The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Charred body of youth found
From A Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, April 23 — The charred body of a youth in his early 20s was found lying in a dumping area between Ram Darbar and Hallo Majra in the early hours of the morning today. The police suspect that the victim was strangulated before being torched by unidentified assailants.

The burning body was noticed by a police patrol party at about 2 am. By the time it reached the spot, the body was smouldering. A police official said the body had been lying on a dump of waste coal tar. Fire extinguishers were also requisitioned.

The SHO of the Sector 31 police station, Mr K.I.P. Singh, who also reached the spot immediately, said the poor visibility because of the dark had restricted the police. At the onset of the dawn, a team of forensic experts reached there and an improvised bridge of logs of wood was made to gain an access to the body which was was badly stuck in the coal tar. The experts took out the burnt pieces of victim's flesh which had peeled off due to burning.

A piece of wire tied around the victim's neck was also found on the spot. The police suspects that the youth was burnt to conceal his identity. The policemen said though the victim's body was badly burnt, the outlines of his face could be seen vaguely. His tongue was protruding out due to the strangulation.

Visiting cards, smeared with coal tar were found in the back pocket of the trousers of the victim by the police.

Efforts were being made to identify the victim and ascertain the cause of murder. A case has been registered under Section 201 and 302 of the IPC.

Fencing for Sukhna sanctuary, forest area
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 — A massive chain link fencing exercise has been in progress to consolidate and conserve Sukhna sanctuary and forest area in Chandigarh.

While the Central Government has sanctioned Rs 36 lakh for chain link fencing of Sukhna sanctuary, the Department of Forests, Wildlife and Environment of the Chandigarh Administration has also started chain link fencing of forest land in Kishengarh and Industrial Area here on its own.

Sources in the Department maintain that chain link fencing of Sukhna sanctuary has been necessitated not only to check encroachments but also to preserve wildlife and conserve forest land.

Last year, 12 animals, mostly sambhars, had strayed into city areas, indicating that wildlife in the Sukhna sanctuary and the adjoining catchment area was flourishing.

This year, 12 animals found their way into the city from forest areas so far. Of these, timely action could save only eight as the remaining four died because of injuries they received while evading human contact.

The Chief Wildlife Warden of Chandigarh, Mr H.S. Sohal, confirmed that work on chain link fencing of Sukhna sanctuary was undertaken as part of the centrally assisted scheme. The first instalment of Rs 20 lakh had been received. The purpose of the chain link fencing was three-fold. It would provide a protection ring to the sanctuary area, save the wildlife and save crops in adjoining fields. The total length of the chain link fencing is almost 4 km.

Since the forest area adjoining Industrial Area and at Kishengarh is prone to encroachments, the Department of Forests has undertaken a locally funded scheme to fence the entire forest land here.

In the forest land adjoining Industrial Area, more than 8,000 saplings were planted by the Forest Department past year. To protect and conserve these saplings and to check encroachment of this forest land, work on chain link fencing has been undertaken on a war footing.

During the past few years, a lot of forest land which had been unauthorisedly encroached upon by civilians, slum-dwellers and other influential persons was got cleared by the department. The land so cleared was fenced with barbed wire. But since barbed wire was prone to poaching and infiltration, the department decided to go for chain link fencing.

PU Syndics divided over selections
By Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 —The simmering tussle between the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University and the UT Administration on appointments is likely to get another exciting turn, with considerations for new appointments in the forthcoming Syndicate meeting later this month.

The last Syndicate meeting deferred all appointments. Appointments will feature assistant registrars, assistant director in Centre for Adult and Continuing Education, project officer in Adult Education, senior technician in Biophysics, lecturers in English and in the Department of Evening Studies, professors in Sanskrit and Biotechnology and a reader in Sanskrit.

The issue is likely to generate heated discussions in the house as more than seven members in the last Syndicate had proposed that the items on appointments be deferred at least till July 31, 2000.

Fellows showed reservation against recordings in official records, which read that considerations of all items on the agenda pertaining to selections be deferred till next month.

Prof Charanjit Chawla, a senior Fellow, and Mr K.A.P. Sinha, DPI (Colleges), said it was pointless to have appointments of teachers on the agenda at least till July end, till the new academic session begins. The records also showed that the house remained divided on the issue of appointments.

Heated discussions are expected over the issue. Closely related issues are on-going charges and rebuttals in case of appointment of the wife of the Finance Secretary. There was undue pressure in ensuring the appointment of his wife by delay in the payment of university funds.

The Administration denied the allegation, saying the Administration had no direct role in the budget as the syndicate and the senate were bodies which cleared the budget. The issue of the Secretary's wife was unnecessarily dragged in. She was no longer a candidate and a letter of hers showed her withdrawal of interest, it was argued.

The vice-chancellor said he did not want to react to to the Administration's statement. "Enough muck has been thrown at me and so I do not want to react to any kind of statement," said Prof M.M. Puri.

It has been also pointed out that the Vandana Rakesh case was unnecessarily being given importance. There were at least 30 more teachers in the same category who had not found mention in the ongoing debate.

The Board of Finance, in a separate meeting, expressed concern on wasteful expenditure. A senior Fellow pointed out that the budget first needed a review. One found more than seven appointments of teachers in a department which had less than ten students. The ratio was also worth looking at in a few other departments.

Mr Sinha said a re-look at the existing conditions and demands needed to be mentioned with specific reasons. The appointments' expenditure was related to overall expenditure. Like in the construction cell, against the provision of Rs 28 lakh, the university showed Rs 4.5 crore.

Sources said items were being brought again on the pretext of leaving aside the old cases and ensuring no new appointment in new cases. Even in this case, the appointments could have waited for some time. Certain members of the Syndicate also sought a free and fair assessment of academic quality of certain new appointments. Syndicate members who spoke against new appointments till July 31, 2000, included Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Prof Ram Parkash, Dr R.D. Anand, Ms Sneh Mahajan, Prof Charanjit Chawla, Mr Kehar Singh, Dr O.N. Nagi and Prof I.M. Govil.

The proposal that the item be deferred till the next meeting was moved by Mr Satish Kumar. Mr G.K. Chatrath said they opposed the decision of the Board of Finance in this regard. A question mark remains over the salaries of the existing staff as the session budget is yet to be cleared by the university house and the state.

Computers invade PU hostel rooms
By Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 — Computers, as teaching and learning aids, are fast moving into rooms of hostel residents in Panjab University, reflecting the fast changing necessities of current times.

Students depending on fast updating of information are finding computer use relevant regarding practical work in their classes. The university set-up works on latest Internet facilities and its developments.

Besides rooms in hostels I and II, among others, computers have also sneaked into private rooms of day scholars. Private room computer facility is significant in the light of growing number of users at the campus Internet facility.

Praveen Rathi, a research scholar, said hostel residents despite limited access to Internet connection find it useful for making individual reports.

Rathi said computer helped him in the storage of data. It was more convenient to update research work following corrections by the guide. Earlier, one had to go to a local computer shop.

Sachin Agarwal, an MCA student, said the university had made it convenient for students to have computers in their rooms by charging a nominal annual fee. One always feared data loss because of various reasons on work in the classrooms. The same apparatus was used by many students. The facility for using machines in hostel rooms definitely saved place for machine seekers at the library.

The Masters of Computer Applications Department has a large number of students possessing personal computers. A senior student of the department, Dorjay Wanghchuk, said the rate was above 80 per cent in case of day scholars at the final stage.

Dorjay, a final year student, stays in a rented accommodation locally, but has installed an advanced computer set at his residence. “Besides routine class-work, I also have the opportunity to take up projects. I also freelance as a designer of websites”, Dorjay said.

Dorjay said in assistance with his class mate Munish Jauhar, he had been able to work on designing an exclusive web site. Personal computers are definitely an asset. Like one borrowed books , friends also like to drop in for pursuing their projects.

Nurzin Saldon, pursuing postgraduation in English, said having computer at homes assisted her access to book stores and opportunity for book reviews at home. “ Games and access to word and sentence construction were other benefits”, she said, while admitting that the machine had an addictive nature.

Akash Narway, another student, said that access to computer in hostel rooms was a positive development in the light of data linking process in various departments. The process was slow but was definitely catching up, he added.

READERS WRITE

Tree cutting in Zirakpur callous

This letter is regarding mindless cutting of trees in Zirakpur. I have had the opportunity of seeing this and have come to realise that there is something inherently wrong with our society, politics and bureaucracy. Apropos ‘A park at a heavy cost’ in Chandigarh Tribune, dated April 11. There is a triangular area of three and a half acres with some majestic eucalyptus trees growing in its low-lying areas. In my opinion, any planning of this park must carefully preserve these mature and majestic trees. I am amazed that one can be so callous and devoid of imagination to even think of doing away with those beautiful trees — the only green of any consequence in the area. Plan the park around those trees. Why not!

In the news item ‘Betrayed for pieces of silver, Zirakpur’s vanishing orchards’... there is mention of a ‘Silver City’ in the making. Not a city by any standard, only a few pieces of silver, as you have aptly put it. I had walked along the most beautiful avenue of pear trees on this ‘Silver City’ land and later found out that all of that would be cut either by the developer for roads or by the future owners of plots to build their homes. And with a pride to claim that the colony’s plan has been approved by PUDA, again reflects on PUDA’s incompetency in matters of approvals.

First, that the approval contravenes the Periphery Act and secondly, that such a plan has been approved without carefully looking at the Plan. Examples a) That 21 out of 60 acres should have been left for parks and other open spaces which has not been done; b) That the existing beautiful trees, specially the Pear Avenue, mentioned earlier should have been retained and accounted for within the 21 acres; c) That the land being low-lying area (4-6 feet below the highway level) with storm drainage of the entire site, possible only towards the drainage ditch running along the busy Chandigarh-Ambala highway, some areas were badly needed to be left for the holding of localised storm water to have been accounted within the 21 acres for open space; d) That the access to and from the highway is indeed dangerous as not enough safety zone or distance been provided from the entry/egress points at the highway which has to be the most busy one in the region; e) That not enough parking has been provided for all the showrooms/retail commercial-cum flats located right close and fronting on to the highway, which will force people to park right on verge of the highway causing safety problems.

All of the above could have been achieved with imaginative planning.

J.S. Khurana
Chandigarh

Medical facility

A large number of retired central government civil employees residing at Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali have no central government health scheme dispensary or hospital.

The retired employees have been pressing hard for this facility, which is available at many other state capitals and at Delhi. It is learnt that the central government had actually allocated funds in the past for this purpose but due to lack of determination the scheme was not implemented and the funds not utilised.

It is really sad that these senior citizens are not shown any special consideration in the Union Territory hospitals, which get lots of funds allocated by the central government.

J.S. Sandhu
SAS Nagar

Low water pressure

This summer, the crisis of low pressure of water in the residential houses has come earlier. Many house-owners feel upset when their tenants carry buckets full of water from the ground floor to the top-floor. In the absence of water on the top floor, the flush and the bathrooms become dry and there are chances of unhygienic conditions.

About two years ago, the Administration and the corporation had a plan to provide better water supply on the top floor. They even made a proposal to provide separate water meters to private houses. The most important tasks at the moment are to provide good supply of water, drinking water tanks with taps on roads, for the pedestrians.

Jaswant Singh
Chandigarh

Post office needed

I want to draw the attention of the government towards a basic need of the residents of MIG flats in Sector 70 in SAS Nagar. This is a well developed colony with more than 5000 units. As per a policy of the government, a colony having 1500 units should be provided postal facilities, including post-office-cum-telegraph office.

It will be in the fitness of things if this colony is provided with postal facility.

Ashu
SAS Nagar

CHANDIGARH CALLING

Mani Majra CHB Housing Complex going to seeds

When it comes to basic amenities in a housing complex, which is one of the largest in the region with around 3000 houses catering to more than 15,000 persons, one expected that these would be adequate. That is what the Chandigarh Housing Board had promised at the time of inviting applications for houses in the Modern Housing Complex, situated at the foothills of Shivaliks more than 10 years ago. But these have not materialised till date.

Heaps of garbage can be seen everywhere. The proposed health centre (UT Allopathic Dispensary) is yet to become functional. Streetlights do not function. There are growing number of thefts and the presence of miscreants keeps residents on tenterhooks.

Government High School, Manimajra, is located just outside the complex. Most of the students staying in the complex study in model schools elsewhere in the city. Their parents want that the government school should be converted into a model school.

An honour

Mr Hemant Batra, a Chandigarh-born lawyer who graduated from DAV College, Chandigarh, and did his LLB from Panjab University here, has been elected unopposed as the Treasurer of the South-Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law (SAARCLAW).

Elections of the Executive Council/Governing Council of SAARCLAW were held on March 31 at Thimpu, capital of Bhutan. While Mr Batra was unanimously chosen the Treasurer in place of Mr Rohan Sahabandhu of Sri Lanka, Mr Justice L.P. Aryal, Judge of the Supreme Court of Nepal, was elected the President and Mr Bharat Raj Upreti, a leading Nepalese lawyer, was elected the Secretary General of SAARCLAW. Mr Aryal and Mr Upreti, respectively, replaced Muhammad Amir-Ul Islam, a well known jurist from Bangladesh, and Mrs Dhara Wijayatilake, Law Secretary of the Sri Lankan government.

SAARCLAW is an association of the legal communities of the SAARC countries comprising judges, lawyers, academicians, law teachers, government servants and a host of other law related persons, duly registered with the SAARC Secretariat at Kathmandu. It owes its genesis to the desire of the members of the legal community of the SAARC countries to set up a platform for the region to promote closer cooperation, exchange of ideas and dissemination of information by lawyers, judges and others. SAARCLAW was inaugurated in Colombo in 1991 by Mr Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was then the President of Sri Lanka.

Mr Batra, 33 who is now based in Delhi, is the youngest SAARCLAW Governing Council member. He has specialised in the field of foreign investment related legal consultancy.

Conservation

The Children’s Alliance for Protection of the Environment (CAPE) has launched a unique conservation exercise to protect biodiversity, although the Central Ministry of Environment & Forest has yet to announce its plan to do so.

The CAPE has named a 7.5-acre area, including a 1.5-acre old pond in the fruit nursery of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) as, “Kanchanpur Nature Preserve” (KNP). The deweeding, and disilting of the pond was launched on April 21. About 150-ft-long steel barricades have been put up to prevent residents of the TTTI from throwing waste into the pond.

This old pond of village Kanchanpur has been the habitat of white-breasted water hen, purple moorhen, water cock and water plants like typpha augusta etc. A steel cage has been fixed on the bank of the water body for the ducks. Three species of the Indian goose will be released into the pond during this week. In addition aquatic plants like lily and hydrilla have been introduced into this wetland along with Gambusia and Guppy fish to prevent mosquito breeding. In the coming season five species of fish — Rohu, Katla, Mrigal etc. — would he introduced into the pond.

The KNP has seven species of reptiles. About 15 species of birds visit the park. Twelve nesting boxes have been placed so that the birds weave their nests. Peacocks will be released shortly.

The KNP has 15 tree species and 12 varieties of fruit trees. Saplings of Kadamba, bodh etc have been planted. A butterfly enclosure will be set up soon. Vermi compost technology has been introduced. Five beehive boxes have been placed. These actions will increase fruit yield by 25 per cent. Mr Sawant Kumar, President of the CAPE, said that the expenditure on this project would be about Rs 10 lakh. Mr Des Raj Tandon, Senior Deputy Manager, MCC, said that nursery and CAPE activities can go together. The MCC would support this project which will also promote eco-tourism.

Small families

The privileges granted by the Central Government to employees who have small families have now been extended to armed forces personnel. Consequently, there has been an increase in benefits for them, ranging from Rs 50 per month to Rs 300 per month in accordance with their rank.

Since the rates of the requisite allowance have been subsequently increased, eligible personnel will get arrears ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 14,000 for the period between January 1, 1996, to December 31, 1999. Instructions in this regard have reportedly been issued.

Free legal aid

It is free legal aid for The Tribune readers. Responding to a call by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asking advocates to take up at least 10 per cent of the cases without charging any fee, city advocate Kapil Kakkar has offered his services to poor and rundown litigants.

“Write to The Tribune Lok Adalat. If the authorities fail to satisfy you, contact me at 502, Sector 15, Chandigarh, and I will contest the case for you. Free of cost,” claims Mr Kakkar.

— Sentinel

COMMUNITY

Lord Venkateswara arrives in town
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, April 23 — Men in starched cotton dhotis with angvastras and chandan tilaks and women dressed in vibrant hues arrived at the Venkateswara temple in Sector 12-A, here today morning, to participate in vigraha pratishtapana (idol installation) of Lord Venkateswara, Goddess Padmavathi and Goddess Andal.

The installations of the idols of Balaji and the Goddesses were carried out simultaneously by a 16-member team of priests headed by P.V.S.S.R. Jagannath Acharya of the main temple, Dwarka Trimula, in Tirupati, amid the chanting of shlokas and houm yagya for purification.

The three-day Mahapratishtha Mahakumbhabhishekham Mahotsav ceremony ended today with a community lunch on the premises. Devotees in large numbers were present since morning to pay obeisance, this being the first temple in the region dedicated to Lord Venkateswara.

The celebrations had begun on April 21 with cleansing of the yagyashala and the temple premises to make these ready for the installation of the idols carved out of single black stone each. The next day had begun with vishaksena puja, followed by puniavachna (for purification of everything to be used in the puja) and panchagavya prasna (to cleanse the soul).

‘Earthly’ gods distract

The doting devotees waiting for their turn to pay obeisance, wasted no time in turning their backs on the Gods they were fondly admiring with the arrival of the two Chief Ministers on the scene. While children climbed onto the adjoining wall, the elders craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the "earthly'' gods. They returned to the Gods after the two had left.

Later, fire was produced by rubbing two wooden pieces to light in the six yagya kundas. Following this, the three idols, replicas of those at Tirupati and flown in from there, were brought to the premises and washed in milk, curd and water. On a specially constructed platform, in the folds of the mattresses, the three were put to sleep only to be invoked today morning for the installation.

Again, the idols were bathed in a special liquid-mix called panchadhara comprising milk, curd, water, honey and jaggery, after which, these were installed. The Garudstambha, the trunk of a sandalwood tree, was also installed on the premises.

The three idols had silver crowns and garlands of flowers. Bright red vermilion had been applied on their feet. Also at their feet were offerings by devotees who had queued up for the darshan.

Meanwhile, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr Om Prakash Chautala, visited the temple to pay obeisance. They were taken to the temple amid the chanting of mantras and later, released the Venkateswara calendar, bearing pictures of Lord Venkateswara and Goddess Padmavathi.

The chief patron of the Venkateswara Swami Temple Trust, Mr Justice T.H.B. Chalapathi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, appealed to the public to donate liberally and contribute towards the construction of an orphanage adjacent to the temple. The construction has been planned by the trust.

The others present at the function included Mr K.C. Sharma, Financial Commissioner and Secretary of Haryana; Mr N.C. Wadhwa, Chief Administrator of Town and Country Planning; Mr M. Ramshekhar, Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh; Mr C.S.R. Reddy, DIG (Punjab); and members of the district administration of Panchkula. These included Mr S.K. Monga, Deputy Commissioner; Mr Sudhir Chowdhary, SP; Mr Anurag Aggarwal and Mr Abhilaksh Likhi of HUDA.

CRIME

Truck rams into ‘misleading’ traffic lights
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, April 23 — A truck rammed into the railings on dividing of the Chandigarh-Ambala highway at the traffic-light point of the Zirakpur-Panchkula intersection here on Saturday at about 11.30 pm.

According to sources, after breaking the dividing, the truck (HR-20B-5848) rammed into the railings and traffic-light poles. A streetlight pole, recently installed on the highway by the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat, was also damaged.

Police sources said the truck was going to a milk plant near Dera Bassi from Chandigarh. After breaking the railings, the truck further collided with another truck (PB-12C-1682) which was on its way towards Panchkula.

The Zirakpur police post head, Mr Amarpreet Singh, said after repeated telephone calls to the Electricity Subdivision officials, he was told that ‘‘the problem would be taken up tomorrow as it was too late then’’. ‘‘We had to cut the live power cable ourselves to restore the traffic-lights on the Zirakpur-Panchkula road,’’ he said.

Residents complain that the traffic lights on this intersection often mislead road users as these have time-adjustment problems.

These lights do not give the green signal when one has to cross towards Chandigarh at while coming from Panchkula. Moreover, no red light appears when one crosses the light point to go to Ambala. The "misleading" traffic lights have made the point an accident hazard, says Rohit Sharma, a local resident.

Landlord, three tenants held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 23 — The police on Saturday arrested Telu Ram of Burail village and three of his tenants — Raj Kumar, Abdul Rehman and Javed — under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for not giving information to the police about the new tenants.

Maruti stolen: Mr Avtar Singh of Sector 34 on Saturday complained to the police that his Maruti car (CH-01-Q-1439) has been stolen from Sector 35. A case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.

Beggars arrested: The police on Saturday arrested Jagdish Kumar of Ropar and Bishan Lal of Patiala for begging at a public place. Separate cases under Section 151 of the MC Act have been registered against the arrested persons.

Cable operators booked: The police on Saturday registered a case under the Copyright Act against two cable operators of Mani Majra — Manmohan Singh and Swaran Singh — for screening a video film on the cable network without the permission of the producer of the film.

PANCHKULA

Bootleggers caught: A five-member team led by the SHO, Mr Rattan Singh, of the Sector 5 police station, seized 268 pouches of country-made liquor from a karyana shop in Rajiv Colony, following a tip-off. The two accused, Raju Verma and Jugnu, who were selling liquor under the cover of karyana items, were arrested by the police and a case under the Excise Act was registered against them.

Judicial remand: Nahar Singh, one of the accused in the Surbhi Forests Private Limited case, was remanded to the judicial custody after he was produced in the District Court here today. He has been in the police custody for nearly a fortnight after being caught by the local police while he was trying to escape after his bail was rejected.

SAS NAGAR

Poppy husk seized: At least 9 kg of poppy husk was seized from Anil Kumar by a police party led by the ASI, Mr H.S. Bal, on the SAS Nagar-Kambala road near here yesterday. The suspect used to buy the contraband from Uttar Pradesh at a rate of Rs 50 a kg and sell it in SAS Nagar and Kharar at Rs 400 a kg.