Chandigarh, March 16
A day after the Central Election Committee of the BJP announced Bollywood actor Kirron Kher’s name as the Lok Sabha candidate for the Chandigarh seat, there was a revolt in the local unit of the BJP over Kher’s name today.

The day started with five senior party leaders resigning from their posts followed by party workers burning Kirron Kher’s effigy in Sector 26 and Dhanas village. Supporters of city unit president Sanjay Tandon even rushed to Delhi to meet senior party leaders to reconsider their decision.

Today, the party vice-president and convener of the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Rambir Bhatti, another vice-president Hari Shankar Mishra, president of Kisan Morcha Jhujhar Singh, district president (rural) Bhajan Singh Maru and vice- president (colony cell) Ashwani Sharma, resigned from their posts.

While talking to mediapersons, Bhatti said instead of Kirron Kher party should have given ticket to local leaders who were working for the party at the local level for the past many years. He resigned from the post but will remain in the party, he said. Maru said the party’s aim was to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country therefore the party should have fielded a local candidate, who is aware of the local problems.

Meanwhile, a number of leaders, including MC councillors, party office-bearers rushed to Delhi this morning. They met party president Rajnath Singh, general secretary and Chandigarh in charge Aarti Mehra, and submitted their views to reconsider the decision.

In the evening, around 150 BJP workers gathered at the Transport light point in Sector 26 and burnt the effigy of Kirron Kher. 

Congress targets BJP over rift

Congress workers started posting comments and jokes on the rift in the local BJP’s unit on social networking sites. A BJP worker said the decision of the party high command to field Kirron Kher had given a chance to the Congress to target the BJP. 

Chandigarh, March 16
BJP candidate Kirron Kher said she is Chandigarh’s daughter and hopeful that city residents will support her. While talking to Chandigarh Tribune over phone from Mumbai, Kher said she feel honoured to contest Lok Sabha elections from Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat on BJP’s ticket. She said she is not a paratrooper candidate because Chandigarh is her first home as her parents reside in Chandigarh. She had studied in Chandigarh and Punjab therefore she knows everything about city, she added.

Countering Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal’s point that she is not aware about villages and colonies of the city, Kher said in last MC elections she had campaigned for BJP-SAD candidates in city for 17 days. During those days she held 85 meetings in all parts of the city including colonies and villages. She said she knows where are Hallo Majra and Dadu Majra. Bansal ji is our senior leader and she respects him, she said.

On party workers revolt, Kher said all party workers are part of BJP family. If there are some doubts in the minds of BJP workers over her name, she will clear those doubts when she will reach Chandigarh on March 18.

On AAP’s candidate Gul Panag, she said we both knew each other and she is a nice girl.

Chandigarh, March 16
The differences within the local unit of the BJP ultimately paved way for Bollywood actor Kirron Kher’s candidature for the Lok Sabha Chandigarh seat.

Three leaders, including party president Sanjay Tandon, former MP Satya Pal Jain and former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan have been vying for the ticket over the past several months.

To cut chances of other ticket aspirants, these leaders were regularly meeting senior party leaders. They were submitting documents before the senior party leaders to reduce chances of their competitors.

A senior party leader said that they were sure that whosoever got the ticket from among the three leaders, two would not support the third one. Therefore, the party began looking for a fresh face in January this year. Senior party leaders in Delhi were in touch with Kirron Kher, the leader said.

Though Kher’s name was initially doing the rounds, she had expressed her inability to contest. On January 29, Aarti Mehra, party in charge of Chandigarh, had included Kher’s name in the list of probable party candidate from the city. The party workers had to vote for the final candidate from the list that also included the name of the three local leaders. The workers however had opposed the move. A fight had also taken place between party workers over Kher’s name.

‘Will sort out differences’

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, BJP candidate Kirron Kher said she felt honoured to represent the City Beautiful. On the issue of revolt by party workers, she said she was coming to Chandigarh on March 18 and would sort out the differences with them. 

Chandigarh, March 16
“I was victimised for no fault of mine and I lived with that trauma for the last 10 months”, says sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and Congress candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Addressing his first media interaction after 10 months ever since the railgate controversy had broken out, former Union Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that he had been praised for his Budget speech as the Railway Minister last year, but was later defamed for no reason.

“It hurts badly when you are victimised for no fault of yours even if the facts are made clear later on and I lived with that trauma for the last 10 months. With the support of my well-wishers I have come out clean and the party high command has reposed faith in me by giving me the ticket for the Lok Sabha elections,” Bansal said.

Without naming any of his rivals, Bansal, while referring to the railgate case, said a sustained mendacious campaign of calumny had been going on against him, by ignoring the facts.

take on women candidates AOn rival candidates Gul Panag of AAP and Kirron Kher of the BJP, Bansal said acting and politics were poles apart. He said though he respected both the candidates, they would not even know where Chaman Colony and Vikas Nagar were located in the city.

Case may be registered for false complaint

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashwin Shenvi said if it was ascertained that the father had intentionally supplied false information to them, then a case under Section 182 of the Indian Penal Code might be registered against the complainant for misleading the police.

Chandigarh, March 16
A case of cheating has been registered against a Panchkula resident on the complaint of former OSD to the Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, and OSD to the Adviser (Homes) Government of Punjab, for duping him of ~30 lakh.

Chandigarh, March 16
The Department of Nephrology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), organised a walkathon to create awareness about kidney diseases at Sukhna Lake today.

More than 400 volunteers along with the faculty members, post-graduate resident doctors, nursing college students and other PGI employees participated in the walkathon.

UT Advisor KK Sharma also took part in the event.

Prof KL Gupta, head, Nephrology Department, PGIMER, briefed the gathering on a healthy lifestyle to prevent kidney diseases.

Prof KS Chugh, Emeritus Prof, PGIMER, also addressed the participants on the issue.

The slogan of the World Kidney Day read, 'Start the day with a glass of water'.

Spreading the message to keep good health, the volunteers urged the gathering to donate their organs after death.

The Annual World Kidney Day celebrations started in 2006. This year's theme was 'Save kidneys from aging'. World Kidney Day is celebrated on the second Thursday that falls in March.

health care

World Kidney Day aims to raise awareness about the importance of kidneys for the overall health and to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney diseases. More than 400 volunteers along with the faculty members, post-graduate resident doctors and other PGI employees participated in the walkathon

Chandigarh, March 16
With over 25,000 electoral forms received by the UT Election Department, the city will see more then 6 lakh residents exercising their voting right during the upcoming Lok Sabha election. In the last election, there were around 5.24 lakh voters from the city. The final list of voters will be declared by March 23.

Chandigarh had around 5.80 lakh voters before a campaign to enrol new voters was initiated by the department.

The forms were received till March 15. However, forms for any corrections in the voter identity card wil be received at the election office in Sector 17 till March 22.

UT Joint Chief Electoral Officer Tilak Raj said the forms were being scrutinised and the final list would be declared after March 22.

“Though the number of voters in the city has crossed the six-lakh mark, the exact number of voters would be established after the scrutiny of forms,” he said.

Meanwhile, the campaign to encourage residents to vote was initiated by the department on Sunday. A musical evening was organised at Sukhna Lake to encourage the visitors to exercise their voting right. Tilak Raj said these activities would continue till the elections.

“Two theatre groups will visit different parts of the city to target both rural and urban population,” he said.

Panchkula, March 16
Former councillor and Aam Aadmi Party member from the town Harinder Singh Saini has announced a reward of Rs 31,000 for the person who defeats Pawan Kumar Bansal in the coming Lok Sabha election.

Saini said this evening that defeating the Congress in the election was his target and he would award anyone who defeated the sitting MP from Chandigarh. He said he would give the award on the day of results itself.

Saini has also announced an award of Rs 11,000 each for those who defeat two other Congress leaders--Deepinder Hooda, son of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Naveen Jindal.

Money played role in making these people win elections, he said.

“So, I decided to offer cash rewards. It will be a token of appreciation from my side,” said Saini.

Expecting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s central election committee to announce Harmohan Dhawan’s name as the Lok Sabha candidate from the city, the veteran politician’s family and supporters started celebrating and distributing sweets. But in the late evening on March 15, after Kirron Kher’s name was announced, all the celebrations going on at Dhawan’s Sector 9 residence came to a sudden halt.

From NaMo to AAP

Actor and former Miss India Gul Panag, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Chanadigarh Lok Sabha seat, was finding it difficult to reply to the queries of mediapersons on her two-year-old "NaMo for PM" tweet. The actor, who has eight lakh followers on the microblogging site Twitter, had in a series of messages in 2012 backed Narendra Modi for the country's top job. Gul told the mediapersons, "That was when there was no AAP around. But this is not the case anymore.”

Final verification

A city-based laboratory has started offering special wedding packages for people to ensure that their would-be spouses are having no lifestyle or non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer. After gaining popularity in metropolitan cities such as Delhi, the trend is catching on in Chandigarh as well, claim the lab authorities.

Division over parking

The recent decision of the Mohali Municipal Corporation to implement paid parking has divided the business community. While a section supports the decision, claiming that paid parking would help in decreasing the cases of vehicle theft and reduce chaos in parking lots, the other section feels business would suffer and parking contractors would create unnecessary problems for them and the vehicle owners as well. “On the very first day, some contractors had attempted to encroach upon some areas in the markets, which were not allotted to them by the authorities. The decision is not favouring businessman and residents and will not allow its implementation,” said JP Singh, president of the Phase III-B2 Market Association.

Water woes

The work of repair of the water pipeline at the Sector 26/27/28 roundabout not only took its toll on the residents of around seven sectors who had to do without water supply, but also affected a municipal corporation official when on Friday the water pipe burst after being repaired. The incident led to panic among the MC staff and one of the officials had to be sent to rest after he complained of chest pain. It was after several hours that the official returned to the site.

Ghost of free passes

The “ghost of free passes” has returned within hours of the announcement that a few matches of the upcoming IPL season would be conducted in India. Expecting that some of these matches would be played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, people have started using their contacts to attain a free entry pass.

Contributed by Rajinder Nagarkoti, Ritika Jha Palial, Akash Ghai, Amit Sharma and Deepankar Sharda

Mohali, March 16
ML Kalra was recently elected as the president of the Parent/Guardian Society of Children of Government Institute for Mentally Retarded Children, Sector 32.

RK Garg was elected as the vice-president, Dalwinder Kaur as the general secretary and Sunil Gupta as the cashier unopposed for the term 2014-16.

Baljinder Singh was elected as the vice-general secretary, while PK Bali, Shamsher Singh, Sushma Sharma and Sameer were elected unanimously as the executive members.

The no-confidence motion was passed against Puja Ghai, former president and Sham Lal Kanaujia, former general secretary, said Kalra.

Panchkula, March 16
Political parties ahead of elections are considering wooing the residents of Haryana Employees Welfare Organization (HEWO) Society in Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 5, Panchkula. Considering them to be a vote bank and good opportunity politicians are visiting them and ensuring action.

A notice of resumption was served upon the Haryana Employees Welfare organization (HEWO) by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). The notice stated that all the 300 flats have been resumed as they did not raze the illegal construction which allegedly led to the outbreak of typhoid in the area.

An eleven-year-old girl died while over 30 were taken ill after they complained of getting contaminated water.

The HUDA had found that the water supply sent by them was pure but as many residents had constructed illegal toilets, the sewer pipe merged with the fresh water pipe.

“The politicians have made our society a platform of speech. They don’t understand that we people are finding no other option but they are criticizing each other. Till now no one has taken any action in our favour,” said a society resident requesting anonymity.

Yesterday, Congress MLA DK Bansal had visited the society with his supporters stating that he would get the problem solved. Today, Bajrang Das Garg, Chairman of Haryana Confed, visited them and ensured action.

Rattan Lal Kataria, BJP candidate from Ambala Constituency said, “The authorities could have found any other solution. Resuming the flats is unfair. I will not let this happen.”

On being asked whether the political parties were taking benefit of the situation ahead of elections, Kataria said, “I don’t take any problem faced by a common man as a political venture. If we can help them out by reaching out to the high ups, why should not we help them?

Under Section 17(4) of HUDA Act 1977, the estate officer ordered to resume the plot and building constructed thereon and further forfeits 10 per cent of the consideration money of the plots and other dues payable up to date of resumption. The notice stated that eviction proceedings will also be initiated against them.

"The UT Administration and Municipal Corporation should come up with a proposal for parking in different parts of the Industrial Area to accommodate a large number of vehicles visiting the area everyday." — Chander Verma, Industrialist.

"Streetlights across the Industrial Area need an overhaul. A majority of the streetlights are defunct. Another major demand in the Industrial Area is supply of water in the afternoon for thousands of employees who need fresh water for drinking during lunch." — Sanjiv Sagar, Industrialist.

"The MC should at the earliest construct a Sehaj Safai Kendra in our sector as the foul smell emitting from the garbage dumped near the residential area makes it impossible for us to even sit outside our houses." — Ram Singh, resident of Sector 47 (D)

"Malba dumped at various parts of Sector 48 is an eye sore. MC officials should make frequent visits to our sector to check dumping of malba at undesignated places." — Puran Chander, resident of Universal Society, Sector 48

"We are very soon going to come up with two big parking areas in the Industrial Area. The streetlights in the Industrial Area are maintained by the UT administration for which I have written to them. The problem of SSK in three sectors under my ward will be addressed soon. Moreover, work to construct a basketball court in Jang Ghar and a parking outside Jang Ghar in Sector 47 has already started." — Davesh Moudgil, Deputy Mayor 

Achievements

* Renovation of Community Centre in Sector 47

* Three water boosters in Sector 31, 47 and 48.

* Jogging tracks in green belts of Sector 47.

* Walking tracks in parks of Sector 47 (A) and (B).

* Water fountain in Sector 47 (D)

* Railing of GI pipes in markets of Sector 31, 47 and 48.

* Fencing of Sector 48 motor market to curb theft incidents

* A new AC Community Centre in Sector 48

* Day Food Street in Sector 48

* e-Sampark kiosk in Sector 48

* Japanese garden in Sector 31 spread across 13 acres is being developed at a cost of Rs 7.5 crores 

Chandigarh, March 16
The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) will hear the objections of city residents on the proposal of the Electricity Department to raise the tariff by 21 per cent, on March 21.

Recently number of residents had submitted their objections before the JERC opposing the hike. UT superintending engineer MP Singh said the hearing would be held at the Institute of Engineers in Sector 19. In the public hearing session, residents would present their points before the commission, he said.

The Chandigarh Administration had proposed a hike of 21 per cent in the power tariff in different categories to make up for the loss of Rs 156 crore in financial year 2013-14.

Terming the power tariff hike petition filed by the UT Electricity Department, non-maintainable and baseless, the city residents had demanded that the petition should be dismissed and power tariff should not be increased.

Last year, the Electricity Department had proposed the power tariff hike between 45 and 50 per cent but the JERC had rejected their petition.

In the objections filed by residents, traders and industrialists, to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), they had submitted that the department had not conducted energy audit then on what basis the department claimed in the petition that proposed power tariff hike is must to recover losses.

They had also submitted that transmission and distribution loss of electricity should be reduced to 5-7% by implementing R-APDRP project as already proposed by the UT Administration. They had demanded that that burden of subsidised rates of certain categories should not be passed on to general consumers and it should be born by electricity department or Chandigarh administration.

Chandigarh, March 16
When it comes to convenience, online shopping has thumbs up over the other options. Not only youngsters but many technology savvy people prefer it.

Discounts given on shopping websites affect local retailers. Narinder Pahuja, owner of University Book Depot, Sector 17, said youngsters prefer new technology. People prefer cheaper and more convenient options, he said.

The local retailers are not doing anything to grab the attention of online customers. "We can't help it, we rely on the loyal customers," Pahuja added. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 16
An in-house study carried out by Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, to assess compliance to hand hygiene standards prescribed by the WHO revealed that the hospital was still at the basic level—implying “Some measures are in place, but not to a satisfactory standard.”

The study published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, in January this year, found that at GMCH-32, for every 10 patients in wards, there was only one wash basin, there was no plan available for the improvement of infrastructure in the hospital, no dedicated budget that allowed hand-hygiene training, there were no audits undertaken to asses availability of hand-rub soap, single-use towels and other hand hygiene resources.

Titled “Compliance to Hand Hygiene World Health Organisation Guidelines in Hospital Care”, the study was carried out by Dr Raman Sharma, Department of Hospital Administration, last year, under guidance of the then Medical Superintendent of GMCH-32 Dr Vipin Kaushal.

The purpose of the study was to assess the gaps in compliance of standards in ICUs and other facilities in the hospital.

The scores obtained for each indicator were noted. The tool has five components with 27 indicators. At GMCH-32, it was observed that the facilities only had basic level of hand hygiene.

During the assessment, it was found that the hospital had continuous supply of clean water, and hand-hygiene training of the staff was being carried out on and off. But the mechanism to ensure
that health-care workers completeed this training was missing.

The hospital also lacked any mechanism to check among its healthcare workers the indicators and correct techniques of hand hygiene annually. But the indirect monitoring was found present in terms of consumption of soap being monitored at least every three months. 

Since time immemorial, liquor and cash distribution have been ruling the electoral process in the largest democracy. The silver lining in curbing the menace is the activism that we have observed in the past on the part of the election machinery, judiciary and above all the media. The role of the media is the most important because it is a direct link between the Election Commission (EC) and the electorate. The media must educate the masses about the moral code of conduct and its provisions. The police must take strict action in case of such complaints. The Election Commission must have special cells and helplines in every constituency to deal with such complaints.

Ranju, Chandigarh

Better clauses, powers required for fair voting

According to the key principles of the Election Commission in the UK, no candidate, campaigner or supporter should place themselves in a situation where their honesty, integrity or that of the party, candidate or campaign can be questioned. Someone who prevents or deters the voter from freely exercising their right to vote, or attempts to do so, may be found guilty of undue influence and can be punished. It is an offence to offer money, food, drinks, entertainment or other gifts to persuade someone to vote or not to vote. The Indian EC needs to incorporate such clauses and should have judicial powers to warn, abrogate, enforce cancellation of candidature, etc.

Rita Raina, Chandigarh

Parties, candidates should feel spirit of democracy

The EC code of conduct mentions the dos and don’ts but there is no clause mentioning the penalty for non-adherence. The Indian law is based on evidence and the in-built mechanism of how to cause delay if challenged beore the EC and in the courts. The parties and candidates need to focus towards the spirit of democracy and not towards appeasement or advancement of greed.

Tarsem Bhardwaj, Chandigarh

People should be educated via seminars and media

It is very disheartening to see unaccounted flow of liquor and cash to woo the voters ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. People should be educated through the media and seminars so that they are not befooled and allured by such dirty tactics as it is not going to yield any long-term results. Instead, they should complain if they see any such practice taking place which will ensure transparency in elections.

Dr Shruti K Chawla, Chandigarh

Cautious thinking can help woo city voters

Although guidelines have been issued by the Election Commission for compliance in the Lok Sabha polls, yet hardly any national party follows the code of conduct not to mention the regional parties, who are always on the look out to woo the vulnerable voters. The parties are well aware of the mindset of the city voters. So, the electorate will cautiously think on burning issues, including policing efficiency, electricity and water problems along with women’s security, which are already high on the parties’ agenda this time. It would be correct to say that the women voters are going to be the deciding factor during the polls in the city and unlike earlier, parties just can’t afford to ignore their interests and issues.

BM Dhawan, PGIMER, Chandigarh

Illegal supply of liquor should be prohibited

For unbiased elections in the city, there is a need to launch a crusade against the supply of liquor and cash by the police and also by the Excise Department under the directions of the Chief Electoral Officer. Further, there is a need to evolve an effective mechanism for coordinated regional planning with the adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to prohibit the illegal entry of liquor on a large scale, during elections.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Media must act responsibly

In order to curb the menace, especially its misuse during elections, the media must act responsibly and should expose any such incident irrespective of who is involved. Also, the government along with NGOs and public must prioritise patriotic development instead of their personal benefits. Any politician prioritizing his/her personal benefits must be punished and his candidature should be cancelled permanently.

Shruti Marwaha, Mohali

Admn should ensure adherence to norms

It is the responsibility of the Administration and political parties to ensure that their candidates adhere to all the norms of code of conduct during the elections. Political parties must understand the sacrifices of those who have struggled for the freedom of the country and provided us with democratic solutions to elect candidates to form a government and work for the welfare of its citizens.

Ravinder Nath, Chandigarh

It is our fault if we get wooed!

The politicians are certainly not at fault for anaesthetising our minds through unaccounted flow of liquor and money during elections but it is we, the public, who should know the ways to manage the scenario. Let there be a river of liquor! We need to be active with flood-control arrangements. Only public behaviour can help in curbing the menace.

MPS Chadha, Mohali

Vote for the best or let it rest

We should not compromise due to allurements offered by the candidates. Our vote should go to the most deserving candidate. If you feel that no one is a deserving candidate, then make use of ‘None of the above (NOTA)’ button. We should also report against the candidates who resort to ‘buying’ votes at the numbers of election observers, which should be advertised clearly by them.

Colonel RD Singh, Ambala Cantt

Price hike can curb the illegal practice

The prices of liquor should be raised when the elections approach. The amount of liquor being sold out should be checked and a limit should be set. During the elections, parties organised by the candidates, proper officials should be employed to ensure the amount of liquor being served. Officials should be employed to check the wrong practices, if any, being carried on during door-to-door campaigning by candidates.

Aishwarya, Army institute of Law, Mohali

Voters should be apprised of dire consequences

City voters need to prove their wisdom for not accepting offer of alcohol or any other such allurements. There is an urgent need to make the voters aware of criminal action against those who accept such offers. Also, the respective political parties should be made aware of the cancellation of candidature if they try to buy votes using unfair means.

Sukhpal Singh, Chandigarh

Violators should be dealt with strictly

Persons violating the code of conduct should be dealt with strictly and if a candidate violates it, his candidature should be cancelled. Also, the security amount of the candidate should be forfeited besides a lifetime ban on contesting in the elections. Under-
privileged people should be guided so that they do not become a victim of bribery or allurement to any materialistic advantage.

Ujagar Singh, Chandigarh

Public trial for defaulters

To curb the menace, the defaulters should be put to public trials to make people aware of their wrong doings. Suitable punishments should be given within a time-bound period. The defaulters need to be barred for lifetime from contesting any election.

Wg Cdr Jasbir Singh Minhas, Mohali

Special teams required to check the menace

The Chandigarh police need to set up special teams to check the menace of unaccounted flow of liquor and cash in the city for wooing voters. Also, strict action should be taken against politicians bribing voters with cash payouts and alcohol to secure their support. The government should consult voters and seek all party support before introducing significant electoral reforms.

Ajit Singh, Canada

Election Dept, govt should make collective efforts

The Election Department should cancel the candidature of the candidate immediately if he/she is found guilty. The government should make proper arrangements for smooth polling and should deploy the police force for this purpose.

Sumesh Badhwar, Mohali

Disciplined model code of conduct to be followed

A disciplined model code of conduct should be followed during the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. To bring about transparency, the candidates must be wary about breaching the expenditure limits and the observers employed by the Election Department should monitor every expense at the ‘micro level’.

Priya Darsh Grover, Mohali

Secret agencies can be employed to watch illegalities

The ECI should seek the services of state vigilance departments, CID or create its own secret agency to watch such illegal activities of the politicians and political parties. If anyone is found indulging in such illegalities, his/her candidature must be cancelled immediately and the concerned party should be asked to field an alternative candidate in his/her place.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Informer’s identity should not be revealed

The identity of the informer, who will provide information to the Administration about the supply of liquor of cash, should be kept a secret with the authorities. Large publicity should be given through electronic and print media to create a fear-psychosis against the intending persons and encouragement to those who help the Administration in curbing the menace.

Gurmit Singh Saini, Mohali

No liquor for people in slums

For the first time, Chandigarh will not be witnessing a free flow of liquor in the slum areas. The only difference is that the procurement and stocking of liquor started well before the declaration of the names of candidates by the national parties.

As a young voter, what are your expectations from the candidates of all political parties contesting from Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat? Please write your comments with a passport size picture to openhouse@tribunemail.com.

Chandigarh, March 16
The construction of a multipurpose auditorium at Panjab University has been hanging fire. Reason: Non-utilisation of funds. Despite Rs 28.50 crore lying in the kitty of the university for this project for the past four years, only Rs 9 crore have been spent to date.

Resultantly, the cost of construction has almost doubled to Rs 65 crore, which was estimated to be ~35 crore in 2009.

The PU authorities, however, are claiming that the work on the project, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 3, 2009, is going on at a slow pace due to the non-availability of funds.

The fact came to light during a think tank committee meeting of the university.

A report tabled during the meeting stated that from 2009 to 2011, around ~28.50 crore were collected from various sources for the project, of which only ~9 crore had been spent for constructing the auditorium.

As per the report, the authorities had collected ~6.5 crore from students, ~3 crore were allocated by the Board of Finance in 2009, ~7 crore were allocated in 2010, ~10 crore were received as a special grant from the Centre and ~2 crore were allocated out of the Eleventh Plan fund by the University Grants Commission.

Meanwhile, sources said the think tank committee, headed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Arun Kumar Grover, had decided to hire a consultant to draft the time schedule for the construction of the multipurpose hall, which would be binding on the authorities.

Project Timeline

March 2004: The then Dean, Students’ Welfare, Professor Nirmal Singh, proposed the construction of an auditorium with a seating capacity of 4,000

February 2006: The building committee approves the proposal for a 2,500-seat auditorium

May 2006: Site for the project finalised on the south campus (Sector 25)

January 2007: 14-member committee constituted by the then Vice-Chancellor, RK Saboo, to evolve the design

2008: Architect hired to prepare a blueprint of the auditorium

November 2009: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays the foundation stone.

The proposal

* Ground floor with a 2,500-seat main hall, back stage, green rooms, rehearsal room and VIP room workshop

* Multipurpose hall with a capacity of 600, without fixed chairs

* Other facilities, including administrative area, exhibition area, board rooms, cafeteria and one-level basement parking in addition to the surface parking 

Escalating cost

Year Estimated cost

2009 Rs 35 crore

2011 Rs 58.29 crore

2014 Rs 65 crore

Chandigarh, March 16
A day after Panjab University Syndicate decided not to conduct the examinations of the Sri Dhanwantary Ayurvedic College, Sector 46, from the coming academic session, the students have decided to move the court against the decision.

Perplexed over the Syndicate's decision, more than 250 students of the college — admitted in batches from 2008 to 2013 — said, “We are left with no other option but to appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.”

The decision was taken at a Syndicate meeting held under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover on Saturday.

“Our careers are at stake. The authorities cannot play with our future. We are waiting for an official communication from PU authorities regarding the decision. We will challenge the decision in the court,” said one of the students.

The students had called an emergency meeting late evening on Saturday following the Syndicate's decision.

Two months ago, the students had organised a massive protest on the University campus to protest against the delay in the declaration of their results as the college affiliation was being considered for cancellation.

Chandigarh, March 16
The indefinite hunger strike by the Students for Society (SFS) entered its fifth consecutive day at Panjab University today.

The students’ body has been protesting the proposed fee hike of 20 per cent for routine courses and 10 per cent for professional courses.

SFS representative Raminder — who has been on hunger strike since March 12 — was taken to the PU dispensary for a medical check-up. The doctors attending upon him said he needed to be hospitalised.

“PU officials arrived at the spot and left without giving any assurance about taking up the matter with the authorities,” said an SFS representative.

Mohali, March 16
Noted Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans enthralled the students and staff of the Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering & Technology, Dera Bassi, during the techno-cultural fest ‘Lamhe 2014’ on the college campus on Saturday night.

Hans sang hit numbers such as ‘Nit khair manga teri’, ‘Mainu ki manauna si aap hi rus chaleya’, ‘Ik geet likha teri vang varga’and ‘Kudiya ta kudiya ne’.

The chief guest, NK Sharma, inaugurated the 'Star nite'.

Students could be seen jiving to the songs of Hans Raj.

College chairman Prof Avtar Singh encouraged the participants to put in their best foot forward and exhibit their talent along with team spirit.

Mohali: The junior wing of The Millennium School presented various cultural items during their annual day function held at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, today. More than 250 students showcased their talent by reconstructing and enacting popular plays. Modulating a fusion of crisp dialogues, melodies and dances, the students mesmerised the audience. School principal Komal Singh lauded the efforts of students.

Heralding spring

To create awareness about the Spring season, the tiny tots of St. Soldier School participated in various activities based on the theme 'Spring' today. The students of playway and pre-nursery participated in the colouring competition. The students of KG took part in the ‘Show and tell’ competition, while students of Class I recited poems related to the theme. The students of Class II drew colourful garden scenes.

Special assembly

panchkula: A special assembly for the kindergarten section was held at Holy Child School, Morni Hills Road. As many as 40 students took part in the session and recited the Gayatri Mantra with zeal. The UKG students also highlighted various seasons through the enactment of plays and enthralled students. — TNS