Chandigarh, December 9
Student rivalry once again raised its ugly head last night when three supporters of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) were attacked with sharp-edged weapons and bats at the Sector 10 petrol station. The brazen attack, which lasted for several minutes, left three students with critical injuries. The police has registered a case of attempt to murder at the Sector 3 police station against members of the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU).

The drama was carried forward when PUSU supporters attacked a police constable at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, as a symbol of revenge.

The incident occurred at around 1.40 am last night when three students of Landran College of Engineering came to the Sector 10 fuel station. As soon as they stopped, armed assailants in a Bolero attacked the trio.

The police reached the spot and rushed the injured to hospital. The victims have been identified as Amrinder Singh, Jeevanjot and Amandeep Singh. Jeevanjot has been admitted to the PGI. The accused have been identified as Ravneet Sidhu, Ballu, Chetan Majal, Aman Barnala and Parry of SOPU. The police is not clear if the accused are from DAV College, Sector 10, or the PU.

The injured had supported PUSU during the university elections in September and it is being cited as the reason behind the attack.

As the police took the victims to the Sector 16 hospital, supporters of PUSU gathered and attacked constable Gulab Singh, who sustained a fracture in his fingers. They attacked the police for its failure in arresting the assailants.

The police has registered two separate FIRs against students. ASP (Central) Des Raj Singh said they were examining the CCTV footage at the hospital for further clues.

Chandigarh, December 9
When it comes to 39-year-old Narinder Kumar, the phrase “where there is a will, there is a way” holds true. With a meagre earning of Rs 7,900 a month, Narinder, a medical representative, has taken on himself to launch a crusade against the alleged malpractices under the existing Municipal Corporation. He is contesting the MC elections.

In another unusual instance, Ranjit Kaur is contesting the civic body elections with the financial assistance of residents in her ward. Wife of a driver, she earns Rs 2,000 every month and teaches at the Don Bosco Church in Sector 24. The monthly income of the couple is not more than Rs 10,000.

These two examples are a peep into a world which is far removed from the glitter and din of poll activity of candidates backed by national parties. Narinder is also being helped by residents. Whatever the result, these candidates have shown that they have it in them to make their point heard in a scenario where only the rich and those “who can afford” contest the elections.

Narinder, a Chandigarh Jan Manch candidate from Ward No. 8, believes that money alone is not required to be a leader. “It needs determination, hard work and loyalty towards people. I have been fighting for justice to employees for the past 18 years. My well-wishers are contributing funds for the elections. I have gone up to them to help me out with funds for campaigning,” he said.

A resident of Colony No. 5, Ranjit Kaur has got only a handful of banners and flags printed, which her supporters carry during their door-to-door campaigning. “We have hired an auto-rickshaw for election-related work, but not for campaigning,” she said.

Her elections funds are also coming in the form of donations of Rs 10 and Rs 50. Those who don’t help financially, offer them tea and biscuits as refreshment. A women’s committee formed to collect funds keeps track of the budget and manages all the expenses.

“It will be unfair to comment on the fate of the candidates during the elections, but I must confess that these people at least dared to make an opinion,” a senior leader of a national party remarked.

Chandigarh, December 9
Anil Kumar, a Haryana cadre IAS officer, took over the charge of UT Home Secretary (HS) here today. He conceded that the city had a lot of scope for improvement and he would take stock of the existing ground conditions, besides the required changes.

A formal order regarding the allotment of departments to the new Home Secretary are still awaited. He said since the police department was under him, his priority would be working out a mechanism to reduce the response time of the police control room (PCR) vehicles.

Following the appointment of Satya Gopal as the acting Home Secretary, a number of important offices of the Home Secretary, including health and tourism, had been passed to other officers. A majority of these are expected to be restored.

The tenure of the preceding Home Secretary, Ram Niwas, had witnessed several controversies, including the teachers’ recruitment scam, examination for CTU conductors, selection of firemen and selection of nurses and doctors. The scams included the selection of teachers in 2009; selection of firemen in 2010; selection of nurses and doctors and recruitment to CITCO; selection of conductors in CTU in 2011; fire recruitment scam in 2010; and PEC admission scam in 2010 (all during the tenure of Ram Niwas) and the UT police recruitment scam in 2007.

The new Home Secretary has a lot of work ahead of him. He will have to put in a special effort to restore public faith in the coveted office. At least five back-to-back scams in a couple of years in the city not only brought bad repute to the UT Administration, but also shook the trust of the common man in the Administration.

The state election commission has decided to adopt ‘zero tolerance’ towards the pasting of banners and posters and take stringent action against the violators. Notices have been issued to all contestants to remove their banners and posters or else cases will be registered against them by the commission.

Chandigarh, December 9
Huge amount of money spent by prospective candidates on printing of election material for the Municipal Corporation election will go down the drain as the state election commission has decided to adopt ‘zero tolerance’ towards the pasting of banners and posters and take stringent action against the violators. Notices have been issued to all the contesting candidates to remove their banners and posters or else cases will be registered against them by the Election Commission.

During a visit to the city it was found that there were few wards where the election observers had removed the campaigning material of the contesting candidates. While the centrally located wards, including Ward Number 14, 16, 18, 22 and 26 still huge banners and posters in every nook and corner and no action has been taken on the violators.

A majority of the candidates have expressed resentment over the move of the Election Commission in informing the candidates a week after the nomination papers had been finalised by them. Objecting to it they said that these directions should have been issued on the day when symbols had been allocated to the candidates so that they could avoid huge expenditure on hoardings and banners.

BJP candidate Anil Kumar Dubey said that he had directed his supporters to remove all the banners, flags and posters from all over the ward to avoid the ire of the commission. He commented that every candidate had spent a lot of money on the preparation of the election material which had been wasted.

Congress candidate Chander Mukhi Sharma stated that his supporters had begun removing banners and posters pasted on the walls of the private property.

• In a bid to attract the attention of voters, hiring of dholis for door-to-door canvassing is a hot favourite with candidates while moving in their wards. TRAI’s decision to restrict 200 SMSes a day has affected the campaign of the contestants who have been relying heavily on this mode of campaigning

Chandigarh, December 9
With the restriction imposed on sending bulk SMSes by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), candidates contesting civic polls are sticking to the traditional methods of catching attention of voters by using ‘dhol walas’ during campaigning.

The trend found to be common among majority of candidates contesting the elections is the hiring of dholis for door-to-door canvassing in a bid to attract the attention of people while moving in their wards. TRAI’s decision to restrict 200 SMSes a day has somewhere affected the campaign of the candidates who have been relying heavily on this mode of campaigning

SAD candidate from Ward No 9, Inderjeet Kang, who has hired two dholis for her campaigning said that she preferred to go door-to-door for canvassing as it helped in building trust between the candidate and voters. “It’s sometimes very difficult to meet all the people in our ward, so Dhol wala’s is the best way to reach out to them and attract their attention”, Kang said.

SMSes are not preferred by the candidates as people consider it a nuisance and they don’t like being disturbed while at work, whereas one-on-one dialogue with the voters is more effective and convincing.

Sourabh Joshi, a BJP candidate from Ward No 2, has also hired a dholi for his campaigning. He says that it is the best way to grab the attention of the people while moving from door-to-door. “Moving without dholis, campaigning becomes mundane, and sometimes people don’t come out of their houses even after ringing the bell at least with dholis around they come out of their houses out of curiosity”, Joshi said.

He further added that this was a better way of campaigning then sending SMSes. “I am keen on meeting people rather then sending SMSes”, Joshi added.

The Congress candidate from Ward No 3, Pardeep Chhabra, is also campaigning in his ward with dholis to attract the attention of candidates. Even, Kamlesh, a Congress candidate from Ward No 24, is also campaigning.with the help of dholis.

Chandigarh, December 9
Amidst the rising fever of MC poll campaign, the candidates have started holding small meeting in their wards to connect to maximum number of electorates. The candidates are even holding prayer meetings in the temples with a hope to win.

Residents of Sector 15 organised a ‘Sundar Kand ka Path’ for BJP candidate Sourabh Joshi from Ward No 2. “It was a prayer organised at Sector 15 temple and I was made to sit throughout the ceremony”, Joshi said.

The days have turned longer for the contestants who are spending late hours in their wards. Moving door-to-door and holding meetings with various associations.

Darshan Singh, a Congress candidate from Ward No 11, held his meetings with the Samani Society, Haryana Sabha and United Shopkeepers Welfare in Sector 56.

BJP-SAD candidate Jagjit Singh Kang ward No 5 campaign in Dhanas. Supporters of Kang also accompanied him during canvassing.

Arshad Khan, Congress candidate from Ward No. 26 went door-to-door campaigning. He attended the meeting regarding elections organized in Darshani Bagh and met the voters. .

Congress candidate from Ward 1, Raj Bala Malik continued her campaign on by visiting Sector - 10 residents in her door-to-door nukad style campaigning.

Noted actor and BJP’s star campaigner Kiran Kher - who urged electorate to vote for the BJP-SAD candidates stated that Rajesh Gupta relentlessly worked for the development of Ward 16.

Chandigarh, December 9
Congress candidate Chander Mukhi Sharma of Ward Number 15 today lodged a complaint against Municipal Corporation chief engineer SS Bidda for violating the model code of conduct by installing play equipment in the park of Sector 35-D. During a media interaction Chander Mukhi Sharma said that a complaint had been registered with the Election Commission about the chief engineer for installing play equipment adjoining house number-3393 at 1.30 pm on December 8, 2011.

Sharma said that when it was brought to the notice of Bidda at 1.34pm on his mobile phone about it, he remarked that nobody could stop him from going ahead with the installation of the equipment and there was no embargo of the Election Commission on this and the equipment was finally installed.

Sharma demanded strict action against the chief engineer.

Panchkula, December 9
Those commuting on the Panchkula-Shimla National Highway No 22 will heave a sigh of relief, as the National Highway Authority of India will be throwing the Pinjore-Parwanoo bypass open to public this month.

“If everything goes well, we are hopeful of throwing the road open to public even before December 31, the deadline set for its completion,” said Anil Dahiya, project director, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

He said 98 per cent of the road laying work had already been completed, while the remaining 2 per cent was in its final stages.

On Thursday, an approach slab was laid on the end of bypass in Himachal Pradesh near Timber Trail, while the work on the remaining small patches on the 10km long bypass was in full swing, he added.

“The road on the Pinjore side is ready and the connectivity to the other end near Timber Trail will also be given in next one week,” he added. Even the district police is relying on the opening of the bypass to get rid of the routine traffic jams in Pinjore and Kalka.

The Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police said two traffic inspectors, along with police personnel at the Pinjore and Kalka police stations, are at work to regulate traffic.

“The road gets narrower near Gandhi Chowk, Kalka, and the traffic moves at a snail’s pace. Unless the bypass is not operative, the problem will not be solved.

Still the local police in association with NHAI has deployed five cranes to tow away vehicles parked wrongly. In addition, a total of 33,123 challans under various Sections of the Motor Vehicle Act were issued to traffic rules violators, while 3,683 challans were exclusively issued to those who had parked their vehicles wrongly,” added the DCP.

Chandigarh, December 9
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set up an eight-week deadline for the Mohali Deputy Commissioner, Punjab Chief Engineer and other authorities to take a decision on the issue of draining stagnant rain water from the city of Banur falling in Mohali district.

The directions by Division Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Surya Kant came on a petition filed in public interest. The petitioners were seeking directions “for taking effective steps to clear stagnant rain water, which affects the residents of Banur city in Mohali district”.

Taking up the petition filed by Dr Mohinder Singh and other petitioners, the Division Bench directed: “We are of the view that just, fair and appropriate order in the case will be to direct the respondents, Chief Engineer, Drainage, secretary, Punjab Mandi Board, Chandigarh, and Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar, Mohali, to take on record the legal notice served upon them by the petitioners and dispose of the same by passing necessary orders within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order.”

Disposing of the petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents, the Bench observed: “According to the writ petitioners, a layout plan has been prepared, which has not been implemented so far resulting in environmental hazards to the residents of the locality”.

In its detailed order, the Bench added: “We are surprised to take note of the fact that the petitioners have approached the Punjab Human Rights Commission on the same very issue and the grievances of the petitioners are in fact entertained by the said Commission.

“Be that as it may, not being successful in the aforesaid venture, the present writ petition has been filed as a public interest litigation seeking the directions, as already noticed.

“In the meantime, the petitioners have served a legal notice on the Chief Engineer, Drainage, Secretary, Punjab Mandi Board, Chandigarh, Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar, Mohali, and other authorities for the implementation of the proposals that have been drawn up.”

Chandigarh, December 9
In the absence of any prepaid taxi service, introduced with much fanfare some years ago, auto rickshaw drivers’ fleecing passengers seems to have become an inseparable feature at Chandigarh Railway Station.

Even with security personnel present, nothing discourages these drivers from quoting ridiculously exorbitant prices to anyone who walks out of the railway station to reach. The situation is even worse during late night hours when the drivers charge ten times the fare from the passengers.

As soon as the express trains including Himalayan Queen and Shatabdi express arrive at the station, the auto-rickshaw drivers while making over-friendly gestures in their efforts to get “savaaris,” try their best to scare passengers by telling them about the non-existence of prepaid taxi counters. They charge Rs 100 to Rs 150 for Sector 16 Chandigarh. Even if the passengers press for the taxis, they ask them to pay only Rs 10 to take them to the nearest taxi stand.

Unaware, many believe whatever the auto drivers tell them and board the taxis parked outside the station that charge exorbitant rates from the tourists who want to visit tourist spots like Shimla and Manali. This encourages the auto drivers even more, said one of the traffic policemen on duty outside the station.

A member of the Chandigarh Taxi Drivers Association, Bhupinder Singh, alleged that there was no check on the auto drivers who even enter the railway platform to get their passengers. He said the auto drivers, park their vehicles in such a way that people coming out of the station cannot see the taxis parked in front of the station in the parking area. He said separate parking has been earmarked for the auto-rickshaws but the auto drivers in connivance with contractors park their vehicles in the car parking area.

Rohit, a resident, who had come to the station to receive his relatives, feels that it is mostly the outstation and foreign passengers who fall prey. He said, “If you do not know the exact fare, you can assume that at the railway station, the fare told to you by the auto-drivers will be at least double of the actual fare, especially if you have a tourist look.”

“However, anyone who comes to us for help, is always advised to opt for taxis of members of the association, as it helps to avert over-charging, refusal, misbehavior or harassment at the hands of the other taxi and auto drivers. Duly signed receipt indicating the taxi/auto number, destination, service charge, baggage charge if any and the fare is given to the passenger, and hence, this ensures some degree of certainty and safety,” said another members of the association Om Parkash.

Chandigarh, December 9
To complete the long-awaited detailed project report (DPR) for the tricity’s ambitious project, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has now sought details of all underground services in the city from the UT Administration.

With the UT Administration and municipal corporation having no complete data on underground services, the DPR, which was to be submitted this month, is likely to be delayed.

The DMRC, in a communication to the UT Administration, has sought these details from the UT Administration. Sources said the UT Administration and MC had the details of drainage, sewerage and underground tertiary water system, but the exact details of underground cables of various companies was not with the authorities.

Now to complete the data, the finance department has directed the engineering department and civic body to provide the details and pointed out these details in a map.

Besides, a topographical survey for the 33-km route is going on. The report will also be a part of the detailed project report (DPR).

Initially, six corridors were recommended by RITES, a government enterprise that offers consultancy and project management services in the transport infrastructure sector. But gradually, the DMRC proposed two routes for the project.

The first route will run from north to south of the city, starting from a site close to the Capitol Complex, near Secretariat, High Court and Rock Garden. It will reach the Sector-17 piazza through the UT Secretariat on Jan Marg, Sectors 22 and 35, ISBT-43 and go to Mohali, where it will pass through Aerocity and City Centre to terminate at Sohana, after taking a turn near Sohana gurdwara.

The other route, known as the East-West Corridor, will start from Sector 21, Panchkula, and lead to the railway station in Chandigarh, crossing the Sector-17 piazza, the PGI, Sarangpur, and reach Mullanpur.

The metro will be underground within the sectoral grid of Chandigarh. Outside the grid, it will be elevated. The metro stations will be constructed every 1km where it is underground and 1.3km where it is above the ground.

Chandigarh, December 9
Around 264 varieties of flowers were put on display at Chrysanthemum Show in Sector 33 this year. Over 24 categories were added to the show this year and the number of pots had also been increased.

The titles of king of show, queen of show and princess of show were bagged by Panchkula resident Virinder Sharma, while the title of prince of show was claimed by EIC, Haryana PWD (B&R), Nirman Sadan, Sector 33, and best flower of the show award was given to Panjab University, Sector 14, Chandigarh. Under Class A artistic arrangement (amateurs), all three positions were bagged by Virinder Sharma. Sharma and D K Tiwari of Chandigarh shared the third place. The first position under Class B artistic arrangement was won by Chandigarh Housing Board, Sector 9.

Under Class C Section C-1 incurved chrysanthemum, the first position was bagged by Raj Kumar, second by Aarti Talwar and Jagdish, Mali and third by Jagdish Partap, Chandigarh.

Mohali, December 9
A community centre is being constructed in Sector 69 by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) for the convenience of residents.

The site for the community centre has been identified and the construction work is likely to begin in less than a month’s time.

GMADA officials said the building was being constructed in the area so that residents could hold social functions.

Adequate space for parking was kept in mind while preparing the layout plan of the community centre, he added. The construction will be carried out by a private company and the work is likely to be completed in about nine month’s time.

It is learnt that GMADA will be inviting technical and financial bids shortly for the community centre and the work will be allotted only to an experienced company. GMADA has already constructed eight community centres in different parts of the town for the convenience of residents.