Friday, August 27, 1999
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N E W S Friday, August 27, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
EC code 'violated' in PU
selections CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — Panjab University is agog with allegations that various selections to the posts of professors, readers, lecturers and research associates were made last month in violation of the model code of conduct of the Election Commission after notification of the general election. A section of the teaching community alleged that though these posts were advertised during September 1997 and June 1998, the selection process was rushed through and completed within one month for sheer political gains and favouritism. It was further alleged that to win over certain Syndics in his favour, the Vice-Chancellor made the selections of their near and dear ones to these posts. The favouritism was also brought out from the fact that the university illegally started the process of constituting selection committees, after the expiry of the one year validity period of these advertisements. They also pointed out that while, on the one hand, an item for approving these selections would be taken up at the Syndicate meeting tomorrow, on the other, the Vice-Chancellor had included another item, seeking extension for the last date mentioned in advertisement 4/98, which lapsed on July 20. The VC had already extended this date to August 7 in anticipation of the approval of the Syndicate, which too has lapsed. Certain members of the university faculty alleged that Regulation 6.3 of the Panjab University Calendar, Volume I (Chapter V-A) had also been violated, particularly for selecting candidates for the post of reader in the Botany Department. As per Regulation 6.1, "the Syndicate shall appoint a selection committee consisting of five to seven members to recommend persons for appointment as professor or reader, of whom two shall be experts in the subject from 'outside' the territorial jurisdiction of the university". Regulation 6.3 further specifies that "no retired or honorary teacher of the university residing outside its territorial jurisdiction shall be nominated as an outside expert on a Selection Committee.'' They alleged that the university, in contravention of this regulation, appointed Prof P.S. Ramakrishnan and Prof H.S. Sohi as outside experts on the Selection committee constituted for the selection of readers in Botany, though both the professors were members of the faculty of the same department at Panjab University from 1962 to 1973 and from 1979 to 1982, respectively. The appointments of two persons as readers in the Botany Department became questionable in the light of the fact that their earlier selection and appointment as lecturers was subjudice and this fact was not brought to the notice of the selection committee. Resentment also prevails among the research scholars of the Department of Bio-technology because in the selections being made to their departments, no person has a degree in M.Sc. biotechnology. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof M.M. Puri, when contacted, denied any violation of the code of conduct “as the code did not anywhere mention that the process of selection should be interrupted during the said period”. "In fact, the process of selection and making of appointments are two different aspects and appointments are considered to be made only when the appointment letters are issued to the candidates,'' he added. The process of selection had started in April this year, before the code of conduct was invoked. Prof Puri further clarified that merely taking up the item of appointments in the Syndicate tomorrow did not imply that these would be finalised. The recommendation of these candidates would be finally approved by the Senate, following which the appointment letters would be issued. When confronted with a query that during the last session, after one such Syndicate meeting, people were handed over the appointment letters and made to join immediately, he said this did not happen every time. The situation was different this time and appointment letter would not to issued till the process of elections was over. The faculty members are
demanding that following the violation of the code of
conduct, all the recommendations of these selection
committees should be treated null and void. |
Raksha Bandhan celebrated CHANDIGARH, Aug 26— "Raksha bandhan", the sacred festival symbolising sister's love for brother, was celebrated with traditional fervour and enthusiasm in the city and surrounding areas today. Since early morning, sisters visited the houses of their brothers and tied "rakhis" on their wrists and prayed for their long life and prosperity. Similarly, brothers visited the houses of their sisters with sweets and other gifts and vowed to protect them. There was a heavy rush in front of sweet shops and stalls selling "rakhis".There seemed to be a special fascination for designer "rakhis" and "rakhis" on different facets of the Kargil conflict. While elders preferred simple threads, colourful and bigger "rakhis" were a hit with the kids ,who vied with each other in having more number of "rakhis" on the their arms. In a unique manner, Brahma Kumaris, while tying the sacred thread on the wrists of their spiritual brothers, explained the real significance of the ancient festival which was a symbol of selfless and pure love between brother and sister. Applying of "tilak" on brother's forehead was indicative of the sister suggesting to her brother to remain in consciousness of the living spirit as also to see others as souls. Prominent persons to whom "rakhis' were tied included Mr Mahabir Prasad, Haryana Governor, Mr Justice ML Singhal, Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr RS Verma, Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr NK Jain, UT Home Secretary, Mr M. Ramsekhar, UT Deputy Commissioner, Mr SS Jha, Commissioner-I, Customs and Excise, Mr AS Bhatotia, Haryana DGP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, former MP, and Prof MM Puri, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University. The Braham Kumaris also
tied "rakhis" to over 100 students and staff of
the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26 and Deaf and Dumb
Institute, Sector 18. |
Rly ticket counter issue
hangs fire CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — The Railways has lined up two projects for the convenience of Panchkula residents. One of the long-awaited projects, a new approach road to the railway station, is nearing completion, while the second scheme of opening a ticket reservation counter in the township awaits a final clearance from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) before it is implemented. The first project of providing a second access to the railway station from Panchkula side is expected to help reduce congestion on the busy Chandigarh-Panchkula road, besides shortening the distance between the railway station and Panchkula. This is nearing completion. The road is expected to be completed within the next two months, the Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, Mr Vijay Kumar, said while admitting that the project had been delayed by a couple of months as the engineers opined that the initial work on the road had not got proper time or ''treatment'' to settle down due to monsoon. The second entry to the railway station will be from the road dividing Sectors 17 and 18 in Panchkula. There will be a parking facility and an overbridge will connect that portion with the main platforms accessible from Chandigarh side. The second project of opening a ticket reservation counter in Panchkula has been hanging fire for the past four years. After being finalised in 1997, talks between HUDA and the Railways had failed. Last month the Railways again approached HUDA to provide space where a railway reservation counter could be opened. It was up to HUDA to decide what place would be suitable for the residents of Panchkula, the DRM added. Meetings had been held with senior authorities in Haryana for the purpose as the Railway did not have any land of its own in the township. Getting a private place on lease would entail expenses that would be much more than what would be earned as revenue, he said. Meanwhile, it may be recollected that HUDA had offered space inside the main bus stand in Sector 5 almost two years ago. Then the space was to be provided on a monthly rent. This was reportedly not acceptable to the Railways authorities which argued that similar spaces had been provided by several state governments for the benefit of its citizens. If a ticket reservation
counter is opened from where the second entry is coming
up it will not be feasible as it will be very close to
the existing reservation counter at the railway station,
thus the distance a Panchkula resident will have to cover
to book a ticket will remain almost the same, railway
authorities opine. |
3,586 preventive arrests in
city CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — Casual visitors and others who have not furnished details about their presence in the city within a reasonable period of time are liable to be arrested. In a special drive, 3,586 persons have been arrested under sections of Cr PC, IPC and Police Act. The drive was started two and a half months ago, following instructions from the IGP. Most of the arrests have been carried out under Sections 107, 109 and 151 of the Cr PC. Arrests have also been effected under Section 188 of the IPC and Sections 34\5\61 of the Police Act. Persons living in colonies form a large chunk of those arrested. Senior police officers say the system of carrying out preventive arrests is an aggressive form of policing and is the norm in major cities like Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai, which have a commissionerate set up. Arrests are carried out and the accused are produced before sub-divisional officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. In view of the set up in the city, those arrested are produced before Sub-Divisional Magistrates. Elaborating on the arrests, the officers say any individual who is in the city for a reasonable period of time — a maximum of two weeks is the norm fixed by the police — but has not furnished his particulars to the nearest police station, is liable to be arrested under Section 188 of the IPC. This includes casual visitors, new tenants and migrant labourers. Persons who are found roaming at odd hours under suspicious circumstances and without any reasonable explanation are also being arrested under Section 109 of the Cr PC. For example, if an individual living in Sector 40 is stopped by the police in Sector 28 and he cannot give any reasonable explanation for his being there at the given time, he will be taken into custody and presented before a magistrate the next day. Similarly, persons held for offences committed in the past are liable to be arrested again if there is likelihood that they will do so again. Persons caught while fighting at public places are also booked. Those persons who belong to opposite groups and are known to have clashed in the past, can be taken into preventive custody under Sections 107\151 of the Cr PC if there is apprehension in the mind of the police officer of the area that they may disturb public peace again. The preventive arrests were a norm in the early seventies and eighties but were not favoured as many senior officers were of the view that such steps, especially those carried out on the basis of apprehension, were an infringement on an individual's right to freedom. These arrests were also carried out by officers who wanted to play a partisan role or was nursing a grouse. Senior officers claim that the crime rate of the city has fallen after this drive has been started. The large-scale arrests have had a detrimental effect on residents. On the other hand, senior officers have to put in extra efforts to ensure that no arrests are carried out to settle old scores or for extraneous considerations. However, no complaints
have been received so far, the officers add. |
Sector 44 to have park CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — Under its programme of enhancing the green cover in the southern sectors, the local Municipal Corporation is in the process of developing a green belt in Sector 44. In addition to providing a green look, the 7-acre belt will add to the beauty of the area as it will have an array of varieties of flowering and shady trees and hundreds of shrubs in addition to vast lush green lawns. According to official sources, work on the project, costing about Rs 7 lakh, has been initiated and the levelling of an open space near the Reserve Bank of India's residential colony is being undertaken at the place. The planting of trees and levelling of the place would be completed by the end of the year, the sources added. As per the plan prepared by the Horticulture Department of the Municipal Corporation, about 150 large trees, including the flowering ones such as casia, chakrasia and 'peepal' would be planted. The proposal has already been cleared by the Finance and Control Committee of the civic body. In addition to shady trees, about 250-300 shrubs such as largestomea, hibiscus, bahunia, Casia biflora, chandni and dwarf gulmohar will be planted. "We are also planning to add seasonal flowers, so that the belt should look like a well-developed garden," said an official of the department. He said water for
irrigation will be supplied from the existing tubewell of
the civic body near the belt. And to save the plants and
flowers from stray cattle, the belt would be fenced with
iron grills. A proposal to provide a footpath in the
place has also been cleared, said a senior official of
the civic body. |
Admn sets up consumer cell CHANDIGARH, Aug 26— The Chandigarh Administration has set up a three-member monitoring cell to safeguard the interests of consumers and to monitor the complaints received by the Food and Supplies Department against LPG distributors who press the consumers to purchase hot plates from them prior to releasing their new LPG connections. Mrs Geetanjali G.
Kundra, SDM (East), shall be the chairperson of the
committee while its other members will be Mr Ashwani
Kumar, Deputy Director, Food and Supplies Department and
Mr Veeresh Berry, manager, LPG, Chandigarh. The cell
shall meet once a month and conduct raids as and when
complaints are received. |
Bansal for balanced growth of
city CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — The Congress candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, yesterday expressed his shock over the deterioration in sanitation condition in various labour colonies of the Union Territory. Mr Bansal addressed a a rally in Colony No 4 and held that only the Congress had programmes for poor, backward classes and unemployed. He said that he was for a balanced growth of the city. He undertook a door-to-door survey in the morning in Colony No 5. Later, he addressed a meeting of shopkeepers of Janta Market in Mauli Jagran where he was earlier weighed against coins. He also addressed employees of the Tubewell Corporation in Sector 26. He was felicitated by the Chandigarh Teachers' Union. Members of the
Chandigarh Mahila Congress, led by its President, Mrs
Lalit Joshi Bhardwaj, visited the house of Mr Bansal in
the morning to tie "rakhi". Later, Mahila
Congress workers conducted a door-to-door campaign in
Raipur Khurd village. |
CTYCC infighting takes new
turn CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — The ongoing infighting in the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress Committee took a new turn today when its chief, Mr Chandermukhi Sharma, suspended his Vice-President, Mr Navin Gupta, both from his party post and the party for allegedly "instigating the Youth Congress workers" for burning an effigy of the official party candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal. Mr Naveen Gupta, who happens to be the son of Mr Kulbhushan Gupta, officiating President of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, and a close confidant of Mr Bansal, however, has threatened to burn an effigy of Mr Chandermukhi Sharma for his "anti-party activities against the official candidate". In a press note, the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress Committee (CTYCC) said that it had constituted a three-member committee on August 18 to look into the complaint of burning of an effigy of Mr Pawan Bansal by some workers of the Youth Congress at the Sector 17 Plaza the previous day. All those workers involved in the burning episode were called to appear before the enquiry committee. They maintained that they were carried away as the selection was against the Panchmarhi Resolution and youth were ignored and they were instigated by Mr Navin Gupta. The note further said that suspension from the party was imminent of all those workers who did not appear before the enquiry committee. Based on the report, the CTYCC chief, Mr Chandermukhi Sharma, has placed Mr Navin Gupta under suspension. The note further said that the CTYCC had also taken a serious note of Mr Manjit Sahdev claiming himself to be the official spokesman of the CTYCC. He was never appointed spokesman and no letter was issued to him. Further, he had been asked to produce the documents in support of his claim within two days failing which legal action would be taken against him. Reacting to his suspension, Mr Navin Gupta claimed that he was a loyalist and an ardent supporter of Mr Pawan Bansal and that he had refused to toe the line of Mr Chandermukhi Sharma to oppose the candidature of Mr Bansal. Mr Sharma was fully exhausted and indulging in anti-party activities and had started shunting out all those who supported Mr Pawan Bansal. He said he along with
other Youth Congress workers had approached the party
President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to demand the immediate
removal of Mr Chandermukhi Sharma from the presidentship
of the CTYCC. He also threatened to burn an effigy of Mr
Chandermukhi Sharma. |
RRD for improving city
environment CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — Colonel Harsharan Singh (retd), candidate of the Rashtriya Raksha Dal(RRD), reiterated his commitment to work for improving the environment of Chandigarh. Talking to electorate during a door- to- door campaign in various sectors, including 17, 27 and 28, the Colonel said Chandigarh, which once used to be a neat and clean city, was now gradually losing its splendour and charm.There were big open spaces in commercial areas which were serving as open latrines. He said that the Sector 17 Plaza was no more clean. The Colonel said that besides working for the welfare of Faujis and their families, his focus would be on roadside workers and others who have to struggle hard to earn their livelihood. They must get better work environs. After visiting some villages, he said villages were in total decadence.He promised to work for the betterment of villages. He also visited Burail and sector 46 where problems of insanitation, inadequacies in the public distribution system, lack of basic services and other such issues were highlighted before him by people.He assured the voters that he would do his best to solve all their problems after his win. Ex-servicemen flay BJP CHANDIGARH, Aug 26 — The All-India Ex Servicemen Welfare Association has flayed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for exploiting the sacrifices made by the jawans in Kargil for electoral gains. Mr Bhim Sen Sehgal,
President of the association, said the party was using
the Kargil conflict to cover its wrong policies which had
brought the nation to the brink of disaster. He also
condemned the President and the state Governors for
hosting at home on Independence Day while the nation was
grieving for the loss of young lives during Operation
Vijay. |
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AISSF support
for BJP-SAD The President and general secretary of the federation, Dr Manjit Singh Bhoma and Mr Amarjit Singh Pathankot, in a joint statement said that the NDA was all set to come back to power at the centre and solve all problems of the students community on a priority basis. They said a joint meeting of the campus unit and Chandigarh unit of the federation was addressed by Mr Krishan lal Sharma yesterday where all members assured to support his candidature in the coming election. Demand to replace Riar In a signed statement, many leaders, including Mr Gurcharan Singh Pallia, Mr N.S. Minhas, Mr Harcharan Singh Sawhney, Ms Harjinder Kaur, Mr Ravinder Singh Khalsa, Mr Malkiat Singh, Mr Sukhdev Singh, Mr Harbans Singh Randhawa, Mr Jitendar Kumar, Mr Gurjeet Singh and Mr Kulwant Singh Chadha, said Mr Riar had been ignoring most of the party functionaries. They added that Mr Riar had been giving the impression to the BJP candidate from Chandigarh that all leaders other than him owed allegiance to the opposition group within the BJP. They further alleged that he had been giving provocative statements, which might directly or indirectly affect the poll prospects of the BJP-SAD nominee. Students to back Bansal Talking to newsmen here this afternoon, leaders of the local unit of the National Students Union of India, Haryana Students Association, Cultural Mafia, Himachal Students Association, Students Federation of India, Research Scholars Association of Panjab University and Students Association of Sector 46 College, said that they had taken a unanimous decision to support Mr Bansal for a number of reasons. They maintained that Mr Bansal had been active as a student leader and was secretary of the Panjab University Students Council. Both as a Senator and a Syndic of the university, he had been fighting for the rights of students. Further, he was honest, intellectual and easily accessible, they said. They maintained that though their bodies were apolitical, they had decided to support Mr Bansal as an individual as he is rated as an able Parliamentarian. Those who addressed the press conference included Harmohinder Singh Lucky (NSUI), Surinder K. Pall (Research Scholars Association), Munish Anand (former President, PUSC); Chand Singh (Haryana Students Association), Nitin Kumar (Sector 46 College), Mr Vijay Dogra (Himachal Students Association), Anil Pardhan (Cultural mafia) and Suresh Thakur (Students Federation of India). Club to organise debate The programme, titled 'Ru-bru', will focus on vital issues of this reserved constituency . Mr Rattan Lal Kataria (BJP-INLD) , Mr Phool Chand Mullana(Congress) and Mr Aman Kumar Nagra (BSP)— all candidates for the Ambala parliamentary Constituency seat — will debate on their respective party manifesto. Badal to address rally today Besides, cine star-turned- politician Shatrughan Sinha will also address an election rally in support of Mr Krishan Lal Sharma at Nehru Park on August 28 at 7 p.m. Interaction with LS candidates The Congress candidate, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, and the BJP candidate, Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, will speak on "India of 21st century:my party's vision". It will be followed by a question-answer session. Revision of pay scales sought In a press note issued here today, the association alleged that the army personnel upto the rank of jawans were being paid meagre salaries, as compared to dangerous duties being performed by them. In accordance with the fifth pay commission recommendations, applicable from October 1997, a sepoy and his equivalents in the other two forces got a monthly salary of Rs 3,050, in addition to dearness allowance, said Mr Bhim Sen Sehgal, chairman of the organisation. He demanded that besides
revising the scales, the government should offer
promotional channels to jawans so that they could attain
higher ranks, at least upto the rank of Junior
Commissioned Officer. |
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