Chandigarh, August 9
Going by the bitter experience of arson and violence during the farmers’ rally in September last year, the Chandigarh Police today said that all entry points from Punjab would be sealed on Tuesday to prevent protesting members of the Rajewal faction of the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) from entering the city.

Today’s decision to prevent the entry of protesting farmers was taken in the wake of the failure of talks between the BKU leadership and the Punjab government. The leaders had threatened to stage an indefinite protest in the city to press for their demands.

Soon after getting information of the proposed rally, the UT administration and the police launched a slew of measures to prevent disruptive activities in the city.

UT SSP SS Srivastva said they were establishing 20 outer border checkpoints, which would be manned by 50 to 60 policemen under the supervision of deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) and inspectors. As many as nine DSPs, 44 inspectors and 1,600 other ranks and Home Guard volunteers and Indian Reserve Battalion companies would be deployed on special duty. Besides, 17 movie cameras, 20 CTU buses and six recovery vans have been arranged as part of the arrangements for the rally.

Chandigarh, August 9
The UT Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) has accused DSP (South) Vijay Kumar and the SHO of the Sector 39 police station of leaking information about a secret operation of vacating 13 booths illegally occupied by shopkeepers in Sector 41-C.

The ADC, in his report to the UT home secretary, also alleged that SHO Janak Rana had deliberately slowed down the booth-vacating operation to favour shopkeepers.

Sources said the incident was just a tip of the iceberg of a major nexus between government and police officials with presidents of the market associations who are encroaching on government properties in the city.

Sources said the report, forwarded to Home Secretary Ram Niwas for action, mentions that the police and estate office officials appeared to be hand-in-glove with the shopkeepers. They had asked officials of the estate office to make changes in their complaint to show that the booths were not locked. The report stated that the DSP had a telephonic conversation with ADC PS Shergill, saying the shops were not locked, hence the complaint should be changed. The ADC said the DSP told him that the latter was shielding his employees.

The report said that contradicting the police claims, officials in the estate office held that the booths were locked and they had the keys of the locks in their possession. Apart from the DSP and the SHO, the report had indicted superintendent of Rehri Market Branch Ashok Bish and inspector Vir Singh.

Panchkula, August 9
Another Bulbul-like tragedy was averted here today when doctors at the Sector 6 General Hospital reportedly turned away a poor resident of Mansa Devi Complex area writhing in labour pains, forcing her to deliver the baby in an auto-rickshaw.

The baby is safe as the couple managed to reach near the house of a midwife just before the delivery. The midwife, identified as Sunita, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony of Sector 26 in Chandigarh, attended to the mother and helped her deliver a baby girl in an auto-rickshaw in which they had arrived at her house.

Doctors at the General Hospital in Panchkula neither admitted the would-be-mother nor arranged any ambulance to shift her to a hospital in Chandigarh. Being a poor labourer, Rajesh, too, did not rush his wife to a Chandigarh hospital since he apprehended a high fee, said Sunita. 

It was barely a fortnight ago (July 21) when Bulbul, a patient in labour pains, was forced to go from one room to another at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh, resulting in her having to deliver her baby in the OPD counter area. The baby died after it fell on the floor.

Chandigarh, August 9
When Punjab and West Bengal were competing for top honours in the Santosh Trophy at Kolkata yesterday, it was a pleasure to watch players from the city in the two sides.

Five players from the Chandigarh Football Academy, Sector 42, were part of the two finalist teams.

It was for the first time that five former players from the state-run academy had booked berth in the final of the football tournament.

While four footballers, Narinder Singh, Randeep Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Ravinder, were pillars of the Punjab team, Robin Singh was a key player of the opponent team.

The five had honed their football skills at the Sector 42-based academy under the guidance of coach Harjinder Singh in the first batch of the academy, which had started in 2000 here.

Presently, Robin Singh and Ravinder Singh have been signed by the East

Bengal Club, while Narinder Singh, Randeep Singh and Gurpreet Singh are playing for the JCT Club.

Elated with the achievement of his disciples, Harjinder, former Indian captain, said: “Yesterday’s match was special for me and our academy as well. In both teams we have the representation of our academy.”

All players were part of the first batch, which had passed out from the academy in 2007. Except Robin, who hails from Delhi, the rest four players hail from Punjab.

“I am happy for my disciples, who have made it big in the game despite all odds,” said Harjinder.

“All players are between the 20 to 22 years. I am sure they will bring laurels at international level, too,” said the coach.

At present, 36 players (18 in senior category and 18 in junior category) have been honing their skills at the academy, where necessary facilities are being provided to them free of cost.

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 9
In yet another case of police high-handedness, a bike-borne youth was killed after colliding with official vehicle of the SP and later booked for rash and negligent driving by the police.

The accident occurred this morning when Jaswinder Pal Singh Sidhu, SP (headquarters), was on his way from Patiala towards his office. The official Bolero Jeep he was travelling in collided with the bike of Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Jalvehra village.

The accident took place near Faggan Majra village situated on the Sirhind-Patiala road. Kamaljit was rushed to a nearby hospital with help of police officials. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.

As per the villagers, the police instead of registering a case against the driver of SP’s vehicle booked Kamajit for rash and negligent driving. The villagers blocked the Patiala-Sirhind road in the evening demanding justice for the deceased.

The police succumbing to the pressure of the villagers withdrew the case late in the evening. The mob lifted dharna only after Fatehgarh Sahib SDM Gurpal Singh Chahal and DSP Amarjit Ghuman assured to register a case against the driver of SP’s vehicle.

The Mulepur police station in charge said that ultimately a case was registered against the driver of SP’s vehicle under various sections of the IPC. The driver has been identified as Gurdeep Singh.

Chandigarh, August 9
Sector 17, the heart of the city, is all set to have a musical fountain and laser show for the entertainment of visitors and shoppers.

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has floated a global tender for the Rs 3-crore project, which will make the sector an entertainment hub, given the unique features of the musical fountain-cum-laser show project.

Sources said the existing fountain at the Plaza would be utilised for the installation of musical fountain-cum-laser show. The eye-catching musical fountain will use water and light to beautify the environment bringing a host of entertainment options for the visitors, sources said.

A MC team comprising chief engineer SS Bidda and area councillor and former Mayor Pardeep Chabbra visited Kolkata recently to watch the presentation by “Premier World” about the project. The visit was primarily to get acquitted with the technology that would be used for the new project.

Officials said a computerised control room would be set up to manage the musical fountain and laser show which could in turn be used for beaming the live telecast of any event in any part of the city. Besides, a projector could be used for beaming social messages and feature films for the entertainment of visitors. Since the water screen can be used for the advertisement purposes also, the maintenance cost could be recovered from the corporate world using this facility, a senior official said.

“For long, the visitors to Sector 17 had been complaining of lack of entertainment facilities. With the setting up of this facility, the sector would emerge as major entertainment spot for the visitors,” Chabbra said.

General secretary of the Sector 17 Traders’ Association JPS Kalra hoped that the new musical fountain-cum-laser show would help revive the shopping activity and enliven the otherwise dull environment of the major commercial hub of the city.

Chandigarh, August 9
One of the most important buildings in terms of public dealing and daily footfall, the additional deluxe building of the UT Secretariat in Sector 9 is a nightmare equally for employees as well as visitors. While the officials of the UT Administration who have their air-conditioned cabins on different floors may have never noticed, but the other staff is facing problems not only inside the building but outside as well.

At the very first sight, it is the filth in the corridors that welcomes the visitors and it becomes worse when they are unable to walk through as the old almirahs are lined up in the corridors.

Interestingly, the UT Administration has imposed a ban on smoking at public places, and right under the nose of officials, the staff of different departments can be seen smoking openly sitting in the corridors. A testimony to these is the cigarette butts and bidis.

Worst hit are the female staff members of the Engineering Department, who are forced to use toilets on other floors. Thanks to the office of the DPI (schools), which has reportedly locked the toilet hence forcing the female staff members to make a beeline on the other floors during the lunch hour.

Another pending issue of the staff is the canteen in the deluxe building. The staff members claim that there have been proposals in the past to have a separate canteen for hundreds of employees working in this building. At present they all have to visit the canteen in the main secretariat building.

The employees’ union members said that they had requested the authorities time and again to visit the building, including the Home Secretary, and even the Chief Engineer.

As if the problems inside the building were not enough, the parking lot where most of the employees park their cars and visitors too park their vehicles has recently witnessed a spate of theft incidents from the cars parked outside.

The employees have also met the senior functionaries in this regard.

Mohali, August 9
Some areas of Mohali continue to reel under darkness, as the authorities concerned have failed to maintain streetlights, especially on the main roads, causing inconvenience to residents.

The position of streetlights in the Industrial Area and residential pockets is also far from being satisfactory even though the authorities claim that complaints received in this regard are attended to promptly.

Streetlights in some parts of the town are being maintained by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), while in others, it’s the MC’s responsibility to look after the maintenance of these.

Sukhminder Singh Barnala, municipal councillor, said about 80 per cent of the streetlight points on the road leading from Mohali village to Spice chowk and then extending to Phase VII of the Industrial Area had been out of order for long. Complaints made in this regard remained unattended. Streetlights were also not functioning on the road leading from the JCT chowk to Quark and from Kumbra chowk to the Phase IX bridge. Streetlights on the road leading from Phase X to XI were repaired after a month.

Barnala said streetlights installed at parks in Phase XI were also non-functional. GMADA tried to run these lights by linking those with the streetlight cables but as the additional load created problems, employees responsible for maintaining streetlights often disconnected those points.

The road leading from Phase III-V chowk towards Phase VIII and the dividing road of Phase VII and Phases III B-1 and III B-2 had remained in darkness for the past one week. Municipal councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi said the transformer of the area was out of order and the Punjab State Power Corporation employees failed to rectify the fault despite complaints made by residents.

Rajinder Singh Rana, president of the municipal council, said repair work got delayed because of the monsoon. The number of faults also increased due to rain. Employees having two vehicles were on the job and efforts were made to attend to the complaints promptly. The work of maintaining streetlights on main roads was given on contract and a fine of Rs 200 per point was imposed if the complaint was not attended to within two days.

Chandigarh, August 9
In order to spread awareness among students regarding judicial reforms in India, a paper-reading contest was organised at department of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh, here.

Avinash Rai Khanna, member of the Rajya Sabha, who was the key speaker in the valedictory session, said: “The judicial reforms can only be successful in India if the role of compromise is promoted and recognised.”

Anupam Gupta, senior advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court, said: “Those who criticise the problem of judicial delays in India are not conversant with the philosophical, legal and sociological dimensions of justice.”

“Bookish knowledge and the red-tapism are the major hindrances. For this transparency has to be brought about and we have to improve the character since the practical implementation depends on students. Law institutes need to become role models for legal education.

Disputes must be solved mutually and with the new ADR system the number of cases will come down,” said Shashi Sharma.

PS Jaswal, chairperson, department of laws, PU, said, the process of justice rests on different situations and circumstances. If the number of judges in different courts were not increased in direct proportion to the increase in the number of cases, the problem of delay and the malfunctioning of the judicial system would continue to stay here, he added.

Zirakpur, August 9
Local residents may have to wait a few months more for the installation of 10 new tubewells here. For, the task of installation has been handed over to the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

GAMADA, which was to install tubewells in the town earlier, will provide funds for the purpose.

According to official sources, the tubewells will be installed in the town shortly as per the site designated by the local municipal council.

It has been decided that the water supply department will install tubewells after consultation with the municipal council.

The official sources add the estimated cost of the project is Rs 3 crore and each tubewell will be 1,200 foot deep.

A private company will be appointed to install tubewells for which tenders will be invited by the water supply board, they add.

MC officials say 34 tubewells have so far been installed in 15 wards. The demand for water has grown due to the mushrooming of residential colonies in the area.

To meet the demand, residents have been demanding more tubewells from the council.

The sites are being finalised at Baltana village, Shivalik Vihar, Dashmesh Colony, Pabhat, Anand Vihar, Krishna Enclave (Dhakoli), Highland Cooperative Society, Swami Enclave, Dhakoli, Preet Colony, Zirakpur, and in front of the Tribune Colony, Baltana, MC official added.

In addition to the 10 tubewells, the council will install four more tubewells here soon.

Mohali, August 9
The keys of two new fire engines were handed over to the fire brigade employees by Kharar MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu at Municipal Bhawan here today. But the irony of the whole situation is that there are no drivers to run these additional vehicles.

Two new fire engines were added to the fire brigade about two months back and by including the two engines given today, the total number of vehicles with the fire brigade has gone up to nine. But the sad state of affairs is that it has only four drivers for round-the-clock duty. As each of them has to give eight-hour duty, only one driver is available at one time. One is reserved as a “rest keeper”. Station fire officers have to drive vehicles themselves in case of emergency.

Repeated requests by the civic body authorities to the Director, Local Government, Punjab, to give permission for recruiting at least 20 firemen and four drivers to properly run the fire brigade, which is plagued by staff shortage have fallen on deaf ears.

In a letter sent to the Director, Local Government, Punjab, in June by the then executive officer of the civic body it was stated that the local fire brigade had only one leading fireman against the requirement of 12 and had only four drivers against the need of 12. Against the sanctioned strength of 46 firemen, the fire brigade only had two of them working on a regular basis. Nine firemen had been employed on contract.

The fire brigade at present has five fire engines, one mini fire engine, one water bouser and two fire jeeps.

Rajinder Singh Rana, president of the council, said that the authorities concerned had repeatedly been informed about the staff shortage. He said that GMADA had now released a grant of Rs 15 crore for the fire brigade. A fire engine with a hydraulic platform worth Rs 6 crore will be purchased to tackle fire in high- rise buildings. Two sites- one near Fortis Hospital and second near Sohana - are being given to set up the fire brigade offices.

Chandigarh, August 9
Raju, the six-year-old son of a housemaid, who was shifted to Snehalaya, a shelter for destitute children, in Maloya three weeks ago, died this morning. The child was staying there ever since his mother, forced by poverty, left him at the shelter’s doors on July 17.

Parvati Rani, the deceased’s mother, got regular reports on her child doing well in the institution, run by the UT administration, before she received a message last night that her son had begun to vomit profusely.

Raju was first shifted to the Government Multispecialty Hospital, Sector 16, at about 1 am. Unable to help him recover doctors there advised the child be shifted to PGI around noon.

The young boy had begun to adjust to his life alone in Snehalaya and was attending classes at the Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan. All those contacted, including his mother, declined to offer any comments suspecting a “cover up” in the death.

The mother is learnt to have given it in writing to Snehalaya that she did not suspect any foul play. Father Sebastian Gose, head of the Child Welfare Committee, said, “The exact reason for the child’s death will only be known after the postmortem report. We rushed the child to the hospital as soon as we were informed about his deteriorating situation”.

Amit Kumar, warden of Snehalaya, said, “Raju vomited at 12:30 am today and was having a problem in breathing. An ambulance arrived and he was rushed to GMSH at 1 am. I think his vomit entered his windpipe.”

Patiala, August 9
A seminar on the life history of Baba Nidhan Singh Hazur Sahib Wale was organised at Punjabi University, Patiala, on Wednesday.

Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC president, was the chief guest on the occasion. Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Jaspal Singh presided over the function. Historians and eminent speakers from all over Punjab attended the function.

Talking about the contributions of Baba Nidhan Singh, Makkar said he was one of the forgotten heroes of Sikh history whose contribution towards mankind was beyond comparison.

Vice-Chancellor said Baba Nishan Singh had to overcome a lot of difficulties to provide basic facilities to travellers on their way to Hazur Sahib. He said the seminar aimed at making people aware about the history of Baba Nidhan Singh and to encourage them to follow his footsteps.

He said the university would be starting two projects-water management and waste management shortly.

Dr Kirpal Singh, Dr Prithpal Singh Kapoor and Giani Balwant Singh Kothaguru threw light on the history of Baba Nidhan Singh. Baba Balbir Singh Seenchewal was the special guest on the occasion.

Reacting to Sajid Khan’s comment on martial art during a reality show, he said Sajid had committed a big mistake and must apologise for hurting the Sikh sentiments.

Mohali, August 9
A day after the police filed a case under the Dowry Act against the in-laws of a married woman for allegedly attempting to set her on fire, the Punjab Human Rights Commission (PHRC) sought a report from the Mohali SSP to explain the delay in taking action against the suspects who reside in Phase 4.

The woman, Ranjit Kaur, wife of Jagmohan Singh and also a Phase 4 resident, had reportedly been tortured by her husband and his family members for not bringing an “adequate” dowry. After giving birth to a second female child, her husband and in-laws made an attempt on her life by sprinkling kerosene oil on her.

However, since Ranjit’s in-laws were said to have “connections” with a police official, the cops reportedly delayed taking action on the matter. The woman was admitted to Civil Hospital in Phase VI but no police official went there to record her statement.

Meanwhile, the police yesterday registered a case under sections 397 & 498 of the IPC against Jagmohan along with his father Gurdial Singh, mother Kanta Devi, brother Rajinder Singh, sister Manjit Kaur and the latter’s huband Kulwant Singh.

The victim alleged the suspects beat her up on August 7 at around 9:30 pm after locking her in a room. She said her brother-in-law and sister-in-law then poured kerosene oil on her and were about to set her alight but, on hearing her shrieks, neighbours came to her help and saved her. — TNS

Panchkula, August 9
Threatening in-laws at gunpoint proved dear for son-in-law, who was not only beaten up by relatives, but was also handed over to the police here today. However, later it was found that the gun was a mere ‘toy’.

According to police, Ravi, a resident of Mansa Devi Complex, was staying with his in-laws at Maheshpur village, Sector 21. Last month, he left the house leaving his wife with her parents. It was in the morning when Ravi returned and threatened them with his pistol. He told them that he had come to collect his belongings.

As soon as the police reached the spot, he tried to flee. The relatives overpowered him with the help of neighbours and thrashed him before handing him over to the police. Later, both parties reached mutual compromise. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 9
In pursuance of the decision of the Active Resident Welfare Association, Sector 38 (West), a candlelight protest march was organised under the banner of the Federation of Sector Welfare Association (FOSWAC) this evening to express their anguish over the inaction of the police to nab the culprits who had committed the cold-blooded murder of 22-year-old girl Neha on July 30.

The police has failed to nab the culprit. There was a concern about the deteriorating law and order situation in the city especially in and around Sector 38(West) and a common person was feeling insecure, a press note issued here alleged today. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 9
Panjab University Student Union (PUSU) in a protest here today at the UIET block, Sector 25 south campus of Panjab University (PU), expressed its strong disagreement on the joint placement drive started by the PU authorities.

The protest started around 12 noon and continued for nearly 90 minutes. Close to 50-60 PUSU workers protested at the department.

As per the joint placement drive initiative of PU, students of the UIET department and students of the regional centre, Hoshiarpur, would be on par for the placements.

Another issue concerning the students raised by PUSU was introduction of the CGPA system in the UIET department.

PUSU supporters said the DSW had called a meeting tomorrow at 12 noon with UIET staff and had promised the students that their demands would be fulfilled soon.

Chandigarh, August 9
After hectic days of campaigning by two major teachers group, battle lines are finally drawn for the Panjab University Teacher’s Union (PUTA) election to be held tomorrow.

There are 640 teachers in the present voters’ list for PUTA election. PU’s dental college has 51 votes, UIET has 75 votes, arts lobby has nearly 160 votes and science has 251 votes, which includes professional courses as well.

According to sources, there is a tough competition between presidential candidates Jaspal Kang and Akshaya Kumar.

The Kang lobby, under the flagship of Panjab University Teachers’ Democratic front is believed to be strong in science lobby, while Akshaya lobby has its strength in the arts.

Opponents of Akshaya claim that not fielding any science teacher as an office-bearer in the PUTA could prove dear. The Kang lobby, on the other hand, has been dominating in the arts lobby and appears strong in UIET and Dental College so far.

In the group 1 (arts), Akshaya-Manjit lobby had strong support in the last election. The voting process will start by 8:30 am and will continue till 1:30 pm. The results are likely to be announced by 5 pm.

Zirakpur, August 9
The battle of ballots at Panjab University has virtually left Zirakpur defaced.

Even though the election’s date is not announced, hundreds of posters of candidates have been put up on the pillars of Zirakpur flyover.

Though defacement of public property is not new, with the authorities concerned turning a blind eye to the menace, the problem has only worsened.

The Chandigarh-Zirakpur road is dotted with posters of candidates.

Ankur Sharma, an executive manager with a private bank, said it seemed that nobody was concerned about the defacement and deterioration of public property. “We want the authorities concerned to remove these posters and take steps to curb the menace,” he added.

Raghav Dyal Gupta, an advocate at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, asserted that violators should not be allowed to contest election.

“These student leaders are not interested in studies and are inclined more towards politics,” he added.

The work pertaining to maintenance of the Ambala-Chandigarh highway has been outsourced to the GMR company.

AK Patel, an official of the GMR, said the matter was not in his knowledge and he would take up the issue with the higher authorities.

Chandigarh, August 9
St John’s High School, Sector 26, organised an inter-school model United Nations (UN) conference yesterday.

Around 100 delegates from four prestigious schools of Chandigarh, namely Carmel Convent, Vivek High, Bhavan Vidyalaya and St John’s, took part in the conference. An eight-hour conference from 8 am to 4 pm simulated one-day session of the UN.

Students donned the role of delegates and represented a country while discussing issues of global concern. Three committees of the UN were simulated at the conference. The general assembly discussed human trafficking with its chair and two vice-presidents, Rajat Jain, Pearl Ahluwalia and Pia Bakshi, respectively.

The economic and social council with its chair Rohan Jain and vice-presidents, Deeksha Bhardwaj and Navdeep Kaur, discussed the post Copenhagen climate change and disarmament and the security council discussed the situation in Afghanistan. — TNS

College principal BC Josan said students involved in the recent clash between members of the PUSU and SOPU groups would be expelled from college. “We are in the process of obtaining details from the police”, he added. Meanwhile, the college has strengthened security arrangements on the campus to bar entry of outsiders. Group campaigners have also been prohibited from entering the campus until further orders. The police has installed metal detectors in on the campus and claimed it was “equipped to enforce discipline”.