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Cops gear up to curb campus violence
Chandigarh, November 11 Asserting the police will not spare any student indulging in violent activities, UT SSP Naunihal Singh stated: “We’re now in the process of checking the background of all student leaders involved in violence. This time around we’re in no mood to spare them and will also ensure all such cases come to their logical end.” When asked against how many students action would be taken following the latest incident of campus violence, he replied: “It’s not only this case but several others that will now be looked into. We’re now tracking down their links and activities and they’ll be dealt with strictly.” A police subinspector sustained injuries on his arm during the brawl at the Student Centre on the campus two days ago, in which student leaders attacked each other with glass bottles and swords. On the other hand, PU officials are yet to decide the duration of suspension of the student leaders involved in the incident. Till late into the evening today there was no official confirmation of any student being suspended.Although the names of Simrandeep Singh Sandhu and Arshbir Johal, both of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), have emerged after members of a fact finding committee reviewed the CCTV footage recorded in the brawl, uncertainly prevails over the issue of suspending those involved. A senior varsity official today revealed that in a legal opinion sought by PU it was clarified the university cannot consider rusticating any student according to the rules in its calendar. It can, however, recommend suspension of a student on charges of indiscipline and criminal activity. “Rustication means loss of right to education, which the student leaders easily undo by seeking judicial intervention. PU requires a foolproof way to handle such trouble makers and the senate needs to amend the relevant rules. All universities have a clause pertaining to rustication but in the PU calendar there is no such provision,” said a senior lawyer.
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Police ramps up security ahead of Cong rally
Chandigarh, November 11 Interestingly, the UT administration had imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code banning assembly of five or more people in any part of the city except at the Sector 25 rally ground, a place specially reserved for holding public meetings, rallies and assemblies The officials were apparently in a denial mode when it was pointed out such a huge assembly would cause inconvenience to city residents. Terming it as a “function” and not a rally, UT SSP Naunihal Singh said the police was making all-out efforts to ensure minimal inconvenience to the public.“Though we expect a huge crowd estimated to number 20,000 people, we have made all arrangements to make the occasion hassle free by closing a section of the road to accommodate the visitors. The road in front of the two government colleges will remain open to the public and efforts will be made to provide a free passage to those visiting PGI”, he stated. At least 300 police personnel have been deployed on security and law and order duty outside the venue. An equal number of Punjab police personnel will guard the area inside the Punjab Congress Bhawan during the ceremony. A senior police officer said if need be the strength of the force would be increased. The event’s organizers had installed loudspeakers on streetlight poles on the road in utter disregard to the educational institutions located on the road. “According to regulations educational institutions are located in silence zones. But in order to please the high and the mighty the authorities have allowed them to disturb peace around educational institutions, that too during college hours”, said Swarnjit Singh, an undergraduate student. The police said “small” vehicles would be allowed near the venue. However, the cops have not earmarked any place for parking of a large number of visitors’ vehicles expected tomorrow. Organisers say the caravan of party members from all districts and block level units will come to attend the ceremony and some of them will march toward the venue from Mohali.
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Ailing GMSH-16 Admn to take up issue with Centre Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 11 Taking cognisance of a news report published in Chandigarh Tribune under the slug “Ailing GMSH-16” on November 10 and 11, the UT Administration has decided to take up the issue with the Union Health Secretary on November 13. “We are seized of the issue of shortage of medical and paramedical staff in the health department, including the GMSH-16 and GMCH-32. The administration will take up the matter of the creation of additional posts with the Union Health Secretary on November 13, besides routine issues,” Home Secretary Ram Niwas told The Tribune. The top brass of the administration, including Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Shivraj Patil, UT Adviser Pradip Mehra and Home-cum-Health Secretary Ram Niwas will be in New Delhi on November 13 to participate in a health summit.Chandigarh Tribune had reported that in the absence of any fresh recruitment of doctors in the last five years, the GMSH-16 was facing an acute shortage of staff. And this was despite the fact that patients to the OPDs had increased by about 50 per cent. The shortfall of doctors had adversely affected medicare and increased the workload of doctors. In July 2005, doctors at the hospital’s 11 departments had spent 4,951 working hours in the OPDs. In July 2010, the figure rose to 5,456 hours.
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Another night in jail for Rathore
Chandigarh, November 11 Rathore is likely to released tomorrow from the jail where he had spent five months after being sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months for molesting a budding tennis player, Ruchika Girhotra, 20 years ago. Sources said a member of the prison staff had informed Rathore about his bail granted by the apex court as TV channels had flashed the news in the morning. According to the jail scheduled inmates are allowed to watch television after 4 pm and it was only after that time Rathore had watched the news on TV. No one visited him today in jail where he has been languishing since May 25. “We give Rs 20 a day to unskilled, 25 to semiskilled and Rs 30 to skilled inmates for working in jails. Since Rathore began working after a few days of landing in jail, he has earned around Rs 4,500. We also allow inmates to get some ‘pocket money’ from their family members to meet their day-to-day requirements”, said a senior jail official. “After learning the Supreme Court had ordered his release on bail, Rathore began packing his belongings. However, he was disappointed later in the evening as he had to stay a day longer in the jail. The news brought about a change in his behaviour, though he had pretty much adjusted to his confinement over the period” said another official.
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Aerocity
Mohali, November 11 At a meeting held this evening, officials decided to begin the process of refund of the 500 sq yard plots. Mohali Additional Chief Administrator (ACA) Balwinder Singh Multani said
GMADA would begin the process from November 15. “Once GMADA transfers the money to banks, these can start the refund from November 18. This would enable the banks to refund a portion of interest charged on the financed earnest money,” sources in GMADA said. As per the schedule drawn by the GMADA authorities, the refund would be done in phases, which would end by the first week of December. The unsuccessful applicants would get at least a one-month refund from banks that financed their applications. For those who applied along with the earnest money, the refund means saving on interest. An applicant of a 500 sq yard plot (who got the application financed from a bank) can hope to get a refund of around
Rs 4,000. In case of a 200 sq yard, the applicant would get around Rs 1,500 as refund. The interest could vary as the interest is chargeable on daily basis as per the RBI guidelines,” said a GMADA official. Banks on their part stated that the moment the money was transferred into their accounts, they were bound to refund it. To be more transparent, GMADA would be issuing advertisements in papers regarding the schedule of the refund. While it was earning about
Rs 1.5 crore daily as interest on the deposit collected as earnest money, the banks had already charged the interest for a period of six months. Of the total around
Rs 9,400 crore collected from 3.20 lakh applicants, the authority will refund around
Rs 8,500 crore.
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Rs 1.26-cr in MC kitty
Chandigarh, November 11 It added Rs 1.26 crore to its kitty from collection of encroachment challans and arrears from liquor vendors this season, marking an increase of Rs 7 lakh over last year. Sources said the enforcement department collected Rs 41 lakh by challaning illegal encroachers in markets, which was Rs 7 lakh more than the Rs 34 lakh collected in the previous year. The enforcement department also collected Rs 85 lakh from 24 liquor vend defaulters, but fell short by Rs 35 lakh to collect a total pending amount of Rs 1.2 crore from these vendors. The MC had constituted 13 special enforcement teams for three days to challan violators. The sources said the teams had observed that many traders in Sector 17 had violated norms of allotment of temporary stalls during Divali. A report had pointed out that a majority of traders had sublet their stalls to outsiders, which went against rules of allotment. The report further recommended that to avoid future occurrence, the shopkeepers should only be allowed to sell those products in temporary stalls which were otherwise available in their respective shops. The report also suggested that permission of a number of stalls in each market should be fixed to avoid nuisance during the festival. As per reports, of the 24 defaulter liquor vendors, 19 had cleared their dues and Rs 35 lakh was pending against five, of which one at Bapu Dham had been shut, against whom a collection of Rs 3.55 lakh was pending. Reports stated that notices had been issued to four defaulters, at Palsora, Sector 48, opposite Kalagram and the road separating Sectors 45 and 46. MC Additional Commissioner TPS Phoolka said all four defaulting vendors had assured the authorities that they would deposit the pending amount next week. Defaulters risked facing stringent action if they did not deposit the pending amount. At a recent Finance and Contract Committee meeting, MC officials were directed by the members to issue notices to liquor vendors who had not deposited pending dues and ask them to vacate MC land immediately if they failed to do so.
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F&CC Meeting
Chandigarh, November 11 At the meeting, F&CC members asked officials to finalise fresh rates of the raw material and allot works on new rates to contractors. Earlier, the officials brought to the notice of the members that the MC was facing problems in allocating work to contractors due to low rates of raw material. In the status report of the projects, authorities had pointed out that the contracts, which include seven public health projects, 13 laying of paver blocks and two community centres, had not been allotted as no contractor had bid for it. The committee also approved that the parking contractors would have to deposit the parking lot guarantee amount for one-and-a-half years as compared to three years. This decision seemed to be an offshoot of the non-participation of contractors in the parking lot auction in last one year. The committee also decided that as a pilot project, the MC would instal a semi-automatic system in parking lots near the Sahib Singh and Sons and the Empire Store in Sector 17, Sector 22-B and Sector 35-B. Taking note of illegal parking of tourist buses in the city, the committee instructed the authorities to take stringent action against those. They also decided that the MC should utilise its own bus parking lot near the Fun Republic, Mani Majra, to park tourist buses and charge fee from owners to avoid nuisance at other places. The members asked the medical health officer to table the status report on the functioning of the garbage processing plant at the next meeting. It was decided that the installation of mobile towers on MC land would be allowed by the authority if Airtel withdrew the court case and agreed to follow the fresh terms and conditions approved by the General House. Following the cold response to the fish market at Sector 41, the MC was sending a proposal to the UT administration to allow it to rent out the booths. The committee instructed the officials to communicate with Milkfed and Vita managements to finalise modalities to deposit the monthly rent of the booths set up on MC land. The committee approved purchase of laptops costing Rs 20 lakh for all 36 councillors.
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Encroachers don’t care about notices
Mohali, November 11 Shopkeepers in many parts of the town consider verandas outside their shops as a personal property and use the area according to their own convenience. While some parts have been encroached upon partially, there are instances, where shopkeepers have fully blocked the passage by placing goods being sold by them. In order to check the nuisance that shopkeepers have created for those frequenting markets, the council carried out a survey to identify people who were violating laws with impunity. A list of more than 250 shopkeepers was prepared and notices were issued to them by the civic body. More than 100 notices have already been served. The notices have been issued by the civic body under Section 173 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911. In the notices, the council has asked shopkeepers to remove their goods from the verandas within three days, failing which these would be removed by council employees and action would be initiated against violators. Shopkeepers would be responsible for any breakage that takes place while removing goods. These items would not be returned and shopkeepers would also have to bear the expenditure incurred on the exercise. During a visit by council employees to find out whether the notices had any impact on shopkeepers, nobody seemed to be bothered. In Phase II, two shopkeepers dealing in electronic goods had blocked the veranda with refrigerators and washing machines. A flour mill in the area had also blocked the passage. Kiryana merchants had placed various types of items on the veranda. In Phase I, sweetsellers had blocked the passage. In Phase V, four shopkeepers in a row selling kiryana and other items had blocked the veranda, treating it as their personal property. Those selling sweets, food, bicycles and kiryana items had also blocked the verandas. Shopkeepers selling sanitary fittings and tiles had also violated the rules. Similar complaints have also been received from others parts of the town. Reacting to the notices issued by the council, a shopkeeper said it was only a formality that the civic body had been doing over the past many years. Had the council been serious to remove such encroachments, the markets would have presented a much cleaner look and shoppers would have also felt the convenience. He said anti-encroachment drives were carried out every now and then, but nothing changed. Following a visit by the enforcement wing, shopkeepers remove their articles, but as soon as the employees leave, goods are back. Some employees even indulge in a pick-and-choose policy. Council officials, however, were not available for comments.
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Youth’s Death During Race
Chandigarh, November 11 Amritpal, a class XII passout, was going through physical tests for recruitment of constable when he collapsed and died of cardiac arrest. Cardiologists suggest that medical screening of such people can reduce the number of such unfortunate incidents. Lack of awareness and facilities, however, is so high in this regard globally that even in developed countries like the USA, the UK and France, preventive measures are ignored by people, says Manoj Kumar Rohit, associate professor, advanced cardiac centre, PGI. The main reasons for such cardiac deaths, however, are found to be hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and anomalous coronary artery (ACA), he adds. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease of the muscle of the heart in which a portion of the heart is thickened. Younger people are likely to have a more severe form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is observed that many victims have a family history in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Similarly, anomalous coronary artery (ACA) is a coronary artery that has an abnormality or malformation. Since coronary arteries deliver blood to the heart muscle, any coronary artery disorder or disease can potentially reduce the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the heart, especially at the time of physical exercise, which may lead to a heart attack or death. Dr HK Bali, a cardiologist, however, advises not to get panicky. There is no reason to panic as studies suggest that the chances of incidence of such deaths are only one in lakh, he quips. People who are to undergo strenuous physical exercise can confirm their health status by going through ECG, Echo, and CT angiography, he adds.
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Hyundai Motors told to compensate complainant
Chandigarh, November 11 The forum has asked the company to pay 9 per cent interest on the exchange bonus of Rs 15,000 to the complainant. Satya Middha, the complainant, stated that she had purchased a brand new i10 car on April 3, 2009, with a view to avail the exchange bonus of Rs 15,000 as committed at the time of purchase of the new vehicle. She also sold her old Maruti car. But motor company failed to pay exchange bonus. In its reply, Hyundai Motors claimed that the exchange bonus and other benefits were subject to certain terms and conditions and for getting the same, the complainant had to fulfil all required terms and conditions of the scheme. The claim of the complainant for exchange bonus was rejected as she transferred her old car after more than 125 days of the purchase, which was beyond the stipulated time period as per exchange claim policy. All other material contentions of the complaint were controverted. Meanwhile, Charisma Goldwheels in their separate written reply pleaded that the scheme in question of offering an exchange bonus, on the purchase of a brand new Hyundai vehicle, was a creation of the manufacturer. They pleaded that he had no direct or indirect role in the scheme. Pronouncing the orders, the forum stated that in the present case the payment of Rs 15,000 as exchange bonus was made on October 13, 2010, and that, too, during the pendency of the present complaint when the case was fixed for arguments, which clearly indicated that the amount was retained by the respondents unnecessarily and no interest as damages had been paid. It appears that the respondents came into action only after filing the present complaint by the complainant when they realised that they were at fault. The forum directed the respondents to pay 9 per cent interest on the exchange bonus of Rs 15,000. The respondents were also directed to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000, along with litigation costs of Rs 2,500, for adopting unfair trade practices and unnecessarily delaying the payment of the exchange bonus and causing mental and physical harassment to the complainant.
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Chandigarh-Mumbai flight late by 5 hours
Chandigarh, November 11 The flight, which was scheduled to leave at 11:30 am, took off at 4.30 pm due to late arrival of a flight from Mumbai. Officials were reluctant to give reason behind the late arrival of the flight. They maintained that there was some “technical” fault. A fuming passenger said despite several requests, the officials did not tell them the reason behind the delay. “We were told every half-an-hour that the flight would leave soon, but the plane took off only after five hours.” Another passenger claimed that he had to attend an important meeting in Mumbai this evening, but he could not make it. — TNS
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‘Ek Mamuli Aadmi’ staged to perfection
Chandigarh, November 11 The play written by noted playwright Ashok Lal focused on the growing corruption menace, illustrated in a novel and convincing manner under the direction of acclaimed director-actor Sudesh Sharma. The play structured in the office of municipal administration depicted the unethical approach of some religious patriarchs, land grabbers and corrupt officials engaged in diverting allotted project of a park and public utilities for poor colony dwellers. One such noble soul, Ishwar Chand Awasthy, however, gathered a volcanic courage to stall their ill designed motifs. The play brought alive the internal conflict and external pressure on the mind of Awasthy, the protagonist, brilliantly portrayed by KK Doda, a retired session judge. The play opened up with Mukesh Sharma and Vineet, providing a good start, which lost pace only to bounce back later. Besides Harvinder Saini, Mukesh Sharma, Madhubala, Titikshu Mahajan and others justified their roles. The sets work symbolic and functional, while music and chiaroscuro effects augmented the production level. Earlier academy chairperson Kamal Tewari welcomed the chief guest, Dr Surinder Sharma, a noted film actor, and Ashok Lal, the playwright.
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Businessman taken for a ride
Chandigarh, November 11 Gill, who had bought a bike, Fatboy, from the company’s dealership here in August, is regretting investing a huge sum of Rs 19 lakh on the bike, which has been lying with the dealer for a month for want of repair. The parts that need to be changed will arrive here from the US only by December. “My bike was hit by a speeding car last month. When the accident happened, my bike was not registered with the transport authority here, as the company did not have the permission from the State Transport Authority, Chandigarh, to get these super bikes registered. As a result, I could not get any insurance claim,” he rues. Gill then approached the dealer, Tricity Motorcycles Pvt Ltd, who promised to get the bike repaired at the company’s cost. — TNS
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Chandigarh, November 11 Finding no more space for patients at its overcrowded emergency ward, the hospital has been compelled to convert its waiting hall into a ward for dengue patients. The emergency ward at the PGI, with a capacity of 100 beds, accommodates over 300 patients on any given day. At any given time, at least 40 patients are on respiratory support in the hospital. — TNS
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5 houses razed
Mohali, November 11 Balwinder Singh, additional chief administrator, GMADA, said on receiving complaints that plots were being carved in near Daun. The enforcement staff removed the foundation of at least five houses and pulled down the boundary wall of another two houses.
— TNS
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Violence in PU
Chandigarh, November 11 Tragically, all these incidents took place in thickly populated areas on the campus and resulted in serious injuries to students, police personnel and even to senior university officials, who were on election duty. Lofty claims of the 21-member high power committee formed by the Vice-Chancellor in April this year, whose members claimed that violence on PU campus is on a decline, appear a mockery of the present situation. To further aggravate the problem, the unending rivalry between major student organisations - Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Student Union (PUSU) - has become worse in the recent past, which is also evident from the frequent violent encounters between members of the two lobbies. The first major incident of violence in the recent past occurred just before the election of the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) on September 2. High drama prevailed outside the boys’ hostel 3 on the PU campus, in which nearly 350 supporters of both SOPU and PUSU entered into a heated argument followed by a brawl. Supporters of both lobbies, which allegedly included bodybuilders and wrestlers from Ludhiana, Bathinda and Patiala, who had sneaked into the campus, were spotted ripping off each other’s shirts and challenged the police to get out of their way. They raised slogans against the police and criticised their role in the situation. The second major incident took place on the day of the student council poll, when the members of rival student organisations attacked each other. In yet another terrifying incident on the same day, student leaders hurled chairs at poll officials at the student centre when the election process of executive members of the student council was in progress. The most recent incident took place two days back, which was an outcome of an internal rift between PUSU leaders. Two students of the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) were even spotted holding swords and throwing glass bottles at each other in the CCTV footage. The bone of contention between the two lobbies was the nomination of new president of PUSU.
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Pvt Schools
Chandigarh, November 11 Expressing surprise over the education department’s silence over the rationalisation of school fee, he added, “If a parent can shell out Rs 3,000 per month as school fee, why does he have any problem paying Rs 300 for prospectus? If the department is really worried about their welfare, then they should try and cut exorbitant fee being charged by certain schools.” Reacting to the UT education department’s orders asking schools to reserve 25 per cent of seats for the economically weaker students (EWS) under the Right to Education, private schools though have expressed their willingness, but want a clear cut idea about the amount to be paid in lieu of it. “The seats cannot be given out on government school rates because we need money to pay our staff and maintain infrastructure. If we suffer loss for 25 seats, then we will be forced to hike fee of other students, which will be against the Supreme Court’s directive, stating no child will pay for other’s education. The department has not devised any guidelines, but are thoughtlessly implementing the act,” said HS Mamik.
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Seminar on old coins begins at Panjab varsity
Chandigarh, November 11 Renowned dignitaries like Professor Hans T Bakker from Groningen, Neitherlands, Ellen M Raven from the University of Leiden, Neitherlands, Dr Robert Bracey from British Museum, London, Sanjeev Kumar from Chicago. Prof JP Singh and Prof PN Singh chairman and secretary of the Numismatic Society of India are participating in the seminar. While Vice-Chancellor Panjab University Prof RC Sobti inaugurated the seminar Prof Ashvini introduced the theme. Several participants presented their papers on history. Dr Ellen M Raven delivered the keynote address on “ Samudragupta’s Asvamedha coins”. Her presentation threw light on the dissimilarities between Asvamedha coins in style, iconography and use of legends. Robert Bracey presented his paper on the “Kushana coins in the Gupta period” while Prof Pratipal Bhatia presented a paper on “ Sassanian contemporaries of Imperial Guptas: A Survey of Sassanian coins from India”. The Numismatic Society of India conferred on her a medal for her exemplary research in the field of numismatics.
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From Schools
CHANDIGARH: On the last day of their visit, the 32-member delegation from Yishun Secondary School, Singapore, visited Bhavan Vidyalaya. The students attended Hindi and history periods, visited school labs and library. During the music and dance class, they had a glimpse of Indian classical music and saw a mesmerising kathak performance. A cultural programme was also organised, especially for them to showcase the Indian culture. Education Day
The National Education Day was celebrated by the students and teachers at GMSSS, Sector 35, on Thursday to celebrate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Union Education Minister of India. Various competitions like paper reading, quiz, etc., were organised. Principal Darshanjit Singh highlighted the achievements of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the modern context. A number of teachers also delivered lectures and highlighted the significance of the National Education Day. Bal Diwas
The primary sections of KV-29, KV-3 BRD and KV-31 celebrated Bal Diwas at the cluster level in memory of the first Prime Minister of India. Students participated in various activities like drawing and painting, slogan writing, KVS logo with slogan, best out of waste, collage making and rangoli. KV-31 principal SK Bhatia spoke about the life of Chacha Nehru and his contribution for the nation, especially his love for children, who were the future of India. The judges admired the skills of little hands in collage making, in which KV-31 bagged all positions. Programme
The Red Ribbon Club of Government Model High School, Sector 36-D, held an AIDS awareness programme. Competitions like poster making, essay writing and paper reading were held to mark the day. Dr Nutan Bhatia, in charge, Government Dispensary, Sector,42, was the chief guest. Bhatia urged students to spread awareness about AIDS.
—TNS
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Fellowship
CHANDIGARH: Dinesh Kumar Bishnoi, assistant professor, department of laws, Panjab University, has been awarded a fellowship by the United Nations to attend the “UN regional course in international law” to be held in Seongnam City, Korea, from November 14 to 27. The course is sponsored by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the budding researchers in the field of international law. The objectives of the regional course are to disseminate the knowledge of international law, international trade law, international human rights law and international refugee law. Panjab University Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti today released “Little Eagle”, the official bi-annual newsletter of the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS). A first of its kind initiative undertaken by the department students has been conceived with both legal and literary objectives with a view to combining the students’ academic and non-academic interests. The Vice-Chancellor also released the placement brochure of UILS, which was handled by Dr Shruti Bedi.
—TNS
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Chandigarh, November 11
Taking a note of the UT education department’s orders of restricting admission form price up to a maximum of Rs 100, over 50-member schools of the Independent School Association plan to make the nursery registration online and free. “Yes, we are thinking of registering students for nursery classes online and without any cost. The parents interested in getting any other information about the school can buy prospectus. We got a notice from the UT education department yesterday where they talked about rationalisation of the admission process by restricting admission form price at Rs 100,” said HS Mamik, president Independent School Association.