Surbhi Forests directors among 'Most Wanted'
Zee TV to air show on crime
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Aug 7 — The Panchkula police will flash photographs and detailed information about the Chairman and four Directors of Surbhi Forests India Ltd. on the Zee TV show, 'India's Most Wanted'. They have allegedly absconded with crores of rupees of investors.

Details about the conmen and their modus operandi are being collected to be supplied to the organisers of the television show. The police says that the conmen ran away with the money to the tune of over Rs 90 crore of hundreds of investors of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

A number of complaints have been received by the local police following which several cases under Sections 406 and 120-B of the IPC were registered against the directors of the agro-forestry company.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr Alok Mittal, says that the company headed by the Chairman, Usha Kiran Chaturvedi (48), and Ashwani Kaushik, Prem Parkash, Jyoti and Vijay — all directors aged between 20 and 30 years — had property in its name at Pinjore, Nalagarh, Panchkula and other places in the country. The office of the company was located in Industrial Area, Phase-I, here.

The designs of the persons who floated the company in 1992 came to light when cheques issued to the investors started bouncing. A number of sister concerns had also been floated by them. The police through the Deputy Commissioner has written to the Judicial Magistrate to seek an order to attach the property of the company.

Besides, arrest warrants against the conmen have already been issued by the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) and the Airport authorities all over the country not to allow the suspects to leave the country without its permission as they are reported to be holding Indian passports.

6 bridges need repairs; 1 may collapse
From Bipin Bhardwaj
From Our Correspondent

DERA BASSI, Aug 7 — Bridges in general and those on national highways, particularly in this subdivision, are in a deplorable condition. The highway wing of the state Public Works Department (B and R) is supposed to maintain these bridges.

Six big and small bridges on the national and state highways have been crying for repair for the past many years. Railings of most of these are missing, with deep potholes dotting them. But the authorities are not paying any attention towards their normal upkeep and maintenance.

Besides the Ghaggar bridge in Bhankharpur village, there are three more bridges adjacent to railway crossing, Bhankharpur, in Dera Bassi near DAV High School and in Jharmari on the National Highway 22 up to Lalru. The bridge at Kakrali village near Mubarikpur on the Dera Bassi-Ramgarh state highway is in a bad shape and the bridge over Dhabi rivulet near Mubarikpur and the Yadvindra bridge on Sukhna nullah near Zirakpur need the departmental attention.

The Ghaggar bridge near Bhankharpur — the only link with Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir — has got expansion joints detached at three points over the columns of the bridge which cause inconvenience to the road users. Bitumen has peeled off from the surface level and iron strips have been barred. Railings have also been broken at two points.

Though the department had put mastic asphalt to prevent the bridge from jerks and for its long life two years ago, it is facing the same problem again. The vibrations produced by the speeding vehicles over the bridge and the JVC machines used for mining purposes on the river bed near bridge pillars cause the problem, according to experts.

The condition of the bridge on the Mubarikpur-Ramgarh road is so deplorable that it may collapse any time. Probably the oldest one, only one four-wheeler can cross it at a time while the other vehicles have to wait. The bridge is full of deep potholes filled with either concrete or brick pieces.

Wide breaches have developed at expansion joints without any repair work by the department for long. At some places, the bridge has lost the railings on either side which endanger the users.

Many bridges have even lost their foundation stones. Embankments on approach roads to bridges are also in a bad state. Deep potholes have also been developed on the bridges near DAV High School in Dera Bassi and the bridge near the railway crossing in Bhankharpur. The condition of the bridge over Sukhna nullah near Zirakpur on the Ambala-Kalka National Highway-22 is also deplorable. The condition of roads leading to these bridges is also deplorable.

Mr Kewal Garg, President of the Dera Bassi Industrial Association, has demanded a bridge over Ghaggar river near PWD rest house in Mubarikpur. He said by constructing a bridge at this point the distance to Zirakpur will decrease up to 7 km and the congestion on the national highway would also decrease.

The authorities of PWD (B and R), highway wing, were not available for comments.

Registration of dogs must
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today notified new guidelines and bylaws for keeping pet dogs and milch cattle.

According to the guidelines, no person shall keep a dog within the municipal limits unless it is registered with the office of the Medical Officer of Health.

The Medical Officer of Health shall register or cause to be registered every dog in respect of which an application for the registration is received together with the prescribed fee. It shall issue to the applicant a metal badge in token of the dog having been registered. Every owner or keeper of a registered dog shall cause such dog to wear a collar with the metal badge.

Any unregistered dog found at any public place within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, not wearing such a badge, shall be detained at a place to be set apart for the purpose and be liable to be disposed of under the orders of the MoH on the expiry of three days from the date of its capture, unless the owner or keeper of the dog in question before the expiry of the such period shall have claimed it and shall have paid the prescribed fee for retention and registration.

The corporation has further clarified that the Cattle Trespass Act,1971, is applicable within the municipal limits of Chandigarh.

The order says that cattle found straying at public places will be labelled as stray cattle and would be impounded by the enforcement staff of the corporation.

The impounded cattle will be released only after the payment of the prescribed fine and feeding charges. The impounded cattle not claimed by the owner or keeper will be detained and disposed of as per procedure laid down in the Act.

Candidates not interviewed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — The Regional Employment Exchange has written a letter to the Deputy Director General of the NCC Directorate of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, alleging that certain candidates sent for an interview were not entertained. In a letter, Mr V.K. Chhibber on behalf of the Regional Employment Officer, said as many as nine candidates who had been sent for an interview for the posts of masalchi, cook-cum-waiter and chowkidars were returned without being interviewed. He has urged the NCC authorities to interview them.

Honesty is still alive
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — When Mr Suraj Gupta and his friend, Mr P.L. Punia, got down from New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express at Chandigarh station last night, little did they realise that they have let behind a big yellow envelope on their seat in the Executive Coach of the train. The envelope contained Rs 1 lakh in cash besides four Sahara Airlines tickets of Delhi-Lucknow sector and a small pocket diary.

Unaware of the "lapse", they left for Parwanoo. At around 10.30 p.m. when they were taking their dinner at a restaurant there, that cellular phone of one of them started ringing. The message Mr Suraj Gupta got was that he had left behind some of his personal belongings in the train and he should contact Kalka station immediately.

It was only on reaching the station, they found the Train Supervisor of Shatabdi, Mr M.L. Kashyap, waiting to deliver the "precious pack left behind by them in the train at Chandigarh".

Pleasantly surprised at the rare act of honesty on the part of the train supervisor, they offered to reward him, which was politely turned down.

In fact after the "unclaimed packet" was collected by Mr Kashyap, he waited for someone to turn up and claim it at Kalka station. But when no one showed up, the envelope was opened.

Frisking through the pocket diary, a number of calls were made to New Delhi and other places to trace the owner of the packet which was found at seat No. 34. At each place, the message left behind by the Train Supervisor was that a passenger has left some of his personal belongings in the train at Chandigarh and he should contact the Kalka station.

Interestingly, neither Mr Gupta nor his co-passenger Mr Punia, remembered having left behind the yellow packet in the train.

Both not only appreciated honesty of the train supervisor but also the alertness of the staff in taking care of "unclaimed item" left behind by an unsuspecting passenger.

A similar incident was brought to the notice of The Tribune yesterday by Mr M.L. Anand, a visitor from Canada.He had come to India to visit Spiti valley in Himachal. This trip turned into a misadventure for him as he lost his bag containing his wallet with Rs 4200 in it besides his Canadian passport, a pair of gold earrings and a few other important items.

All attempts to locate the missing bag were futile.

Then there was a tragedy in the family. Mr Anand lost his brother. So the missing bag incident slipped out of his priority list. But 36 hours later, Mr Anand got a telephone call at his brother's residence in Chandigarh here. The caller was none other than Mr Parkash, a bus driver of Himachal Road Transport Corporation, who after confirming his identity told him that his conductor had found a bag in the bus. He wanted Mr Anand to claim it in person.

Moved by the act of honesty displayed by the HRTC conductor, Mr Anand said, "I am sure I will come back to Himachal."

HC order on hoardings
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that the hoardings which are beyond 100 m from the national high way 50 m from traffic roads shall not be removed.

Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar, who handed down this order on a petition field by hoardings’ owners, allowed 15 days’ time to hoarding owners for the removal of iron brackets.

The judge held that if they were not removed within 15 days from today (Aug 6, 1999), the authorities concerned “shall be at liberty to remove them at the cost of the hoarding owners.”

AICC yet to decide on city seat
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — The All-India Congress Committee is yet to take a decision about the party candidate for the lone Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

According to information available here, the former Union Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was initially considered a strong contender for the party ticket, has reportedly made his intentions clear that he was not interested in contesting from here.

With Dr Manmohan Singh declining to contest from here, the field has been left open among others to both Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mr Chaman Lal Sharma. Mr Bansal had lost the elections to both the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha to his BJP opponent, Mr Satya Pal Jain. If he gets the party ticket, Mr Chaman Lal Sharma, a former President of the Income Tax and Sales Tax Bar and at present President of the Chandigarh Club, it would be his maiden entry to electoral politics at the Parliament level.

Initially the names of a few other candidates, including the all-India Youth Congress chief, Mr Manish Tewari, and Mr Venod Sharma, a former President of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, were also being mentioned for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

But the announcement of the candidature of Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, Vice-President of the BJP, as a replacement of Mr Satya Pal Jain, changed the political scenario here.

Mr K.L. Sharma has been camping here now after arriving in the city yesterday. Today, he addressed a meeting of the District Presidents, members of the Executive, office-bearers and frontal organisations at the party office.He made his intentions clear that he would try to take everyone along by making members of either faction to sink their differences. Though Mr Satya Pal Jain was conspicuous by his absence, his close confidant, Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, a Vice-President, attended the meeting.

Both Mr Dharam Pal Gupta, President of the local unit of the party, and Mr Gian Chand Gupta, a former Mayor, called upon party workers to work unitedly and wholeheartedly for the success of Mr Krishan Lal Sharma in the ensuing elections.

Meanwhile, Mr Kulbhushan Gupta, officiating President of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, today asked Mr Krishan Lal Sharma to make his position clear on the future of Chandigarh. Mr Gupta said that no one would be allowed to play with the sentiments of the people over the sensitive issue of the future of the city.

The party had made it clear that the CTCC would work for retaining Chandigarh as a Union Territory. An announcement to this effect was made by none other than the then President of the Congress, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, while addressing a public rally in 1991.

RRD to contest UT seat
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7— The Rashtriya Raksha Dal, a party of ex-servicemen, will put up its candidate in the coming Lok sabha elections. Chandigarh will witness a retired army officer in the election fray on the basis of strength of retired soldiers settled in the city.

Ex-servicemen have been involved in electoral politics here. In the last Municipal Corporation elections, Air Marshal R.S. Bedi (retd) was elected on the BJP ticket. Two army officers in the Corporation are nominees of the Chandigarh Administration.

Though many retired defence officers have joined various political parties, this time they have decided to enter the fray on their own.

In Chandigarh, the Rashtriya Raksha Dal (RRD) is reportedly in touch with local units of the Bahujan Samaj party and its alliance partner, the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal.

"We are seeking their help and cooperation. We are determined on the basis of a strong demand from ex-servicemen that RRD must put up a candidate here," says Lieut-Col B.S. Sekhon (retd), Secretary, Communication, Press Liaison and Funds of the unit.

Meanwhile, Col Harsharan Singh Sandhu (retd) was unanimously elected President of the local unit of the RRD, the political wing of the Indian Ex-Services League, at a convention of ex-servicemen held at the Sector 16 Lajpat Rai Bhavan today. Two Air Marshals, four Lieutenant-Generals, and several other senior officers were among 300-odd ex-servicemen who attended the meeting.

It observed a two-minute silence in memory of soldiers who had laid down their lives in the performance of their duties. Rich tributes were paid to Kargil heroes.

Brig Harwant Singh (retd), who conducted the proceedings, moved a resolution to form a new political party. Speakers from all ranks, who expressed their views on the subject, unanimously passed a resolution to formally launch the local unit of the RRD.

The house also approved aims and objectives of the party, which included nomination of all three Service Chiefs on the national Security Council, to project problems and difficulties of ex-servicemen before Parliament, to ensure honourable living and rehabilitation of the disabled and the war widows and to ensure employment and rehabilitation for those who retired from services early.

The meeting resolved to form a presidium to conduct party affairs. Those elected to the presidium were Air Marshal G.S. Punia, Lieut-Gen B.S. Randhawa, Lieut-Gen Kartar Singh Gill, Comdr S.S. Brar, Hav Ajmer Singh and Hony Capt Didar Singh.

Thereafter, office-bearers of the unit were elected. Brig Harwant Singh was nominated General Secretary while Cpl Jaswant Singh Kumbra was made Assistant secretary.

The next meeting of the presidium would be held tomorrow.

Seminar on languages press
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — Language newspapers have played an important role in the freedom struggle of India. However, in the wake of economic liberalisation, there is an invasion from foreign culture and Indian vernacular press has to play a decisive role to check this onslaught. This was deliberated during the inaugural session of a two-day seminar 'Languages Press: Today and Tomorrow' at the Sector 27 Press Club.

In his inaugural address, a leading Hindi journalist, Mr Radhey Shyam Sharma, talked at length about the language press in North India and problems faced by the language press. He criticised increasing commercialisation in the newspaper industry and the tendency to favour the ruling party. He said ever since multinational companies and big industrial houses had taken over newspapers, journalism was no longer a mission but a business. He called upon persons associated with the language press to rise above all this and give their readers a new direction.

Former Vice-Chancellor and an eminent historian, Mr J.S Grewal, while stressing the need for proper working conditions and better training facilities, called upon journalists to be fearless and objective in their approach. They should verify the facts before writing the story.

The chairperson of the session, Prof B.S. Thakur, Director of the NIEC of Jaipur, expressed satisfaction that the language press no longer followed the English counterpart in content and style and had carved a niche for itself. In the second session, various speakers deliberated on problems faced by the language press and the solutions. The keynote speakers in this session were Dr Prem Singh, Mr Navjit Singh Johal and Mr Kamlesh Duggal.

The seminar has been jointly organised by the Asian Media Information Centre of Singapore and Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany. Earlier, Mr V.S. Gupta, Advisor of the Asian Media Information Centre gave a brief introduction to the seminar. The Organising Secretary, Mr Gulzar Singh Sandhu said the two sessions tomorrow would have speakers talk on readership, technology, new vistas and the future of Indian languages press.

SNIPPETS

More donations for martyrs
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — One seat in each of the five affiliated trades running at the National Institute of Technology (ITC), SAS Nagar, will be reserved for the widows and the dependants of the soldiers who have lost their lives in Kargil. This announcement was made by the Principal of the institute, Warrant Officer Daya Singh (retd).

Meanwhile, the employees of Kendriya Vidalaya No 1, Chandimandir, have contributed a day's salary, and an amount of Rs 15,540 was contributed for the National Defence Fund today.

All officers and staff of the Save Grain Campaign, Regional Office, Chandigarh, passed a resolution today showing concern, patriotism and solidarity to the jawans who died in Kargil, and donated one day's salary towards the National Defence Fund.

The students of Ishwar Singh Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 21 C, have contributed Rs 13,035 to the Army Central Welfare Fund for the welfare of the injured Kargil jawans.

The Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Develop-ment has contributed Rs 18,238 towards the fund, according to Mr Rashpal Malhotra, founder director of the institute.

Members of the Market Welfare Association, Sector 46, have contributed Rs 13,205 for the fund. A cheque for the amount was handed over to the UT Administrator by Mr Balwinder Singh, president of the association.

Residents of Kumhar colony have also contributed Rs 5,514 towards the fund. A cheque for the amount was handed over to the UT Adviser by Mr Gulshan Lal, chairman of the colony.

The Sarvhitkari Educational Society, Punjab, has decided to provide free education to the wards of Kargil martyrs in 150 schools being run by the institution. Free board and lodging would also be provided.

Discussion on book
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 7 — A discussion on Justice Surinder Singh's newly released book ` Towards the Starlit Dome' was organised by Khayal, a multi-lingual group of intellectuals, scientists, poets and writers in the conference hall, DAV College, Sector 10, today.

The book, which has been written in a format of dialogues, includes chapters penned by various eminent authors, including Mr M S Chandla, Dr Sampooran Singh, Swami Navneet, Dr Mrs Suman Kathuria and Mr D.S Maini. It contains essays on varied topics such as love, death, the image of God written by these authors.

Prof. Ramesh Chander praised the perfection of form of poetry in the book. In his inaugural note, Mr Kamleshwar Sinha, Associate Editor, The Tribune, said that the poems spoke directly to the heart.

While commenting on the contents of the book, Dr D.R Vij, Principal, College of Education, Jalandhar, said that such books were an author's life-time achievement. `` This book needs to be made a part of not one's shelf but self,'' he said.

Dr Gurdial Singh Bhatia and Prof Nirmal Dutt also welcomed this book, which endeavours to reestablish faith in man's mystical dimensions.

At the end, Mr D.P Malik, Director, AIR, thanked Justice Surinder Singh for writing a book that restores man's faith in his glorious destiny.

This was followed by a poetical symposium.