Chandigarh, October 13
A classic example of the fire and emergency services department’s arrangements for the festive season is the water tank with a booster pump that it installed in the Sector 26 market and which has been out of order for almost three years. Talk of special fire safety precautions becomes meaningless when the existing arrangements are nonfunctional.

Ironically, this “special” arrangement was put in place in the market by the fire department about six years ago after a report prepared by its officials stated the area remained jampacked during the festival season due to sale of crackers. It suggested arrangements for easy access of water supply to fire tenders during any fire incident.

On the basis of the report’s recommendations, the water tank with a capacity of about 200,000 litres and costing around Rs 3 lakh was installed in the market to cover the Sector 26 grain and timber markets, transport area, Industrial Area and Bapu Dham colony.

Surprisingly, the condition of this water tank is such that due to a technical problem its pumps could not be used during any fire incident in the area. Even the electricity department has disconnected its meter connection due to nonpayment of the electricity bill by the fire department.

Sources said the fire department installed this dual system pump with the aim of that in case there was no electricity due to a fire in the area, the firemen could operate the pump with diesel oil. Department records show that in last two major fire incidents in two hotels in Sector 26 the fire tenders were sent to the Industrial Area (phase I) fire station for filling the water, as the water tank’s pump was not functioning.

When contacted MC additional commissioner and chief fire officer TPS Phoolka said he had not received any complaint in this regard from the fire station under whose jurisdiction it lies. “I’m not aware about the condition of the tank and the pump installed in it”, he added.

However, officials said on condition of anonymity that though they had sent complaints about this particular water tank to the head office at the Sector 17 fire station no action had been taken so far.

Officials said the reason for the delay might be that the staff of the chief fire officer had been shifted to the MC building. Till date all the files and complaints are entertained in the fire station building by a fireman deputed there.

Chandigarh, October 13
A local court today sentenced three persons to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 each on them for killing a taxi driver in 2004.

The court held Nishan Singh, Kulbir Singh and Shamsher Singh, residents of Gurdaspur, guilty of killing taxi driver Balwinder Singh after kidnapping him from the city. They hired a Tata Indica from a taxi stand in Sector 33 with the intention to kill its driver and sell the car. They had come to the city on June 28, 2004, and hired the taxi.

According to the public prosecutor, the accused told the driver to stop the vehicle at a secluded place near a canal at Harchowal in Gurdaspur and strangled him. They threw his body into the canal before fleeing. The owner of the taxi stand, Kirpal Singh, got suspicious when Balwinder failed to return on the scheduled time and could not be traced. He reported the matter to the police.

On July 4, a team of the Punjab police stopped a Tata Indica for routine check, but the occupants of the car tried to speed away. They were, however, nabbed. Kulbir Singh and Shamsher Singh were arrested while Nishan Singh managed to flee.

During interrogation they admitted to have stolen the vehicle after killing the driver. The Punjab police then informed the UT police, which arrested the accused and recovered the body from the canal. Nishan Singh was also later arrested.

Panchkula, October 13
Irked over irregular bus services, students from five colleges of the district protested in front of the Inter-state Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Sector 5 here this morning.

The students raised slogans against the Haryana Roadways officials and alleged that due to poor bus service to their colleges situated on the Panchkula-Barwala route, they always reached late to their classes.

This was also affecting their studies as they missed their classes regularly, they said.

About 200 students gathered at the main bus stand and didn’t allow any buses to enter or exit by blocking its gates.

They also blocked the road separating Sectors 5 and 10, causing a great inconvenience to commuters, who were on their way to the offices.

Some of the students also pelted stones and broke the windowpanes of two private cars.

Senior police officers and district administration also arrived on the scene and arranged a meeting between students and the Haryana Roadways bus drivers to control the situation.

Thereafter, students, who had been protesting for over one-hour boarded the buses to their respective colleges.

One of the students said students having bus passes often faced such problems. Earlier, officials of the district administration had assured them that frequency of buses would be increased from 6.45 am to 8 am on the Panchkula-Barwala route, but nothing had been done so far, he added.

Satish Kumar, a student, alleged that bus drivers and conductors don’t stop buses in front of their colleges. And when they requested them (roadways staff) to stop they abused and misbehaved with them, he said.

Chandigarh, October 13
Hundreds of PGI contractual employees protesting over delay in salaries held a rally at Sector 25 here today. It was the third consecutive month that these workers protested to get their monthly dues.

By the evening, the contractor assured them of payment, following which they decided to abandon the agitation and resume duties, said Gopal, president of the PGI Contractual Workers Union.

At 6 am, more than 500 contractual workers, including ward attendants and sweepers, came out after marking their attendance, declaring strike. Following this, they tried to take out a rally.

The presence of heavy police force in the security of the Punjab Chief Minister, who had been admitted to the PGI, deterred them. They decided to move towards the rally ground and hold the protest there.

The PGI authorities employed security staff and others in place of the employees on strike. A PGI spokesperson said the contractor was asked by the authorities to disburse salary, following which things were normalised.

Chandigarh, October 13
With the fast depletion in the groundwater table, rainwater harvesting has become an important mission all over the world. Keeping this in view, the Chandigarh administration is making efforts in this direction. It plans to cover all residential and non-residential public and private buildings with the system in a year.

Disclosing details, Superintending Engineer, Public Health, SC Sharma, said, “The rainwater harvesting system has been installed at the State Judicial Academy, Sector 43, the EDC Building, IT Park, the UT Guest House, Sector 6, the Office Building, Sector 11, and the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, at an estimated cost of Rs 48.84 lakh. Work is under progress at seven other government buildings, including the Deluxe Building, Sector 9, the Additional Deluxe Building, Sector 9, the Paryavaran Bhawan, Sector 19, the Government College, Sector 46, the Government College for Boys, Sector 11, the Skating Rink, Sector 10, and the High Court, Sector 1, at an estimated cost of Rs 121.40 lakh. Estimates for about 60 government buildings, comprising all government colleges, 42 government schools, 11 police stations, one police lines and public and government residential buildings, are under process for approval.”

The UT Finance-cum-Urban Planning Secretary, Sanjay Kumar, said, “The demand for water is growing at an exponential rate because of the staggering increase in population. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand for water and to replicate the water table, simple measures like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharging, minimal wastage of water and unintended wastage can go a long way.”

The administration appealed to comply with orders of the administration for providing rainwater harvesting in all private commercial, institutional and residential buildings on a plot of one kanal and above.

Chandigarh, October 13
The Punjab Lalit Akademi felicitated the noted artist, cartoonist and akademi member, Sandeep Joshi for getting Haryana State Award- 2008 recently for his professional excellence during a function at the Randhawa Auditorium here today.

Akademi president Ranjodh Singh while lauding Sandeep’s incredible contribution to art realm presented a memento and shawl amidst applause from veteran and contemporary artists. Noted art scholar Dr SS Bhatti, former principal Chandigarh College of architecture presented a critical appreciation of Sandeep’s work and said his works bore the stamp of his versatility, imaginative intensity and sincere devotion.

Sandeep, too, shared his life experiences and offered gratitude to all admirers.

PAC chairperson Harjinder Kaur, CLKA chairman Diwan Manna, Dr Rajan Chugh, Rajpal Singh, Pritamrupal, secretary general Chandigarh Press Club, and Roopinder Singh, assistant editor, The Tribune, were present.

Chandigarh, October 13
Despite repeated assurances from the authorities, residents continue to return empty handed from the Sector 42 office of the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA).

Contrary to claims about speedy delivery of documents pertaining to registration of vehicles, at least a handful of residents of the city are forced to go empty handed almost everyday.

The situation is particularly bad for those residing in southern sectors and have to collect their documents from the office of the SDM (South) at Sector 42.

In fact, it can take anything between two weeks and two months for the registration certificate of a new private vehicle.

“I was twice given the date for collecting my registration certificate and on both occasions, I was told to come again. I am driving my car for nearly two months now without a registration number. What if I get challaned? This is not my fault,” says a harassed resident of Sector 40.

In fact, this is not a lone case. Everyday, on an average, there are at least two complaints, but the officials have their own reasons.

Panchkula, October 13
Inadequate staff and absence of fire tenders in the Raipur Rani and Barwala blocks of the district have hit the preparedness of the fire brigade to tackle emergencies during the forthcoming festive season.

Fire incidents tend to go up during the Dasehra and Diwali festivities and full preparedness of the fire department is expected during this festival season.

The district has just one fire station situated in Sector 5, which is over 30 km from these towns.

Around six months ago, a showroom of a scooter company in Pinjore, about 10 km from here, was gutted and its owner had suffered loss worth Rs 50 lakh.

Even though the only fire tender from the nearby HMT Company reached the scene within no time, it had tough time controlling the blaze. The fire was brought under control only after fire tenders from Panchkula arrived at the scene.

Keeping in view the density of population in the Pinjore and Kalka area, a sub-fire station was set up at Kalka to meet the exigency.

The need of a local fire station was greater considering the time it took for a fire tender to reach the remote areas of Raipur Rani block.

By the time fire tenders reached the scene, it was already too late. Last year, some farmers of the Barwala block had suffered huge losses as their crops were destroyed in fire.

Sector-5 fire station officer Ram Pal Dhull said they were prepared to meet any eventuality. He said they had seven fire tenders, including two small vehicles, that could pass through thickly populated areas of towns like Kalka, Raipur Rani or Barwala.

Dhull said residents of Raipur Rani and Barwala had been urged to take precautions while using firecrackers during the festive season.

Fire tenders were sought from the Naraingarh fire station in case of fire in Raipur Rani due to it proximity to the town.

According to official sources, the district administration had decided to set up sub-fire stations in Kalka and Raipur Rani. The sources added that fire station had already been set up in Kalka and it would take another three or four months to set up of sub-fire station in Raipur Rani.

All that the fire brigade authorities can do now is to decline leave to its handful of employees during the festival season and request the administration to allow the sale of crackers only in open areas instead of congested markets.

Chandigarh, October 13
A total knee replacement surgery will now take just 15 minutes, as, for the first time in Asia, made-to-order artificial knees will be available in the country.

This has been claimed by Dr Manuj Wadhwa, director, Department of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement, Fortis Hospital, Mohali.

Interacting with mediapersons today, he said the state-of-the-art technology was adopted by surgeons in the US early this year and now Fortis had decided to introduce it in India.

Before this, no other hospital in Asia had ever conducted knee replacement by using this technique, he said.

The new technique would eliminate 22 steps during surgery as compared to conventional surgery and mean reduced infection, anesthesia requirement and blood loss and faster recovery.

Giving details, Dr Wadhwa said, “Recent studies and our experience of more than 5,000 joint replacements done so far have shown that no two knees are alike. There are variations in size, shape and extent and kind of damage involved. Through specialised software and CT scans, a 3D model of the knee will be created. This will help determine the correct implant size and placement, based on the patient’s knee anatomy. The image will be sent to the US, where personalised guides will be fabricated and delivered to us,” he said.

These patient-specific cutting guides would be accurate to within a few millimetres and would indicate to the surgeon exactly where to make bone cuts so that knee replacement was customised for the individual patient,” added Dr Wadhwa. With average activity levels, a knee replacement like this should last at least 15 years,” he added.

Talking about other advantages for patients, Dr Wadwa said, “Such surgery will be less invasive, with much smaller incisions, and this will allow quicker and less painful recovery. It will result in increased range of motion, natural feeling knee and ease in performing normal activities such as golfing, biking and gardening. There will be fewer complications and long-lasting results.”

Chandigarh , October 13
Ensuring that organs are donated after one’s death is the noblest act a person can do as it will help save a number of lives. This was stated by Dr Anuradha Jatana of the PGI while addressing at least 50 members of Rotary Chandigarh Shivalik and their spouses last evening.

“All you need to do right now is to pledge your organs and convince your family to fulfil your pledge,” she said.

Explaining how organ transplant was facilitated, she said, “There can be two scenarios, one of a person being admitted to hospital after a grievous accident. Although his heart is beating because of ventilator, he may be brain dead. After doctors certify that he is brain dead, his family can give their consent. We can transplant liver, kidneys and heart, besides eyes. In the other scenario of a person dying a natural death, only his eyes can be transplanted and his body donated for research.”

She added, “There are a lot of myths about organ donation. There is a belief that if you donate your organs, you will born without those or with a disfigured body in the next birth. By doing this noble gesture, you will actually earn the blessings and good wishes of the persons who benefit.”

Mohali, October 13
In a poor showing, a six-member squad, formed by the Mohali municipal council to catch stray animals, averaged under one catch per day in a period ranging over 16 months.

The civic body was able to catch just 426 animals over 502 days and impose a fine of Rs 1,47,700.

According to information obtained under the RTI Act by councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi, the council had set up the cattle catching squad to tackle the problem of stray animals in the town. However, no policy had been framed in this regard.

The squad members included sanitary inspector Devinder Pal Sharma, clerk Kesar Singh and baildars Piara Singh, Balbir Singh, Harbans Singh and Rulda Singh.

The squad consumed 4,480 litre diesel to catch 426 animals during the period from April 1, 2009, to August 15, 2010.

These animals were kept in the cattle pound and a sum of Rs 2,73,138 was spent on purchasing fodder for the animals.

The animals once caught were kept for a week in the pound and were left at gaushalas at Maloya and Banur in case no claimant came forward during the period.

Bedi, who had sought information to know the council’s seriousness in tackling the problem of stray animal menace, said as per figures provided by the civic body, over 10 litre diesel was consumed to catch a single animal.

He said the council had no figures to tell as to how many persons must have lost their lives during mishaps because of the stray animals moving about on the roads.

Mohali, October 13
As many as 454 applicants of the general category got plots measuring 125 sq yd in the draw of lots held by officials of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) for the integrated township coming up near the international airport.

A total of 64,186 applications were received in the general category for 454 plots. As many as 45 applicants were kept in the waiting list. The names of successful applicants were announced along with the application number at the time of the draw.

The lucky slips were picked up by persons who had gathered at the venue from the glass box that was rotated frequently.

For the sports category, GMADA had received only eight applications against 14 plots reserved for sports persons. While all applicants got plots, the remaining six plots were transferred to the general category.

The process of holding of draw lots, which started on September 25, for various sizes of plots and for different categories came to an end today.

Panchkula, October 13
The district administration has submitted its report to the IG (UT Prisons) on the parole sought by the disgraced former Haryana police chief SPS Rathore, who is serving an 18-month jail term at Burail jail in Chandigarh.

According to sources, Deputy Commissioner Ashima Brar in her report has stated that the tubewell and tractor on Rathore’s farms need repairs.

The DC has also agreed on the timings submitted by Rathore for plantation of various crops on his fields.

Sources further add that the DC has not commented on whether to grant parole to Rathore or not in the report.

The final call on the parole will be taken by the Burail jail administration.

Rathore, who is serving the sentence for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra, had applied for 42-day parole on September 20.

His first application for two-week parole was rejected by the district administration on September 3.

Rathore had sought parole to look after agriculture work on his vacant land in Panchkula district and on health grounds.

He stated that he wanted to undergo a complete health check-up as he was not keeping well.

“My son is doing a job at some far-off place so he cannot come to look after the agriculture work,” he had stated.

Zirakpur, October 13
A number of truck drivers, who came to deposit sales tax at the Zirakpur sales tax barrier, faced inconvenience, as the computers stopped functioning here this afternoon.

Due to the delay truck drivers started protesting against the sales tax officials.

Truck drivers alleged that they were standing in long queues for over three hours and failed to deposit the sales tax because of non-functioning of computers.

They demanded that the department should provide better facilities.

However, an official of the sales tax barrier claimed that the computers had stopped functioning due to some technical problem.

“We had informed the technical department about the problem and the computers started functioning after it was checked by the technical department,” the official added.

Chandigarh, October 13
Despite tall claims of Panjab University authorities regarding admission process for 2011-2012 to go online, the groundwork for the project is yet to take off.

PU Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti made an announcement during the Senate meeting on October 10, and subsequently an elaborate committee was formed to work out the modalities.

The committee is yet to hold its first meeting to discuss execution of the project.

Various faculty members, however, argue that the affirmation should have been preceded by a detailed report on how to work out the online admissions, while others claim that eight months are enough to work out details before the next session.

The possibility of an online test was also rejected at the Senate meeting due to the precautions needed for such an exam and the more cases of impersonation surfacing nowadays.

However, the agenda of having “most admissions online” was announced at the meeting.

“As a part of the online admission process, students may be required to fill their form online. Earlier, students were required to fill up another form after the declaration of results. We have enough time before the next session and modalities will be worked out soon,” said Dr Singla of PU computer centre and a member of the committee.

The university experimented with the idea of centralised admissions for BCom course offered in all affiliated colleges. For this a separate website was also formed by the university and students were required to fill their details in their personalised accounts.

Chandigarh, October 13
In pursuance of the directions issued by the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to observe a vigilance awareness week from October 25 to November 1 in all its affiliated schools.

In a recent circular issued to schools they have been asked to organise lectures, seminars, debates and essay competitions on the issue of corruption.

Besides, all institutions have been suggested to involve students in anti-corruption campaigns at local-level.

“There is an increasing concern about corruption eroding the basic values of life. It disturbs the value system established in the country. It’s important that the younger generation, who has to play a pivotal role in the development of the country needs to be educated on the urgency to fight against such unethical practices,” read the circular.

The vigilance awareness week is celebrated in the memory of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, who exercised a major influence in establishing the administrative structure in the country.

Interestingly, the board is mulling to make “fight against corruption” a compulsory part of its syllabus under the newly implemented Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) scheme.

“Corruption is routine affair in our country and only the young students can make a difference. We will be initiating various programmes and will also try to get some innovative campaigns. Their performance will be taken into consideration while evaluating them for co-scholastic activities,” said Madhu Bahal, principal, KBDAV, Sector 7, and master trainer, CBSE.

Chandigarh, October 13
Students of University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), Panjab University, have won prestigious positions at five national-level moot court competitions as well as in the Law Fest.

The team includes Pallavi Pahwa, Raashi Ahluwalia and Puneet Nagpal. The team has been adjudged the second best team at the 7th Nani Palkhivala National Tax Law Moot Court competition organised by the Government Law College, Mumbai, in association with Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar, Mumbai, from October 7 to 9.

They have also won cash prize of Rs 5,000, a trophy, free membership for one year for taxation journal and books worth Rs 5,000.

At a press conference today, UILS director Sangeeta Bhalla said institute students were excelling in various fields, especially moot court competitions, client-counselling competitions, sports as well as cultural fests.