Rs 6,000 stolen
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 2 — A sum of Rs 6,000 and a vehicle registration card have been stolen from the glove compartment of a scooter parked at the Sukhna Lake. The scooter (CH-01-V-6404), owned by Sarika of Sector 7, was parked near the stairs leading up to the lake. A case has been registered

6 arrested: Four men have been arrested for allegedly consuming liquor at a public place in Sector 39. Ramesh Kumar, Joginder Singh, Birbal Singh and Rajender Kumar were arrested and booked under Sections 61, 1/14 of the Excise Act. Meanwhile, two youths, Pradeep Kumar and Siri Ram, have been arrested for allegedly quarrelling in Sector 17.

Girl kidnapped: A minor girl has been allegedly kidnapped from Mani Majra. The family of the girl has reported that the girl was kidnapped by Shamshad of the same locality. A case under Sections 363, 366 and 34 of the IPC has been registered.

2 booked: Two residents of Badheri, Jagdish Kumar Rohilla and Ruby Chopra, have been booked under the Noise Pollution Act for allegedly playing a loudspeaker at high volume.

Eve-teasing: A resident of Sector 20, Sapinder Singh, alias Laddi, was arrested for allegedly indulging in eve-teasing in Sector 32. A case under Section 294 of the IPC has been registered.

Scooter stolen : A scooter (PB-26-3800), owned by Dr N.K. Aggarwal, has been stolen from Sector 15.

'Murals outlive civilisations'
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 2 — "A very small percentage of people is aware of the art of murals, which is all about people's art. The 'Jan-Art', as I like to call it", said painter-muralist Surendra Pal Joshi from Jaipur, here today.

He starts a week's workshop on mural-making tomorrow at Art Folio, Sector 9, where his painting exhibition is also due to open.

A lecturer in the Department of Painting, Rajasthan School of Art, Jaipur, Joshi says, "In paintings, the form is very important. I like to use the human face with varied expressions again and again."

His exhibition in the city includes two murals that have been done on wooden boards with marble dust powder and acrylics. When asked to compare his paintings and murals, Joshi said, "For me, mural is the real art. Even when civilisations end, the murals and other kinds of relief work remain. And today, even architects ask for murals since these represent the 'face' of a building."

Surendra Joshi's mural art includes a work spanning 565 square feet at IIHMR, Jaipur, which he has put up in a space that has a staircase, a doorway and windows piercing his work. At Indian Oil Bhavan, New Delhi, he has created a wooden mural that is probably the largest such mural in India.

The composition in wooden circles, triangles, rectangles and squares with original wood colours, along with the use of iron, brass, copper and aluminum is "all about conservation of energy and mother nature".

Search on for Sharma's successor

THE Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee is in for its fourth revamp since May, 1996. The latest revamp has been necessitated by the alleged involvement of Siddharth, alias Manu Sharma, a son of Mr Venod Sharma, a former Union Minister of State for Civil Supplies and the President of the CTCC, in the Jessica Lal murder case.

Mr Venod Sharma had been asked to resign the party post by the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. It had been the second tenure for Mr Sharma as the CTCC chief. He was replaced by Mr Pawan Bansal, immediately after the Congress lost the Chandigarh parliamentary seat in 1996. But he came back a little more than a year later replacing Mr Bansal in the process.

Only last week, Mr Sharma had nominated 20 women activists as office-bearers and executive members of the CTCC to give them 33 per cent representation in the organisation. And the day Jessica was murdered in New Delhi, Mr Sharma had called a press conference here. He addressed it and it was during lunch with scribes that he got the message about the police looking for his son. He left the conference hall of his hotel in a huff.

There are lots of speculations about successor of Mr Sharma this time. Most Congressmen feel that the party high command has no choice but to bring back Mr Pawan Bansal. With Lok Sabha elections announced, the post of the CTCC chief will assume tremendous significance.

Directory of libraries

The T.S. Central State Library of the UT Education Department had brought out a Directory of Libraries in Chandigarh which provides comprehensive information about the public and private libraries, which have been serving students as well as scholars, professionals as well as general public. True, some of these libraries serve the interest of limited subscribers, yet there are others which cater to larger sections of society.

Importance of a directory as a reference tool hardly needs any introduction. Libraries play a major role in the dissemination of information technology which sweep the country today. Only those libraries have been included in the directory which fall in the Union Territory.

We share the view of UT Education Secretary Anuradha Gupta that various users of library services will find the directory highly useful.

Earth Day poster

Earth Day, April 22, is celebrated all over the world to create awareness among the people on a theme of particular interest chosen by the United Nations. This year's theme was "New Energy for New Era".

On this day, the Environment Society of India (ESI) brought out a poster, "climate change: the will and the way". It says that the way we fuel our vehicles, run our industries, heat and cool our homes and workplaces produces 65 per cent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. We must, therefore, use the other sources of energy — sun and the wind — to keep the climate change in check.

The only energy resources India has in abundance is sunlight. With an average of 300 sunny days a year, India is an ideal laboratory for testing one of the most promising and environmentally safe alternatives to fossil fuels: solar energy. The potential use of solar energy and wind energy as substitute to fossil fuel has not made headway in India. With political will there is a way to develop renewable energy programmes in India through creation of innovative schemes.

"Fruitless"

It seems that elected councillors of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) care two hoots for waste of public money as was evident from the meeting of the civic body which was adjourned after three hours of "fruitless" discussion on April 28.

From the very beginning, the councillors belonging to political parties — the BJP-SAD alliance, the Congress and the ruling group — were engaged in procedural wranglings with regard to the "incorrect" recording of the minutes of the meetings and demand for a vigilance probe into the purchase and consumption of bitumen.

Question hour, which starts immediately after the confirmation of the minutes of the last meeting, could only start well after two hours' meaningless discussion often bordering on personal attacks.

With lung power ruling the roost in the whole drama, the nominated councillors, all experts in their respective fields, were reduced to mere spectators. A few of them tried to reason with the elected representatives but in vain, with the result that a number of them left the House disillusioned.

The question arises: will the so-called representatives of the people care to take up the issues of public importance for which they had been elected to the civic body? If not, then there is no need to waste income tax payers' hard-earned money amounting to lakhs of rupees for civic body's working, whose record of providing basic amenities to the public has been lacklustre, to say the least.

For blood donors

With the efforts of city girl Meenakshi Sharma, Assistant Director with Govind Nihalani, members of the Blood Bank Society got an opportunity to meet the great director and Jaya Bachchan, when they were in Chandigarh last year.

Appreciating the part played by the local citizens in contributing blood regularly, Nihalani offered to do something special for them. That something special has been given shape now with Nihalani having offered a free screening of his multi-award winning film "Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa" starring Jay Bachchan and Anupam Kher. This is being arranged for those master card blood donors who gave blood either in 1998 or 1999. Invitations are being issued by the BBS to those who have five or more donations to their credit.

All about city

Mr Suraj Baloda, a city-based scientist, now settled in Norway, is always up-to-date on happenings in the city, thanks to the internet edition of The Tribune. In an e-mail to Ms Shraddha Kaul, his niece, Mr Saroj Baloda, says that he "reads all about Kiran Bedi, the Campus News, etc., etc. So if you are ever in the news — I will know it immediately through the net. Mujhe sare type ke mangoes ke bhaav pata hain and I also know that "dasehri" mangoes have arrived aur sabjian kitni mahengi ho gayi hain!! Aaj ke akhbar mein ek Riksha wale sardarji ki photo hai aur four vehicles have been stolen etc., etc."

While forwarding the e-mail from her uncle to us, Ms Shraddha Kaul wrote that "it is of course a tribute to the reader loyalty you enjoy". Thanks Shraddha and Mr Baloda.

PIN pricks

Mr Harbans Singh, a former Senior Personnel Officer of Indian Railways, has in a letter to the Union Secretary and Chairman of the Postal Service Board, complained that the All-India Postal Index Numbers (PIN) Directory (1992 edition) does not give complete list of PIN codes.

"Chandigarh is almost absent from the directory. Even in case of SAS Nagar, there is only one Post Office (Sector 55) which is mentioned. The Sector 17 General Post Office has displayed a list of PIN codes but in case of SAS Nagar, no Post Office displays such a list. In such a case, how can the department expect that the public in other cities will use PIN codes while mailing letters to their near and dear ones for expediting the delivery. It is obligatory for the department to publish a revised or supplementary directory in the interest of the general public," the letter said.

In a separate letter, Mr Harbans Singh has sent us a complete list of postal codes for various parts of Chandigarh, Panchkula and SAS Nagar.

For example, Sector 1, High Court, MLA Flats and Vidhan Sabha take PIN code 160001 while Industrial Area and sectors 2 to 5 have PIN code 160002. The PIN code for Railway Station, Sector 28, Ram Darbar, Ordinance Factory and the aerodrome is 160003.

The PIN code for Panchkula is 134104 while for Mani Majra it is 160101, writes Mr Harbans Singh.

Honour

Prof Kirpal Singh Chugh, a former Professor and Head of Department of Nephrology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, has been elected a Councillor of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN). A message to this effect has been received by Professor Chugh from Dr Jan J. Weening, Secretary-General of the ISN, inviting him to the meeting of the newly constituted Council to be held at Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 6.

Professor Chugh has also been felicitated by Prof John H. Dirks, Chairperson, ISN Nomination Committee and also Co-Chairman, Commission for Global Advancement of Nephrology.

The election of Professor Chugh to the Council was through a secret ballot.

Relief for HVPN consumer
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, May 2 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has been directed by the local consumer court to compensate a Raipur Rani consumer for being harassed on account of an inflated electricity bill.

The nigam has been told to recover the compensation amount of Rs 2,500 from the erring officials. The order has been passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on a complaint filed by Mr Balwant Singh.

The consumer maintained that he had been regularly paying electricity bills for his domestic connection. In March, 1997, he received an electricity bill for Rs 8,374 againstthe consumption of 4549 units. When he approached the department the original bill was taken for verification and was latter told that it had been misplaced.

He was assured that the excess amount would be adjusted in the next bill. But again a bill was issued for the excess amount shown as outstanding.

He alleged that when he again approached the officials concerned to rectify the fault in the readings he was not listened to and abused.

The nigam in its reply said the meter was checked twice and was found to be okay. It alleged that the complainant had unauthorisedly extended his sanctioned load in connivance with a meter reader during March,1995, and May, 1997. When a new meter reader took over the duty he recorded the actual reading.

The forum in its order said the nigam had indulged in deficiency of services. It said the complainant could not be held liable for the unethical activities of the employees of the nigam. Instead the nigam had not taken any action against the erring meter reader, it said.

The complainant has been allowed Rs 500 as costs of the proceedings. The order has to be complied within one month from the date of its communication.

Dear apricot in city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 2 — While apricot has entered city markets, prices of some vegetables and fruits have fluctuated in the past 24 hours.

After a survey of the market today, it was found that for the first time in this season, apricot, the favourite summer delicacy, had enterd the city. It was still out of the reach of common people as it was priced high. Apricot-lovers could taste the fruit by shelling out Rs 60 for a kg of it. The wholesale price of the fruit, which came from Solan and other parts of Himachal Pradesh, was Rs 150 per 3 kg. Another fruit which came to the city markets was green almond, which was priced at between Rs 35 and Rs 40 a kg today.

On the other hand, prices of certain fruits witnessed a slight decline in this period. A kg of papaya, priced at Rs 20 just two days back, was available today at between Rs 15 and Rs 18. The wholesale price of the fruit came down from Rs 16 to Rs 14 per kg in this period.

Grapes also became cheaper in this period. A kg of the fruit, available at Rs 40, last week, was priced at between Rs 30 and Rs 35 today. Its wholesale price came down from Rs 125 to Rs 110 per four kg. According to traders, the price has stumbled due to increased arrivals of the fruit in the market in the past two days from Sangli and other grapes producing areas of Maharashtra. Another fruit, the price of which declined in this period, was melon. A kg of it, priced at between Rs 20 and Rs 25 just two days back, was available today for Rs 15. Its wholesale price dipped from Rs 17 to Rs 13 a kg in this period.

There was however, no change in the price of watermelon which was still being sold at Rs 8 (ramdhari variety) and Rs 6 (anarkali variety) a kg in the retail market.

The 'safeda' variety was being sold at the old price of between Rs 20 and Rs 25 per kg. There was a decline in the price of 'sandhuri' variety of the fruit, which was available today at between Rs 30 and Rs 35 a kg against Rs 40 and Rs 45 a kg, last week.

Strawberry became costlier in this period. A kg of it, priced at Rs 60, two days back, was available today at Rs 80. According to traders, the hike is due to shrinking arrivals of the fruit from Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh and some villages around the city.

On the vegetable front, the prices of some of these increased and decreased in this period. A kg of bittergourd, priced at Rs 24 two days back, was available today at Rs 30. Its wholesale price jumped from Rs 100 to Rs 125 per five kg in this period. Peas, which were being sold at Rs 50 per kg yesterday, were available today at Rs 40 a kg.

The prices of other vegetables are as follows: Cauliflower — Rs 16 a kg, cabbage —Rs 8 a kg, gourd — Rs 10, cucumber — Rs 8, brinjal — Rs 12, capsicum — Rs 40, lady's finger — Rs 20, carrot — Rs 12, lemon — Rs 48, ginger — Rs 48, garlic — Rs 30, beans — Rs 20, radish — Rs 6, tomato — Rs 8, potato — Rs 4, onion — Rs 8.

Tenements should be built for jhuggi-dwellers

The Chandigarh Tribune feature “Chandigarh Then and Now” April 19, has a message for the city’s top babus and technocrats who consider themselves a class apart from the common man.

Apropos of “Save city from becoming a Ludhiana”, I read with shock Dr I.C. Pathak, a retired Director of the PGI, say “...the migration from rural areas and states like Bihar has been very rapid”. He decries the unauthorised colonies and jhuggis, branding them “as a burden on the city”. Which city? The city in whose veins the blood of these jhuggiwalas flows. All wanted them when Chandigarh was in its nascent stages of construction, but today all and sundry, particularly the status-conscience “aristocrats”, hate them, decry them, want their hutments demolished. Construction, not destruction , is what is needed.

The Chandigarh Administration should build one-room tenements for the jhuggi-dwellers and lease them to these poor children of a lesser God at a nominal rent. No selling of these and building of new jhuggis should be allowed.

People in rural Bihar are starving. According to a survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, after four years’ of study in 16 states and looking at 300 parameters it has come out that the per capita annual income in rural Bihar is Rs 3,169. According to the government, those earning less than Rs 11,000 a year are said to be below the poverty line. Where should the poor Biharis go? Should they die due to starvation or reach out to places like Chandigarh and work as rickshaw-pullers or labourers on work sites in or outside the city.

Dr Pathak decries the state of the city in general. Yes, it is becoming a city of stink and stench. Municipal Corporation bins always overflow with garbage. Roads in the lanes are in a state of neglect. Will Dr Pathak tone up the Municipal Corporation whose nominated councillor he is.

Many accolades have been given by the doctor to the PGI. Did he not see hundreds lying in corridors and hundreds crying for medical aid in the wards when he was the PGI Director?

S.S. JAIN
Chandigarh

II

I am a regular reader of Chandigarh Tribune and have been reading with interest the views of eminent persons of the city on “Chandigarh Then and Now”. This refers to “Save city from becoming a Ludhiana in Chandigarh Tribune. Dr I.C. Pathak, Councillor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and former Director of the PGI expressed his views on the deteriorating condition of the city. He alerted the people/Administration of the city to save Chandigarh from becoming a Ludhiana.

No doubt Chandigarh is gradually losing its charm and glory. It is no more the same neat, clean, green and open city it used to be in early 70s. Chandigarh is a developing city.It’s true that every developing city has its problems, but these should not be allowed to change the basic character of the city.

It is expected that the population of the city as per its present growth rate would cross 20 lakh mark by 2020. The population growth is likely to affect the development work.

The growing number of vehicles is another problem in the city. There are nearly 5 lakh vehicles in the city. This number is really high in proportion to the city’s population. This has led to serious parking problems in the city.

Unauthorised construction of building/jhuggis everywhere is a burden on the city and affects its beauty.

I agree with the views of Dr Pathak that jhuggi-dwellers should be rehabilitated properly to maintain cleanliness. I suggest that jhuggis should be set up out of the city.

Also the migration of labour from various states to the city has to be checked.

The Administration and the Municipal Corporation should sit together and work out detailed planning of the city for the future.

SUNIL KUMAR DOGRA
Chandigarh

Demolition drive

Diverse views have been presented in your columns regarding the recent demolition drive by HUDA, Panchkula, whereby it brought down the so-called encroachments outside houses in Sector 6 of its urban estate.

Why is it that those who make plans and take decision that effect so many people do so with little deliberation and insufficient consideration? Small wonder then that such drives are more often than not ill-conceived, shoddily implemented, and hastily retreated. A classic case of “act in haste, repent at leisure”.

Small stretches of land outside houses are being maintained clean in the form of neat little lawns and beautiful flower-beds by residents. This exercise entails no burden to the Estate Authorities. In fact, the job that HUDA ought to be doing is being done by residents themselves. It is well known that the authorities everywhere are rather hard pressed for finances to be able to maintain all aspects of a township properly. In the absence of this vacant land outside houses frequently becomes dumping grounds for garbage.

These provide places for house-flies and mosquitoes. Stray dogs feed upon rotting refuse and foul odour pervades streets wherever one happens to pass by. Congress grass takes roots wherever vacant untended spots of land are available. Needless to say then that it is a herculean task for any Administration to maintain all these small stretches of land outside each and every house. Surely, growing a tidy flower bed or a tiny kitchengarden on the unused land doesn’t amount to usurping that part of land. It should be made mandatory for all residents to maintain clean surroundings where they live. And frankly, keeping these little bits and pieces of land green ought to be viewed in this light.

As for enclosing these small lawns/flower-beds with barbed wire, the idea is not to encroach upon government land.

Conceded that hedges and certain types of masonry walls/structures around houses do impede visibility on road. Consequently, this exposes road-users to accidents, especially around corners. Guidelines can be issued by the authorities regarding enclosing such areas with certain appropriate restrictions.

VIVEK KHANNA
Panchkula

People for Animals

This is in reference to the article “Har aam khas ko” which appeared in Chandigarh Tribune on April 23.

As mentioned in the article, the summons were issued to People for Animals at house No 82, Sector 10, at around 11.30 a.m. The article further mentions that drums were beaten outside the office with children dancing, resulting in a big crowd outside the place.

Since neither the doctor nor I were present at the time the incident took place, the summons were pasted on the door of the office. This part of the information is correct. However, same can’t be said for the other information given

In fact, when the drummer, the photographer, journalist and five to six others, who had come for the issuing of the summons entered the premises (with the beating of the drums) the landlady of the house (residing on the ground floor) immediately came out shouting — it was then mentioned summons were to be issued to the PFA office. It was then stated by our landlady that as no one was present in the office, it would be better if they could just wait outside rather than disturb people. Actually no children danced nor even a gathering collected outside the office.

All this has been confirmed by our landlady and our helper before being presented to you. It is our request that only true happenings should be printed.

PAYAL SODHI
Chandigarh

K.K. Khandelwal

I was pleased to go through the write-up/follow-up article in ‘Chandigarh Tribune’ of April 16, in respect of the removal of Mr K.K. Khandelwal from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh.

It was shocking to note that the present system of governance in our country permits this sort of witch-hunt of even senior and respected civil servants and they can be hounded without being given any opportunity to defend themselves.

The damage done to his reputation and the loss to the city cannot be made up now by any display of sympathy or inquiry at any level. However, it was nice of Chandigarh Tribune to own up its action of carrying a one-sided story earlier. One hopes to see more such stories in the future which may carry the versions of both sides, leaving it to readers to judge for themselves the merits of the case.

MAN MOHAN SINGH
Chandigarh