& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, April 5, 1999
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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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Monday, April 5, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Kiran in city, may join as
IGP today Liquor shop near school
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7 POs
held
Satellite
towns ‘need more infrastructure’ HUDA
told to refund money ‘Women
equal members of Khalsa’ Association
to render services to pilgrims Kala
Sagar in the doldrums Personality
growth his goal Health
Department can’t afford to run incinerator She
meets her Indian cousin after 45 years Two
members of gang arrested
Youth
Akali leader, 12 others join Congress
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Kiran in
city, may join as IGP today CHANDIGARH, April 4 — “I Thank God for everything and for giving me a posting that I always wanted. I will do my best to make the city better and hope everybody succeeds in whatever they do in this direction.” These were the first few words spoken by Mrs Kiran Bedi as she got down from the Shatabdi Express this evening. The first woman IPS officer and Magsayasay Award winner,Mrs Kiran Bedi is in the city to take over as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Chandigarh, tomorrow. Attired in navy blue trousers and checked shirt with a sleeveless jacket, she greeted everyone who had come to receive her with a warm smile. She was thrilled as she exclaimed,``It is my home ground where I have passed a lot of examinations.'' A large number of police personnel including the SSP City, Mr N.S Randhawa, the SSP ( HQ) Mr Ajay Kashyap,the SP ( City) Mr Baldev Singh and DSPs were there to receive her. “Wow, that is great,” she said when she saw her English teacher, Ms S. Kalha, come at the station to receive her. She hugged her and thanked her for always being there for her. “It is in this city that I was educated, trained and groomed as a student and I owe this city gratitude by way of service. I assure you that I will do my best in whatever I undertake,” she said,replying to a question on how she felt on her arrival and what were her immediate plans. Accompanied by her mother, Mrs Prem Peshawaria, she took her time in getting down her luggage from the train and could be seen tallying it with her personal list. An Australian visitor, who had travelled with her in the train, was busy capturing all these moments with her video camera. Some others who had travelled with her were also eager to introduce her to their kith and kin. And she obliged everyone there. Talking to The Tribune after checking in at the State Guest House in Sector 6 here, she said she had many ideas about the crime prevention and traffic management in the city. Refusing to divulge the details of the projects calling it “premature”, the 1972 batch IPS officer said, “My 27 years' experience at various places, including the Tihar Jail and the National Narcotics Bureau, should help me during my stint here.” Earlier, talking informally to senior police officers at the guest house, she said she would be at the Police Lines in Sector 26 tomorrow to attend the farewell function of the outgoing IGP, Mr R.P. Singh. Emphasing the role of team work and a holistic approach, she said by team work she meant the coordination among different sections of the police and cooperation from the people, including the youngsters. Answering a question, Mrs Bedi said she had no immediate plans to "import" police officers from outside to strengthen the local police force. Later, Mrs Bedi had a
"return dinner" with the UT Home Secretary, Mrs
Anuradha Gupta. During her visit to New Delhi, she had
promised Mrs Gupta that she would have the first dinner
in the city with her , she added. |
Liquor shop
near school CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Occupants of the Sector 35-A Quiet Office complex are an agitated lot due to the opening of a liquor vend and a drinking place (ahata) in the office premises. Interestingly, the vend and the drinking place are located about 50 yards from the nearby Government High School, which is against the norms, which stipulate that no liquor vend can be opened within a radius of 200 yards of a school. It is the first time that a liquor vend has been allowed to operate from Quiet Office, originally carved for housing administrative offices. “The liquor vend is a source of inconvenience for us as customers particularly women, do not prefer to come to my public call office (PCO) during evening hours,” lamented Mr C.P. Sharma, an STD PCO holder. He wondered how a liquor vend could be allowed to operate from a place, facing the school. “Will it not have a bad influence on students in the school,” he added. Another resident, on condition of anonymity, said the decision of the Administration to allow the liquor vend to function from the place was totally unjustified, as a number of women frequent different educational and other establishments situated in the complex. He demanded immediate shifting of the vend and the drinking place from the area. “The opening of a liquor vend is a gross violation of city bylaws,” said Ravinder Pal Singh, a chartered accountant. “After purchasing
liquor from the vend, some persons can be seen lying
outside it during night, causing great inconvenience to
the residents,” complained a resident of the area. |
7 POs held PANCHKULA, April 4 — At least seven proclaimed offenders wanted in separate cases registered since 1990 have been arrested by a special team of the district police. According to the information available, Gurdarshan Pal Singh, a resident of Sirhind, a PO in a case of cheating and forgery registered in July 1997, has been arrested. In another case Kulwant Singh, who had been on the run in a case of theft since 1994, has been nabbed. A police official said
Sewa Singh, Balwinder Singh, and Thakur Singh — all
resident of Ropar have been arrested for robbery. Another
PO, Rulda Ram, a resident of Chandi Mandir, has been
arrested in a case of trespass and intimidation
registered in 1993. Tarsem Lal, a resident of Chandi
Mandir, has also been arrested in a case of theft. |
Four injured
in road mishap CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Four persons were injured, two of them seriously, after the scooters they were riding were knocked down by a speeding Mitsubishi Lancer on Purv Marg, near the Pasco Motors intersection, shortly before midnight tonight. According to eyewitnesses, all the three vehicles involved in the accident were moving towards The Tribune intersection. Mitsubishi Lancer (CH01X 5813) reportedly first knocked down a Bajaj Chetak scooter (CH01P 4496) before its driver allegedly lost control over it before it rammed into another scooter, a Vespa (CH01Q 3962). Both scooters were badly smashed in the accidents. Helmets of the two riders of the Bajaj Chetak, besides their shoes and implements packed in a brief case and a carry bag were scattered all over the road. The other scooter, too, was also extensively damaged. Mitsubishi Lancer, whose front portion, besides the wind screen, was completely smashed in the collision, stopped after travelling more than 50 metres from the traffic lights where the second collision took place. One of its front tyres had also burst. The police said that the driver of the car, Mr Gurinder Singh of Sector 18, had been taken in custody. The doctors attending on
the injutred persons at the Sector 32 Government Medical
College Hospital, said that two of the victims with
multiple fractures were in a serious condition. |
Residents
block traffic SAS NAGAR, April 4 — Traffic was blocked by residents near the entry bridge to the town on the Kharar road today in protest against the failure of the state transport authority to divert buses plying on the Chandigarh-Punjab route to the local bus stand. The protesters included four municipal councillors, Mr Amrik Singh, Mr S.S. Barnala, Mr Kulwant Singh and Ms Inderjit Kaur, representatives of the Citizens Welfare Council, the consumers Forum and other organisations. They gathered at the Phase VI gurdwara and then moved towards the bridge near the government printing press to block traffic. Many protesters sat on the road or parked cars on it to block traffic. Slogans were raised against the Punjab Government, the state transport authorities and the local administration. Traffic remained disrupted for over half an hour. Long lines of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the blockage. The drivers of buses plying on the Chandigarh-Punjab route have been skipping the local bus stand causing inconvenience to passengers. Mr Amrik Singh said that a notice had been given to the Secretary, Transport, and the local SDM on March 19 in this regard. Time was given to them to take action in the matter, failing which a “rasta roko” stir was to be organised. Mr Barnala said the authorities had compelled residents to resort to the protest through their inaction. On one hand the government was celebrating the tercentenary of the Khalsa while on the other the town, named after Sahibzada Ajit Singh, a son of Guru Gobind Singh, was being neglected. Mr Barnala said women passengers of the town were compelled by the bus conductors to alight at different points as buses were not being taken to the local bus stand. The protest ended when the
local SP, Mr B.S. Randhawa, gave an assurance that the
problem would be sorted out. He said police personnel
would be deployed at different points to ensure that the
bus staff followed the route through the bus stand. Legal
action would be taken against erring drivers and, if
needed, permits would also be cancelled. |
Bid to
molest girl DERA BASSI, April 4 — The local police has arrested two residents of Chandigarh for an attempt to molest a Jalandhar-based girl on the night of April 2. According to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr H.S. Bhullar, Sanjay Kumar and Vipin Kumar, who were operating a taxi (CH-01-F-0370) from Sector 22, Chandigarh, lured the girl when she came out of a watch company office after an interview. Saying that they also belong to Jalandhar, they took the girl to the Singhpur link road, near Dhillon factory, 2 km from Zirakpur. The suspects started misbehaving with the girl. But the girl gave them the slip and sought the help of a sevadar of a Gurdwara. The police has registered
a case under Sections 354, 452, 506 and 34 IPC, against
the suspects. |
Satellite
towns ‘need more infrastructure’ CHANDIGARH, April 4 — “The brief Le Corbusier had to design Chandigarh as a seat of Administration and a centre of education changed after the reorganisation of Punjab in November,1966. In fact, Chandigarh was designed as a replacement for Lahore, which was in pre-partition Punjab, both the seat of Administration and the Centre of education. But after November,1966, Chandigarh became a regional centre,” says Mr V.P. Arora, a former Chief Architect-cum-Secretary, Chandigarh Administration. Mr V.P. Arora came to Chandigarh in 1964 as Associate Professor at the Chandigarh College of Architecture. From 1980 to 1989, he worked as Senior Architect and Chief Architect in the Chandigarh Administration before returning to his parent state of Haryana, from where he retired as Chief Architect in December,1995. “After 1966, Chandigarh has been housing offices of the Punjab and Haryana governments and the Chandigarh Administration. A number of companies, institutions and organisations have set up their regional offices in the city.” “Because of the new orientation of the city after reorganisation, the need for SAS Nagar and Panchkula was felt. It was the will of the people that prevailed. These satellite townships have now more than 50 per cent of the infrastructure of their own. Except for the PGI and Panjab University, these townships are on their own and have rather been providing a great relief to Chandigarh. “Both Punjab and Haryana governments, with their capital in Chandigarh, should now create additional infrastructure in these satellite townships so as to avoid overcrowding at the PGI, Panjab University and other such institutions. “Chandigarh has quite wide roads. All that is needed is traffic management. For example, in Sector 17, there is enough metalled area which can be used to meet the growing parking requirements by regulating vehicular traffic. I have worked on this particular area and my model is available with the Administration. “On important and busy roads like Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg, the separation of slow traffic from fast traffic and effective traffic management can solve the problems of congestion. The traffic has to be graded and separated.” “So far as services are concerned, I do not agree that services in the first phase or northern Sectors are even utilised fully. These are rather under utilised. The density of population in some Sectors is even less than anticipated. The only problem has been of growing traffic. If there are problems with services, these are more because of mismanagement than inadequacy. “The problem of deterioration in services in phase II sectors is mainly because of higher density of population than expected. Each of the three-storeyed houses in these sectors have two to three families. Besides, the problem of encroachments, including encroachment of road berms, has aggravated the problem in these sectors. To a great extent, people are responsible for this sad state of affairs. Unless realisation comes to them that they do not own the road berms and these are meant for all, things will not improve.” “The problem of encroachment is also because of lack of political will.” He says there was no such thing in the houses designed during the time of Le Corbusier and his team of architects that it would be only brick facia. Some of the houses designed at that time were a blend of brick facia and plaster. The concept of RCC was encouraged to minimise the cost of maintenance of office buildings. He feels that there should be no rigid controls. “Only guidelines should be given and then the job should be left to the imagination of the architect to remain within those guidelines to design new houses and buildings. Rigidity must go. “In a country like ours, there is a need to go for vertical growth as shrinking land will limit horizontal expansion,” he says. Mr Arora, however, is not
in favour of construction of Governor’s Palace.
“I do not understand the argument. An architect has
designed a building for his client. He has got his fees
and given his design. The client does not want the
building. How can the architect or his agents press the
client to construct the building. For me, it is nothing
but a “foolish approach”. In 1961-62, the then
Governor, Mr CPN Singh, had rejected the idea of the
Governor’s Palace. |
HUDA told to
refund money PANCHKULA, April 4 — In a case involving delay on part of HUDA in giving possession of a plot to a consumer, the local consumer forum has observed that the former should not float any housing scheme till the development work in the respective area was complete. While holding HUDA responsible for deficiency in services, Mr R.C. Taneja, President, and Ms Rekha Sharma, Member of the forum, directed the former to refund the amount deposited by the consumer The complainant, Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, a resident of Sector 14 here, had complained before the forum that HUDA had failed to give physical possession of a plot at Bhiwani even after seven years of his having deposited the allotment money. He alleged that he was allotted a plot at Bhiwani in July 1990 and he deposited a sum of Rs 53,922 till June, 1995, but the possession of the plot had not been given to him despite various representations. In May 1997 he asked for refund of the amount deposited by him. HUDA, in its reply before the forum said, the possession of the plot could not be delivered as the area had been under litigation. It said development works in the area were at an advanced stage and it would take some time to develop the sector. The forum in its order
said inordinate delay in giving possession of the plot
amounted to deficiency in service. HUDA has been directed
to pay interest compensation on the basic amount at a
rate of 10 per cent from the date of deposit till May 20,
1997, and 18 per cent compensation for the period from
May 21,1997, till the date of payment.
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‘Women
equal members of Khalsa’ CHANDIGARH, April 4 — On the third and final day of the International Seminar on the ‘Relevance of Khalsa Value System in the 21st Century’, at the ICSSR Complex, in Panjab University, today, papers on ‘Equality and Social Order’ and ‘Sikh Diaspora: The Spirit of Enterprise’ were read out. Part of the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth, the day’s seminar started with Dr J.S. Grewal’s paper on ‘The Idea of Equality and the Sikh Social Order’. In it, he talked about the doctrine of the ‘Guru Panth’, “the authority of the co-existing of equals”. Dr Grewal emphasised that the Gurus had rejected the traditional social order based on the hierarchy of classes and endogamy. He also said that in the present world, all societies had been influenced by the ideology of humanism and equality based on the basic tenets of Sikhism. Dr Indu Banga presented her paper on ‘The Khalsa Ideology and the Khalsa Raj’. She talked about the contradictions in the Sikh history, regarding the period after Banda Bahadur being considered either a “dark age” or the most “glorious epoch”. She said Ranjit Singh’s state was either seen as a “military monarchy” restoring order or as a “theocratic commonwealth” directing the ruler. She also said that the doctrine of ‘Guru Panth’, in the post Banda period, had provided a framework of action in ‘Sarbat Khalsa’, the ‘Gurmata’, ‘Dal Khalsa’ and ‘Rakhi’. Dr Gurnam Kaur, who also spoke on the same topic, traced the path of the Indian social system from the times of Vedas and Upanishads. On the subject of the spiritual philosophy of Sikhism, she said that the idea of castesystem had been rejected by Sikhism, including the difference between man and woman. She said that the woman was an “equal good member of the Khalsa”, who had an equal right to spiritual realisation. The three-day seminar, that had some interesting papers presented on Khalsa, all in English, hardly had any young audience attending it. Speaking on ‘Sikh Diaspora: The Spirit of Enterprise’, Dr Gurbakhsh Singh said that the Sikhs could be found across the world today. He also talked about various social activities of Punjabi Sikh communities in foreign countries, and the kind of challenges being faced by them. Mr Harbhajan Singh Yogi
spoke on the ‘Relevance of Sikh Ideology in the
Western Hemisphere’. He said, “effort is being
made to limit Sikhism to Punjab and to invalidate those
non-Punjabis who have adopted the path of the Guru.”
He lashed out at Sikhs who cut their hair, trim their
beards, eat meat or drink. He also stressed the need to
have faith in the Guru and to serve his mission. |
Association
to render services to pilgrims SAS NAGAR, April 4 — A sum of Rs 10 lakh will be spent by the Mohali Industries Association on the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa. The association president, Mr R.S. Sachdeva, said today that the body had decided to render services to pilgrims passing through the town from April 9 to 15. Information centres would be set up at the railway station and the general bus stand at Chandigarh for providing guidance to pilgrims. Transport services would also be provided from these two points. Mr Sachdeva further said that a nucleus point would be set up at site adjoining the premises of the truck operators union here. Arrangements for medical help, including ambulances, would be made at this point in cooperation with the local medical authorities. He said while one ambulance would be parked at the site, another one would shuttle between SAS Nagar and Kurali to pick up accident and emergency cases. These would be equipped with mobile telephones. Besides, packed food would be given to pilgrims in transit through the town. He said accommodation would also be arranged at different bhavans and private houses for pilgrims. The association appealed
to voluntary organisations to join hands to render all
possible help to the pilgrims. |
Kala Sagar
in the doldrums CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Even after seven months of its inauguration, Kala Sagar is yet to become a place of tourist attraction. The U.T. administration had provided a piece of land in Leisure Valley in Sector 10 to Mr Vijay Pal Goel to develop his imagination of converting of waste bathroom fitting materials into a work of art. Though Kala Sagar can become a place of tourist attraction, little is done by the administration in this direction. Some residents of Chandigarh said they had no knowledge about the location of the place. Mr Rajiv Ranjan, a student of Mass Communications at P.U., said that there were no signboards giving directions to the place. Awarded by the U.T. administration for his contribution in the field of art, Mr Vijay Pal Goel is the man behind this ‘fantasy land’ where sanitary wastes of toilet seat covers, plastic pipes, bends, water balls and water tanks are shaped as different sculptures. A plumber by profession, Mr Goel had mastered the art of arranging sanitary scrap to make butterflies, trains, telephones, showers and such things. Thirty nine -year- old Mr Goel is not even matriculate. Born at Thumbra village in Ambala district, he had a great passion for the armed forces.” It was the army which developed my interest in making things out of waste”, he recalled with a smile. The Timber Trail accident motivated him to arrange the episode through various waste materials as the armed forces played a significant role in saving the lives of several persons. It was his first step in the field of art. He purchased waste bathroom fittings from factories, scrap dealers and his clients. “I spent between Rs 2 to Rs 900 or even more to buy the raw material” he said. He made more than 700 such sculptures. Kala Sagar lacks facilities like drinking water, benches and shelters. No shelter is provided to the sculptures. Mr Goel felt that language
was the main problem as he was not much educated.
“Several foreign visitors came here but I could not
tell them how I actually made everything”, he said
regretfully. Personality growth his goal CHANDIGARH, April 4 — “It is very difficult to change the ‘ends’ as the National Education Policy is very rigid. In the present education scenario where percentage is the objective, the only purpose the school has is to use different ‘means’ and techniques to achieve percentage.” These views were expressed by Mr J.P Singh, Principal of St Kabir Public School, Sector 26, in an interview with the Chandigarh Tribune today. “However, in the process of achieving this we do ensure that a child blooms into a multi-faceted human being to face the challenges of the world. Compassion, love and interest are our main tools for overall personality development. Our goal is to let each child develop individually, yet be a part of the whole system,” he said. Mr Singh, who nurtures a mission to establish a good school for generations to come, is a product of St Joseph’s School, Baramula (Kashmir) and Panjab University. A post-graduate in English, he did a short course in school organisation and management in Kensington (London). The founder principal of St Kabir attended educational seminars in Harrow on the Hill and Eton (England), besides visiting the USA, England and South-East Asian Countries on educational tours. According to him, a good teacher in the present set up was one who was hard-working, eager to learn, open-minded and ready to give that extra push, sincere and sympathetic towards children. A teacher should be able to raise the child’s self-esteem. In this age of competitions, hard work, interest in studies and consideration for others should be the goal of students. This was Mr Singh’s advice to students. The thrust of education in his school was to ensure active involvement of students in class-room teaching so as to draw the maximum with minimum help. Students were encouraged to come up with ideas, imagination and everyday experiences, which also proved an exercise in confidence-building. He was of the view that dictating or giving readymade answers destroyed initiative and thinking capacity. “Total interest and involvement in the learning process has proved very beneficial for it helps the students to discover and develop their potential within the existing system,’’ he said. The founder principal, who had opted for the ICSE system 25 years back, maintained that it was the best system in the world as it demanded a very high standard in English, which was the need of the day. The performances of students from ICSE schools was much better at the higher educational level as the focus of the system was to develop imagination, thought and power of observation. There was no spoon-feeding in the system and students also fared well at the interview level for various competitions as the emphasis was more on developing language skills. “Corporal punishment has a very little role in improving the child. Realisation and remorse are more effective,’’ asserted Mr Singh. According to him controlled strict environment, delegating responsibilities and setting model examples by the head of the institution and teachers would help maintain peace and discipline. He maintained that emphasis should be on solving problems immediately and students should be kept busy in games and extra-curricular activities. Talking of job security of teachers, he said that sincere and hard work was a security in itself. An established and reputed school would never part with a teacher who would be a loss to the institution. “With a view to build the morale of teachers, we provide them with respectable working conditions. Besides paying them salaries at a par with government school teachers, we have leave cash-in-scheme, provident fund scheme, which provides pension, and free education for their children. Gratuity is under consideration of the management”, he said. His future plans for the school included adding plus-one and plus-two classes. Students of the school would have acess to the internet in this session. He had made a beginning by updating the Home Science, Chemistry, Physics and Biology laboratories. Last but not the least, Mr
J P Singh felt that merit alone should be the criterion
of admission in various schools and one should do away
with outside influences, like pressures from politicians
and bureaucrats, to ensure quality education. |
Health
Department can’t afford to run incinerator PANCHKULA, April 4 — Tonnes of medical waste generated at the local General Hospital and by over 100 nursing homes and clinics, spread all over the township, is posing an environmental problem due to unscientific disposal of the waste. Though the private nursing homes and clinics do not have their own disposal system, the process of the dumping the hospital waste in garbage bins continues even though an incinerator has been at General Hospital for almost two years. The incinerator installed at a cost of over Rs 11 lakh under a World Bank aid project is lying unutilised as the Health Department found the cost of running the machinery to be quite high. Running the incinerator once a week cost the department an electricity bill of at least Rs 10,000. Besides, three persons are required for the purpose and shortage of staff at the hospital added to the problem. Sources at the hospital say that the three initial runs cost the cash-starved Health Department over Rs 30,000 on account of electricity. So the incinerator is hardly used. Sources say that the incinerator having a capacity to burn 30 kg of refuse per hour if run on daily would cost the department thousands of rupees. How to recover the cost of burning the waste by private nursing homes and clinics is another problem being faced by the department. Though meetings have been held between the district health authorities and representatives of private clinics and nursing homes over the issue nothing concrete has been achieved. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr H.C. Nagpal, says the higher authorities had been requested to provide funds to pay the bills. The General Hospital authorities have also been asked to give a detailed monthly report on the running of the incinerator. The Haryana Pollution Control Board had issued notice to the health authorities for installing the incinerator at the hospital without seeking its consent. The pollution board under
the Air (Prevention of Pollution) Act had objected to the
installation of the incinerator close to the residential
area. |
She meets
her Indian cousin after 45 years CHANDIGARH, April 4 — “We don’t know how many times we have cried”. When a brother and sister, one from India and the other from Pakistan, meet after a gap of 45 years, tears obviously try to wash all the hurt, anger and anguish that partition caused to people from both sides of the border. Neelam Ahmed, from Lahore, who met her cousin Brig Jeet Phoolka, after 45 years said, “Meeting my long lost relatives has been a very emotional experience for me. It has been a strange but terrific experience to meet so many relatives who I did not know even existed”. For Brigadier Phoolka, the experience has been nothing short of a “miracle”. With a lump in his throat, he said: “I remember Neelam in her frocks and booties, and this time she emerged before me with a 14-year-old daughter in tow. I wish I could write a movie-script about this whole thing.” Interestingly Neelam was born of a Muslim mother and a Sikh father! The tale of this inter-caste marriage, dates back to 1941, Mr Rameshwar Singh was attracted to a budding actress of those times, Pasha Begum. And even with parental and social pressures, the two apparently went ahead and got married and had three children — one son and two daughters. Unfortunately, this marriage did not have a happy ending, as the two separated in 1954, after which Pasha Begum took her three children to Pakistan and Mr Rameshwar Singh stayed behind in Ludhiana. While talking about her parentage, Neelam said, “Since I was living with my mother, a Muslim woman, all the three children were raised as Muslims. In fact even my father converted to Islam to avoid resistance from my maternal side. But I don’t know what happened once he stayed back with his Sikh relatives”. “I was just five when I went to Pakistan. I did come to India a couple of times to meet my father. But never did I have a chance to meet my relatives. This time I came to India, after 11 years, since for the past some years the Indo-Pakistan relationship has been so weird,” she added about her visit. Neelam’s husband, Nafiz Ahmed, and her daughter Zahra, also accompanied her on this trip. Said Nafiz Ahmed. “Sometimes there is a curiosity about Neelam’s parentage, but not many questions have been raised about the fact. But sometimes I do feel that this is a hazard”. Nafiz and Neelam have three children, two boys and a girl, “all of whom have been raised as Muslims, though they do know that their maternal grandfather was a Sikh”. On the issue of their experiences in India, Nafiz Ahmed said, “When I landed in Delhi, I felt that I was landing somewhere in New York. And as far as Chandigarh is concerned, the experience has been totally ‘gazab’. It is so much like Islamabad, in terms of roads, cleanliness, planning and bureaucracy.” “I think the kind of progress that has been made by India is incredible, and Chandigarh is no exception. But I was disappointed to see a lot of people in the city drinking and holding parties,” added Neelam. For Zahra, studying in class VIII, the experience has been “nice,but I am now looking forward to see Delhi now”. Like any other young teenaged girl, Zahra gushed at the name of cine-star Shahrukh Khan, but added, “your cinema halls are terrible here”. On the subject of
difference in the status of the women in India and
Pakistan, Nafiz said: “Women in Pakistan are not so
advanced, but then things are pretty allright there as
well. I would like my daughter to go into fashion
designing, but then I would also like her to be married
and settled at the right time. “But I find your
young girls on two-wheelers really cute. |
Two members
of gang arrested DERA BASSI, April 4 — The local police has arrested two residents of Lalru for forcibly taking away a JVC earth mover worth Rs 14 lakh, on the night of April 2. According to a press note released by the SSP, Patiala, Mr Param Pal Singh Sidhu, the suspects, Surinder Singh alias Chhinda, and Hardev Singh, approached Tarlochan Singh and his uncle, Kesar Singh, residents of Chhat village, who were doing some earth work near the Punjab Meats plant and asked them to dig land near Dappar ( Lalru) with the help of the machine at the rate of Rs 500 per hour. The suspects, riding a scooter (PB-39-4525), asked Tarlochan Singh and Kesar Singh to follow them along with the earth mover. After reaching the diversion to Toga village, the two scooterists stopped. Four other members of their gang joined them. They were carrying sharpedged weapons. The gang members forcibly took away the earth mover and threatened them with dire consequences if they informed the police. After the complaint was filed at Dera Bassi police station, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr H S Bhullar, alerted the force and nabbed two suspects while four of the gang members have absconded. The police has impounded the tipper (PB-12-B-1420) and the scooter used by the gang. The JVG machine has also been recovered from their possession. The suspects have confessed that they had planned to sell the machine in Saharanpur. A case under Sections 148,
149, 392, IPC, and 25-54-59 of the Arms Act has been
registered against them. |
PU students
honoured CHANDIGARH, April 4 — As many as 135 students received silver medals and certificates at the annual academic function of various departments of Panjab University, held at the English auditorium of the campus, here today. Eightyseven girls were honoured at the function. They outnumbered boys’ who were about 48. Mr Jai Gopal Kochhar, 70, was the oldest to be honoured at the function for topping in MA I (Urdu) examination. Students on the editorial committee were also honoured on the occasion. Prof IBS Passi, Dean, University Instruction, gave away the prizes to the winners. “The winners don’t do anything different, they only do things differently,” he said at the function after congratulating the toppers and prize winners. Dr Manjit Singh,
Coordinator, presented the annual report of academic and
cultural activities organised during the session. |
Youth Akali
leader, 12 others join Congress SAS NAGAR, April 4 — Mr Karnail Singh Mann, General Secretary of the All-India Youth Akali Dal, along with 12 others, joined the Congress here today. Mr Mann, who was also a member of the 21-member SAD committee set up in connection with the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations, said the SAD had “ignored” the interests of party workers and had also given precedence to relatives of leaders while setting up various party panels. Among those who joined the Congress were Mr Gurmukh Singh Puppi, Mr Bachittar Singh, Mr Niranjan Singh, Mr Jatinder Singh Sodhi, Mr Jasvir Singh Thekedar, Mr Pavittar Singh Sangrur, Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Gurbachan Singh, Mr Jagpal Singh, Mr Madan Mohan Singh and Mr Major Singh. Mr Sant Ram Singla, General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, who welcomed the new entrants to the party fold, said Congress followed the principles of secularism and social justice. Mr Amarinder Singh, PPCC President, who was to come to the function, could not make it and was represented by his son, Mr Ran Inder Singh. Most of those who joined
the Congress were office-bearers of various panels and
wings of the SAD.
|
Yatra
leaves for Anandpur Sahib CHANDIGARH, April 4 — The sant yatra, being organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat as part of the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa, today left on its onward journey to Anandpur Sahib. Hundreds of yatris and people converged on the Sector 34 gurdwara in the morning. Prominent yatris were presented with “siropas”. The yatra had arrived in the city late last night. Then the yatra, led by
Sant Parmanandji Maharaj and Charanjiv Singh left on its
onward journey to Anandpur Sahib. The yatra will cover
many places in Punjab such as Kharar and Fatehgarh Sahib
before culminating at Anandpur Sahib on April 13. |
Seminar on
school education CHANDIGARH, April 4—Delegates at a national seminar on school education and challenges of the 21st century, being held in connection with the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa at Guru Gobind Singh Bhavan, Sector 15, participated in a group discussion and presented their report on the respective topics assigned to them here today. Delegates were divided into four groups to discuss the sub-topics and present their opinions on the subject. The topics given to them comprised science and technology, teacher education, educational management and planning and value education. The sessions were chaired by Dr Amrik Singh, Dr HS Srivastava, Mr TR Khaniya and Dr CL Gupta. The four groups submitted their reports in the evening and a final report will be prepared on the basis of these recommendations by the groups to evolve a strategy to meet the challenges to be faced in the coming century. The Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Dr CL Gupta, said computer education had become a necessity and that their Board was planning to introduce it from Class IX and also to give computers to all schools provided they could produce proof of the availability of infrastructure. He further added that there was no demand for vocational courses at the secondary level of education and that it was not feasible due to lack of basic facilities to run these courses. He hinted at a change in syllabi to make it more relevant to conform to changing times. Mr TR Khaniya, Vice Chairman of the Educational Council, Nepal, said, “We will have an idea of the coming trends in education once the suggestions of all the delegates are put together.” All reports and
recommendations will be presented tomorrow, on the last
day of the seminar which was inaugurated by Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, yesterday. |
Zirakpur
phones go dead BARTANA (ZIRAKPUR), April
4 — Telephones in more than seven villages have gone
dead since this morning. Subscribers complained that this
was the fourth time in past one month that their
telephones were not working properly. Despite several
complaints to the authorities nothing had been done to
improve the telecom services at the local telephone
exchange,they said. |
Tributes
paid to K.L. Saigal CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Floral tributes were paid to legendary playback singer K.L. Saigal during a funcion in connection with his 95th birthday at the Government Museum and Art Gallery here today. The function was jointly organised by the Environment Society of India and the museum authorities. On this occasion, “Kia Jadoo Hai”, a film on the life of the immortal singer was screened. According to Mr S.K.
Sharma, the president of the society, a new award, which
has recently been instituted by the society in memory of
Suwaracha Paul, was presented by her father to R.K.
Chopra, Radha Chopra, Rajinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh,
V.D. Chauhan and S.S. Chauhan. |
Special
magazine issue released CHANDIGARH, April 4 — A special issue of the magazine “Nibhrant” of the Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, was released by Mrs Rama Chhibber, wife of the Governor of Punjab, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber, at Punjab Raj Bhavan here today. The issue is dedicated to S.P. Kanal, a social worker, teacher and writer with 86 books on Dev Dharma, education, child psychology, drama and literature to his credit. He died in May last year. Speaking on the occasion, the Principal of the College, Mrs Bimla Bhargawa, stated that Mr Kanal was a pillar of the voluntary blood donation movement. She said the issue was an effort of the college to perpetuate his memory so that the coming generations could learn from his life and teachings. Mrs Chhibber said that the magazine issue would motivate the yout for doing selfless social work. She added that in this materialistic age, lives of great social thinkers would give a positive bent to young mind. The Principal presented her with a copy of “Quest for Truth”. Mrs S. Bambah, also
devoted to the cause of blood donation, was present at
the function along with some students of S.P. Kanal who
had contributed to the issue. |
Unscheduled
power cuts resented SAS NAGAR, April 4 — The Mohali Industries Association today criticised the unscheduled power cuts resorted to by the PSEB. The association president said theough the state electricity board had been making tall claims about the availability of surplus power in Punjab, the town had been facing unscheduled and frequent power cuts for more than a week. This had badly affected industry causing a loss in production. He said since the summer
was approaching, the position was likely to deteriorate.
He demanded immediate toning up of the power distribution
system to save industry from losses. |
CHANDIGARH, April 4 — Two teenaged boys were crushed to death by the Himalayan Queen near the railway station here this morning. According to information available, one of the teenagers, Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Daria village, was cut to pieces while crossing the rail line. The other, Ardeep Dass, was seriously injured. The two had reportedly gone to play cricket in the playground near the railway station. They were reportedly returning to the ground after drinking water from a nearby water post. According to the police, the teenagers mistook the speed of the train while crossing the track. As an engine was parked at the one end of the station, they thought it was also moving. Ardeep Dass was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, from where he was shifted to the PGI where he died. An inquest has been marked. Arrested: A woman of Janata Colony, Koni, was arrested by the police today and 80 pouches of liquor seized from her. A case under the Excise Act has been registered. KHARAR In-laws booked: The local police has booked the in-laws of Manju, a resident of Malikpur village, near Kharar, for harassing her for dowry. According to the police, the in-laws and Rajinder Kumar, husband of Manju, had allegedly been forcing her to bring more dowry. Though no arrest has been made so far, a case under Sections 304-34, IPC, has been registered against Rajinder Kumar, Davinder Pal, Rameshwar Dass and Raksha Devi, all residents of Malikpur village. PAP jawan hurt: Rachpal Singh, a PAP jawan, posted at Balongi barrier, was injured seriously when he was hit by speeding car at the barrier early this morning. According to the police,
Rachpal Singh who was on deputation with the Excise and
Taxation Department, was injured when a Maruti car
(DL-2-CB-0377) instead of responding to his signal to
stop, hit him and sped away. No arrest has been made so
far. A case under Sections 279/338 of the IPC has been
registered. |
Women and motherhood are synonymous, what a woman feels for her child is something which be felt but not described. Besides, it has been one of the numerous favourite themes of the artists to work upon. Anshul Dhull, a student of the Chandigarh College of Art, has also chosen the same subject for her first solo show. Working in pastels, she has tried to bring out the agony of childless women who are forced by destiny to play with dolls. When asked why she chose such a sensitive topic, she says,” I always wanted to work on women and their feelings and I thought that nothing can be better than the relationship between mother and child.” Being still in the first year of her graudation, it is too early for Anshul to have a solo show as the rawness in her hand is quite apparent. Improvement would come with time. She should also try to avoid repetition. The exhibition will be
open till April 7 at the Government Museum and Art
Gallery, Sector 10.
|
Sweet and sour visit THE visiting Pakistanis carried back home several sweet memories of their short trip to Chandigarh. They were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the Chandigarh Administration, the Punjab Cricket Association and the residents of Chandigarh, SAS Nagar, Panchkula and other surrounding areas. Some of them wanted to visit Shimla, Patiala, Ambala and other places mainly for sentimental reasons. Some had their parents born at these places or their families had some association with these towns during pre-partition days. They also had some bitter experiences here. For example, they were unhappy over the manner each one of them had to fill and sign a number of forms. It took each one of them almost half an hour to complete the paper formalities, both at the time of arrival and departure. Most were unhappy about money exchange. While at Attari, they got 78 Indian rupees for 100 Pakistani rupees, they were offered only 40 to 50 Indian rupees for 100 Pakistani rupees while in Chandigarh. Unfortunately, at the time of their visit, the banks were closed. A Pakistani couple also lost some gold jewellery from their hotel room. Most of the visitors made many good friends and invited their Indian hosts to visit them in Lahore, Faisalabad and other towns. Fires Come summer and the season of fires starts. During the past 10 to 15 days, a number of devastating fires have been reported from different parts of the city and its surrounding areas. The worst of these fires have been reported from SAS Nagar where hundreds of jhuggis and nearly 70 booths were destroyed in separate incidents. A devastating fire at Dera Bassi led to the destruction of cotton stocks worth several lakhs of rupees. A major fire completely destroyed the old record room, including the building at the Punjab and Haryana High Court; and now two children have been burnt alive in a fire at Panchkula. These incidents have exposed the inadequacy of the fire services. Year after year, lot of hue and cry is raised over inadequate services and indifference of the authorities in providing fire detection and fire fighting equipment in big buildings but little has been done in this direction. The expansion programme of the Chandigarh Fire Brigade has been hanging fire for a long time now. Three more fire stations are to be opened. A hydraulic power ladder is to be acquired. Besides, five more fire engines are to be purchased. The firemen have to be trained in controlling chemical fires. Everytime there is a major fire, an enquiry is ordered. But nothing significant comes out of these enquiries. Marathon poem Two years ago (on July 28,1997, to be exact), we had reported that a Chandigarh youth, Vishal Arora, has staked a claim that a 1098-line Hindi poem written by him is the longest in the country. Well, the 1999 edition of the Limca Book of Records has acknowledged the fact by including his name. For getting the honour, he seems to have expanded his poem because the book mentions that his Kuch Sachhaiyan Kuch Kalpanayen runs into 1,151 lines. "In this poem, I have re-lived the past to write about my innocent love for the girl who left me after toying with my innocence, so that I could live with those soothingly painful memories", says Vishal who is working as a Company Secretary with a multinational firm. He has brought out the poem in a book form, which also includes 10 other outpourings. No, the other poems are not of matching length. Those are barely one-page each. Veteran artist Dr S.S. Bhatti, former Principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, has been honoured as a veteran artist, for his contribution to art, by the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS). He received his prize from Dr Shanker Dayal Sharma, former President of India, recently. The prize consists of a plaque, a role of honour, and a cheque for Rs 2500. Earlier, the National Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Italy, had appointed Dr Bhatti as "corresponding Academician" for the "great merits you have attained in the Arts" — the highest honour the Academy confers on anyone. “Save water for us” Life on earth first appeared in water. But this mother resource is becoming a scarce commodity. Although 3/4th of earth’s surface is covered with water yet fresh water available in rivers, lakes, ponds and swamps is just 0.012 per cent. This natural limited resource is under pressure of rapid utilisation and pollution due to increasing population. As much as 60 per cent of our population is without safe drinking water. 65 per cent of all diseases are water borne. It takes 4500 litres of water to produce a kilo of rice. The Children’s Alliance for Protection of the Environment (CAPE) has launched an awareness campaign through the distribution of stickers in schools in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. A set of 18 tickets shows the plants and animals crying “Save water for us.” A disservice While the Chandigarh Telephone Department deserves to be pulled up for digging all around the city and carrying out clumsy repairs thereafter, there is need for proper consideration of the rental charges by it even when the telephones remain out of order. If the department is fully alive to the need for raising the call tariff and reducing the number of free calls, it should also decide to charge the rental only for the number of days that a telphone works. It should have no claim for realising charges for the period for which it has not been able to render service to the consumers. At least two subscribers
(No. 548555 and 545091) have been repeatedly requesting
the telephone department officials for restoration of
service for the past full one week without success. One
official remarked that “it is not only your
telephone but more than 1,200 other connections which are
out of order for so many days. Hence you should bear with
it.,” The other said even more curtly. The service
would be restored and the matter should end here. Should
it? |
Champa Mangatrai’s goals were clear She had so much going for her that often women were catty about her and tried to minimise her stature. Yet that sort of reaction never bothered Champa. Her goals were clear: life was too short and a one-time gift, allowing a limited period for everything she had set out to do. Born and brought up as a Christian, her targets were guided and shaped by Biblical teachings. Those teachings made her a universal woman — a woman of substance. This was evident at her memorial service, where rich and poor, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims joined the Christian community to pay her a touching tribute. Champa was the epitome of all Christian values. She did not mouth them or spout them from the rooftops but acted on them, setting an example for all those who met her. She was a family friend and as children we met her often, giggled at her somewhat rasping voice and abrupt actions. It was only when friends in college started mentioning her with admiration, that we sat up and noticed her from a different perspective. She exuded love towards all those around her. She was brutally honest. She loved her neighbour as herself; she honoured her parents. In spite of enormous emotional upheavals, she never let bitterness bias her views. She worshipped her God but did not impose Him on others. Champa has gone, leaving memories of warmth, care, love, generosity and truthfulness. More has been said and written about her after her passing away than while she was alive; when we all accepted what she did and often took her for granted. Today each one of us feels we could have spent more time with her, learnt more from her, enjoyed her brilliant company more. A befitting tribute to a practising Christian whose life was a living symbol of hope in a very difficult world. Joyshri Lobo Hot plate issue Apropos of “Hot plate will go with gas, insist agencies” (Chandigarh Tribune, March 19). A few days ago, oil companies in Chandigarh notified that consumers could buy hot plates from gas agencies at their own discretion. If consumers already possessed hot plates of ISI mark, they were not required to purchase these from gas agencies. However, consumers would have to get the same inspected by the gas agency concerned against an inspection fee of Rs 100. During the recent consumer mela organised at Chandigarh, a large number of complaints were against these gas agencies for forcing consumers to buy hot plates at the time of the release of connection. Since the cost of hot plate at these agencies is 2-3 times more than the market price, consumers were reluctant to buy from them. Despite the above notification as well as assurances given by senior officers of oil companies during the consumer mela, gas agencies are still forcing consumers to buy hot plates from them. Otherwise they are not releasing the gas connections to them. Not only this, a large number of consumer grievances are being heard in local consumer forums relating to this subject. It is not understood that despite notifications issued and assurances given, oil companies have totally failed in getting these implemented by gas agencies. It seems that on the face of it, they are issuing directions, while on the other hand patronising illegal practices of these agencies. To please gas agencies, oil companies recently increased inspection charges from Rs 10 to Rs 100. Recently, some agencies were challaned by the Weigh and Measurement Department for supplying underweight cylinders to consumers. Numerous rulings by consumer forums in Chandigarh have been given against these agencies. Also consumers complained to oil companies regarding weight of gas cylinders supplied by agencies. Despite this, no action was taken against such agencies by oil companies. Thus a nexus between the two cannot be denied. These companies at large seem to be overlooking the interest of the public. Oil companies should wake up from slumber and change their approach to ensure that harassment is not caused to the consumers and the directions issued to the gas agencies are adhered to. It needs to be ensured that the complaints received from the public are redressed early. For this purpose, a consumer grievance cell having representatives from public should be constituted. Strict action should be taken against the violators. Repeated and deliberate violations should lead to the cancellation of agency. Hike in the inspection fee should be withdrawn immediately in the public interest. A. P. Bhardwaj Difficult paper I refer to a recent news item pointing out some discrepancies in the physics paper of CBSE, Class XII. The paper was very tough and lengthy. Even teachers expressed their surprise over the expectations from a student at this level. Many teachers candidly admitted that even they could not have solved it within the stipulated time. As the marks obtained in class XII have wider ramifications the students are under a lot of pressure and mental tension. Can’t a body like the CBSE ensure that it does not contribute towards discouraging students on account of a tough, and out-of-syllabus questions in the paper? Will the authorities concerned at the CBSE see to it that the students are adequately compensated by way of lenient marking to correct the damage done? K. S. Thakur Demolition of fences The recent drive by HUDA, Panchkula, to demolish fences and hedges in front of houses is a welcome and long-awaited step. Any person who thinks otherwise should try to walk towards the Sector 7 market. Since pavements have been encroached by house-owners, the narrow roads have to accommodate parked vehicles and pedestrians, in addition to normal vehicular traffic. This is a great nuisance for drivers and can prove fatal for pedestrians. It is the duty of every citizen of Panchkula to be considerate to fellow citizens and keep the space in front of his house encroachment-free. Sandeep Jindal Act of honesty I want to bring to your notice an act of honesty on part of employees of Haryana Roadways. On 17.2.99, my son who is a student at Delhi, boarded bus no. HR-1901(45) of Haryana Roadway (Panipat depot). On the way, while he was taking tea, the bus left with his luggage containing clothes and some valuable documents. He followed the bus and also informed us on phone from Ambala about the loss. I contacted the Inspector of Haryana Roadways at Chandigarh, ISBT. He noted down my address and telephone number and promised to inform me in case the luggage was traced. After about half and hour, I received a telephonic call from the Inspector that the luggage had been found. I reached the ISBT, Chandigarh, at about 9 p.m., where I found the bus parked along with the driver and the conductor. They refused any offer of token reward. Such acts of honesty need to be highlighted and suitably rewarded. H. S. Maunder |
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