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Babla gets a breather
Chandigarh, December 10 Babla has been directed to surrender before the court or the police by this date, failing which he would be declared a proclaimed offender. Ever since the registration of a cheating case against him on August 19, Devinder Singh Babla had failed to appear in court. The court had on October 24 ordered that a proclamation notice be issued for him. However, it was on November 25 that the notice was finally given in print and sent to the police. As per law, one month is mandatory after the issuance of a proclamation notice before an accused is declared a proclaimed offender. The court has also summoned the serving constable who went with the proclamation notice in search of Babla on the next date. The statements of the constable would be recorded before Babla is declared a proclaimed offender. Babla, along with former chairman of Grain Market Arhati Association Rakesh Sahni, was booked in a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy on August 19. They had been booked following the complaint by some shopowners at the grain market.
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Every 5th eatable sample adulterated
Shops under scanner Gobind Sweets, Sector 46 Chandigarh Sweets, Ind Area (Phase I) Baba Dairy, Sector 21 Sai Sweets, Sector 22 New Krishna Sweets, Sec 23 Doaba Sweets Factory, Dhanas Peshawari Super Market, NAC, Manimajra
Chandigarh, December 10 The information collected by RTI activist RK Garg revealed that ‘khoya’, ‘burfi’, milk, ‘paneer’, pulses, ‘gur’ and chilli powder being sold at numerous shops were unfit for consumption. The list provided by the health department stated that the officials had lifted 194 samples from different shops since January 1. Out of this 36 samples were found adulterated. The samples of ‘khoya’ or ‘burfi’ of Gobind Sweets, Sector 46; Highway Sweets, Sector 20; Chandigarh Sweets, Industrial Area, Phase I; Kailash Sweets, Sector 30; and Sai Sweets, Sector 22; failed quality test. All three samples of ‘khoya’, ‘ghee’ and ‘paneer’ lifted from Baba Dairy, Sector 21, on May 5 were found adulterated and the department had already moved court against the dairy owner. Similarly, samples from departmental stores, including Peshawari Super Market, NAC, Mani Majra; and Vasanda Ram Karyana Store, Mani Majra; also could not pass the quality test. While Peshawari Store was prosecuted by the department when the sample of “gur” was found adulterated on January 27; Vasada Ram Karyana Store was sued for selling adulterated chilli powder sample of which was taken on March 24.
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No let-up in thefts
Chandigarh, December 10 Chandigarh Police, which claims to be one of the best in the region, has virtually left residents and industrialists to fend for themselves. Citing shortage of manpower and other “lame excuses”, the police has advised residents to install security gadgets and deploy their own men to protect their properties. “One can know the attitude of the police towards crime prevention from the fact that it has not registered any cases in two incidents of theft that took place at my unit in the past two months. It only made a daily diary report,” Deep Singh, an industrialist, said. He claimed that last night thieves broke the locks of six units in a row. In October, two thefts were committed at his unit and he installed security gadgets. Last night also thieves broke the locks of his unit and ransacked the premises, but could not steal anything as nothing valuable was there. In Plot No. 22, the locks were broken and brass screws were stolen while at Plot No. 26, laptops, hard discs and other computer accessories were stolen. A theft was also committed at Plot No. 29. A few days ago, a large
number of computers and other expensive articles were stolen from a unit in the same area. The thieves gained entry by breaking the tin roof of the factory. “We have installed whatever security features we could, but have failed to prevent the thefts. I asked the police that if we installed electrified fencing and someone died while entering the premises, would we be held responsible for the death, but it evaded the query and left,” Deep Singh said. The police said a case of theft had been registered following a complaint lodged by Jagdish Chand Gupta of Plot No 26. Avi Bhasin, president of the Chandigarh Industrial Youth Association, said the police had its own way of curbing crime. It just avoided registering cases and present a convenient crime graph to seniors officers. “Today also it told one of the victims that there was no need for the registration of a case as only locks had been broken,” he alleged. Meanwhile, Hemraj of Sector 20 reported that five gas cylinders were stolen from his house last night and Sem Singh of Sector 15, Gurgaon, alleged that a bag containing his .25 bore pistol was stolen from his car in Sector 9 on December 5. Kamaljit Singh of Sector 20-C reported that someone had stolen gold jewellery and Rs 25,000 from his house during the intervening night of December 8 and 9.
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CAT dismisses pleas against GMCH head
Chandigarh, December 10 The division bench comprising Shyama Dogra and Khushiram stated the applicants’ contention could not be accepted for the simple reason that the objects of framing these rules and schedule was very clear. The bench added the applicants’ claim was “quite stale and time barred” to declare these rules and schedule ultra vires (beyond the powers), as appointment thereunder had been made on a deputation basis for the past seven years. The bench further stated it was “quite surprising” that Dr Harsh Mohan Swami, one of the petitioners, was a member of the committee set up to frame the recruitment rules. Swami had challenged the rules on the ground they violated constitutional provisions. “The tribunal cannot direct the government or state to have a particular method of recruitment of eligibility criteria or avenue of promotion or impose itself by substituting its views for that of the state. Therefore, plea of the schedule of the rules cannot be accepted, as there is no ambiguity in the construction of the rules and schedules”, the bench said. The bench further stated: “It is a settled legal proposition of law that it is for the employer to decide as to which mode is to be adopted for selecting candidates and to get the rules framed accordingly”. As regards Raj Bahadur’s age, the bench stated in its 23-paged judgment he was considered eligible and within the age limit when he had applied for the post of director principal and his eligibility on this count could not be questioned by the applicants. “Since Dr Raj Bahadur’s parent department is PGI, his age of retirement as per the MCI’s revised rules stands extended up to 65 years”, the bench added.
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Chrysanthemum show
Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 10 This year 255 varieties of flowers were on display. Over 25 categories have been added to the show this year. A total of 350 entries have been registered and winners have been declared in different categories. Virinder Sharma of House No. 804 Sector 8, Panchkula, won the king, queen and princess of the show and regional director, Regional Institute of Cooperative Management Sector 32, Chandigarh, selected the prince and best flower of the show. Besides, in other categories, including class A of artistic arrangement (amateurs) Virinder Sharma, Sector 8, Panchkula got first position, class B artistic arrangement (Institutions) regional director, Regional Institute of Cooperative Management, Sector 32, Chandigarh, won first position under class C Section C-1 incurved chrysanthemum Gagandeep Singh, House No. 29, Aman Bagh, Patiala, won first position, Section C-2 incurving chrysanthemum Virinder Sharma, Sector 8, Panchkula, won first position and in Section C-3 reflexed chrysanthemum Ramesh Kumar, Babu Singh Colony, Patiala, won the first position. All class C section C-4, spider chrysanthemum, section C-5, anemone chrysanthemum, section C-6, Korean chrysanthemum, section C-7, pompon chrysanthemum, section C-8, button chrysanthemum and section C-9, spoon chrysanthemum first position won by Virinder Sharma, Sector 8, Panchkula respectively. For class C, section C-10, decorative chrysanthemum, Kulbir Kaur, Gurudwara Sant Sar Sahib, Sector 38 (W), Chandigarh won first position, section C-11, collection of four different varieties of chrysanthemum Virinder Sharma, Sector 8, Panchkula won first position. Under class -D, section D-1, incurved chrysanthemum, section D-2, incurving chrysanthemum, section D-3, reflexed chrysanthemum HDO, Government, flower nursery, Patiala, won first position and class -D, section D-4, spider chrysanthemum, Jai Bhardwaj, principal, Hans Raj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula won first position, section D-5, anemone chrysanthemum, Jai Bhardwaj, principal, Hans Raj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula won first position. Under category section D-6, Korean chrysanthemum, class-D, section D-7, pompon chrysanthemum CITCO, Sector 17, Chandigarh, won first position, section D-8, button chrysanthemum, regional director, Regional Institute of Cooperative Management Sector 32, Chandigarh, got first position, section D-9, spoon chrysanthemum, CITCO Sector 17, Chandigarh, won first position. In class-D, section D-10, decorative chrysanthemum and section D-11, collection of four different varieties of chrysanthemum, CITCO Sector 17, Chandigarh, won first position.
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Mayor urges PM to probe botched rescue effort
Chandigarh, December 10 In the letter she stated rescue efforts were stopped at 10 pm on December 6 and resumed the next day at 9:30 am for “reasons best known to the administration officials”. Due to the lapse involving a delay of about 12 hours two more dead bodies were found on the second day after the incident. In her letter Kamlesh stated “when the officials were aware there might be more people trapped in the ‘malba’ (debris) why was the rescue operation stopped?” Referring to an earthquake rescue operation in which even after three days people were found alive, she said she wondered why senior administration officials stopped the rescue operation midway. Saying “it could have been possible that dead bodies found on the second day after the tragedy might be alive”, she raised the question as to who was responsible for the negligence. Kamlesh said the PM should personally order an inquiry to be conducted into the matter and fix responsibility and take action against those found guilty. It may be recalled that on December 6 a tipper-carrying debris fell into a trench, burying seven people alive, at a dumping ground in Sector 31. A rescue operation was immediately launched to rescue any survivors. However, after retrieving seven bodies from the debris, the rescue team halted its operation on the instructions of administration officials who believed there were no more victims below the debris. This happened despite the pleadings of family members of two labourers who were present at the tragedy site and were still missing. Nonetheless, the officials did not heed their requests to continue the rescue effort and instructed the rescue team to halt the operation. On December 7 after area residents themselves began digging up the debris at the site to search for the two missing labourers, the authorities decided to resume the rescue operation and found two more dead bodies.
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Mother’s wait for son ends with hugs, tears
Chandigarh, December 10 Cries of despondency gave way to deep sighs of joy, as she held her wailing child tightly. It was after over a month that one-year-old Abhi was in her arms again. Bharti Sehdev had earlier alleged Abhi’s kidnapping by Ambala resident Parminder Singh Oberoi. Oberoi alleges that she had agreed to rent her womb to for bearing his test tube baby. While Oberoi is claiming his right over the child, Bharti has all along been alleging that Abhi is not a test tube baby, but born from the lawful wedlock with her husband, Karan. As such, Oberoi has no right over his custody. Bharti and Oberoi had only on Wednesday agreed before Justice Ajay Tewari of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to go in for DNA sampling. Taking on record the arrangement of getting the test done through Sector 36 Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Justice Tewari had asked Oberoi to bring along Abhi and meet Bharti at the Sector 16 hospital at 11 am on Thursday. Oberoi arrived at the scheduled time, but Abhi was no where to be seen. Minutes rolled into hours as Bharti and her husband, accompanied by lawyer Nitin Thatai, waited for Abhi’s arrival. At about 5.30 pm, Oberoi finally brought the baby. Another round of heated arguments followed, as Karan remained somewhat skeptical about the process in which the samples were drawn. At about 6.30 pm, Abhi was finally with her. Bharti will now be staying with her child in a Zirakpur flat owned by Oberoi. During the stay, neither her husband nor Oberoi will have any access to the child.
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UT-Ludhiana road to be four-laned
Chandigarh, December 10 Answering a question asked by MLA Jagjivan Singh Khirnia in this regard, Punjab Public Works Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa today told the Vidhan Sabha that the road fell within the jurisdiction of the NHAI. According to the project director, NHAI, in Chandigarh, the Chandigarh-Ludhiana section of National Highway 95 was proposed to be four-laned. Consulting Engineering Services in joint venture with Seoyong Engineering company, Korea, had been appointed consultant for the feasibility study of the project. The study had to commence in January 2010, said the minister. Khirnia had also asked the minister if there was a proposal to bypass the towns of Samrala and Khamano in the construction of the four-laned highway. To this the minister pointed out that this decision would depend on the feasibility and economic study of the project. Currently, only a small portion of the road bypassing Morinda was four-laned. The railway overbridge on the second set of railway tracks was still under construction and was expected to be ready early next year. Talking to The Tribune Dhindsa said a detailed project report on the four-laning of the Kharar-Ludhiana stretch was likely to be finalised by mid-2010 and “we expect to start work by the September or October.” He added that four-laning would also entail either bypassing small towns on the road or the construction of elevated roads to avoid the town congestion. “What the NHAI decides to do depends on the feasibility report. Currently, the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road is 33 ft wide, three-laned single carriage road. We intend to double-carriage it,” added Dhindsa. Dhindsa added that the Mohali-Kharar stretch was being four-laned by the state government. “We are doing this bit for the Ministry of Surface Transport. The NHAI will undertake the four-laning of the Kharar-Ludhiana portion and then take it forward to Talwandi,” he said.
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PGI doc is science journal editor
Chandigarh, December 10 “This is probably the first time that an Indian Journal is making an effort to acquire leadership in neuroscience journalism by sharing editorial responsibilities with counterparts outside Indian origin,” said doctors at the PGI. The journal is being published for the last 16 years, four times a year, and is now set to overcome barriers that lie in the way of Indian journals attaining global leadership in neuroscience. Talking to mediapersons here, Dr Akshay said the journal has also engaged local event managers to aggressively solicit funds for neuroscience journalism, which is likely to be announced in 2010 by the journal. Denis English has accepted to be senior editor of the journal along with Prof S Prabhakar, head of the PGI department of neurology. The other senior editors are Prof Ante Padjen from the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO), Prof Satyanarayana from the Indian Journal of Medical Research, Prof Gurudutta from the Stem Cell Group in the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and Prof Shashi Bala Singh, Director from the DRDO, Leh.
Honoured
Dr Baljinder Singh, additional professor, department of nuclear medicine, PGI, Chandigarh, was nominated as the secretary, Indian College of Nuclear Medicine (ICNM), at a meeting held in Jaipur from December 3 to 6. The ICNM is an academic wing of the society, which bestows memberships and fellowships titles on the members of the Society of Nuclear Medicine based on their academic and research contributions towards the growth of the specialty of the nuclear medicine in India. Dr Baljinder is also the organising secretary for the 42nd annual conference of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, India, which is scheduled from November 11 to 14, 2010, at the department of nuclear medicine, PGI. One-day pre conference workshop will also be organised by the Indo-American Society of Nuclear Medicine during the meeting. Pardeep Kumar, research scholar with Dr Baljinder Singh in the department of nuclear medicine at the PGI in a DRDO-sponsored research project received the best paper award.
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6 more down with swine flu
Chandigarh, December 10 According to health officials, the patients are a 17-year-old youth from Vikas Nagar, near the railway station, and four from various parts of Haryana. “Two 18-year-old youths from Yamunanagar, a 32-year-old man from Fatehabad and a 37-year-old from Ambala have tested positive for the disease,” they said. The victims and their family members had been quarantined at home by the UT health authorities and Tamiflu had been administered to them. A team of doctors and paramedics would conduct a daily home check on them and observe their condition.
— TNS
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‘Choose ethical means for immigration’
Chandigarh, December 10 Stating this here today, BS Sandhu, chairman and managing director, World Wide Immigration Consultancy Services (WWICS) said some immigration consultancy companies and agents were misguiding students that no funds were required to study or to reach the UK. However, settlement funds are required when a student reaches the UK, he said. “The plight of such students who have gone to the UK through unscrupulous agents without having requisite funds for boarding, lodging and education, gets miserable,” he
said. “This is highly unethical as such agents not only sap the entire life’s savings of the students’ parents, but also leave them helpless,” Sandhu added.
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Commercial activity in Industrial Area
Mohali, December 10 In the Industrial and Institutional zone, any use other than the specified cannot be allowed, as it’s violation of Mohali’s master plan. In a communication to the managing director, PSIEC, GMADA, has mentioned that since the master plan was a legal document, any change in land use could attract legal complications. VP Singh, chief administrator of GMADA, confirmed that objection to the proposed land use change had been sent to the authorities concerned. The case regarding preparing of maser plan was in the knowledge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In a separate communication, the chief town planner, Punjab, has also raised similar objections. The master plan of Mohali was notified in December 2008, and no change had been made after that. Besides, the detailed zoning of each sector had been specified in the master plan under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 2006. According to sources, Industries department had proposed opening of malls, educational institutes, hotels or marriage palaces here. The move was to allow commercial activity. However, it could not be confirmed whether the Industries department had allowed the change in land use or not. The department had also proposed removing road width restriction and increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) with no control on the height of the buildings.
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HUDA puts off property auction
Panchkula, December 10 Those properties were ordered to be attached by the local court due to the non-payment of compensation to the persons whose land had been acquired. HUDA was scheduled to auction spare parts and repair shops in Industrial Area, Phase II, and Sector 20, but the local court ordered last week that those sites be attached. The case dated back to June 1983, when land owners at Maheshpur village challenged the compensation against the acquisition of land. In 1996, the Punjab and Haryana High Court fixed the compensation at Rs 2.25 lakh per acre. The order was upheld by the apex court in 2008. It ordered that the compensation be disbursed within two months. The payment was not released and the land owners moved court, following which the properties to be auctioned were ordered to be attached by the court.
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DAV-10 recruitment bid catches CVC eye
Chandigarh, December 10 The CVC, following a complaint by Dr Rajinder K Singla, former lecturer, forwarded the case to the Chief Vigilance Officer here. In his letter, Singla had highlighted attempts of the college to fill a few vacancies through interviews, scheduled for December 14. He had alleged that the college was violating the government’s reservation policy and discriminating against SC and ST candidates, which was not allowed at government and government-aided institutions. He said the Panjab University, which granted permanent affiliation to the college, should have ensured the implementation of the government policy. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes had directed both affiliating and funding agencies to secure the rights of SC and ST candidates, after which the college issued an advertisement on August 11 for filling four posts in economics, botany and history. In the fresh complaint, Singla named three persons who were candidates for appointment, seeking intervention and postponement of the recruitment till the completion of a vigilance inquiry. Despite repeated attempts, college principal BC Josan did not comment on the issue.
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10 pc fee hike likely in colleges from next session
Chandigarh, December 10 Representatives and principals of colleges had expressed their helplessness on the issue at the Senate meeting on December 6, claiming that they would have to bear the brunt of increased salaries. However, the implementation of fee hike does not seem feasible in current session due to certain technicalities. The printed fee structure in the prospectus of various colleges is one of them, which if violated, could amount to litigation or protest from students. To prepare the case, a special committee of 24 members was constituted in August. However, the recommendation of fee hike by the committee was deferred at a Syndicate meeting. The case was sent to the committee for re-consideration on an objection that a special invitee in the committee was absent at the time of decision. Some fellows at the Senate meeting questioned the grounds on which the special invitee was nominated to the committee. Meanwhile, due to repeated delay, the special committee has not yet given a final decision on the matter. “Due to absence some members, the next meeting of the committee is being postponed. The question that was raised at the meeting was that if the pay scale is being increased, then why not the fee? The management of colleges want to generate fund for salaries,” said IS Sandhu, a fellow and president of the Panjab and Chandigarh Colleges Teachers Union. “It is correct that the shortage of funds cannot be recovered by college management in one year, but colleges have to pay according to new scales to teachers,” he added. While some colleges affiliated to PU have already implemented the new grades for teacher’s salaries, like the ones being run by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee, (SGPC), others are still waiting to generate funds. “When the matter came to the Syndicate, it was agreed that since it is mid-session, it wouldn’t be fair to increase the fee, as their could be protest since the hike was not intimated to students on the onset of the session,” said Kuldeep Singh, a fellow. While some Senate members agree that the fee for the self-financing courses should not be increased. “There are courses for Rs 4,500 and there is a scope of increase with them, but not with self-financing courses,” said a fellow.
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St John’s former employee submits affidavit
Chandigarh, December 10 The complainant, Rohtas Singh Sangwan, said he didn’t agree with the school principal Kavita Das, on purchase of computers at exorbitant rates without inviting tenders or following any procedure. In the affidavit, Sangwan claimed that the school didn’t have registration of licensed softwares such as C++, Adobe Pagemaker 7.02, official XP professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home Pro and Windows terminal Cal Doc. The former employee has also attached the supporting documents for the case. Strangely, the affidavit also mentions the recent case of the PCS officer and claims that he had brought the issue of porn sites to the notice of authorities in 2008, but no directions were given by the school management to block these sites, he added. Though the principal of the school could not be contacted for comments, school sources claimed that the letter was to bring bad name to the school. The UT administration is now verifying the contents of the letter and getting the affidavit legally examined.
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Plight of common man depicted
Chandigarh, December 10 With minimum props and virtually no sets and background music, the dramatic enactment of Umashanker Choudhry’s story the actors depicted the life of a common man, their aspirations, socio-economic problems, challenges and more contextual to contemporary realities. After a mundane beginning, where in actors were engaged in tracing the details of the protagonist, the performance build up a certain level as the real issues surfaced in the script. However, the well-established trio of Amitabh Srivastav, Harvinder Kaur and Ramji Bali made instantaneous shifts into multiple roles of diverse characters with consummate ease as the performance operated at an intellectual-level with audience maintaining a pin drop silence. Coming from a middle class family Ayodhya Babu, a government employee, honoured for his virtues of nobility, courage, sacrifice and love for humanity stands defeated by the unethical behaviour of his son. He looses mental balance after his wife, a government employee, dies of cancer while in service, to the cherished wish of his son who aspires to get a job on compassionate grounds. Using Ayodhya Babu as a symbol, the actors debated all vital, socio-cultural issues ailing the society in a subtle and lucid manner to win the love of audience, who reciprocated with a standing ovation. While they played many peripheral characters, but mainly the film actor and scriptwriter Amitabh Srivastav portrayed the father, Harvinder Kaur as mother and young Ramji Bali as the son while Utpal Jha operated the lights. A solo act award winning Punjabi play “Pyasa Kaan” will be staged under the direction of Pali Bhupinder tomorrow.
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Human Rights Day at Dev Samaj College
Chandigarh, December 10 The programme started with the college prayer, conveying the message of human rights and duties. Principal Dr Jyoti Khanna welcomed the chief guest Gianwati, counsellor, Dev Samaj. Dr Anuradha Agnihotri briefed the audience on importance of human rights. To mark the day, a panel discussion on “Importance of Human Rights” was organised. A panellist Deepti talked on “Human Rights Protection”, another student, Preeti talked about “Women Empowerment”, Stancy Jain on “Child Labour” and Vandana elaborated on “State of Human Rights”. Dr Neeru Malik talked about “Rights of the Disabled”. The discussion was followed by an interactive session in which students and faculty members participated.
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Workshop on waste management
Chandigarh, December 10 UT Home Secretary Ram Niwas, who inaugurated the workshop, urged the participants to deal with the challenging issue with a missionary zeal. He said the project required dedication and commitment as it was easy to manage beautiful things in life and very difficult to manage dirt and filth. In his keynote address, Anil Jain, chairman, State-Level Environment Appraisal Authority of Ministry of Environment and Forests, laid emphasis on collection, sorting, processing and disposal of solid waste and plastics. Krish Iyengar, vice-president, Reliance India Limited, laid stressed on the ever-increasing waste generation of the country and need for evolving sustainable solutions by adopting efficient waste management techniques.
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