Sunday, May 23, 1999
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N E W S Sunday, May 23, 1999 |
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Water Fun
Park proposed CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Union Tourism Ministry has agreed to finance Water Fun Park in the city by contributing 28 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs 95 lakh. The park is proposed on the lines of "Oysters" Fun Park at Pragati Maidan in the Union Capital. The cost of the project is tentatively Rs 4 crore as the Water Fun Park will be spread over an area of five to six acres. Besides the grant from the Union Ministry of Tourism, the remaining finances will have to be generated from internal resources of the Chandigarh Administration. Since it is going to be a mega-project, the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation might assess the project viability before putting up a proposal to the Tourism Ministry for the release of funds. The Managing Director of CITCO, Mr Satish Chandra, confirmed that the Ministry of Tourism had agreed to fund up to 28 per cent of the cost of the project. "In fact, Chandigarh has been promised Central financial assistance of Rs 232 lakh during the current financial year in view of the Explore India Millennium Year being celebrated by the Ministry. This is the highest such assistance to any Union Territory in the country," adds Mr Satish Chandra. Another important project for which Central financial assistance to the tune of Rs 50 lakh has been prioritised is the illumination of Rock Garden. Mr Satish Chandra said the Ministry of Tourism would release Rs 50 lakh for integrated development of Sukhna Lake, which has been an idyllic tourist resort. It is proposed to add lot of activities to promote tourism traffic to this man-made water feature. Since thousands of visitors frequent the lake everyday, tourism infrastructure needs to be upgraded immediately. CITCO has proposed proper landscaping of parks and the surroundings of the lake and its cafe, Chef Lakeview. Besides, beautification of Island, setting up of a terrace restaurant, improvement and beautification of pedestrian pavements are the other areas which need immediate attention. Mr Chandra said that CITCO has been laying emphasis on better boating facilities. Recently, jetties were upgraded and new boats added. But the demand for boating has been growing rapidly. The Ministry of Tourism has agreed to release additional financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakh for improving boating facilities at the lake. The Ministry of Tourism will provide another financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh for Sukhna Lake for the development of an eco-tourism wildlife park in the marshy area on the opposite side of Sukhna Lake, a paradise of nature lovers and tourists who are infatuated by the flora and fauna of the area. Mr Chandra said CITCO proposes to add different species of wildlife in the forest catchment area. After the success of musical fountains at the Sector 33 Terrace Gardens, CITCO now proposes to add this feature to the Sector 17 Plaza water feature. For this, the Ministry of Tourism has agreed to release a grant of Rs 25 lakh. To facilitate tourists and other visitors to the city and give a fillip to tourism, CITCO also proposes to put up signs and translites at vital points, including Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, City Centre, Railway Station, Airport and ISBT. The Ministry of Tourism will also finance this project to a maximum of Rs 15 lakh during the current financial year. Another area for which Central financial assistance of Rs 7 lakh has been promised is fairs and festivals, including Festival of Gardens. In fact, Festival of Gardens and Chandigarh Carnival figure in the National Calendar of Fairs and Festivals of the Ministry of Tourism. A number of other projects are also coming up to make the city a tourist attraction and convention centre. Work on the five-star Indian Tourism Development Corporation Hotel has started in Sector 17 at the end of prolonged litigation. The Administration is also expected to give financial clearance for the construction of Exhibition Ground in Sector 31 here Similarly, work on Kalagram is expected to be taken up in hand during the current financial year. Work on the Beant Singh
Memorial Monument in Sector 42 is nearing completion.
Gardens of Five Senses and the first phase of the Centre
for Performing Arts are also coming up in the vicinity of
this memorial. |
Illegally
felled trees seized PANCHKULA, May 22 — Illegally-felled khair trees worth thousands of rupees were seized while being loaded on two camels by a team of the Forest Department in the forest area of Raipur Rani on the night of May 20. Two persons involved in the illegal felling of the khair trees have been arrested. According to the information available, the officials of the Forest Department got a tip-off that four persons were illegally felling trees in the forest area between Raina and Masumpur and loading them on to camels after cutting them into 1- metre logs. When the team reached the site, two of the persons — Dani Ram and Prithvi — were arrested while the other two, Mohinder and Bhudha, escaped. The tree smugglers, who hail from the Raipur Rani area, are suspected to part of a mafia involved in illegal feeling of trees and then selling them in the market between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 each. The two persons arrested by the forest officials were handed over to the police. A total of 18 khair trees which were illegally felled are worth over Rs 70,000. Only half of the trees which had been cut into 34 logs of 1 metre each have been recovered from the suspects. The Raipur Rani police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC on a complaint lodged by the DFO, Pinjore, Mr M.P.Sharma. Meanwhile the two
arrested persons, Dani Ram and Prithvi, have been
remanded to police custody till May 24 by the Duty
Magistrate at the local courts here on Saturday. |
Overturned
truck hits traffic SAS NAGAR, May 22 — Traffic remained disrupted for hours on the Mohali-Ropar road as a truck, being chased by a gypsy of the Enforcement Wing of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department, overturned at the Balongi bridge on the outskirts of the city last night. According to official sources, the incident took place around 11.30 p.m. when officials of the department spotted a truck going towards Ropar. As the driver did not stop the vehicle at the instance of the officials, they started chasing it and allegedly parked their gypsy in front of the vehicle in the middle of the bridge. As a result, the driver of the speeding truck, filled with rice, had to stop the vehicle all of sudden, due to which the vehicle overturned in the middle of the bridge, leading to disruption of traffic. According to officials, the road was cleared in the morning with the removal of the truck by a crane. During this period, the heavy traffic had to be diverted through Sohana. No case was registered
as both the parties reached a compromise, officials at
the Phase I police station said. |
Website
opens at Press Club CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Chandigarh Press Club today became the first press club in Asia to have a website of its own. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, pressed a button on a computer keyboard to make the website available through the internet. The website address is www.press-clubchd.org. It will have information about the Press Club, process of membership, list of members, events organised by the club, list of books available in the library, besides feedback file. All information will be updated from time to time. The Finance Minister hoped that it will be used as yet another tool for faster communication. The minister added that in times to come only those people who kept pace with the technology would be able to match the pace of development. Later, commenting upon
the political situation in Punjab, he said: ''We will
wait and see if Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra forms his own
party or not.'' Telugu association launches
website CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Andhra Samskrutika Sangham, Chandigarh, launched its own website today. The site developed by Ms Surekha and Mr V.Sriniwas, members of the sangham, was launched by Mr Justice T.H.B. Chalapati of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The function was held in Karuna Sadan. The President of the
sangham , Mr C.S.R. Reddy, said that this was the first
Indian Telugu Cultural Association to launch a website to
cover its wide-ranging social, religious and cultural
activities and thus promote the cultural bonds not only
in India but with the entire world. The address of the
site is http://www.members.tripod.com/chandigarhandhraassn. |
Vote for
SAD-BJP: Ravi Inder KHARAR, May 22 — Mr Ravi Inder Singh, former Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and SAD MLA, today appealed to the people to vote for the SAD-BJP candidates in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He was addressing a gathering of SAD-BJP workers here. He said that democracy in India could survive only if there were two major political parties and now the BJP had emerged as a strong alternative to the Congress. He said that the trend of a one-family rule was very dangerous for the country whether it belonged to the Congress, the BJP or the SAD. He said: “We all know who were responsible for the coming elections and we all should teach them a lesson”. He said that the coming elections would decide the future of this country and “we all should vote cautiously and in favour of the SAD-BJP candidates for a better future”. The SAD virtually extended its support to Mr Satya Pal Jain, the likely BJP candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat in the coming elections with Mr Ravi Inder Singh appealing to the Akali workers to extend support to Mr Jain and ensure his victory. He said Mr Jain belonged to Kharar and he was a Punjabi and “We all are proud of him”.Mrs Satwinder kaur Dhaliwal, a member of the dissolved Lok Sabha from Ropar, said that during her tenure as MP she had tried her best to solve the various problems faced by the people of this area. Mr Surinder Sood,
President, BJP, Ropar, Mr Pritam Singh President, SAD,
Ropar, Mr Om Parkash Aggarwal, BJP leader, Mr Shiam Ved
Puri, President, BJP, Kharar, and Mr Prem Singh,
President, SAD, Kharar also spoke on the occasion. |
City girl
is best designer CHANDIGARH, May 22 — Ms Gunjan Virk, a student of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Ahmedabad, has done the city proud by winning the best designer award of the year. Daughter of Mr H.S. Virk, a retired IPS Officer and President of the Sector 33-A Residents Welfare Association, 20-year-old Gunjan was presented a trophy and cash award of Rs 20,000 by the Union Textile Minister at a function held at Ahmedabad early this week. The award was conferred upon her in recognition of her outstanding work in dress designing at the culmination of her three-year course in fashion design. Her collection was one of the 24 collections specially displayed at Confluence Show held in Srifort Auditorium of New Delhi from May 15. The entries are chosen from all six National Institute of Fashion Technology Centres of the country. A product of Sacred Heart Convent School and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Gunjan has an excellent academic record. She has been a recipient of scholarship for excellence in academics. Gunjan's areas of
interest are graphics and merchandising, design
development, fashion forecasting and fashion journalism. |
Footpath
workers threaten dharna CHANDIGARH, May 22 — In view of the inability of the Deputy Commissioner to issue licences to all footpath workers, members of the Footpath Workers Rozgar Bachao Samiti will stage a dharna in front of the Estate Office on June 3. A deputation of the samiti met the DC today. According to Mr Lalita Parshad Verma, General Secretary of the samiti, when it was brought to the notice of the DC that the UT Administrator had announced in his Republic Day speech that the licences would be issued, the officer refused to do anything in this context. The advisory council had
also recommended the issuance of the cards at the
earliest to stop harassment at the hands of the anti-
encroachment staff, they alleged. |
Finance
Minister promises more facilities ZIRAKPUR, May 22 — Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, today directed the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to issue power connections with immediate effects to all houses in the seven villages merged to form the Nagar Panchayat, Zirakpur. He also directed the Subdivisional Magistrate to start registration of land from Monday onwards. The Finance Minister was addressing a gathering of the local people assembled here to express their gratitude to him. He declared that PUDA interference in the Nagar Panchayat would no more be tolerated. More than 20,000 houses constructed in these seven villages had been protected form facing the bulldozer of PUDA. Capt Kanwaljit Singh said that Zirakpur would be made a mini Chandigarh so that the residents enjoyed the facilities like the people of Chandigarh. The development would be given top priority "I have kept my promise with the public by merging Zirakpur, Bartana, Lohgarh, Himmatgarh, Bishangarh, Biahanpura and Dhakoli to form the Nagar Panchayat,'' he said. Speaking on political issues, Capt Kanwaljit Singh said that with the conspiracy hatched by Ms Jayalalita and the Congress, the BJP-led government at the Centre had been toppled and a mid-term poll imposed on the country which would entail an expenditure of more than Rs 800 crore. He criticised the Congress for creating an atmosphere of insecurity in the country by driving a wedge between political parties. He said Ms Sonia Gandhi, being a foreigner, would not be able to lead the country as Prime Minister as she was unable to understand the problems of the people. Earlier, he inaugurated a 66-KV power substation set up a cost of Rs 4 crore at Bhabat village, which will augment power supply to 42 villages of the area. The Finance Minister distributed bonds worth Rs 5,000 each among 14 girls under the ''kanya jagriti scheme''. A cultural programme was presented by Punjabi singer Harbhajan Singh Maan. Mr Sher Singh Sidhu, SDM, Dera Bassi, Mr Surjit Singh, Deputy Director, Local Government, Punjab and Administrator, Nagar Panchayat, Mr Kripal Singh Gill, Member, PSEB, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, Mayor, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and sarpanches of various villages of the area were also presented. The minister also
inaugurated a 1.5-km road leading to Lohgarh village and
a wall of village high school. |
Submit revised plan on water
scheme: Gupta CHANDIGARH, May 22 — Mr Gian Chand Gupta, former Mayor, and Mr Des Raj Tandon, leader of the BJP-SAD group in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, have condemned the present ruling group in the civic body for not presenting the revised plan for the Phase IV water supply augmentation scheme before the Union Government in right earnest. In a joint statement issued here, they said that because of improper presentation, the proposal had been turned down. They maintained that the present quantum of water was not at all sufficient and the plight of the residents could be imagined after 20 years. The efforts of the present ruling group in this regard should be brought to the notice of the House of the corporation when it met next. The House should be taken into confidence on this important subject. They further said that all development works started during the tenure of the previous Mayor (Mr Gupta) had virtually come to a standstill. The proposal of setting up a complaints cell in each ward had been scrapped. Work on recarpeting of V-6 roads had also been stopped mid-way. Similarly, publication of citizens charter had been put in cold storage. Encroachments were multiplying. They condemned the Mayor
for issuing written instructions to the Commissioner to
stop the anti-encroachment drive. |
Play
acquaints kids with culture CHANDIGARH, May 22 — “Khalsa Mero Roop Hai Khas”, a play staged at Tagore theatre, Sector 18, here, today by students of New Public School, Sector 18, was a powerful performance depicting the atrocities committed by Aurangzeb on Kashmiri Pandits. The play portrayed the king's ruthless methods to forcefully convert Kashmiri Pandits to Islam. One of the five Pandits, Jasmine, did a very fine job as she dodged the king's men or lamented the forceful conversion to Islam. All Pandits approach Pandit Kirpa Ram for help who in turn approaches Guru Teg Bahadur with a prayer to save them from the forced conversions. The Guru tells them to go to Aurangzeb and convey the message that if he wants the Pandits to adopt Islam, he should first convert their Guru to Islam and assure him that they would follow suit. Aurangzeb laps up the opportunity to spread Islam and imprisons Guru Teg Bahadur. After persistent efforts when coaxing does not pay, Aurangzeb orders the beheading of the Guru. The play culminated with Guru Gobind Singh forming the Khalsa Panth to give a new look to the Sikhs. The beheading and the formation of the Khalsa were shown using slides. The play was punctuated by commentary of the scenes which were shown on slides by Manpreet who represented the state of Punjab in the play and stood in the map of India formed by the students. The student organiser of the play was Nidhi Sood and Aurangzeb was played by Sunny Avinash, a student of Class X. The main objective of
presenting the play was to acquaint the youth with the
rich culture and heritage of the state and the sacrifices
made by the Gurus and their followers against tyrannical
rule.
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ESIC
raises per capita expenditure CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has raised per capita expenditure towards medical from Rs 500 to Rs 600 per insured person family unit per annum from April 1, according to Mr P.C. Bhardwaj, Regional Director, ESIC, Punjab Region. This, he said, was subject to the condition that Rs 360 per insured person must be spent on establishment, Rs 170 on drugs and dressings and Rs 50 on special treatments and Rs 20 on maintenance of equipment so as to avoid shortage of drugs in ESI hospitals, dispensaries, besides keeping machinery in working condition. Mr Bhardwaj said at present there were 4,35,750 insured persons in Punjab. If the state government proposes to spend Rs 7.41 crore on drugs and dressings, Rs 2.18 crore on speciality and super speciality treatments, Rs 87 lakh on maintenance of equipment and Rs 15.70 crore on establishment during the current financial year, only then would it be possible for the state government to get full reimbursement from the ESIC. At the same time, there would be no difficulty in commissioning newly constructed ESIC hospital at Mandi Gobindgarh, extended portion of ESI Hospital at Ludhiana and Jalandhar. During last financial year, he said, when the limit for drugs and dressings per insured person per annum was Rs 165, the state government could spend only Rs 57 per insured person and lost the reimbursement of Rs 4.71 crore which would have been paid by the ESIC. If such shortage continues during the current financial year, not only workers will face difficulties due to shortage of medicines but the state may not be able to get full reimbursement from the ESIC. Mr Bhardwaj further said the Punjab Government had submitted the audited statement of expenditure up to the 1992-93 financial year. On that basis the ESIC has paid Rs 84 crore till date as advance to the State Government towards medical expenses and audited expenditure statement was still awaited. “The claim of the Director of health Services that the ESIC has remitted only Rs 7 crore is not correct,” Mr Bhardwaj added. The ESIC has also decided to conduct training course for senior doctors posted in the ESIC Hospitals and dispensaries from June 2 to 4 to create more courteous atmosphere and manage these institutions more effectively. Efforts are also being made to bring more awareness among the employers for which a two-day training course is likely to be conducted soon. Mr Bhardwaj further said the ESIC wanted to bring to the notice of all 10,000 employers and 4,35,750 insured persons family units of Punjab that during 1998-99, ESIC, Punjab Regional Office, paid Rs 8.08 crore as cash benefit to the insured persons which included Rs 1.43 crore as sickness, Rs 1.27 crore as temporary disablement benefit to those who met with accidents and remained under treatment, Rs 27 lakh as maternity benefit, Rs 14 lakh as extended sickness benefit to those who suffered from chronic diseases, Rs 3.28 crore as permanent disablement benefit, Rs 1.63 crore as dependents’ benefit to those whose bread winners have lost life during work and Rs 6 lakh as funeral expenses. The ESI scheme has also
been extended to industrial area, Chanalon from March 1
and to Lalru from April 1 this year. These two places
have more than 15,000 workers who are expected to get
social security cover, Mr Bhardwaj concluded.
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SNIPPETS ‘Amend’
Consumer Act PANCHKULA, May 22 — The Panchkula Consumer Forum has urged the Union Government to amend the Consumer Protection Act regarding the appointment of presidents and members of district consumer redressal forums in Haryana. The General Secretary of the forum, Mr Jagdish Saini, said the members of the local consumer forum, whose appointments were cancelled due to a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, were from the ruling alliance in the state. He also alleged that the consumer organisations had not been given representation in the State Consumer Protection Council, constituted by the state government. Punjabi show at carnival CHANDIGARH, May 22 — It was Punjabi folk-cum-pop show at the Sector 17 Plaza carnival today. Jitender Panchhi, Avtar Khiva, Amarjit Kaur Mandher, Sukhnandan Sukhi, Baljit Kaur Mohali, Manpreet Golu, K.K. Dimple and Baldev enthralled the holiday crowd with their songs. There was an impressive exhibition of art works by well-known local artists. Poverty line ceiling up CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Government of India has revised the income ceiling of people living below the poverty line for making them eligible for using loan facilities. The income ceiling for those living in rural areas and below the poverty line has been raised to Rs 15,976 per annum and for those in urban areas to Rs 21,206 per annum. The income ceiling for those living double below the poverty line in rural areas has been fixed at Rs 31,952 per annum and those in urban areas at Rs 42,412 per annum. Those living below the poverty line and covered under the revised ceiling can apply for the loans being sanctioned under various schemes of the National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation, the National Minorities Finance and Development Corporation and the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation. Water shortage in Sector 7 for 2
weeks CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Sector 7 Residents Welfare Society has complained of an acute shortage of drinking water. According to Mr D.S. Doad, General Secretary of the society, which looks after the Central Government Employees Residential Colony, the problem has become severe for the past two weeks because of low pressure. The CPWD water tank has dried up because of little or no supply from the Municipal Corporation. Mr Doad has appealed to the Municipal Corporation to increase water pressure to the sector so as to solve this problem of the residents. Residents’ plea to CM PANCHKULA, May 22 — The Citizens Welfare Association here has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, to fulfil certain demands of local residents. In a memorandum submitted to the CM, the President of the association, Mr S.K. Nayar, said there was a need to start a local ring bus service touching the B roads in all Sectors. The need to start a girls college and a medical and an engineering college has also been stressed. The association also urged the CM to take up with the Chandigarh Administration issues regarding the rights of Haryana in the UT. 270 donate blood CHANDIGARH, May 22 — A total of 270 persons donated blood at a first of the series of donation camps organised by the Thalassaemic Children Welfare Association today. The next camp is
scheduled for June 5. |
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