& V I C I N I T Y
Tuesday, January 26, 1999
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Tuesday, January 26, 1999 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
Traffic
restrictions on R-Day |
 |
PGI doctors defer plan of mass
casual leave PM
may lay rail project stone: Jain |
|
Students
interact with Australian team |
||||||||||||||
 |
Time to save
Leisure Valley CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — An "unspecified quantity of stinking, black sullage" is discharged into the water channel of the Leisure Valley, the lungs of the city, on a regular basis. The officials of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, however, deny any knowledge of the source of this "pollutant". It was on Basant Panchami day that a group of revellers, who gathered at the Sector 10 portion of the Leisure Valley for festivities, complained about a pungent smell emitted from the sullage flowing through the water channel. The sullage then flows down to the Sector 16 Dr Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, the pride of the city, and the Sector 16 Shanti Kunj, the new garden developed by the Corporation. The Leisure Valley and the two gardens are frequented by hundreds of visitors, morning and evening strollers besides groups of senior citizens who hold their sittings in either of the gardens during the day. Investigations by The Tribune revealed that the first discharge into the water channel of the valley starts at the intersection of Government College of Arts. On January 22, 23 and 24, the sullage started flowing into the otherwise neat, clean, pollution-free and healthy environs of the Leisure Valley, described by Le Corbusier as lungs of the city, around mid-day. The discharge, which is substantially heavy, continues for more than two hours. A thick cover of "foam" is deposited each day at the point where the "sullage" is discharged. This "foam" formation is primarily because of the "toxicity" of the sullage water, point out the experts saying that this black sullage should not be allowed to flow in this water feature as it is not only detrimental to the environment but can also severely affect the vegetation in the valley. They maintain that it is a serious matter and immediate steps must be taken to prevent any further discharge into the valley. The Public Health wings of both the Engineering Department and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation have in recent years, dug up deep-bore tubewells along the embankment of the water feature of the valley to supplement the water supply in the city. "There are chances that the toxic element of this sullage water can affect and pollute subsoil water which is being pumped out for drinking purposes in the city," they warn. Mr Manmohanjit Singh, Superintending Engineer, Public Health of the corporation, however, counters this apprehension saying that water was being pumped out from much deeper part of the soil where the pollutants of the sullage can not reach. The Public Health engineers initially, maintained that there was no discharge of any "sullage" claiming that only tertiary-treated sullage was being supplied to some parts of the city for irrigation purposes. At times when the treatment plant does not work, they said, some untreated sullage also gets into the cycle. Some others, also from the Public Health wing, said there was no "sullage" but it was an "outflow from the dhobi ghat of Hotel Mountview". They, however, withdrew their observations when informed about the colour and stink of the sullage. "We shall find out the source of this stinking black water in a day or two and make sure it does not get its way into the Leisure Valley," Mr Manmohanjit Singh said. It was not only at the
Sector 10 junction, but at a few other places, including
Sector 36, where similar discharges were being made in
the valley. At the end of this valley, the Administration
has decided to develop gardens of five senses as a part
of the Beant Singh Memorial and Chandigarh Centre for
Performing Arts. |
Poor water
supply plagues Mohali S.A.S NAGAR, Jan 25 — Residents of certain parts of the town are not getting proper water supply in their houses. In the absence of adequate water pressure, the problem is acute for the residents staying on the first, and second floor houses. They are forced to use pumps to get water. In certain parts, the residents also complained that they were getting muddy water for past several days. Mr Surinder Singh, a resident of Phase I, said he was getting water on the ground floor only. "If this is the situation in winter, you can imagine what will happen during summer," he added. Another resident on condition of anonymity, said to meet the daily need of drinking water and for the filling of over-head water tanks, they had to lift water with the help of water pumps. "What is the other way to get water for toilets?" he questioned saying that the pleas of residents to the authorities in this regard seemed to have been fallen on deaf ears. Similarly, Bhupinder Sabharwal, a resident of Phase III-B-2, said the problem was such that he was not getting water supply on the first floor. "Even on the ground floor the pressure is not adequate .We are facing the problem for past one year, but in spite of a number of complaints nothing has been done to solve the problem so far by the authorities concerned," he said. The problem of inadequate water supply is more glaring in certain pockets of Phases VII and XI. Dr Gurinder Singh, a resident of the HIG flats in Phase 11, complained that the residents of the area had been regularly getting muddy water for the past one and half years. He also complained that at times the locality was getting an extremely low water pressure. While attributing the problem to the use of unauthorised water pumps by a majority of the residents, he alleged that complaints to the authorities concerned in this regard had failed to yield any results. Ms Kamaljit, a resident of Sector 71, alleged that her locality was not getting clean water for past many days. "This can lead to serious health problems such as water-borne diseases," she said, adding that her husband had already lodged a complaint in this regard. Mr Sukhwinder Singh, SDO
(Public Health), was not available for comments.
Interestingly, when this correspondent requested his
subordinate staff in his Phase VI office to give his
pager number, the staff members refused saying," "Sahib
gusse honge. Asin har kise nu pager number nahin de
sakde." |
PGI doctors
defer plan of mass casual leave CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — Following the formation of a high powered committee comprising five union ministers, faculty members of the PGI, the country’s premier medical institute, deferred their programme to go on mass casual leave today thus providing unhindered services to the ailing at the PGI. Information about the formation of a committee was reportedly sent from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the Director, PGI, last night through fax. The fax message had urged the Director to convey the formation of the committee to the faculty members and ask them to reconsider the decision to go on mass casual leave. Doctors had planned to go on mass casual leave to protest against low wages and non-implementation of new pay scales suggested by a committee headed by the Union Health Secretary, Mr K.K. Baksi. Though the fax message does not mention who all are in the committee, sources said the committee is headed by the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and comprises Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Union External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister for Environment and Forests Suresh Prabhu. Doctors are seeing the
non-inclusion of a bureaucrat in the committee as a
positive sign. The Executive body of the faculty
association this morning decided to defer its agitation
and also the planned mass casual leave today in view of
the formation of the committee. They expressed hope and
expectation of finding an honourable and amicable
solution to their grievances. In letter written to the
Director, PGI, the faculty said: "it reserves its
right to pursue whatever course of action, it deems fit
if the grievances are not resolved within a limited time
frame". |
9 Dogras
celebrate golden jubilee SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN SECTOR — In the early hours of September 13, 1948, the kill force of the 7 Infantry Brigade captured the Naldrug bridge and by 9 a m the 1 Armoured Brigade was across the bridge. By 10.45 am the brigade had cleared the road for Lt Col Ram Singh (later Maj Gen) and his Dogras to pass through. The force hardly faced any opposition and the Razakars kept out of its way. By September 17, Hyderabad Radio had announced the surrender of the Hyderabad Army by Maj Gen El Edross, commander of the state forces to Maj Gen J.N. Chaudhuri. That was the end of Operation Polo also known as Hyderabad Police Action. The political party in power in the state was the Ittehad-ul-Musselmin which wanted the state to accede to Pakistan and it had organised over 200,000 men, known as Razakars to carry out the mission. Subsequently, their leader Kasim Rizvi was also arrested. This was recounted by some of the old warhorses of the 9 Dogras, who celebrated the golden jubilee of the regiment today. The unit could not celebrate the event last year due to its commitments in counter insurgency operations in North Kashmir. Recalling early days of the unit, Brig D D Vohra said the operation was the first test of the unit and it came out with flying colours. The Razakars were disarmed and the entire administrative machinery of the state was revamped and brought under Indian administrator led by Chief Civil Administrator, Mr Bathle. It was a treat to watch retired officers interacting with their old comrades-in-arms. The bonhomie and camaraderie shared many years ago came alive as the spirits of the evening soared and no encounter was complete without a bear hug and anecdotes about the good old days. Similar experiences were shared by officers who had assembled around another old Dogras hand Lt Col R.R. Kanwar, who explained about the history behind the pennets, standards, muzzle loaders, spears and other armaments seized from Razakars in the action, now proudly displayed in the officers mess. A silver trophy presented by the grateful people of Nanded to the battalion is also displayed in the officers mess. Its uniqueness is that it is one of the two given to the battalions by the people and reportedly the only ones in the Army, he revealed. Maj Gen K S Kohli, who was commissioned into and commanded the battalion during the 1971 operations, for which they were awarded the battle honour Suadih, said according to reports Pakistani 50 Punjab held position at the Saudih bottleneck behind Bagmara Bil. The task of capturing the position was initially given to 5 Maratha, but as they could not take it, the Dogras were called in. "Though we did not have tanks or artillery support, we made it with sheer grit and determination. The battalion suffered four casualties", he added. Second Lieut B S Kasana was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously. He also showed the exquisite silver trophy given by the grateful people of Bangladesh. Lt Gen Sher Amir Singh, who commanded the battalion besides being Colonel of the Dogra scouts also became the Quarter Master Regiment General, also recounted his days in the regiment to young officers. "I was also the military attache to Poland," he said. Lt Col S C Sharma, who was commissioned into the battalion proudly revealed that both his sons, Lt Col Ashok Sharma and Maj Atul Sharma were also commissioned into the regiment. The latter is second in command of the unit at present. All three are decorated soldiers, another first of its kind. Lt Col S P Abbey, the fifth commanding officer of the battalion, who has the distinction of commanding it for five years, recounted his days and his efforts put into nurturing the nucleus around which the battalion has shaped itself today. He also revealed that regiment has produced at least 10 generals which is an achievement in itself. Lt Gen Surjit S Sangra, COC-in-C, Central Command and Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts, was the chief guest at the function. Other former commanding officers present at the celebrations included Maj Gen Gurdip Singh and Maj Gen Karam Singh. A get together and barakhana was organised at the JCO's mess in the evening which was attended by a large number of serving and retired officers. The highlight of the evening was a colourful cultural function which included skits and spoofs on the way of life in the Army. Col B B Khurana is the present CO of this fine outfit. The most significant feature of the battalion is the continuous relationship between the old stalwarts and new officers. For instance, the third Commanding Officer of the battalion Lt Col A S Uberoi's, son, Col A K S Oberoi, joined the battalion and commanded it during the Siachen operation in 1988. The fifth Commanding Officer, Lt Col SP Abbey's son, Maj Ashok Abbey, is serving in the battalion. Col Rewat Singh commanded the battalion in 1965 while his son Col Khem Singh served in it. Maj Gen K S Kohli was the commanding officer during 1971 operations had his son, Maj B S Kohli, also served in the battalion. Maj Gen SPS Vains is another officer whose son is a para commando affiliated to 9 Dogras. The golden jubilee mela was organised this afternoon which was largely attended by the retired and serving officers besides their families and that of other ranks. Events included tug of war, charpoy race, needle race besides other activities. Joyrides for children had also been arranged. Events scheduled for
tomorrow are a wreath laying ceremony and a special
sainik sammelan.
|
Traffic
restrictions on R-Day CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — Several traffic restrictions have been imposed by the Chandigarh Traffic Police in view of the Republic Day function at the Parade Ground in Sector 17 tomorrow morning and for the "at home" function at the Punjab Raj Bhavan, here later in the day. The following traffic restrictions shall be imposed around the Parade Ground for the function in the morning: The road stretch from the Sector 16, 17, 22 and 23 roundabout up to the small rotary near Gurdial Singh's petrol pump Sector 22-A on the Udyog Path; from the Sectors 16 and 17 crossing up to the Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23 roundabout on the Jan Marg and from the traffic lights point near Lyon's Restaurant in Sector 17 up to the Parade Ground shall remain closed to the general public from 7a.m. till the function is over. No parking shall be allowed in the area in front of the shops in Sector 22-A market when the function is on. Senior officials and VIPs with authorised car parking labels on their vehicles shall be allowed entry from the Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23 roundabout on the Udyog Path and they can park their vehicles in the parking areas in front of the Sector 22-A market. Members of the public can park their vehicles in the parking area of the Sector 22-B market, adjacent to Blood Diseases Hospital, Sector 23-B, on the rear side of Neelam theatre in Sector 17; in the parking area of the football stadium and in the Circus Ground in Sector 17. All buses from Haryana, Punjab, HP and other places coming to the ISBT in Sector 17 shall be diverted towards the ISBT chowk from the Piccadilly chowk on to the Himalaya Marg till the ISBT. Later in the evening, during the "at home" function the following traffic restrictions will be imposed around the Punjab Raj Bhavan. The road stretch from the Sectors 5, 6, 7 and 8 roundabout up to T-point near the Golf Club and from the T-point near the Punjab Raj Bhavan onwards, towards the residence of the Adviser to the Administrator shall remain closed to the general public from 2 p.m. till the function is over. Invitees to the "at home" function with "pink car parking labels" shall park their vehicles in the parking area on the rear side of the Adviser's residence in Sector 7. The alighting facility for the visitors shall be provided in front of the entry gate of the Punjab Raj Bhavan. Self-driven cars of senior citizens with "pink car parking labels" shall be allowed in the parking area towards the Mini-Zoo. Invitees with "green car parking labels" should use the road dividing Sectors 7 and 8 to turn into Sector 7 and park their vehicles in the parking area adjacent to the Adviser's residence in Sector 7. Members of the Golf Club
will have to use the road from the SGGS College side to
approach the club after 2 p.m. |
Adviser
announces grant for participants CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — A colourful cultural programme was presented by school children on the eve of Republic Day at Tagore theatre here this evening. Mr Jagdish Sagar, Adviser to the UT Administrator, who was the chief guest at the function said he was impressed by the presentation of the freedom struggle through various events.He announced a grant of Rs 31,000 for children who participated in the programme. The programme started with "maa tujhe salaam" presented by children from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19.Group dances were presented by schools of GMSSS, Sector 40 and GGSSS, Sector 23. GGSSS, Sector 8 and GGSSS, Sector 18 girls presented patriotic songs. A skit on the freedom
movement was performed by GMSSS,Sector 46. Others who
were present on the occasion included Mrs Anuradha Gupta,
Home secretary, Mr K.K. Addiwal, Mayor,Mr R.K. Rao,
Deputy Commissioner and Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI. |
President's
medal for Head Constable CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — A Head Constable of the Chandigarh Police, Mr Jai Bhagwan, is to be awarded the President's medal for meritorious service on Republic Day, an official press release said here today. Mr Bhagwan has rendered 22
years of service and is currently posted in Sector 11
police station, the release said |
Employees
seek bonus
for '97-'98 CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The Federation of the UT Employees and Workers today urged the Chandigarh Administration to release the bonus for 1997-98 at the earliest. In a memorandum to the Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, the federation demanded bonus equal to 45 days' wages. The Central Government had already released bonus to its employees, it added. The other demands listed in the memorandum were regularisation of the services of the work-charged and daily-wage employees, filling of the vacant posts and creation of additional posts. Meanwhile, the UT Building
Maintenance Workers Union held a rally in Sector 17 in
support of their demand for the payment of bonus.
|
PU teachers
condemn attacks on Christians CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The Panjab University Teachers' Association in a press statement here today condemned the murderous attacks on Christians and the government's inaction in stopping uncivilised perpetrators of the crime. Dr Satya P. Gautam and Dr M. Rajivlochan, President and Secretary of the association, respectively, and at a time when the republic was celebrating the day of adoption of its Constitution, hoodlums across the country were able to get away with criminal behaviour because the government did not care to stop them. "The dilly-dallying by the government in identifying the culprits of the outrages against Christians in Gujarat and MP and the recent horrific attack on Dr Steins in Orissa are all the more condemnable as they were attacks on those who served our people selflessly".
|
Seminar on
birth of Khalsa CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The Punjab Vidyarthi Jathebandi will organise a seminar to commemorate 300 years of the institution of the Khalsa at the English Auditorium of Panjab University on January 29, a press statement said here today. Mr Jaswinder Singh Khun-Khun Kalan, President, said a large number of Sikh intellectuals, including Dr Jagvir Singh, Dr Gurbhagat Singh, Dr Gurnam Kaur, Dr Satinder Singh Noor, Dr J S Grewal and Principal Bharpoor Singh, would participate in the seminar. Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, will preside over the function, the note added.
|
PU principals seek release of Rs 9.78
crore CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The Panjab University Principals Association at a meeting held recently called upon the Punjab Government to release Rs 9.78 crore which was the backlog of grants. It was pointed out at the meeting that the colleges were facing a financial crisis. Dr A.C. Vaid, Principal of GGDSD College, said the association also urged the government and the UT Administration to implement the pension and gratuity schemes which had already been delayed. Another significant demand
pertained to the implementation of the UGC scales.
Principals would send telegrams to the Chief Minister,
Finance Minister and Finance Secretary in this regard, Dr
Vaid said. The association was also planning a convention
of all universities in the city shortly. |
PM may lay
rail project stone: Jain CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The foundation stone of the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link is likely to be laid by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, next month, Mr Satya Pal Jain, local MP, said here today. Speaking at a function after inaugurating a community centre in Mani Majra, Mr Jain said the Central Government was considering many projects for the city, including the power plant and its 3.5 per cent share from the BBMB. The Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, claimed that since the inception of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), an amount of over Rs 2.5 crore had been spent on the development of Mani Majra. More projects would be undertaken for the development of the township next month, he added. An amount of Rs 49.80 lakh
had been earmarked for the community centre to be
completed in two phases. Currently the first phase of the
community centre had been completed at a cost of Rs 29
lakh. |
Students
interact with Australian team PANCHKULA, Jan 25 — Students of Hansraj Public School here today played host to members of a Rotary-sponsored group study exchange team of Australia, who visited the school to participate in the Republic Day function organised by the students. Led by its leader, Mr John Holds, the team comprised Ms Suzanne Brion, an account manager, Ms Vicky Chatfield, a teacher, Mr Andrew Dimitri, an audiometrist, Ms Caroline Reichstein, an agronomist, and Mr Mark Modra, a farmer, Mr Geoff Schahinger, Governor of the Australian Rotary District, also accompanied the team. The Principal of the school, Mrs Rajani Thareja, told the team about the manner in which education was imparted in the school as well as various facilities it had for the students. The team members also participated in a "havan" and mixed with the children. The President of the
Panchkula Rotary Club, Mr Rakesh Mittal, and the
Director, Human Resources, Mr Parveen Goel, also
accompanied the team.
|
CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The annual examinations for the Bachelor of Business Administration and the Bachelor of Computer Application courses run by colleges affiliated to Panjab University will begin from April 15. The annual examinations for other undergraduate classes are commencing from April 1. The gap in case of BBA and BCA courses is on account of the reason that they commenced after other classes had begun at the beginning of the session. This decision was taken at a meeting of a committee to review the functioning of the courses which were introduced in the current session last week, sources said. The committee consisted of 29 members, mainly principals of colleges offering the courses. The practical examination for BBA will be conducted after the completion of the theory papers. The practical examinations for other undergraduate courses are commencing from March 15. In another significant decision the committee recommended that there would be no separate papers for General English and Punjabi. There would be only one common paper of 100 marks for both subjects. This has been done to keep maximum stress on the professional skills, the sources said. The sample paper for BCA is already out while the sample paper for BBA is likely to be available within two weeks. The sample papers would give an idea of the pattern of the final question papers to the candidates. The committee had met primarily with an aim to study the syllabi and the course structure. A number of principals pointed out portions of the course which were "either too easy or too tough" with an aim at rationalisation. Colleges are likely to make recommendations for changes in the syllabi. While confirming the fact that the college had made certain recommendations following the meeting, Dr A.C.Vaid, Principal of GGDSD College, said, "The course has to look better than that of B. Com. It also has to be more market driven". Meanwhile, it has come to
the notice of the authorities that in a number of
colleges offering BBA courses, the required teaching
manpower was lacking. Colleges were making use of the
guest faculty to complete the courses. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — A 13-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and gang raped by four youth in Colony Number 5 located south of Sector 44. The incident occurred on January 21 when the victim was sitting inside the hutment and four youth — Roshan, Madan, Jeet Ram and Babbu — came in and accosted the girl out. The victim was taken to a vacant hutment where the four allegedly raped her. The victim's parents lodged a complaint with the police. The police has arrested Roshan, Madan and Jeet Ram and booked under Sections 363, 366, 376, 506 and 34 of the IPC. The fourth, Babbu, is absconding. Car stolen: A Maruti car (PB-10-H-0120) owned by Mr Balram Kumar, has been stolen from outside a hotel in Sector 22. Two injured: Two persons have been injured in separate road accidents in the city. A resident of Amritsar, Lakhbir Singh, banged his vehicle into the roundabout at cricket stadium. An unknown scooterist was injured when he was hit by an unknown car on Madhya Marg dividing sectors 7 and 19. Both have been admitted to the PGI. Hospitalised: A
Sector 21 woman, Ms Monika Lath, was admitted to the PGI
after she consumed some poisonous substance at her
residence. Meanwhile, Mr Suresh Kumar of Sector 15 fell
down from the roof of his house. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 25 — The BJP-Akali alliance in the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has urged the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, to seek a vote of confidence at a meeting of the civic body on January 27. According to sources, the leader of the alliance, Mr Des Raj Tandon and an Akali councillor, Mr Mohinder Singh, in separate representations to the Secretary, Dr Amar Pal Singh, had urged him to include their items on the agenda of the meeting to be held on January 27. CTYC dharna: Members of the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress will sit in dharna outside the office of the Medical Officer of Health in Sector 17 on January 27 in protest against the insanitary conditions in the city, CTYC spokesman, Mr Manjeet Sehdev, said here on Monday. Demanded: The
Sweepers Union has demanded the extension of services of
sweepers working on daily wage for 89 days with the
office of the Medical Officer of Health, according to a
press note here on Monday. |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
