|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
JERC pulls up Electricity Dept
Chandigarh, April 23 The JERC in its recent order said: “The commission appreciates the UT Electricity Department’s effort to set up an enforcement cell, but there are no statistics given in the aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) for the financial year 2013-14 to prove or quantify the results of the enforcement cell in terms of the amount realised and energy saved.” The JERC also pulled up the Electricity Department for not taking energy audit seriously. The JERC in its order said: “The petitioner (UT Electricity Department) submitted that it was taking steps to reduce the transmission and distribution losses. However, it should take energy audit more seriously.” “The Electricity Department should furnish a report on the transmission and distribution losses in the first place and segregate the distribution losses into technical and commercial losses in the next petition along with the status report on energy audit and accounting,” the order reads.
Only five officials in enforcement cell
The enforcement cell of the department is a centralised team at the circle level. It comprises five officials, including an assistant engineer, two junior engineers and two assistant linesmen. The enforcement cell conducts checks on the consumers’ premises, does energy audit of independent feeders and meters installed on distribution transformers in Industrial units. The cell has worked on 487 cases in first two quarters of 2012-13.
UT’s stand before JERC
The department said: “The enforcement cell raids consumers’ premises based on inputs and also undertakes other vigilance activities like reviewing load, tampering of meters and their accuracy. At the sub-division level, routine checking of the premises is undertaken. To check power thefts, connections have been provided to slum dwellers in unauthorised colonies.
|
|
Liquor vends sold for a song
Chandigarh, April 23 UT officials claimed a hike of 25 per cent by earning a revenue of Rs 97.47 crore from the allotment of 103 vends, both IMFL and country vends, as compared to revenue of Rs 77 crore earned last year from the auction of same number of vends. This does not include the 27 pre-fabricated vends that have been closed this year following the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders. Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, Mohammed Shayin said though the trends did not reflect much, the total revenue would be calculated after all vends are sold. Figures provided by the department reveal that most of the liquor vends in the Sector 17 market attracted a hike of just Rs 1,500 and one of the vends recorded a hike of just Rs 250. The highest increase was registered by vends which went for Rs 2.22 crore against a reserve price of Rs 68 lakh in Kajehri village and another vend which went for Rs 2.11 crore against a reserve price of Rs 1.22 crore in Ram Darbar, Industrial Area, Phase II. A total of 39 vends attracted a bid of over Rs 1 crore. Analysing the allotment of vends, sources in the trade said most of the high premium vends in pre-fabricated vends that used to attract competition between applicants face closure in the new policy. As a result, vends in SCFs, SCOs, markets and rehabilitation colonies attracted applications. Those located in rehabilitation colonies close to the border with Mohali attracted applications,” said an official. As the UT has ignored the populist excise policy of Panchkula (Haryana), it did not get much response for vends in Mani Majra. For the IMFL vends, the department earned a revenue of Rs 69.62 crore against the reserved price of Rs 55.63 crore. In case of country liquor vends, the department earned Rs 12. 9 crore against the reserved price of Rs 11.19 crore. The department has increased the excise duty from 20 per cent to 300 per cent and the assessment fee by 33 per cent. “The lukewarm response to liquor vends would also reduce the quota of liquor to be lifted,” said an official. Highlights
|
|
Kundi connections in colonies belies dept’s claims
Chandigarh, April 23 Residents are drawing electricity from the main power supply line. There is nobody from the UT Electricity Department who can stop them from stealing power. As the electricity department does not conduct regular checks, residents continue to draw power illegally. A colony resident said when they could easily use power without paying even a single penny, what is the need of a power connection. Loss of power due to illegal connections is also making it difficult for the Administration to prepare an estimate for the actual power requirement for the city. In the end, it is the common man who has to face shortage of power due to the cuts. MP Singh, Superintending Engineer (Electricity), said they were regularly conducting raids to detect power theft in various parts of the city. He added that it would be wrong to suggest that the department is not doing anything because many people were also punished for power theft under electricity act, 2003. Sources in the Electricity Department revealed that the department teams always find it difficult to conduct raids in the slums and colonies. An official said it was risky to enter in these colonies to check kundi connections without any police protection. Moreover, there is staff shortage in the enforcement cell as well, he added. In the recent public hearing session of the JERC, city residents had raised questions over power thefts through kundi connections. Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, who had also raised objections, said that the department should take strict action against people who are using kundi connections. It is very unfortunate that those paying electricity bills on time were facing unscheduled power cuts, but those who were stealing it were enjoying it free of cost, he said.
|
|
Tribune impact: Police personnel deployed outside schools in Sector 26
Chandigarh, April 23 Apart from realising the problem of traffic snarls outside schools and colleges, the Chandigarh Police deputed five traffic policemen to regulate traffic in Sector 26. Parents, who usually used to park the vehicles on the road in three rows parallel to each other, were not allowed to park the vehicles to ensure free flow of traffic. The police also made the parents park the vehicles in an open ground opposite the schools in Sector 26. Assistant sub-inspector Vijay Kumar, who was on duty outside the schools, said 16 challans were issued to violators who were found driving in the wrong lane. Police officials said driving in the wrong direction amounts to a fine of Rs 300.
|
|
Unhygienic toilets annoy passengers
Chandigarh, April 23 Sharing his experience, city resident Brig BS Gill who was on board the Chandigarh-Amritsar Superfast Express this morning, said the air-conditioner in the chair car C-1 was not functioning. Even the toilets in the coaches were not clean. He said as the train reaches Amritsar around 9.30 pm and starts next morning at 5.20 am, the staff has very less time to clean the coaches. He said there should be quality catering service on board the train, especially for passengers travelling to Jalandhar and Amritsar. Another passenger Sunakshi said the authorities should provide better transportation for commuters from Mohali as the auto drivers charge at will, she said. Another passenger Harjinder Singh said the railway authorities should also review the fare between Chandigarh and Ludhiana as an AC bus charges Rs 160 per seat, whereas the railway authorities were charging Rs 290 per passenger.
|
In Tangle Part-II Dropping their children and picking them up from schools is an ordeal for parents in Sector 32. In the second of the six-part series, The Tribune reporter Ritika Jha Palial and chief photographer Manoj Mahajan report the chaos that prevails.
Problem area
It is virtually a scramble for space outside St Anne’s Convent School and GGDSD School as more than 10 school buses owned by both these schools remain lined up on the road. The other side of the road remains occupied with vehicles of students and visitors at the GGDSD College and also of parents who come to pick and drop their children. All kinds of vehicles ranging from auto-rickshaws to school buses, cars and even two-wheelers jostle for space in the peak hours. While many of the commuters in the area prefer to take longer-alternate routes in a bid to avoid being held up in a jam, hundreds of parents of schoolchildren and students of the college have to brave the chaos everyday. While the timings of the college remain flexible with students commuting throughout the day, their vehicles are seen parked outside the college. This adds to the congestion on the road and traffic remains held up for at least 20 minutes.
St Anne’s school Though the school has a small parking area available inside, not many vehicles can be accommodated there. The parents have to park their vehicles
outside when they come to leave or pick up their children. The school staff park their vehicles inside the campus.
SD school There is no parking space inside the school building and the road outside the school gate is just enough for only one vehicle to cross at one time. The parents need to park their vehicles either in front of St Anne’s school or GGDSD College to drop their children. A number of parents take their vehicles up to the school gate thus blocking the exit for others as the school is located at the dead end.
GGDSD College The college only has space to accommodate two-wheelers of students. Only the staff is allowed to take their cars inside the campus. Nearly, 30 per cent of the students go the college on four-wheelers and are forced to park them alongside the main road leading from college building to the market towards the other end of the school. A trail of these vehicles is visible after 9 am on the road, causing major traffic chaos in the afternoon
when the schools close. Chaotic scene can be witnessed there.
Schools play blame game
All three institutions lack parking space, but blame one another for the mismanagement of traffic. Each one claims that their institution has the minimum number of vehicles parked alongside the roads. There is also an open land adjoining the college building, which can be earmarked as a common parking area. However, the land has been lying unutilised by the municipal corporation, said the parents.
Parents’ inputs
We have to really take out time to drop and pick up our children. Earlier, I used to be stranded for more than 20 minutes every day in the afternoon. Now, I have deliberately started coming late to pick up my children to avoid the chaos at least in the
afternoon. — Ashok Ahuja, a parent The road is already very narrow. Further, a large portion of the road gets occupied by cars and school buses during peak hours. After that, there is total chaos. People moving in opposite directions cross each other from both sides, leading to delay. There should be one-way traffic on the road during peak hours~ — Sanjeev Khurana, a parent The schools must make it compulsory for students, living nearby to pool in vehicles to commute. This will bring down the vehicle density~ — LC Khullar, a parent Staggering the timings of institutions on this road is an option. This will help in smooth flow of
traffic — PPS Sodhi, a parent }We come 45 minutes early to pick up our children so that we can get some space to park our car. The school has sufficient space inside and the buses can easily be accommodated
inside — Neenu Sachdeva, a parent Schools, college authorities’ take We have deputed security guards to man the traffic movement outside the college and have also proposed an underground parking. We have observed that very few cars parked alongside the road belong to our students — Bhushan Kumar Sharma, Principal, GGDSD College Maximum vehicles that are parked outside belong to the college students and they block the way. We have parking space inside our campus but not for parents. The MC can earmark a nearby land for parking and make the entire lane vehicle-free during rush hours — H Mavi, Spokesperson, St Anne’s School We have space for two-wheelers inside our premises. But we discourage students coming on four-wheelers. Maybe a multi-level parking can help in controlling the parking problem in the area — Manju Bhardwaj, Principal, SD School
Officialspeak
We are soon going to construct children-friendly foothpaths along side the roads so that parents will be able to drop their children in front of the school gates on
foot — SS Bidda, Chief Engineer, MC We have already written to the principal of GGDSD College to accommodate cars of the students and visitors inside the campus to avoid parking on
roads — Maneesh Chaudhary, SP (Traffic) Schools and college management have done their bit SD College
The college has proposed an underground parking and has deputed security staff. The college has written to the Estate Office seeking permission for the construction of an underground parking for the college. The proposal is currently with the Estate Office for consideration. The capacity of the parking is yet to be decided. A security guard also remains on duty for regulating the movement of the cars outside the college and also to discourage the students from parking the vehicle inappropriately.
St Anne’s Convent School
The school has deputed staff for manning the traffic.The school principal regularly deputes its staff and also checks the traffic situation personally during the afternoon. The school’s spokesperson said, the traffic was more mismanaged in the afternoons.
|
|
Why the situation is chaotic in the sector
Alongside the main road
connecting the three institutions, the MC has built nearly 11-feet wide
pavement, which is of no use as it is not smooth enough to park
vehicles. Another six-feet wide pavement has been constructed along the
other side of the road touching the gate of St Anne’s School. The
pavement is being used by students. However, the one on the other side
is of no use as it could have been utilised for widening of the main
road.
Inflow of vehicles
The three institutions has around 4,000
students with 1,000 students each in the two schools and about 2,000
students in the college. The total staff strength of these institutions
is nearly 700.Even if half the number of schoolchildren commute by bus,
the other half are dropped and picked up by their parents in their
personal vehicles. A majority of teachers in all the three institutions
commute in their personal vehicles.
Presence of cops negligible
The
presence of policemen in the area during the rush hours remains
negligible. The school staff and security guards are seen manning the
traffic. Sometimes even some parents take the initiative.
School buses
cover large area
While on one side, the parents of schoolchildren and
college students park their vehicles, as many as 10 school buses remain
lined on the other side of the road leaving very less space for the
movement of vehicles in between. Often the lane gets dissolved and the
vehicles move in a criss-cross manner from both sides, leading to
chaos.
No specified study conducted
The authorities have not conducted
any specified studies to understand the causes of traffic chaos in the
area. The police says that the road needs to be widened and college
students should be discouraged to park their four-wheelers outside the
campus. The car pool system should be encouraged.
|
|
Assault on security guards: Police remains clueless
Chandigarh, April 23 The five suspects who were rounded up were involved in a prior clash at the petrol station. They reportedly denied any involvement in yesterday's violence and were let off. Eight assailants had barged into the CITCO-run petrol station in Sector 56 on Sunday night and brutally attacked two security guards who were on duty. While it appeared to be a case of robbery attempt, the police said an old enmity could also be the reason behind the attack. The incident had occurred at 1.30 am when security guards Chander Shekhar Mishra and Surinder Pal Singh Rana, residents of Maloya, were on guard. Chander Shekhar Mishra was critically injured and slipped in a coma at the PGI. He gained consciousness today and the police is yet to record his statements.
Rape charges framed against youth
A local court today framed charges of rape against a 20-year-old youth. The court framed charges under Section 376 of the IPC against Karan while simultaneously discharging his parents from the case. The case was registered on December 14, 2012, when a 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her residence in Bapu Dham Colony. Her grandmother Vimla had lodged a missing report at the Sector 26 police station. Later, it came to light that Karan, who also resides in the colony, eloped with the girl on the pretext of marrying her. The police arrested the accused, his parents and rescued the girl. However, in the court, charges were framed only against the accused and his parents were discharged from the case.
2 held with 1-kg opium
Mohali: The police today arrested two youths, including a student of hotel management, and recovered 1 kg of opium from their
possession. Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the accused, Gursewak Singh (19), a resident of Lalliawal village, Faridkot, and Gurpreet Singh (20) from Chatthiowal village, Fazilka, were arrested from the Kharar railway station. Gurpreet Singh is a second year student of hotel management at Chandigarh Engineering College, Landran, while Gursewak Singh is a Class V passed out. The accused confessed to have bought the contraband from Gangnagar (Rajasthan).
|
|
PGI research to get fillip
Chandigarh, April 23 He plans to
promote research
In the next three years of his service at the PGIMER's department of orthopaedics, he plans to promote research and also enhance the output of the department. "At the PGI, there are so many specialities under one subject and there is a wider scope of research work. I will encourage students to get into research work," he said. "Patient care load remains on the shoulders of orthopaedists due to high influx of patients into the Advanced Trauma Centre. We need to improve the overall output of the department," Dr Bahadur said.
Post-retirement, to focus on regional spine centre
Being the chairman of the regional spine centre in Mohali, I have planned to improve the infrastructure at the centre within a year.
Better infrastructure
for spine centre
I have requested the Punjab government to give us two senior
residents each in the department of orthopaedics and anaesthesia and one consultant in each department. The work on the first floor of
the eight-bed centre will be completed by year-end, he said. I have been attending to at least 200 patients at the centre.
He feels GMCH has struggled a lot
Being constantly compared with the PGIMER for its facilities and services, the GMCH-32 has always been struggling to prove its quality of services and ensure growth. Not only the patients but also experts have been comparing our services with that of the PGI. This has helped the institute improve over the years. I will always owe my growth and popularity to the GMCH-32. The institution has given me an identity. I will request the faculty members to work together.
|
|
Fire at record room of RLA office
Chandigarh, April 23 The Registration and Licensing Authority
(RLA), Mahavir Kaushik, said records were not destroyed in the fire. MC chief fire officer Rajiv Gupta said though no major damage was reported, the fire department officials found it difficult to move through the burnt papers stacked haphazardly. "As per fire-safety norms, the records should be stacked neatly. The fire department will be issuing a notice to the RLA asking it to set its house in order and replace the expired fire extinguishers.
High drama at RLA
office in Sector 42
High drama was witnessed at the Registration and Licensing branch in Sector 42 when registration certificate and driving licence seekers complained that their documents were not being accepted by officials at the counter as the BSNL connection to the office had been snapped due to digging work. The fault was rectified this afternoon.
|
|
|
Civil Hospital to get more facilities
Mohali, April 23 "The construction of rooms near emergency ward has been started," said Dr
Bhalla. On being asked about the cost of the tests, Dr Bhalla said the patients would be charged as per the rates fixed by the Central government for its medical establishments.
The facility will be available round the clock and the company that has tied up with the hospital will provide the staff, including radiologists and technicians. Patients have to go to private testing centres for these tests. These centres charge hefty sum from the patients. "The facility will prove beneficial and put an end to harassment," he said.
|
|
Nonsense Club makes sense
Chandigarh, April 23 The city missed its ace comedian, Bhatti, as his club held its first satirical protest after his death today. Declaring women as a commodity will just be a constitutional formality for the nation since women are already being treated as an object, said the members of the club at the Sector 17 plaza. The venue used to be Bhatti's favourite. "By labelling women as a commodity, one can buy, sell, molest, hurt her," said Savita Bhatti, CEO, Mad Arts Film School. This was the first event that the club organised after Bhatti's death.
|
PU gears up to declare results on time
Chandigarh, April 23 The delay in the declaration of results has always remained a major cause of concern among students since it affects their further studies and admission process. The students, who are planning to take further admissions, have to face tough times due to delay in the declaration of results. PU Controller of Examination (COE) Parvinder Singh said the university would start declaring the results from May 27 and wind-up all the declaration process of results by June23. “We have expedited the internal circulation of documents that earlier helpful in declaring the results,” the COE said. He said earlier, the examination branch after receiving the answersheets used to wait for a memo-copy from the secrecy branch, which was a time consuming process. It was one of the resons for the delay in the declaration of results. However, the examination branch now would get a duplicate memo copy on the basis of which it would start the evaluation work simultaneously and compile the results. “The university is planning to use a software, which will be helpful in tracking the number of evaluated answersheets on the day-to-day basis across all the evaluation centres,” the COE said. “With the help of the software, we will be able to maintain a record of the number of answersheets evaluated each day. This will help us in meeting the deadline and speed the process of the declaration of results,” he said. PU officials said the university would ensure better coordination within various departments to declare the results on time.
|
||||||
|
Awareness on RTE Act
Chandigarh: The National Student's Union of India (NSUI) organised a camp near Vivek High School, Sector 38, to make people aware about seats reserved for children from economically weaker section (EWS) under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. NSUI National Delegate Sunny Mehta headed the camp. His team collected approximately 50 applications for vacant EWS seats. Later, DPI schools Upkar Singh asked to forward his proposals of the NUSI workers. Further, the NSUI delegate proposed a strict implementation of 15 per cent reservation for the EWS students at all levels in lieu of the land allotment scheme. DAV principal honoured
Principal of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, Dr Vibha Ray, was honoured by the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi, on Mahatma Hansraj Day, at DAV University, Sarmastpur, Jalandhar. Under her guidance, the school maintained its tradition of winning the overall UT Inter School Sports Championship and produced a number of players of international repute as Prashant Chopra, Manan Vohra, Gaurav Chauhan, Aman Chauhan. Gippy Grewal
enthrals audience
Mohali: Over 2,000 students turned up at the Aryans Group of Colleges on the Chandigarh-Patiala highway to see the performance of Punjabi actor and singer Gippy Grewal. Gippy gave a live performance. Students from the nearby villages were also invited to the event. The campus was abuzz with the singer’s fans as they enjoyed some of his foot-tapping numbers. 284 students get degrees
Over 284 students of MBA, MCA, and BBA and BCA were awarded degrees during the 11th annual convocation of Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, Phase II, Mohali. Dr SK Vasudeva, Chief Controller, DRDO, was the chief guest and Dr Prabhjot Kaur, Incharge (PTU) Mohali campus, was the guest of honour at the convocation. Dr Vasudeva emphasised the importance of industry and educational institutions coming closer to each other to bring desirable changes in society. Dr. Prabhjot Kaur congratulated the students for their achievements. Earth Day observed
Shivalik Public School, Mohali, observed World Book Reading Day, Earth Day and Mahavir Jayanti on its campus. The students were made aware of the fact that the nature is a treasure house and it is a moral duty of each one to take care of it. Mahavir Jayanti celebrated
Panchkula: Over 300 students of The British School, Panchkula, celebrated Mahavir Jayanti with devotion and dedication on Tuesday. Lectures and presentations on life and teachings of Lord Mahavira were organised to mark the day. School director Geetika Sethi enlightened the students about the significance of celebrating Mahavir Jayanti. — Tribune Reporters
|
||||||
|
Halli’s Urdu poetry speaks about women’s issues
Chandigarh, April 23 Inaugurating the seminar, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary Sameer Mathur said Khwaja Altaf
Hussain, a poet who was famous as Halli Panipati, is a symbol of intellectual inheritance for the social reconstruction of Haryana. He further said Halli made Urdu into a language of development and freedom. “The issues concerning women and children were close to his heart. Halli highlighted women empowerment issues through his poetry,” he said. Dr Manvinder
Kaur, Chairperson, Department-cum-Centre for Women’s Studies, said the voice of women is suppressed and now, they are being increasingly targeted by others. “Treated as commodities for men’s pleasure, women are denied their status as human beings,” she said. Delivering a keynote address, Maulana Umer Siddiqui from Shilpi Academy,
Azamgarh, said Halli was the first person who highlighted women’s dignity through Urdu. “Prior to this, there was no talk of women’s rights in Urdu. With the help of him, a primary school for girls was started at
Panipat,” he said. Dr Virender emphasised that Halli used his poetry to talk of women’s rights.
|
||||||
|
Students told to file undertaking for not driving vehicles on PU campus
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 23 On April 16, a major accident occurred on the campus due to reckless driving by two PU students, who were in separate vehicles. Both students were reportedly racing on the main road of the campus. PU officials stated that the students have been asked to give an undertaking that they will not drive vehicles on the campus till they get passed-out. “We will conduct a meeting, after receiving the required documents from the students, to decide further action against them,” said a member of a committee constituted in this regard. The girl who was driving one of the cars is a second-year student while the boy is a fourth-year student of the department. The university has already suspended them from attending the classes till the time the committee gives its report recommending action against them.
|
||||||
|
||||||
| 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 | |
"Though the rates are yet to be
finalised, these will be much lower than the prevailing market rates," said Dr
Bhalla.