Top UT appointments cleared
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — Several top positions in the Chandigarh Administration, lying vacant for the past several months, are expected to be filled next week as the Union Government is reported to have cleared the appointment of the new Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board, and the Finance Secretary.

The name of Mr Balbir Singh, an IAS officer of the 1971 batch and belonging to the AMGU (UT) cadre, has been cleared for appointment as Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board. The post has been lying vacant ever since Mrs Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh took up her new assignment as Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Mr Balbir Singh is presently holding the post of a Director in a Union Ministry. He will relieve the Adviser to the Administrator, Mrs Vineeta Rai, of the additional charge.

The Union Government has also cleared the appointment of Mr Rakesh Singh, an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, for appointment as Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration. He comes in place of Dr G. Vajralingam, who was repatriated in a sudden move in March this year eight months after his appointment in the Administration.

Mr Rakesh Singh had an earlier stint in the Chandigarh Administration as Managing Director, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation. He is expected to assume charge of his new assignment early next week to relieve Mr Satish Chandra, Managing Director, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO), of the additional charge.

Meanwhile, Mr Satish Chandra left for New Delhi today to undergo a two-week long training course.

After Mr Balbir Singh and Mr Rakesh Singh join here, the Administration is likely to send a panel of three names each to both the Election Commission of India and Central Vigilance Commission for appointment of the new Chief Electoral Officer and the Chief Vigilance Officer for the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

At present the additional charge of the Chief Vigilance Officer is being held by Mrs Vineeta Rai while Mr M. Ramsekhar, Returning Officer for the Chandigarh Parliamentary seat, and in his capacity as Joint Chief Electoral Officer has been holding the fort.

Another senior position to be filled soon is of the Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, where the name of Mr M.P. Singh, an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, has already been cleared.

The Administration has also appointed Dr Joginder Singh of Punjab as the new Director of Health Services. The post of Director has been bifurcated. The second part of the Family Welfare will be looked after by Dr N.P. Manocha, a top paediatrician of the city. His elevation as Director, Family Welfare, has been done as a special measure personal to him. Other modalities and details about this newly created post are still to be worked out.

Since the post of Director of Health Services has been conventionally being held by a doctor of the rank of Deputy Director, the Administration decided to fill the post by selecting Dr Joginder Singh. Since medical officers belonging to the UT cadre had staked claim on the post, maintaining that doctors being taken on deputation from Punjab were junior to them, the post should be filled from amongst them by appointing the seniormost doctor of the UT cadre.

A major change is also in the offing in the Engineering Department where an Executive Engineer of the Electricity Operations Circle has reportedly been cleared for current duty charge as Superintending Engineer. The post is being presently held by an SE who is a deputationist.

Woman missing for 3 days
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — A married woman, aged about 35 years, is missing from her Sector 35 home for the past three days while the Ceilo car driven by her was reportedly found under mysterious circumstances near Asron on the Ropar-Jalandhar highway.

The woman's husband, Mr Sushil Kumar Chandel, lodged a complaint with the Sector 36 police station today. He said that his wife Daisy had left home around 4 pm on June 8. Mr Chandel claims that the next day he received a telephone call saying that his car (DL-4C-F-7021) had met with an accident near the Asron police post and his wife was seriously injured.

The Punjab police authorities said that the car was found abandoned near a Bist-Doab canal and a diary was in it. There was no trace of the woman. The policemen on duty found the telephone number of Mr Chandel's Chandigarh home from the diary and called him up. The police has taken the car in possession and initiated proceedings.

While talking to The Tribune, Mr Chandel said he went to Asron where he was told by a Punjab Armed Police (PAP) jawan that a woman had left the car and went towards Ropar in rickshaw. Daisy had left home on June 8 and Mr Chandel informed his in-laws in Ludhiana about the same. The couple were married for eight years and have two sons.

In the complaint, he has mentioned that his wife had also left the family home around midnight on June 6 and returned around 11 pm on June 7. "Then she had gone to Beas where a dera is run by a particular sect," Mr Chandel said.

STD-PCO booths overcharging
Meters doctored
By Rupesh Kumar

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — The slackness on the part of the Telephone Department has encouraged some STD-PCO operators to overcharge from the public by doctoring their bill display machines. As a result, the residents are facing unwarranted hardships.

In accordance with the order of the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had increased the periodicity of National STD and ISD pulses in seconds per unit call and slashed the rates per unit call, much to the relief of consumers. To comply with the revised tariff, the operators were ordered to change the integrated circuits (ICs) according to the compatibility of their bill displaying machines. While some STD-PCO operators complied with the notification others did not pay heed.

Though the rates of the STD and ISD calls were slashed, some operators still follow the old rates as they have not put the required ICs to modify the programmes of their bill display machines. Mrs Shalini Sharma, a housewife, alleged that the Union Government had slashed the rates of both STD and ISD calls a couple of months back but She did not find any change in the rates charged by the operators.

Residents complain that PCO operators also overcharge on the local calls. It is well known that the operators are authorised to charge Re 1 on a local call of three minutes' duration but due to laxity on the parts of Vigilance officials of the Telephone Department, a user has to pay Rs 2 on a local call of three minutes.

Mr Shailendra Sachan, a schoolteacher, alleged, "The meters attached with most of the PCOs are doctored by operators. As a result, one local call hardly completes its duration of three minutes. "

Likewise, the ruling of the Union Ministry of Communications dated January 18,1999, allowed STD- PCO operators to install fax machines in their kiosks and exempted them of license fees for the same. The rates to be charged by operators for providing fax services were also left to the market forces. As a result, the fax service providers are making money at the cost of innocent customers. Mr Vivek Sharma, a post-graduate student, said, "There should be a rate bar on the fax service providers so that customers should not be overcharged and there should be uniformity on fax rates."

Telephone Department officials, accepted discrepancies in the rates charged by some operators. Mr K. S. Saini, in charge of customer services and complaints, said, "Though the operators overcharge from the customers but once we get a complain against any STD-PCO operators, if the operators are found guilty, we cancel their licence."

Due to the mischief of some operators, honest STD-PCO operators are feeling disgusted. Mr Satpal, an STD-PCO owner in Sector 46, said that due to the misdeeds of some operators, they lost face. He added that the licences of the erring operators should be cancelled and regular inspection of all the STD-PCO booths should be done.

3-day power cuts from today
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, June 11 — The proposed power shutdown for undertaking the work of crossing the 400-kv line on the 132-kv Ropar-Pinjore line by the Grid Corporation of India, has been planned from June 12 to 14.

The Executive Engineer, Operation Division, HVPN, Panchkula, said here today that the three-day shutdown will be daily from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Earlier, the shutdown was proposed from May 29 to 31.

No supply on the 132-kv sub-station at Pinjore will be available from the Ropar end during the shutdown period. Restricted supply would be fed to Panchkula and its surrounding areas to keep the load within the allotted limits. The Executive Engineer said load shedding by switching off 11-kv feeders in a rotation shall be undertaken.

During the shutdown period the following scheduled power cuts have been announced by the HVPN:

On June 12 — Sectors 1, 10, 15, 20 and 21, Old Panchkula, Maheshpur, Fatehpur, Kundi and Devinagar, Bhainsa Tibba and Saketri villages from 2 p.m to 5 p.m; Sector 6 , 7, 18, Industrial Area, Phase I and II from 11 a.m to 2 p.m.

On June 13 — Sectors 2, 5, a part of Sectors 4, 16, 17, Industrial Area, Phase-I, and Haripur village from 11 a.m to 2 p.m; Sectors 4, 8 , 9, 11, 12 rally village and Industrial Area, Phase-II from Mansa Devi complex, Bhainsa Tibba and Saketri villages from 2 p.m to 5 p.m; BEL factory from 11 a.m to 5 p.m.

On June 14 — Sectors 7, 18, 19, Industrial Area, Phase-II and water works in Sector 1 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m; Sectors 12-A, 14, 16, 17, Rajiv and Indira labour colony, Budanpur, Mansa Devi and Swastik Vihar from 2 p.m to 5 p.m.

The power supply to Chandimandir and its surrounding areas will remain suspended during the three-day shutdown period daily from 11 a.m to 5 p.m.

No power for 24 hours
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — Residents of a number of localities of Baltana village, near here, are going without power supply since yesterday evening.

According to residents of Saini Vihar, Shiv Nagar and New Model Enclave there has been no power supply to the area for the past more than 24 hours. “Though the entire village was without power supply till afternoon today due to burning of a transformer, but localities remained sans power even as the transformer was changed today,” complained a resident saying complaints to the authorities concerned yielded no results. He said due to power failure for such a long time the residents had to go without water supply.

Similarly, residents of Sector 44-B had to experience a terrible time last night due to frequent power breakdowns.

Water, power problems in Sector 29-D
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — Residents of Sector 29-D, particularly of The Tribune Colony, have been facing water and power problems for the past couple of days.

The residents have been getting a curtailed water supply — for one hour in the morning and one and half hours in the evening. Moreover, the pressure is so low that water does not reach the first-floor houses.

The overhead tanks have emptied with the result that the toilets have gone dry.

Similarly, power supply is very erratic. The low voltage and high fluctuation are a constant danger to electric gadgets. A few residents have already suffered losses to their TV sets and other appliances.

11 Congressmen stake claim for UT Lok Sabha seat
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — Nine candidates have staked their claim for the Congress ticket for the lone Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat. They are Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, Mr Venod Sharma, Mr Munish Tewari, Mr S.P. Kaushal, Mr Roshan Lal Batta, Mr Chaman Lal Sharma and Mrs Manjit Kaur.

Talking to newsmen at the residence of Mr Venod Sharma here this morning, Mr Harikesh Bahadur Singh, observer of the All-India Congress Committee, said that from the nine nominations received, the party would shortlist a couple of names from which the final selection would be made. "In all probability," he said, "the candidate will be from one of these whose nominations have been received by me here."

"In case the party wants me then I can visit the city again in continuation of this exercise," he added.

Mr Harikesh Bahadur Singh said that he would submit his report to the party high command. When asked whether he would recommend a name or a panel of names, he said it would depend on the party high command. "If they want a panel of names in order of preference, I will give that. If they want only one name, I will do that. And in case they want me to visit the city again, I shall do that," he added.

Mr Pawan Bansal has contested from Chandigarh for the past three consecutive terms while neither Mr Venod Sharma nor Mr Munish Tewari have been in the election fray before for the lone Chandigarh parliamentary seat. Mr Bansal had lost the last two elections to the sitting BJP MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain.

Among the others in the race for the party ticket include Mr Roshan Lal Batta, a lawyer, and Mr Chaman Lal Sharma, President of the Chandigarh Nagrik Sabha. Mr Sharma has been a former President of the Chandigarh Taxation Bar Association and at present heads the Chandigarh Club also.

While talking about the appointment of a new President of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, Mr Harikesh Bahadur Singh said that the purpose of his visit was not to look after organisational issues but assess the suitability of the party candidate for the coming Lok Sabha elections. The appointment of the CTCC chief, he said, would be made in due course of time.

'Shocking' PAN card
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — A resident of Sector 19, Mr Baljinder Singh Teja, applied for a permanent account number (PAN) — that is mandatory under the provisions of the Income Tax Department — and he was in for a rude shock when he received the PAN card a couple of days ago.

In place of his photo the department had put the photo of a woman, whose signatures are also appended below the photograph. He had applied for PAN in June last and after a year’s wait he has got a worthless card.

Constitution of Zila Parishad may be delayed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — The constitution of the Panchayat Samiti and the Zila Parishad are likely to be delayed in view of the changes brought about in the Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, as extended to the Union Territory, the notification of which was formally done by the Chandigarh Administration.

While the number of directly elected members from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat Samiti area has been extended from 15 to 25 members from six to 10 members at present, the clause pertaining to having representatives in the Panchayat Samiti from amongst the Sarpanches directly elected from among other Sarpanches of the Gram Panchayats in the Panchayat Samiti area has been omitted.

Similarly, the rate of number of representatives elected for every 1, 500 population has been lowered to every 6,000 population. The ceiling of a maximum of six persons and 10 persons to be elected in a Panchayat Samiti having a population of 90, 000 or more than one lakh has been removed and their number has been raised to 15 and 25, respectively.

What has raised the hackles of the elected members of panchayat is the way the number of persons to be elected has been raised arbitrarily. While the constitution of the Panchayat Samiti and the Zila Parishad have been delayed by the authorities on the pretext that some of the original provisions could not be applicable as the number of elected Sarpanches was very small, it defies logic to have a large number of elected representatives as per the amended provisions.

Another point raised by them pertains to their exclusion from the Panchayat Samiti. What was the compulsion in keeping elected representatives out of the samiti when it has been the practice traditionally. In the present scenario, the sarpanches would be placed in an unenviable position as the persons against whom they might have contested could be elected in this category, be at the helm of affairs, and make the going hard for them.

Moreover, what is the idea of having so many elected members when the old practice of having some nominated members was fine and was being followed successfully elsewhere in the country., they questioned.

Mr Pawan Bansal, a former member of Parliament, has strongly condemned the changes brought about in the act by saying that they were contemptuous of the feelings of the people and were pushed through with a view to benefit the ruling party. The changes had been done as in Punjab but the ruling party had failed to get a majority of their people elected. As such they needed their own men in the samities and the parishad,

This had not been blindly followed, contrary to claims by officials that the changes in Punjab are automatically effected here, but because the ruling party here too had suffered setbacks in the panchayat elections, he alleged.

It would take at least another year to demarcate the additional constituencies to be delimited in view of the increase of representatives to be elected, he opined.

On the other hand, Mr Satya Pal Jain, a members of the dissolved Lok Sabha , says that he has been taking up the matter since 1996 with the UT Administrator and the Adviser, urging them to hold the elections at the earliest. He has also written a letter in this context some days ago, he added.

Sources in the Chandigarh Administration, however, say that they have written to the Election Commission stating that elections are to be held for the constitution of the samiti and parishad at the earliest. A reply in this context is still awaited.

Press Council to probe assault on newsmen
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — The Press Council of India will probe all incidents of assault and attacks on journalists, newspaper owners, newspaper establishments, newspaper printing presses and their owners, newspaper vendors and also all incidents of obstruction to the distribution of newspapers that have taken place since January 1,1997.

According to a notice issued by the Press Council, a fact finding committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Justice P.B. Sawant, Chairman of the council. Other members of the committee are Mr O.P. Sharma, a former Chairman of the Bar Council of India and a member of the Press Council; and Mr M.D. Gangwar, senior journalist and a member of the council.

The fact finding committee will also look into complaints like harassment of journalists by arrests and detentions on false charges, threats to their security and their family members and other incidents, developments which have endangered the security of journalists, newspaper establishments, newspaper vendors, newspaper printing presses and their owners.

The council has urged journalists to send information to the council’s office at Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi, at the earliest.

15 sites fetch 3.62 crore for HUDA
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, June 11 — On the second day of an auction of commercial sites in this Urban Estate, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was able to sell 15 sites netting over Rs 3.62 crore here today. A total of 69 sites, including booths, showrooms and service booths, were put under the hammer.

Yesterday HUDA sold 44 out of 71 sites put to auction. A total revenue of Rs 11.88 crore has been earned during the two-day auction.

Terming the auction as successful, an official of HUDA said the revenue earned was the highest compared to the auctions held during the past few years. During the two-day auction at least 50 per cent of the sites were purchased by people from as far as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and different towns of Punjab.

In today's auction the highest bid was for a service booth site in Sector 12 which fetched Rs 21.50 lakh against a reserved price of Rs 9.97 lakh. Another similar site in the sector was sold for Rs 20.50 lakh against a reserved price of Rs 9.97 lakh.

The lower bid was for a booth site in Sector 12 (pocket ''A'') which was sold for Rs 7.67 lakh against a reserved price of Rs 7.63 lakh.

A showroom site in Sector 11 was sold for Rs 146.40 lakh against a reserved price of Rs 146.25 lakh.

A booth site in Sector 21, which was withdrawn in yesterday's auction, fetched Rs 11.60 lakh against a reserved price of Rs 11.55 lakh.

Besides, booth sites were also auctioned in Sector 4.

Councillors boycott meeting
From Our Correspondent

SAS NAGAR, June 11 — A Municipal Council meeting called by the Ropar Deputy Commissioner for the election of the Senior Vice-President and the Vice-President could not be held due to “lack of quoram.”

Nine councillors — Mr N.K. Marwaha, Mr Sukhjit Singh Sukhi, Mr Amrik Singh, Mrs Manmohan Kaur, Mr Kulwant Singh, Mr Amrik Singh Mohali, Mr Prem Bansal, Mrs Joginder Kaur and Mr Amrik Singh Bhatti — said they had boycotted the meeting and claimed the support of more municipal councillors.

Only the SDM, Mr O.P. Popli, who had come as an observer for the meeting, Mr Harinder Pal Singh Billa, President of the council, and Mr K.S. Brar, Executive Officer, were present in the meeting hall.

Mr Billa said that he had been informed about the Deputy Commissioner’s letter “only 40 hours” before the meeting but still he had managed to reach the venue. He said that election to the posts of the Senior Vice-President and the Vice-President had been due for a long time but could not be held as the council staff had been busy with the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations.

The protesting municipal councillors said they wanted the President to call a meeting for moving a no-confidence motion against him first, notice for which had been submitted on may 28. Today’s meeting could have been postponed by a few days since the decision to hold it was taken after that date.

Mr Billa said that he had received a letter from the Directorate, Local Government, stating that a High Court hearing in connection with a no-confidence notice moved earlier had been fixed for August 30, 1999, and as such he could not call a meeting linked with the present no-trust move. He said that the May 28 no-confidence notice was the fourth one during his four-and-a-half-year tenure as President of the civic body. Certain municipal councillors were more interested in removing him from the chair rather than looking after the town’s development, he added.

Mr Brar said that all the municipal councillors had been informed about today’s meeting “72 hours in advance.”

Mr N.K. Marwaha, a councillor said the President had the right to call a meeting on the no-trust move within 15 days after the submission of the notice. But since he had not done so the meeting would now be called by municipal councillors within 30 days from May 28.

This is the second time in less than a fortnight that municipal councillors have boycotted a civic body meeting.

The meeting called on May 31, which was also boycotted by municipal councillors opposed to the President, was to have cleared development works valued at over Rs 5 crore to be undertaken in the town.

Report on alleged kidnapping sought
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, June 11 — Mrs Neelam Arora, Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate of Kharar, has ordered the Police Department to submit its report till July 30, on a criminal complaint filed by Mr Jaswinder Singh of SAS Nagar under Sections 119, 120-B, 163, 166, 192, 196, 323, 325, 340, 350, 351, 352, 363, 442, 499, 500 and 506 of the IPC against Mr Devinder Singh Malhi, SHO, police station CIA staff of Patiala. Mr Gurdeep Singh, Sub-Inspector at Civil Lines, police station of Patiala, Head Constable Joginder Singh, Head Constable Dula Singh and Constable Sukhi, all of the police station CIA staff of Patiala.

According to an information given here today, the complainant has written in his complaint that on April 21, Mr D.S. Malhi and other policemen tried to kidnap Anil Kumar from his residence, 2215, Sector 40-C, Chandigarh. He said when he cried for help, residents of the area gathered. When he was taken to the Sector 39 police station in Chandigarh, the SHO said that Anil Kumar was wanted in a case in Patiala, so he was being taken to the CIA staff in Patiala.

He has written that on April 21, at about 9.30 p.m., Mr D.S. Malhi and other police officers came in a Maruti Esteem car (PH-10-L-2525) and forcibly entered the house, 1288-B, Phase 10, SAS Nagar. Complainant Jaswinder Singh, and his father, Mr Gurnam Singh, were taken at gunpoint in the car and a police Gypsy in which Anil Kumar was already sitting.

They have alleged that the SHO refused to tell them the reason for the arrest. The complainant and his father were kept in a room where there were no light and water. The complainant said that on April 22, his father was released after much persuasion but he was called by the SHO at his official residence where the SHO demanded a bribe and threatened to involve him in a false case, otherwise.

He said that Mr Gurnam Singh, thereafter, filed a habeas corpus petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a warrant officer was appointed to raid at the CIA staff in Patiala. The SHO allegedly got information about the raid and the complainant was shifted to a factory belonging to Mr Joshi. He said that he and Mr Anil Kumar were kept there till 11.30 p.m. and were brought back to the CIA office where they were allegedly tortured by adopting third-degree methods as the staff members were annoyed due to the raid.

He said that on April 23, the SHO manipulated documents and the complainant’s arrest was shown from Daulatpur, along with the seizure of a motorcycle (CH-01-3287). On April 24, the SHO allegedly called press reporters and told them a false story regarding the recovery of two stolen Maruti cars, one Bajaj scooter and one Yamaha motor cycle, whereas, no recovery was made from the complainant.

He alleged that the SHO obtained his signatures on some blank papers. He also alleged that when he was granted bail, the accused tried to kidnap the complainants.

They alleged that they still felt danger to their life and property and that they could be involved in some false cases by the police.

They alleged that the accused kept them in illegal custody, tortured them planted false evidence, forged official records, threatened life and property of a complainant and involved him in false cases.

He said that he had complained to the Chief Minister of Punjab, the DGP and others on May 10, against the accused but till date no action had been taken. He demanded that the accused persons be summoned, tried and punished.

Sonia to visit Chandimandir today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, will visit Chandimandir tomorrow to enquire about the health of defence personnel injured in the Kargil sector and undergoing treatment at Command Hospital, Chandimandir.

Stating this here today, the president of the Haryana Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said Mrs Gandhi would also visit injured jawans and officers in Srinagar and other places.

Mr Hooda took strong exception to a statement by the INLD president, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, alleging that Mrs Gandhi had not offered her condolences to the families of the defence personnel killed in the Kargil sector.

The Congress leader said, perhaps Mr Chautala was not in the habit of listening to news bulletins and telecast by AIR and Doordarshan or reading newspapers. Otherwise he would not have exhibited such ignorance about Mrs Gandhi's "extreme concern" over the killings of the defence personnel in the Kargil sector.

An emergency meeting of the Congress Working Committee under the chairmanship of Mrs Gandhi on June 1 had paid homage to the brave soldiers. Mrs Gandhi also instructed all Congress committees to participate in the cremation of martyrs. Mr Hooda claimed he himself had visited the families of several jawans and officers of Rewari, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts to offer condolences on Mrs Gandhi's behalf.

SNIPPETS

Army jawans ‘not better off’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — The All-India Ex-servicemen Welfare Association has claimed that it is a wrong notion that the Army personnel are better placed than their counterparts in the paramilitary forces.

Mr Bhim Sen Sehgal, Chairman of the association, has claimed that while jawans in the Army are discharged after 17 years of service at a time when they are 34 to 35 years old and need a second job, those in the paramilitary forces enjoy full service and other benefits like promotions.

This is why Army jawans after discharge are recruited in the paramilitary forces so that they can discharge their duties up to retirement. Other benefits enjoyed by the paramilitary personnel vis-a-vis the Army are better travel concessions and facilities and better chances for promotions, besides higher annual increments.

'Janta darbar’ at Kalka
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, June 11 — The district administration has imposed a ban on the sale of items other than fruits and vegetables in the ''apni mandis'' at Kalka, the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Saroj Siwach, said while conducting a janata darbar at a community centre at Kalka, near here, yesterday.

The ban has been imposed following complaints lodged in this regard by shopkeepers. Regarding a demand made by shopkeepers for allotment of shops, she said a committee had been formed to consider this demand.

She informed that space had been identified for parking of buses and taxis to avoid inconvenience to the people. Besides, the Central Government had approved the Pinjore-Parwanoo bypass from the Ambala-Shimla national highway which passed through Pinjore town.

After the residents of Kalka complained that doctors were generally absent from night duty, the Deputy Commissioner instructed the officials concerned not to leave their premises without the permission of the authorities concerned

Investors fear losing 60 lakh
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, June 11 — About 600 investors of Kharar and its surrounding areas are worried about losing Rs 60 lakh deposited with Incan Mutual Benefit Limited in its Kharar branch.

At a meeting held here, investors alleged that the company was not paying them the maturity amount. They alleged that they were not getting a proper reply from the company’s Kharar office.

The investors have formed a committee to fight for their cause.

The following have been elected the office-bearers of the committee: President — Mr Dharam Pal; Secretary — Mr Narinder Singh; and Cashier — Mr Mohinder Singh. They have appealed to the Punjab and Central governments to take the necessary action in this matter.

Blood donation camps for Kargil heroes
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — To help the Army men fighting in Kargil, the Chandigarh police organised a blood donation camp in the police lines here today. A total of 83 units of blood was donated at the camp.

A blood donation camp was also organised by the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) at the Command Hospital of the Western Command in Chandi Mandir, today. As many as 26 senior members of the organisation donated blood for those fighting in the Kargil sector.

The camp was inaugurated by Mrs Sushmita Malik, Vice-President of the AWWA, and wife of Lieut-Gen B.S. Malik, Chief of Staff of the Western Command.

Earlier, Mrs Malik accompanied by Maj-Gen Virendra Singh, Commandant of the hospital, visited the wounded soldiers who are convalescing here. She also distributed gift packets to the soldiers.

One-rank, one-pension demand
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, June 11 — A meeting of the All Ex-Servicemen League of Ropar district held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Capt Dharam Pal, criticised the Government of India for allegedly giving bad treatment to ex-servicemen.

According to a press note issued here, the League said the Union Government had not issued the notification on one rank,one pension. It said that all civilians retired from the Central Government service had got revised pensions as per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission but such notification had not been issued for defence forces.

It demanded that after the death of a pensioner, his wife should be given the same pension and not half of it. It said that the state government was giving Rs 250 per month as medical allowance to its employees, whereas the Centre had sanctioned only Rs 100 for ex-servicemen.

It demanded that ex-servicemen above the age of 65 should be given free travel facility by Punjab Roadways and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, considering them at par with freedom fighters.

It said that ex-servicemen and their wards living in and around Kharar were deprived of good quality education. It demanded that a central school with plus two classes should be established in Kharar.

Crime in Industrial Area up
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 11 — A three-member delegation of the Federation of Small-Scale Industries called upon the IGP, Mr S.K. Singh, to apprise him of the law and order situation in the Industrial Area. A press note of the federation alleged that crime was on the rise in the area.

It requested the IGP to convene a meeting of the Police Sadbhavana Committee.

The federation in a press note alleged that FIRs were not registered when thefts took place. Instead, the police harassed the complainants. They demanded that unauthorised scrap dealers sitting in the Industrial Area should be screened.