Confiscated sweets being loaded in a truck.  Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Chandigarh, October 12
“Is it a brick or a loaf of bread?” was the question posed by a senior UT official to an employee of a bakery that was housed in dark and dingy rooms of a double-storeyed house in Mani Majra. The loaves, lying on the floor, were being topped with cream to tempt buyers.

As if the shock of seeing products unfit for consumption was not enough, it was equally appalling to see that packets of various powders and food colours had expired. Even the vegetables used for making patties were rotten. The bakery was stinking and the trays and utensils being used to prepare various items were extremely dirty.

“These people are playing with the health of people,” said ML Sharma, UT Additional Deputy Commissioner, who was accompanied by Assistant Commissioner Nidhi Srivastva. Raids were conducted on various bakeries and factories where sweets were being manufactured.

The team confiscated about 15 quintal of raw material, including sweets like “patisa” and “baalushahi”, besides bakery items like pastries, cream rolls, sweet buns, breads, muffins and several kinds of “namkeen” from five units. While four of these units were located in Mani Majra, another one was being run at Bapu Dham near Sector 26. Significantly, these small-time factories and bakeries are catering to most of the eating joints and canteens in the city.

Two trucks were used to take away the food items, which were later destroyed. “Consumption of any single item is enough to make anyone ill,” said a doctor, who was present at the site during the raid.

“It seems that the utensils and baking trays were never washed,” said another member of the team. The food items were scattered on filthy floors and the walls had algae growth.

“I will never eat any bakery item or sweet after seeing the condition of these units. I used to read such stories in the media, but today I have seen it with my own eyes,” said a passerby who stopped to witness the ongoing raid at Mani Majra.

Sharma said challans would be issued to the owners of these units. “Though we have destroyed the confiscated material, we will visit the sites again to check the proceedings,” he said.

Chandigarh, October 12
After more than two years, the UT administration has imposed rotational power cuts in the city till further orders. Against a requirement of approximately 240 MW, the UT is getting only 185 MW at the moment.

Confirming the development, VK Singh, Finance Secretary, said the cuts had been imposed for an indefinite period. An official communication from the administration said “overdrawal from the grid had led to failure of the grid system”.

The entitlement of power to the UT has been decreased between 8 am and 7 pm. A senior officer said widespread power utilisation, particularly for air-conditioners, was one of the biggest reasons for tripping.

Chandigarh, October 12
A day after two incidents in which passersby tried in vain to connect ‘100’ from their cellphones on seeing a pedestrian and a motorcyclist bleeding to death following an accident in Lalru and Chandigarh, respectively, the BSNL today restored services of the police, fire and ambulance emergency numbers ‘100’, ‘101’ and ‘102’ with private cell operators Vodafone, Airtel and Idea.

The BSNL had earlier severed connectivity owing to non-payment of revised carriage charges by private service operators resulting in public harassment as they were unable to dial emergency numbers from their mobiles.

UT DSP (PCR) Roshan Lal said keeping in view the interest of the public regarding non-connectivity of calls from phone numbers other than the BSNL to the Police Control Room on BSNL numbers, efforts were made and BSNL general manager has assured the restoration of the services of from Vodafone, Idea and Airtel on police, fire and ambulance emergency numbers. Efforts were being made to get assurances from Vodafone, Airtel and Idea for connectivity to these numbers. Reliance and Tata had already assured the services, he said.

Passersby had tried in vain to contact ‘100’ from their cellphones on seeing a 23-year-old motorcyclist lying in a pool of blood after colliding with an SUV at the railway lights in Chandigarh and on seeing a pedestrian lying in a pool of blood after being run over by a vehicle on the Lalru flyover.

Chandigarh, October 12
Two new cases of dengue were reported in the city today, taking the total number of people affected by the disease to 18. As per data collected by the UT health department, the two patients, both men, are from the Hallomajra area.

The UT malaria officer, Dr G Verma, said: “A total number of 18 cases have been reported since September 22. We have taken adequate preventive measures.”

Officials from the health department say that even though the number of cases has increased during the past two weeks, the situation is not alarming. “These 18 cases were reported only from the last week of September and are much lower than the 54 cases reported during the corresponding period last year,” he said, adding that they were making efforts to spread awareness among residents to control the spread of the disease.

The first case was reported in the tricity on September 25, when a 35-year-old Panchkula resident was hospitalised at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). A doctor from the GMCH and two resident doctors from the PGI have also been inflicted with the disease.

Chandigarh, October 12
Have you ever imagined what life would be living next to 350 tonnes of garbage? If not, ask residents of Dadu Majra who have been living for the past several years right next to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation’s garbage processing plant.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that life is nothing short of hell for these residents who have to continuously bear the nauseating stench emanating from the garbage dumping ground and suffer the ailments arising from inhaling the polluted air. With almost each house in the vicinity of the plant having one or more persons suffering from either skin or respiratory problem, one cannot avoid questioning the wisdom of those at the helm in setting up a garbage plant next to a rehabilitation colony or vice versa.

An anganwadi teacher, Meenakshi, said: “The stench is a big problem here. Twenty-five children attend the anganwadi and breathe the polluted air. “It’s difficult to stay here for four hours from 8 am to 12 noon. During rain water enters our room along with the garbage making it nothing less than a hell. See it to believe it.”

Each family had an individual tale of woe to narrate. Even doctors at the local dispensary reveal that they get at least 10 to 12 patients everyday with complaints of respiratory disorders. Dr Rishi of the Dadu Majra dispensary admitted that a large number of people visit the dispensary with respiratory disorders everyday. He, however, claimed that he had nothing to prove that they were due to the garbage disposal plant. “Most of the patients are children as they easily catch infection,” said Dr Rishi, adding that there were several cases of allergy and skin infection also.

Madan Lal, a ward committee member, claimed that every second family in the area had a person suffering from respiratory problem. He also challenged the administration to conduct a survey to prove otherwise.

Former Mayor and a strong opponent of the Jaypee’s garbage processing plant, Kamlesh, who is also the area councillor, said the garbage plant has endangered the lives of area residents. The authorities are not playing heed to the ill-effects of harmful gases, dioxins and furans. “I have been warning the authorities, but nothing is being done,” she said.

Talking to The Tribune, a spokesperson for the plant management said the sources of “dioxins and furans’ is not only the municipal waste. He said the emission could be from the incineration of clinical waste, electric furnaces, industrial combustion and power stations too.”

Chandigarh, October 12
Chandigarh’s rendezvous with foul smell emanating from the garbage processing plant at Dadu Majra doesn’t seem to end in the near future.

Capturing the reality, Charanjit Singh, a 25-year-old milkman of Dhanas, said: “I remember the nauseating smell in my surroundings ever since I was a toddler. I was pleasantly uncomfortable in the clean air at my relative’s village in Gurdaspur where I spent a night there recently.

Affected areas Dadu Majra Dadu Majra Colony Dhanas Sectors 37, 38, 39 and 38 (West)

While politicians and bureaucrats play the blame game, residents in the vicinity of the garbage plant are hit hard. Besides, thousands of people who will be shifting in the new housing projects of the area will have to cope with the foul smell and health problems.

“Politicians are more concerned about scoring browny points than taking care of real issues affecting the health of residents. Passing through the area is a nightmare and it is surprising that how politicians and bureaucrats are trying to push the issue under the carpet,” alleged Anup Sharma, a resident of Sector 38 (West).

A large of number of people are expected to reside and do business in the vicinity of the plant in the years to come. The UT Administration had already built hundreds of tenements with a view to rehabilitate the slum dwellers at Dhanas. Besides, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has ambitious plans to come with multi-storeyed housing schemes in Dhanas and Maloya near the plant.

To top it all, the nearby area in Punjab -- rechristened as New Chandigarh by the Punjab Government - is bursting at seams with the entry of big realtors. While the state government-controlled GMADA had already floated the Ecocity housing project, reality major DLF is planning a mega housing project adjoining Sector 38 (West) in Punjab.

The plant is already surrounded by thickly-populated areas like Dadu Majra, Dadu Majra Colony, Dhanas, Sectors 37, 38, 39 and Sector 38 (West).

What has irked the residents is the fact that the elected representatives, including the MC councillors and local MP and Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Bansal and bureaucracy, continue to pass the buck.

The setting up of the plant in the municipal area of Chandigarh which was bound to grow by leaps and bounds in the subsequent years was ill-conceived from the very start. That is perhaps the reasons that the plant had been in controversy since its commissioning by former Punjab Governor and UT Administrator SF Rodrigues on May 21, 2008.

Zirakpur, October 12
Almost a decade after a bus stand for Zirakpur was first announced, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today laid a foundation stone of the bus terminal. Despite the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing orders asking bus drivers to avoid parking vehicles along the highway, the stone was laid. With this the long-pending demand of residents to have a bus terminal in Zirakpur is in the process of being implemented.

Meanwhile, a community health centre in Dhakoli was also inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister. The health centre has a 50-bedded facility and a team of six doctors, along with the SMO, was deployed to cater to the need of thousands of residents.

Once the terminal comes into existence, buses will start plying to Patiala, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh from Zirakpur. As per plan, a three-storey building at a cost of Rs 492. 65 lakh is to be constructed. The entire project may complete within eights months.

Sources said the buses coming from Panchkula and Patiala will take a U-turn from a cut that will be constructed by NHAI soon. However, the buses coming from Chandigarh will get the entry directly and will be allowed to stop for 10 minutes to pick passengers.

The terminal is expected to be constructed with the state-of-art technology and can be safely placed in the category of an ultra-modern bus stand. There is a provision for eight buses to drop and pick the passengers at a time. Parking facility for cars and two-wheelers will be provided to commuters. The complex will also cater to the day-to-day needs of commuters as the first floor will house three commercial shops. For the convenience of commuters, a waiting hall will also be constructed.

“The bus stand will go a long way in not only easing the traffic congestion on the highway passing through Zirakpur, but will also come to the rescue of com\muters travelling between Chandigarh and Zirakpur,” said Mohammad Suhal, a resident of Zirkapur, who runs a shop in Sector 17.

District planning chairman NK Sharma said the pending demand of Zirakpur residents has been fulfilled.

• The police wants to have a share in the Zirakpur bus terminal. It has shot off a communication to the authorities concerned to set up a police post in the terminal. Traffic police has also demanded that its office be set up at the site
• Some residents felt that the proposed bus terminal at Kalka intersection opposite Paras Down Town Square would lead to traffic jams on the highway. They suggested that the bus terminal should be constructed on the outskirts

Chandigarh, October 12
Known as a transit point between Delhi and Chandigarh, Ambala will soon be known as a tourist destination. The town will shortly start wooing domestic and international tourists.

A team of the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) is ready with a blueprint of various historical places that have potential to be developed as tourist destinations. The project has been granted to the CCA by the tourism department.

A team comprising college students and faculty conducted a survey across the district and prepare a list of various interesting places in and around the town with historical relevance that have the potential to attract tourists.

Prof Sohan Lal of the CCA, who is chief coordinator for the project, has said they have approached the CCA to conduct a survey in the area to identify buildings with historical value.

”We have identified three temples, the Ambika Devi temple, the Pracheen Shiv temple and the Hanuman temple, along with three gurdwaras, in and around the city,” he has said.

The CCA team has pointed out that St Paul’s church and an old graveyard, with graves of Britishers, can be developed as a spot to attract foreign tourists.

The report prepared by the CCA team also mentions a private fort on the Naraingarh-Ambala road, that can be publicised to attract tourists.

“This church was consecrated in January 1857, but was destroyed during the Indo-Pak war in 1965. One can only see remnants of the church tower. There is an old graveyard near it, that can be developed as a tourist spot,” he says.

The students have also explored colonial architecture in the town. Prof Lal has said they have mentioned Ambala’s glorious past in football, which needs to be revived to bring the town on the international map.

The game seems to have vanished from Ambala, once considered home to one of the best teams in the country, over the years, he has added. The college is in the process of compiling the report and will make a presentation to the tourism department soon.

Panchkula, October 12
In an investigation into the kidnapping of Panchkula-based realtor Deepak Rai Sagar, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought details of all his ‘meetings’ on the day of his disappearance (June 1, 2009) from his family members. The CBI has also demanded details regarding his future appointments with other realtors, friends and clients.

Sources added that the CBI had told the family members to give all these details in writing. It was on October 5, when on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the CBI had registered a fresh FIR under murder and kidnapping charges.

As the Panchkula police had failed to solve the case, the Sagar family had moved the High Court.

A well-known name in the realty business, 54-year-old Sagar had been 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 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.

Panchkula, October 12
On March 24, 2008, when former senior IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma was awarded life imprisonment in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, there was complete silence in house number 19, Gobind Niwas, Sector 6, and nobody was ready to face the media-neither the family member nor the neighbours, but today on October 12, 2011, as the Delhi High Court acquitted him, the story took a new turn. This time, neighbours of former senior IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma were happily interacting with mediapersons. They said, “Justice has been done.” Besides, one of the neighbours even threw a tea party for journalists gathered outside Sharma’s house.

The family members of Ravi Kant Sharma were not in Panchkula and had left for New Delhi for the judgement.

Ramesh Sharma, a relative of RK Sharma, said Ravi Kant Sharma and his family members were running from pillar to post seeking justice.

Terming RK Sharma as his elder brother, Ramesh Sharma said he had firm belief that ‘big brother’ would come out clean. Regarding any jubilation, he said they would discuss the matter only when Sharma and his wife Madhu and daughters would return from New Delhi.

Echoing a similar view, neighbour VK Sood, former Panchkula MC councillor, said he was also happy with the verdict. Sood also arranged a ‘tea party’ for journalists.

•  One of the daughters of Ravi Kant Sharma said over phone that ‘mother is happy’. The person who answered the call said she was Sharma’s daughter and did not divulge details 

Chandigarh, October 12
If allegations in an application filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the UT Administration are to be believed, the post of designated officer under the Food Safety and Standard Act is being is occupied against rules by a deputationist.

In his application, food safety officer Sukhwinder Singh has submitted: “Presently, the post of designated officer is being occupied by a deputationist, in addition to his own duties. He is on deputation for medical services as SMO from Haryana whereas, as per the Act and rules, a whole-time officer is required to be appointed designated officer for performing duties under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, and the rules framed thereunder in 2011.”

The applicant has also sought directions to the Administration and other respondents to consider his case for appointment as or promotion to designated officer.

Going into the background, the applicant has said the Director Health Services, vide a memo, sent a proposal to the UT Administrator for implementing the 2006 Act strictly, as envisaged under the law.

It has been stated in the proposal that the Chandigarh Administration “shall appoint designated officer as per the Act of 2006, and he shall be a whole-time officer, not below the rank of subdivisional officer.”

The applicant has added he has submitted a representation to the UT Administration on May 11 followed by reminders dated July 18 and August 18, but without any response.

Chandigarh, October 12
Claiming to be irate over ever-deteriorating condition of hostel mess food, the Panjab University Student Council has decided to step in by arranging cooperative mess system for a few hostels with the help of students from departments like hotel management.

The council, which claims to have been getting repeated complaints from a couple of hostels, has decided to take things in its hands now.

“If you go by the initial contracts of these mess contractors, it is quite evident that PU specifically asks them to use quality stuff and provide better food but many of them consistently deteriorate the quality and even misbehave with students. Whenever we try to reason with them, they threat to quit. We are planning to now take students into confidence and work out cooperative mess system wherever possible. We will be including students from courses like hotel management to give them hands-on training,” said council president Pushpinder Sharma.

The Panjab University mess workers have proposed to hike diet charges in lieu of the increasing prices, while the council is yet to decide on it.

The Student Federation of India (SFI) has opposed hike in mess charges. “We would rather go hungry instead of accepting increase in the food charges. In 2009, charges from Rs 18 were increased to Rs 20 and last year, it was once again enhanced to Rs 22. If the university wishes some solution to the rising prices of food items in the market, the authorities should make a committee and visit various universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) and collect relevant information as to how to regulate food prices in the hostels. There could be a centralised system whereby PU could buy subsidised food from PDS shops or otherwise ensure food subsidy,” said Loveneet Thakur, SFI president.

Mohali, October 12
As many as 285 students from 20 colleges participated in the Zonal Youth Festival (Ropar zone) held at the Rayat and Bahra College of Education today. The first day of the festival started with giddha followed by classical dance, folk orchestra, rangoli, on-the-spot painting, geet/ghazal, group song, clay modelling competitions, etc. Dr Jamshed Ali Khan, dean, College Development Council, Punjabi University, Patiala, inaugurated the youth fest.

In giddha, the Rayat and Bahra College of Education won the first prize, Government College, Mohali, won the second position, while third and fourth positions were bagged by Shivalik College of Education and GTB Khalsa College, respectively. Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College won first prize in group shabad, Rayat and Bahra College of Education won the second prize, while a tie for the third position was shared by Government College, Ropar, and Government College, Mohali. The fourth position was won by the Sant Baba Sewa Singh Khalsa College For Women.

In the classical vocal competition, Rayat and Bahra College of Education won the first prize, Government College, Mohali, bagged the second position, Government College, Ropar, won third prize and Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College bagged the fourth position.