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Greenbelt spoiled for making
parking lot
Chandigarh, December 1 A senior citizen said, “There has been no demand from the citizens for the parking lot. It is also intriguing to see that the digging activity was carried out during the night. No trees could be cut without the permission of the Horticulture Department.” A former president of the Residents’ Welfare Association said, “The residents of the area have never demanded a parking space in the sector. There exists a big parking space in front of the market (adjoining the garden), so there was no justification for a parking place at this place. In fact, residents feel that the place has been created just to satisfy the needs of certain interested parties. The venue is adjacent to houses used as hostels for children and also centres for tuition that witnesses heavy rush.” The venue had been littered with garbage for several years before residents demanded that the place be cleaned up. Following the cleaning up of the place, the area was developed as a greenbelt and trees and flowery plants were planted with active participation of the residents. “One fine morning last week, we woke up and saw that the greenery had been cleared overnight and the place was being dressed up for a parking place,” said a resident. A woman said, “There was no sense in people parking their vehicle adjacent to the wall at this place and then walking to the park. They will have to travel through narrow lanes to reach here. Instead, the parking opposite the market was a perfect place. The workers on job said they had been assigned the job by the Municipal Corporation. I can only say that the authorities need to go into the depth of the matter and see if there was any justification in creating a parking place there.” Mr K.B. Sharma, Chief Engineer of the MC, said, “I am merely following the orders of the seniors. I have been given a project for completion and I am at the job.” Ms Anu Chatrath, Mayor, said she had not received any complaint regarding the creation of the parking.
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Multi-storeyed flats replace colonies in Zirakpur
Zirakpur, December 1 “Selling plots after developing a colony is no longer a viable option as large chunks of land are not available in Zirakpur at affordable prices. A big builder now prefers to build multi-storeyed flats which has ample market among the middle class,” Mr Sunil Bandha, General Manager of the Silver City Construction Limited, told Chandigarh Tribune here today. With the township bursting at the seams the boom in real estate prices has pushed the land out of the reach of the colonisers and the common man. And the recent auction of a 5.39 acre plot in Mani Majra for Rs 108 crore by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has only given an impetus to the ever-increasing land prices. That is perhaps the reason why big builders such as the Silver City, N.K. Sharma Enterprises, the Motiaz, the Gulmohar and Shivalik Vihar have gone in for constructing
flats. And with hundreds of flats in various stages of completion, there seems to be a good market for flats. Building flats on a piece of land is an economically viable option as construction of seven storeys, including ground floor, is allowed under the building rules. “Building multi-storeys is the only option left for colonisers as land and construction cost is prohibited,” said Mr Baldev Goel, one of the promoters of Om Apartments on the Ambala-Kalka highway. Another coloniser said an acre of land cost anything between Rs 3 to 4 crore in the prime locations in the Notified Area Committee (NAC)
limits. The land and construction costs discouraged the colonisers to offer freehold
plots. Anyway, the multi-storeyed flats, apart from the cost factor, have certain
inherent advantages such as security which is prime importance in a fast-developing town like Zirakpur, he added. “In fact, there is a healthy competition among builders, who are vying with each other to offer flats at competitive rates. The better connectivity, coupled with a lot of construction activity, has made Zirakpur the first choice of buyers in Chandigarh’s periphery. The four-laning of the Chandigarh-Ambala highway will only give fillip to the construction boom here,” Mr Bandha added.
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270 new flats planned in Sector 49
Chandigarh, December 1 Reliable sources said that the new additional flats will be divided in the categories of one bedroom and two bedrooms. The new flats are planned to be designed on the existing CHB land in Sector 49 and the scheme will be likely announced by January, 2006.
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SGPC member flays PUDA
Mohali, December 1 In a press note issued here today, Mr Hardeep Singh said the cost of houses in Mohali and Chandigarh had skyrocketed and it was impossible for the man on the street to afford a house. He pointed out that this was the result of the land mafia that was operating in the area in connivance with the bureaucracy.
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Lineman’s death highlights PSEB apathy
Mohali, December 1 While the family of Jagjit Singh (56) is in a state of shock, his colleagues feel that the lineman would not have died had the board been responsible enough to provide safety kits to employees who work in the field. Jagjit Singh is survived by a son and five daughters. Only two of his daughters are married and the family does not have any source of income now as Jagjit Singh was the sole breadwinner. Jagjit Singh had left home for his 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. duty and died while repairing a fault on a 11 kv power line. Employees of the board allege that Jagjit Singh lost his life due to the negligence of employees on duty at the 220 kv substation. Moreover, no safety measures were taken by him in the absence of the safety kit. An inquiry into the case has been ordered by the PSEB authorities. Colleagues of the deceased said today that at least four linemen had lost their lives while on duty in the Mohali circle of the PSEB during the past four years. Such tragedies had not moved the PSEB authorities to supply the required safety kits to the field staff. They said Dhanna Singh had died while on duty in Sohana, Gian Chand had lost his life while rectifying a fault in Sector 66, while Karnail Singh had lost his life while working near Balongi. Fakir Chand assistant lineman, said he had lost his life forearm on duty on June 21, 2002. He suffered an electric shock while rectifying a fault and his forearm got burnt. This part of his arm had to be amputated at the PGI in Chandigarh on July 8. Though he was given a compensation of Rs 1,79,593 by the board authorities, he had become physically challenged. He said had the board provided a safety kit, which included items like gloves, pliers, gum boots, testers, earth sticks, etc, the damage could have been less. Jeet Ram, another lineman, said the field staff was working at the risk of their lives. He said he had joined the board in 1976 but still today he had not been provided with a single safety kit even when the power
board was wasting funds to purchase several “useless” items. Vijay Kumar, secretary of the Technical Services Union of the Mohali division of the PSEB, said the union had demanded adequate compensation and a job for one member of the family of Jagjit Singh. Mr Surinder Pal, Deputy Chief Engineer of the power board, said the matter relating to the purchase of safety tool kits was taken up by the central body of the employees union with the board management. Whenever any requirement was received from the field staff to replenish the defective tool and plants kit, the same was managed by field officers as they had been delegated powers in this regard.
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Expand reach of Red Cross, says Rodrigues
Chandigarh, December 1 Addressing a state-level managing body meeting and executive committee of the Punjab Red Cross, here today, General Rodrigues said the Red Cross had a significant role to play in promoting humanitarian principles. He said with the fast-changing scenario, “We are striving hard to improve the quality of life of our people through health and education, the vital sectors of human resource development”. He said a health survey launched by the Administration in all union territory schools revealed distressing trends like malnutrition, dental problems, eye ailments and anaemia. Stressing the need for making the Red Cross an organisation of professionals that performed a meaningful role, the Governor constituted a sub-committee under the Chairmanship of Mr Rajan Kashyap, Punjab State Chief Information Officer, to suggest ways to widen the scope of the service of the Red Cross and raising the financial status of the institution. He also asked the Deputy Commissioners to involve the corporate and business houses in their respective areas by convincing them about the objectives of the Red Cross and to motivate them suitably. The Governor urged the Education Minister, Mr Harnam Dass Johar, and senior officers of the state government present at the meeting, to play a pro-active role in upgrading the health and education status. Mr Johar assured the Governor that the government would examine all the points.
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2 killed in road accident
Chandigarh, December 1 In the second incident, Kashmira Ram of HDFC Bank, was crushed under an Agra-bound bus of the CTU near the GMCH, Sector 32, this evening. He was a resident of Sector 41. A police official said his motor cycle was hit from behind following which he fell on the road and his head was crushed under the bus. The driver of the bus, Amarjit Singh, was arrested and later released on bail.
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Rs 1 lakh snatched from bank counter
Mohali, December 1 Mr Varinder Pal Singh, SP, said an employee of an industrial unit had come to deposit Rs 2.80 lakh in the bank. He kept the money on the bank counter and started filling a form for depositing the amount. In the meantime a youth in the bank picked up one bundle of notes and ran out of the bank after committing the crime. This bundle contained Rs 1 lakh. Another youth was waiting for him on a motor cycle on the main road and the two fled from the area within no time. The SP and the DSP, Mr Rupinder Singh, reached the scene of crime. They have been able to
get
The SP said any person having information about the snatcher could inform the police control room or the SP on his mobile phone (9814030000). The identity of the informer would not be disclosed. It is learnt that the employee, Mr Akhilesh Jha, had withdrawn Rs 3 lakh from the HDFC Bank. He had later deposited Rs 20,000 in the IDBI Bank.
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Q: What brings you to the city? A: I am here to interact with students of Dev Samaj College of Education and talk to them about unity, peace and morality. Also I would be telling them about the origin or words and cultures. Q: How are these topics taught together? A: I firmly believe that all languages and all human beings belong together. The separations are created, mostly by the western thinking. All languages go back to a few sounds. And if one is in harmony with these sounds one is healthy and happy. Q: What are your methods of teaching? A: I try to combine philosophy, psychology, religion, history and the English language into a holistic subject matter. Also my classes involve a lot of exercises, meditation, music and action. Q: What is the one thought which you want to spread? A: “Treat others the way you want to be treated”. You know this is the golden rule that can be found in 122 cultures. It is as important as human rights which can be found in 128 cultures across the world. — Chitleen K Sethi
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Tourist packages for North on anvil
Chandigarh, December 1 A decision with regard to the packages was taken at a meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Krishna Mohan, Home Secretary-cum Secretary Tourism, here today. Others who attended the meeting included Mr Vivek Atray, Director Tourism, and representatives of the Tourism Departments of Chandigarh Administration, Punjab and Haryana. The meeting decided to introduce theme-based package tours like religious, heritage, adventure, architect and monuments. It has also been decided to provide them ground facilities, comfort and safety to make the stay of the tourists more enjoyable. The Chandigarh Administration will introduce special coaches to facilitate tourists alighting from rail, air and bus. It was also decided that efforts will be made to make hop-on-and-hop off bus more suitable for the tourists. Transport facilities will also be augmented. Tourist information will be provided on line and the information will also be available at the Northern India Tourism Office being set up in Sector 17. To ensure the safety of tourists, a special tourism security service will be created. Films on Chandigarh and around will be made and efforts will be made to increase air links of the city with major cities.
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HUDA may release land to owners
Panchkula, December 1 This land, which was originally a part of village Kundi, has reportedly been bought from the original land owners by influential colonizers through a general power of attorney (GPA). Though a court had granted stay on the acquisition proceedings by HUDA in year 1982, the property dealers who have bought this land, have allegedly “convinced” HUDA to stop the acquisition proceedings. Once the CLU is granted, the property dealers propose to float group housing schemes here. Officials in Town and Country Planning Department, when contacted, said the decision to grant CLU to colonizers was taken during the previous Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) regime, and it is only the process of grant of CLU that is continuing. HUDA had initiated acquisition proceedings for over 300 acres of land in Kundi in year 1980, for the residential and commercial development of Sector 20. By the end of year 1982, the authorities gave a final notice for acquisition (under Section 6 of Land
Acquisition Act) after inviting objections. It was then that some of the original land owners (owning 117 cares of land), approached the court and obtained a stay against acquisition. Interestingly, as the stay against acquisition continues, the ownership of this land has now changed hands and a CLU applied for. At least three colonizers — two local and one Delhi- based colonizer — have bought the land through GPA. One of the local colonizers, who began as a builder in Sector 20, had bought 21.74 acres last year. In fact, the land that he bought was in six pockets, but HUDA at its meeting on December 28 last year, allowed him to have a consolidated chunk of land. Since he could not float a group housing scheme in chunks of land, the HUDA Authority allowed for exchange of over five acres of HUDA with the colonizer. Senior HUDA officers say the exchange of land by HUDA with that of a private coloniser was allowed under the existing policies because it benefits both. This builder has already started informal booking for the flats (by accepting Rs 2 lakh as booking amount), assuring applicants that he would obtain the CLU before the end of this year. The other local colonizer, who has carved a colony near Pinjore, too, has applied for a CLU for about 12 acres, albeit in the name of the original land owners. A field report for grant of CLU has already been submitted by the district Town and Country Planning officials. The Delhi- based colonizer has bought 28 acres of land here, and he too, proposes to float a group housing scheme. HUDA has already acquired about 180 acres of land here by paying Rs 1 lakh per acre as compensation (this includes
enhancement charges). Today, the land cost per acre here is in crores. Had HUDA itself floated a housing scheme here, it could have yielded crores as profit by selling the land itself.
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MC wants HUDA to repair roads
Panchkula, December 1 The Executive Officer, Mr Rohtash Bishnoi, on Tuesday wrote a letter to the HUDA authorities, referring to a resolution passed by the MC, to get all roads within the MC limits recarpetted/ repaired from the engineering wing of HUDA on contract. The proposal was mooted by Mr V.K. Kapoor, councillor from Sector 17, during the meeting of the MC on November 18. He said during the past two years, since the road repair and maintenance had been transferred to the MC, the condition of the roads had gone from bad to worse. The councillors proposed that since the MC had no technical staff to supervise work, the road repair should be done by HUDA on a contract basis. All councillors supported the idea and said since HUDA owed crores to the MC as extension fee, and building plan fee, the repair would ensure that it did not spend extra money. The MC president, Mr Tarun Bhandari, said they had received grants from the state government for road repair and would utilise it for the repair of roads as tenders had been floated for the same.
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Shortage of passport booklets continues
Chandigarh, December 1 For, the office of Regional Passport Officer (RPO), Chandigarh, which deals with all passport applications for Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Punjab and parts of Haryana, is unable to clear over 20,000 pending cases due to severe paucity of passport booklets. "We cannot help it. The booklets are printed at Internal Security Press, Nasik. For the past over four months, we have not been receiving the requisite number of booklets," explains Mr Arvind Kumar, RPO, Chandigarh. Sources say that earlier the RPO office was dispatching 1,000-1,200 passports to the applicants every day. The number these days is less than 400. And, with every passing day, the backlog is increasing. Sources say the RPO has taken up the matter of shortage of booklets with the Union Home Ministry, which has assured that something would be done soon. Meanwhile, the decision of the RPO to involve Sampark Kendras and designated post offices to accept passport applications is paying dividends. The number of persons coming to the RPO, Chandigarh, to submit passport applications has almost come down by half. "Decentralisation has really helped. For the first time since its inception, the RPO is not witnessing long queues of applicants after the counters close. About half of our applications are now not being filed with the RPO," says Mr Arvind Kumar. Incidentally, Mr Arvind Kumar is a Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1988 batch, who was posted as RPO in February, 2001. Due to the exemplary work done by him, his tenure was also extended twice. "We are expecting a time in the near future when not even a single application may be
submitted at this office . However, that could take some time," he adds. Asked to comment on the delay that is generally seen in the entire process of passport issuing, Mr Arvind Kumar said the delay was not at his office level. "There are police reports that we have to await. Without them, we cannot proceed. But, even that delay is nobody's fault. The cops do verification in addition to their normal duties. As far as my office is concerned, we don't want to wait even for one day to dispatch the passport," he asserts.
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YPS concern over building’s construction
Mohali, December 1 The YPS Bursar, Col Ramesh Pathania (Retd), said the road between the YPS premises and Lawrence Public School, which was under construction, was narrow. It would be difficult for the two institutions to operate school buses from there. Congestion would increase at the opening and closing hours of both the schools. YPS had about 1500 students on its rolls while it is estimated that even Lawrence Public School had a student strength of more than 1000. The starting and the closing time of both the institutions was also about the same and it was feared that chaotic conditions would prevail if the problems was not sorted out. Lawrence Public School was likely to start functioning from the new building by July next year. Col Pathania further said that PUDA was requested to widen the road dividing both the schools. The problem would get solved to some extent if YPS was allowed to have the main gate on the road dividing Sector 51 and Sector 62. The school earlier had its main gate on this road which was closed by PUDA which termed it as a violation on a sector — dividing road. Col Pathania said the matter had been brought to the notice of PUDA authorities. The Estate Officer (EO), Mr Dilraj Singh had yesterday visited the site. He said the EO had told him that he would discuss the matter with the Chief Administrator of PUDA.
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Meeting to maintain cleanliness
Panchkula, December 1 NRI housing loan: With a view to tap the potential in NRI housing
loans, the State Bank of Patiala, Kalka, has decided to extend housing loans for purchase of a new house, flat or plot, or repair and renovation of a house. Mr S.C. Dhall, senior manager of the bank, said the loan was being extended to NRIs whose annual income was over $ 6000 and the loan amount extended could be upto five times the net annual income (if less than 45 years of age) and four times the net annual income (if over 45 years of age). Appeal: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Brijendra Singh, has appealed to residents to donate generously for the October 8 earthquake victims of Jammu and Kashmir. In a press note, he appealed that the money and goods be donated to district Red Cross Society.
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UT power officials visit Mohali colony
Tribune News Service
Mohali, December 1 Mr Devinder Singh, a resident of the affected locality in Phase 3A of Mohali, said “Officials of the electricity department visited the spot in the morning and we have been assured full cooperation. We have also submitted a complaint in writing to the Finance Secretary.” A senior official of the electricity department said “We will look into the matter as far as the illegal electricity connections are concerned. The complaints about filth, encroachments and sanitary conditions can be seen into by the departments concerned” . The official said, “It is worth pointing out that managing illegal kundi connection is a very tough job without the active support of the police. It is impossible to enter the complex under question without police support. Not just this place, the problem of illegal kundi connections is rampant in other parts of the city as well”.
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RLA office going in for major changeover
Chandigarh, December 1 Soon the online status of an application for registration of a vehicle or a new licence would be known at the click of the mouse. The office of the RLA is going in for major changeover. Decks have been cleared for the upgradation of the computer system which would enable the authorities to reduce the harassment faced by the visitors at the RLA office. With the support of the Society for Promotion of IT in city (SPIC), a unit of the IT Department of Chandigarh Administration, new computer systems and an upgraded server was being installed in the next few days, said the Registering and Licensing Officer, Ms Swati Sharma. The help of HARTRON is also being sought in setting up the new hardware. “Once installed, the public dealing at the ten counters would be swift”, she added. “There have been complaints that the computer systems are slow and the server goes down. Speaking about the benefits of the upgradation, Ms Sharma said the early passing of six-seater private vehicles would be extended to 15 years. The system of punching data would also improve. The authorities are in touch with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for installing the integrated software which was a project of the Central Government. A decision has also been taken to open two more public dealing counters and recruit more staff. The office of the RLA would also be centrally airconditioned and it would be given a new look.
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No headway in murder case
Mohali, December 1 The body of Sukhdev Singh (48), who had left his house on November 24, was found floating near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan in the village.
— OC
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Verification drive of Kashmiri migrants
Chandigarh, December 1 A senior police official said the drive was also carried out in Sector 26. The migrants were called at the Sector 19 police station. The drive was carried out under the supervision of the DSP, East.
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Board takes exception to CBI press note
Chandigarh, December 1 Senior authorities said the accused, an assistant, had no direct link with the office of the Chairman.
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Man run over by vehicle
Panchkula, December 1 Gopali Ram, 60, and Manoj Kumar were labourers in Rampur Seori, and were residents of labour colony in the village. Since there is no public toilet in the area, the residents perform the morning rituals in the open. The police says that the unknown vehicle ran over the duo, killing Gopali Ram on the spot. Manoj was seriously injured and was rushed to the hospital. The police says that his leg was crushed and might have to be amputated. Though the accused driver fled the number plate of the vehicle (PB-59-6808) was found at the spot. The police has registered a case against the unknown driver. In another incident, a 50 year old labourer, Karan, allegedly died of cold near Labour Chowk, Sector 16. The man used to sleep in the open near the chowk. When he did not get up till 7.30 am today, the other labourers shook him and found that he had died.
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Stolen items recovered
Chandigarh, December 1 Investigations revealed both thefts were committed by Daljit Singh. A local court remanded the suspect in custody for two days. Booked: The police has registered a case under Section 498-A of the IPC at the Sector 39 police station on a complaint filed by Ms Sanjna. She had alleged that she was harassed and maltreated by her husband for dowry. Porn CDs seized: Crime Branch officials seized 34 porn CDs from Gaurav Gupta, owner of Net Vision, Sector 17, on Thursday.
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Girl killed
Mohali, December 1 The victim, Maya (15), was reported to have been crossing the road when she was hit by the bus. She was taken to hospital but died on the way. She worked as a domestic help. The driver of the bus was arrested.
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Sanitary fittings stolen
Mohali, December 1 The owner of the shop came to know about the theft when a neighbour told him that locks of the shop were lying broken. On reaching the shop he found that brass taps and other items were missing. Empty boxes were found lying in a park near the shop.
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Customer meet organised by SBOP
Chandigarh, December 1 The meeting was presided over by Mr S.Sree Rama Murthy, Deputy General Manager (Chandigarh Zone). Mr S.L. Garg, Assistant General Manager, apprised the customers of Internet banking facilities.
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