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3 students gangrape minor, held
Chandigarh, April 28 One of the accused, Kulwinder Singh, alias Prashant, was known to the girl for over a fortnight as he had become friends with her over the phone. A case of abduction and gangrape under Sections 376 (g), 363 and 366 A of the IPC has been registered against the three accused at the Sector 39 police station. The incident occurred when the girl, who has studied till Class IX from a Sector 25-based school and then dropped out last year, was picked up from the Sector 41 market by the prime accused, Prashant, on his bike. The girl had gone to the Krishna market in Sector 41 with her neighbour when she received a call from Prashant, who asked her to meet him. She met him near the bus stop and he asked her to accompany him to the Sukhna lake on his bike. The accused took her on his bike towards the forest area near Saketri at 3.30 pm. He than called two of his friends, Monty Pandwal, a resident of AKS Colony, Zirakpur, and Mohit Subharwal, a resident of Sector 41, and the three youths took turns to rape her in the forest area. The girl kept crying for help, but as the area was deserted no one could hear her cries. After committing the crime, the accused told the girl that they would drop her home, but she refused to accompany them and kept crying. They forced her to sit on the bike, but she jumped from it. A passerby noticed the youths along with the girl, who was weeping in a helpless state with dishevelled hair, and called the police control room. A PCR squad reached the spot and the girl narrated her plight. The three accused had fled the spot by then. The police traced the three accused on the basis of the phone numbers provided by the girl and arrested them in a case of gangrape. The victim was taken to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16, where her medical examination was conducted. The police said the girl had two brothers, besides her mother, who was suffering from an ailment. Her father had died some time ago.
Phone friend
One of the accused, Kulwinder Singh, alias Prashant, was known to the girl for over a fortnight as he had become friends with her over the phone. A case of abduction and gangrape under Sections 376 (g), 363 and 366 A of the IPC has been registered against the three accused at the Sector 39 police station
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Suspended Inspector booked on charge of extortion
Chandigarh, April 28 It has also been alleged in the complaint by Harish, a businessman and resident of Sector 18, that besides threatening him yesterday evening, the Inspector had earlier come to his shop in Sector 20 four months ago and taken away Rs 3 lakh kept in a box by threatening and abusing him to return his money. He had also slapped his business partner Sudershan. He came again to their shop 15 days ago and threatened them that he would register a case against them if his money was not returned. Yesterday morning, the Inspector again called him on his phone to return the money. He came in the evening at 6.30 pm to the shop and asked for his sum. The complaint states that Amanjot asked them to close the shop and give him the keys. He took away the keys and left. The complainant then called the police control room. While he had initially stated that he was threatened at gunpoint, there was no mention of the gunpoint threat in his written complaint.
Money-lending process
In the FIR, Harish alleged that he had taken Rs 1 crore from Inspector Amanjot on 7 per cent interest per month around a year ago. The police said an amount of Rs 1 crore was taken by complainant Harish from Amanjot through Vijay Sharma, who runs a juice shop in Sector 30, in instalments. "Though I managed to return a large part of the money, an amount of around Rs 12 lakh was still pending and Amanjot had started harassing me to return the remaining amount," alleged Harish. Harish and Sudershan are partners in a property business: Swastik Estate. The two cited slowdown in property rates as the reason behind their failure to return the money to the Inspector. The instalments were either collected from Amanjot's Sector 33 residence or Vijay Sharma's residence.
Controversial tenure
Known for solving many sensational cases of crime, especially kidnapping, for the past 10 years, Inspector Amanjot Singh, who got an out-of-rank promotion (ORP) for his excellent work, has remained in controversies for the past one year. Last year, the Inspector had resigned in protest, accusing SP Deshraj of victimising him and initiating departmental inquiries against him. He had later withdrawn his resignation after the inquiries were dropped. He was suspended in October 2012 for insubordination after directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs following a report which stated that Inspector Amanjot had disobeyed his senior during a VVIP visit. Former SP (City) Deshraj, who was later arrested by CBI, had alleged that the Inspector disobeyed him during a VVIP's visit to the PGI.
Cop or financier?
A senior police official said they would write to the UT Vigilance Department, the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate to probe the case at their end. "A police officer is not supposed to indulge in any sort of commercial lending, that too at such high rates of interest in violation of the RBI guidelines and service conduct rules. The source of income and huge amounts of loan given in cash will be probed," said a senior police official. The police will also explore the possibility of the involvement of black money and hawala transactions in this case.
Arrest only after allegations are verified
While Inspector Amanjot Singh has been booked under non-bailable sections, police officers investigating the case said it was the discretion of the police whether to arrest the accused or not. "We will first verify the allegations and then arrest him, if required," said a police official. A DSP-level inquiry has been initiated to verify the allegations. Frame-up, says accused All allegations against me are totally false and baseless. I did not threaten anyone nor did I extort money. I went there to meet the businessman on Saturday and ask for my money, but returned as he was not there. If I took money from him four months ago, why has he lodged a complaint now? There is not an iota of truth in what is being alleged. Justice will prevail~ — Amanjot Singh
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Potable water a luxury in Mohali village
Mohali, April 28 Karnail Singh, a dairy farmer, said he faced a lot of problem everyday in arranging drinking water. “I have to make several rounds of a hand pump, installed near a temple, to fetch water. It’s very tiring,” he said. While affluent families have either installed hand pumps or submersible motors to get water, poor families, which comprise nearly 40 per cent of the total village population, are mainly dependent on such families or hand pumps. After a struggle for proper government water supply for the past two years, a new tubewell was yesterday made functional by the authorities in the village. The villagers broke into celebrations yesterday, but were seen complaining today that they did not get any water in their taps. “In our area, there is no water supply,” said Gian Singh, a panchayat member. He claimed that certain localities in the village had a water supply, but the supply lasted just 45 minutes. “Can one get enough water for his family and the cattle in such a short span of time?” asked Gian Singh. He said after a long struggle, the authorities had installed a new
tubewell, but that was not enough for the entire population. “Several residents are not getting water from the
tubewell,” he alleged. Another resident, Narinder Singh, an agriculturist and sports teacher in a private school, said those using water from hand pumps were exposed to health risks as the groundwater was polluted and unfit for consumption. “We have installed an advanced water purifier and its filter has to be changed every two months due to the poor quality of water. One can well imagine the plight of those using the hand pump water here,” said Gian Singh while showing his recently changed water purifier filter, which had turned nearly black after being used for just one and a half months. Another resident, Amandeep Singh, said government officials such as teachers, medical staff and patwaris brought drinking water from outside did not use the local water. Residents alleged that people often suffered from water-borne diseases in the village. “Diarrhoea, stomach ache and skin problems are common here,” said Amandeep Singh. Residents said when the old tubewells were functional, residents used to get water supply for 15 to 20 minutes. “But that too ended one and a half years ago,” said Gian Singh. The Punjab Human Rights Commission had also directed the authorities to make arrangements for proper water supply to the village. What the DC has to say The water quality in the village should be tested regularly. If needed, we will install more tubewells in the area. I will visit the village soon to take stock of the situation. — Tajinder Pal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Mohali
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42.7% rural students in UT found malnourished
Chandigarh, April 28 In the urban school, 26.45 per cent students were found to be malnourished. Officials said students in rural schools were mostly from a poor background and lacked a balanced diet. “Efforts have been made to provide nutritious food to students through the mid-day meal scheme, but it does not seem to serve the purpose beyond a limit,” said a senior official of the Education Department. The head of a rural government school said they often tried to make children aware of the benefits of a proper diet in the morning assembly or by organising camps, but the problem was that for many parents, especially labourers or daily wage earners, a balanced diet for their children was not a priority. Moreover, these students were prone to infection because of their poor living conditions. Urban school students on the other hand came from a better economical background, he said. The report has also pointed out other health problems among the students. As many as 16.90 per cent of rural school students are suffering from anaemia compared to 10.14 per cent
in urban schools. On the dental front, 29.99 per cent rural students had caries compared to 25.99 per cent students in urban schools. Rural students also had a high tendency for worm infestation. In the monthly report for February, a total of 12,404 students underwent a medical check-up in 12 government schools. Among them, 7,776 were found having different health issues.
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Rubbing can harm eyes: PGI study
Chandigarh, April 28 These 136 youngsters suffering from keratoconus, aged between eight and 37 years, reached the hospital from across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the city. Their eyes were studied at the department over a period of one year. “Children have a tendency of rubbing their eyes constantly. If parents do not take note of it, an allergy in the eyes can fast develop into keratoconus, leading to a severe damage to the eyes,” said Dr Amit Gupta, Associate Professor, Advanced Eye Centre, PGI. Another challenge was that there were few centres available across the country that could effectively diagnose and treat keratoconus, Dr Gupta said. "We must understand that by simply avoiding rubbing of eyes, the damage can be controlled to a large extent," said Dr Gupta. Of these youths, 25 per cent were found to be suffering from asthma, hay fever and dermatitis. The remaining, meanwhile, had other factors such as family history.
What is keratoconus
It is a degeneration of the structure of the cornea. The cornea is the clear tissue covering the front of the eye. The shape of the cornea slowly changes from the normal round shape to a cone shape. It gradually leads to a loss of vision. It is called a disease of the young as it largely affects the youth. With the onset of the disease, a person loses the ability to wear contact lenses.
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In Tangle Part-V, Mohali
It is virtually an ordeal for parents and commuters outside schools in Mohali during rush hours. The Tribune reporter
Akash Ghai and photographer
One witnesses traffic jams in front of almost every school in Mohali in the morning and afternoon. As parents jostle for space, it wastes a lot of their time and on many occasions it also leads to altercations as they are in a hurry to go and pick up their children. Many vehicles, including school buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, motorcycles and scooters, are being parked haphazardly outside these schools and the roads virtually have no space for other commuters to move at the time of opening and closing hours of the schools. Interestingly, most of the school authorities blame the district administrative setup and the Mohali police for not helping them out with the problem. Alleging lackadaisical attitude on the part of the authorities, the managements of these schools maintained that despite several requests, no policemen were being deputed during peak hours outside the schools.
Apart from regulating the traffic during peak hours, presence of policemen is necessary to shoo away disturbing elements, mainly the young boys. "These youngsters come in cars and on motorcycles and start making rounds in front of the schools for obvious reasons. They put the lives of the small children and other people at risk by driving rashly", said Karnail Singh Brar, Director, St Soldier International Convent School. On the issue, the chairman of Gian Jyoti Public School and Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, JS Bedi, said that what else they (the managements of the schools in question) could do besides deputing two or three staff members on the road to request the visitors to park their vehicles properly. "Basically it's the duty of the traffic police, but you can see these policemen performing their duty once in a blue moon. I am sorry to say that several people abide by the rules only on seeing the 'men in khaki'', said Bedi. Educational Institutions
Vehicles on road School buses, cars, auto- rickshaws, two-wheelers and cycle-rickshaws Peak hours of traffic Peak hours for traffic: 7 am to 8 am and 1 pm to 2.30 pm Officialspeak Certainly the problem exists. I will hold a meeting with the management of the schools and the members of the resident welfare associations to find a solution. Even I feel that the traffic police should be deputed, particularly in the afternoon, near the schools, where the problem is grave. I will send a communiqué to the Mohali SSP soon in this regard. The schools should be divided into junior and senior wings and the closing time of each wing should be staggered by half an hour. — Tajinder Pal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Mohali School authorities should themselves provide parking space for parents' vehicles, just like the marriage palace owners, who are liable to provide parking space to their visitors. It's not possible to depute policemen on a regular basis outside every educational institute here. Where ever the problem is grave, I will try and workout some solution. —Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, SSP, Mohali School authorities' views The authorities should take a lenient view of our requests on such problems. I have already written to PUDA authorities and sought permission to use the open space adjoining my institute, so that parents can park their vehicles there. But I am yet to get a response on the issue from them. We have deputed three to four staff members to control the traffic in front of the school during peak hours. We are doing our duty, but the problem needs to be addressed permanently. — Ranjeet Bedi, principal, Gian Jyoti Public School and Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology. We have written to the Mohali police several times and asked them to depute policemen outside our school during peak hours, but we hardly see them there. As many as 15 schools are affected with the problem. So deputing 30-35 policemen for half-an-hour outside these schools is not a big task.The newly-launched Women Commando Force authorities have approached us to discuss some issues. We will also apprise them of the problem and I am hopeful that there will be a solution soon. — Ram Lal Sewak, Director, Shastri Model School The number of vehicles is growing and so is the problem. I don't blame the police or the administration for it, but it is also the duty of school managements to share the responsibility. We should depute trained staff to regulate the traffic. Each parent should also understand the problem and park their vehicles at proper places. Those parents, who don't listen should be given counselling first, but if the problem persists with them, the registration number of their vehicles should be handed over to the police for further action —DS Bedi, Shivalik Public School, Phase VI Parents & guardians’ take The administration did not apply its mind while allotting sites to schools in residential areas, as most of them were not given adequate parking space. Their mindless decisions have led to the chaos. — Mohinder Singh, a guardian Getting stuck in traffic jams outside schools is a routine affair for a parent like me. The government and the school authorities should try and work out a solution at the earliest. — Pawan Bansal, a parent The government is responsible for it. Why didn't they make adequate arrangements when they were passing the drawings of the schools at initial stage? — Teja Singh, a grandparent First, such institutions are not meant to be located in residential areas. The schools are equally responsible for the traffic chaos outside the premises. They should make adequate parking arrangements for parents inside the school premises. — Rupali Bansal, a parent It is a serious issue and there is a need to ponder over the problem. — Surnider Singh, a parent School bus drivers' inputs It is very difficult to drive a 52-seater bus in heavy traffic, particularly when small children are moving on the road. We have to be very careful. The authorities should do something to address the problem. — Kulwant Singh, school bus driver We face a lot of inconvenience as it is not easy to negotiate a bus during rush hours. Several times, fight ensues among people due to wrongly parked vehicles. — Sarwan Singh, school bus driver ‘Admn at fault’ Authorities indifferent, says former councillor
Situation worst outside schools located opposite residential areas
The situation is worst, particularly outside those schools, which are located opposite residential lanes. These schools include Government Senior
Secondary School in Phase III-B1, Sant Isher Singh Public School, Small Wonders School in Sector 71 and Shivalik Public School. Residents living near these schools are the worst hit. Since the cars and
other vehicles are parked on both sides of the road, traffic jams are a routine affair outside these institutes. Bhupinder Kaur, who lives in front of
Government Senior Secondary School, Phase IIIB1, said that the residents were virtually confined to their houses due
to traffic jams. "We are unable to take out our vehicles, as parents park their vehicles outside our gates. Once my neighbour had to go on a rickshaw to see her doctor as someone had parked his/her car in front of the gate of her house and she was unable to take out her car", said Bhupinder Kaur. School authorities working out a solution
Teachers and other staff members, minimum two in number, are being put on duty to manage the flow of traffic outside the school gates everyday by all the school authorities. However, the system adopted by the schools is nothing more than a formality. It has been seen that nobody listens to them. Students, too, at risk
Students are always at risk when they cross the road. What leads to the confusion
Haphazard parking, lack of parking space and absence of policemen to regulate the flow of traffic at these points leads to chaos and confusion outside the schools. Possible Solutions
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Park or playground? Tug of war continues
Chandigarh, April 28 While the elderly claim that parks are meant only for walks and playing team games like football, cricket and volleyball should be prohibited. Further such games put them at risk of injury. On the other hand, youngsters say that it's their age of playing, not walking and hence they convert a park into a sports complex. Till date, no consensus has been reached and both the age groups. It's a serious issue as the local children with no other option, either sit at home or play on roads, putting their lives at high risk. Resultantly, parents are forced to spend money on indoor games, playstations or high end computer games as means to entertain their children during post exams
holidays.
Demand for green belts According to most of the Municipal Corporation councillors, the residents have themselves demanded for greener areas. And now that they are happy, the younger generation is opposing the decision. “It was demanded by a certain section of people, to beautify every sector, so we approached in that manner”, said one of the councillors. Children do not form
vote bank “These kids do not fall under their vote bank, so they are deferred and ignored when it comes to their demands. Both ruling and opposition parties have failed to deliver their best”, said Prabhpreet Singh. Another resident added, “Creating green belts is not a great task to deal with but again the government has completely failed in maintaining them. In order to hide their own failure the authorities are playing blame game", Nitin Gulati. Empty promises On November 26, last year, in the 186th meeting of the municipal corporation, the councillors agreed to have a common policy for creating a playground in every sector. But the elected councillor failed to keep their promises. Parks a hit with boozers The green-belts, lying unattended, are turning out to be a perfect place for boozers. In absence of proper light and security; the boozers enjoy their drinks and indulge in scuffle with localities, if opposed. A similar situation has been witnessed in a green belt at sector 22. UT, MC lack consensus
The authorities, failed to find any solution, have finally started blaming each. Councillor Mukesh Bassi said that by not providing playground facilities to the children, the Union Territory Administration was completely finishing the potential talent of children. While the BJP Councillor Saurabh Joshi said that the Chief Architect of the UT Administration rejected the playground proposal while just sitting at her office and without conducting any groundwork. On other hand, sources in the UT Administration blamed residence’s interest behind rejection of different projects regarding play fields. “Earlier, councillors wanted to have green fields, then fountains, then temporary grounds, then fenced volleyball, badminton courts and an entire area for play grounds. “They should first make their own mind and then come up with proposals. All proposals were rejected due to their tangle nature.” said an official of chief architect department. What the Residents say The youngsters create nuisance while playing here. As far as the children are concerned, they play recklessly. There should be separate place for them to
play. — Motia I have two-broken window panes in my house. And this is a regular feature . The authorities should find a way-out. Residents having their homes nearby these grounds are severely affected. — Kaushlaya Boozers, cattle menace and the children playing inside the parks are our major concern. If the authorities cannot maintain the parks, they should hand them over to some private companies. There should be proper check on youngsters and they should be prevented from creating nuisance — Parmanand Children disturb us when they play football and cricket with leather balls. If we object, their parents argue with us. We are elderly people and should be respected.We often suffer injuries and it takes time for us to become physically fit. In a recent incident, I was hit with a ball and I was hurt badly while the children ran
away — Shiksha Goel
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Spending limit may go up
Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, April 28 In 2003, when the Municipal Council was formed, the Election Commission fixed the expenditure by each candidate on his campaigning as Rs 75,000. Then in 2008, it was enhanced to Rs 1.25 lakh. The issue was raised in the meeting with State Election Commissioner Dharam Vir. The demand was made by the representatives of political parties because being the Municipal Corporation elections, the area under each ward has increased. They said in these times of inflation, Rs 1.25 lakh was very less and it should be at least Rs 5 lakh per candidate. Dharam Vir said: “The matter is under consideration. Technical experts will be working as per the formulas adopted by the Election Commission. The decision for the same will be given next week.” “Each ward has around three-four sectors and the area is larger being the Municipal Corporation. In these times of inflation, campaigning is not at all possible in just Rs 1.25 lakh. So, this demand was made and hopefully it will be considered,” said Manoj Aggarwal, district president of the INLD. Shashi Sharma, district president of the HJC, said: “Campaigning involves massive use of vehicles and it will consume a huge quantity of petrol. A sum of Rs 1.25 lakh is very less to be spent, that too in today’s times.”
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Check misuse of power: Residents
The media reports road rage incidents in the tricity almost every day. Most of these incidents end with verbal duels, and sometimes become physical too, leading to fist fights. However, whenever vehicles of politicians or government officials are involved, the common man is always at the receiving end of the uncouth behaviour of the accompanying security personnel or drivers. The incident involving a Sub-Divisional Magistrate and a local jeweller takes the cake. In a surprisingly pre-meditated late reaction, the jeweller was picked up from his house and had to spend the night in police station. The existing Police Complaint Tribunal must be made responsible of entertaining complaints against such incidents and recommend disciplinary action against the erring individuals. Col KD Pathak (Retd), Chandigarh Admn looking for
escape route
Detention of a city-based jeweller, Vikrant Kumar, has created ripples among the general public. The case assumed public glare as it involved a high profile officer of the Chandigarh Administration. Presiding over the case in which her driver and gunman were complainants has also attracted ire of the legal fraternity. A small incident which could have passed without any media attention has led to an embarrassment for the Administration. Rather than assuaging the hurt feeling of the alleged accused Vikrant, the senior-most officers in the Administration were looking for an escape route for their colleague. Mishandling of the incident has got it a tag of abuse of power by a custodian of the law. It would have been apt for the Adviser to resolve the issue by applying forgive-and-forget principle. Satish Chandra Sharma,
Chandigarh
Something lacking in training of civil servants
Most of the officers at the top-level think they have the right to do anything. This was not the first case and would not be the last one. There must be something lacking in their training that is building such attitudes in these officers. The government must think of some meditation programmes for officers because nowadays most of the officers are doing multiple jobs or taking care of multiple responsibilities. Shishu Pal,
Chandigarh
First do background check
Arrogant as ever, the Chandigarh Police on every platform does not miss to call itself public friendly. But the ground reality is just the opposite. After apprehending a person for an unproven crime, they start using third-degree methods even at the initial stage of interrogation, just to extort a statement which suits them. It is for this reason that crime committed by the cohorts of the high and the mighty almost always goes unpunished in the end. The police force, particularly at the station house officer-level, should be trained to first establish antecedents of an apprehended person and deal with him harshly only when they are pretty sure that the person committed the crime. At the same time the police is expected to deal with habitual offenders rather sternly and by doing so it will not only be doing its duty, but also sending the right message to the public. SC
Luthra, MHC, Mani Majra
Check CCTV footage
The recent confrontation between an SDM and a jeweller is indeed a sad affair, with the bureaucrat making full use of her status to teach a lesson to the jeweller, who dared to cross the way of her official car. The sadder part is that the same officer presided over the case and pronounced judgement. She has denied that she was in the car at the time of incident. However, the CCTV footage from some light point should be checked to see whether she is speaking the truth. When we can trap an ordinary motorist by way of the CCTV footage, then why can’t it be used against a civil servant? The incident shows violation of fundamental right to freedom of speech. Gurcharan Kaur,
Mohali
SDM should be transferred
Charity does not begin at home is what Tanvi Garg, an IAS officer of the UT cadre, has proved through the recent incident. I am shocked that if this is the condition of the UT officers, then what can be expected from those who are coming to serve the city from Punjab and Haryana. Due to misdeeds of certain officers, the good work done by others gets negated. The SDM should have chosen to stay away from the media glare, and instead worked silently for the masses with dedication and honesty. Going by the present style of functioning of the administration, the general public is not given an opportunity to speak the truth. This incident can set an example for other bureaucrats. The SDM should be immediately transferred to some other state and the UT Adviser should provide justice to the jeweller. The UT needs officers who are ever ready to help citizens, rather than being insensitive towards them. Sachin Sharma,
Chandigarh
Bureaucrats must
change mindset
Though the British left India more than six decades ago, the attitude of bureaucracy remains the same. The incident involving SDM Tanvi Garg is an apt example. Such cases of bureaucratic dictatorship not only raise questions on policing, but also indicate that there is something seriously wrong in our set up. The jeweller spent 19 hours in jail though no charges of congnizable offence could be established against him. The most unfortunate aspect of the case is that the same SDM heard the case. It would have been better had an inquiry been conducted to bring out the truth. SK
Khosla, Chandigarh
Assault on liberty
The episode speaks of an unacceptable assault on the dignity and liberty of a citizen, guaranteed by the Constitution, at the hands of those who think they can do anything they want to do. The episode raises several issues, the most important being why the trial and conviction of an innocent person should be allowed when we see the Constitutional promise being denied. Ajit Singh,
Canada
Victim should fight
for justice
India is the largest growing democratic country in the world and it gives equal rights to every citizen. The victim should fight for justice against the bureaucrat. The Administration should give justice to the victim and punish the accused without any bias. The Administration should solve the problem at earliest. Sumesh Kumar
Badhwar, Mohali
Arbitrary use of power, but media coverage lopsided Being a government officer on a high position does not make anyone God, allowing them to do whatever they feel like. However, a government officer does possess some legal powers. Being head of any NGO does not provide anyone with a license to misbehave in court. Courtesy while driving must be observed on roads. Sadly, it is missing among youths and the rich. Recently, it has become a trend in the tricity for those who violate the traffic rules to seek help of political parties, bureaucrats, police officials and NGOs to stage a dharna, while there are other bigger issues in the society. Credentials of such people who head any NGO must also be verified to see whether they have their own axe to grind. Nonetheless, the SDM has used her power arbitrarily. It, however, has not yet been established why she was compelled to take such a drastic measure. After all, on the road the businessman, too, must have misbehaved, irritating the SDM. The role of the other party has not been looked into by the media. The entire coverage was lopsided which incited the public to speak out in only one direction. In my view this ugly incident should not be blown out of proportion by the media. Madan Gupta Spatu, Chandigarh Open house question Parking outside schools in the tricity area leads to inconvenience for commuters who happen to pass by during the opening and closing hours of these educational institutions. It is a chaos-like situation on roads with traffic coming to a virtual halt. What needs to be done to ensure adequate parking space outside schools, so that the normal flow of the traffic is not affected? Write your suggestions to open house@ tribunemail.com
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Election process to be over by June 16
Panchkula, April 28 As time was sought and the extension for conducting elections was given till June 16, the procedure would be completed till the date if no further amendment is made. The process of ward delimitation was completed by January 15 and the three-year term to hold elections was lapsing on March 16, 2013. The extension was sought finding difficulty in completing the preparations in such a short span. Recently, voter info centres were set up in various wards to receive claims and objections of voters and the voters’ list was finalised. State Election Commissioner Dharam Vir said the date could be announced anytime and efforts were being made to hold the elections as soon as possible. The administration recently approved the setting up of 20 wards in the city. The Panchkula Municipal Corporation would comprise of 11 wards of the township, while the remaining of Pinjore and Kalka. Six wards have been reserved for women, three wards for Scheduled Castes and two wards for Backward Classes. In a recent meeting, it was announced that the Mayor of the Corporation would be from the General Category.
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It’s raining liquor in city
Chandigarh, April 28 Those who have to close their trade from pre-fabricated sheds are keener on selling their stocks. Across the city, banners and billboards have been put up to offer the popular brands of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) at discounts up to 45 per cent. Even the Indian scotches are available at a discounted rate of up to 25 per cent of the original price. Most of the contractors are offering a discount of between Rs 70 and Rs 100 per bottle. Most of the contractors said they were being forced to clear their stock as they had not been able to lift the allocated quota of liquor. “I am offering a discount of up to Rs 80 a bottle. Not only would the stock, the increased duties in the new policy hit the business badly,” said Sat Pal, a Sector 42-based contractor. Aware of contractors selling liquor below the minimum retail price, officials of the Excise Department have turned a blind eye. For the new policy, beginning May 1, 2013, the department has already sold 103 of the 217 vends in the first phase of allotment. Bringing the prices of IMFL and beer more or less on a par with Punjab, the UT in its new Excise Policy (2013-2014) has substantially increased the excise duty by 20 per cent to 300 per cent and assessment fee by 33 per cent. Compared to cheaper brands, consuming the expensive liquor brands such as scotches will be more taxing.
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Mapping of underground water pipelines on House agenda
Chandigarh, April 28 The issue has been included in the agenda of the House meeting scheduled on April 20. The move assumes significance since in the absence of precise information on location of pipelines the civic body is forced to dig at several places to check leakage. The agenda was proposed by BJP councilor Harjinder Kaur. “The mapping work has remained only on papers till date. It is important for the civic body to have some concrete data on location of pipelines, and gullies should be made around the pipelines to identify the location of pipelines,” she said. Lack of specific information on location of the pipelines has long been a bone of contention between the public health department and the Building and Roads Wing of the MC. The Department of Public Health makes it mandatory for the Building and Roads Wing to procure a No Objection Certificate from the former for widening of roads or similar constructions.
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Panchkula police fines 40 violators for drinking in public places
Panchkula, April 28 “A three-hour drive was held and about 40 persons who were found drinking in public were challaned,” said Deswal. The Panchkula police has decided to regularly conduct such drives to check violators. At the checkpoint near Amartex Chowk, the police signaled a car to stop, but the occupant tried to flee. He was later nabbed by the police. Ten days back a similar drive was held under the directions of the Commissioner of Police. Then too around 15 boozers were found drinking in cars at markets and other isolated places. Most of them were in the age group of 20-25.
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BJP workers join Congress
Chandigarh, April 28 Pawan Kumar Bansal welcomed the leaders. Enumerating various schemes launched by the UPA Government, Bansal said the central leadership had done many developmental works in the country. He criticised the main opposition party, BJP, for creating hindrance in the smooth functioning of the Parliament and local civic bodies. Other congress leaders including BB Bahl, president, Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee; Ram Pal Sharma, Mayor Subash Chawla and Pardeep Chhabra were also present.
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Victim’s mother suffers heart attack
Chandigarh, April 28 Yesterday, talking to the Chandigrh Tribune, Jagwinder Kaur had resented the failure of the Municipal Corporation to include the item regarding providing job to Harpreet’s wife in the agenda of the upcoming House meeting. The issue was highlighted in these columns today. Presently, Jagwinder Kaur is under observation at a hospital in Sohana. Late evening, senior BJP leaders including Sanjay Tandon, state BJP president; and Leader of Opposition in the MC House Arun Sood visited the hospital and assured her that they would include the item in the agenda on Monday. — TNS
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School education Vivek Gupta Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 As highlighted by The Tribune yesterday, there were TGTs in subjects like Sanskrit, science, physical education and home science who were promoted to subjects like Mathematics, English, Punjabi, political science, sociology and other subjects. The fundamental problem, as it was found, is the abrupt provisions regarding promotions in the Chandigarh Recruitment Rules (school cadre), framed for the first time in 1991 and then amended several times thereafter. It is despite the fact that 45 per cent of the total sanctioned posts in PGTs have been done by way of promotion from the TGT cadre. The 1991 recruitment rules, notified for the first time on February 15 in Chandigarh, just mandated MA/MSc/MCom with at least 50 per cent marks from a recognised university, along with BT/BEd as a required qualification for the promotion to lecturer post. Surprisingly, one and a half month later on March 26, 1991, the amendments to the recruitment rules paved the way for easy promotion as it relaxed norms for 50 per cent marks and just mandated the possession of master’s degree for the promotion. Ironically, these rules have not been changed till date despite the fact that amendments were made in the Chandigarh Recruitment Rules a number of times since they were originally framed. The July 1992 amendments introduced joint seniority of TGTs master/mistress with TGT language master/mistress. The amendments in December 1997 made changes in the service rule of the JBT/NTT cadre, followed by another amendment in May 1998 that revised their promotion rules. In August 17, 2001, amendments, the Education Department revised the essential qualification for direct recruitment for all cadres. For instance, a postgraduate degree in the relevant subject with at least 50 per cent was made mandatory for the direct recruitment of PGTs but it again remained silent of required changes in the promotion to the PGT cadre. A government school head said the promotion rules needed immediate changes. “The issue remained under carpet because there was no promotion in UT for the past 20 years. But the lack of proper rules came to the fore in the recent promotion of the TGT cadre that promoted teachers as lecturers of subjects in which they had no teaching experience. Just a degree promoted them as lecturers which is not a proper criteria,” he said. As per information, recently Haryana notified its latest recruitment rules for the school cadre, which had ensured that a TGT is promoted as a lecturer in the same subject and moreover, minimum of 50 per cent marks are required in the master’s degree, which was relaxed in UT in first amendment in March 26, 1991. Meanwhile, senior officials of the Education Department could not be contacted on the issue.
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Four-member committee fails to meet
Amit Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 The two students were suspended from attending classes by the university authorities after the accident. The committee was formed on April 17 to probe into the entire incident, but has failed to make little headway. The committee comprised of Prof Kalpana Mahajan, Dean Students’ Welfare (Women), and Senate members, including Dr Yograj Angrish, Dinesh Kumar and Dr Nandita. Prof Kalpana Mahajan, Dean Students’ Welfare (Women), said the meeting had to be called by Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia. Prof Ahuwalia said the DSW (W) was the chairperson of the committee and she had to call the meeting. The students of the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), who were reportedly racing on the campus putting many lives on risk, met with the accident leaving five vehicles, including a motorcycle, damaged and one injured. Dinesh Kumar, committee member, said they could attend the meeting only when the chairperson of the committee calls for the meeting. Dr Yograj, another committee member, said the issue had not been diluted and it would be taken up seriously when the meeting would be called by the convener. One of the faculty members said it was surprising that such a sensitive issue had not been taken up by the committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor. “It was a serious issue which should be addressed on a priority basis. I don’t know what they are waiting for to call a meeting,” the faculty member said.
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Earth Day observed
Earth Day was observed by students of Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School, Sector 40-C, Chandigarh. The school organised various competitions for both senior and junior wing students in order to remind them of their responsibility towards the earth. The students came up with thought-provoking slogans and posters with a message to save the earth. The students of both senior and junior wing enacted a skit in the morning assembly. Govt Model High School
Government Model High School, Chandigarh, 38D, celebrated Earth Day by organising a poster-making competition and planting saplings. A slogan-writing competition on the topic “Save Earth” was also organised on the occasion. Headmaster Surinder Kumar lauded the efforts of students and appreciated the role of teachers for organising the event in the school. Sri Sukhmani International School
Students of class IX of Sri Sukhmani International School, Dera Bassi, celebrated Earth Day with the inmates of Old Age Home. The motive of this event was to discuss environment-related issues with the elderly providing a homely atmosphere to the inmates. Such types of visits inculcate moral values among students. The students also carried out a tree plantation drive on the occasion. St Soldier’s Mohali
Earth Day was celebrated at St Soldier’s, Mohali, with a lot of gusto and enthusiasm. The students participated in this enriching event. In a special assembly conducted by class II students, the children conveyed the message about the bounties of the earth offered to us through a melodious rendition of songs. A skit was also presented to emphasise the need to preserve the precious resources of the earth. Visit to Traffic Park
Over 25 children of SMD Little Champ School, Sector 2, Panchkula, along with their teachers, today paid a visit to Chandigarh Traffic Park, Sector 23, Chandigarh, under their “Learn with Fun Programme - Baby’s Day Out”. The aim of the visit was to teach the students basic traffic rules so that they could incorporate them in their daily life. During the visit, the children saw three documentaries based on traffic rules.
— TNS
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Seven govt colleges in city without regular Principal
Chandigarh, April 28 The Post Graduate Government College for Girls (PGGCG), Sector 11, PGGCG, Sector 42, and Post Graduate College, Sector 46, are the colleges where there is no regular principal since 2002. The Government College of Education does not have a regular principal for the past around eight years. The other colleges that don’t have a regular principal from the past few years include Government College of Yoga Education and Health, Sector 23, Government College of Commerce and Business Administration, Sector 42, and Government College Home Science College, Sector 10. In the absence of a regular principal, senior most faculty members are officiating as the principal in all colleges. Post Graduate Government College (PGGC), Sector 11, is the only college that has a regular principal. Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover during the Senate meeting had raised the issue before UT Director Higher Education (DHE) Gurpreet Sapra who admitted that appointing regular principal is among the key issues that need to be addressed. One of the senior Senate members said the UT Administration should appoint regular principal at the earliest for the better and efficient functioning of the colleges. In the absence of the regular principal, government colleges of the city don’t get a representation in the Senate in the affiliated college principal’s constituency. As per rule, the officiating principal can neither vote in the PU Senate election nor can contest elections in the principal’s constituency following which the city government colleges fail to get a representation in the House.
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Time relaxation to non-medical, medical students opposed
Chandigarh, April 28 As inquired from officials, there was no clarity why these students were being sent early. Sources in the department said the decision was taken to allow these students to prepare for competitive exams like PMT and AIEEE through private tuitions. A school head said it was a wrong practice, but schools were just following the department’s direction that allowed medical and non-medical students to leave early. Swarn Singh Kamboj, president of the UT Cadre Education Employees Union, said: “As per rules, six teaching periods are mandatory, which include practical of medical and non-medical classes. But it is an illegal practice to allow students of certain streams to leave earlier than others. The decision needs to be revised”. Several others feel that such practices also increase the nexus between tuition mafia and the school administration, which should be checked. “If students of these streams need extra time for preparations for competitive exams, then there has be to a proper mechanism in place to streamline their timings and similar privileges should be given to students of other streams, too,” said another school head. As per information, there are nearly 20-22 senior secondary schools and most of them have medical and non-medical streams. GMSSS-8, GMSSS-10, GMSSS-16, GGMSSS-18, GMSSS-19, GMSSS-21, GMSSS-22, GMSSS-23, GMSSS-27 are among the schools with these streams. Senior officials could not be contacted.
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Panjab University senators criticise top hierarchy
Chandigarh, April 28 Raghbir Dyal, Head, Department of Mathematics, Government College, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and a first-time fellow from the registered graduates’ constituency, contended the exclusive academic hegemony of university and private colleges teachers in the College Development Council, a top body linking affiliated colleges and university. He remarked that neither anyone from the 15 members in their category nor a single teacher from government colleges affiliated to the university in Punjab (excluding Chandigarh) find place in the 30-member council. He said for the past six months, he had been urging the Vice-Chancellor to provide facility to students to deposit their examination forms at different university regional centres, but no progress had been made so far. He ridiculed that there was too much talk on inclusive education, inter-disciplinary exchanges and research, but when it comes to the administration, the highly centralised setup of the university cannot do even the basic simple things right, an obvious reference to the callous manner in which the university annual examinations were being carried out this year. Naresh Gaur, also a first-time fellow from Ludhiana, pointed out the discrimination meted to fellows from the registered graduates’ constituency on the account of non-academic background in the university inspection teams constituted for affiliated colleges, although as an elected fellow.
— TNS
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Outstanding students honoured at function
Chandigarh, April 28 Prof MPS Ishar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, who was the chief guest, and Gurkirpal Singh Dhatt, former president, Mohali Industries Association, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, conferred the awards on toppers. Prof Ishar appreciated the performance of the society in rendering financial assistance to the needy students and encouraging the toppers by honouring them. Both guests stressed on the need for helping the society with maximum contribution for the benefit of greater number of needy intelligent students.
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Baisakhi fest concludes
Chandigarh, April 28 Sawar Ram Chander, who is a victim of abuse and insult hurled on him by upper caste officers, murdered one of his officers and injured another, following which a court martial trial began against him. As the play progressed, everyone started sympathising with the accused after his trial began. War veteran Col Surat Singh, who is presiding the proceedings, also realised that the issue at stake was much larger than what meets the eye. “Court Martial” presented a combination of both legal and poetic justice.
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Guest faculty
Chandigarh, April 28 The teachers said they would stage a massive protest if these guest teachers were absorbed in the department. These guest teachers are recently relieved after the recent promotion of TGTs to lecturers. A JBT said it was their right to get promotion as TGTs. “If guest faculty teachers are adjusted, then we will not get promotions,” he said.
— TNS
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Desert man excels in water sports Chandigarh, April 28 He won bronze medal in 2012 edition of national rowing championship, held in Hyderabad and another bronze medal at this year's championship at Kerala. Selected for national camp, from where the team for next year's Asian games will be picked up, he stands a fair chance to show his rowing skills at the highest level. "I am very much confident to represent India at the Asian games and hoist the national flag there, says 28 years old Gayarshi Lal, who is part of ITBP contingent at ongoing 12th All India Police Water Sports Championship at Lake club, Chandigarh. Started his water sports career with water rafting, he said like any other sport, rowing too demands a perfect balance of body and posture besides a thorough understanding of techniques. "I have made a lot of improvement in my posture and technique and hope to hone it further in another camp scheduled in May next month, he said. Started his rowing career in 2008, Gayarshi Lal has done extremely well in previous editions of All India Police water sports championship. In 2008, he had a modest performance with silver in 500m single scull but in 2010 he had four gold medals in different categories including 2000m single scull, 2000m double scull. In 2011 he had three gold and one-silver. In this year's edition of the tournament, he already won two golds in several categories and hope to perform well. He thinks that India is doing well at international level in rowing. While there are youngsters taking up this game, one biggest limitation for waters sports in India is lack of infrastructure, which needs improvement, he said. |
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ITBP lead chart with six gold Chandigarh, April 28 In kayaking -1 final today, constable Francis Xavier of ITBP won a gold Medal. kayaking-2 SGCT Zahoor Ahmad and Parvaiz Ahmad of J&K won gold medal. In Kayaking-4, HC Mukesh Sharma, CT Dinesh Rawat, CT Nitesh Pawar and CT Daljeet Singh of UKD Police won a gold medal. In both Canoeing-1 and Canoeing-2 BSF players won gold. In Canoeing- 4, Constable K Suresh Singh , CT Mahender Kumar , CTO Premjeet Singh and CT Parveen Singh Marko of SSB won gold medal. |
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CLTA tournament from today Chandigarh, April 28 Gurinder Singh took the first set 6-2 and was leading 3-1 in the second set as well before his opponent Suraj Beniwal retired due to injury. Young Ronit Singh Bisht defeated Ankit Sachdeva 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the main draw. First round of the main draw matches are scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. on April 29, 2013. Finance Secretary, VK Singh will be inaugurating the tournament. |
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During it survey, the Tribune team found that no policemen were deputed outside any of these schools in the afternoon.
Mohali former municipal councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi, who takes up several public issues every now and then, said that he had spoken to the authorities regarding the prevailing problem on many occasions, but all in vain. "It's a perennial problem and I have already spoken to various officers concerned. Firstly, I am shocked as to why the authorities allotted land to several schools falling in the residential areas. In the times to come, the problem will manifold, as the schools have no space for parking lot for parents and visitors. Now, when the problem has started glaring at us, the authorities are staying put", said Bedi.
Several children can be seen crossing the road amidst the traffic chaos, which
can prove dangerous for them. Many students of the school come on bicycles, scooters
and motorcycles. These students are at a great risk as there is no space to move
on these roads in the afternoon.
“Children need some open space near their houses for recreation. In today’s busy world, majority of parents cannot afford to accompany their children everywhere.” said Prof. Shikhar Doon, a parent. 
