Village without postal facility
From Our Correspondent

GAUDAN (Kharar), Oct 10 — Anyone wanting to approach Gaudan village has to cross three seasonal rivulets with ankle-deep water flowing in them. The villagers have to wade them every time they leave the village.

Seventy-year-old Tulsi Ram amply describes the plight of the villagers when he says, "I have never seen a postman in the village in my life. One has to walk all the way to the Mullanpur post office, 8 km from here, to get one's letters, money orders, etc or to buy postal material".

This village in Kharar tehsil, lacks most of the basic amenities. The only approach road to the village has not been repaired for the past three years. Prolong neglect has resulted in potholes, which make it a highly accident-prone area.

Mr Krishan, a panch of the village, said that at one time the village had a bus service. "CTU's route No 70 touched this village but for the past two years the service had been withdrawn. Now we have to walk about 2 km to Jayanti Majri to catch a bus," he added.

Drinking water is another problem. The residents say that they get water supply only for an hour a day. The wells in the village also go dry during summer.

The village depends on rain for irrigation. Tubewells are too expensive. The low water-table prevents them from installing hand pumps.

The villagers also demand a dispensary and a telephone. A villager said that residents of nearby villages collected money to set up a veterinary dispensary at Kasoli. But it has not been functioning for the past two years as no doctor had visited the dispensary. A member of Kasoli panchayat revealed that the authorities had now asked for land so that the dispensary could be shifted.

...no road, dispensary here
From Our Correspondent

KARAUNDIANWALA (Kharar), Oct 10 — Lack of roads, medical services and other amenities mark Karaundianwala village on Chandigarh's periphery.

Situated about 5 km from the Jayanti Devi temple, the village is surrounded by choes which restrict the movement of the residents.

According to Mr Daya Ram, a villager, they have to wade the choes in the absence of any bridge over these seasonal rivulets. The absence of roads has made any bus services to the area impossible. The residents have to walk for more than 5 km to catch a bus.

The residents also complain lack of the medical facility. Several representations to the authorities in this regard have had no effect.

In the absence of any transport facility, the villagers find it difficult even to take a patient to hospital. The village is also without a veterinary dispensary.

A panch said that the local gram panchayat had not been allotted a telephone connection. "We need this facilities, especially during the rainy season when our movement is restricted due to the flooding of the choes," he said. "None of the district officials or the elected representative has ever visited the village," he added.

Another problem highlighted by villagers is the poor water supply system. Four villages of this area get water from the Kasoli water supply scheme. The pipes pass through the choes and often get damaged. Villagers blame the use of PVC pipes for the frequent breakdown of the system.

Vatican making universal calendar
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — The Vatican is coordinating with other churches to draw up a universal calendar that will be followed to celebrate major events relating to 2000 years of the birth of Christ. Apart from this, bishops in various countries will be given a totally free hand to celebrate the occasion in their respective countries as they choose.

The Vatican will lay stress only on certain aspects of the celebrations after seeking an opinion from the churches, informed Reverend Lorenzo Baldisseri while talking to mediapersons here today. Rev Baldisseri, is the Apostolic Nuncio for India and Nepal. The Apostolic Nuncio is an ambassador, who represents the Pope and the Vatican in the country and is part of the diplomatic corps.

Rev Baldisseri, who was appointed as the Apostolic Nuncio in June this year said he had been informing the Vatican about the attacks on the Christian community in Bihar, Orissa and Gujarat. He, however, did not reveal what was the reaction from the other side, saying “I cannot tell what the Pope will have to say.’’

The community has to be strong enough in its faith, he said when asked about the murder of an Australian missionary in Orissa a few months ago.

Pope John Paul II will be on a week’s visit to India, starting November 5. But the Pope will not be coming to Chandigarh or Shimla, Rev Baldisseri said, while denying that his visit was a prelude to the Pope’s visit to these parts of the country. “It is just that I have started visiting various diocese across the country and the North West part of the country happens to be first,” he added.

The pope will be coming to meet bishops from all across Asia. These bishops had met the Pope in the Vatican and given a proposition to meet him. The Pope is not coming to India for the impending canonisation of Mother Teresa, who died in August 1997, Rev Baldisseri said.

Earlier in the day, Rev Baldisseri was part of the four-hour long prayer meeting in the Catholic Church in Sector 19. The assembled congregation was individually blessed by the visiting religious leader.

Meanwhile, senior officials of the Chandigarh Administration, including the Advisor to the UT Administrator, Ms Vineeta Rai, called upon Rev Baldisseri.

Complex residents face problems
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — Even after four years of possession of flats, the residents of the Modern Housing Complex (Duplex), Mani Majra, are living with a lot of problems.

Though a majority of allottees had occupied the flats, this portion of the complex seemed to be last on the agenda of the authorities. Perhaps the major problem the residents had been facing for the past over two years was the insanitation created by the labour force engaged by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation which was constructing about 305 flats near the complex.

The 400-strong labour force had not been provided any accommodation or other basic amenities, with the result that they were living in the temporary tenements constructed on the municipal land behind the petrol pump adjoining the Durga Nursery, alleged Mr K.L. Aggarwal, President of the Modern Housing Complex (Duplex) Residents Welfare Association.

The stretch of land starting from railway lines up to the petrol pump was being used by these families as an open lavatory in the morning and evening. As they defecated in the open, it had become virtually impossible for the residents to pass through the area and take a stroll. This was despite the ban by the authorities on defecating and urinating at the public places.

The growth of congress grass and bushes in the area provided adequate cover to the labour force to use the area as open lavatory. On account of stinking smell, it had become difficult for the residents to use the road which was the only entry point from the Chandigarh side.

The non-functioning of the streetlights in the area only added to the problems of the residents, alleged Mr R.S. Dhiman, Secretary of the association, adding that repeated representations to the authorities had failed to improve the things.

Besides, sanitation was not satisfactory and this coupled with the defecation in the open had become a major health hazard, he added.