Monday, July 19, 1999
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N E W S Monday, July 19, 1999 |
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Booked for
killing national bird CHANDIGARH, July 18 — In a first instance of its kind of the year, the Punjab Wildlife Department has booked a Patiala-based hunter and habitual wildlife offender, for killing a peahen, the national bird, a monkey, and a black partridge, which incidentally, is the state bird of Haryana. Even as the killing of all of these animals is prohibited under various Sections of the Wildlife Act, the killing of peacock, a Schedule 1 bird, is strictly prohibited and invokes Section 51 of the Wildlife Act, according to which the accused, if convicted, could get a minimum punishment of one year's simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. Moreover, in case of conviction, the licence of the arm used in the crime stands cancelled automatically. According to Mr Gurmeet Singh, Director Wildlife Punjab, Ashudeep Singh, son of a Major and resident of New Officers Colony in Patiala, was nabbed by the Wildlife officials after being spotted by a naka party on the Daru Kutti bridge on July 8. He was also carrying the bodies of the animals at the time of the arrest. The bodies were, however, buried later in the Moti Bagh Wildlife Sanctuary with the permission of a Patiala court, which, after remanding the accused to judicial custody for two days, released him on bail. Meanwhile, the Wildlife officials maintained that Ashudeep was a habitual offender, but it was for the first time that he was booked for committing an offence. "We had received a number of complaints against him that he was killing animals and birds in the Khera and Dakala areas with his father's gun, but he could not be nabbed earlier," said Mr Jagdeep Singh, the Patiala Wildlife Officer. He added that these animals have also been killed by the accused with his father's gun. He said under Section 39 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1991, the arm used in killing Scheduled animals automatically becomes the property of the state and leads to the cancellation of arms licence if the accused is convicted. According to Mr Gurmeet Singh, it was for the first time this year that someone was caught red-handed killing animals, particularly peacock and monkey, which are considered sacred in the Hindu mythology. "Actually no one likes to kill these creatures for that very reason," he added, saying that the department had got a post mortem conducted of the creatures before their burial. Mr B.C. Bala, Chief
Wildlife Warden, said to prevent hunting, the Bir
Bhunerheri, Moti Bagh and Bir Gurdialpura Wildlife
sanctuaries in the district have been linked with a
wireless system, which was proving to be of great help in
checking wildlife crimes and had led to the prompt
nabbing of the offenders.
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Visiting
Railway VIP upsets schedule CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The morning New Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express, which tailed the Himalayan Queen carrying a special airconditioned saloon with a senior Railway functionary and his family on board, arrived nearly an hour behind schedule here today. The cause of the delay, sources said, was the VIP movement. Investigations reveal that Member Transport of the Indian Railways, accompanied by his immediate family members, travelled by a special airconditioned saloon attached to the Himalayan Queen, to Chandigarh this morning. Though officially, it has been entered as an "inspection visit", the visiting official and his family members immediately left for the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, to inquire about the welfare of an immediate relative admitted there. The Member Transport had accompanied the Union Railway Minister to the city last month when he came here to lay the foundation stone of SAS Nagar railway station to officially launch the work on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link. For his second "inspection visit" to the city within a month to a two-track small railway station like Chandigarh is unprecedented. When the Member arrived here, there was a lot of movement of senior functionaries of the Divisional Office of Northern Railway at Ambala. Most of them were here either to receive him or to attend to to him. In the evening, the Member Transport and his family returned to the Union Capital in the same airconditioned saloon as a part of the Himalayan Queen rake. Investigations reveal that during the summer vacation, personal visits are converted into "official visits" as senior functionaries, accompanied by their family members visit tourists resorts and other places in the special airconditioned saloons which are attached to the high speed long distance trains. One of the reasons given for delay in this morning's Shatabdi Express was that because of the "VIP" movement, the preceding train, the Himalayan Queen, had longer halts than the scheduled ones at inbetween railway stations. The longer halts were necessitated as Railway officials made a beeline to call on the visiting Member Transport. Since the VIP was in the preceding train, the Shatabdi Express could not overtake it. As a result, nearly 500 passengers travelling in Shatabdi Express were delayed by almost an hour. For the evening Himalayan Queen, special food was loaded for the VIP at Ambala cantonment station. Investigations reveal
that when senior Railway functionaries came here to
participate in a Golf Tournament here last year, a number
of special airconditioned saloons were requisitioned to
facilitate the VIP movement. |
Things
move at slow pace in Niketan CHANDIGARH, July 18 — It has been five days since seven inmates of the Nari Niketan, Sector 26, ran away from its premises. Things at the place, however, still seem to be far from reassuring. Though two runaways were caught by the police and returned to the Niketan, the dilapidated building from where these inmates ‘escaped’ is yet to be made safe. Even today the doors whose wire mesh had been broken and the glass pane of the main door which had been smashed by the girls remains as it is. And there are still no signs of grills, something which the Nari Niketan and its employees had hoped would come up after a similar incident had occurred two years ago. With three out of four guards on duty, since one had been suspended for “committing an act of serious misconduct and negligence” after the recent incident, and the only woman attendant on leave, it is becoming quite a task to look after the inmates of the Niketan, most of whom are mentally retarded and are seemingly all “charged and excited” after the runaway incident. The authorities also contend that since the mentally retarded and the handful of ‘normal’ girls have been put together under the same roof, and that too in a place where there is hardly any form of recreation, barring television, it becomes “natural” for the girls to want to escape. In fact, this Home cannot be visited without the prior permission of the Director of the Social Welfare, which also does not come very easy sometimes. It was in March that some women activists of the city had become vociferous about the “malfunctioning of the Nari Niketan”. And in the wake of the International Women’s Day, some of them had even managed to ‘barge’ into the Niketan without permission in order to “rescue” the girls. Predictably enough nothing much had happened, except a few columns of newspaper space. According to sources, the hospital committee of the Red Cross did write to the Chandigarh Social Board for taking some share of the responsibility but the reply is reportedly still awaited. Mrs Harjinder Kaur, President, Sikh Nari Manch, another organisation which had taken part in the protests that had been staged outside the Niketan couple of months ago against the “pitiable condition of the girls ‘jailed’ inside”, informed that for some time some members of the Manch did go and visit the Niketan regularly to check and try to work on the conditions present there. As of now, there are reportedly no social workers or any such activists visiting this Home. An employee of the Niketan bemoaned, “Even though this is the second time that such an incident has happened, still no measures have been taken to make any amends. One needs to have a proper infrastructure to work with — a set of trained employees is surely a must. Just a look at the building is enough to make one understand as to what are the levels of interest of the Administration in this Nari Niketan or even in the inmates. Why can women police personnel not be employed here, since this is not a Nari Niketan in the ‘normal’ sense of the word?” Meanwhile, this
depressing home for the destitute women — most of
whom do not even seem to remember who they are or where
they have come from, seems to stand in distress today
calling out for help. |
Concern
over disruption in phone services CHANDIGARH, July 18 — Mr Chaman Lal Sharma and Mr Amajit Singh Sethi, President and General Secretary of the Chandigarh Nagrik Sabha, today expressed their concern over the sudden disruption in services of Essar cellular telephones to the inconvenience of subscribers. They criticised the Department of Telecommunications for its abrupt decision to disconnect services to Essar telecommunication without ample warning to subscribers. The DoT should have given sufficient notice to subscribers so that they could have made alternative arrangements. They urged the DoT to immediately take over cellular services previously provided by Essar so that the subscribers did not suffer. The services can be restored to Essar once it gets clearance from the DoT. They said in case the
DoT failed to perform its duty, the Sabha would be forced
to take appropriate social and legal action against it. |
Ultimatum
on helmet order CHANDIGARH, July 18 — Different Sikh bodies have served a two-day ultimatum on the UT Administration to revoke the implementation of the "black law" which has made the wearing of helmets by all women drivers and pillion-riders of two-wheelers compulsory. At a meeting held at the Sector 34 gurdwara here today, the bodies, including the Sikh Nari Manch, Sikh Missionary College, the Gurmat Prachar Society, the Dashmesh Sewak Society, the Mata Gujri Sukhmani Sewa Society, the Sarbsanjiwala Sukhmani Society and the Mata Sahib Kaur Sewa Society, decided to hold a protest rally on July 19. The rally will start from the Sector 34 gurdwara and culminate after giving a memorandum to the Administrator. These bodies felt that the order had led to the curtailment of religious independence of Sikh women. Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Harjinder Kaur, President of the manch, said if a Sikh warrior could fight the Kargil battle without wearing any headgear, what was the need to force Sikh women to wear helmets. The bodies welcomed the
decision of the Gurudwara Coordination Committee to
reimburse the challan amount to every Sikh woman.
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Kurali
trader dies in Delhi KHARAR, July 18 — Rajinder Pal Singh Dhiman, a prominent industrialist of Kurali and former Vice-President of the Municipal Committee, Kurali, died under mysterious circumstances in Delhi on July 8 night. The family came to know of his death on July 16. Family members said today that Dhiman who was a producer of locks, had gone to Delhi to collect payment. They said that Dhiman did not return. They started looking for him on July 13. They visited Delhi and made enquiries about him from traders, hospitals and police. Suddenly the family received a telephone call on July 16 saying that “your man” was in a Delhi hospital. Family members reached Delhi and they were informed by the hospital authorities that some one from Chandigarh died on the night of July 8. The deceased was cremated there as an unidentified person. The family members recognised him from the photographs. It is suspected that he
might suffered a heart attack. |
Directive
on private candidates withdrawn CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The recent directive issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to disallow private candidates to appear in any Panjab University examination with effect from 1999-2000, has been withdrawn. This was stated here today in a press release issued by Registrar of the university. Private candidates could now continue to appear in university examinations as before, he said. This present directive
came as a relief to thousands of private candidates,
whose fate had been sealed by the earlier directive. The
directive to discontinue the facility of appearing
privately had been issued by the UGC through a letter
dated May 17. It had been condemned by student
organisations and members of university senate and
syndicate. |
Bank union
for end to discrimination CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The Canara Bank Staff Union presented a memorandum of demands to the Executive Director of the bank, Mrs Ranjana Kumar, here yesterday. The union protested against the discrimination in transfer and promotion polcies, saying that the Ghosh Committee recomendations on transfers be implemented. It demanded the regularisation of the services of daily wage workers and promotion of sub-staff to clerical staff. Mrs Kumar assured the
union leaders that she would look into their demands,
according to a press note of the union. |
SNIPPETS B.Com (first year) results today CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The results of B.Com (general) first-year examination of Punjab University held in May, 1999, will be declared on Monday, according to a press release issued by the Assistant Registrar (Examination), Mr P.K.Gupta. Students can make enquires about the results at the university counter tomorrow. Joint installation organised CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The joint installation of all 24 Lions Clubs international District 321-F from Chandigarh, SAS Nagar, Kansal, Kharar, Morinda, Chamkaur Sahib, Kurali and Ropar was held at Tagore Theatre here today. Mr Paramjit Kohli, District Governor and chief guest, said the joint installation had been organised to save money. This amount would be utilised for the education, health and marriage of poor girls, he stated. FPAI interactive meet PANCHKULA, July 18 — The Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), Panchkula branch, today conducted an interactive meet with parents and teachers on sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents and youth at Hans Raj Public School, Sector 6 here. Parents and teachers were educated on the global scenario vis-a-vis adolescent sexuality and the need for adequate and timely communication of information. Statistics of a survey conducted by the FPAI in three cities of North India revealed that there was a total lack of information on adolescent sexuality among youths between age group of 14 and 17. Mr Amit Gupta, Branch Manager, FPAI, Panchkula, said on the occasion that the programme would be subsequently carried to rural areas with the support and assistance of the school teachers. Need for adequate training for parents and teachers was also stressed. Residents allege poor amenities CHANDIGARH, July 18 — Residents of a part of Sector 45-A, while complaining of unhealthy surroundings, have alleged lack of basic amenities in the area. In a representation to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), the residents of flats Nos 486 to 491 said uneven vacant area near the flats was filled with rain water making it an ideal place for the breeding of flies and mosquitoes. This had become a serious health hazard, particularly for children. Moreover, the ground in front of the block of flats had not been developed with the result that children had no place to play. The stray cattle menace only added to the problem of the residents and discouraged children from venturing out. The rear walls of the flats were being used as open-air urinals by shopkeepers of the scrap market. Scrap materials like broken glasses and motor parts also lied dumped, putting the residents to a lot of inconvenience. The representation added that the streetlights in front of the houses were out of order. ‘Withdraw ST on petrol’ CHANDIGARH, July 18 — Mr Pawan Bansal, former Member of Parliament, today met the Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), to urge him to withdraw the recently levied sales tax on petrol and diesel in the union territory. Mr Bansal told the Administrator that because of levying of sales tax on petrol and diesel, prices of almost all essential commodities had gone up to burden an average citizen. He maintained that levying of a similar tax in Punjab and Haryana was necessitated on account of certain concessions given to one class of people or the other. Mr Bansal said that the response to his talks was very positive and he expected the Administration to roll back the hike to some extent. Mr Bansal also took up the case of footpath vendors and their plight. These workers, he said, provided services to a large number of people of the city and wanted that some arrangement should be made to to enable them to carry out their avocations without the fear of harassment by the enforcement staff of either the Estate Office or the Municipal Corporation. He said that even the promised identity cards have not been issued to these footpath vendors. Staffer ‘misusing’ STD
facility PANCHKULA, July 18 — Certain telephone subscribers of Basaulan village in Pinjore block in a representation to the General Manager of the Haryana Telecom Circle, Ambala, have alleged that an employee of the department was causing a loss of revenue by unauthorisedly allowing people to make STD calls from the Basaulan telephone exchange. The subscribers, Mr Randhir Singh, Mr Sita Ram, Mr Karnail Singh, Mr Santokh Singh, Mr Dev Singh, Mr Rulda Singh and others in their complaint said people go the Basaulan telephone exchange to make STD calls and the same were shown against the unsuspecting subscribers. One of the subscribers, Mr Randhir Singh, alleged that he had recently received a bill of Rs 2,165. But in the past seven years, he alleged that he had never received a bill exceeding Rs 200. 2 beggars jailed CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr H.S. Madan, today convicted Mohan Lal and Durjan Singh on the charge of begging in the city. He sentenced them to
imprisonment for the period they had already spent in
jail. Mohan Lal and Durjan Singh were arrested on July 10
from Sector 27 and Grain Market. |
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