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| Wednesday, July 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Women seek removal of liquor vend CHANDIGARH, July 11 — Women of Kishengarh and Bhagwanpura villages are up in arms over the delay in closing of a liquor sub vend, just 50 metres away from the regulator end of the Sukhna lake. A deputation of women of the two villages led by Mrs Satinder Dhawan, Councillor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, met the Adviser to the Administrator, Mrs Vineeta Rai, and urged her to get the liquor sub vend closed immediately. The deputationists maintained that it was becoming difficult for them to go their fields because they had to pass by the liquor vends. Initially there were two sub vends, one opened by a Haryana contractor, and the other by a UT contractor. Both these sub vends were located within 20 metres of each other and less than 100 metres from the regulator end of the lake. They maintained that menfolk and youngsters kept on sitting at the liquor vend the whole day. Sources said the Haryana sub vend was closed some days ago and the Chandigarh vendor had been asked to push his vend back. Mrs Rai assured the deputation that necessary action would be taken within next few days to shift the sub vend, Mrs Dhawan said in a press note released this evening. |
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Utter confusion on the eve of admissions CHANDIGARH, July 11 — With admissions to various streams for undergraduate classes starting tomorrow in most colleges of the city, a last-minute circular sent by the Registrar’s Office, Panjab University, has put the entire admission procedure being followed by the colleges in a quandary. Utter confusion prevails in most colleges as far as admission to B.Com I is concerned. The notification which was issued yesterday following an Academic Council meeting on July 5, had provisions for a change in criteria for admission to B.Com I. Since the notification had not reached most colleges, the colleges had already prepared the merit list according to the old system being followed. These lists were to be put up on the notice boards tomorrow morning when the admission process starts formally in various colleges. Sources also said that this was done in order to benefit those students who had commerce in twelfth and streamline the admission process. But there were others who believed that this system would benefit those the most who had commerce and business management subjects as vocational subjects than those who had commerce stream in their twelfth. There were some who thought that this new criteria would not effect more than 5 to 10 per cent of the students so it really would not make much difference in the final merit list. The notification also had a change of criteria for admission to BCA 1st year which stated that candidates who had passed 10+2 without maths or statistics as their subjects were eligible. Some colleges have decided to scrutinise more forms while others have decided to call more applications for an on-the-spot admission on a particular day to include those who satisfied the new conditions for admission. Most colleges felt that changing the criteria to admission at this last stage was not welcome as the final lists had already been prepared and the staff had been working during their vacations to get the lists ready. Now the whole process would have to be followed again and new lists prepared. This would take time and could cause the admission process to be postponed. A lot of inconvenience will have to be suffered by those who would be coming from large distances for the admissions of their wards. Meanwhile, while the admissions to undergraduate classes to all colleges of Panjab University having been postponed , the colleges had put an end to the receipt of applications for admissions to most of the courses being offered. The maximum number of applications have been received for admission to B.Com I year in most of the colleges. The Principal, Government College Sector 46, Maj D. P. Singh told that this year there was an enormous rush of applicants for various courses while the
number of seats continued to be meagre. He lamented that his college had applied for affiliation of M.Com classes in the college but the University Business School has been consistently indifferent to this demand. When contacted, the Registrar, Panjab University, replied that adequate steps were being taken and that a team of inspectors would be sent to the college for the purpose. A similar problem is being faced by Dev Samaj College, Sector 45 which had requested for another 60 seats in B.Com I year keeping in view thee increasing demand for the subject but have not received any information on that. Various colleges have received applications in large numbers for the courses being offered. Government College,Sector 46, has received 1190 applications for 120 seats in B.Com I. For BCA and BBA there are a mere 30 seats each and the number of applications are 993 and 290, respectively. Keeping in view the change in criteria for admission to BCA, the college has decided to invite more applications tomorrow and the day after. Sri Guru Gobind College, Sector 26, has received almost 1421 applications for 120 seats in B.Com I year and 1371 for BCA's 30 seats. Dev Samaj College, Sector 45, has received 312 applications for 60 seats in B.Com I year and 46 for BBA and 227 for BCA for 30 seats each. GGDSD College had received 1499 applications for 120 seats of B.Com I year, 1174 for BCA and and 243 for BBA again for 30 seats each. Their BSc computer applications course attracted 143 applications for 30 seats and for BSc biotechnology's 20 seats there were 66 applicants. Vocational Courses like sales and management had only 17 applications for 20 seats and for functional English the number of applications received were 10 for a total of 20 seats. GCG Sector 11 received 1300 applications for B.Com's 60 seats while for BBA there were almost 400 applicants for 30 seats. The vocational course in functional English attracted 150 applications for 30 seats. Government College, Sector 11, has received almost 950 applications for B.Com I year for 120 seats, 241 for BBA's 30 seats and 1020 for BCA's 30 seats. DAV College, Sector 10, received more than 950 applications for 60 seats in B.Com I year and for 30 seats each in BBA and BCA the applications received were a total of 773. The college's B.Sc computer science course which is starting this session has also received a healthy response. MCM DAV College has received almost 800 applications for 60 seats in B.Com I year. The most to have suffered are the traditional science courses of BSc medical and non-medical, the takers for which have fallen over the years. |
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Yadav, Nagpal
replace Kundras CHANDIGARH,
Mr Nagpal was the Director, Social Welfare, while Mr Yadav has come on deputation just now. Mr Nagpal has been replaced by Ms Madhavi Kataria, (PCS), who has also come on deputation. The charge of licencing-cum-registering authority held by Mr Kundra will now go to Mr Gurmail Singh. Another decision is about the bifurcation of work of Joint Secretary, Finance. All work relating to the estate office wing requiring the intervention of the Finance Secretary will be routed through Mr Vivek Atray, while Mr K.A.P. Sinha , Joint Secretary, Finance, will continue handle all other matters. |
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Bartana residents file objections ZIRAKPUR, Filing the objections, the residents have said that the government has not followed Section 4(1) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, while conducting a survey of the area. The Act states that before declaring any area a transitional area a survey should be conducted before issuing a notification under the Act. The Sub-Section (1) of the section empowers the government to issue notification for specifying any area to be the transitional area. But the notification has not been specifying the area of the village to be the transitional area. The objection application also states that nearly 95 per cent population of village is agriculturist and 90 per cent of the land in the village is being used for agriculture purpose. Therefore, the village does not fulfil the basic condition of being merged to the proposed civic body as per the Punjab Municipal Act. Moreover, according to the bare perusal of Section 4(1) of the Act, any area lacking town or a bazaar shall not be made a notified area. There is no bazaar in the village and it does not fulfil the condition. Therefore, the village should not be included to create the nagar panchayat. In an objection letter to the Principal Secretary, the Department of Local Bodies, the Gram Panchayat, and the Ravi Dass Sabha, said that the purpose of including Bartana in the nagar panchayat was to save numerous buildings, which have been constructed in violation of the Punjab Periphery Act. This shows that the local MLA and house owners have hatched a conspiracy to include the village in the proposed nagar panchayat. Earlier, the Department of Local Government, had declared the local area comprising Zirakpur, Lohgarh, Himmatgarh, Bishanpura, Bishangarh, Bartana and Dhakauli, of Dera Bassi tehsil, to be the transitional area for constituting the nagar panchayat to serve the purpose of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911. |
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Government schools open on July 13 CHANDIGARH, In the ongoing admissions, eight schools have filled the seats for science stream and two schools for commerce stream till date. Today three schools had seats filled for science stream. In Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, the cut-off percentage was 65. In Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, the cut-off percentage was 65.6, while in Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40 the cut-off percentage was 68.4. Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16 got its seats filled for the commerce stream and the cut-off percentage was 69.2. As per officials, 700 students were expected for the admissions, out of which 576 turned up and 563 got admitted today. As per the schedule admissions for those students with 60% and above will continue
tomorrow.
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Should driving licence age be lowered to 16? CHANDIGARH, July 11 — Every fifth applicant for a learner’s driving licence in Chandigarh is aged between 16 and 18 years. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, the minimum age prescribed for applying for a driving licence is 18 years. However, in case of mopeds below 50 cc, applicants above the age of 16 years can apply with the parents’ consent. Under the Act, those with mopeds’ learning licence cannot drive any other two-wheeler, including Kinetics, than 50 cc mopeds. Investigations reveal that only 50 per cent of these learners’ licences are ultimately changed into regular driving licences for mopeds alone. Rest prefer to get these “authorisations” to drive 50 cc vehicles extended till they attain the age of 18 years and are legally eligible for a regular driving licence. A cross-section of knowledgeable persons interviewed by Chandigarh Tribune are divided over amending the Constitution to lower the driving licence age. “Youngsters in western countries mature early because of extensive exposure. Further, the system to grant a driving licence is so tough that unless one is fully conversant with the traffic rules, road signs and is in a good state of health, he or she cannot get a driving licence there.” “Each applicant for a driving licence has to take a written test before he gets an appointment for a practical test. Once the practical test is cleared, he or she is given a provisional driving licence which prohibits the young driver to drive at night, to go to motorways or highways and to drive only prescribed types of automobiles. It is after three years of good driving record that the applicant becomes eligible for a full-fledged regular driving licence.” “I strongly feel that we should also follow this Canadian system of driving licenses,” says Mr S.P. Singh, a Canadian of Indian origin. His views are shared by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Bhim Sain Bassi, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Parag Jain. In an informal chat with Chandigarh Tribune, they maintained that lowering of driving licence age was not advisable. “One has to be mature enough to handle an automobile. Further, it is the teenage or the early 20s when speed thrills. This is the age group which records highest number of road fatalities. The principal of a school, however, wants that driving, traffic and road rules should be introduced as regular subject in plus one classes in all schools where regular written tests should be conducted, say by traffic wing of the Chandigarh police or its traffic wardens. Only those who clear the written test should then become eligible to take the driving test after which a provisional driving licence be issued to successful candidates. If one looks at the figures of the road accidents for the past few years, the number of youngsters of the 16 to 18 years age group killed in road mishaps is proportionately lower than those belonging to 18 to 21 years of age group. In Chandigarh, for example, the number of fatalities of drivers of below the age of 25 years is less than 25 per cent. The highest fatalities are from the age group of 25 to 40 years. Next comes the 18 to 25 years age group. The lowest is among drivers above the age of 55 years. Many school teachers, parents and even police officers agree that law is no deterrence for the youngsters below the age of 18 years. They drive automobiles with impunity. “Why not legally authorise them? O.K., you have tough driving licence regime. Give them tough written and practical driving test. But those who clear the test, give them driving licence in accordance with their proven competence to handle automobiles”. This argument comes mainly from parents who have been forced to buy two-wheelers, especially fancy mobikes to their teenaged sons on their 16th or 17th birthday or at the time of entering college or plus one class. “There is no way, they would settle for anything else, especially if you have promised them a two-wheeler for doing well in matriculation examinations. Nowadays, you can on safety or security grounds even buy them a second hand car for almost the same price as of a fancy mobike but they would not take it,” the same parents argue. At present, we are on an average introducing 700 to 800 teenage drivers — between the age of 16 and 18 years — to the city roads every month. And not many of them confine themselves to mopeds alone as the sale of mopeds in the city markets would reveal.  |
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Residents flay cable
price hike PANCHKULA,
However, the residents contend that the advertisements being flashed during the programmes are a violation of the rules. A cable operator, Mr R K Puri, contends,``There is no violation of rules since we cannot show any advertisements on any channel except the local one where advertisements are displayed on a regular basis which does not amount to any
violation.’’ |
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UK experts for Anandgarh project CHANDIGARH, Confirming the dialogue with officials concerned of these embassies, Mr Ranjit Singh Balian, State Minister for Urban Development, told TNS that he had held a detailed meeting with the officials in the Candian and UK High Commission and had written to the USA Embassy for an appointment. Mr Balian said the both the UK and Candian High Commissions had assured full cooperation in providing the recognised experts for the Anandgarh project. Mr Balian said he had received letters from certain Canada and UK-based experts. They would be invited to inspect the project site. He said that the some foreign-based institutions had also offered financial support for the project. Quizzed about the denying of funds by HUDCO for the Anandgarh project, Mr Balian said there would be no problem for the project as far as making available of funds was concerned. Already negotiations were going on with a private bank which was prepared to provide enough funds for the project. He said a meeting of the project approval committee would be held on July 13 to discuss various issues including short listing of the institutions for funds and consultants, architects and other technical experts for the project. Mr Balian said that the process of the land acquisition would begin soon. He claimed that at least 10 village panchayats have handed over resolutions to him for acquiring the land for the project. He said that the Government was determined to go ahead to launch this project in December this year. . Meanwhile, informed sources said that the Punjab Government had taken up the issue of Anandgarh with the Union Government to remove the objections raised by the UT
Administration. The Punjab Government has argued that several experts have been consulted and a detailed exercise was carried out before announcing the Anandgarh project. In fact, meeting were held in Delhi with top experts with regard to the viability of the project. |
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Should Chandigarh have an international airport? THERE are nearly 6000 Indian students studying medicine and engineering in institutes of Russia and CIS countries. Of them nearly 50 per cent are from Punjab, Haryana, J&K and Himachal Pradesh. The parents of these children face a lot of difficulties at Indira Gandhi International Airport. It takes between 5 to 12 hours to reach the Capital from these states for catching the flight. The rush during the peak season ( July and December) is so much that the parents as well as their wards feel harassed at the hands of the airport authorities. On many occasions parents reached home saying goodby to their children and later got telephonic calls not from Russia but from the airport itself. The travel agents in connivance with the foreign airlines overbook the flights and the students are denied boarding at the last moment. Neither the airlines nor the authorities cared for their boarding lodging till they protested. Last year, 33 such students were denied boarding despite confirmed tickets in an Aeroflot flight for Moscow, in which students were scheduled for other CIS countries. Visa of some students also expired on the same day due to highhandedness of the authorities concerned which cost very dearly to the parents. It is a general practice at the IGI. Mr Madan Gupta ‘Spatu’ is the Vice-President of the Parents Association of Students Studying Abroad ( PASA). ************ Chandigarh now has giants of the international market. With the setting up of Software companies at SAS Nagar, the PCA stadium, CII convention centre, the need for an international airport has grown . This would be greatly welcomed by a large number of persons who spend a lot of time and money to travel to Delhi. But the authorities should keep in mind that this airport is of international standards. It should not only have flights to adjoining countries but also to the USA and Europe. Chandigarh is also one of the most important education centres in the country. besides having a number of quality education institutions here, it is a gateway to a large numbers of universities and colleges in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. A lot of foreign students come here for their education. Having an international airport is greatly in their favour. The region also contributes greatly to national exports, which are time-bound and need to be quickly sent. Without an international airport exports are difficult. Chandigarh can also be developed as a key centre of export of agro-products, which are in abundance in the region. The items can range from dairy products to floritech exports. having an international airport would surely help in this regard, as these things are perishable and need to be quickly exported. Sharad Diwan is a student ********** The most important benefit will be that a whole lot of jobs will be created. But let us first make it suitable for handling national flights. Areas where improvement is needed are installation of fire extinquishers in the terminal building. The building has got only two fire extinguishers which, too, are not working. Leave aside the fire-fighting vehicles. As we all now that any building used as a public place should have sufficient fire-fighting equipment before being used by the people, it is surprising that the authorities are allowing the airport to function. However, the airforce base has got a fire tender for any emergency, but it is 1.5 km away. It doesn’t have any doctor or first -aid centre for emergencies. The airport has only 4 bays which are suitable only for parking small aircraft. If a big A/c like Boeing 7737, comes then it can accommodae just two Boeing 737s or one Boeing 737 and two small aircraft and that too with extreme caution. The airport has one runway which is being used by both civil and defence aircraft with defence always having priority over other civil aircraft as well as schedule operators. The Air Traffic Control is being manned by the Air Force. This being a defence airport, the civil authorities do not have much say. The overall condition of the terminal building is not suitable to handle even domestic flights. Toilets are in a dilapidated condition. The electrical system is in a bad shape, which needs immediate attention. The terminal building is also not airconditioned. Let us first make the airport suitable for domestic flights. Bhupinder Jit Singh Sahi is working with Jet Airways in Chandigarh. |
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Resident’s grievance SAS NAGAR,
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Ill-effects of growing
population highlighted PANCHKULA, The students of DC model School, Sector 7, organised a rally and participated in a debate organised by the General Hospital. Raising slogans and carrying placards on the ill-effects of growing population, they started from Sector 7 and arrived at the hospital premises after passing through various sectors. At the venue, the chief guest, Dr Kamla Singh, SMO, spoke on the hazards of the increasing population and suggested remedies to meet the challenge following which a debate on the topic was organised. Eleven students participated in the contest and Nupar, Ankur and Swati were declared first, second and third respectively in the Hindi category while Sneh, Taruna and Sonali came first, second and third respectively in the English category. In DAV English Medium Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, students participated in a painting contest held on the subject. Rubina Ranga and Rohita Kohli were jointly declared first, Nisha Jain came second and Ashu Sahni was declared third. Earlier, a workshop on “Exploding Population in India” was also held. The aspect of population education was introduced to the students of Class IX with the help of a play, charts and an interaction session where students were educated on carrying capacity, sustaining development in environment and dangers of HIV and AIDS. The principal, Mrs Santosh Bhandari, stressed its importance and role it can play in a student’s life. Students of Satluj Public School, Sector 4, spoke on the topic at length in a special morning assembly held to mark the day. Their speeches highlighted the socio-economic implications of growing population, the role of the United Nations and the need for population control. The principal, Mr Krit Serai, gave a detailed lecture on the need and methods of population control. Later, an inter-house painting contest, skits and debates on the issue were also organised at the premises. Meanwhile, the local branch of the Family Planning Association of India observed the day with the theme being “Saving Women’s Lives” in Sector 4. The president, Mrs Pushpa Khanna, educated the women about their rights and women empowerment while Mrs Kaushlaya Sharma, an advocate, educated them on their legal rights. |
Assaulter arrested CHANDIGARH, July 11 — A resident of Panchkula's Indira Colony, accused of causing injuries with a knife over a minor issue, has been arrested by the local police. According to sources, a case under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against Satpal for injuring Chhote Lal. Further investigations were on, the police added.Eve-teaser arrested: A resident of Baterla village has been arrested by the Chandigarh police from the Sector 43 bus stand for eve-teasing. According to sources, a case under Section 294 has been registered. Booked for kidnapping: Following a complaint by Janata Colony resident Bhalla Ram accusing Jagat Ram of Mandi of abducting his minor daughter, the police has registered a case under Section 363 and 366 of the IPC. Laptop stolen: In a complaint before the police, a Delhi resident Lalit Gupta reported that his lap-top computer was stolen from his room at Hotel Mountview. According to sources, the computer was stolen while he was away. A case under Section 380 IPC has been registered. Cyclist injured: A cyclist was admitted to Sector 16 General Hospital with injuries after being hit by a Jeep at the Sukhna Bridge near the CTU workshop in Industrial Area on Wednesday. Sources added that the cyclist has been identified as Abdul Latif. The driver, according to sources, sped away from the spot. Further investigations were on. Two arrested: Two Bapu Dham residents, allegedly carrying 250 pouches of wine, were arrested by the police from near Mouli Jagran. According to sources, a case under Section 61/1/14 has been against Johan and Durga Dass. SAS NAGAR Scooterist dead: Hardev Singh, a resident of Phase 7, who was admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, after the scooter he was driving was hit by an unidentified vehicle in Phase 6 here , succumbed to his injuries on Monday. A case under Section 279 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered.
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Employees gherao police station SAS NAGAR, July 11 — The Godrej-GE Employees Union gheraoed the Phase 1 police station to protest against the alleged involvement of one of their members being shown by the police in a case of theft in premises of the factory. The workers raised slogans against the management of the company and the police for harassing the members of the union, who were on strike.Mr Amit Gupta, a member of the union, alleged that their member, Satpal Singh, was picked up by the police for questioning at 3 a.m. today and was being kept in police custody on the directions of the management of the company. It may be pertinent to mention that the company had lodged an FIR with the police on July 9 for theft of over 1,300 pieces of an equipment used in refrigerators. The stolen items were valued at Rs 1.80 lakh. In a representation to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), City, the union lamented that they were not being heard by the officials at the Phase 1 police station. While the Station House Officer (SHO) was not present on the occasion, the investigating officer in the case , SI Balbir Singh, some of the stolen items had been recovered from a shop in Chandigarh and on the basis of information, Satpal and two employees of a contractor engaged by the company — Jagmeet and Harpreet — were picked for investigations. He said all the three suspects would be produced in court tomorrow. On the other hand, the union leaders alleged that their member was being harassed without any reason. |
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IT firms submit
presentations CHANDIGARH,
Each company has been given a time slot of 30 minutes to make detailed presentation before a technical committee. The presentations will carry on till July 23 and the technical committee will submit its report by July 31. In turn the advisory committee headed by Advisor to the UT Administrator, will decide the allocation of work to the selected company or companies. The selection will be based on what kind of facilities the company offers and the experience it has in IT, said sources. This is the first step of the project that will entail laying of optical fibre cables (OFC) throughout the city. The technical committee comprises the Director of Information and Technology, Additional Director Information and Technology, to Additional Director, Software Technology Park (STP) , S.A.S. Nagar, if Commissioner of Municipal Corporation, to Under Secretary Finance, Additional Director, Regional Computer Centre, the Officer on Special Duty to the Adviser and representatives of the Telecom
Department. |
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E-shopping is here to stay CHANDIGARH, Everyday upto 200 city residents do their daily shopping for monthly rations, groceries, namkeens, cold drinks, pulses, rice, even toothpastes, wrapping foils, shaving creams, baby food, computer stationery, packed food from restaurants and flowers, among hundreds of other items of daily use in homes, via the Internet. As a bait for the shoppers logging onto the ‘‘e—market’’ is free, and no net hours are consumed. ‘‘It is changing the way people shop, as ordering through the Internet works out to be cheaper,’’ admits a Sector 47 woman who has been ordering monthly rations for her family over the net. Explaining how ‘‘ e—shopping ’’ works out to be cheaper, Mr Dhiraj Garg, Managing Director of Glide , an Internet service provider running a popular ‘‘e-market’’ in the city , says ‘’. We source our products directly from the companies thus eliminating the wholesalers and the retailers.’’ Besides this we do not have to pay for heavy commissions to wholesalers , dealers and shopkeepers while reducing freight costs by simplifying the supply chain. Rental overheads are low as warehouses are hired in remote locations instead of costly market places”, Mr Garg said, while adding that all cost cutting is passed onto the customer, who also saves time as all products are home delivered. The possibilities are endless. Today electricians , plumbers and air-conditioning mechanics can be hired through the ‘’ e-market ‘’ and soon fruits and vegetables will be added to the supply list. In the pipeline is dry-cleaning and car service. Mr Garg claims that his company is receiving close to 200 orders per day and each one is serviced in real time. The numbers go up during the first week of the month. Today ‘’e-shopping ‘’ companies like ‘’Glidemart ‘’ are also swamping the city with printed booklets with market rates and a contrast of rates offered by Glide. Companies have also opened phone lines at various places in the city where residents , who do not even have computers , can call up and just tell what they want to order and it is delivered. This is also helpful for the older generation that is still not very comfortable with the web. |
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Consumer awareness camp CHANDIGARH, The Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, Mr M.Ramsekhar, will inaugurate the camp. The awareness camp will be attended by the sarpanches and panches of the five adjoining villages. An information-cum-complaint stall will be operational throughout the day. There will also be an awareness lecture about the Consumer Protection Act 1986, with a special stress on’ citizen’s charter. The complaints about the LPG and ration cards will be redressed on the spot. Moreover, health awareness regarding AIDS and de-addiction will also be provided. The Consumer Forum, Chandigarh, will organise three more camps in other villages during the year.
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