untreated due to the cost of treatment which involves Rs 3.5 lakh. But Pankaj is hopeful. “My mother is ready to give the kidney but we have no money. “My father and I will not have the same fate and I have 15 more years to think about my own disease,” he says. You can lend him a helping hand by contributing through the PGI’s Poor Patient Relief Fund. For more information, contact PGI’s PRO at 0172-2756003.
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She needs your help
Chandigarh, November 13 Naresh got Premlata admitted to the PGI but the high cost involved has delayed the surgery as Naresh is a man with limited means. The surgery will cost Rs 80,000. Unluckily Naresh’s wife has also been diagnosed with a tumour and is admitted at the PGI. If you are interested to help Naresh you can contribute through PGI’s Poor Patient Relief Fund. For more information you can contact PGI’s PRO, Phone 0172-2756003.
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Mass marriages solemnised
Panchkula, November 13 The couples were married off during the third mass marriages being organised by the Nishkam Seva Parishad of India, at Pracheen Shiv Mandir, Sector 9, today. A large number of people from nearby villages and slum colonies had gathered here to attend the mass marriages. The entire place was reverberating with gaiety as the families of the couples expressed their gratitude at the benevolence of the parishad members. Said an emotional Mr Sat Pal from Thanesar, near Kurukshetra, whose niece was one of the brides, “ We could have never done so much for our child”. All the marriages were performed according to Vedic rites. The couples were also given some necessities to start their new life, besides some silver jewellery. It is learnt that the members of the parishad had themselves donated to arrange for this mass marriage. Mr B.R. Kamboj, prime sanchalak of the parishad, said a screening committee had been set up to ensure that only genuine couples were married off. He said the parishad was going to organise mass marriage ceremony for four couples at Jaswantgarh village on November 27. The parishad also honoured 38 students by giving them cash prizes worth Rs 100 to Rs 1,500 per student. The parishad will now provide sweaters to 1,000 students of 108 government primary schools in Panchkula.
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Mass weddings of needy girls
Mohali, November 13 As many as 15 girls from villages in Ludhiana, Jagraon, Jind, Patiala, Ropar and even Uttar Pradesh were wedded and the couples were given household items, including folding beds, bedding, chairs, tables, trunks, suitcases, utensils and other kitchen items. They have been also given clothes for themselves and the family elders, said Mr Phoolraj Singh, Municipal Councilor Mohali, also the president of the society. Baba Avtar Singh Dhoorkoot Wale and Mrs Sarabjit Kaur, wife of former Finance Minister Punjab, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, attended the marriage ceremony and blessed the
couples. The Rotary Club Mohali president, Mr B.S. Chandhok, gave a shagan of Rs 500 each to
the couples. As many as 13 couples have been wedded according to Sikh marriage rites, two couples were wedded in the temple in accordance with their religious ceremonies,” said Mr Uttam Singh, chairman of the society. Among those present included Mr Kulwant Singh President, Municipal Council, Mohali, Mr Sartaj Singh Gill, Mr Baldev Singh Kumbra, Mr Surjit Singh, Mr Sukhdev Singh
Changera, Mr Paramjit Singh Kahlon and Mr Jora Singh.
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Pt Nehru’s birth anniversary celebrated
Chandigarh, November 13 Paying rich tributes to the great visionary and architect of modern India, Pt Nehru, whose birth anniversary is commemorated as the Children’s Day, General Rodrigues said Nehru’s love and deep concern for children’s welfare was an important part of Indian history. Every successive national development plan has an allocation of funds to improve the nutrition, health, education and general status of children. General Rodrigues said the administration would continue its endeavour to meet the special needs of children through its programme. He appealed to the NGOs, individual philanthropists and all members of the society at large, to come forward to serve the poor and needy.
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Joint pension accounts for defence personnel okayed
Chandigarh, November 13 The PPO (Pension Pay Order) will also have the name of the spouse of the retired personnel and requisite instructions had been issued to the banks in this regard, this was stated by Air Marshal R.S Bedi, President of the Air Force Association, at the half yearly meeting of the North Zone branch of the association held in 12 Wing Air Force Station, Chandigarh, yesterday. He also appealed to retired Air Force personnel to become members of the ECHS scheme at the earliest to avail of the benefits of this scheme. Addressing over 100 retired personnel who attended the meeting, he also informed that they could also seek IT relaxation under Section 80D for the amount paid as premium to become member of ECHS. City based Air Marshal Randhir Singh (retd), and Flt Sgt Surat Singh, from Batala, were honoured on the occasion and a talk on hypertension was delivered by Sqn Ldr Bindu Jain.
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Cop killed, 1 hurt in accident
Chandigarh, November 13 Giving details of the accident, sources in the Sector 39 police station said, 35-year-old Madan Lal of Jeetpur village in Hoshiarpur district was killed on the spot after his motor cycle collided with a truck near Shahpur Chowk on the Sector 38 and 40 dividing road at around 8 pm. The truck hit the motor cycle from rear. The woman riding pillion on the motor cycle fractured her leg in the accident and fell unconscious. She was shifted to the PGI. According to the SHO of the Sector 39 police station, the identity of the woman could not be established so far, however the sources in the police said the woman was the acquaintance of the deceased and belonged to his village. Madan Lal was posted as a security guard of the former Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa at his Sector 11 residence. The police has arrested the truck driver, Umesh Mandal, a resident of the colony number 5, and registered a case of causing death due to rash and negligent driving against him.
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2 persons held from Air Force station
Chandigarh, November 13 A senior Air Force officer, when contacted confirmed that two persons were apprehended, but declined to give further details. Sources reveal that they have been identified as Wasim and Mustafa and gave the impression of being of unsound mind. While Wasim, who is aged about 20 years claims to be a resident of Chandigarh, Mustafa, aged about 30 years, claims to be from Karnal. They were dressed casually and appeared to be from middle-class background. After initial interrogation by the intelligence and Air Force authorities, both the persons were handed over to the Chandigarh Police. Sources reveal that no recoveries have been made so far. The Air Force is trying to establish how and why they gained access to the airbase. The apprehension of two persons from within the precincts of the Air Force station has brought the security of military establishments into focus. The Air Force station here is one of the most sensitive in this region as it is involved in all logistic support to the northern sector. Besides the country’s largest helicopter repair depot is located here. The airbase has also seen a flurry of VVIP movement over the past few months. In fact, the apprehension comes airport security around the country was beefed up after the intelligence sounded an alert over
possible highjackings and other security threats.
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Salesman held for stealing Rs 35,000
Chandigarh, November 13 Giving details of the arrest in a theft case, sources in the Sector 39 police station said a case of theft had been registered against Jai Prakash of Partapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh on the basis of a complaint filed by his employer Mr Talwinderpal Singh. The complainant alleged that the accused had stolen Rs 35,000 along with some documents from his shop in Sector 37-C on Friday. Acting on the complaint the police picked up the suspect on Saturday and recovered the stolen property. Theft:
Scooter stolen:
Gambling:
Sources in the police said Tappu Ram and Sunil Kumar of Attawa were held from Attawa Chowk while and Sachin Raj and Chander Pal, also residents of Attawa were taken in custody from Markey place in the same locality for gambling. The police recovered Rs 92 and 66 from their possession, respectively. Two separate cases under the gambling Act have been registered in this regard. Liquor seized:
Two separate cases under the Excise Act have been registered in this regard.
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Opium seized, 1 held
Panchkula, November 13
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