C H A N D I G A R H   S T O R I E S


TOP STORIES


Two arrested with pistol, weapons
Had ‘plan to attack’ Advani
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
The Chandigarh Police arrested two persons with a US-made pistol, four live cartridges, two swords and a knife (khukari) late on Wednesday night near the Tribune Chowk here.

With senior BJP leader LK Advani in the city for Jan Chetna Yatra since yesterday, there was speculation that the two had a plan to attack Advani, a fact denied by the police.

According to the police, Akram Khan, a resident of Mauli Jagran, and Kavinder Singh, a resident of Sector 17, Panchkula, were arrested on a secret information.

During the frisking of the accused, a 7.65 mm pistol and four live cartridges were recovered from Akram. The knife was recovered from Kavinder. The police said two swords were also recovered from the vehicle bearing registration number HR-51C-6565 in which they were travelling.

Police sources said both persons were arrested following the input of the intelligence wing of the police. Both were questioned throughout the night at the Sector 31 police station. On Thursday morning, senior police officials of the Chandigarh Police also visited the police station in regard with the arrests.

A case under various Sections of the Arms Act was registered against both accused, who were later produced in court and sent to one-day police remand.

SAD (A) workers held

The Chandigarh police also booked 11 workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (A), including its president, Simranjit Singh Mann, under Scetions 107, 151 of the CrPC for protesting against the visit of senior BJP leader LK Advani near Hotel Shivalikview in Sector 17. They held the protest against some lines written in the book "My Country, My Life", stating that Advani had advised late Indira Gandhi to launch a military attack on the Golden Temple complex. All workers were being produced in the court of the SDM concerned.

Back

 

Two land in police net for cyber crime
Tribune News Service

Mohali, November 17
An employee of Indo Global College, Abhipur (Mohali), was today arrested by the cyber crime wing of the Punjab state crime branch for creating a fake e-mail ID and sending defamatory remarks about the college.

The accused, Khushwant Singh (43), was working in the institution as director, marketing.

It is the second such case in the past 24 hours.

The police swung into action after receiving a complaint from Sukhdev Kumar Singla, chairman, Indo Global Education Foundation.

DIG (Crime) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the allegations against the accused were proved on the basis of analysis of e-mail particulars that were authenticated by Internet Protocol details.

The motive behind the act was to take revenge from the college authorities due to disputes regarding salary and other issues. A case was registered under various sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code.

A Mohali court remanded the accused to one-day police custody. During the investigation, it was also found that the accused was also in the habit of sending porn videos as attachment to girls. Two laptops and three pen-drives have been taken into possession by the police team for forensic examination.

Yesterday, the cyber crime wing had arrested a person for allegedly hacking the e-mail ID of a girl and posting her photographs on social networking sites. The arrested person is Neeraj Kumar Gera (21) of Patiala.

The complainant Priya (name changed), a student of engineering, submitted a complaint before the police that some unknown person had hacked her e-mail account and created a fake profile on the Facebook in the name of her friend Sarika (name changed) using pictures of Priya.

The motive behind this act was to take revenge from Sarika, who was earlier allegedly friendly with the accused. A case was registered under various sections of Information\technology Act and the Indian Penal Code. The DIG (Crime) said several such cases had been cracked by the special cell and more were under investigation.

Fake ID created, e-mail hacked

An employee of Indo Global College, Abhipur (Mohali), was arrested on Thursday by the cyber crime wing of the Punjab state crime branch for creating a fake e-mail ID. On Wednesday, the cyber crime wing had arrested a person for allegedly hacking the e-mail ID of a girl and posting her photographs on social networking sites.

Back

 

Bloody brawl at disc leaves 1 injured
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
In yet another incident of a bloody brawl at a nightclub, armed assailants struck at the F-Bar discotheque at Sector 9 and injured a youth in the wee hours here today.

Sahil Vazir, a resident of Mani Majra, was injured in the brawl after he was allegedly beaten up by Lalla, Akhil and Gurpreet. The accused fled from the discotheque after inuring him.

This is the third incident of brawl reported outside a discotheque in the last two months.

On September 24, at least 15 assailants had created ruckus on Tao discotheque, smashing property there. They had come armed with swords. On October 9, armed assailants struck at Voo Doo lounge in the wee hours and allegedly fired gunshots in the air. Both discothèques are in Sector 26.

In today's incident, Sahil in his complaint, stated that he had gone to the disco with one of his friends when the accused started misbehaving with him. On objecting to the misbehaviour, the accused attacked him. The victim was first beaten up on the floor before the bouncers at the discotheque saved him.

The police said the victim was again beaten up and injured with a sharp-edged weapon.An injured Sahil was rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital 16 for treatment. The police said the bouncers and staff of the discotheques would be questioned in regard to the incident. The police has registered a case.

Past incidents

September 24: Fifteen assailants created a ruckus at Tao discotheque, smashing property. They had come armed with swords

October 9: Armed assailants struck at Voo Doo lounge in wee hours and allegedly fired gunshots in the air

Back

 

BJP-SAD meeting
Tempers run high on seat sharing for MC poll
SAD inner wrangling also comes to fore
Aarti Kapur
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
Tempers ran high at a meeting of the local BJP-SAD alliance here this evening. Members walked off after inconclusive discussions over seat sharing in the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections.

Things got complicated with inner differences among groups of the SAD coming to the fore at the venue. Harjinder kaur, a former Mayor, had arguments with Gurpratap Singh Riar, a senior leader of her own party, who had come with his own group to the venue.

The joint meeting of party election committees of the BJP and SAD remained undecided over seat sharing, separately for each party, in the 26 wards of the city corporation. Senior-level sources in the BJP said that at a high-level meeting of senior leaders of the BJP, instructions were issued to the local party president that the SAD should be given only two seats. “We took into account the past performance of the party in all previous elections. They had a very poor base in the city,” he said.

It was also argued by the BJP that seat sharing should be in rotation and those SAD candidates who had been contesting on the same seats for the past two tenures and had lost should be allocated fresh wards.

Sources in the BJP stated that the SAD group of Gurpratap Singh Rair was demanding six seats in the elections, while the Harjinder Kaur and MS Minhans SAD groups were asking for five seats for the MC elections. However, the BJP made it clear at the election committee meeting that if SAD party does not agree on two seats as per their previous performance in the MC election, the BJP will think over to continuing the alliance.

Sources in the BJP said the election committee members, including Harjinder Kaur, senior leader Gurpratap Singh Rair and MS Minhans, came for the meeting with the BJP election committee today. As the meeting started, Rair made an announcement that from the SAD party, only his group members would participate in this meeting. Objecting to this, Harjinder Kaur informed the meeting that Minhans should also be included in the committee. Heated exchanges took place between Rair and Harjinder Kaur on this issue. Reacting to it, the BJP decided that till the SAD sorted out its internal conflicts, no further joint election committee meeting would be convened by the former.

Back

 

GMSH-16
Poor suffer as drugs ‘out of stock’
Anuja Jaiswal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
Despite the UT administration's tall claims of providing quality health care to people, especially the poor, both OPD and indoor patients at Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16 (GMSH-16), are being denied free medicines, including antibiotics, for the past three months. The reason: The drugs are "out of stock".

More than a dozen antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin, azee 500 and doxycycline and 90 per cent of injections, including amoxiclav, atropine, which otherwise are available free of cost to OPD and indoor patients at hospital store, are out of stock. Poor patients, who form a majority of those who rely totally on these free medicines for their treatment, are particularly hit as they are left with no choice except to buy the medicines at exorbitant costs from chemists.

The only saving grace in the entire affair is that the hospital authorities are "managing" emergency cases by buying medicines from the open market and supplying these free to patients. However, others have been left to fend for themselves.

Doctors prescribing these drugs and antibiotics admit that medicines are not available in hospitals and they blame the administration's "lopsided" procurement policies for it. "There is no dearth of funds, but the procurement is mismanaged," they allege, adding that the orders are delayed due to procedural lapses and the red tape in the corridors of the health department.

When patients go for getting drugs like ciprofloxacin, azee 500, doxycycline to cabin number 2 (where medicine are being provided free of cost to the patients), they usually get the reply that these are out of stock. With no information on when the drugs will be available, the staff at the counter usually advises the patients to go to chemists.

Sources in the hospital reveal that since the procurement of these drugs will cost over Rs 25 lakh, only the Health Secretary has the authority to sanction it. "The approval is awaited for long," said an insider.

Special Secretary Health DK Tewari attributed the delay to some objections regarding the terms and conditions of supply which were being verified. He said, " I have received a letter from Director Health Service today and the file will be cleared in a day or so.”

Denied Antibiotics: Ciprofloxacin (used to treat a number of infections, including urinary tract infection), azee 500 (treats infections including UTI, RTI, STD, skin), doxycycline (frequently used to treat sinusitis, syphilis and skin related ailments), cephataxime.

Injections: Atropine (life-saving treatment for poisoning cases or snake bite), amoxiclav or augmentin (kills a wide variety of bacteria that cause commonly occurring infections), amikacin, cephataxime.

Back

Traffic snarls dot Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra
Commuters a harassed lot
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 17
Commuters were a harassed lot as many roads were closed for the smooth flow of Jan Chetna Yatra of BJP leader LK Advani here today.

Though Advani reached Panchkula at 11 am, the road from the Housing Board Chowk to Majri Chowk via Sector 8, 9, 10, and Tawa Chowk were closed down for the general traffic much earlier.

As no adequate diversion indicators were put in place on alternative routes, the commuters found it difficult to choose the roads open for traffic and got stuck in traffic jams.

While the entry into Panchkula from the Housing Board Chowk was prohibited, all the traffic was diverted towards Fun Republic which led to a traffic jam on all the turning points of Sector 6 and Command Hospital on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road.

“It was 10.30 am that I left my home to go to General Hospital in Sector 6,” said Devinder Mahajan of Mansa Devi Complex. “First I got stuck in a traffic jam at Singhdwar. Then there was traffic chaos at the turn of Sector 6 then I decided to go straight only to get caught up in a traffic snarl near the Command Hospital traffic lights. It took me at least 25 minutes to reach the hospital which is hardly one kilometer away from Singhdwar, he said.

Sanjay, a resident of Sector 11, working at Chandigarh has similar experience to tell. “I tried to go through the road near Rajiv Colony but the traffic jam there made me drop my plan to venture out,” said Sanjay.

Advani, however, after entering the town addressed the party workers at the roundabout of Sector 7 and 17 for five minutes before resuming the yatra.

After passing through Barwala, and Raipur Rani the yatra entered Nariangarh in Ambala district before entering Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh. However, the BJP workers, including Sanjay Ahuja, state co media in charge, expressed gratitude for the arrangements made by the local police and administration on the occasion.

Back

 

High Security Registration Plates
Central govt returns document to UT with query
Papers returned to UT Administration for the fourth time
Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
The Chandigarh Administration is at a loss in framing tender document for implementation of the High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) in the city.

The document, which will precede the implementation here, was returned for the fourth time by the Central Government after marking yet another query last week. The document needs to be approved by the Central Government. Only after getting the required nod, the administration will be able to finalise the vendors through tenders for affixation of high-security registration plates on the vehicles.

Though the administration has sent back the document after clearing the query immediately, the officials are at their wits end in explaining the reason for repeated failure. The administration had sent the document for the required approval in mid September. Almost two months have passed but the administration has failed to get it approved till date.

“Again the document was returned by the Central government last week with a query,” said Satya Gopal, the UT Home Secretary. He added that it was sent back the very next day after making the required corrections. “This time the Central Government has pointed out a fault in adhering to its guidelines properly while preparing the document,” he said.

When pointed out that it was the fourth time that the document had been returned with query by the Central Government, he said that the administration was trying to get it approved as soon as possible.

The administration, which was overzealous in starting the affixation of the HSRPs in August, had received censure from the apex court for not adopting the proper procedure in the HSRP issue and subsequently was given six weeks for rectification on August 30. As the deadline was completed on October 12, the administration had to file an affidavit on October 13 in the Supreme Court, clearing its position on the issue.

Needs approval from Centre

The document needs to be approved by the Central Government. Only after getting the required nod, the administration will be able to finalise the vendors through tenders for affixation of high-security registration plates on the vehicles.

Back

 

Proposed expenditure plans
UT Admn misses deadline again
Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
The Chandigarh Administration missed the deadline of sending its proposed expenditure plans (EP) to the Central Government for the forthcoming Five Years Plan-2012-16. This is said to be the first time that the UT has been sending its proposed EPs for the Five-Year Plan.

The deadline by the Union Government was mid-November but the UT Administration is yet to finalise its EPs for the next five years. The reason behind the delay is said to be the lackadaisical approach on the part of most of the government departments here.

“Most of the departments of the administration are yet to prepare their proposed plans. The finance department will finalise its EP document only after getting the data from all the local departments,” said a senior official of the UT Administration.

The UT finance secretary, Vijoy Kumar Singh, admitted, “Yes, we have missed the deadline. We have sought few more days from the union government to submit our documents. It (the UT proposed expenditure plans) will be submitted before mid-December by all means.”

He added that the heads of all departments have been directed to finish the job within 15 days. A meeting in this regard was held two days before in which heads of all the departments were given instructions by UT Advisor KK Sharma.

The Union government will prepare its five years plan after getting the respective expenditure plans from all the states and the union territories. The next Five-Year Plan will come into effect from April 1, 2012.

Back

 

Phase V residents face MC apathy
Our Correspondent

Broken pillars at Phase V, Mohali; Heaps of garbage near ITI, Phase V, Mohali; Stray cattle at a park in Phase V, Mohali
(Clockwise) Broken pillars at Phase V, Mohali; Heaps of garbage near ITI, Phase V, Mohali; Stray cattle at a park in Phase V, Mohali. tRIBUNE PHOTOS: vICKY gHARU

Mohali, November 17
It appears that the Mohali Municipal Corporation has become indifferent to the problems of its residents. The authorities concerned have not taken any action even when problems like potholed roads, badly maintained road gullies and unsatisfactory sanitation in Phase V were highlighted in these columns more than two months ago.

The back lane of the main market presents a picture of ugliness with power generators and filthy water from business premises, especially sweet shops and restaurants, dotting the long stretch of roads from one end of the phase to the other.

Sanitation is in a state of neglect. Safai karamcharis clean the B-road but could rarely be seen sweeping the internal areas.

Road gullies in the area have not been maintained for almost a year. Even footpaths in various parts of the phase demand urgent repair.

Encroachments by shopkeepers in the market verandahs still existed even when those frequenting markets faced problems.

Albel Singh Shyan, president of the House Owners’ Welfare Society, said the situation was getting from bad to worse ever since the civic body was upgraded to the level of a corporation. Nobody was interested in the development of the town. Officials of the civic body were hardly seen in the field.

He said the area near the Government ITI for Girls was in a state of neglect. Water from eating joints flowed onto the back lane of the market creating unhygienic conditions, but the authorities concerned could not even impose fines in such cases.

Back

 

Industrial tenants seek rehabilitation

Chandigarh, November 17
The Chandigarh Industrial Area Tenants Association has demanded rehabilitation of industrial tenants in the third phase of Industrial Area.

The association claimed that the UT administration had in 2009 assured them of rehabilitating industrial tenants in Phase III after formulating a proper policy, but to no avail.

Addressing mediapersons, association president Sanjiv Sagar said most tenants were registered with various government bodies and had the required licenses to operate their enterprises. “Still the administration distrusts us and treats us like unwanted burden,” he added.

The members said they would wait for 10 days for a favourable response from the administration. If nothing happens, they would launch an agitation that might include dharna and hunger strike. RS Rathore, convener of the association, said while the Centre intended to uplift tiny, micro and small enterprises, the administration was least bothered about their well-being. — TNS

Back

 

Small savings agents protest
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
Hundreds of members of the Small Savings Agents Association, Chandigarh and Mohali, organised a protest rally against the Centre here on Tuesday for implementing the Shyamala Gopinath Committee report.

Sanjeev Sharma, secretary of the association, said the survival of five lakh small savings agents and co-workers and their families were affected by reducing the commission on various small savings schemes.

He said the commission paid to agents was 2.5 per cent before 1981, which was reduced to 2 per cent in 1981, 1 per cent in 1988 and 0.5 per cent now.

Back

 

‘Andha Yug’ explores human capacity for moral action
SD Sharma

Chandigarh, November 17
The Alankar Theatre group staged playwright Dharamvir Bharti’s most meaningful classic play ‘Andhu Yug’ based on the epic. Mahabharata, in the ongoing CSNA Chandigarh theatre fest at Randhawa auditorium here today. After a mundane start, the play gathered momentum with attempts to recover the explosive truths about the reasons and repercussions of war in Mahabharata.

Relying on the aesthetic potential and experience of the actors , barring a few who lost on diction and pronunciation, young director Chakresh carried certain bold aberrations in tone and treatment by structuring the play in the centuries-old ambience as well as contemporary ruling ethics and splendour of the West on stage. It explores human capacity for moral action, reconciliation, and goodness in times of atrocity and reveals what happens when individuals succumb to the cruelty and cynicism of a blind, dispirited age, epitomised by a blind king Dhritarashtra maddened for the affection for his progeny especially prince Duryodhna. 

Back

 

No check on meat quality
Rajiv Bhatia

Zirakpur, November 17
No one really cares whether contaminated meat is being sold in Zirakpur. The proposal to set up a slaughterhouse in Zirakpur still remains on papers and is yet to be translated into reality.

This is not all. The Zirakpur Municipal Council (MC) has no health official.

Sources in the MC office confirmed that the post of the health official has not even being sanctioned. In the absence of a medical official, the responsibility of ensuring supply of uncontaminated meat falls on the already burdened health department, the sources confirmed.

Last year, the Zirakpur Municipal Council had passed a proposal and planned to set up a slaughterhouse on a 2-acre land at Gazipur village and Rs 10 lakh was allocated for it. But residents of the nearby village had raised objection and asked the council to find another site to construct the slaughterhouse.

The council has failed to find any new site for setting up the slaughterhouse in Zirakpur. MC official claimed that the search is on to find the new site and would be finalised soon.

The residents complained that the meat is sold in unhygienic conditions in many places of the township. They rued that the animals were being slaughtered in all meats shops by shopkeepers and sold without verification by the health official.

They demanded that the council and health department should appoint a health official to check the quality of the meat sold in the market.

“The meat shops in Zirakpur are in a poor and unhygienic conditions,” says Anmol Sharma, a resident of Zirakpur. The waste meat products are not properly disposed and the shopkeepers slaughter the animals in the shop, he rued.

Talking to chairman District Planning Board and Zirakpur MC president NK Sharma stated that it is a serious matter and he will ask the council officials to visit the shops and challan violators. He said the council had finalised the land for the slaughterhouse but the residents of the nearby village had objected. “We are searching a new site for the slaughterhouse and it would be constructed soon,” he added.

Back

 

MC removes illegal signboards
Tribune News Service

Zirakpur, November 17
The Zirakpur Municipal Council (MC) launched a drive to remove encroachments on both sides of the Baltana-Chandigarh road in Baltana on Wednesday night. They removed illegal signboards and around 25 steel boards, which were lying on the roadside.

However, shopkeepers have alleged that council officials had adopted pick-and-choose policy while removing the encroachments. The shopkeepers tried to block the road, but the matter was resolved after the intervention of the vice-president and area council Kulwinder Sohi, who ensured the shopkeepers for fair justice.

The shopkeepers alleged that the council officials did not remove the hoardings of politicians. Giving the clarification, a MC official stated that the road had been encroached by the shopkeepers. The boards, utensils and rehriwallahs occupied a major part of the road. The council had removed more than 20 signboards and other things.

Back

 

Heritage fest
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 17
The Pinjore Heritage Festival will be inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay on December 2. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chief guest on the concluding day.

The festival is organised to celebrate the centuries-old heritage of the town, the history of which dates back to the days of Mahabharta.

While the final touches are being given to the events proposed for the three-day cultural extravaganza, a variety of cuisine will be the hallmark of the festival.

Back

 

anti-tobacco law
Health dept challans 16, vendors
Tribune News Service

Men smoking in public; and (right) health officials challan a tobacco vendor in Zirakpur on Thursday
Men smoking in public; and (right) health officials challan a tobacco vendor in Zirakpur on Thursday. Tribune photographs

Zirakpur, November 17
To make Mohali first smoke-free district in Punjab, the health department issued 16 challans to people, including vendors, for violating anti-tobacco law on the second consecutive day.

The department had conducted a raid yesterday at “Mame-da-Café”, a hookah bar situated on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway and challaned it for violating the anti-tobacco law.

Senior medical officer of community health, Dhakoli, Dr Ramnik Kaur said a team led by Dr Raju Dhir, area nodal officer, along with the Zirakpur police had visited various parts of the town and imposed fine on persons, who were found smoking at public places.

The team also inspected vendors who were selling tobacco related products. A health official said the team also challaned the shopkeepers, who had not pasted warning posters of “No Smoking” in their shops. The official had warned the shopkeepers and asked them to paste the stickers.

The team also removed two advertisement boards related to tobacco companies from the shops.

Talking to district nodal officer of the tobacco control cell, Dr SP Surila told the department had conducted the drive and challaned the violators. He said the shopkeepers had been strictly asked to follow the rules. “We will continue the drive in the coming days and planned to make the district smoke-free,” he claimed.

Back

 

Goods worth crores gutted
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
Goods worth crores were gutted in a fire at SCO 149, Mani Majra, here tonight. Sources said the fire occurred around 10 pm. No loss of life was, however, reported.

A fire official said a short-circuit in electricity meters could be the cause of the fire. Station Fire Officer SK Gosai said the fire department would conduct an inquiry tomorrow.

An eyewitness noticed the fire and informed the fire department. Three fire tenders were pressed into service from Sector 17, 38 and Mani Majra fire stations. As the teams reached the spot on time, these were able to save the adjoining shops.

The fire control operation was going on till the filing of this report.

Back

 

DEO directed to file report on Nov 23
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 17
After the district education officer (DEO), Panchkula, failed to file the RTE compliance report, Civil Judge Renu Rana yesterday directed the DEO to file the compliance and final action taken report on or before November 23.

When the case came up for hearing yesterday, Jagat Singh, an official from the DEO office, submitted that only a few schools had submitted the details and declarations required under the RTE Act and therefore, the compliance report could not be prepared. “Reminders have been sent to all schools,” he said.

“What action have you taken against the schools not complying? The RTE rules have been notified in July, 2011, they ought to have been complied in three months time,” the court remarked.

Back

 

MC Ward Woes
Ward number 24 sans public utility services

Stray cattle in an internal park developed by the MC at Vikas Nagar, Chandigarh; and (right) Bad condition of a road at Mauli Jagran
Stray cattle in an internal park developed by the MC at Vikas Nagar, Chandigarh; and (right) Bad condition of a road at Mauli Jagran.

Day market
Heaps of garbage lying on roadside at Mauli Complex, Chandigarh
Heaps of garbage lying on roadside at Mauli Complex, Chandigarh. Tribune photos: Manoj Mahajan

Interestingly, the foundation stone of the day market was laid in Mauli Jagran with great pomp and show, but till date the work of its construction has not been allotted. Residents pleaded that they have made a demand that until the day market is started, the authorities should allot all vacated booths of the area, which are lying vacant for a long time. Out of 20 booths, 10 are lying vacant and the authorities are not taking any interest in allotting them for the convenience of public.

Civil dispensary

Ironically, the MC authorities have constructed an infrastructure of the civil dispensary in Mauli Complex, but the health department has not appointed any regular doctor. For the past two months, no doctor has been appointed in the dispensary and thousands of patients of the area have to go to private or far away clinics for the basic health services. Residents have given a number of representations to the authorities but the health department gives the similar excuse again and again that there is shortage of doctors due to which no regular doctor could be appointed in the dispensary.

e-sampark

It seems that the authorities do not feel the need of high-tech facilities like e-sampark in the villages and colonies. The classic example is this ward where even after making a number of requests by the residents, the UT Administration has not allocated any site for e-sampark centre. In fact there are no postal services also in this ward.

Building for primary school

For the past many years, the school of Mauli Complex was running in a CHB flat. A number of times this issue was raised that proper building should be constructed for the children, as shortage of space forces the children to sit on mats in the school. Due to small building, the basic facility of water is also not available for the students in the school.

Bus stand

Five years ago, an assurance was given by the authorities that there will be a bus stand in the ward, as the residents have to commute till highway to get buses. But till date, even the site for the construction of bus stand has not been allotted in the ward.

Non-functional streetlights

Crime rate in the ward is on the rise due to irregular patrolling of the police in the ward. A majority of the streetlights in the area is not functioning. Even the bad elements of the area have broken the newly installed lights, but no action has been taken against them. Similarly, the condition of roads is also in a miserable condition. Interestingly, the entry point of Mauli Complex has not been recarpeted due to some confusion prevailing among the road wing department of the UT Administration.

Lack of green belts

Interestingly, after the inauguration of the green belt developed by the authorities, nobody from the horticulture or any other department had come to monitor its maintenance and it seems as if it is nobody’s baby. Due to this negligence, most of the parks or green belts developed in the past are in a shambles. Residents revealed that about two months ago, play equipment were installed in the green belt and its quality was so bad that within one month, these have broken down and needs replacement.

Sanitation services

The MC claims that they organise special sanitation campaigns in the colonies and villages of the city, but if one visits this ward the tall claims of the MC are exposed, as there is no garbage collection and disposal facility in the area on day-to-day basis. People questions what is the utility of special campaigns when they do not provide basic sanitation facilities.

Back

 

At ‘IRIS’, young scientists showcase talent
103 projects made by school students from across the country on display
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
The 2011 Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) event, which seeks to nurture innovative problem solving and a systematic approach to experimental science was inaugurated at PEC University of Technology where 103 projects made by school students from across the country is on display.

At IRIS 2011, 103 projects selected from over 1,100 projects across the country that will vie for national honours were showcased. The projects included innovations across 10 categories: behavioural sciences, bio-chemistry, botany, chemistry, computer science, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, physics, and zoology.

The four-day event aims to promote and nurture science and scientific research amongst young Indian innovators, recognising and rewarding the outstanding projects, and winners will be eligible to represent India at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

This year, ISEF brought together more than 1,500 high school students selected from 443 affiliate fairs in 65 countries, regions and territories to share ideas, showcase research and inventions, and compete for prizes and scholarships worth more than $4 million.

“It’s an inspiration to see these young geniuses apply their ample creativity and come up with such extraordinary innovative solutions,” said professor PT Manoharan, of CV Raman Chair of the School of Sciences, IGNOU. “There is no doubt that science and technology can play a pivotal role to motivate students and empower them with opportunities for their personal growth and future careers.” he said.

Commenting on IRIS, Ashutosh Chadha, director, Corporate Affairs Group, Intel South Asia, said: “Young innovators competing at IRIS have developed an exciting range of projects. The aim of IRIS is to empower these students and to emphasise the incredible things that can happen when creative ideas and willpower come together. At Intel, we encourage continuous research and development to create opportunities, especially for the student community, so we can nurture them to be the leaders of tomorrow.”

The objective of IRIS that began in 2006 is to promote and nurture science and scientific research amongst young Indian innovators in secondary and higher secondary schools.

Back

 

Now, heart attack-alert vest
Amit Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17
Two students from Chennai have developed a heart-attack detection and alert vest for heart patients. For those persons who could die of a heart attack, this low-cost and effective wearable vest, which can detect heart attack and immediately alerts the nearest hospital, comes as a boon.

R Vignesh and Manoj Kumar have developed the project that has been displayed at IRIS event oraginsed at PEC.

Vignesh a student of Padma Seshadri Bhawan, Chennai, speaking about the project said that it simply worked by continuous monitoring of Elector Cardiography (ECG) and Elector Myography (EMG) and other parameters by a software which was the key innovation in the project and also used wearable electrodes and embedded computing system which improves the efficiency and performance of the system.

“The vest is a medical monitoring and alert device which is capable of sending the data VIA GSM transmission to the doctors in case of a heart attack”, Vignesh said.

According to the students, the equipments used in the project include amplifier chips Lm 302, PIC processor interface, ADC conversion IC, custom-made GPS, GSM module, textile electrodes, spandex vest, textile conducting yarn, cardio Sim-2 ECG simulator, soldering rods general purpose IC’s.

Explaining about the project, Manoj, a student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya, said that they stitched electrodes in the vest in such a way that it aligned with the person’s ECG lead points so as to get the proper signal from the heart. “Instead of conventional lead wires which are not wearable we used conductive textile threads which are normal cotton yarns with very thin silver threads”, Manoj said.

He further said that the voltage carried by the conductive wire is processed in a circuit where it is converted into a waveform, which is amplified and filtered initially in hardware and the signal is converted into digital by the custom analog to digital for new software filtering.

Students said that the circuit that they designed then runs a set of algorithms to filter out all the external noise in the ECG thus tremendously reducing the system cost.

“The PIC processor in circuit is coded according to the requirement for the special heart attack detection algorithms”, Manoj said.

For testing the heart attack detention algorithm the students had got a ECG simulator which could generate heart attack ECG’s.

This project has also won the Ignite Award, from National Innovation Foundation awarded by the former Indian President APJ Kalam in 2010.

Back

 

Kolkata lad designs life-saving jacket
Amit Sharma
Tribune News Service

Student with his innovative life- saving jacket at the IRIS event at PEC, Chandigarh, on Thursday
Student with his innovative life- saving jacket at the IRIS event at PEC, Chandigarh, on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Chandigarh, November 17
Inspired by the movie Pearl Harbour where the US naval troops were drowned after being attacked by the Japan Air Force, as some were drowned after failing to pull up the lever of the life-saving jacket. A school student of Kolkata has designed a life-saving jacket that can sense water and automatically inflate the jacket with gas that would prevent the person from drowning.

The project has been displayed at PEC as a part of IRIS event. Prithviraj Saha, a student of South Point High School, Kolkata, and one of the participants at the event said that he was inspired by the movie Pearl Harbour where the troops after being attacked became unconscious and drowned even after wearing the life-saving jackets as they could not pull up the trigger of the cylinder that inflated the gas in the jacket. “Based on the movie I developed a jacket that has a battery and a water sensor which automatically inflates the gas in the life-saving jacket”, Saha said.

In his project Saha has used a water censor, a lithium iron battery, an electromagnet and a gas cylinder filled with Co2 gas along with a life jacket.

Shah said that the terminals of water sensor attached to the battery remains outside the jacket, which activates the relay triggering mechanism. The electronic impulse from the sensor then activates the electromagnet, which further causes the plunger to hit the sealed mouth of the Co2 gas cylinder and release the pressurised gas into the jacket and inflate it.

Saha said that the project could be introduced in the present system, as it’s an upgrade version of the life-saving jacket. “These jackets can be used at the lakes that provide boating facility for people. In case of accident, the jackets will automatically get inflated with gas sensing the water”, Saha said.

Back

 

Education notes

Robotic lab

Zirakpur: A robotic lab was inaugurated on Thursday at Dikshant International School, Zirakpur. The Mohali Town Planning chairman was the chief guest. School director Mitul Dikshit said the use of robotics in education was aimed at helping children discover the science of circuits and how sensors are used in robots.

Students win laurels

Patiala: In a programme, ‘Our Environment’, organised by Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), Thapar University, Patiala, students of Our Lady of Fatima Convent Secondary School, Patiala, lifted overall trophy in various competitions. The students from various schools of Patiala participated in the programme. — TNS

Back

 

 

Back

 


HOME PAGE | Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Opinions |
| Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi |
| Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail |