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Tuesday, December 22, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Tuesday, December 22, 1998 |
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Strike by petrol pumps on Dec 28 CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Petrol pump owners of five districts of Punjab and Haryana surrounding the Union Territory of Chandigarh will observe a one-day token strike on December 28. Plea against voting by nominated members CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The constitutional validity of Section 4 Sub-Section 3 (ii) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976 (as extended to Chandigarh), providing for voting rights to nominated members of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, was challenged today in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. |
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Kids'
capers delight audience Protest
against poultry farms Life
imprisonment for killing woman HC
disallows govt houses to journalists Coop
bank meeting deferred UT
panchayat poll announcement today Relief
sought for lineman's family Xmas
Special Day celebrated Attacks
on Iraq condemned Date
for payment of bills extended |
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Strike by petrol pumps on Dec 28 CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Petrol pump owners of five districts of Punjab and Haryana surrounding the Union Territory of Chandigarh will observe a one-day token strike on December 28 to demand uniformity in sales tax on petroleum products in the region. The districts in which the filling stations will go on strike are Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana and Ropar, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab. This decision was taken at a joint meeting of the Haryana Petroleum Dealers Association (HPDA) and the Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) held here today. The meeting was attended, among others, by the presidents of the two associations, Mr Ranjit Singh Chauhan and Mr J.P. Khanna, respectively. About 100 members attended the meeting. Mr Khanna, who is also the Vice-President of the Federation of All-India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT), said the Executive of the PPDA would meet on January 2 where it would be decided whether the filling stations should go on another one-day strike throughout the two states. He said the Punjab Government had recently increased sales tax on petrol by 3 per cent besides imposing infrastructural cess of 1 per cent on petrol and diesel. He said the government's purpose to mop up additional revenue would be defeated because the present consumption of petrol in the state would fall from 18 lakh kilolitres to about 16 lakh kilolitres. The public would be inconvenienced unnecessarily. Mr Khanna said the hike in taxes would give birth to smuggling of petroleum products from places like Chandigarh where petrol was Rs 2 cheaper than in Punjab. If a tanker of 12,000 litres was taken out of Chandigarh and sold in Punjab, the seller would earn about Rs 24,000. Moreover, small operators would start selling petrol on wayside pumps by smuggling it from Chandigarh the way liquor was sold in rural areas. Mr Chauhan and Mr P.K. Soni, cashier of the HPDA, said when Chandigarh was the capital of Punjab and Haryana, the rate of tax in the two states should be equivalent to that in the capital. Mr B.R. Tiwari, General Secretary of the PPDA, and Mr G.S. Chawla, a spokesman of the Ropar District Petroleum Dealers Association, said in Punjab the effective tax on diesel and petrol was 7 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. This included octroi also. In Chandigarh the tax rates were 1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, while on kerosene it was 8 per cent which was the poor man's fuel. On lubricating oils the
effective tax in Punjab was 15.2 per cent while in
Chandigarh it was 8.8 per cent. Mr S.R. Singla, President
of the Panchkula Petroleum Dealers Association, said
Haryana charged 10 per cent tax on all petroleum products
which had ruined the filling stations in the proximity of
Chandigarh. |
Plea against voting by
nominated members CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The constitutional validity of Section 4 Sub-Section 3 (ii) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976 (as extended to Chandigarh), providing for voting rights to nominated members of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, was challenged today in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, by Mr Rajinder Kumar, a member of the corporation and candidate for Mayorship. The Mayor's election is scheduled to be held on December 23. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice H.S. Brar and Mr Justice K.S. Kumaran issued notice of motion to the respondents for January 18. It was submitted by the petitioner that the impugned provision empowering the UT Administrator to nominate nine members with voting rights was ultra vires and violative of mandatory provisions of Article 243-R of the Constitution. The Municipal Corporation has 20 elected members and nine nominated members. The petitioner pleaded that the nominated members were in a position to change the decision taken by the elected members in the election of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor as well as influence the conduct of business in the corporation. It was submitted that Article 243-R of the Constitution provided that all the seats in a municipality should be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies and it further provided that persons nominated with special knowledge or experience not have right to vote in corporation meetings. It was contended that any provision of the law relating to municipalities, inconsistent with the provisions of this part of Constitution, could remain in force only for one year. Only members elected from different wards were elected representatives, including M.L.A.s and M.P.s. Members nominated for their special knowledge or experience did not have voting rights as per the provisions of Article 243-R of the Constitution. Giving voting right to nominated members was against parliamentary norms, it was asserted. The petitioner contended that the nominated members, though validly nominated, ceased to have the right to vote in the corporation. The petitioner sought
direction that the provisions giving voting rights to
nominated members should be operative and to restrain
respondents Nos. 5 to 13 (nominated members) from
exercising the voting right in the election of Mayor,
Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor. |
Christmas spirit grips city CHANDIGARH, Dec 21—The Christmas spirit has gripped the city. Shops and showrooms wear a festive look. School kids are waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus to fill their socks with gifts. Some have taken time off from their studies to decorate Christmas trees. Shopkeepers have spruced up markets for customers. On offer at various shops are imported buntings, beautifully coloured with angels painted on them. The price of ordinary variety ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 350. According to a shop-owner: "There is an increased demand for expensive cards and we have a musical card for Rs 70. The corporate sector is the biggest buyer.'' Stuffed Santa Claus toys range from Rs 28 to Rs 200. A shopkeeper of Sector 22 said: "Customers coming to our shop are demanding table-lamps to gift to their friends. The 'touch lamp' at Rs 750 is registering a lot of sale. Musical jewellery boxes, between Rs 225 and Rs 500, have caught the fancy of lady customers this Christmas.'' The young crowd is indulging in chocolates and sweets as usual, he said. A bakery at a hotel in Sector 22 has been flooded with orders of plum cakes, a hot favourite in this season and priced at Rs 225. A pudding can be had for Rs 150, while pastries vary from Rs 10 for the pineapple one to Rs 30 for a chocolate truffle. Cookies are priced at Rs 80 onwards. A shop at Panjab University has musical bells which are available for Rs 210. According to the owner of the shop: "Nobody is interested in ordinary bells, they come looking for novelty and the price is not a deterrent.'' Christmas trees are
available at all shops and they range from Rs 50 to Rs
700. Bell and shoe-shaped wrought iron wall hangings with
musical bells are priced at Rs 150. Santa masks are also
in the market from as little as Rs 5 |
'People must be aware of their
rights' CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — "Students should be actively involved in the process of creating awareness among people about human rights." Stating this at a seminar-cum-workshop on "human rights education in school and colleges — a plan of action," at the Sector 36 Dev Samaj College of Education here today, Prof Anirudh Joshi of Panjab University said the need of the hour was to tell the people about their rights. Professor Joshi, who was the chairman of the seminar, said the people should be informed what were their rights in different situations as most of them were not aware of their rights and where to go in case their rights were violated or denied. In a situation where awareness about human rights was low, we can change the sorry state of affairs by preparing the students for the job". Such students should be sent to rural areas and unorganised sectors for making the people aware of their rights and helping the oppressed to approach the rights bodies at the state and national levels for seeking justice and restoration of their rights. He advocated the need to establish Human Right Clubs in schools and colleges. Mrs Jagdish Bains, principal of Dev Samaj College Ferozepur, said the activities to generate awareness among people on the issue should not be confined to organising seminars and workshops alone, "We should adopt a pragmatic approach by training the students for the purpose for they would carry the message for different sections of society as they come from diverse backgrounds,"she said. Mrs Bains said the need of the hour was to target the rural areas as the awareness level in these areas was almost nil. Dr Satinder Dhillon, principal of the Chandigarh college, said: "We should resolve to educate at least one person in a village about human rights." She urged the students of the college to organise seminars on the issue in remote areas. Earlier, Mrs Mandeep Grewal, in charge of the Human Rights Club of the college, said the club would organise inter-school competitions next month on the theme of human rights. The others who spoke on
the occasion included Mr D.S.Mangat, UT DPI (School), Mr
Keshav Mandadi, Education Officer of the Kendriya
Vidyalya Sangathan, and Mrs S.Gill, principal of the
Malwa College of Education, Ludhiana. |
Kids' capers delight audience CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Youth Theatre Group of Berlin, in collaboration with the Federal Association for Drama and Theatre, Germany, performed an English-German play — "School of Clowns" — at the Shivalik Public School auditorium in Sector 41 this evening. The North India Theatre Association (NITA) presented the play. Whether it is our own Raj Kapoor in 'Mera Naam Joker' or 'clowns' from Germany, the barriers of language definitely do not bind jokes and jests. And so it was with today's production that saw not only the children but also adults rolling with laughter. 'School of Clowns' written by Karl Wacchter and directed by Reimar Brahms, told the story of four pupils and their teacher. The misadventures of the four clown-pupils, dressed in bright yellow, violet, green and orange, and their bespectacled teacher provided 55 minutes of brilliant chaotic play. The dialogues, part English and part German, did not confine the boisterous and animated movements of the clowns and their teacher. Whether it were their bulbous red noses or the swinging fountain-ponytails or hair glassed atop their heads, the clowns employed all these to turn the classroom into an entertaining arena and the teacher into a distracted instructor. Nina Hackmann as the sad 'yellow' clown, Gabriela Novakova, the always-ready to-dance 'orange' clown, Saskia Groszer, the 'violet' clown bulging out of her clothes, and Nina Metzgar, the short-haired 'green' clown, was absolutely charming with their engaging antics. Henrike were Malaschewski as the strict teacher was reminiscent of all those teachers who love to be rigidly demanding. The finale of this all-girl play ended with floating balloons and the kiddie-audience up on stage, to help the clowns win the final examination. "One-Two-Seven. Good Morning", all of them chanted in unison, and won the examination! The constant interaction of the clowns with the large attendance watching the play was a delight. The halting background music, not quite in sync with the movements of the clowns, was a slight jarring note to the otherwise refreshing performance. 'School of Clowns' was
followed by a giddha, bhangra and martial arts
performance by the local artistes for their foreign
friends. |
Protest against poultry farms PANCHKULA, Dec 21 — Residents of different villages in the Barwala-Raipur Rani belt have threatened to launch an agitation if the administration fails to stop coming up of new poultry farms in the area. The villagers lament that already the existing poultry farms had made their lives miserable. Apart from polluting air, unhygienic conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the poultry farms. Agitated over a poultry farm coming up near Kanauli village, the panchayat of Shamtu village passed a resolution demanding a ban on the poultry farms. The panchayat members said a single poultry farm coming up near the village would affect the population of Rattewali, Toka, Kanauli and Shamtu villages — all located within a radius of 1 km. Demanding that the existing poultry farms be brought under the purview of the State Pollution Control Board, the gram panchayats of Khet Purali, Dabkauri, Toka, Boonga, Tibbi and other villages submitted a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner. The villagers said if
their grievances were not listened to, the administration
would be responsible for the consequences. A copy of the
memorandum was sent to the Chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission. |
Life imprisonment for killing
woman CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today convicted Mr Sudershan Kumar Kathuria (51) under Section 302, IPC. The judge sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment. He also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him. In default of payment of fine, he was ordered to undergo further imprisonment of six months. According to the prosecution, the suspect had murdered Kiran, a resident of Sector 20, on May 26, 1995. The prosecution told the court that the deceased was a married woman. However, she was living separately. The accused used to visit her place. On that day he came to her house, asked for a cup of tea. Some people were also present in the house. After some time they left the house. Later, they heard her screams. According to the
prosecution, Kathuria fired at her following an
altercation. |
HC disallows govt houses to journalists CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 (PTI) — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today disallowed the allotment of government houses to journalists. A Division Bench comprising Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice M.L. Singhal said the journalists in possession of government houses shall be restricted to the quota of 33 houses fixed in the house allotment rules of 1968. The judgement said the Chandigarh Administration shall scrutinise the existing journalists keeping in view the quota of 33 houses as laid down in the 1968 rules. Only journalists who do not own a house or a plot, are accredited and do not have income of above Rs 2,000 per month shall be eligible to retain the houses. The court directed all allottees who have been transferred out of Chandigarh or attained 60 years of age shall automatically be disentitled to retain the houses and they will be considered unauthorised occupants. The administration shall
get the houses vacated, it ordered. |
Coop bank meeting deferred CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Shareholders of Chandigarh Cooperative Bank Limited did not allow any items on the agenda to be taken up at a general body meeting here today following which officials deferred the meeting. The meeting was being held to place before the house the amended bylaws along with other issues which needed ratification of the house. From the very beginning the shareholders objected to the Cooperative Societies Joint Registrar's preside over the meeting and insisted that a person chosen from among them should chair the meeting. This was not agreed to by the officials. The meeting was deferred following a commotion by the shareholders. The matters to be discussed included changing the tenure of the board of directors from the present term of one year to three years and appointment of a person with a banking background to the post of Managing Director. Mr Ashwani Kumar, JRCS,
said that a notice for the next meeting would be issued
shortly. |
UT panchayat poll
announcement today CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The UT Election Commissioner, Mr B. Prasad, today arrived here in connection with the panchayat poll, the date of which will be announced tomorrow. The tentative date is January 16 or January 18. The commissioner had earlier appointed returning officer (RO) and assistant returning officers (ARO) for the elections of panches and sarpanches of the gram panchayats of the Chandigarh Union Territory. According to sources, he met senior officials of the administration and discussed matters relating to the poll. Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. He is also likely to meet deputations of villagers tomorrow. Elections are due for 17 panchayats of 18 villages. Makhan Majra and Raipur Kalan villages have a common panchayat. Meanwhile, Palsora village
panchayat was today dereserved. It had been wrongly
reserved, according to official sources. |
Relief sought for lineman's
family CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Members of the Punjab State Electricity Board Employees Federation, Zirakpur subdivision, have demanded action against the guilty persons for circumstances leading to the death of Inderjit Kumar, an assistant lineman. Mr Sunil Sharma, secretary of the federation, said the 32-year-old lineman was working at a tubewell when power supply from the domestic feeder was switched on resulting in the death of the lineman. He said power for various types of connections should be from one feeder only and not from two feeders so that such incidents did not occur again. A condolence meeting was
held at the subdivision office where members expressed
their sympathies with the bereaved family and demanded
adequate compensation for the affected family. |
Xmas Special Day celebrated CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, celebrated the Special Day of Christmas with fun, frolic and festivity. The day began with prayers and hymns depicting the grace of the Lord. Carol singing was the major attraction of the programme. This was followed by a short tableau depicting the birth of Lord Jesus. The programme ended with
Santa Claus arriving and distributing candies and toffees
among the students. |
Attacks on Iraq condemned CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — A number of intellectuals from the city and surrounding areas gathered at the Sector 17 Plaza here today to protest against the attack on Iraq by the USA. The protesters, who
gathered following a call by the local Chetna Manch, were
holding placards carrying slogans condemning the attacks
and expressing solidarity with the people of Iraq. |
Date for payment of bills
extended CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The experiment of the Telecom Department to deliver telephone bills in the city through courier went off target and the department was today forced to extend the last date for the payment of bills by 10 days. Today was the last day for several thousands of subscribers and STD PCO operators to deposit their bills. No one has, however, reportedly received the bills so far. The department in a late evening decision extended the last day till December 31. Meanwhile, in a separate
statement, the local unit of the Congress said people
were facing harassment over the issue of bills. It also
demanded that a payment centre should be opened for STD
PCO operators in the Sector 34 exchange. |
Kendriya Vidyalaya holds function PANCHKULA, Dec 21 — The prize distribution function of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. I, Chandimandir, was organised in Manekshaw Auditorium today. Brig S.K. Rathee, Chairman of the Vidyalaya management committee, presided over the music and dance programme. Ms Rathee gave away prizes to winners of cu-curricular activities. The Principal, Dr S.P. Srivastava, highlighted the achievement of the vidyalaya. Brigadier Rathee, said
parents, along with teachers, play a vital role in
character building and personality development of the
child. |
CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — A decomposed body was found in an open drain in Sector 31, while a pedestrian was run over and killed by a truck in separate incidents in the city during the past 24 hours. This morning foul smell emanating from near the labour colony in Sector 31 led to the recovery of the body. According to police sources, the body was around 10 days old and was seemingly of a migrant labourer. The deceased might have been in his late fifties, the police said. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Meanwhile, a truck (CH-01-L-9286) driven by Phool Kumar of Jind district, hit a pedestrian, Maghu, killing him on the spot. Maghu hailed from Rai Nagar, Rajasthan. The police has arrested the trucker and registered a case against him under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC. Injured: Three persons were injured in separate accidents. A pedestrian, Karamjit Singh of Sector 21, was hit by a Tata Sierra (CH-01-M-6676) in Sector 26. The vehicle sped off. A cyclist, Rakesh Kumar of Sector 38, was hit by a scooter on the road dividing Sectors 24 and 25. A child, Shiv Karan, fell off the staircase of his house in Sector 15. Both were admitted to the PGI. Eve-teasing: Two youths, who were indulging in eve-teasing, have been arrested from outside a school in Sector 27-A. The two, Amarpreet Singh and Shiv Kumar, both residents of Panchkula, were nabbed and booked under Section 294 of the IPC. Car stolen: A car
(PCQ-5) owned by Mr Gurdev Singh of Sector 46 has been
stolen from his residence. |
CHANDIGARH, Dec 21 — The Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, while pleading for more powers for the elected representatives of the people, has advocated introduction of the Mayor-in-Council system in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MCC). Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Gupta alleged that the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, which had been extended to Chandigarh, contained many "deficiencies" with the result that the post of the Mayor was only an "ornamental post". The Mayor did not enjoy any financial powers and the councillors had no say in the recruitment and transfers of employees. He said that a resolution in support of the introduction of the Mayor-in-Council system throughout the country was passed at a recent meeting of the All-India Council of Mayors held at Bhopal. The system was functioning effectively in Mumbai and Bhopal and the Punjab Government had okayed the system for its civic bodies in principle. Saying that the nominated councillors should not have the voting rights, he said: "Personally I think that they should only have advisory role as nowhere in the country they have the voting rights". Detailing various measures taken for transparency in the working of the MCC, he said five major inquiries were ordered during his tenure. While the inquiry report with regard to the Mani Majra land scam had been submitted to the Chandigarh Administration, an amount of over Rs 1.42 lakh was recovered from an UP-based firm after inquiry into the renting of Nehru Park last year. He claimed that the MCC had saved over Rs 2.25 lakh following an inquiry into the purchase of garbage containers. Similarly, inquiries into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of paint and change of design of the causeway connecting the city with SAS Nagar were in progress. Calling upon the Chandigarh Administration to make the distribution of functions between the MCC and the Administration clear, he wanted that certain taxes like cess on liquor should be transferred to the civic body. Listing out various achievements of the MCC during his tenure, Mr Gupta, who lays down office on December 23, said three major water supply schemes were in the pipeline to meet the shortage of water. The preliminary survey of bringing water from Ganguwal to Chandigarh by gravity had been done and the Haryana Government was being approached to construct a dam on the Ghaggar as a long-term water supply measure, he added. Though the Administration had hiked the electricity tariff twice during the past two years, the MCC had not revised the water tariff. Due to effective door-to-door checking, the corporation had been able to increase its water supply revenue from Rs 8.25 crore during 1996-97 to Rs 12.25 crore during 1997-98. He said it had been decided to recarpet V-6 roads of 30 sub-sectors every year. Of the 30 sub-sectors to be completed by March, 1999, the recarpeting work had been completed in 18 sub-sectors, Mr Satish Gathwal, Commissioner, informed Among the other achievements listed by Mr Gupta were the special campaign to develop parks of 26 sectors, strengthening of storm water and sewerage system in the city, providing basic amenities to various rehabilitation colonies, finalisation of the sites for 10 community centres and citizen charter's draft, removal of over 2500 encroachments from government land and recovery of Rs 19.18 lakh on account of removal charges by the Enforcement Wing and distribution of Rs 10 lakh in the shape of watches among safai karamcharis. Notice issued: A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday issued a notice of motion to the Chandigarh Administration for January 18 in connection with a petition filed by Mr Rajinder Kumar, BJP's official candidate for the post of the Mayor. In his petition, Mr Rajinder Kumar had prayed before the court that the nine nominated councillors of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) should be restrained from voting in the elections to the posts of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Challaned: The
enforcement wing of the MCC on Monday challaned over
illegal 100 rehri and pheriwalas in different parts of
the city. According to sources, over 50 illegal
rehriwalas were challaned around the "apni mandi''
in Sector 8 alone. |
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