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Mayoral election DC dismisses Kang’s plea against result Aarti Kapur Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5 The 74-page order, upholding the election of Mayor Ravinder Pal Singh Palli, asserted that the allegations levelled by Kang regarding irregularities in the election process on January 1 lacked evidence. Kang was not taking his ‘defeat’ lying down. “After examining the legalities of the order, I will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” he said. The petition, supported by the BJP and the SAD, alleged that Congress councillors were asked by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal to take photographs of ballot papers after casting their vote in favour of the Congress candidate. This was not supported by the evidence provided, the order said. In fact, the photographs of the ballot papers tabled in the court of the DC by Satya Pal Jain, counsel for Kang, was not taken up as evidence on the grounds that there was no proof as to who clicked these photographs. As a result, there was no evidence which could prove that any councillor had clicked a photograph of the ballot paper through mobile phone. After examining the records of the election meeting held on January 1, which was presided over by nominated councillor Brig KS Chandpuri (retd), and hearing the statement of the witness, the decision was given by the DC. After his defeat by one vote, Brigadier Kang had claimed that Chandpuri asked the councillors not to take their mobile phones inside the chamber of the House while voting. The presiding officer’s order was allegedly violated by Bansal. Kang had alleged that the secrecy of the ballot was breached by Bansal with ulterior motives. Bansal had then said, “Nobody can stop me from taking my mobile phone inside the polling booth. I will take my mobile phone with me. You do whatever you want to do”. Thinnest margin Independent candidate Kang filed the petition against the election result in the court of the DC on January 6. In the election held on January 1, Palli was declared winner by polling 17 votes, against 16 by Kang.
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Five dengue cases confirmed in city
Chandigarh, October 5 While the PGI authorities have confirmed six cases, the department, which is recording the cases, has said there are only five positive dengue cases. As per data collected by the department, one of the five patients who tested positive at the PGI was a lady doctor from the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, residing in Sector 16. Others were a 49-year-old man from Sector 20, a 27-year-old man from Sector 52, a 22-year-old woman from Mauli Jagran and a 27-year-old man from Sarangpur, near Dhanas. All of them had recovered and were discharged from the PGI, said Dr G Verma, acting malaria officer. He said a one-and-a-half-year-old male infant from
Colony Number 4 was reported with symptoms of dengue at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 today, adding that a sample was sent to the PGI for testing. “We have taken requisite action in the sectors affected and are educating people of nearby areas. Fogging has also been conducted,” he said.
Dreaded disease
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Two more held for ruckus at Tao
Chandigarh, October 5 A student of the Chandigarh College of Engineering at Landran, near here, Jeevanjot had been booked in a similar case in the past. He was produced in court, which remanded him to two-day police custody.
“Jeevanjot was involved in the firing incident at Mohali in October the previous year. He had launched a similar attack there and created a ruckus. Efforts are on to arrest the other accused, who have been identified,” he said. Amandeep Gill and 14 of his accomplices had launched an attack at the Tao discotheque after they were asked to leave the venue at 11:20 pm as two girls complained of misbehaviour. They returned at 2:37 am with swords and baseball bats and went on a rampage. They injured four persons, including Sohail Goyal, son of an industrialist, who received serious injuries.
Insecure
Senior functionaries of Chandigarh trade and civil society organisations today called on SSP Naunihal Singh and expressed their concern and anguish over certain incidents of lawlessness in the city in the recent past. In a memorandum to him, they stated that these incidents had created a sense of insecurity among the people in general and the trading community and the hospitality industry in particular. The SSP apprised them of the efforts being undertaken by the police to curb these
incidents.
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CBI registers FIR in Sagar
case
Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5 As the Panchkula police had failed to solve the case, the Sagar family had moved the High Court. Confirming the development, DIG (CBI) Mahesh Aggarwal said they registered a case today. He further said they initially registered an FIR under the sections under which the Panchkula police had registered the case. A well-known name in the realty business, 54-year-old Sagar was missing since June 1, 2009. He was in his black Skoda car at the time of his disappearance. Sagar went in his car from his office at Sector 11 to meet his friend Vinay at Maheshpur village in Panchkula that day. Vinay had told the cops that Sagar reached his house around 7:15 pm. He reportedly stayed there till 9 pm. After that, he went towards his house at Kendriya Vihar in Sector 14, Panchkula, but did not reach there. The Panchkula police had initially taken intensive measures to trace the businessman and had even announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for anybody providing information about his whereabouts. The Panchkula police had conducted a lie-detector test on four suspects, but failed to get anything substantial to crack the case.
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Chandigarh:
Panchkula:
Mohali:
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Encroachment in city Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5 The list of officials, at the field level, responsible for taking action against encroachers, will be supplied by each department by name and designation to the SDM. Criminal cases will be registered against officials supervising the area if anyone attempts to encroach upon the same area that has been freed from encroachment by the department earlier. All departments have been asked to prepare a detailed report about the land under their jurisdiction and the status of the encroached and vacant land in the city. The UT Adviser also instructed all departments to remove encroachment by those who do not figure in the biometric survey at colony Nos. 4, 5, Mauli Jagran and Khajeri. He said the estate office should take action against marble sellers who have mushroomed in the city. MC Additional Commissioner Lalit Siwach has been directed to cleared pocket No. 8 in Mani Majra of encroachment. The pocket had earlier been freed of encroachment by the authorities. Taking a serious note of encroachment in the city, the UT Adviser asked the departments to hire a security agency to keep a vigil on the vacated land if they did not have the requisite manpower. The district magistrate or the SDM will act as the nodal coordinating officer who will hold regular review meetings with officers concerned of different departments to monitor the progress and problems in removing encroachment.
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Halfway home loses its way
Chandigarh, October 5 “Far from being able to provide residential facility, it is not even equipped with providing adequate daycare facility to the mentally ill.” Jain, in his report, has gone on to add: “There is no segregation of facilities for the mentally retarded/challenged and mentally ill persons. “Given the fact that the mentally ill persons at times become violent and difficult to handle, it is advisable to keep them separate from the mentally challenged persons.” Jain has suggested: “A comprehensive plan with definite agenda has to be in place to address the issues of both the mentally challenged and the mentally ill persons, particularly those who have no social support.” In response to the High Court directions, a detailed report on the status of the shelter home for the mentally ill has already been submitted by a local commissioner. In his report, lawyer Gaganpreet Singh, appointed as the local commissioner by the High Court, asserted that a separate building for the mentally ill was not found during his visit to the Ashreya in Sector 47 on December 22 last year. They were allowed to stay in two rooms in the designated building for seven hours during daytime. The conversion of the halfway home — centre for rehabilitation of mentally-challenged persons — into Ashreya by the UT administration was initially brought to the High Court’s notice by the parents and guardians of some mentally-ill children. They were demanding the halfway home to be provided with residential facility and retaining its original purpose of serving only the mentally-ill. Facility ‘ill-equipped’ Far from being able to provide residential facility, it is not even equipped with providing adequate daycare facility to the mentally ill. There is no segregation of facilities for the mentally retarded/challenged and mentally ill persons. — Jagdeep Jain, member secretary, UT State Legal Services Authority
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Study suggests self-contained organisation to counter terror
Chandigarh, October 5 The proposed organisation will function under the Prime Minister’s Office or the Ministry of Home Affairs and will have various agencies concerning intelligence, enforcement, combat forces, law, immigration, population monitoring, logistics and cyber cell interlinked with it laterally as well as vertically. The recommendation is based on the proceedings of a syndicate held on homeland security in the wake of the recent bomb blasts in Delhi, which was attended by security experts as well as defence officers. During the syndicate it was brought out that the investigation into terrorist-related incidents has shifted from ground level agencies to the newly-formed National Investigation Agency (NIA). The role of the NIA leaves much to be desired as it is designed and chartered only to conduct investigations post-incident, which is reactive. Experts were of the opinion that the role and mandate of the NIA needed to be broadened. Meting out step-motherly treatment and slap-stopping state agencies and police forces might leave gaps in investigations, they said. While pointing out that the process of prosecution was tardy and it often did not reach its logical conclusion, the study recommended establishment of a dedicated, self-contained and proactive agency to control and prevent re-occurrence as well as setting up fast-track courts and meting out exemplary punishment to those convicted of terrorist activities.
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HC clerical staff may get pay scale boost
Chandigarh, October 5 The assertion came this morning during the hearing of a contempt petition against Secretary, Union Ministry of Law and Justice, Neela Gangadharan. The contempt petition was filed by the high court employees alleging non-compliance of the judgment dated February 10 by Justice Surya Kant. Directions were issued to the Union of India to consider the recommendations made by the three-judge committee on the issue of upgradation of pay scales. The petitioners had contended that recommendations had been accorded approval by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. For the purpose, a deadline of four months from the date receiving a certified copy of the order was fixed. The three-judge committee had recommended: “The existing unrevised pay scale of Rs 5,000-8,100 be granted to the clerks of this court with effect from April 1, 2003, to bring the clerical cadre of the court on a par with that of the subordinate courts, followed by subsequent revision in pay scales undertaken from time to….” Jain apprised the court that as per the order, a decision had already been taken to grant the upgradation of pay scales to the clerical cadre. As such, the order stood complied with. Referring to the second recommendation on the additional pay at the rate of 20 per cent to other employees of the high court, Jain argued the matter was being discussed. It was under consideration of the Department of Justice and Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. It was also made clear that the Department of Justice could take a stand only in concurrence with the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. After hearing the arguments, the Bench has given the Union of India time till January 13 next to pass an appropriate order.
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Sector 68 — The darker side of Mohali
Mohali, October 5 Right next to the ultra-modern five oval-shaped towers of Punjab Forest Complex, stray cattle rummaging through heaps of garbage and debris scattered around present an ugly picture of the area. Ask the residents living in the row of houses starting from house number 1,007 to 1,022 ( facing Kumbhra village) and they will tell the manner in which the green belt in front of houses is used to dump cow dung. Wild growth dot open spaces and green belts in the sector. Gurbachan Singh, a resident of the United Cooperative House Building Society, said there was no market or banks in the sector that housed Army Law College, Puncham Society, United Cooperative House Building Society, office of the Mohali municipal corporation and GMADA allotted houses. Piggeries, which are being run by some inhabitants of Kumbhra village, have become a bane of the sector. Pigs roam around in the residential area and one can see garbage strewn around. Balwinder Singh, who lives in the sector, lamented that the entrance to the sector was full of potholes. Since the sector is being looked after by GMADA, residents find it difficult to lodge their complaints regarding water, sewerage and roads. Gurmail Singh, another resident, said the green belt adjoining the houses of some police officials had been encroached upon by security personnel. Speaking out
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Nari Niketan inmate weds
The department of social welfare, Chandigarh Administration, on Wednesday solemnised the marriage of an inmate of Nari Niketan, Vanita. She was married to Joginder Lal Sharma, a manager in a dairy firm and a resident of Berwali village in Panchkula district. The marriage was solemnised at the Arya Samaj Mandir, Sector 7, with the support of
NGOs. An amount of Rs 10,000, besides domestic items was also gifted to the couple. ‘Sashakt’ on October 29
The Rotaract Chandigarh Midtown will organise a youth empowerment event, “Sashakt - Unleash the power within you” on October 29 here. The youth icon and first woman IPS officer, Kiran Bedi will be the chief guest. Besides, Nitin Gupta, a guest speaker at E-Cell Platforms and Marketing Conclaves, and Simerjeet Singh, one of the most sought-after motivational speakers of India, will be other speakers at the event. The interactive seminar will provide the youth an opportunity to interact with their idols and help them achieve success, according to a press note. Mobile scheme
Telecom major, Aircel, on Wednesday initiated a 10-day promotional offer starting from Dasehra, which enables customers to avail more than full talk time. Recharge with Rs 105 will fetch more than full talk time worth Rs
125. Mohali scan Traffic awareness The Khalsa College (Amritsar) of Technology and Business Studies, Phase III, organised a seminar on road safety on Tuesday. Amrit Singh, DSP (Traffic), who was the chief guest, gave tips on road safety. Dasehra function Golden Bells Public School, Sector 77, Mohali, celebrated Dasehra with great vigour today. Students made an effigy of Ravana of waste materials. To control global warming, the effigy was not set on fire.School chairman, Col CS Bawa (retd), wished children and staff members a joyous Dasehra and encouraged them to follow the path of righteousness. Sweets’ range On the onset of festival season, Milkfed Punjab introduced a new range of sweets, including kaju pinni, panjiri, milk cake, dhodha, soan papdi, peda, mah daal pinni and mixed sweets. A spokesman of Milkfed said the sweets were made of desi ghee. — Tribune Reporters
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Mansa Devi receives Rs 87.89 lakh as
donations
Panchkula, October 5 Contributed towards maintaining the sepulcher, the offerings, this year, too, have come in form of gold and silver articles. The board received at least 78 gold and 994 silver articles. The correct value is yet to be established. The temple has also received contribution in different foreign currency, mainly dollars and pounds. The board has received as many as 101 American dollars, 20 New Zealand dollars, 100 Australian dollars, 90 Canadian dollars and 40 British pounds. The source for the temple offerings was more than five lakh devotees who paid obeisance this year. DP Dattana, chief executive officer (CEO) of Mata Mansa Devi shrine board, said they had also started an online donation facility and were hoping that it would be a hit among devotees. He added that they gave donations in form of foreign currencies to banks and converted them in Indian currency. Sprawling over 100 acres, Mansa Devi temple is one of the oldest and famous shrines of Northern India. The shrine located on the foothills of Shivalik is an epitome of age-old tradition of ‘Shakti’ worship. The main temple was established in 1815 A.D. The temple witnesses heavy rush during the Navratras in the month of March and September/October every year as lakhs of devotees from across the northern part of country throng the temple to pay obeisance.
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Paddy arrival brings misery for
residents
Panchkula, October 5 “The arrival of the crop always leads to chaos,” said Vikas Bindal, who resides opposite the grain market. Since evening, farmers have been unloading their produce. The driers placed by them have resulted in clouds of dust in the area,” he added. “As soon as the arrival of crop starts in the market, residents are forced to keep their windows shut as there is dust all over the area which makes the life of residents, especially the elderly, miserable,” said Nancy, another resident of the area. Executive officer-cum-secretary of the Market Committee Suman Lata, when contacted, said she was aware of the problem.
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Pandemonium as 24 Duronto passengers denied tickets
Sanjay Bumbroo Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5 Some aggrieved passengers raised slogans against the railway authorities when they boarded the train without tickets and were asked to shell out Rs 417, including penalty charges, against the normal fare of Rs 157. According to sources, the pandemonium continued even at the Sirhind railway station as the passengers refused to pay the fine. They demanded the charging of the normal fare as the fault lay with the railway authorities for not making special arrangements at Chandigarh. After the current ticket booking window closed at 6.45 pm, some passengers managed to board the train, while others had to rush to the Sector-43 bus station to take the bus for Amritsar. The pandemonium continued till the Sirhind railway station as the passengers refused to pay the penal charges citing it as the deficiency in service on the part of the railway authorities. A passenger, Sukhjit Singh, said he had arrived at the station at 5 pm and after waiting for two hours in a queue, failed to get the ticket as the current reservation booking was closed. He said he had to board the train after being advised by the railway authorities to do so. He said as it had already got dark, he preferred to catch the train to reach his home in time. Station Superintendent Parveen Kumar said they were simply abiding by the rules. He said the current booking window opened 15 minutes after the closure of the current reservation window at 5.30 pm as per the rules. The sources said only 53 tickets were booked at the current booking window against the normal booking of 80 to 90 seats. The sources added that even the authorities of the IRCTC had suggested that an extra counter be opened at the station as passengers were facing problems in filling the reservation form.
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Robin Hood brought alive
Chandigarh, October 5 The sleek performance portrayed and justified the divergent manifestation of his persona, brutal to mighty corrupt effluents and kind to the poor and honest people of Nottingham through vibrant dramatic spells. It was, too, difficult for the students of Class V of YPS to grasp and enact the famous fable, but with the directorial intervention of the sensitive director, Zubin Mehta, all 120 actors spelt magic. Zubin made certain aberration to the story to enable his actors to emulate the original characters with immaculate ease. While Rehan as Robin Hood was natural, the role of Little John, the merry, was portrayed by energetic Chitranshu. Gurjaipal (King John) and Guneev (Queen), Aaliya as Marian and Angad Mangat as shrewd sheriff of Nottingham. The props and sets created by teachers were well in sync with the requirements and ambience of the play. The accompanying live music and songs scored by the school’s music teachers filled the hearts of all in the audience. The beautifully choreographed dances made the production most entertaining. Principal Janajit Ray congratulated the students of Class V, their teachers and director for putting up a remarkable show. The junior wing of the school will be closed on October 7.
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Making of Ravana with discarded material
Chandigarh, October 5 Students of Strawberry Fields Kindergarten and World School helped create a 15-foot grand edifice of Ravana with recycled materials. It was burst into flames amidst cheering and bonhomie, signaling a new dawn of hope, positive cheer and noble deeds. The 10-headed Ravana was made with children bringing waste, discarded materials and used paper. Under the guidance of their art teacher Aveena Sekhon, they inputted on the Ravana creation exercise with much excitement. “Seeing the structure grow, acquire a new face, hands, eyes and head was fascinating,” said one of the children. “We did not want Ravana to look intimidating, evil or unfriendly. We wanted him to look intelligent, maybe cunning, but not evil,” said Dina Singh, school coordinator. Seeing the carefully-made Ravana over days of meticulous detailing and see it go up in flames was a bit disappointing, but then the students know that is essential for good energies to come back. According to school director Atul Khanna, “Children at Strawberry Fields want to experience the merits of being austere and of ensuring that they somehow bring into their fold of celebrations at least one child from an economically underprivileged home.” Plenary talk The key highlight of the seminar was Prof Annie Montaut from France, an expert in Hindi, who gave a plenary talk on the use of “to” in Hindi. Her paper left audience enthralled, as it was with a lot of quotations from the day-to-day Hindi conversation.
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Safai sewaks block national highway
Mohali, October 5 The protesters raised slogans and demanded that the decision should be revoked as it would adversely affect the livelihood of persons who were already doing the work of garbage collection. They then marched to Phase I and sat on a dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner and presented a memorandum in connection with their demands. The protesters said the council had decided to give the work of door-to-door garbage collection to a Mumbai-based company which would adversely affect the safai sewaks who were already on the job as they would lose their livelihood. The contract system had only led to the exploitation of employees and should be discouraged, they added. Varun Roojam, Deputy Commissioner, said the memorandum given by safai sewaks would be presented to Tikshan Sood, minister for local government.
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Missing parcel costs courier firm Rs 2,500
Chandigarh, October 5 Pawan Kumar Goyal, a resident of Sector 45, had booked a parcel with Rana Documents Centre, Sector 45, on the eve of Rakhi, to be received by Madan Lal Aggarwal, a resident of Ludhiana, on behalf of his sister. However, the parcel neither reach the consignee nor was it delivered back to the sender despite the fact that he had mentioned his mobile number on it. He claimed that when he enquired from his sister about the parcel, she had no idea about the same. When he took up the matter with the officials of the booking centre, they did did not show interest in locating the missing parcel. The opposite party refused to accept the notice and the case was proceeded against ex parte.
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Safai karamcharis to go on strike
Ambala, October 4
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Body seeks provision of basic amenities
Zirakpur, October 5 FS Nagra was unanimously elected chief patron of the association. The association members complained that the Zirakpur municipal council had failed to repair roads. They lamented that the state was getting VAT revenue close to Rs 330 crore from companies. FS Nagra, chief patron of the association, stated that the association had made several appeals to the council, but nothing had happened so far. An official of the MC claimed, “The work is likely to start in a week.”
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Head teacher suspended
Mohali, October 5 Varun Roojam, Deputy Commissioner, said the menu for the day was changed without seeking permission. An official of the education department said head teacher of the school Narinder Singh was placed under suspension, while elementary teachers Ravinder Singh and Baljeet Kaur were issued notices. An inquiry was conducted by district manager of midday meal MS Bhalla following which action was taken against the teachers. Seventeen students were taken to the GMSH, Sector 16, Chandigarh. The students were discharged in the evening after their condition improved. — OC
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Suicide victim a PU student
Chandigarh, October 5
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Farmers end protest following assurance by CM’s Adviser
Mohali, October 5 Addressing the protesters, Cheema said Parkash Singh Badal was aware of the problems faced by farmers and always made efforts to give the maximum price for their produce apart from providing other facilities, but the Central government had adopted a biased attitude in this regard. He said genuine demands of farmers would be acceded by the state government. He added that as far as the other demands were concerned, he would meet the Prime Minister and Union Agriculture Minister, along with a high-level delegation of farmers, to urge the government to fulfil their demands.
— OC
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Inspector Sri Prakash, SHO of the Sector-26 police station, said Jeevanjot had a criminal past and an
attempt-to- murder case had been registered against him by the Mohali police the previous
year.
Air Show: An airplane will drop coloured leaflets on public in Sector 46 
Stray cattle menace needs to be checked
GMADA has failed to fumigate the
area
Safai karamcharis do not come regularly to the village and development funds are not being spent
properly
