Internet goes haywire
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — In the past one week Internet services — touted as the ultimate gateway to information — are giving more problems than benefits to subscribers. Complaints of "no connections" or "bad connections" have been pouring in. Repeated dialling of 172222, the master number for Internet access, gives only a busy tone.

Public sector banks invest Rs 65,000 cr
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The public sector banks have invested a whopping Rs 65,000 crore into government securities, whereas other sectors, like the small scale industry and agriculture, are starved of capital.

45 JBT teachers appointed CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — With special emphasis on rural education, the UT Education Department has appointed 45 JBT teachers who have been offered service in government schools of villages and colonies in the city.

80 encroachments removed HVP leader booked for assaulting cops

Panchkula to have Bal Bhavan
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The District Child Welfare Council will set up a Bal Bhavan in Sector 15 of Panchkula.

Spate of thefts: one held
PANCHKULA, Nov 24 — A member of a gang of burglars involved in the recent incidents of thefts in the township was today arrested by the police from Rajiv labour colony here today.

Insurance staff stir from Dec 8
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 —Members of the General Insurance Employees Association have flayed the Union Government to open up the insurance sector to foreign investors and will take part in a countrywide strike on December 11 to register their protest on the move.

Children bring alive Bhagat Singh's life
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — An enactment on the life of Bhagat Singh was presented by students of Bhavan Vidyalya, Sector 27, at Tagore Theatre here today. A powerful performance, it was titled "Bhagat Singh — Prince among Martyrs''.

Probe into illegal taxi stands sought
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Chandigarh Congress Committee (I) has demanded an inquiry in the increasing number of unauthorised taxi stands in the city.

Lata award contest on Dec 8
CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Majlis Journalists and Artistes Association will hold an All-India Lata Mangeshkar award competition at Tagore Theatre here on December 8.

• Rs 6.72 lakh awarded as compensation
• Selection for civil services team
• Punjab & Haryana HC holidays
• Former HC judge declines offer
• Grain saving course concludes
• Anti-plastic drive gains ground
• Malik refutes allegation

Internet goes haywire
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, Nov 24 — In the past one week Internet services — touted as the ultimate gateway to information — are giving more problems than benefits to subscribers.

Complaints of "no connections" or "bad connections" have been pouring in. Repeated dialling of 172222, the master number for Internet access, gives only a busy tone. On an average one has to try for hours to get a connection. If the connection is through, it ends abruptly within a few minutes, thus making it impossible for subscribers to download anything from the net.

A snag in the software is said be to the root cause of the problem. The "server" that stores all information has been so overloaded that it was not recording calls and the duration of calls, sources confirmed.

The Principal General Manager, Telecom, Mr Prithipal Singh, said a part of the fault had been corrected as an engineer from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) based in Delhi had arrived and was working at the fault.

He termed the fault in the server as a "billing fault". To tackle such problems in future, the department was planning to train its own persons for maintenance of Internet equipment and not depend upon the VSNL that is based in Delhi.

Meanwhile, attempts by The Tribune to access the net throughout the day failed. The attempts were made on an automatic dialler.

One of the major problems on the net is of congestion. Since people from all over Punjab can now access the Chandigarh node at the cost of a local call, the number of callers has naturally gone up, thereby pushing up the usage of the 96 lines earmarked for the Chandigarh node. Earlier, outstation callers had access only through the STD. Thus, calls were of shorter duration, explained a source. The department is expanding but the expansion is slow and not in pace with the number of subscribers, he added.

Wait for licences continues
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Hundreds of people at the Licensing and Registering Authority of Motor Vehicles in Sector 17 were put to inconvenience as the contractor engaged in making driving licences suspended operations alleging non-payment of arrears for the past nine months.

Work was suspended for the day as the printing material stocked by the contractor ran out and the people who had queued up for their documents were left high and dry. Efforts by officials to resolve the crisis proved futile as the contractor remained adamant on claiming his dues amounting to Rs 10 lakh before resuming work.

Talking to TNS several persons said public should not be made to suffer for "bureaucratic lapses". Mr Sanjay Anand, a resident of Sector 18, said this was his third visit to the branch and he had got the slip for getting his licence only today. "I will have to come back again and I do not know when the things would be functional here", he added.

"Getting work done here even on routine days is a test of one's patience, but this is the height of inefficiency," remarked an elderly gentleman.

Since the payment had not been released, printing material which is procured from Delhi in bulk could not be purchased, contractor's employees said.

The contract had also not been renewed after it expired seven months ago. The authorities had been repeatedly asking them to continue with the work in public interest and that the payment would be cleared, they added.

Officials had also been claiming that they wanted to carry out the entire licensing and registration work in-house and were working out the modalities for the same. That process was taking some time, they added.

On the other hand Mr Ashish Kundra, UT Registering and Licensing Authority, said work had been held up for some time during the day but things were normal after noon following his meeting with the contractor. He had been assured that his bills would be cleared after the arrival of the Home Secretary. Meanwhile sources in the branch said work is likely to be affected tomorrow.

45 JBT teachers appointed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — With special emphasis on rural education, the UT Education Department has appointed 45 JBT teachers who have been offered service in government schools of villages and colonies in the city.

An order in this regard was passed by Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI (Schools), here today. The appointments are against "temporary posts which are likely to continue". These appointments have been made in the scale of Rs 4,020-6,200.

The successful candidates in the interview are required to report to the heads of their assigned institutions within a fortnight.These teachers will be on probation for two years. They will be posted in schools of more than 14 villages and at least four colonies of the UT.

Mr Mangat while talking to TNS said by another order approximately 72 JBT teachers had been transferred. The order passed in this regard said that the Block Education Officer and the heads of institutions concerned should relieve the persons under transfer immediately.

The teachers had been asked to join their place of posting within two days. The relieving reports were required to be submitted to the DPI's office at the earliest, Mr Mangat said.

A majority of the teachers had completed the tenure of stay in their present schools. A few of the transfers had been made against vacant posts while in certain cases the posts, had been transferred from other schools, he added.

In yet another significant step, heads of primary government schools will now be selected on the basis of seniority in their service. An order in this regard asking seniormost teachers in as many as 22 schools has also been passed.

While approximately three teachers will stay in their present schools, others have been transferred. These heads will look after the affairs of their respective schools "in addition to their own duties, in their own pay scales".

Despite the recent appointments, staff shortage in government schools remains a major area of concern.

Panchkula to have Bal Bhavan
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The District Child Welfare Council will set up a Bal Bhavan in Sector 15 of Panchkula.

This was stated today by the Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula, Mrs Saroj Siwach, who is also President of the council.

A sum of Rs 1 lakh has also been earmarked to set up a mini Bal Bhavan at Bhoj Jabyal village in Morni block for the welfare of children of hill areas. The Shivalik Development Board will also provide Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the bhavan.

A craft centre for girls has also been set up at Mahadevpur village in Pinjore block. A similar craft centre is being opened at Bad Godam village.

The council has also set up creches at Barwala, Pinjore and Kalka to provide day-care facilities to the wards of working women. Each such creche can take 25 children. They are provided nutritious food and their health check up is also conducted at regular intervals. Apart from this, 40 children between the age of three and six years, are also being provided with similar facilities at Mahadevpur village under the Balwari Nutrition Programme.

The girls are imparted training in vocational courses in computer, make-up, cutting and stitching and embroidery at the bhavan in Kalka. Short-term courses are also conducted in painting, cooking and mehndi designs. As many as 104 girls have already been imparted training in these courses.

The Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board has provided over Rs 48,000 for imparting training to children living in slums and those belonging to the families of beggars in painting of utensils, fabric painting and flower making besides providing them informal education and creating an awareness among them regarding drugs and AIDS.

Spate of thefts: one held
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Nov 24 — A member of a gang of burglars involved in the recent incidents of thefts in the township was today arrested by the police from Rajiv labour colony here today.

The nine-member gang, including the one arrested, Vijay Pal (22), who was currently residing in Rajiv colony here, had recently committed a broad daylight burglary at the house of Mr Ashok Gupta in Sector 16 here on November 22.

The cash and jewellery estimated at around Rs 50,000 which was taken by the thieves after scaling the back courtyard wall of the Sector 16 house, has been recovered by the police. The involvement of the gang behind a futile attempt made at a house in Sector 17 here yesterday is also suspected by the police.

The S.P, Mr Alok Mittal, said the other gang members — Kushi Ram, Inder Pal, Ravi, Rajinder, Babloo, Basant and Amit— who are yet to be arrested have been residing in Indira Colony, Manimajra, and Rajiv labour colony here. The modus operandi of the gang was that they targeted the locked houses and even committed some broad daylight thefts.

The arrested member of the gang, who hails from Ajitpur in Uttar Pradesh, has also confessed to his involvement in a number of thefts in Delhi. The other members of the gang in the 18-25 age-group hail from Moradabad and Badaun districts of U.P., said the S.P.

Public sector banks invest Rs 65,000 cr
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The public sector banks have invested a whopping Rs 65,000 crore into government securities, whereas other sectors, like the small scale industry and agriculture, are starved of capital. The monetary policy should address this paradoxical situation of excess liquidity co-existing with large unsatisfied demand for credit.

These views were expressed today by Dr N.A. Majumdar, former Principal Adviser, Reserve Bank of India, while addressing the second day of Management Development/Special Training Programme (MD/STP) for senior officers of the Bank of India at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID).

He cautioned the public sector banks against imitating the western model of banking which was based on three Cs — capital market-related activity, consumer credit and the corporate elite — thereby ignoring the priority sector lending.

Prof Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, stressed that the growth of banking had not gone hand in hand with the land reforms and education. Hence, real economic growth had not taken place.

Author of four volumes of the history of banking in India, Professor Bagchi gave a historical account of the growth of the banking industry in India right from the formation of Imperial Bank and its indifference to Indian needs and sentiments and the amalgamation of various banks to the rationale of nationalisation of banks. He said banks could not avoid NPAs when overall economy was performing badly. Lack of financing alone could not be attributed to lack of industrial growth.

Mr S.K. Sapru, former Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, dwelt at length on infrastructural development and economic reforms and the role of public sector banks in infrastructural growth that involves high risk factors.

Punjab & Haryana HC holidays
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court will observe the following holidays in 1999:

All Sundays, all second Saturdays (except those following on 9.1.99, 10.4.99 and 9.10.99); Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday (January 5); Republic Day (January 26); Birthday of Guru Ravi Dass (January 31); Maha Shivratri (February 14); Holi (March 2); Hola (March 3); Ram Naumi (March 25); Mahavir Jayanti (March 29); Good Friday (April 2); Baisakhi/Dr Ambedkar Jayanti (April 14); Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjan Dev (June 16); Independence Day (August 15); Janmashtami (September 2); Gandhi Jayanti (October 2); Dasehra (October 19): Divali (November 7); Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev (November 23); Martyrdom Day of Guru Teg Bahadur (November 24); Christmas (December 25); Jor Mela Fatehgarh Sahib (December 26, 27 and 28).

March 20, (Saturday) will be court working day.

January 2, (Saturday) will be office holiday in lieu of the second Saturday falling on January 9, which will be a working day.

April 17, (Saturday) will be office holiday in lieu of the second Saturday falling on April 10th, which will be working day.

October 23, (Saturday) will be office holiday in lieu of the second Saturday falling on October 9, which will be working day.

Insurance staff stir from Dec 8
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 —Members of the General Insurance Employees Association have flayed the Union Government to open up the insurance sector to foreign investors and will take part in a countrywide strike on December 11 to register their protest on the move.

Mr Rakesh Chopra, zonal vice- president of the association said the move had generated resentment among the employees. He alleged that the decision was taken under the diktats of the World Bank and the IMF and was a "blatant attempt to usurp the sector by the multinational companies despite lack of consensus on the matter at the national level.

Mr Chopra informed that the employees will march to the Parliament on December 8 and stage a one-day strike on December 11.

Selection for civil services team
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Artistes of central government departments at UT and Himachal Pradesh have been asked to report at the Survey of India Complex for trials tomorrow which will select the Chandigarh all-India civil services team.

Lt-Col C.S. Bewli, secretary of the Central Civil Services Regional Board for Culture and Sports, in a press note said a team was to be selected for the all-India civil services drama contest scheduled from December 10 to 16 at Agartala (Tripura).

Anti-plastic drive gains ground
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee has decided to launch a campaign to create awareness among the residents here against the use of pollutant recycled plastic goods.

During a meeting of the committee here today, members felt that the use of plastic should be banned in a phased manner and the process should be started with a ban on the production and use of recycled plastic as it was a serious health hazard particularly when it was used for packing of food items.

Awareness would be created through posters, banners and organising children's contests on the use of plastic.

However, the plastic manufacturers contended that the ban would render a large number of employees jobless.

Initially, the awareness campaign would be concentrated in Sector 17 as a large number of shopkeepers have volunteered that they would not use the package material made of recycled plastic.

Children bring alive Bhagat Singh's life
From our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — An enactment on the life of Bhagat Singh was presented by students of Bhavan Vidyalya, Sector 27, at Tagore Theatre here today. A powerful performance, it was titled "Bhagat Singh — Prince among Martyrs''.

Excerpts from the time of Bhagat Singh's birth to his death were enacted. The conditions prevalent at the time of his birth, his mother's narration of his childhood formed the beginning.

Later, it went on to project the revolutionary we know him as with the various associations he joined and the activities he indulged in. The 'kisan aandolan', the throwing of the bomb and the final trial scene in which he justifies his actions deserve special mention. The role of Bhagat Singh was played by Mayank Wig of Class X. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab was the Chief Guest.

This was staged to fulfil the last wish of the former Vice-Chairman of the Bhavan, K.J. Khosla, who died last year. He wanted to give an impetus to patriotic feelings which he found lacking in today's youth.

Earlier the Principal of the school, Mrs Meenakshi Mohinder, read out the school report and stressed that the school had kept up with the tradition of promoting the four pillars of learning. This was followed by a prize distribution function in which students standing first in academics were honoured.

Rs 6.72 lakh awarded as compensation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Presiding Officer of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Mr GS Sandhu, today awarded a compensation of Rs 6.72 lakh to Ms Saroj Gupta, Ajay and Umesh, and Ms Krishna Devi, widow, sons and mother of Mr Raj Kumar, (53) a resident of Sector 15 of Panchkula, who was killed in an accident on April 17, last year.

The deceased was a Deputy Manager with the State Bank of India. He was going on his scooter to Kalka when he was hit by a Maruti van near Naggal village under Chandimandir police station. He suffered multiple head injuries and died on the spot.

The prosecution had told the court that the deceased was going at a moderate speed while the van coming from the opposite direction rammed into his scooter.

Malik refutes allegation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — A former Secretary of Industries, Haryana, Mr RS Malik, said here today that he never had any official or unofficial relations with any officer of the Food Corporation of India either in Punjab or Haryana or at the central level.

Referring to a news item "HC orders probe into wheat sale plaints" Mr Malik said the petitioner, Mr SS Bajwa, seemed to have levelled false and frivolous allegations against him and other officers only to blackmail them. The petitioner, he said, had apparently misused the forum of the judiciary to malign senior officers.

Mr Malik said that in fact his son, Vineet, had complained to the CBI and had even filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against certain FCI officials of the Haryana region for allegedly committing serious irregularities in the allotment of wheat.

Probe into illegal taxi stands sought
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Chandigarh Congress Committee (I) has demanded an inquiry in the increasing number of unauthorised taxi stands in the city.

In a press note issued here today, the general secretary of the urban unit of the party, Mr Suresh Manchanda, alleged that a number of unauthorised taxi stands were coming up in the city resulting in a number of problems to residents. He further alleged that a large number of unauthorised taxis belonged to officials of the UT Administration and the Chandigarh Police.

He said the taxi stands had become a source of nuisance for the residents as these had become dens of drinking and gambling. He demanded that the administration should check the growth of such stands in the interests of the residents.

Grain saving course concludes
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The 10-day stipendiary training course for farm women concluded at Bhoot village in Nawanshahr today.

The course, conceptualised by the Regional Save Grain Campaign Office, Chandigarh, was organised with a view to training farm women in modern methods of foodgrain storage. As many as 50 farm women participated in the course.

According to a press note issued here today, about 10 per cent of the foodgrains was lost when stored conventionally. The loss could be minimised by adopting modern means of storage as advocated by the office, the press note added.

Lata award contest on Dec 8
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The Majlis Journalists and Artistes Association will hold an All-India Lata Mangeshkar award competition at Tagore Theatre here on December 8.

There will be two preliminary rounds on December 6 to shortlist the participants. The selected singers, if required, will be provided board and lodging from December 6 to 8. The selected singers will compete for the awards on December 8 at a "live" show with a 12-member orchestra.

An association spokesman said only female singers were eligible to participate in the competition. There will be three prizes, Rs 5,100, 3,100 and 2,100. Interested singers may contact 548911 or 548777 in Chandigarh.

The association in the past 20 years has engaged itself in issues related to society, performing arts and culture.

Former HC judge declines offer
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — A former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Amarjeet Choudhary has declined the offer made to him by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to become the chairman of the Dealers Selection Board, Chandigarh, (Punjab-II), according to reliable sources.

The Ministry had made the offer on October 14, 1998.

The Punjab-II region comprises eight districts of Ludhiana, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Sangrur, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr, Mansa and Fatehgarh Sahib.

80 encroachments removed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The enforcement wing of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) today removed encroachments from government land in Sector 8-A here.

Over 80 encroachments in front of the houses were removed by a team of the MCC with the help of a JCB. Angle irons, hedges and barbed wires were among the encroachments removed by the team.

The operation, which began around 9.30 a.m. lasted till 1.30 p.m. No untoward incident was reported.

Meeting: The Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, on Tuesday held a meeting with certain nominated councillors.

The councillors — Mr Harish Bhanot, Mr RK Aggarwal, Dr IC Pathak and Maj-Gen Gurdial Singh — told the Mayor that the nominated councillors were not a party to the disruption of meetings of the House. They urged the Mayor to impress upon the elected councillors not to disrupt the meetings of the corporation, sources said.

HVP leader booked for assaulting cops
From Tribune Reporters

PANCHKULA, Nov 24 — The Chandimandir police today registered a case against three persons including the President of the district youth wing of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP), for allegedly assaulting two Haryana police personnel and a taxi driver at Ramgarh near here last night.

The two cops, HC Deepak and HC Om Parkash were allegedly assaulted by the three persons when they tried to intervene in a scuffle between the former and a Tempo trax driver, Tejinder near the Ramgarh police post.

The police has registered a case against the HVP leader Ishwar Singh, a resident of Rattewali, Mr Ravinderjeet Singh, a son of the district president of the HVP and a brother-in-law of Ravinderjeet, Mr Avtar Singh under Sections 186, 323, 332, 353 and 506 of the IPC.

While Ishwar Singh had been arrested by the police the other two are yet to be arrested as the police said that their direct involvement had not been established. Moreover, on medical examination the two had tested negative to alcohol tests.

The driver of the taxi, Tejinder Singh, on whose statement the FIR has been registered, stated that he was going from Panchkula to Ramgarh when three persons, allegedly in an inebriated state, signalled him to stop at Majri traffic lights at Old Panchkula. He, however, refused to take along Ishwar Singh to Rattewali and left.

At Ramgarh he alleged, he was confronted by the three persons, who followed him in a Maruti van and assaulted him. When the police personnel tried to intervene they were also thrashed.

The District President of the HVP, Mr Jaswant Singh, when contacted claimed that two police personnel in plainclothes, who were in an inebriated state and were travelling in the tempo trax had instead assaulted the youth president, his son and his relative.

He claimed that Ishwar Singh had merely asked the taxi driver the reason for not being given a lift when he was assaulted by the policemen. He alleged a police cover up and said he would take up the matter with the district administration.

Arrested: Balwinder Singh (30), the driver of a truck which hit a school bus of Shishu Niketan School, Chandigarh, near BEL factory here last Saturday injuring six students has been arrested by the local police. The police had registered a case under sections 279 and 337, IPC against the truck driver.

Two killed: Two persons died in separate incidents in the city, while a woman received burns during the past 24 hours.

A labourer, Neeta, who was working on the roof of a building in the Industrial Area, Phase I fell off the roof and was seriously injured. He was admitted to the PGI where he succumbed to his injuries.

In another incident Kirpal, a resident of Ram Darbar, was hit by a car (CH-01-Q-2989) on the road separating Sectors 16 and 17. The injured person was rushed to the PGI, where he died.

A case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered.

In a separate incident a married woman, Indu of Darua village, received burn injuries and was admitted to the PGI.

Cars stolen: Two cars have been stolen in separate incidents while a Maruti van has been recovered. A Maruti car (CHK-600), owned by Mr G.S. Riar of Sector 9, was stolen from the Parking lot in Sector 17, while a car (CHK-6768) owned by Mr Mukesh Sharma was stolen from Sector 18-D on Tuesday. The police has also recovered a Maruti van (CH-02-0077) from Jeet Singh. The van belongs to Mr Vijay Kumar of Sector 23 and it was allegedly stolen, 10 days ago.

Illicit liquor: Three persons have been nabbed for allegedly carrying unauthorised liquor. Ram Suhag, alias Suhaga, of Sector 40 and Sobha Singh of Sector 24 were nabbed along with two cases of liquor from the local bus stop in Sector 24. In another case, Sawan Kumar, alias Bhola, of Bapu Dham Colony was nabbed for allegedly carrying 10 bottles of liquor. Separate cases under the Excise Act have been registered.