Thursday, August 19, 1999
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N E W S Thursday, August 19, 1999 |
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Bansal, K.L. Sharma file
papers CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — The lone Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat is all set to witness a straight contest between traditional rivals — Congress and BJP — as the nominations came to a close here this afternoon. Twenty nominations were filed, including one of a covering candidate of the Congress nominee. On the last day of filing of nomination papers, 10 candidates, including Mr Pawan Bansal of the Congress; Mr Krishan Lal Sharma of BJP and Mr Gurbachan Singh of the Nationalist Congress, turned up at the office of the Returning Officer in Sector 17 to complete the formality. Those who have filed their nominations are : Mr Mata Ram Dhiman (Bahujan Samaj Party), Col Harsharan Singh Sandhu (Rashtriya Raksha Dal), Mrs Gurvinder Kaur (Independent), Mr Ravi Parkash Kansal (Lok Shakti), Mrs Bimla Sapna (Bahujan Samaj Party Ambedkar), Dr Ved Parkash Aggarwal (BJP Loktantrik), Mr Ram Pal Hans (New Congress Party), Mr Gurnam Singh Sidhu (Khalsa Conference), Mr Kartar Singh Hothi (Independent), Mr Pawan Bansal (Indian National Congress), Mr Sham Lal Gupta (Indian National Congress) (covering candidate); Mr Krishan Lal Sharma (BJP); Mr Jaspal Singh (Independent), Mr S.M. Bhatti (Independent), Ms Palac Shri (Independent), Mr Manphool Singh (Samajwadi Party) Mr Inderjit Gupta (Independent) and Mr Dilbagh Singh (Ajeya Bharat). One of the candidates, Mr Chander Sekhar of the Chandigarh Loktantrik Morcha could not file his nomination papers as he did not register himself in time for filing of his papers this afternoon. His plea that he was present and getting his papers organised was not accepted by the Returning Officer, Mr M. Ramsekhar. The BJP nominee, Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, performed a “Havan” at the party office in Sector 33 before going in a procession to file his papers. Mr Sharma filed four sets of nomination papers. Interestingly, no one filed papers as his covering candidate. The entire route of the procession was decorated with BJP flags and banners. Mr Pawan Bansal also came in a procession to file his nomination papers. Mr Harmohan Dhawan, who had opposed Mr Bansal in the past three elections, was among those to propose his name. Mr Sham Lal Gupta filed papers as a covering candidate for Mr Bansal. Mr Bansal filed four sets of papers. The rebel Congress candidate, who joined the Nationalist Congress of Mr Sharad Pawar only yesterday, Mr Gurbachan Singh, also came in a procession to file his nomination papers. He filed two sets of nomination papers. A former Miss Chandigarh, Ms Palac Shri, filed her papers as an Independent. There was heavy rush on roads leading to the Sector 17 Estate Office because of the candidates and their supporters. In the last elections,
23 candidates had filed their nomination papers and 18
contested. The scrutiny of papers will take place
tomorrow. the last date for withdrawal of nominations is
August 21. |
CISF given charge of
Secretariat Chandigarh, Aug 18 — After zealously guarding the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat for four years following the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has handed over charge to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). This was necessitated following directions from the Home Ministry to deploy the force on internal security (IS) duties in the insurgency -affected state of Jammu and Kashmir and for allowing the already stretched force time for training and recoupment. The security of the sprawling complex formally was taken over by the premier force on November 12, more than two months after the assassination of the Chief Minister along with 16 others by a suspected human bomb on August 31, 1995. This was a major setback to the police organisations, responsible for guarding the Secretariat, and intelligence agencies of the two states. Accordingly, the then Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana, the UT Administrator, besides the intelligence agencies held parleys on September 15 - 17 to discuss the security scenario. The members recommended to the Home Ministry for the deployment of a para military force and the majority view was to press for the ITBP. Mr N K Mishra, DIG, ITBP, said the recommendations were agreed to by the Home Ministry and a board was constituted for determining the number of personnel needed for the task and to plug all loopholes which had led to the gruesome incident. After the board sent its recommendations, two battalions, 1 and 3, stationed in the Kumaon region and at Dehradun and Bareilly, respectively, were detailed for the prestigious job. Two advance parties of the battalions came for reconnaissance to the city to see the then security set-up. The standard operating procedures (SOPs) were decided by which the set-up was totally changed and the force was deployed under the command of Mr J S Ankoti, Commandant, 1 Battalion. As many as 1, 300 men were deployed round the clock and a large tented colony had been put up in the ground at the back of the Secretariat with all facilities. Talking to TNS, Mr Ankoti said there were initial teething troubles like the problem of housing for the large number of men and officers. The Haryana government made some accommodation available at Panchkula and near the Mansa Devi Complex which were more than 15 - 17 km away from their place of duty. In view of these practical difficulties, the 1 Battalion was changed with the 9 Battalion, which had its headquarters at Ramgarh, near Panchkula, he added. Mr M S Bhurji, Commandant of 9 Battalion, said the 1 Battalion was looking after the security of the Haryana portion of the building and the outer parameter of the complex while is his men were deployed on the side of the Punjab secretariat and were also responsible for the security inside the building. While the men from the former will report at the Group Headquarters at Barielly (Uttar Pradesh), the latter have moved to Ramgarh. The tasks included stopping the access of official gunmen at the main building, keeping a watch on suspicious movements of visitors and employees alike, preventing any unwanted activity inside the complex and preventing any acts of sabotage or attempts by individuals to smuggle in any objectionable items. Mr Mishra said during the tenure of the ITBP only a couple of cases of objectionable activity were reported and the offenders were handed over to the Chandigarh Police. In one instance, a minister was stopped for carrying ammunition rounds in his briefcase. Such was the security that every vehicle and employee was checked no matter how many times they entered the complex. Besides, daily exercises were carried to check the building for explosives and seven sniffer dogs were pressed for this purpose in the entire complex daily. The water supply was checked daily for any traces of poisoning substances and the electrical and fire alarm circuits were also checked to prevent any untoward incidents, he added. To check the entry of outsiders, every category of employee, senior functionaries, ministers, judges and even journalists were issued particular passes. There were complaints initially from the officers and ministers, but they later petered out when it was explained to them that all this was necessary for their security only. On the other hand, Mr B K Mehta, Commandant, CISF, who will be now be looking after the security praised the efforts of the ITBP and said they were starting their own SOPs and every effort would made to ensure the security of the complex. He said about 1,100 men had been deployed initially and more would be made available on need basis. The present personnel, about one and half battalion, had moved in from Ghaziabad. They had the requisite experience as the CISF was presently guarding parts of the North Block, all nuclear installations, the supreme court and various vital public sector installations. The force was also fighting Naxalites in various areas of Bihar, he informed. Meanwhile, senior
officers and the employees are also reported to have
expressed their satisfaction on the way the security
aspect was handled by the ITBP. |
Order to deposit firearms soon Chandigarh, Aug 18 — Holders of weapons in the city will be asked to deposit their firearms in the police stations concerned in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll on September 5. A formal order in this regard is likely to be issued by the District Magistrate-cum-Returning Officer, Mr M. Ramsekhar. This is part of the list of directives from the Election Commission for holding elections. In any case carrying of firearms — other than those who have the requisite permission — have been banned in Chandigarh. Other orders to close liquor shops on the days of polling and counting and checking of any poll related violations will be issued one by one as the time comes according to the schedule, the District Magistrate said while adding that under the EC guidelines moving vehicles for canvassing have been allowed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. However, public rallies have been permitted till midnight. All other permissions like those for loud speakers and applying for holding rallies will apply. The election office is also gearing itself to check the expenses of the political parties. A ceiling of Rs 8 lakh per candidate in each constituency has been fixed by the EC. '' We can call and check the books and accounts of expenses as and when desired, but this will be without the motive of harassment to anyone, '' the returning officer added. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Police has already prepared a list of licenced arms holders and the firearms owned by them. Verification was done through the beat staff so that the exact number of licence holders is known in the respective areas, police sources said. The need had arisen as people usually overlooked the procedure to inform the police station concerned after obtaining a licence from the office of the District Magistrate. Even people holding arms and licences from other states have to get the licence endorsed in the police station concerned, said a senior-level cop. Any breach in this order will invite action under Section 188 of the IPC. The order is under Section 144 of the Cr.P.C. Cops opine that several firearms are with members of the public without the knowledge of the law enforcing agencies. On the other hand , the Election Department has opened two permanent public awareness centres in Sector 37 Community Centre and the Notified Area Committee (NAC) building , Mani Majra. One such centre is already functional in Sector 17. Live demonstration of
the electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be held in
these centres and the public can cast a mock vote on the
EVM. A film in Hindi and Panjabi languages will also be
screened. Besides this three mobile teams visit
designated spots in the city on a daily basis. |
Ultra modern city centre on
anvil SAS Nagar, Aug 18 — This township is well on its way to emerge on the international map as an important centre of activity with the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) all set to establish an ultra modern City Centre in Sector 62 near Phase 8. Described as one of the most modern projects, the City Centre expected to come up on 245 acres will cater to retail, civic and entertainment needs of the region, generate employment opportunities and provide quality commercial space with requisite infrastructure. The project also gains importance as the Punjab Government has already written to PUDA authorities to relocate at least 70 of its offices, presently being run from rented accommodations in Chandigarh, at the proposed City Centre. Some corporate houses have reportedly shown keen interest in the project. Counting on the strategic location of this fast-developing township which has emerged as an important industrial hub, planners of PUDA visualize that the City Centre will also emerge as the entertainment focal point of the Greater Chandigarh region. A pre-feasibility study entrusted to an international firm to conceptualize this project has already been submitted to PUDA authorities. The Chief Administrator of PUDA, Mr S.C. Aggarwal, said as the pre-feasibility study had been submitted, PUDA would soon invite national and international planners to crystallize architectural details. The proposed infrastructure includes state-of-the art shopping malls, a civic centre, commercial spaces and entertainment facilities. There would be space for office complexes, corporate blocks, banks, library, town hall, health care facilities, a theme park, a leisure valley and three and five star hotels. Land has already been allotted for a super-speciality cardiac centre in Sector 62. The headquarters of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) and local bus stand already exist in the sector. Sources said that leading names in the hotel industry had approached PUDA authorities for allotment of land for three star and five star hotels. Beautification of the leisure valley, passing through the sector, was also on the anvil. The General Manager (projects) of PUDA, Mr J.S. Sekhon, said that unlike Sector 17 of Chandigarh, there would be enough design flexibility in the planning of the City Centre. The project will be
developed in five phases. In the first phase, 13.70 lakh
square feet area would be included. The project is
expected to generate 1,800 crore over 20 years. |
Court notice to Administration CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to the Chandigarh Administration for September 21 on a writ petition filed by the Chandigarh Hotel Owners Association questioning the functioning of guest houses in residential buildings. Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice A.S. Garg constituted the Bench. The petitioner-association stated that as per the planning of the city, separate sites had been earmarked for specific use — residential, shops, show rooms, booths, service stations, nursing homes and schools. This demarcation of sites stipulates that each site will be used for the specific purpose. Members of the petitioner-association made a series of representations to the chandigarh Administration for taking action against “illegal” running of guest houses in residential building. However, no action has been taken so far. The advocate-General of Haryana, who represented the petitioner-association, told the court that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Babu Singh Bains Vs Union of India that the use of property for non-residential purposes, which is located in residential zone, was a clear contravention of the rules and as such was liable to be resumed. He contended that the petitioner-association also served legal notice also on the Chandigarh Administration. In reply to the legal notice the Administration informed the petitioner-association that 45 sites had already been resumed and their appeals were pending before the Chief Administrator/Adviser to the Chandigarh Administration and the High Court. The Advocate-General
contended that the members of the association were
suffering financial losses due to the “illegal
running of the guest houses in residential
premises.” |
Court seeks record of Sec 9
SCOs CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Assistant Estate Officer to produce before it the record of all SCOs in Sector 9 showing the building violations noticed by the Chandigarh Administration and also as to how those objections were met and the occupation certificates issued. Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji, who handed down this order, adjourned the case filed by Munak Chemicals Ltd alleging that the Administration had not raised any objections about violations of building bylaws in adjoining buildings and issued occupation certificates, to October 14, 1999. This company had alleged it was not issued occupation certificate by the Administration. The UT Finance Secretary, Mr Rakesh Singh, who was present in the court pursuant to the directions issued by the High Court was, however, discharged from personal appearance “till further orders”. Earlier, counsel for the
Administration filed reply to the petition filed by Munak
Chemicals Ltd in the form of an affidavit by the
Assistant Estate Officer. |
Villagers boycott poll training
exercise CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — Aggrieved at the power and water supply situation, residents of Behlana village boycotted the training session organised by the UT Administration for acquainting them with the electronic voting process. To register their protest against the “apathy” on part of the Administration towards their problems, they have also decided not to participate in the voting for the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. Talking to the TNS, villagers said that half of the village was going without power for about 10 days due to a defective transformer, while the problem of drinking water had been continuing for the past about four months. According to Mr Darshan Singh, Sarpanch of the village, there was no drinking water in the village as the Municipal Corporation had stopped water supply to the village from its tubewell on the plea that the village fell under the jurisdiction of the Administration. On the other hand, the Administration had been doing nothing to provide drinking water to residents in spite of a number of requests. “We have even requested the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Engineer, but nothing has been done by them except extending hollow promises. That is why we have decided against participating in the poll. What is the use of voting, when we do not have the basic facilities,” he said. Mr Balwinder Singh, a member of the panchayat, said whatever little water was being supplied to residents through a tubewell, was stopped with the power supply problem and the residents have to use a few hand pumps in the village.” He alleged that in spite of a number of complaints to the SDO concerned, the faulty transformer was not changed. He said the villagers were so angry that they had decided against allowing any party leader to enter the village. Meanwhile, residents
stayed away from the training session organised by
villagers to make them aware about the voting process
through electronic voting machines. The officials, who
had come to the village, had to leave the village as no
villager, except children, turned up to learn about the
process. Though the officials claimed that as many as 50
people had attended the session, the Sarpanch said not
even a single villager went to the officials for getting
training from the officials. |
16 villages "sensitive" PANCHKULA, Aug 18 —The District Administration of Panchkula has made adequate arrangements to ensure free and fair poll to the Lok Sabha seat of Ambala. Giving details about the arrangements, the District Electoral Officer, Mr Vivek Joshi, said that Panchkula, Pinjore and Kalka along with 208 villages make up the Kalka assembly segment out of which 16 villages have been identified as "sensitive". The area has been divided into 19 zones and 13 duty magistrates would be deployed in the area along with a number of observers. A total of 287 polling booths would be established. While 167 booths would be in the rural areas, the urban area would have 120 election booths. Mr Joshi added that the code of conduct would be strictly followed during elections and that Section 144 Cr.P.C.had already been imposed in the area. For the conduct of elections, 287 polling parties had been appointed and the administration would train the staff on duty during elections from August 27 to 31. As many as 1,98, 519 voters would cast their vote on September 5 amidst elaborate security arrangements. Later, a meeting of
political parties, their candidates and the District
Electoral Officer was held at the District Secretariat
here today. Addressing the gathering, Mr Joshi said that
they must pledge to abide by the code of conduct and
ensure that the voters could cast their vote fearlessly.
He appealed to the parties and the candidates to
cooperate with the administration in conducting a free
and fair poll. |
BJP groupism to the fore CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — With talks between the BJP and rebel group ruling the Municipal Corporation of Chandi-garh (MCC) failing, it seems that the ruling group may not campaign for the BJP candidate, Mr K.L. Sharma. According to a press note issued by the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, some persons in the BJP took the initiative to bring about a rapprochement between the ruling group and the BJP. A number of meetings were held and a method to resolve the differences was worked out with a view to ensure success of the BJP candidate. However, the press note alleged that at the last stage, the reconciliation process was sabotaged by some vested interests and local hierarchy of the party. “In the long run, this unfortunate outcome will not be in the interest of the BJP candidate. The policy of forget and forgive, as initially evolved, was perhaps the best course of action under the circumstances,” the Mayor said, adding that the local leadership had failed to realise the need for unity of party, particularly when an “outsider” had been fielded for the local parliamentary seat. Consequent upon the
failure of the talks, the councillors of the ruling group
are constrained to consider their future options, the
press note added. |
German couple to the rescue of
pup CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — The injured stray pup lay in front of a temple in Sector 27, with its front legs crushed by a passing motorist. It might have died but for the help which came from a German tourist couple who decided to take care of the hapless creature as they were moved to see it in a wretched condition. After close inspection of the pup, the couple, Herbert and Karin,who accidently reached the place, placed the tiny creature in a bag and helped by a passer-by, took it to different veterinary doctors for treatment. A daily visit to a veterinary hospital has become a routine for them since August 11, the day the pup was found by them after it met with the accident and was injured badly. “Actually, we wondered the way people around the place were showing indifference towards the pup, which was not even able to move its front portion as veins of its front legs had been crushed. As the poor creature was looking around, apparently for help with its wistful eyes, we decided at once to get it treated. As suggested by a cop, we immediately hired a rickshaw and went to a Sector 22 vet, who told us that the crushing of legs of dog had rendered the pup a paralytic and gave some tablets for the same,” said Karin, who has become friendly with the pup to such an extent that she has created a special section in her room in the Sector 28 Gujjar Bhavan to enable it to stay there comfortably. “Earlier, we had put it outside the room, but as it started crying like a child, we felt it was doing so out of a sense of loneliness. So we had to make arrangements for its stay in a corner of our room,” added Karin, who said the pup, in turn, too, had developed a sense of affinity with her and her husband and even tries to convey its feeling of gratefulness to them by wagging its tail, whenever they come face to face with it. “So much so that though it is not able to walk, it still tries its best to obey our commands by rolling ahead with the help of its belly and hind legs. As in such a situation it looks good, we have given him a name—Wampe—German for big belly,” said Herbert. The love between the pup
and the couple could be assessed from the fact that the
latter carry the tiny creature in a shoe box whenever
they are moving around the city on their bike. Moreover,
it has changed their lifestyle to some extent. “Now
we have to get up early in the morning to fetch milk and
dogfood for our companion, who has been becoming more and
more playful with us with each passing day,” said
the couple, adding that though it was a stray dog and
people even try to dissuade them against keeping it with
them, they love it for its intelligence and its naughty
acts. They said the Gujjar Bhavan employees were equally
helping the animal in every possible way. “ They
even take it outside so that it could have its morning
and evening walk,” said Karin, who added they
already have a number of animals in their house in
Germany, including two streetdogs, two pedigreed ones and
two cats. The couple said though vets have assured them
that the animal will be alright within a period of two
months, they plan to leave it with a friend in Kodaikanal
before leaving for their country, so that it should be
under proper care. The couple felt that the residents of
the city beautiful were in different towards stray
animals.” Instead of loving such poor creatures,
they hate them and a majority of them only prefer
pedigreed dogs, which is not a case with people in their
country. |
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Four booked in
cheating case A case under Sections 419, 420, 465, 467 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the four persons. According to the information available, the complainant, Mr Anil Jogi in his statement given to the police lamented that he owned about 2 kanal in Balongi village. The four persons — Kulwinder, Pyara, Ravinder Singh and Gyan Chand — approached him regarding the purchase of the land. The land was allegedly transferred by the four persons in their name through fraudulent means. No arrests have been made in the case so far. Rs
61,200 donated PSEB
JEs hold rally Mr Davinder Singh, Additional General Secretary of the council, while addressing the participants said the board management was adopting delaying tactics in implementing the agreement reached between the council and the management on March 14, 1998. Mr Parmjit Singh, Secretary of the local unit of the council, said starting from today such rallies would be organised at divisional level offices of the board through out the state till September 19. The council had urged the board management to ensure justice to its employees. National
seminar on computer safety The seminar will discuss computer crime, frauds (global and Indian scenario, cyber and privacy laws ), safety requirements in computer installations (managing fire risks, contingency planning and retrieval techniques), data loss management (back issues and solutions, virus control, Y2K) and network security (e-commerce, business, EDI, EFT) . Information technology experts from the National Informatics Centre, IBM, Global Services India, KPMG, N & N Systems and Software, Hero Honda, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation , Reserve Bank of India, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Tariff Advisory Committee will share their views and offer suggestions at the seminar. About 100 delegates holding top positions in India are expected to participate in the seminar. Hoardings
removed Sources in the council said tomorrow the B-roads in the township would be cleared of the encroachments. PUDA
to develop open spaces At least 8 acre of land along the leisure valley nullah in Sector 63 will be landscaped and covered with plantation. This development work will include construction of pathways. About 1200 saplings have already been planted in the area. The horticulture wing of PUDA will plant more trees in the existing 43- acre area of the leisure valley in Sector 62. To solve the problem of irrigating lawns and trees, PUDA has mooted a plan to lift water flowing from the seasonal nullah. Small stations to lift water will be installed along the nullah. There is also a proposal to add about 40 benches and install 25 flood lights in the leisure valley as part of a detailed development plan, which will cost over Rs 50 lakh. To increase the
township's green cover, the horticulture wing is
developing open strips of about 10 acre and 14 acre in
sectors 70 and 71, respectively. The development of these
strips, which will include construction of pathways,
planting of shady and ornamental tress, and setting up of
drinking water posts, is expected to cost about Rs 40
lakh. |
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