C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
Tuesday, December 15, 1998 |
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Councillors to give new ward lists CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The councillors of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh will submit fresh lists of names to the Mayor for inclusion into the ward committees to be constituted by the Chandigarh Administration. Work on bridge near completion CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The traffic on one of the roads linking SAS Nagar with Chandigarh, which was disrupted in August after the collapse of the causeway, is likely to resume by month-end. |
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Plea
to regularise vacant plots |
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Councillors to give new ward lists CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The councillors of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) will submit fresh lists of names to the Mayor for inclusion into the ward committees to be constituted by the Chandigarh Administration. This decision was taken at a meeting of the councillors called by the Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, here today. The councillors have been given 15 days for sending the revised lists. The councillors expressed concern at the delay in the constitution of the ward committees. It may be recalled that the issue of the constitution of the ward committee had been hanging fire for the past over two years despite assurances from the administration from time to time. At the meeting the councillors were of the view that since they were to be chairmen of the ward committees only the lists sent by them should be accepted by the administration. The wards committees could not be constituted as the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, had reported written to the administration saying that the lists should not be finalised without his consent. The Congress councillors Mr Raj Kumar Goyal and Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala wanted a change in the lists since at the time of the sending the earlier lists, they owed allegiance to the SJP. Mr Bachan Singh (BJP), Mr OP Goyal (expelled BJP councillor) and Mrs Satinder Dhawan (SJP) were not present at the meeting. The councillors also felt that more representation should be given to them at various advisory committees constituted by the administration. The meeting also urged the administration that various post laying vacant at the civic body like the Assistant Commissioner-I, the Superintending Engineer (Construction Circle), the Executive Engineer (Roads) and the SDO should be filled up immediately. In the absence of these officials the work of the civic body had been severely affected, the councillors felt. Lok Shakti procession:
To highlights the problems of Ward No 19 comprising
Indira Colony, parts of Mani Majra and Mauli Jagran,
members of Lok Shakti marched in procession from Indira
Colony to the MCC Office, Mani Majra. Later, they
submitted a memorandum to the Assistant Commissioner, Mr
SM Sharma.Construction of school building and dharamsala
in Indira Colony, regular water supply, repair of roads,
and removal of encroachments from parks and roads were
main demands listed in the memorandum. |
Work on bridge near completion CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The traffic on one of the roads linking SAS Nagar with Chandigarh, which was disrupted in August after the collapse of the causeway, is likely to resume by month-end. According to sources, the work on the construction of box-culvert-type bridge at the site of the causeway had almost been completed. No date, however, has been fixed for the inauguration of the bridge. The change in the design of the bridge, which has been constructed at a cost of over Rs 60 lakh, had kicked up a row earlier with some councillors, particularly the nominated councillor, Mr RK Aggarwal, who is a former Chief Engineer of Haryana, expressing reservations regarding the change in the design. A five-member committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) is now probing the change of design.The MCC had earlier okayed the construction of high-level bridge at the site at a cost of Rs 1.71 crore. Meanwhile, the Chief Engineer, Mr Puranjit Singh, defended the change in design and said the box-culvert-type design was as good as the high-level one. Infact, technically it was better and cheaper, he added. He claimed that Mr P C
Bhasin, an expert on bridges and a former President of
the India Road Congress, had advised the Chandigarh
Administration to go in for a box-culvert-type bridge on
the Chandigarh-Kalka highway also. |
City's roads to nowhere CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The problem of traffic congestion on important and busy roads notwithstanding, the number of completed roads thrown into disuse has been on the rise in Chandigarh. Constructed at a huge cost, these roads were planned to ease both vehicular traffic and parking space in and around commercial areas, especially along important V-1, V-2 and V-3 roads. For example, a slip road constructed along Himalaya Marg in Sector 35 has been closed after the main road was widened last year. The slip road, more than 500 metres long, now lies covered with earth work, debris and other construction material. Wild vegetation, too, has started to cover what was a usable road until last year. This area, known as Hotels Zone, is facing an acute shortage of parking space. It was on the demand of vehicle owners that this slip road was provided to facilitate movement as the parking area is usually packed to capacity. The officials point out that the slip road must have cost the state exchequer several lakhs of rupees. In fact, engineers point out, Himalaya Marg is a part of the National Highway. Upto the intersection of Sectors 21, 22, 34 and 35, it is maintained by the Engineering Department of the Administration. A portion of it comes under National Highway and is again maintained by the Engineering Department. The southern portion is with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. No official version is available for the abrupt closure of this slip road. Continuing northwards on Himalaya Marg, another slip road along Sector 17, has been in disuse for the past several years. A second portion of this slip road was cleared of debris, repaired and opened and is now used for inspection of vehicles. But the first half was never put to use. As a result, a dual carriageway from the Chandigarh Fire Brigade and Inter-State Bus Terminus side comes to an abrupt end and vehicles are not allowed to turn left. The slip road, constructed several years ago, is now under several feet of earth, debris and other waste building material. The traffic on Himalaya Marg on this stretch is very heavy. Early last year, the Administration felled several trees near the Sectors 17 and 18 intersection to widen Himalaya Marg but little was done either to open this closed slip road to ease vehicular congestion or replace felled trees. Besides Himalaya Marg, a large number of roads running behind the commercial blocks on Madhya Marg are similarly disused. For example, roads in Sector 26, which runs parallel to Madhya Marg, have even been fitted with sodium vapour lamps while some busy roads remain without street lights. But this road, a dual carriageway, now serves as an extended storage space for showroom owners. The same situation continues on through Sector 7 along the back of Madhya Marg where one of the owners has stacked glass and other material even beyond the road reaching up to the boundary wall of government houses. No effort has ever been made to maintain these side roads which could be used to ease traffic on Madhya Marg. Even on Himalaya Marg, back roads, especially along the Hotel Zone, are in shambles. Similarly, a few other roads have also been in disuse. |
Nursery wing at Sec 34 school
inaugurated CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 "The government sector in short of resources and ideas. The idea of opening nurseries will enable government schools to compete with private schools. Our attempt will be to open one such nursery wing every month in a government-run school.'' This is what Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Home and Education Secretary, said while inaugurating a nursery wing in Government Model High School, Sector 34, here today. With the inauguration of the wing a whole new world of fairytales, cartoons on television and indoor games has opened up for the tiny tots. The brainchild of Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI Schools, this nursery will use the playway method to teach the little ones. The nursery wing of the
school will have a provision for 80 children 40
for pre-nursery and 40 for nursery classes. The students
of the school presented songs and Christmas carols on the
occasion. This was followed by prize distribution. |
Rally against IRA Bill CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 Members of various trade unions of the local insurance sector today held a rally to protest against the decision of the government on tabling of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill in Parliament. The protesters alleged that the opening of the insurance sector to private and multinational companies will entail an irreparable loss not only for the employees but the nation itself. The government is going ahead with the Bill in spite of the reservations expressed by the major opposition parties and certain coalition partners. Leaders told the protesters that the Joint Front of trade unions of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) would observe a nationwide strike a day after the IRA Bill was tabled in Parliament. A decision to this effect
was taken in New Delhi today, they added. |
Plea to regularise vacant plots
CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 The Anti-Periphery Act Action Committee has demanded the regularisation of all vacant plots in the periphery area of the city. Dr G.S. Jammu, convener of
the committee, hailed the decision of the Punjab
Government to regularise structures built outside the lal
dora. He said the government should now honour its
commitment of regularising the plots adjoining built up
houses. Mr I.S. Bindra, Vice-Chairman of PUDA, had
assured a delegation that plots up to one kanal would be
regularised after charging development costs from the
owners, he added. |
Prabhat pheris CHANDIGARH, Dec 14 Parbhat pheris from various parts of Chandigarh, Panchkula, Zirakpur, SAS Nagar, Pinjore, Sohana and other nearby areas will converge at the Sector 28-B power colony on December 27 at 4 a.m., this was announced here today. This congregation of
parbhat pheris is being organised to celebrate the birth
anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh as part of tercentenary
celebrations of the Khalsa. |
6 illegal constructions
demolished SAS NAGAR, Dec 14 In a demolition drive by PUDA as many as six ongoing illegal constructions were demolished at Karoran village today. A team led by the General
Manager (Regulatory), demolished the structures and told
the people about the policy of the government regarding
the regularisation of unauthorised constructions in the
periphery. Villagers agreed not to take up any new
constructions. |
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