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Mystery shrouds boy’s death
Chandigarh, March 21 The victim, Manoj Kumar, was admitted to the PGI last Friday in a critical condition with head injuries. He remained on the life-support system and was unconscious throughout the treatment. Manoj’s head was badly smashed. He had also received injuries inflicted with a sharp-edged weapon. Expressing dissatisfaction over the police investigation, the victim’s father, Joginder, a sweeper in the UT Health Department, alleged that the police was claiming the involvement of their son in a group clash with boys entirely unknown to the family. Though the truth could be found out by questioning two boys of the locality, Anupa and Binny, the police was showing no interest in proceeding against them. The two had taken their son along with them after reaching their house, said the victim’s family. Joginder alleged that the police was vague about the place and the circumstances in which the victim was found. It was claiming that his son had sustained injuries in a group clash in Sector 15 on that fateful day and was initially admitted to the Sector 16 General Hospital by a police party. On the contrary, Joginder maintained that the president of the welfare association of their locality
He added that so far the police had failed to tell them when their son was referred to the PGI from the Sector 16 hospital, in case he was ever admitted there. The investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Malkiat Singh, while denying the allegations said the police was properly investigating the case. He said Manoj, the victim, had gone to Sector 15 and had a clash there in which he was seriously injured. The police has registered a cross case against both parties and arrested several persons belonging to both parties. The police would include the charges of murder against the second party and other persons would be arrested on the basis of the investigations. While clarifying that the victim was first taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital, the investigating officer said, “We have the medical legal reports of the victim issued by the hospital with us. So, there is no confusion about it.” Sources in the police said on March 17, Manoj Kumar had gone to Sector 15 along with his neighbour Fakir Chand, who was called by his nephew Ganga Ram, a resident of Sector 15, who had an altercation with his neighbour Jatin Kumar. The police said both parties had heated arguments on Holi, which was the reason behind the clash. Members of both parties were injured in the clash and a cross case had been registered on the basis of complaints filed by Ganga Ram and Jatin. He added that the police had arrested four persons of the other party while two were on the run. However, Jatin, the complainant of the second party, had been nursing his injuries in a hospital.
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City to get all-weather pool soon
Chandigarh, March 21 A first in the region, the existing Sector 23 swimming pool is going to undergo a facelift soon. The proposal, which had been hanging fire for over two and a half years, has finally fructified and the pool in its “new avtaar” will be opened to the public by July-August. Earlier, it was the confusion between the Engineering Department and the Science and Technology Department over taking up of the project, which led to the delay. Then it was the indecision regarding the heating system to be adopted — conventional or solar. It was ultimately decided that the UT Engineering Department would do the construction work and the Public Health Department would instal the heating system. “Earlier, it was the Science and Technology Department which proposed to set up the heating system. But somehow it never worked out,” said Mr S.K. Jaitley, Superintending Engineer, construction circle-1. Chief Engineer V.K. Bhardwaj said, “Solar thermal energy system is most viable and cost-effective method of producing hot water, even on large scales. It is capable of maintaining the pool temperature at 26°C, even in December and January. Even the maintenance expenditure is less in comparison to the non-conventional sources and the life of the system is between 20-22 years.” Mr Bhardwaj further said it would take three and a half months to complete the construction and the heating system would be installed almost simultaneously. “This system will be functional on all sunny days without any back-up. The
Explaining the specifications of the pool, he said, “The pool’s size will remain the same. There will be no diving facility. The existing diving area will be filled up to bring it to the level of the pool floor which is just 6 feet. All sides of the pool will be covered with aluminium glazing and the roof will be of pre-coated GI sheeting with a false ceiling under it. Around 165 panels with solar heating collectors will be installed from where the water will be circulated before entering the pool. Additional changing rooms have also been planned where there will be provision for hot air blowers for drying up the hair. The position of the diving board will also be changed but that will be decided once the pool is ready” he added.
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Firing at Student Centre
Chandigarh, March 21 The firing took place just after 8 pm at the Student Centre when Amandeep along with his friends was leaving his office located at the centre. His car was reportedly damaged in the firing while the attackers managed to escape. They alleged that a group of two to four persons, on foot, were seen in the ground near the centre parking, who seemed to have fired at them. Giving details, Amandeep, said after coming out of the PUSC office when they reached his car, which did not start due to some problem, they heard a gun shot and saw three-four persons in the parking area firing at them. Following this, Amandeep along with his friends tried to hide behind the car and then ran for their life. Hearing their cries, the university’s watchman, Vir Singh, rushed there. Vir Singh said he heard some noise but was not sure whether they were gun shots. He informed the chief security officer of the university, Mr R.K. Singh, about the incident and he along with the SHO of the Sector 11 police station reached there. Sources in the police said they had not found cartridges or bullets shells. They added that two bullet marks were found on the car of Amandeep, but it seemed that they had been fired from different directions. Meanwhile, the police has taken the car into custody and Amandeep and his friends were taken to the Sector 11 police station to record their statements. A case had been registered in this regard.
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Bheora’s arrest to cast shadow on jailbreak trial
Chandigarh, March 21 With the arrest of Bheora, the police will now have to prepare and file a supplementary challan before the court concerned. A peculiar situation had emerged with a former Additional Sessions Judge dropping sedition charges against jail officials allegedly involved in the escape of the trio. When jail officials were released on bail, Hawara was declared a proclaimed offender. And with the arrest of Hawara by the Delhi Police in June last year, the police had to prepare a supplementary challan and new evidence came to the fore during the trial. Sources in the police said when Jagtar Singh Tara and Devi, the two other accused in the jailbreak, would be arrested, the police would again have to file a supplementary challan and again the trial would start. The Burail jailbreak case is separate from the Beant Singh assassination trial against Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora, Jagtar Singh Tara and Devi Singh. In the high-profile assassination trial being heard by the Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special CBI Judge, Mr M.M. Sharma, the statements of the accused under Section 3131 of the CrPC are being recorded.
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Panel for water, sewerage bills mooted
Chandigarh, March 21 There are 1.25 lakh water supply connections under the jurisdiction of the MC. However, there is no provision in the MC bylaws to deal with the disputes/ litigation related to water charges bills of consumers and matter relating thereafter. It has been proposed to formulate three committees to handle the disputes at different levels. The first one will handle disputes up to Rs 10,000, the second from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh and the third above Rs 1 lakh. Each committee will have seven members, which will also include an executive engineer and superintending engineer and two councillors. The proposal to simplify the rules and amendments in water supply bylaws in the city has also been approved. It had been proposed to decentralise the power for granting of water connection and to simplify the performa required to be filled for a water connection, apart from a few amendments in the water supply bylaws. Under the present system it takes at least a week to get a water connection. The simplified procedure proposes that the water connection up to 15 mm of water supply will be sanctioned by an SDO, connections of 20 mm to 40 mm by an executive engineer and above 40 mm by the superintending engineer. The committee also passed various other agenda items, including rough cost estimate for supply, erection, testing and commissioning of an elevator in the office building of municipal corporation, installation of a few Connect telephones on trial basis in place of BSNL, modernisation of “dhobighats”in Sectors 15 and 32, beautification of Sector 17, purchase of cement and one year extension of the contracts of taxi stands. The issue of charging for installation of towers by telecom companies was deferred as further details were required. The issue of introducing paid parking in
The estimate for installing a transformer of 800 kva capacity at the waterworks, Sector 32, installation of a cellular tower at the waterworks, Sector 12, strengthening of the road in front of Dhillon complex, Manimajra, V6 roads in Sector 8-C, RCE for various roads at Rehabilitation Colony, Mauli Complex and Indra Colony, Mani Majra, RCE for construction of a bridge over a nullah on the Mani Majra-Mansa Devi road, creation of two subdivisions in the Engineering Department and one division under Additional Commissioner, purchase of two trucks for the enforcement wing and two tippers for MOH were also approved.
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Kiranjit rape case: rally held, memo given to Governor
Chandigarh, March 21 Narain Dutt, Manjeet Dhaner and Prem Kumar, members of the Kiranjit Kand Virodhi Action Committee, along with some others were sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case of Dalip Singh, a member of the family of the convict in the Kiranjit case, by the Barnala Sessions Judge on March 30 last year. Members of the committee allege that despite the police enquiry finding them not guilty, the Barnala sessions court sentenced them to life imprisonment. Kiranjit, daughter of a physically challenged teacher Darshan Singh, was abducted from her village Mahel Kalan on July 29, 1997, when she was returning from college. Her body was dug out from a field in the village after some days. In the post-mortem examination it was found that she had been raped before being murdered. The Barnala sessions court had awarded life imprisonment to the accused. To protest against the sentence of life imprisonment given to members of the committee a massive rally was today organised at the Matka Chowk in Sector 17. Thousands of workers of 18 organisations of farmers, students, employees, took part in the rally. Also present were the daughters of three members of the committee. The activists demanded quashing of the life sentence. They also submitted a memorandum regarding the same to the Punjab Governor, Gen S.F. Rodrigues.
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Philanthropist Saboo does city proud
Chandigarh, March 21 The award is a result of his 45 years of relentless service to humanity. Acknowledged as the founding father of the Worldwide Polio Plus Programme, Mr Saboo is today seen more as a 'social worker' involved in ameliorating suffering rather than as an industrialist who has built his huge business empire on the foundation of honesty and hard work. Mr Saboo made it to the Board of Directors of the Rotary International in year 1981-82 and this gave him the opportunity to initiate the move for a polio-free world. His efforts received a push when India became a member of the World Health Assembly in 1988 and a committee was set up for working for the eradication of polio. His vision of a polio-world got a further boost when he became the World President of the Rotary International in 1991-92, enabling him to do much more for his country and the world as compared to before. His belief in giving back to society led him to work for the spread of education and he got involved with the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. Currently he is working on a project, "Gift of Life," at the PGI with aid from the Rotary Club for corrective cardio thoracic surgery among children. He is responsible for providing free heart surgeries to poor children with congenital defects and eight children from Pakistan and Afganistan as part of peace
initiave.
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City hub of socio-economic growth:
Rodrigues
Chandigarh, March 21 Addressing the Chandigarh
annual session of the CII here, General Rodrigues emphasised the need
for reinventing our systems and development of potential to meet
future challenges. He urged citizens to ensure that they worked
collectively for the development of the city. Exhorting the
industry to be at the forefront of efforts of gearing up for the
economic growth of the City Beautiful, General Rodrigues said, “We
are in a period of sustained growth of over 8 per cent and it is high
time that we raise our stature and vision and think across the
spectrum.” Talking about various initiatives and a multi-pronged
strategy for a holistic development of Chandigarh, the Administrator
said agriculture diversification to leverage Punjab’s agricultural
produce, upgradation of medical facilities, conversion of Punjab
Engineering College into an IIT, establishment of an IIM and a college
of medical education, development of a film city with an entertainment
quotient, establishment of cultural centre and development of 18
villages as tourist destinations were some of the priority areas of
the Administration. Stressing the need for a holistic growth, Mr
S.K. Sandhu, Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, said, “There
has been unprecedented growth in the services sector. However, the
challenge is to focus on all sectors to sustain this growth and
ultimately to reap the benefits in the form of enhanced productivity,
efficiency and employment.” Sharing the IT, BT and tourism vision
for Chandigarh, Mr Vivek Atray, Director, IT and Tourism, UT,
Chandigarh, said, “Chandigarh is on the way of becoming the
knowledge capital in the whole region and the efforts being made in
this direction focus on creating total e-governance for the common
man, bridging the digital divide and creating centres of excellence.” Mr
Anil Kumar, Vice-President, UTI Bank, said as an outcome of developing
Chandigarh as a financial hub, the retail industry would be in demand. Mr
Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman, CII (Northern Region), while giving the
macro perspective of Chandigarh’s development vision, said, “It is
vital that the growth we aspire for should be people-centric,
quality-oriented and inclusive.” Mr Krishan Goyal, Chairman,
Chandigarh Council, complimented the Administration’s initiatives
and reiterated CII’s commitment towards a sustainable and synergised
growth of Chandigarh.
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Dhanraj needs ‘dhan’ to live
Chandigarh, March 21 Diagnosed with kidney failure at the PGI, this youth from
Saharanpur, who is staying at the Rotary serai in the PGI, has been on dialysis for the past one year. Doctors at PGIMER’s Department of Nephrology have recommended a kidney transplant at the earliest. “My 50-year-old father will donate his kidney to me. The decision was taken in a jiffy. However, there are no finances to fund the transplant. The city is famous for its magnanimity towards the poor and the helpless. I am hoping that luck will smile on me too and funds will come,” says
Dhanraj. His father Dharam Singh, a labourer, was hardly being able to feed his family of five when Dhanraj was diagnosed with kidney failure. “I had no money even for a dialysis. A year later when paucity of funds continues to stare us in the face, I am neck deep in debt. Though I work as a labourer, I agreed to donate my kidney because my son needs it more than I do,” he emphasises.
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Punwire staff stage dharna
Mohali, March 21 Employees of Punwire, who staged a dharna outside the factory in the Industrial Area, Phase VI, here today in protest against the purchase of the company by private buyers, said though the government was claiming that it had fulfilled all promises made during the previous elections, it had failed restart Punwire. The protesters said if the government would not concede to their demand it would have to face the consequences in the coming elections. The protesters raised slogans against buyers, who were interested in purchasing the unit in parts. They said they were ready to make any type of sacrifice in support of their demands. They said the employees would support the buyer who would buy the entire unit and provide a job guarantee. They said Punwire would never be able to function again, if sold in parts. They said their protest would continue tomorrow after which they would shift the dharna to the Punwire unit in the Phase VII Industrial Area till March 25.
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Protest against new liquor vends
Chandigarh, March 21 On the issue, the protesters were joined by members of the Sanatam Dharam Mandir, Sector 15. Public inconvenience and alluring more youths towards liquor was also being argued as reasons demanding a change in their location. Similar protests were also reported from residents of Sectors 11 and 37. The locations have been earmarked for liquor shops and ''ahatas'' under the new liquor policy. The residents and shopkeepers of Sectors 11 and 37 have also expressed apprehensions over opening of vends in the "already congested areas". The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr I.S.Sandhu, said the demand of the residents was being looked into by the department.
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Bank employees stage dharna
Chandigarh, March 21 According to press note, a large number of pensioners joined the rally. The demands include removal of ceiling on pension, provision of pension at 50 per cent of the last pay drawn, commutation on par with industry, index-linked DA on pension and family pension at par with industry. Mr Vijay Magon and Mr O.N.Bindroo, president and general secretary of the association, respectively, addressed the rally. They urged the employees to be prepared for a strike from April 3 onwards.
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Apologies from TV channels sought
Mohali, March 21 He said if the apologies were not offered within a week, the party would be compelled to launch an agitation which would include asking cable operators to stop airing these channels. He said “Desh
Dhroh” telecast by Zee News and “Khauf” aired by Aaj Tak were the shows, which according to him, had hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs.
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Residents demand road channels
Chandigarh, March 21 In the absence of the road channels, the people faced difficulties in the rainy season.
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Ban on use of pressure horns
As per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Central government rules, the use of pressure horn by vehicles is banned. In a number of cities boards can be seen with the writing “Do not use pressure horn”; “Use of pressure horns is prohibited”. As per the recent Supreme Court’s ruling; the use of pressure horns and loudspeakers from 6 pm is banned. All these rules are made in the interest of the general public. But unfortunately the ban on pressure horn is only on paper. The ground reality is totally opposite.
Pressure horns are used by all types of vehicles as a music and not as horns. Early in the morning starting at 4 am buses starting from various places start using pressure horns continuously for kilometres together not to make the route clear (as at that time there is no passenger on the road) but to call passengers from nearby localities. Horn is used as a call bell from one crossing to another without caring for the public and students who are preparing for exams. When one driver is blowing the pressure horn continuously on the road on which there is no passerby, the vehicle coming from opposite side also starts blowing pressure horn to make the driver of other vehicle realise that the tone of his vehicle’s horn is better than the other. There are a number of meetings held by various organisations to save the public from environment pollution. But on the ground the pollution is increasing day by day. There are a number of camps/meetings held for road safety and steps to be taken against violation of traffic rules. But these meetings are only theoretical. On the ground no driver of the vehicle using the pressure horn and violating traffic rules is checked by traffic police. Lt Col B.S. Ghuman,
Not safe for girls
I am a regular reader of your newspaper. Through the columns of your newspaper I would like to draw your kind attention towards the growing problems of Mohali, specially Phase I. First of all I feel that this city is no more safe for girls. A few days back, a girl was on her way home. She was talking on her mobile phone. Two boys came to her on a scooter and tried to snatch her mobile. When she refused to give her mobile, they started beating her up. She was injured but succeeded in saving her mobile. This incident took place near the Diplast round about, which is among the main as well as famous roundabouts of Mohali. The next problem which needs attention is the bad condition of traffic as well as illegal parking. On the way from Franko Hotel to the barrier, vehicles are parked on the roadside. It creates a lot of traffic problems. The traffic police has never ever taken any serious action against these vehicles. There is one more problem — misuse of bus stop of Phase I. This bus stop is not in use for many years and it is a dwelling place for drug addicts. They harass the pedestrians specially girls. Moreover, sewerage cover thefts are increasing day by day in Phase I. I feel these drug addicts are responsible for these thefts. I want to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards these problems. Sushmit Korpal,
Residents say no to school
Residents of Sector 21 are highly perturbed over the advertisement of allotment of land for primary school by the Chandigarh Administration. Residents have been organising protest rallies against the proposed primary school. A recent rally addressed by Rajesh Gupta, councillor, condemned the ‘hide-and-seek policy’ of the Administration. Later, residents took out a candle light procession through the lanes of the entire Sector 21. The Administration first allotted this land in 1981 and then cancelled it due to the agitation led by the residents. Another attempt was made a few years back which was successfully resisted too. This time the residents vowed that the school will not be allowed to be built and they were ready to make any sacrifice. In fact, there are already four high schools in Sector 21 which are catering to the needs of the population of this sector. The site for a school is near the bird sanctuary and there are more than 30 big trees adjoining the sanctuary where parrots habitat. This will damage the ecological balance. Citizens need fresh air. So open spaces with trees are needed. In the last meeing of the Citizens Association, Sector 21, with the Administration, it was agreed that a committee will be set up to identify places where a school can come up. Dr J.C. Verma,
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6 boys held for stealing garments
Chandigarh, March 21
He alleged that his shop was burgled during the night of March 19. The burglary came to light in the morning when he found the locks broken. After sometime, he saw the boys wearing the stolen garments and brought the matter to the notice of the police. A case has been registered. Car stolen:
Gambling:
Cases registered:
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Aggarwal is CII council chief
Chandigarh, March 21 Mr Aggarwal is the Managing Director of IDS Infotech Ltd. He is also co-chairman, Regional Sub-Committee of the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council. He is a member, IT Vision Group, which is chaired by the Chief Minister of Punjab, and a member of the Advisory Committee of IT Education of Punjab Technical University. Mr Aggarwal has had a diverse and wide-ranging experience of over 27 years in the corporate sector and has previously held technical positions in India and abroad. He has been involved in promoting education, training and global learning solutions business in mirror image partnerships with NUT Limited and NIS Sparta Limited. An expert in systems management, he has successfully managed large technical teams to create products and provide services both on client's site as well off site. Mr Aggarwal was the vice-chairman of the council last year.
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