Thursday, November 18, 1999
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N E W S Thursday, November 18, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
Unscrupulous
make money in resumption of property CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Resumption of leasehold property by the Estate Office seems to be a frightening proposition. On the contrary, in the past few years, those who know how to go about “handling” their cases have surprisingly turned it into a profitable venture at the cost of government exchequer. Today resumption of property seems to be like rewarding a violator than punishing him for his “misdeeds.” Going by long term “monetary advantages” that the owner “avails” when his site or building is resumed, it is no more a deterrent as envisaged under the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, a source said. On paper, there seems to be nothing wrong. Once one goes deeper into the matter, it becomes quite obvious that resumption of property is a profitable business today than the proverbial sword of Damocles it was intended to be. The trick lies in the lacunae that is not covered at the time of resumption. Whenever a site or a building is “resumed”, the owner is not “dispossessed” of his occupation of the building. He continues with his trade or keeps on collecting rent — which may touch up to Rs 2 lakh a month in case of bigger properties — from his tenants. On the other hand, cases regarding such matters drag on for anything between 8 to 10 years. The case is first heard by civil officials in their quasi-judicial capacity. Appeals can be made before three different levels of officialdom before opting to appeal before High Court, followed by the Supreme Court. All the while the estate office, that acts on behalf of the government, loses money. If any instalment is due, then the owner, or the allottee, has to pay nothing as the property has been “resumed” and the same goes for the lease money that is 1 per cent of the auction cost. Even this 1 per cent translates into something like a lakh of rupees in a year for shop cum offices (SCOs). During this period when the matter is “subjudice”, all other violations like change of trade or encroaching upon adjacent land are usually overlooked as the building is accepted as “resumed” by field staff of the Estate Office. On the other hand, the owner does not pay a penny to the government but collects rent or runs his own profitable venture from its land. At the end of the day — that may come after several years — even if the allottee loses the case he can offer to remove the violations and seek pardon. Worse, that could mean cancellation of property translates into a profit for the unscrupulous ones. All the years, the rent or profit from the venture on the “resumed” land is enough to buy some other property in an auction of the Estate Office and actually pay up for it and own it legally. And all this from money made from a site that was “resumed”. Sources do not rule out the connivance of lower level staff in delaying such cases from hearing. The officials, who come from Punjab, Haryana or the centre are transferred every couple of years thus leaving a lot of clout in the hands of the lower level staff, another source added, while describing how money can be made, or is being made at government expense. Meanwhile, owners of such properties, who want to “misuse” the law, exploit the ground realities like shortage of field staff with the Estate Office and the limited time at hand with officials. — To
be concluded |
CHB to get
tough with violators CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has decided to get tough with the allottees violating the terms and conditions of the allotment and making illegal alterations in their flats. According to sources, the board is finalising the strategy for launching a drive against the violators. Since ample time had been given to the violators, the action against them was in the offing. In fact, the board had conducted a survey of the violations in several parts, including the Modern Housing Complex in Mani Majra and Sector 61, several months ago. The action was reportedly put on hold due to the elections to the Lok Sabha. Subsequently, over 70 show- cause notices were issued to violators in Sector 61 for major violations. They were urged to remove the illegal alterations voluntarily. However, seeing no positive response, the CHB had decided to launch the drive, which is likely to be launched simultaneously in different parts of of the city. The CHB Chairman, Mr Balbir Singh, while confirming the proposed action against the violators, informed that he had asked the staff to prepare the daily schedule of the drive. Strict action as per the rules and regulations, including the cancellation of the allotment, would be initiated against the violators. While appealing to allottees to remove the illegal alterations themselves so that the authorities were not compelled to take harsh steps, he warned that these would be demolished at the cost of the allottees. The sources said it was in the interest of the allottees to remove the alterations as they posed a threat to the buildings besides giving them asymmetrical look. Meanwhile, resentment prevailed among certain residents of Sector 61 following the "disconnection" of their drainage connections from the sewerage pipes. A team of the board with the help of the police removed what the board officials called minor violations in the past two days. Mr Davinder Shekhar, a
resident, alleged that no prior notice was given by the
board, putting the residents to a lot of inconvenience. |
Encroachments
removed CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Continuing its anti-encroachment drive, the enforcement staff of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) removed encroachments from public land in Sector 47-D for the second day today. Over 150 encroachments on the public land, including temporary concrete structures, hedges, angle irons and barbed wires, which had virtually come on to the road berms, were removed by the staff. The drive is being
undertaken to facilitate the recarpeting of the roads in
different sectors of the city. |
STD, DTP
suspended PANCHKULA, Nov 17 — The Town and Country Planning Department suspended the Senior Town Planner, Mr R.S. Chaudhary, and the Deputy Town Planner, Mr A.K. Garg, posted herefor non-performance of duty. Commenting on the suspension, the Chief Administrator, Mr N.C. Wadhwa, said that encroachments in violation of the Periphery Act had come up in and around the town. ''This implies that the two were not discharging their duties properly. Since they were from the enforcement wing of the department, it was their duty to be on the lookout for any possible violations. Further, they were required to take preventive action to ensure that no structures came up in violation of the Act, which they completely ignored. There are many such instances of negligence of duty which necessitated the action taken against them. The preparation of a charge sheet is in the process,'' he said. However, sources in the department point out that the suspension actually came about for the clumsy handling of the demolition of Marriage Palace at North Park Resort, near here. A part of Marriage Palace was demolished by the enforcement wing of the Department of Town and Country Planning last month following rejection of the stay sought by the officials of the resort from the District Courts. The department had swung into action the same evening after receiving the orders and had managed to demolish a part of the structure. In an effort to completely raze the structure, the two officials along with labourers, police force and a bulldozer had come to the venue again. In spite of arriving at 3 p.m., no demolition was carried out till about 3.40 p.m. during which officials of the resort managed to produce a copy of another stay order on the demolition from the Sessions Court at Ambala. Sources in the
department add that the officials initiated proceedings
at 3 p.m. when this task could have been undertaken at
noon. Further, the lapse of 40 minutes after arriving at
the venue could not be justified since the structure
would have been demolished within 10 minutes had the two
ordered the demolition immediately after arriving on the
scene. |
HUDA to
remove encroachments PANCHKULA, Nov 17 — The Haryana Urban Development Authority has got down to removing encroachments in sectors which have been served notices for the same. Corner plots are being targeted for the time being and a report of the same will be presented to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Administrator, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, said that encroachments in the form of hedges, angle irons and barbed wires would be removed only from corner plots in only those sectors which had been served notices in this regard.“We will remove these from houses from Sector 6 to 10 initially and this will be followed by the rest after notices are issued,” he added. The Chief Administrator,
Mr N.C. Wadhwa, said that though the demolition was
causing inconvenience to the people, the authorities had
little choice in the matter since these were being
carried out in keeping with the directions of the court. |
Human
chain formed for pulse polio awareness CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Nearly 90,000 children from 104 schools along with teachers and residents of the city today formed a human chain to create awareness about the pulse polio programme. Thousands of school children from government and private schools, wearing caps and carrying placards and banners with messages to eradicate polio, queued up along the 90-km route, encompassing nearly every part of the city. They shouted slogans to highlight the message of the campaign. As a symbolic gesture, polio drops were administered to the children at few places. Besides the unbroken chain within the city, large chains were formed by students of government schools in Karsan, Dhanas and Mani Majra. The pulse polio rally of the staff and students of Government High School, Hallo Majra, was flagged off by members of the village panchayat. The rally of students of GMSSS-35 was flagged off by the fomer Deputy Mayor, Ms Harjinder Kaur. The UT Deputy Commissioner, Mr M. Ramsekhar, past Rotary International President, Mr R.K. Saboo, and Programme Chairman, Mr J.P.S. Sibia, joined the chain at the road dividing sectors 9 and 10. Dr V.K. Kak, Director, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and other promonent citizens joined the chain at various places. Mr Saboo expressed his gratitude to the Chandigarh Administration, especially the police personnel, who managed road intersections to ensure the safety of children. Passers-by had to face inconvenience when traffic was stopped suddenly at some places to allow children to pass. The human chain was one of the many created throughout India. Mr Saboo claimed that the involvement of children in this awareness campaign would have a salutoty effect in creating awareness about the forthcoming pulse polio immunisation day on November 21. The formation of the chain was organised by four Rotary clubs, members of the Innerwheel and Rotractors in association with the Chandigarh Administration. Mr Saboo said India's share in world polio cases had come down to 28 per cent as on August 31, 1999, as against nearly 50 per cent in 1998 and the target was to achieve zero per cent by the end of 2000. He stated that as per the latest update on global figures, India reported 945 cases as against the global figure of 3,344 in which Asia and Africa were major polio-endemic countries. The present aim was to reach out to nearly 6 per cent of children, especially in affluent homes, who had not been getting the polio drops administered to their children during the National Immunisation Days. Mr M. Ramsekhar said the Administration was all geared up to ensure that no child was left out in the forthcoming second round on November 21. He said there was high polio surveillance in the country and only two cases were found to be polio-positive during 1999 as against 4 last year. PANCHKULA To create awareness
regarding eradication of polio, a human chain of 400
school children was formed in Sector 7 of the township.
The event was organised by the Sector 8 branch of the
State Bank of India in collaboration with the Inner Wheel
Club. |
ENT camps
organised CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Patients suffering from hearing disabilities were examined at ENT camps, organised at various places to mark the ‘National day for the deaf’ here today. The Department of ENT and Speech and Hearing Rehabilitation Unit of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32 marked the day by organising a free ENT camp at Government Senior Secondary School, Karsan. The camp was inaugurated by Dr V.K. Kak, Director and Principal, GMCH-32, and Secretary, Medical Education, UT Administration. According to Dr Arjun Dass, Professor and Head of the ENT Department, Sector 32, a total of 298 patients were examined, out of which 106 had problems related to ear. All patients requiring hearing aids were provided with these at discounted rates. On the occasion, a poster exhibition educating the people about the causes and prevention of hearing loss in children and adults was also put up. Some educative material in the form of pamphlets was circulated to all people coming to the camp. Meanwhile, nearly 50 senior citizens in the age group 60-65 were examined at a free ENT camp organised by the PGI unit at Prayaas Rehabilitation Centre, Sector 38. While hearing aids were recommended in most cases, manufacturing companies have been asked to give them 25 per cent discount on the purchase of these machines. The team of doctors, led
by Prof SBS Mann, Head of the ENT Department, PGI
included Dr Vikas Nehru, Dr Ashok Gupta and Dr Jagdeep
Singh Hundal. Dr Mann pointed out that 10 per cent of the
total population in the country suffers from deafness and
in the times to come, it shall be recognised as a
national problem like blindness. |
Audio-metric
health camp held PANCHKULA, Nov 17— A free audio-metric health camp was held at the General Hospital in Sector 6 here today on the occasion of the World Deaf Day. Over 100 patients were treated for deafness-related diseases at the camp, organised by the district health authorities. Mr R.S. Chaudhary, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission was the chief guest. The patients were given medicines free of cost along with vital information regarding health and hygiene of ears. Hearing aids at discounted prices were made available for the patients. Dr H.C. Nagpal, Civil Surgeon, Panchkula, said the process of treatment could be simplified if adequate preventive measures were taken at early stages. He expressed the need for a collective effort by the doctors and the community to fight the cause. Sound of incubators could also lead to deafness among infants, Dr Nagpal said. ENT specialist Dr Vijay Garg informed that the district health department had managed to bring the district deaf rate to 6 per cent, which is below the national deaf rate of 9.7 per cent. He said rural people in the district were more prone to have deafness than those living in the urban areas due to increased content of fluorine in water in rural areas. Elaborating the causes, he said birth traumas, genetic disorders, diabetes and malnutrition were some main causes of deafness. Training programmes for ‘anganwari workers’ in rural areas are undertaken for its prevention, he added. The chief guest lauded the contribution of the health department towards the cause. A cultural programme by students of the Deaf and Dumb School at Raipur Rani, was also held. The Deputy
Commissioner,Mr S.K. Monga was present at the function. |
Bounced
cheque case: miller convicted CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Convicting the partner of an Una-based spinning and weaving mill, a city court has sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years, besides imposing a fine of Rs 5,000 on the firm, in a bounced cheque case. Pronouncing the orders on a complaint filed by Indian Acrylics Limited against Himachal Spinning and Weaving Mill and its partner, the Judicial Magistrate directed that Rs 3,000 out of the fine "shall be paid to the complainant as litigation expenses and Rs 2,000 shall be deposited as state expenses." The Judicial Magistrate further directed that the accused, in default of payment, would undergo rigorous imprisonment for another four months. The Magistrate observed, "Keeping in view the contentions made by the convict in person and counsel for the complainant, I have come to the conclusion that in view of the facts proved on file, the dishonest intention on the part of the accused stands proved and the accused do not deserve a lenient view to be taken against them." Holding the accused guilty, the Magistrate had earlier observed, "Ingredients of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act stands proved against the accused as it has been proved that the accused has failed to make the payment of the cheque in question within the stipulated period of 15 days from the date of dishonour." Earlier, in its
complaint before the court, counsel for the complainant
had alleged that a cheque for Rs 5,00,000 issued by the
accused "as partial payment towards the outstanding
amount" was received back as dishonoured with the
remarks: "Funds insufficient".
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Proceedings
stayed in kickbacks case CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Issuing notice of motion to the UT public prosecutor for December 1 on a petition by Subdivisional Officer Gurpreet Singh and three others, Justice N.C. Khichi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed further proceedings, "qua the petitioner" in the engineering department kickbacks case. The case, pending before the UT District and Sessions Judge Mr B.S. Bedi, was subsequently adjourned to January 5, 2000, after the copy of the High Court order was placed on the file. Seeking stay on the proceedings, the counsel for the petitioners stated before the High Court that "irreparable loss" was likely to be caused if the order dated September 30, allowing the decodefied diaries to be a part of the challan, was not stayed. The counsel said the framing of charges were an important stage in the case in which all the documents relied upon by the prosecution were to be considered. He stated that no charge could be framed against the petitioners if the diaries were not considered as a part of the challan. The First Information Report was registered by the UT Vigilance Department on February 3, 1998, after the diaries were reportedly recovered from the houses of the alleged middlemen during raid by the income tax authorities in November, 1997. According to the
prosecution, certain entries were scrawled against the
names of the accused in the diaries. |
Bail plea
dismissed in cheating case CHANDIGARHNov 17 — Accounts Officer S.L. Khattar's application for the grant of anticipatory bail in a cheating and forgery case was today dismissed by the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi. He was apprehending arrest in a first information report under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, registered on a written complaint by the Assistant Controller of Printing and Stationary Department. Seeking the grant of
bail, counsel for the petitioner had stated that Khattar
was being implicated in the case. He had added that the
petitioner had been performing his duties efficiently and
honestly and no complaints had ever been received. |
Delhi
resident denied bail CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, today declined the bail plea of a Delhi resident, accused of getting false claim sanctioned in an accidental death case.Pronouncing the orders in the open court, the CJM observed: "I am of the considered view that the accused does not deserve the concession of bail. The accused, with the connivance of some other officials got prepared forged documents and had sanctioned more than Rs 8 lakh. The offences alleged to have been committed by the accused are very serious in nature. Finding no merit, bail application is declined".The CJM also observed: "The present case has been registered on the complaint of Vinay Kumar, manager, in which it has been alleged that the present accused, with the connivance of Sukhpal Singh and Satnam Singh, branch managers, prepared forged documents and got sanctioned false accidental claim". Earlier, claiming the
accused to have been falsely implicated in the case, the
defence counsel had stated that there was no evidence
regarding forging of documents for cheating. |
Judicial
remand for Syal till December 1 CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Director of Marigold Forests Rajesh Syal, accused of duping investors, was today remanded in judicial custody till December 1 by the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Naval Kumar. He had surrendered before the court on November 3. Syal was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police after several investors had complained that the company had not been honouring its commitment by either paying the interest on their money or the deposits which had matured. A case was registered after the matter was investigated by the Special Crimes Cell. The department, it may be recalled, had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the External Affairs Ministry to seek the help of the Interpol in arresting the accused. A request in this context had also been sent to both ministries. Police sources had said the accused had been siphoning off funds from the company for the past many years and had taken away a vast sum and had reportedly invested it there. Syal was declared as
absconding and an advertisement proclaiming him as wanted
was published on September 16 in newspapers of the
region. Following this, the police had launched a
manhunt. |
3 Union
ministers visit city today CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The city will pay host to three Union ministers tomorrow, while the fourth has cancelled her visit at the last minute. The Union Minister of Communication, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, is coming here tomorrow to inaugurate Sandesh Bhavan, the new office complex of the Punjab postal circle in Sector 17 at 3.15 p.m. The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Santosh Gangwar, will be here tomorrow to inaugurate a seminar on exploration geophysics at the CII convention centre at 10 a.m. Also in the city will be Mr Ayuel Oram, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs. He will preside over a meeting of various organisations dealing with tribal affairs. The Tribal Affairs Minister of Himachal Pradesh will also attend the meeting to be held at the Punjab Assembly at 10 a.m. The Union Minister of
State for Nutrition, Ms S. Mahajan, who was also expected
here tomorrow to inaugurate a two-day workshop on
nutrition, has cancelled her programme at the last
minute. |
Top
models for mega contest CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Twenty top models of the region — Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh — will vie for the eight titles at stake besides the Aristocrat Mega Model ’99 title at a contest to be held at the Chandigarh Club on November 27. The mega model contest will be choreographed by Priyanka Singh and anchored by Pallab Bose. Dancers from Russia will step up the heartbeat of the audience with their dances at the first performance in Chandigarh. The show, organised by Stroh’s, will be a serious attempt of Indian Arts and SSIS, which presented the Lady of the Year contest last year. The National Institute of Fashion Design will provide garments to the participants. The 100 applicants for
the contest will be short-listed on November 20 by a
panel of judges. |
Model
contest challenged CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — On a civil suit filed by two social organisations along with a Panchkula resident, for restraining the organisers from holding a "mega model contest", the UT Sub-Judge (Junior Division), Mr Jasbir Singh, today issued notice for November 25. Claiming "indecent representation of women" during the contest scheduled for November 25, the plaintiffs — lawyers for Social Reforms, Yuvsatta and Chetan Kumar Sharma — alleged that scantily dressed models "would be brought on the stage with the intent to satisfy the desires of the spectators by exposing." Expressing apprehension regarding the outrage of their modesty, counsel for the plaintiffs stated that the spectators might touch or even embrace the models, serving liquor, "in the name of enjoyment." The intention behind organising the context, counsel added, was to promote a brand of beer among the elite by advertising the product through glamorous models. The use of female models, he further added, as an advertisement tool "amounted to indecent representation of women within the meaning of Section 2 (c) of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986". Further alleging exploitation of the models for commercial purposes, counsel stated that the event was "opposed to decency, morality, dignity of women, besides the Indian culture, social values and the tradition." The contest, if allowed
to be organised, would also "bring down the respect
for women in the eyes of the general public",
besides violating the "human rights of the weaker
sex", counsel concluded. |
Khula
darbar at Morni PANCHKULA, Nov 17 — The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K. Monga, said the District Administration would take personal interest and observe transparency in solving the problems of the public put before its officials at the ‘khulla darbar’. At a ‘darbar’ held at the office of the Block Development Officer at the Morni Block, here today, Mr Monga said the complainants should provide all facts regarding the problem so that the officer concerned could solve these soon. He said a team of the Government of India would visit Morni on November 19 to assess the development work in the hilly area. In all, of 69 complaints were put before the officials. The panchayats of some villages in the vicinity informed the Deputy Commissioner that electricity had not reached the far off villages of the area. Mr Monga, asked the officials to prepare a report on the villages being supplied with electricity so that arrangements to supply electricity to the remaining could be made. Complaints of bad roads and inefficient or insufficient bus service were also made. Mr Monga directed the officials concerned to ply buses which were in good condition to ensure that commuters of the area did not face any difficulty. He added that the Union Government had released a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the forest vegetation and the payment of labourers engaged in plantation would be disbursed within a week. Mr Monga directed the
District Education Officers to ensure at least one
teacher in every primary school. Other problems
highlighted at the ‘darbar’ included old age
widow and handicapped pensions among others. |
PUDA to
auction commercial sites SAS NAGAR, Nov 17—The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has decided to auction commercial sites along the Chandigarh-SAS Nagar- Sohana dual carriageway in Sector 70 here. A decision to this respect was taken during a meeting chaired by Mr K.B.S. Sidhu in Chandigarh today, a press note said. According to the press note, in the first phase, 15 shop-cum-office sites along the main road would be sold through an open auction on December 17 with a tentative reserve price of Rs 50 lakh for each of the site. Also, a plot measuring
1,545 square metres for corporate offices would be sold
on the same day. The overall planning of Sector 70
included 98 sites for SCOs, 160 for double storeyed
booths, 40 for tripple-storeyed booths, four for hotels,
six for corporate offices and one for a petrol pump. The
Engineering Wing had been directed to begin civil works
in the area so that it could be beautified, the press
note said.
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Military
Police expedition flagged off CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Two fully equipped engineer regiments of the Western Command, including one based at Chandi Mandir, were among the first ones to reach the cyclone affected areas in Orissa to carry out the rescue work. This was said by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command, Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi, after he flagged off a motor cycle expedition being undertaken by the Corps of Military Police (CMP) on its next leg to Saharanpur. He also said one of the regiments, 61 Engineer, was carrying out the rescue work in Jagatsingpur — the worst affected and an almost inaccessible area. The Army Commander said adventure activties were given a high priority in the services as these were a part of a soldier's training and orientation. He also interacted with the team members. The expedition, being organised to mark the Corps' diamond jubilee and its fifth reunion, had arrived here from Pathankot yesterday. It had begun from Bangalore on Ocober 19 and will end at New Delhi on January 14, 2000. The team will take part in the Army Day parade the next day. The 16-member team, including two JCOs and led by Subedar R.K. Gopalan, will cover 15,000 kilometres over 85 days. After starting from Bangalore, the team touched Pondicherry, Kanyakumari and travelled through Western Coast, besides Ahmedabad, Jaisalmer, Amritsar, Jammu and Srinagar. It will now pass through the Gangetic plains, reach Gangtok and touch Guwahati, Shillong and Tripura before reaching Calcutta. The team will then travel through Eastern Coast till it reaches Chennai. After this, it will touch Bangalore again and move towards Delhi travelling through Hyderabad, Nagpur, Gwalior and Agra. The team members will
interact with serving personnel as well as ex-servicemen
en route and convey the message of secularism and
integrity. |
DGMO
addresses Army officers CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The Director-General Military Operations (DGMO), Lieut-Gen N.C. Vij, today addressed officers as well as select retired personnel on various aspects of Operation Vijay undertaken in the Kargil sector recently. The DGMO highlighted basic operational, logistical and administrative matters pertaining to the conflict and discussed some of the problems faced by the troops, including terrain, climate and the tactics employed by the enemy. He focused on the backdrop in which the incursion in the Kargil sector was undertaken and the tactical and strategic gains which the enemy had hoped to achieve. He also spoke about the role played by Pakistani troops in the incursions as well as the general strategy adopted by Pakistan in that sector. The Indian response was also discussed and various tactical aspects which went into planning and executing flush-out offensives, including the role of air support, were highlighted. Post-Kargil Indian
defensive measures in that sector, which include priority
of mountain warfare, manning the Line of Control
throughout the year and positioning additional
formations, were also outlined.
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Army men
donate relief material CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Army personnel and their families stationed at Chandi Mandir cantonment donated relief material, including clothes and blankets, for the cyclone-affected people of Orissa. A truckload of relief
material was handed over by Army Wives Welfare
Association President Daulat Oberoi to the Chandi Mandir
Station Commander, Brig S.K. Sinha, for onward despatch
today. |
Workshop
on geophysics CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Strengthening the capability for application of digital methods and other related advancements in the geophysical field figured prominently in the workshop on 'Exploring in India and Gondwanaland with geophysical imaging" organised by the Association of Exploration Geophysicists here today. The AEG has entered its silver jubilee year. The main themes for the seminar from November 18 to 20 are exploration, education, industry in hydrocarbons, groundwater and environment. Geophysical techniques are extensively used for exploration of the minerals, ground water, sulphides, including ores and other related areas. Addressing a press conference, Prof Y. Sreedhar Murthy, Secretary of the AEG, said recent developments in remote sensing images had saved millions of lives. The related digital development, however, needed immediate attention. Today's workshop pondered on potential and resourceful mineral areas of Gondwanaland, extending from South Africa to Australia. Professor Murthy said that agencies in Australia and South Africa had discovered scores of underground resources. It was vital in case of India to search for the potential resources before giving up. The workshop and the ensuing exhibition dwells on geophyscial instruments covering mechanisms with state-of-art techniques and major companies which were using the instruments. Countries which depended on agriculture were largely developing and those which had optimum usage of minerals were largely developed, he said. Another area of interest in India was that vital information was rarely shared between two agencies which was a must for development. A grant of $ 1 million had been sanctioned to the AEG by the Holland for geo-scientific research, it was pointed out by the secretary. Mr T.K.N.Gopalaswamy, president of the executive committee, said that geophysics was developing as an umbrella organisation where different related fields united to give definite direction to research in fields which could be combined. Mr M. Mehta from the Central Ground Water Board, said that water which went waste in large reservoirs has chances to be artificially recharged which was being done in a number of known water reserves. He also informed about a laboratory which will be set up at the exhibition site to test the purity of water. There will be two awards
comprising Rs 50,000 each for commendable thesis in
exploration geophysics and Rs 50,000 for developmental
geophysics, Mr D.N.Awasthy said. Prof Colin V Reeves
,International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth
Sciences, Netherlands, spoke about history of
Gondwanaland and its potential for progressive research. |
Microbiologists’
convention from today CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Scientific deliberations, focussing on recent explosion of knowledge in molecular biology and biotechnology for diseases prevalent in the country, will mark the XXIII National Congress of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists at the PGI from tomorrow. Nearly 600 delegates, including a few scientists from the USA and the UK will take part in the conference which will conclude on November 21.Addressing mediapersons, Prof R.C Mahajan of the Department of Parasitology stated that at the dawn on the new millennium it has been realised that special attention is required to be paid towards the diagnosis and control of the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. There are at present 29 types of emerging diseases and 22 types of re-emerging diseases in the country. The conference will be preceded by a pre-Congress CME on “Parasitic diseases: newer techniques for the newer millennium’’ tomorrow. More than 125 participants from all over the country will be trained in various practical techniques for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases. This will provide a strong baseline for the diagnostic laboratories of the country to get prepared for meeting the challenges of the next millennium. Special sessions have been arranged on nosocomial infections, antimicrobial resistance, mycobacterial infections, gastro-intestinal infections, newer diagnostic techniques, leishmaniasis, malaria, hepatitis, HIV infections and other re-emerging fungal diseases. The focus will be on their causes, diagnosis and treatment, he pointed out. Giving some WHO figures, Prof Mahajan revealed that of the 12 million people who die in this world due to these infectious diseases, 41 per cent are in South East Asian countries and of these 65 per cent deaths occur in India. He further said that prominent among the re-emerging diseases are malaria, leishmaniasis (kala azar) — mostly in the states of Bihar and UP; plague; cholera; lympathic filariasis concentrated mostly in the coastal areas of South and Orissa. The emerging diseases which are mainly caused due to mutation of organism or change in environmental conditions are HIV, Hunta Virus, Vibyor Cholera, Ebola virus. Two symposia will focus on ‘Central Nervous System infections; and ‘Vaccines in Indian Perspectives.’ They will also emphasise on the need for a proper anti-biotic policy for the country to check the problem of multiple drug resistance even in common diseases like malaria and TB. It is observed that improper drugs in improper dosage and duration cause appearance of resistant organisms to the commonly known drugs. As many as 96 oral
papers and 226 posters will be presented by the delegates
on different fields of microbiology, including
bacteriology, parasitology, virology, mycology and
microbial immunity. This is for the first time since the
inception of the association in 1977 that the conference
is being organised in the PGI. |
SNIPPETS Jyoti memorial eye camp PANCHKULA, Nov 17 — The eighth annual free eye and dental check-up camp will be held on November 21 (Sunday) at the Jyoti Dental and Eye Care Centre, 621, Sector 16, here between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Two specialists, Dr Suvikram and Dr Suman, will provide various facilities, including proper spectacles and minor surgery at the camp. This year's services will be dedicated to the memory of Dr D.D. Jyoti, the eminent linguist and scholar, who passed away last year. Police clarifies stand on
recruitment CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The UT police has said that the recruitment of 120 constables between November 24 and 29 has nothing to do with the order of the CAT setting aside recruitment of 67 candidates for posts of constable. In a press note issued here today, the city SSP said the recruitment, for which the last date of submission of application was December 16, was different from the one quashed by the CAT and an impression that both were same was wrong. The candidates who were affected by the CAT’s order need not appear for physical measurement on November 24 and revised schedule of recruitment for such candidates would be announced later as the matter was sub-judice, the press note said. The SSP said all the applicants had been directed to report in accordance with the schedule for different categories at the Sector 26 police lines for physical measurement with relevant documents. Birth anniversary CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — The local unit of the Sathya Sai Seva Organisation has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and Sri Sathya Sai Baba simultaneously on November 23 by taking out a nagar sankirtan from the Sector 30 Sri Sathya Sai Old-Age Home. In the afternoon, there will be "sarb dharam" bhajan at the home. Meanwhile, the local Lord Khatu Shyam Prachar Mandal has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Prabhu Shyam on November 19 at the Sector 32 Prachin Hanuman Mandir. Kataria award for Dr Sharma CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Dr S.K. Sharma, Professor and Head of the Department of Urology at the PGI, here has awarded the Dr P.N. Kataria memorial oration award for his contribution in the filed of uroncology. The award has been instituted by the north zone chapter of the Urological Society of India to commemorate Dr Kataria’s contribution in this field. Dr Sharma delivered the
oration this year during the ninth annual conference at
Agra on October 30. |
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