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Friday, October 30, 1998
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Friday, October 30, 1998 |
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2 labourers choked to death CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Two labourers involved in the boring of a tubewell were suffocated to death when they were trapped inside a 31- foot deep and narrow pit at Zirakpur, around 7 km from here, this afternoon. GMCH finally recognised by
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Contempt
notice against SBI region chief Order
crackdown on hoarders: sabha Insurance
firm told to pay claim plus costs Cancellation
of bail of Dhawan, others sought School
board staff stage dharna 48
donate blood |
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2 labourers choked to death CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Two labourers involved in the boring of a tubewell were suffocated to death when they were trapped inside a 31- foot deep and narrow pit at Zirakpur, around 7 km from here, this afternoon. A mysterious gas probably caused the death of Satish (20), a resident of Churheri in Ropar, and Pappu (27), of Moradabad. Pappu was living here for the past two years and is survived by his wife and two kids while Satish, was a bachelor, family members of the deceased said. The bodies of the labourers were taken out around 6 p.m., almost three hours later, by Nirmal Singh, a resident of Zirakpur. It was instant death for Satish and Pappu when they descended inside the pit which is usually dug up to a certain depth before the boring machine takes over. Rajinder Kumar, a brother of Satish and one of the four labourers involved in the task, was visibly shaken as he narrated the incident to The Tribune this evening while the wife of Pappu and and his two kids wailed over his body. The incident occurred on a under- construction godown in Zirakpur. The tubewell was being dug to meet the water requirements of the future occupants and to help in construction. The godown was being constructed by an SAS Nagar-based person, according to sources. The death occurred when Pappu, after having lunch, descended into the pit and fell down at the bottom. Satish, who was to follow him, thought that Pappu had fallen down from the rope ladder used for descending and injured himself. He also went inside and picked up Satish in his arms. However, he also collapsed within seconds, eyewitnesses told The Tribune. The other two labourers Rajinder Kumar, brother of Satish, and Ajay Kumar from Mainpuri district in Uttar Pradesh, sensed that something was wrong and did not go inside the pit. A cover was laid out at the mouth of the pit to prevent the gas from spreading. Later Nirmal Singh, who took out the bodies, came in with lime powder (chuna) to curb the spread of the gas. The incident occurred in a remote corner of Zirakpur where the only link is a kutcha road. Several national and multinational companies have set up their godowns in this area to cut down costs. However, the basic infrastructure required for emergencies is woefully lacking. Meanwhile, the Sohana police reached the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem to the Civil Hospital, SAS Nagar. Similar deaths inside
wells or newly dug narrow pits have earlier been reported
from the Karnal area of Haryana and Kapurthala in Punjab. |
GMCH finally recognised by MCI CHANDIGARH, Oct 19 — The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, was finally and formally recognised by the Medical Council of India today, thus ending the four-year wait for recognition. A meeting of the general body of the MCI held in Delhi ratified the decision of the MCI executive body held last fortnight, highly placed official sources said. Permanent recognition of the GMCH has been hanging fire for the past four years. Since then three batches of doctors have passed out. It has been seven years since the first batch was admitted. Around two years ago, the GMCH was granted recognition by the Punjab Medical Council but it was a temporary feature. The MCI had objected to deputationists working in the hospital. This problem had since been removed and doctors appointed through UPSC have joined the GMCH. Yesterday the Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs granted financial approval
to the entire 500-bed project of the GMCH, thus putting
an end to the hurdles the upcoming hospital was facing. |
Dairy owners usurp land BUTERLA (Chandigarh), Oct 29 — With the authorities looking the other way, problems of lack of civic amenities and the usurption of the prime land worth lakhs of rupees, earmarked for green belt, by dairy owners, continue to plague this village for the past several years. Residents of the village alleged that since the incorporation of village in the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) over two years back, almost no development had taken place. A visit to the village today revealed that inner streets were in a bad state. The conditions of roads leading to the village and around it were no better. "For the past over two years the civic body seemed to have forgotten the village with hardly any development undertaken by it", alleged a former sarpanch, Mr Gurmukh Singh Hira. He alleged that the sanitation condition was no better with sweepers coming at irregular intervals. The village has no park. The work on the community centre, for which grants had reportedly been sanctioned, was yet to begin. He said though the power situation was better, the water supply, particularly in summer was erratic. He said residents were facing a lot of problems in getting new power connections. With the civic body yet to formulate building bylaws, haphazard construction continues unabated. The ban on the keeping of milch cattle is being flouted openly. Shopkeepers complain of insanitary conditions due to the use of the open space, earmarked for the green belt, by residents for tying their milch cattle. The area, which was got vacated by the administration, after demolishing the illegal "jhuggis", whose inhabitants were later rehabilitated in Palsora Colony, had again been "encroached" upon by dairy owners. Mr Karam Chand Verma, president of the Shopkeepers Welfare Association, said the insanitary conditions had seriously affected their business. Temporary structures, including "jhuggis", had again come up on the land due to lack of any action by the authorities, he alleged. While demanding the shifting of the dairies out of the green belt area, Mr Verma also demanded the inner streets should also be repaired as shopkeepers faced a lot of problems in loading and unloading wares. Mr Hira also demanded
alternative sites for dairy owners. While the persons,
whose "jhuggis" were demolished had been
rehabilitated by the administration, nothing had been
done for dairy owners, he alleged. |
Villagers hold up traffic CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Villagers today held up traffic in front of the Mani Majra office of the municipal corporation for more than four hours and raised slogans against the Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, who was on a visit to the office today. They were protesting against the demolitions carried out at Raipur Kalan yesterday. The road blockade, which began minutes after the Adviser reached the corporation office, continued till the time he was visiting various parts of the town. He was accompanied by senior officers of the Administration and the corporation. The police had made elaborate security arrangements in anticipation of the protests. The protesters, including a large number of women and children, sat on all roads following which traffic had to be diverted. Talking to representatives of the protesters, Mr Sagar said that construction would not be spared. He was, however, non-committal on old constructions that were raised violating the Periphery Control Act. He listened to grievances of people, social and political organisations. Reacting to various demands, he said roads would be repaired before the next monsoon. He also assured the residents that two underground reservoirs were being constructed by the corporation to ease the water supply. Improvements in the local hospital would also be brought about. The demand for construction of a sewer treatment plant for the town would be taken up next year. He, however, stressed that many of the problems were because of unplanned and unauthorised constructions. The Administration had sought suggestions from the corporation on the issue of acquisition of land by it. Mr Sagar added that so far EWS houses had been constructed only for resettling jhuggi dwellers, but now independent schemes for LIG and EWS houses would also be formulated. The Mani Majra Joint Action Committee submitted a memorandum, highlighting demands such as construction of a main road from housing board roundabout to Mariwala town, widening of the road from the railway station traffic lights to Mariwala town and constitution of a panel to manage the affairs of community centre, mohalla darwazewala. The local units of the BSP and the Congress (S) also submitted memorandums. Meanwhile, the dharna by
villagers near the railway station against the
demolitions continued for the second day. |
Lawyers' popularity 'low in USA' CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — "India would do well to examine plea-bargain system," says Mr Michael E. Hartmann, UN Judicial System Officer. Speaking at a function organised by the local chapter of the International Law Association here this evening on "Lawyers in the USA : myths and realities", Mr Hartmann maintained that system of pleading guilty for a certain category of offences, say drunk vehicular driving, helps the judicial system. "It is sometimes necessary. If we do not have it, our system will collapse. Since judges control it, it is why it is good," he remarked expressing surprise at low conviction rate in IPC cases in India. "I learn that only 4 per cent of cases under IPC end in conviction while 80 per cent cases fail.If you have pre-bargaining system, it will be good for getting conviction in serious criminal cases," he added. Mr Hartmann said that it is a myth that judicial independence is always good. There are no absolutes. No one is above law . "Judges in the USA are not as independent or isolated from politics as is the myth," he said. He said lawyers' popularity in the USA was incredibly low as a recent public opinion put them third from bottom. Salesmen and politicians occupied number two and the bottom position in the poll. Mr Hartmann, who was introduced to the audience by Dr Balram Gupta, has been a Fullbright scholar in Criminal Law and has taught at Berkley and San Francisco besides working for 15 years as Assistant District Attorney. For the past three years, he has been UN Judicial System Officer in Bosnia. Mr Justice J.L. Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who presided over the talk, said that "law is only a means of achieving the people's good. There are no myths about lawyers in India. They were in forefront of our freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Rajendra Prasad and Pt Jawaharlal Nehru belonged to this noble profession. Mr Justice Gupta said despite a long tradition and constitutional guarantees, India have experienced certain problems which was inevitable in a democracy. Some people shall always abuse liberty and treat it as a licence. This is not peculiar to India. Even the great American people once fought a civil war. Mr Hira Lal Sibal while proposed a vote of thanks. Mr M.L. Sarin, honorary
secretary of the chapter, talked about the International
Law Association and its activities. Among those present
for the talk included Mr G.S. Grewal, Justice D.V.
Sehgal, Mr R.L. Batta, Mr M.S. Khaira and several lawyers
and teachers of law. |
Contempt notice against SBI region
chief CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to show cause for November 19, 1998 to Mr K.K. Narula, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Chandigarh Region, and Mr V.K. Sharma, Senior Manager, State Bank of India, Dugri road branch, Ludhiana, on a contempt petition filed by Mr Gurbir Singh, president, Guru Nanak Education Trust, Ludhiana, which manages the Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana. Counsel for the petitioner contended before the bench that the High Court while upholding an injunction granted by the trial court in favour of the petitioner and further restraining Mr Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Minister for Medical Education, Punjab, and others from operating the bank accounts of the Trust had further laid down certain mandatory procedure for the same vide order dated April 18, 1995, in civil revision. The high court order along with orders of the Supreme Court and the trial court was brought to the notice of the bank authorities repeatedly. They were informed that number of criminal cases of cheating and forgery were pending against the minister and others for dishonestly operating the bank accounts of the Trust and Principal, Guru Nanak Girls College. Counsel further submitted that the bank authorities acting under undue influence of the minister handed over the bank operation of the Trust to his brother Mr Gurinder Singh in violation of the high court order. Therefore, legal notices were sent to respondent bank authorities, requesting them for restoration of the bank accounts to the petitioner as per the court order but the bank instead of restoring the accounts took the stand that it was not a party to the civil litigation between the trustees so it had no concern with the court order. It was argued that it is
settled law that even strangers who have knowledge of the
court orders are bound to obey the same and the high
court has inherent powers being a court of record under
Article 215 of the Constitution to punish the contemners
in such situations. |
Order crackdown on hoarders:
sabha CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — The Chandigarh Nagrik Sabha has urged Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee to order a crackdown on hoarders who were busy creating an artificial scarcity in items of daily use, particularly, onions, to mint money at the cost of the common man. Meanwhile, people belonging to the salaried class took to the streets today in protest against the unprecedented price hike. Employees of Punjab and Chandigarh held a rally and burnt an effigy of a "hoarder" in Sector 17 here. The employees under the banner of the Joint Action Committee of Punjab and UT Employees first held a massive rally at the Sector 17 Plaza. In a press note here today, Mr Chaman Lal Sharma and Mr Amarjit Singh Sethi, president and the general-secretary of the Chandigarh Nagrik Sabha, said the common man was reeling under the burden of an unprecedented hike in the price of essential goods. They said the price hike was the outcome of large-scale hoarding by a cartel of traders, which in the absence of action against it was controlling the entire market and was responsible for the miseries of the common man. They said that only stern action against such irresponsible elements could bring down the prices. Mr Tej Bans Singh and Mr N.K. Nanda, secretary, and Public Relations Officer of the sabha, urged the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, to ensure the supply of onions at Rs 10 a kg to the residents of the city as was being done by the government in Delhi. Mr Sharma, lamented that it seemed that the BJP Government was interested only in supplying subsidised onions in the states where elections were in the offing. Employees affiliated with the Joint Action Committee first converged at the Sector 17 Plaza, where they shouted slogans against the hike in the prices of items of daily use and the failure of the government to check the skyrocketing prices. They were carrying an effigy of a hoarder,with slogans like "Punjab sarkar murdabad" and "Kendar sarkar murdabad" on its both arms. Later, the effigy was burnt in front of Deputy Commissioner's office in the presence of a large number of policemen. While addressing the
employees, the chairman of the committee, Mr Sajjan
Singh, threatened that in case the government failed to
arrest the price hike, employees would intensify their
struggle. Mr Raghbir Singh Dhaliwal, another employee
leader said burning of effigies would be a regular
feature till effective steps were taken by the government
to check the prices.The employee leaders alleged that
both the Punjab and Central governments were favouring
the hoarders by not taking any action against them. |
Insurance firm told to pay claim
plus costs CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum II has ordered the Oriental Insurance Company to pay Rs 14,000 as insurance claim to a resident of Parwanoo whose house was damaged during rains. Mr R.P. Bajaj, president, and Ms Kamlesh Gupta and Mr H.S.Walia, both members, promulgated the order on a written complaint filed by Mr S.S. Chauhan, a press manager of Haryana Agriculture University. Mr Chauhan in his complaint said in June, 1992, his house at Parwanoo suffered heavy damage due to rains. The roof developed cracks. In spite of repeated letters and reminders the insurance company failed to settle the claim. The company said as the house had not suffered loss due to landslide, the claim was rightfully repudiated. The forum, however, said: "It was admitted in case of the surveyor that the foundation settled due to consolidation of silt material because of constant dampness. This can be described as subsistence." The forum upheld the claim of Mr Chauhan and ordered the sum of Rs 14,000 to be paid along with 15 per cent interest from January 1993 till the actual date of payment. The company will also have
to pay Rs 2,200 as costs within a month of the receipt of
the copy of the order. |
Cancellation of bail of Dhawan, others
sought CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Mr Gaurv Dheer, a local resident, who was allegedly assaulted by Mr Harmohan Dhawan and his family members, today moved an application in the court of Mr Tejwinder Singh, Judicial Magistrate, seeking the cancellation of bail granted to the suspects in the case. He in his application urged that Mr Dhawan and other suspects should be remanded in judicial lock-up with a view to restraining them from interfering in the administration of justice and tampering with the evidence. He added that the Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled that bail of those persons who were in a position to influence the witnesses should be cancelled. He stated that he had been receiving threatening phone calls from the beginning of September, saying that he would be eliminated and his family would be ruined financially. Mr Dheer maintained that callers also said that Mr Dhawan was a powerful man and his relatives held "powerful official positions". The magistrate adjourned
the case to December 3 for arguments. |
School board staff stage dharna SAS NAGAR, Oct 29 — Members of the Punjab School Education Board Employees Association organised a two-hour dharna on the board premises in support of their demands and raised slogans against the management here today. Mr Harbhajan Singh Billa, president of the association, said their demands include recruitment of regular staff instead of daily wage and contract workers, especially in the examination branch. He also wanted the board to follow the 1:2 staff ratio in case of assistants and clerks preparing examination results. Mr Jarnail Singh Brar, association general secretary, said according to the board rules one set of employees (one assistant and two clerks) should deal with 3,500 examination forms. As at present the board has 1:1 ratio. More than 5,000 forms had to be tackled by one set of employees. When contacted for the
board’s view, Mr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, Vice-Chairman
of the PSEB, said a few years ago employees had demanded
a 1:1 ratio even though such a system did not exist in
any university. The then board Chairman, Raja Harnarinder
Singh, conceded the demand, leading to a number of
promotions for employees. However, the official board
approval for the system was given much later. Earlier,
there were 120 sets of employees and with the change in
system the figure rose to 190. He said a meeting of
officials would be held to discuss the matter. |
48 donate blood CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — As many as 48 persons donated blood on Labour Bureau Day at a camp organised at the local office of the bureau in Sector 17 here today. A photographic exhibition on labour and environment was held. Apart from blood donation officers and staff of the bureau also pledged to donate their eyes. Following the camp, the entries at the exhibition organised by the Camera Club of the office were judged by an eminent photographer, Mr Sanjay Kulkarni. Mr A. S. Ahluwalia won the first prize while Mr Rakesh Verma and Mr N. K. Jhingan were awarded the second and third prizes, respectively. Ms Bhupinder Kaur was given a consolation prize. Certificates of merit were also given to Mr Daljeet Singh, Ms Anita Verma, Ms Manmohan Kaur, Mr A. S. Tanda and Mr Jagmohan Singh. A lecture on statistics of
prices by Prof Karam Singh of PAU will be held tomorrow
morning. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Handling finance is the Achilles' heel of a majority of women councillors in Punjab. This was highlighted at the valedictory function of the three-day orientation programme organised by the Centre for Women Studies and Development, Panjab University, in collaboration with the British Council here today. As many as 60 councillors from 18 municipal councils of Punjab shared their concern about finances and general functioning in their councils. Difficulty in accessing and processing the available information on finances emerged as the thrust area of discussion. Addressing the valedictory function, Ms Catherine Stephens, a deputy director in the British Council, said it was important to invest in girls' education especially if they were to have equal access and opportunities in the new hi-tech cities that the state was planning. She also identified health and environment as key issues. Prof Pam Rajput, director of the centre, said that the programme provided networking opportunities to women and highlighted the need for more programmes on financial management, project formulation, sanitation and health. The programme was conducted by a core group of 12 trainers who have designed it over a period of one year in consultation with Elizabeth Sidney from UK and Professor Rajput. Mess closed: Unable to break even the costs, a mess contractor of Hostel no I (boys) has closed down the mess, causing inconvenience to the residents. The hostel warden, Prof B.S. Ghuman, said the contractor had sent feelers before quitting. He had been complaining about the rising prices. Mr Tilak Kumar, a worker of another mess, said the price rise had hit the mess contractors. While the prices of vegetables were skyrocketing they could not increase the charges without the consent of students and the authorities. A meeting of the hostel wardens and student representatives was held on Wednesday where the situation due to the existing crises was discussed. Students have been asked to cooperate with the mess staff. Most contractors have already stopped serving onions as salad and even the overall consumption has gone down drastically, a student leader said. Contractors also suffered
on account of a large number of closed days of the
university during the teachers' strike and other
holidays. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — A Contessa car that is believed to be a personal vehicle of an official of the Chandigarh Administration was allegedly involved in an hit-and-run case on the road separating Sectors 16 and 17 around 10 p.m. last night. A young motor cyclist, Dinesh, riding his Yamaha was killed in the accident while another youngster, Rajeev, riding the pillion was injured and admitted to the PGI. The deceased hailed from Kumarsain in Shimla district. Rajeev is from Kinnaur in Himachal. Both students in BA part II, Government College, Sector 11. The car, a blue coloured Contessa, was taken into custody by the Sector 17 police this afternoon from the Panchayat Bhavan, where it was parked. According to sources the windscreen of the car was smashed and the front door on the left side had been badly dented. The car driver had fled from the accident scene and the only clue was the statement of Rajeev. The police located the car at Panchayat Bhavan and impounded it. The ownership of the car will be known tomorrow. A case under Sections 279, 339 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered. Meanwhile, in separate road accident today, Dilbagh Singh was injured when his scooter collided with a jeep on the road separating Sectors 7 and 8. He was admitted to the PGI. Hoffland fraud: Making a further breakthrough in the infamous Hoffland finance fraud case in which thousands of city residents have been duped, the economic offences wing of the Chandigarh Police today arrested two directors of the Hoffland group. Manohar Nath Badaan and A. Subba Rao were taken into custody from Delhi through the court there and produced in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate here. The two have been detained on police remand till November 4. A case under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered. Two-wheelers stolen: Three scooters and a motor cycle were reportedly stolen in separate incidents from the city within the past 24 hours, according to sources. A scooter owned by Baldev Singh of Sohana village was stolen from Ram Darbar. A scooter of Harbhajan Singh was stolen from his Sector 46 residence. Scooter of Hara Singh of Sector 41 was stolen from Sector 17 while a motor cycle owned by Ashok Gupta of Jalandhar was stolen from outside the DAV College in Sector 10. 5 held: Five Ram Darbar residents have been arrested for allegedly attacking Paras Nath of the same locality. The police has registered a case under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 323 of the IPC against Rajinder, Swaran, Niku, Bani and Krishan. Injured: Pinky was injured when she fell off the roof of her house in Ram Darbar. Vinod Kumar of Mani Majra allegedly consumed a poisonous substance. Both were admitted to the PGI. PANCHKULA |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — The Independent councillor from Ward No. 14 of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, Ms Sunita, today joined the Congress. Ms Sunita in a statement said she was joining the party because of the progressive policies of the party President, Ms Sonia Gandhi. She blamed the BJP Government for the unprecedented price rise. The president of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, Mr Venod Sharma, welcomed her and her supporters into the party fold. Meanwhile, the four Congress councillors — Mr Raj Kumar Goel, Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, Ms Kamlesh and Ms Sunita — have urged the Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, to seek a vote of confidence from the House. In a representation to the Secretary of the MCC, the councillors said that they had lost confidence in the Mayor. Even a majority of councillors of the BJP had lost confidence in Mr Gupta as they had already demanded his resignation, they alleged. Moreover, tomorrow's
meeting of the MCC is likely to be stormy. The Mayor may
face attack from two fronts. One, from his own party
councillors owing allegiance to the local MP, Mr Satya
Pal Jain, who are likely to demand a seat in the front
row for Mr Raghubir Lal Arora, whom they had chosen as
their leader. Second, from the Opposition which is likely
to demand his resignation as he had "lost" the
majority in the House. |
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