& V I C I N I T Y
Sunday, March 7, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Sunday, March 7, 1999 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
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Drug money
"funding terrorism" PSEB
plan to transform education Beware
of unscrupulous consultants |
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Riot
case against sect followers
Body
of Nepali youth found Food
Craft Institute to have training hotel |
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Public
toilet fittings stolen Basic
civic services may collapse Snag
hits phone services Unkempt
Yadavindra Gardens Hospital
gets EEG machine ‘Sant
yatra’ reaching on April 3 Public
school told to refund money |
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| Probe sought into encroachment | |
Programme on yoga therapy |
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Drug money
"funding terrorism" CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The poor rate of conviction in cases of drug peddling is alarming while India has become a trade centre of drugs . The illicit money from drug trade has made way into other illegal trades, including funding terrorism, opined the Chief Justice of India , Mr Justice (Dr) A.S. Anand. Besides, the drug dealers believed that the courts were weak. Thus there was an increase in smuggling. Acquittal was basically due to non scientific and disoriented investigation carried out by the agencies involved in nabbing drug dealers. In certain cases even the witnesses produced by the prosecution did not give the correct version, said the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Under the present laws there were one in four chances of acquittal for the arrested person during trial, he added. The CJI was speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop-cum- training programme on "Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Law and Society" at the Tagore Theatre in Sector 18 here today. When criminals were let off without punishment it had an adverse impact on society. And despite the NDPS Act, 1985, drug abuse was on the rise. He quoted an international report that said "drug trafficking is booming in India. The investigating agencies must put their heads together to curb drug abuse." During his talk the CJI also posed queries like do we need amendments to the present NDPS Act or special courts to deal with drug cases. Mr Justice Anand concluded by saying that more laws and prisons was not the answer. Implementation of the law would bring about change. Earlier, the CJI along with the Governor, Punjab, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd) lighted the traditional lamp to signify the inauguration of the seminar-cum-workshop that is being attended by judicial and police officials from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan , Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr Justice Arun B. Saharya, while giving out figures said it had been found that the quantity of opium recovered from the drug dealers and the quantity available in the malkhana varied. The possibility of these seized drugs going back into re-circulation in the market was not remote, he remarked. "Obviously investigation is tardy as challans are put in no more than 50 per cent of the cases", he said. He gave out figures to prove how few cases actually reached the trial process. It had been found that drug carriers were old, infirm and handicapped people. In certain cases even women were used as drug peddlers. They were into the trade only due to socio-economic compulsions, according to Mr Justice Saharya. The Punjab Governor, during his presidential address, said the illegal manufacture and sale of controlled substances had increased over a period of time. Drug trafficking today was a multi-billion dollar industry involving powerful international cartels to street dealers. many countries had adopted a legal framework. In India, however, the existing NDPS Act , 1985, threw up more questions than answers, he added. General Chhibber stressed the need for evolving a method whereby the law was able to reach the real offender besides making a distinction between a racketeer and a user in terms of imposing penalties. Among those present on the dais were Mr Justice Bhawani Singh, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, and Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Mr Justice Devinder Gupta. Earlier the CJI, upon his arrival was received by senior officials of the Punjab Government, the Haryana Government and the Chandigarh Administration besides senior Judges and members of the bar. In the afternoon members of the Bar Association presented a memorandum to the CJI demanding that vacancies of Judges be filled on top priority. The association demanded that a law bhavan, conference rooms, library, kitchen, dining rooms and rooms for lodging of outstation lawyers needed immediate attention. The unfurnished bar room
requires to be furnished with furniture, air
conditioners, false ceiling and carpeting, the memorandum
added. |
PSEB plan to
transform education CHANDIGARH, March 6 — A plan for education in the first quarter of the next century will be prepared during a four-day seminar on “school education and challenges” being organised by the Punjab School Education Board from April 2. This was announced by Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Chairman of the board, at a press conference here today. The seminar will be organised as part of the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations in which over 500 leading educationists from all over the country will participate. Collaborators for the seminar include the National Council of Educational Research and Training, the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration,the National Council of Teacher Education and the National Open School. Dr Ahluwalia said the present pattern of education would be come outdated in the coming century.The seminar will dwell on a UNESCO report which has come up with an agenda for radically transforming the system. The plan will be sent to the State Government for consideration. The board plans to introduce revised and updated books in almost all subjects. Updating has not been done for 10 years in several cases. A volunteer force of 300 students of private senior secondary schools and 50 teachers will be flagged off to Anandpur Sahib on the inaugural day of the seminar. These students will later perform seva at the tercentenary celebrations.The inaugural session will also witness a march by over 200 students who have won prizes in various state level competitions. The first ever encyclopaedia for school children, covering the past 300 years which has been compiled by the board, will also be released. Inauguration of the board’s website is another important event marked for the first day of the seminar. Computer courses will be introduced in six adarsh schools run by the board. At least two new “adarsh” schools will start functioning soon. Dr Ahluwalia said the board had blocked attempts by certain non-affiliated schools (about 56) to get their students enrolled as regular students, illegally. The board has unearthed a
racket of fake textbooks being printed. One such racket
was unearthed in Jalandhar recently. The board plans to
introduce improved cover titles for textbooks with
computer-code numbers.
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Misprints in
Class XI English paper CHANDIGARH, March 6 — On the first day of the Class XI examinations of the government schools of the city, a lot of resentment, from both the students and the teachers, was reported at the ‘experiment’ of providing every school with a common question paper for the class, here today. According to sources in various schools, the English paper today not only had many misprints in the question paper, but the misprints also reportedly took more than half the time to be corrected. It was also reported that questions in the paper worth 12 marks were “very tough”. This was the first time that the decision to provide all the government schools with a common paper for Class XI was taken. The Deputy Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Singh, said that there were very few mistakes in the paper and these were corrected in less than half-an-hour’s time. He also said that all the papers would be collected at one particular place, assigned fictitious roll numbers and distributed to various schools for evaluation. He disclosed that the
marking scheme had been finalised after a meeting with
principals and head examiners. |
5 sets of
papers to prevent copying CHANDIGARH, March 6 — To prevent copying in the annual examination being conducted by the Punjab School Education Board, the board will provide five sets of question papers in each subject. Announcing this at a press conference here today, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Chairman of the board, said the contents of each paper will be different but based on the common syllabus. The seating arrangements will be“odd” to ensure that the persons sitting at the back and towards the sides of each candidate have a different set. Dr Ahluwalia said the
colour of all sets of papers will be the same in order to
prevent identification of common sets by students. The
pattern of question paper, however, has not been changed
this year, he added. |
Overloaded
tempos a danger DERA BASSI, March 6 — Overloaded tempos and autorickshaws plying here endanger the lives of the passengers. They also do not meet the standard passenger safety norms. About six such vehicles operate from the local bus stand to Chandiala village, 9 km from here. This mode of transportation is popular with commuters of Dhanoni, Mehandpura, Fatehpur (Jattan), Karkor, Baroli, Amlala and Chandiala villages. Sometimes, the students and employees are forced to use these as there is no regular bus service. The owners of these tempos charge Rs 4 to Rs 5 per person and load the vehicles beyond capacity. Passengers can be seen sitting on roofs and mudguards and even hanging from the tempos. Residents of the area allege that operators have not been permitted this route and are hand in glove with transport authorities. As a result, only bus service has been suspended. The horse-cart owners allege that tempos have adversely affected their trade as people prefer the faster vehicles. As there are hardly any takers for their means of transport, they have shifted to transporting goods, which is not profitable. They further allege that wards of some influential persons are operating these vehicles, so transport authorities dare not stop them. According to rules, one
tempo is permitted to carry only seven passengers, and
the defaulter is fined Rs 2,000. The authorities have
denied any violation of the rule. |
Riot case
against sect followers PANCHKULA, March 6 — Several members of the Manav Kendra of Ruhani Satsang at Bhainsa Tibba village have been booked by the police for obstructing the enforcement staff of Harayana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) while they carried out demolition of unauthorised structures at the kendra yesterday. The enforcement staff escorted by a strong posse of police and led by officials of the district administration had swooped on at the kendra last evening to axe illegal structures raised at the kendra. The drive was, however, abandoned midway after stones were hurled at them, resulting in injuries to some members of the police force. A case of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt and obstructing a public servant in discharge of his function has been registered against the members of the sect on a complaint filed by the local Estate Officer of HUDA, Mr N.K. Singla. Mr Singla in his complaint
said several members of the sect, around 400, led by two
sewadars — Balwinder Singh and Kewal Singh —
obstructed the staff from carrying out the demolition.
Some persons laid down before the bull dozers and hurled
stones at them. |
Petrol pump
looted CHANDIGARH, March 6 — In a daring robbery three youth looted a petrol pump in Sector 39 and took away a sum of Rs 10,000 besides a scooter, police sources said tonight. The youth had come on foot and were armed, according to the complaint. A case has been registered in the Sector 39 police station. When the three youths
walked in, there were three attendents int eh petrol
pump, Manjit Singh, Devraj and Suresh Kumar. The three
robbers pointed a pistol and asked the attendents to open
almirah. They took out the sum and decamped on a scooter
owned by one of the attendents, who were locked in a
bathroom. The looters also took away a watch and a purse
of Suresh Kumar, an attendent. |
Body of
Nepali youth found PANCHKULA, March 6 — The body of a 16 year-old Nepali was found near Sultanpur village yesterday. The victim’s throat had been slit with a sharp-edged weapon. The deceased, Amit, was working as a hawker with a new agency in the area and was apparently murdered due to rivalry with some persons working with him. The police has registered a case of murder. According to the information available, the victim was seen with two unidentified persons who had accompanied him on a bicycle on the evening of March 4. The victim was identified by his father who works in a poultry farm in the area. Sources in police said two
persons had been rounded up in this connection. |
Are cops
hiding something? CHANDIGARH, March 6 — A young girl who met with an accident — or rather, she opines it was a case of brutal eve teasing — is in a state of shock as she lies admitted in the PGI for the past three days. Besides suffering a few broken bones and facial scars, she is appalled at the “improper” investigation done by the police. The police presented a man in his late thirties in front of her, saying that he was driving the rogue car (DNB-5088) on March 3 when the accident occurred in Sector 15. But the girl in her complaint had clearly specified that the driver was in his late teens. She repeated that she was conscious when the accident occurred and the driver was a young man. Is the police trying to hide something? Who was the young driver and did he have a licence ? These are the questions on the lips of the girl’s parents. They may not be difficult to answer as the car is with the police and it knows the address and other details of the family that owns the car, said family members of the injured girl. The girl, Ms Suchika Narang , a final year student of BSc, (Radiology) at the PGI was on her scooter ( CH-01-K-8019) when the car collided with her. Ms Narang says the young boy , after the accident , was smiling as she was screaming for help. The driver panicked and ran off, leaving behind the car. “The youth turned the car towards me with the motive of mischief”, the girl has told the police. The driver was wearing a sweatshirt and light blue denim jeans . He is fair complexioned, has a round face and is about 5’-5”, she says. The girl may not be able to take her examinations this year as her fractures may not heal by then and she may even require surgery. Meanwhile, it was learnt
that the police, which has registered a case, has
despatched a party to Delhi to verify the antecedants of
the young man . |
College
colour for 65 students CHANDIGARH, March 6—Suman Goyal and Jaswinder were awarded the roll of honour in academics for topping in zoology and chemistry honours, respectively, in Panjab University, at the convocation and annual prize distribution function of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, here today. The roll of honour was also awarded to Bikramjit Singh and Rohit Abbot for NCC, Jaswinder Singh for cocurricular activities and 12 sportspersons of the college for different games. The college colour went to 65 students for sports and cocurricular activities. Chanchal Narang of BA III and Niraj Singh of the same class were declared best students for 1997-98 and 1998-99, respectively. Degrees were conferred on eight postgraduates, 247 graduates of BA, B Sc and B.Com and 33 honours’ students of the three streams at the annual convocation of the college. The Chief Guest, Mr M.S. Malik, Inspector General of Police (Haryana), presided over the function and presented the convocation address. Stressing that perseverance paid in the long run, he said that students needed to develop the killer instinct in themselves to achieve success. The five Cs — character, commitment, concentration, courtesy and courage — were the key to achieving the goals set by the students. He gave Rs 11000 to the college on the occasion. Earlier, the Principal, Mr
P.S. Sangha, read out the college report in which he
highlighted the achievements of the college students,
lauded the efforts of the teachers and elucidated on the
various activities of the college. |
Students
celebrate Khalsa tercentenary CHANDIGARH, March 6 — As a part of the tercentenary celebrations of the formation of the Khalsa Panth, students of Sri Guru Ram Das Public School, Sector 19, presented a cultural extravaganza, today. The curtain on the programme was raised with a song by the school choir followed by an invocation, a call by Guru Gobind Singh to initiate the formation of the Khalsa and a song in praise of the Guru. After beginning on a religious note, the students came up with a lively performance to the tune of the catchy “Boogie-Woogie” number. The girls in pink and white satin frocks were escorted by boys dressed in white shirts, black pants complete with red bow-ties. Then, the little children transported the audience to old MacDonald’s farm where birds and animals lived in harmony with each other. The sizzling Barbie doll number, with girls in red frocks tapping their feet with enthusiasm, added spice to the programme. The school choir presented English songs in praise of God. Next came the ‘Panj Pyaras’ in the satin `kesri’ coloured kurtas with white ‘churidaars’ and blue turbans. They enlightened the audience of the lineage of the Gurus and spiritual history of Sikhism. The programme wound up with a tableau, titled ‘Harmony’, which found students representing people from across the country, on their way to Anandpur Sahib, to join in the celebrations. The scene of were Himachalis, Haryanavis, Bengalis, Ladakhi belles, Maharashtrians and Gujaratis accompanying their Punjabi counterparts dancing to Anandpur Sahib lent colour and rhythm to the tableau. The chief guest was Mr Bharpoor Singh, Secretary of the Sikh Education Society. Some members of the management expressed their appreciation by giving cash to the participating students. Earlier, the Principal of
the school, Mis S. Ahluwalia, welcomed the guests and
highlighted the activities of the school in the session. |
Public
toilet fittings stolen CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The shopkeepers in and visitors to the Sector 46 market will not be able to avail themselves of the toilet facilities here for some more time, as some sanitary fittings have been burgled from the newly-constructed toilet block. According to shopkeepers, the toilet block, which was yet to be inaugurated, was handed over to the Market Welfare Association by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh(MCC) last week. The association had locked it till the inauguration. Today, the shopkeepers noticed that the lock had been tampered with and water was overflowing. When the door was opened, it was found that all metal fittings, including faucets, had been taken away. However, the ceramic fittings, mirrors and commodes, were untouched. Mr Anil Katyal, a
shopkeeper, thinks that the location of the toilet block
and the absence of streetlights might have made the job
of the burglars easy. He says shopkeepers and the general
public would be inconvenienced, as it would take some
time before the fittings were reinstalled and the toilets
made operational. |
Beware of
unscrupulous consultants CHANDIGARH, March 6 — Tales of students thrown away in little-known universities abroad, illegal work permits and even quick-fix marriages abound in plenty in the city. With the mushrooming of agents and consultants who ‘specialise’ in sending students to foreign countries, TNS came across a couple of sad tales of such students. “There have been cases where students have been sent to countries like Japan, Korea, and Cyprus, through ‘donkey-rolling’, which means that they were put into drums and then sent to a particular country, or with corpses in trucks”, a consultant said. “I am a student at a college in Cyprus, and came here five months back. Though my agent in Chandigarh, Sector 17, told me that a lot of work was being done here, and even the Principal of my college promised me work on getting here, I came here to find nothing at all. Student life is in danger here”. This letter was received recently by TNS, telling the plight of an Indian student ‘sent’ to Cyprus, for ‘good’ education and work prospects. The consultant in Sector 17, against whom this complaint has been received, has certificates pinned on his office walls, claiming to be appointed representatives of various colleges in Australia and Cyprus. With the owners of the consultancy reportedly away in Delhi, the office refused to give application forms over the counter. “These need to be filled in here and submitted to us. We don’t let anyone take these forms with them”, said the secretary. The firm charges Rs 35,000 for a student visa. “There is a lot of exploitation that goes in the name of settling persons abroad. We have around 18 authorised agents that provide employment to people abroad. But unlicensed consultancies can only advise persons. And are not authorised to provide them with employment. This amounts to a cognizable offence”, said Mr Ravjit Singh, Protector of Emigrants. According to a clause in The Emigration Act, 1983, “Recruitment by employers” is only “to be through recruiting agent or under permit”. Work permits, reportedly, can be obtained only on the commencement of the course applied for, and after the institute concerned gives a letter stating the same. No consultant can provide a work permit within this country itself. A consultant in Mohali, Phase X, who promises on-the-spot admission and work authorisation for Australia charges Rs 4,000 (“refundable”) and Australian $200, as processing and registration fee. Students also sometimes feel cornered due to want of correct information. “Different consultants give different information. There seems to be no set pattern of fee-registration etc, said Mohan Singh, aspiring to study and settle abroad. Though most of these consultants operate from small and cramped offices, they claim to have head offices abroad, Chandigarh has its share of up-market consultancies as well. An impressive office in Sector 17 even has a computer library that coaches its student-clients, on various tests like GRE, GMAT and TOEFL. “Our focus is on settling clients comfortably abroad”, said the two operational directors, Mr A Sandhu and Mr S Grewal. Without promising work permits in Australia, they only counsel students, “who have to deposit a registration fee of Australian $50, when they reach the country”, Mr Sandhu added. Another education centre in Sector 9, also provides all kinds of assistance to students wanting to study in Australia, in the form of a library and Internet, but free of cost. The centre, according to its manager, Ms Shalini Kahlon, is jointly owned by 180 institutes and has a “huge infrastructure to help students without charging any commission. In fact students sometimes keep on asking us the rates for our assistance, but there are none”. Said Wg Cdr DPS Bajwa, who runs a consultancy in Sector 34, “Many people want to go to countries like Switzerland, Cyprus, Ireland and France, because education is cheaper there. Switzerland and Cyprus also provide students, doing courses that include industrial training, with wages”. Most agents, charge higher for such countries. If the processing fee for Australia and New Zealand is Rs 5,000, then that for Cyprus varies from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. In fact, for a fee of $US
200, those wanting to study medicine in the USA, do not
have to be overly concerned about the fact that student
visas for countries like the USA have almost become
impossible to get, because there are consultants that
provide the same. One such consultant in Sector 21,
counsels and sends students to the USA. |
Snag hits
phone services CHILLA (SAS NAGAR), March 6 — Scores of telephones in 19 villages in SAS Nagar are non-functional because of a possible technical snag for the past fortnight. The telecom facilities have virtually come to a standstill in Chilla, Manauli, Chau Majra, Dhurali, Prem Garh, Bakarpur and several villages as far as calls made to areas outside the Manauli exchange are concerned. Villagers can, however, call within the limits of the exchange. Residents complain that officials did not give a satisfactory reply regarding the fault or when it would be corrected. According to Mr Mewa Singh Gill of Chilla, “The maintenance staff does not respond positively to complaints”. Residents complain that whenever they approach the complaint office at Kharar, the authorities tell them that the faults would be rectified only when the department deploys permanent maintenance staff. Another resident, Mr Desh Raj, says, “My son-in-law is admitted in hospital and we are not able to get in touch with him because of faulty telecom services”. The nearest public call office from Chilla is in Phase XI, SAS Nagar, about 4 km away. Another facility is at Sohana, about 7 km away. It is inconvenient to travel to these places for making calls, particularly at night. Bad roads aggravate the problem, residents say. A housewife in Manauli Ms Janak Dulari, says the problem is not being faced for the first time. The exchange had developed faults on several occasions in the past. No official was available
for comment at the Manauli exchange around 12 noon, when
this correspondent visited the site. Repeated calls to
the Kharar telecom office also proved futile. |
Hospital
gets EEG machine PANCHKULA, March 6 — The health authorities are contemplating to install a CT scan machine at the local General Hospital. This would enable the doctors at the hospital to attend to cases which have to be referred elsewhere. The authorities are hopeful that budgetary provision for installing the facility would be made in the next financial year. Besides, a sinusendoscope, hysteroscope and a gestroscope — expected to be installed at the hospital in the coming three months at a cost of about Rs 40 lakh — would be functional in the next three months. A EEG machine, costing Rs 1.5 lakh, which has started function at the hospital would enable the doctors to diagnose brain disorders. The government hospital is the second one in Haryana to get the EEG machine after Bhiwani. A microwave traction machine for physiotherapy, costing Rs 7 lakh, has also become operational. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Mr H.C. Nagpal, said that to tackle the problem of rush of patients at the hospital the administration had sought expediting of the the construction work of the new 150-bed hospital so that the emergency ward became operational in the next six months. For the time being a 20-bed facility was being started in a logistics store, located adjacent to the existing hospital building. Meanwhile, 28 units of
blood were collected at a blood donation camp organised
to mark the second foundation day of the Blood Bank at
the hospital yesterday. The blood camp was inaugurated by
the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Saroj Siwach. |
‘Sant
yatra’ reaching on April 3 CHANDIGARH, March 6 — As part of the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa, a massive “sant yatra”, being organised under the aegis of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), will arrive in the city on April 3, Mr B.L. Sharma “Prem”, a former BJP MP and Central Secretary of the VHP, said here today. Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Sharma informed that the yatra, which would start from Patna, birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, on March 18 would cover a distance of over 3,500 km before culminating at Anandpur Sahib on April 13. Mr Sharma, who as the route “pramukh” for the yatra is touring various parts of the country, informed that various works of Guru Gobind Singh would be translated into Hindi so that the Hindi-speaking population could benefit from the holy literature. Mr Uma Shankar Sharma, another Central Secretary of the VHP, who along with Mr Charanjiv Singh will be one of the leaders of the yatra, said over 700 prominent saints and 200 VHP activists would arrive in Chandigarh from Paonta Sahib on April 3. After a massive rally here the next day, the yatra would proceed to Fatehgarh Sahib. The main aim of the yatra
was to create communal harmony and self-respect between
the Hindus and the Sikhs, the communities which shared
centuries-old relationships, the VHP leaders added. |
Public
school told to refund money PANCHKULA, March 6 — The Local consumer court has directed a local public school to refund Rs 200 deposited by a resident of Sector 16 while seeking admission of his ward to the Nursery class. The order was passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on a complaint filed by Mr Gyan Chand Satsangi. The complainant said that he admitted his son to Blue Bird Model School in Sector 16 here and deposited Rs 1420, which included the admission fee and security fee. He alleged that in the subsequent academic session when he sought admission of his son to nursery class he was asked to deposit Rs 1085. He requested the school authorities to refund an amount of Rs 720 but in vain. The school authorities on being served a notice by the forum said that the complainant had neither given a written notice nor had he expressed his intention to withdraw his child. The charges of Rs 720 which had been charged during the admission of his ward to nursery class were charged every year whether admission was new or existing. In its order the forum
observed that there was no dispute regarding depositing
of the security amount. As per the conditions published
in the school prospectus the complainant had neither
written to the school authorities or shown his intention
to withdraw the child. Thus he was entitled to get the
security amount of Rs 200. No deficiency has been found
on the part of the school, it said. |
Government
silence irks aided school teachers DERA BASSI, March 6 — On the call of Punjab State Aided School Teachers and other Employees Union, thousands of women teachers staged a massive dharna to press for the acceptance of their long pending demands, here today. The teachers also took out a procession through the streets of the town and raised slogans against the Government and the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh. The agitating teachers are demanding the implementation of the fifth Pay Commission scales with effect from January 1, 1996, pensionary benefits to aided schools, increase in medical allowance and house rent on a par with government school employees. The rally blamed the Finance Minister and his department for the present crisis. The union also condemned the provocative statements of Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh and the stony silence of the government towards their demands. They have been agitating for the past one month. Mr Lashkar Singh, Acting President of the union, criticised the government for deducting the quantum of grant-in-aid to aided schools. Mrs Pritam Kaur, Vice - President, said that while celebrating the tercentenary of the Khalsa Panth, the Akali Government had taken steps to close down more than 484 schools which include 150 Khalsa schools in the state. Those who addressed the
rally include the Mohan Lal Chopra, General Secretary, Mr
Surinder Sharma and Mrs Pritam Kaur. |
Teachers
want suspended colleagues back CHANDIGARH, March 6 — Against the policy of the Education Department to take teachers on deputation from other states, a delegation of Government Teachers Union of Chandigarh met Mrs Anuradha Gupta, the Education Secretary, here today . The delegation also raised the issue of reinstatement of suspended teachers of Government High School, Sector-38. The union is also demanding the appointment of the seniormost principal as Deputy District Education Officer , release of seniority lists of all categories of teachers, to confirm all teachers who have completed two years of regular service, release of revised pay scales to the teachers who have opted for central pay scales and to fill all vacant posts of lecturers at the earliest. Tougher laws sought DERA BASSI, March 6 —
The Punjab Finance Minister, Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, has
advocated stringent laws for eradication of
untouchability from the society. Speaking in a seminar
here today, organised by Social Welfare Department of
Punjab, he alleged that certain political parties who
vowed to eradicate untouchability before an election,
encouraged it after the poll. |
A nostalgic
reunion CHANDIGARH, March, 6 — Bespectacled, silver-haired engineers of yesteryear greeted each other with embraces. Earnest voices rang out in the hall as batchmates of Maclagan College, Lahore, met at the evening organised at the Institute of Engineers, Sector 19, here today. The reunion of the young-at-heart “old” boys of Maclagan College, which was rechristened Punjab Engineering College in 1953 after being shifted to the city, had some very nostalgic moments as eight engineers of the 1947 batch, from across the border, made their maiden appearance. They were given a rousing welcome by their Indian counterparts on their arrival even as some of them hurried towards the group of Pakistanis with photographs which had turned yellow with passage of time and which they had held dearer than life to keep memories of their college life alive. They gushed about inquiries of friends and batchmates, and in their enthusiasm, failed to listen to responses to their queries. “We have photographs of our batch back home and we sit together and reminisce about college days whenever we get together. It is great pleasure to be in India and the grand reception we have got has been overwhelming,’’ says Mr Khwaja Tariq Mahmood, of the 1947 batch of the college. Brig Akhtar Hafeez adds, “40 per cent of the people of my batch are not alive anymore so it all the more interesting to meet the few that seem hale and hearty. We are trying to chalk out a programme which will make possible this visit annually. Moreover, with Mr Vajpayee’s visit, visa obstacles are bound to be relaxed.” Mr Mohammad Abdul Hameed explains,``Whatever be the feelings on the political front, feelings between people of the two countries are crystal clear. Even before we actually landed in India, there was tremendous excitement about coming to India and meeting long-lost friends.” General Waheed Arshad said that this was one moment when words failed him. Mr Raja Akhtarullah Khan expressed his joy by expressing his desire to come back to India soon. They come with the hope of renewing ties with India and build bridges. Mr Jagman Singh welcomed the guests and recited couplets befitting the occasion in Urdu which elicited appreciation of the visitors. During interaction, most
of them spoke of the pranks they played and recollected
moments of glory they had shared even as they prepared
for the meet of the Old Boys’ Association to be held
tomorrow. |
Food Craft
Institute to have training hotel CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The Sector 42 Food Craft Institute will soon become the first such institute in the country to have a training hotel attached to it. The foundation stone of the training hotel will be laid by the Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), on March 13 as a part of the week-long silver jubilee celebrations of the institute. Talking to newspersons here this morning, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Institute, said that the training hotel will serve two purposes. On one hand it will supplement, the public requirement of more hotel accommodation in the city and on the other, it will provide sufficient training facilities to the students. Mrs Gupta said that the training hotel will have 20 guest rooms, including four suites, conference facilities besides food and beverage outlets. It is also expected to generate funds. Set up in a hostel of the Sector 26 Central Polytechnic in 1974, the institute has come a long way, especially after shifting to its own premises in Sector 42. Until 1981, it was functioning as an autonomous body under the Department of Food of the Union Government. Thereafter, it was taken over by the Chandigarh Administration which subsequently allotted a three-acre plot on which the present building was completed in 1994. The institute, which runs year-long diploma courses in front office, food and beverage service, cookery, bakery and confectionary and housekeeping has an annual intake of 240 students. The courses at the institute are supplemented by six months’ industrial training in hotels. The institute‘s credibility can be judged from the fact that reputed hotel chains in the country, including the Taj group, Clarkes group, Claridges, Park Hotel, Welcom group, Oberoi group and Hyatt Regency, come here every year for on-the-campus recruitment. This year, 55 of the students have been recruited by the Taj group, she added. The Institute has been organising workshops and seminars for the benefit of students, industry professionals and general public. The Nimantran training restaurant and Elevenses pastry shop, which form the commercial backbone of the institute, besides providing hands-on training to the students, have become very popular with the public for good quality and reasonable prices. Housekeeping trainees also make dry flower arrangements and decorative clay pots for sale, Mr Alok Shivpuri, Principal of the institute, said. The silver jubilee
functions include a seminar on cleaning technology —
Housekeeping 2000 — on March 8 followed by another
seminar on loans for students for studies abroad by the
State Bank of India on March 10. The Institute Sports
meet is on March 9. A talk on communication skills will
also be organised on March 10, as also public
participation in flower arrangements, baked desserts and
salads contests.There will be a talk on entrepreneurship
on March 11 followed by the annual prize distribution
function and a cultural programme by Jalandhar
Doordarshan. On March 13, the Administrator of Chandigarh
will lay the foundation stone of the training hotel. The
celebrations will conclude with a silver jubilee dinner
on March 14. |
Basic civic
services may collapse CHANDIGARH, March 6 — “Basic civic services have deteriorated at a rapid pace here. The sanitaton is the worst affected. If no immediate steps are taken, the chances of a major epidemic like that of Surat can break out here any time,” warns Mr J.S. Kohli, a former Chief Engineer-cum-Secretary, Engineering Department, of Chandigarh. Mr Kohli retired in 1987 as Chief Engineer after joining here in 1974 as a Superintending Engineer. His earlier stint, which was of almost two years, was way back in 1958 when he worked in the Capital Project as an Assistant Engineer. He was associated with the construction of the Assembly complex as well as the Polytechnic and a few other buildings during his first term. “Potholes and broken roads were an unheard phenomenon in the city of yesteryears. It was the duty of road inspectors to keep a watch on their respective areas and even road cuts were repaired overnight. Basic services, including sanitation, sewerage, storm water disposal, street lights and roads, always got the top attention of the Administration. Unfortunately, things are no more the same. Pardon my saying so, but after the Municipal Corporation came into being, the services have deteriorated. What I feel is that the system has either failed or is showing signs of failure. The officers are the same. It is not the men but the system which is at fault. “Until I retired for every road accident, a report used to come to the Chief Engineer besides reaching all higher authorities. We used to take immediate remedial measures to make sure that no accident took place again because of any technical snag, a geometrical problem of the intersection or rotary. But now, the damaged road dividers and rotaries are repaired but no action is taken to correct the mistakes or structural flaws in the roads, intersections and T- or staggering joints. The present system, I feel, does not value human life as much as the previous engineers and planners used to do. “The work on completing the slow carriageways must be expedited. It is a necessity now. The sewerage disposal and storm disposal need to be strengthened. Also the problem of mixing of sewerage and storm water has to be tackled immediately as it can lead to serious repercussions. “I also feel strongly that traffic segregation must be done. The cycle tracks and footpaths for pedestrians must be segregated from the fast moving traffic. I do not know why the attention on the safety of cyclists or pedestrians is being ignored. Parking is another area which needs immediate attention. “Things have changed so much during the past eight to 10 years that the engineers have now to think about multi-storeyed parking areas. Busy and congested areas must have paid and multistoreyed parking. Otherwise, there will be no solution to the parking chaos, which is aggravating day by day,” says Mr Kohli. The former Chief Engineer, who is also credited with the revival of the city’s own Rose Festival, now called Festival of Gardens, during the tenure of Mr T.N. Chaturvedi as Chief Commissioner, after it had been discontinued for a couple of years , also feels concerned about the future of water supply in the city. “The population is going to be more than 15 lakh in another 15 to 20 years. Unless they decide to go ahead with the new proposal of bringing water by gravitational force from Nangal dam, the city will be hard pressed to meet its water requirements. The initial plan of six phases of water supply augmentation scheme may not suffice,” he says. Mr Kohli also feels strongly about the planning of the south-west part of the Union Territory. “Instead of converting into a low density zone, the Administration is going the wrong way. I feel pained as this area is planned to become a thick forest of bricks, mortar and concrete instead of green, buffer and institutional zone. I have been talking about it while I was a part of the Administration. I keep on talking about it. I have a reason to say so. We have the Shivaliks on one side, the Sukhna choe on the other and Patiali ki Rao choe on the third side. All these three sides have thick green cover but there is nothing on this side. This is going to pose a serious ecological and environmental problem,” says Mr Kohli. Talking about the work environment, he maintains that when he came to the city for the first time in 1958, the Departments of Engineering and Architecture used to function from makeshift offices in Sector 19. “Even Le Corbusier used to walk to various sites in his shorts and discuss various points. He never used to take any notes but when he would return, he would send us a detailed note. We all used to be field workers. It was a team spirit. And when I returned in 1974, it was the same team spirit. Most of the decisions were taken at the highest level on intercom. This used to send a strong message of discipline among the subordinate staff. It is how the system worked effectively. The paper and file work was the minimum. “I must quote an instance to corroborate my saying teamwork. When tennis star Ramanathan Krishnan came to lay the foundation stone of the tennis Stadium, it was laid at Sector 16 Leisure Valley at a place where now the Punjab Lalit Kala Bhavan is constructed. Since the stone, was laid hurriedly, I walked up to the Chief Architect and told him about my reservations. Mr M.N. Sharma, who was the Chief Architect, then took me out in his car and we went round Sectors 10 and 3 to look for an alternate choice. Ultimately, we decided about a place in Sector 10 where the tennis stadium is located now. This is how the system used to work then,” narrates Mr Kohli. Mr Kohli also advocates
shifting of National Highway 21 from the city to the
outer area to end congestion within the city limits. He
also suggests development of satellite towns in the
periphery with independent services to relieve pressure
on Chandigarh. |
Unkempt
Yadavindra Gardens PINJORE, March 6 — Yadavindra Gardens here seems to have been reduced to a shade of its glorious past. The lawns here are littered with garbage and dirty water in ponds surrounding fountains have contributed to the deteriorating condition of the garden. Tourists can be seen expressing dissatisfaction with the place. Mrs Sushma Kumari , a tourist from Amritsar, said, “We have come here for the first time. The garden gives the impression as if it has not been properly maintained for a long time”. Visitors suggest that the walls of the garden need to be painted. Patchwork on walls has been carried out at several places but they have not been white-washed. Uncoloured walls make a jarring impression. Plastic bottles, glasses, plates etc can be seen scattered at several places in the lawns. The grass also needs pruning at many places. According to a visitor from Panchkula, Mr Ramesh Dutt, who came along with his relatives, proper care of the garden was important because people who go with a bad impression will hesitate to come again. “There are boards displaying “no entry” sign in certain lawns but people can be seen sitting in these areas as there is nobody to stop them”, he said Another resident from Panchkula, Mrs Anita Bhatia, pointed out that on one hand, cooking food was not allowed in the premises, on the other, one carry food as per the rules of the garden. “It seems charging Rs 5 for carrying eatables was only a matter of generating revenue”. Several visitors also complained of non-functioning of fountains. A resident of Rattpur Colony, Pinjore, Mr Rakesh Chopra, said fountains are seen in the working condition only occasionally. The garden also has a mini
zoo in the premises but it has become a spot of sheer
neglect. Several cages are under repair and many are used
as public toilets. |
CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The body of a teenager was found floating in the waters of the Sukhna Lake this evening. He was later identified as Harmohinder Singh of Sector 32, according to police sources. So far it seems to be a case of suicide, police sources said. The body was seen by evening walkers at the lake. Burn injuries: Two women have received burn injuries following fires in their respective homes. Sheela of Mauli Jagran and Surinder Kaur of Sector 16 were admitted to the PGI following the incidents. Injured: A resident of Zirakpur was injured when his scooter collided with a stray cow in Sector 29 this evening. In a separate incident Dharampal of Sector 22 was admitted to the PGI after he consumed a poisonous substance. Cheated: A resident of Sector 30-B, Mr Shiv Kumar Sharma, has alleged that he was cheated to the tune of Rs 87,000 by a property dealer, Jarnail Singh Bajwa. Died: Mr Sardari Lal who was involved in a road accident near Mani Majra on March 1 succumbed to his injuries at the PGI here on Saturday, police sources said. Sardari Lal was driving a scooter when he had a collision with a truck. Following the accident, he was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries. Admitted: In two separate incidents, two unidentified persons found unconscious were admitted to the General Hospital, Sector 16, here on Saturday, police sources said. One unidentified person was found near the traffic lights of Sector 16 while another was found in Sector 18, sources added. PANCHKULA Duped: In yet another case of cheating, a woman of Sector 17 was duped of her jewellery by a couple posing as followers of a religious sect, last evening. This is the third incident of its kind in the township in the past 20 days. The woman, Ms Sahani Sehgal, complained that while she was crossing a road, a youth alighted from an Ambassador car and asked her about the address of Radhaswami Satsang. In the meantime, a woman reached the spot and told her that the man was a saint and could solve her family problems. In the process, they duped
her of two gold bangles, two gold ear rings, a ring and
some silver and brass jewellery. The police has
registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC and is
investigating the matter.
|
CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The Indo-British Young Musicians series presented Brian Finnigan-a flute player from the UK in jugalbandi with bansuri player Rajendra Prasanna of the Benaras gharana. The evening began with a brief solo performance by Brian Finnigan. He played tunes from different regions of Ireland. The jigs that he played on a tin vessel sounded like mischievious pranks of a child, vibrant and spontaneous. “Mist In The Moon” expressed serenity and depth of emotions. “Ireland Mystery” had a nostalgic note that one relates with a lullaby. The artiste demonstrated good breath control and improvisations, the styles one does not get to hear in the Indian music. This was followed by Rajendra Prasanna’s solo recital of Raaga Jhinjhoti. Due to lack of time he avoided playing the vilambit laya , coming directly to the the drut khayal in teental, the artiste presented brief samples of layakari. The young Indian artiste played the flute in the traditional gayaki ang of the Benaras gharana. Music has a universal language and it can be transcribed only into a different musical language. This was proved by both artistes who continued to enthral the audience with their original interpretation of each other’s musical language. The jugalbandi lasted for almost an hour. The programme was
conceived jointly by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and The
British Council. Rajendra Prasanna was accompanied on the
tabla by Athar Husain and on the swar mandal by Rakesh
Prasanna. The revival of classical music CHANDIGARH, March 6 —The last decade of the 20th century has seen a revival of classical music in the West, said Brian Finnegan, an eminent British artiste, while addressing a press conference here today. Brian, an exponent of Irish flute, said the revival started in the late 70s but the effect was somehow neutralised in the 80s before the present revival of interest. The classical music may still not be as popular as the pop but it has definitely made its mark even among the masses. Finnegan later performed with Rajendra Prasanna, an established “bansuri” player of the Banaras “gharana” in the evening. Rajendra Prasanna, who was also present said there was no threat to gharanas because of the new experimentation that artistes were carrying out to “popularise” classical music. “Interacting with other forms of music only opens an individual’s vista and comprehension. He can use the best of other forms to create newer compositions. This need not necessarily mean that one had to compromise on the originality of the pure classical forms”, Prasanna said. Even with their distinct and contrasting styles of rendering notes of flutes, there is common thread in training of both artistes. The flute is primarily a folk instrument. In both there were no formal written notes passed on to the disciples. Like the gharana tradition, lessons in flute in Ireland are “passed from the father to the son in the “guru-shishya parampara”. Brian belongs to Armagh in Northern Ireland. His repertoire consists of traditional tunes from the UK as well as original compositions. He has demonstrated his ability to work with people of all nationalities in his recent tour which featured flute players from Hungary, Brittan, Ireland, Spain and the UK. Rajendra is known for the “gayaki ang” in his renderings. He has performed in several countries including Holland, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France. He is currently working with the National School of Drama. Ms Sushma Behl from the British Council said the series of “Indo-British Young Musicians series” was being organised to celebrate 50 years of the council in India. The series is the first of its kind which started in October and would conclude this month. The series included 12 Indian and British artistes with 25 concerts and six workshops all over the country. These concerts would allow fusion of two different forms of music to provide meeting grounds for future interaction and possible new alliances, Ms Behl added. Ms Alka Pande briefly
highlighted the aims and objectives of Art Folio,
particularly with regard to current scenario in the field
of art. |
No takers
for market sites PANCHKULA, March 6 — The Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB) had to withdraw sites in the vegetable and fruit market in Sector 20 here after there were few takers of the sites at an auction held at the market yesterday. According to information
available, none of the 149 sites which had been put up
for auction could be sold off. None of the 11 persons,
who had deposited the earnest money to participate in the
auction, quoted a price even above the reserved prices of
the sites. Programme on yoga therapy begins CHANDIGARH, March 6 — A five-session programme on the experience and knowledge of therapeutic yoga for the old was started today by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Sector 11. Starting with a lecture by master yogi, Irwin Chauhan, the session dealt with the body, mind and spirit. The lecture dwelt on doing away with pollutants and stressed the fact that yoga therapy was no substitute for conventional treatment, but was good for both body and mind. Some yoga exercises were demonstrated. The master yogi, who has a
background in biology and zoology and has researched in
cytology, will hold four more such sessions, at the YWCA,
Sector 11, every Saturday. The sessions will touch upon
‘pranayama’ — the oxygen debt, the energy
field of the body, hygiene and health and various
techniques of meditation and its benefits. |
Attempt to
bridge NGO-govt gap CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The Chandigarh Social Welfare Advisory Board today started a three-day training programme here to orient the functions of non-government organisations (NGOs) of Chandigarh. It aims to bridge the gap between the NGOs and government agencies by giving information regarding various schemes. Sewa Bharti an NGO, has organised the programme, which was inaugurated by Mrs Kamla Sharma, Chairperson of the board. Today’s programme had three sessions, covering the aims and objectives of the programme, issues like environment pollution, schemes for social defence and security for women. The speakers included Mrs
Aarti Gupta, advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court,
Chandigarh, Dr S C Jain, Professor Panjab University and
Ms Rita Wahi, Field Officer, of the board. |
Workshop on
‘vermiculture’ CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The Mahila Parishad, Chandigarh, and the Environment Society of India today jointly organised a workshop at Sector 31 on ‘vermiculture’ to mark the International Women’s Week. The workshop, which highlighted the process by which vermi compost is produced by earthworms from bio-mass, was inaugurated by Mr K.K. Garg, Joint Director, Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. Mr Garg called upon the women to help control air and water pollution by keeping their surroundings clean. Speaking on the occasion, Mr S.K. Sharma, President, Environment Society of India, said that housewives could make best use of vermiculture technology as they had to deal with house-garbage. About 50 housewives and social workers participated in the workshop. The President of the
Mahila Parishad, Chandigarh, Mrs Chitra Singh, and the
Secretary, Mrs Prem Lata Duggal, announced that the
parishad would hold a chain of such workshops during the
year. |
Exhibition
inaugurated CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The annual two-day exhibition-cum-fete of International Polytechnic for Women was inaugurated at Banga Bhawan, Sector 35, by Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal, Mayor, here today. Comprising over 20 stalls, the fete featured intricate embroidery and painting work by students of the polytechnic. Sarees of kanth, a work from Bengal, applique work from Gujarat, phulkari from Punjab and hand painting on sarees, suits and `lehngas’ and wall hangings were the highlight of the exhibition. There were numerous stalls
of games and a stall tastefully decorated by students of
interior designing. |
“Cafe
Noir” inaugurated CHANDIGARH, March 6 — A cafeteria, Le Cafe Noir, was inaugurated today evening at the Alliance Francaise “Le Corbusier’ de Chandigarh in Sector 36. The cafe was inagurated by the seniormost student of the Alliance Francaise, Col Sukhinder Singh (retd.), by cutting open a carton of coffee, in the presence of students and members and the Director, Mr Gilles Guey, and President, Mr Macmohan Sareen. Situated at the top floor of the Alliance Francaise, Cafe Noir also had a coffee-cake cutting ceremony at the occasion. The cafe, which also has a
terrace attached to it for a “Parisian view” of
the city, will be open only for members and students. |
Probe
sought into encroachment CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The local unit of the Youth Congress has urged the Administration to inquire into the role of certain officials who had allowed encroachment instead of demolition, as was done in Kajheri. Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma,
president of the unit, said the authorities had neither
penalised any official nor stopped the land mafia from
exploiting the public by assuring that no action would be
taken if they bought land in contravention of the lal
dora. |
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