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| Wednesday, September 6, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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20 hurt as farmers, police
clash CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — The clash between Punjab farmers, protesting against the government not procuring paddy from the mandis, and the police near Matka Chowk this afternoon left as many as 20 persons wounded. The injured included seven cops and women. The peaceful rally by the farmers took an ugly turn as the police fired tear gas shells and resorted to a lathi charge following an attempt by the farmers to break the barricades. Marching towards the chowk from Sector 17, the farmers broke the human chain formed by the police in front of the barricades. Reacting to the provocation, the police aimed water canons at the protesters. As it failed to deter the crowd of protesters, the police fired tear gas shells and resorted to a lathi charge. Undaunted, the protesters took to stone pelting. The burning sensation in the eyes due to the exploding tear gas shells was too much even for the police as they retreated towards Matka Chowk for sprinkling water. The police officers were heard asking the policemen to come back while simultaneously looking for water to wipe the eyes. ‘‘The air was in our direction. The tear gas boomeranged on us’’, commented a police officer. According to the police, constable Darshan Singh was attacked with a sharp edged weapon. ‘‘He sustained injury on his forehead and was rushed to the Sector 16 General Hospital. From there he was referred to the PGI", said a police official. Thousands of farmers from five farmer organisations of Punjab had gathered at the chowk to lodge their protest against the ‘‘ anti-farmer policies of the government’’. The five organisations were: Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Kisan Organisation, Punjab Kisan Sabha, Bhartiya Kisan Union (ekta) and Punjab Kisan Union. The CPI and CPM extended support to the rally. The farmers were agitated that the government was not procuring paddy from the market. ‘‘ Private people are buying from the market at a lower price. We demand that the government should buy paddy at Rs 540 from us’’, said Purshotam from Bhagpur village. They threatened that if the government did not enter the market by September 15,they would gherao Deputy Commissioners all over Punjab. They were also demanding waving of the debt on farmers. ‘‘If the government can waive the debt of the industrial sector, then why cannot the loan of Rs 5,700 crore on the farmers be waived’’, asked Darshan Singh of Punjab Kisan Sabha. Member of Parliament
Bhan Sing Bhore and Mr Hardev Harsi, MLA from Punjab,
were also present at the rally. ‘‘ Police
lathis and tear gas shells cannot stop us from securing
the rights of the farmers’’, claimed Mr Harsi.
Others present at the rally were, Hardev Singh,
President, Kirti Kisan Sabha, Kulwant Singh, President,
Punjab Kisan Sabha. Pashora Singh suba President and
Kulwinder Singh, State President, of the Bhartiya Kisan
Union were also among the protesters. |
18 vehicles to be withdrawn CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — The axe of the Punjab Government’s austerity measures has finally fallen on officials of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA). Withdrawal of staff vehicles of at least 18 officials and economy in the consumption of fuel of cars being used by senior officials of the authority is also on the cards. Orders to remove air conditioners (AC) fitted in the cars of the Additional Chief Administrators (ACAs) and the Chief Engineer had already been issued. Sources in the government said the officials concerned had been asked to get the ACs removed from the vehicles concerned by the end of the week. It is learnt that the fleet of cars with the PUDA is being cut down after the Public Undertaking Committee of the Vidhan Sabha asked PUDA about the implementation of economy and austerity measures issued by the state government from time to time. The Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, confirmed that during the last vidhan sabha session the Public Undertaking Committee had pointed at the fleet of vehicles with the authority. She asserted that the austerity measures were being implemented in a way that they did not effect the efficiency of the department. The amount of revenue to be saved through the austerity measures was being worked out, she added. Sources in the department said though there were around 52 vehicles in the fleet of PUDA. Though the government is reported to have asked PUDA to withdraw around 26 vehicles, initially the withdrawal of 18 vehicles was being considered. According to information available at least five vehicles in the SAS Nagar zone, three vehicles in the Ludhiana zone, two vehicles in the Jalandhar zone were among the list of vehicles proposed to be withdrawn. In some cases officials in the engineering wing would have to share the vehicles. The sources said vehicles with the Estate Officers at Bathinda and Amritsar might also be withdrawn. It is expected the Housing and Urban Development Minister would approve the orders for the withdrawal of the vehicles soon. To implement the
directives of economy in the consumption of fuel, the
authorities have proposed to allow a monthly petrol
allowance of Rs 10,000 for the cars with the Additional
Chief Administrators (ACAs). Earlier, there was no limit
on the consumption of petrol, the sources said. |
Jaitley to open new IT tribunal
office today CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — The Union Law Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, will formally inaugurate the new premises of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal at the Sector 9 Kendriya Sadan building here tomorrow. The Chandigarh Bench of the tribunal looks after substantial parts of Punjab and Haryana and the whole of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. In Chandigarh, the first Bench of the tribunal was set up in October, 1961, in a private bungalow in Sector 5 which was shortly shifted thereafter to a bungalow in Sector 4-A, then to another bungalow in Sector 2-A where it continued till it moved to Kendriya Sadan in May, 1997. It was in 1997 that Chandigarh was sanctioned a second Bench of the tribunal because of the pendency and the importance of the place as four state governments, including the Central Government, Punjab and Haryana Governments and the Chandigarh Administration, have majority of their offices here. Considering the importance of Chandigarh, the Centre recently decided to grant the status of a zone to Chandigarh comprising parts of Punjab and Haryana, the entire states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh besides Rajasthan which has branches of the tribunal at Jaipur and Jodhpur. Finding the existing accommodation too small for housing two Benches of the tribunal, the zonal office has been able to get more space at Kendriya Sadan due to active role played by Mr R.L. Meena, Union Law Secretary, and Mr V. Dongzathan, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. It was Mr Ashok Pahwa, Secretary, Urban Development at the Centre, who agreed to the proposal and give the Chandigarh Zone almost double the covered space it had earlier. In the new premises to
be formally inaugurated tomorrow, space has been provided
to the Bar Association and the department representatives
who appear on behalf of the Revenue. Besides there are
larger court rooms and chambers for the members of the
tribunal and their staff. |
UTI told to pay due amount CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — Taking up a consumer case filed here against the Chairman of Unit Trust of India (UTI) on allegations that the UTI had not released the entire amount due to the complainant under 200 unit certificates which she possessed, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here directed the UTI to release the due amount with immediate effect and also pay Rs 550 to the complainant as costs of litigation incurred by the complainant. The complaint to this effect was filed here by Ms Bhagwant Kaur Johal who stated that she had invested Rs 20,000 through cheque payment in the Parent Gift Growth Fund Scheme, 1987, floated by the UTI in December 1989. She stated that the UTI did not issue her any certificate to this effect but only sent a growth chart of the period ending June 1991 with the unit certificate bearing a certain number. She stated that all correspondence with the UTI, along with a personal visit to the office of UTI by her husband failed to yield any result. Later legal notice was also sent to the respondent but to no avail. She added that on April 18, 1996 she was told by the UTI that nothing was due to her. Replying to the allegations raised, the UTI held that the complainant had the unit certificate number mentioned on the 200 units and as per the record available, a cheque of Rs 23,020 was issued to the complainant on February 29, 1992, and as per the UTI record, the cheque stands paid to the complainant. The complainant, however, filed a rejoinder stating that she did not receive the certificate nor applied for any repurchase. She also stated that she had not received the amount alleged to have been paid by the respondent. The respondent placed on record the photostat copy of its account held with Punjab National Bank, Pahar Ganj, New delhi, whereby the amount sent to the branch concerned of the bank at Chandigarh. The Forum, however, held that this evidence was not sufficient to prove that the amount was actually received by the complainant. The UTI maintained that
the amount was sent on account of repurchase proceeds of
the unit certificates. The bench held that if it was so,
the respondent must be in possession of those original
certificates. Keeping this in view the forum held that
the case was one of glaring deficiency on the part of the
UTI and directed the UTI to pay off the due amount to the
complainant and also compensate her for the cost of
litigation incurred by her. |
Teachers honoured for their
services CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — City teachers selected by the UT Education Department for the outstanding contribution in the field of education were honoured on the Teachers Day at a function organised at Tagore Theatre here today. Ms Vanita Rai, Adviser, UT Administrator, presented the awards to the teachers. Those honoured included Ms Asha Sharma, Principal of GGSSS, Sector 8, Ms Kamla Bains, Principal of GMSSS, Sector 47, Dr Surinder Singh, a teacher from GMSSS, Sector 33, Ms Raviraj Kaur of GMSSS-16, Mr Amarjit Singh Bathlana, of GSSS, Sector 27, Mr Amarnath from GHS, Khuda Alisher, Mr Chander Shekhar from GMSSS, Sector 47 and Ms Venod from GMSSS, Sector 40. Ms Urmil Seth from Shishu Niketan School, Mr Parkash Chander from DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, Ms Savinder Jit Kaur from GGHS, Sector 45 were also honoured on the occasion. These teachers were awarded a medal, Rs 1500 in cash and a certificate each by Ms Rai. Mr Shingara Singh, Principal of GSSS, Sector 45 and Ms Sunita Suri of Shishu Niketan School were awarded a certificate and a cash award of Rs 1000 each. The teachers who have already been awarded till date or have been selected for the National awards were also presented a medal each on the occasion. The national awardees included Ms Rajinder Kaur from GHS, Sector 38, Ms Vimla Mukherjee, GHS, Kajehri, Mr Ravinder Sharma, GMSSS, Sector 16, Ms Madhu Bakshi, GMHS, Sector 36, Mr R.S. Goraya from GMSSS, Sector 46 and Ms Surinder Duggal from GMSSS, Sector 10. Others honoured with national awards were awarded were Ms Rama Sharma, GMMS, Sector 35, Ms Saroj Gupta, GMSSS, Sector 19, Mr Karan Singh, GMSSS, Sector 33, Ms Satya Devi, GMHS, Sector 38, Ms Rajesh Chaudhary, GMSSS, Sector 18, Ms Surinder Kaur, GHS, Sector 41, Mr Brahmjit Kalia, DEO and Ms Raksha Gupta, GPS, Manimajra. Those who have been
selected for the national awards this year were also
awarded. These were Ms Rajesh Minhas and Ms Bimla
Goglani. |
Cultural events mark Teachers' Day CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — Teachers Day was celebrated with zest and vigour in the city schools and colleges. Tributes were paid to former President S. Radhakrishnan on the occasion. Teachers participated in a cultural event organised at DAV Centenary Public School, Sector 7-B. Kindergarten teachers danced on the tunes of ‘’Nursery Action Songs’’, a hilarious skit was presented by teachers of the senior wing and a play depicting ‘’A classroom Scene’’ was also presented by the primary wing teachers. Five teachers were warded the best teachers award of the year on the basis of their performance. These were Ms Anju Mittal, Ms Anita Mahajan , Ms Suman Thakur, Ms Sucheta Kohli and Ms Poonam Kumra. Justice D.V. Sehgal presided over the function. The Lions Club, Chandigarh Greater, honoured four teachers for their outstanding work in the field of education and sports at a function held at Vocational Training Centre, Sector 30. Manju Sehgal of St John High School, Mrs Indra Rana and Mr Jaswant Singh, both of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16 and Mr Sat Pal Singh of Government Model Senior Secondary, Karsan, were honoured. Mr Ranvir Uppal, charter president of the club, presented mementos and certificates to the teachers. Club president Sushil Kapoor lauded the efforts of the teachers. Teachers were also honoured and students given prizes at Golden Bells Public School. Speeches were delivered by students and an entertainment programme was also presented. Kids presented nursery rhymes and danced to the tunes of musical Kiddies Playway School. They conveyed classroom atmosphere through beautiful actions and words. Students of the Government College of Art, Chandigarh, celebrated the ‘day by presenting flowers to their teachers. A flower painting signed by all students of the college was presented to Principal Prem Singh and the teachers of the college. The local Mount Carmel School organised Teachers Day celebrations at Bal Bhavan, Sector 23. Students of the Mohali branch of the school also participated in various competitions like sandwich and salad making, lacing the card, decorating the fish, face painting, best out of waste, flower arrangement, group dance and solo dance. Teachers also participated in some of the competitions. On this day the NSS unit for the academic session was inaugurated at Dev Samaj College for Education, Sector 36-B. Principal Satinder Dhillon emphasised the importance of education. The chief guest Dr C.L. Narang, Programme coordinator, NSS Department, PU, asked students to work hard and respect teachers. The Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Sector 42, celebrated the day with great fanfare. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. PANCHKULA Celebrations and talks marked Teachers Day in different educational institutions of the city here on Tuesday. At DAV School, Sector 8, the students began the programme with the inauguration of the yagyashala. The chief guest, Justice Amarjeet Chaudhary, chairman of the local managing committee of the school, participated in the havan as students recited the Gayatri mantra. A bhajan, “Sharan mein aaye tumhare, daya karo hey dayalu bhagwan’’, was also presented to mark the inauguration. Earlier, students of class X and XI welcomed the guests with “Swagatam, shubh swagatam”. The song was accompanied by music by Amit Arora on the drum set and Anmol on the kongo. This was followed by Saraswati vandana. Principal, Santosh Bhandari also addressed the gathering. Spirits of the students and teachers soared high on Teachers Day at Shemrock International School. A basketball match between teachers and students was the added attraction of the day. An entertainment programme followed with children comprising the show and acting at their best. ‘’Kaun Banega Crorepati’’. Antakshri were also staged. Teachers of Satluj Public School, Sector 2 and 4 were greeted by students on the occasion. Students played the role of teachers. Flowers, cards, chocolates and sweets were presented to students. As many as 30 students participated in an essay competition titled ‘’Changing facet of the teacher and the pupil tradition’’ organised on the occasion at Government College. Principal R.L. Madan emphasised the student-teacher relationship. SAS NAGAR The Family Planning Association of India, Mohali, honoured Ms Ravinder Kaur Midha, Principal, Gem Public School, on Teachers Day. Mr I.P.S. Bajwa, branch manager, said healthy practices and habit could easily be cultivated in children if parents and teachers guided them properly. Sri Sukhmani
International School, Dera Bassi, celebrated the day with
great enthusiasm. A declamation contest was organised on
the occasion. |
Army turns to private sector for
requirements CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — To tackle the problem of spares as well as equipping troops with technologically updated and user-friendly equipment, the Army is now turning towards the private sector. During Army Industry Partnership — 2000 (AIP-2000), a two-day seminar-cum-exposition scheduled to be held here on September 14 and 15, the Army brass and representatives from the industry will work out a methodology as to how best can the industry fulfil the Army’s requirements. The event is being organised by the Western Command and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). While the Air Force organised a similar meet with the industry about two years back, this is the first time that the Army is taking up this project in this region. Among those attending the seminar are Master General of Ordnance, Lieut-Gen J.S. Dhillon, and Additional Director General, Combat Vehicles, Maj-Gen R.S. Sherawat. Prominent among items sought by the Army are communication and information technology related equipment, spare parts for vehicles, special clothing items and food products. Items being sought by the Army are those which are commonly available in the commercial market and where ordnance factories have a limited role. “The purpose of the seminar is to appraise the industry of our requirements and lay out the qualitative requirements for the equipment being sought by us,” a Western Command functionary said. “Certain items are not centrally procured and various formations are authorised to obtain these through local purchase,” he added. CII officials say about
50 industrial establishments from all over the country
have registered themselves for participating in AIP
— 2000. In addition to stalls being set up by the
participants, there will be three technical sessions on
information technology and communications, allied stores
for the Army and outsourcing of vehicle spares and
overhauling. |
Sansar Chandra to be honoured CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — Dr Sansar Chandra, the winner of numerous awards, the doyen of Hindi and Sanskrit professors and a regular Tribune contributor, will be honoured at the Millennium World Hindi Conference at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on September 16. He will be given a
memento, which will consist of the summing up of his
life-time achievement and a citation. |
Lambian residents’ plea to
PUDA SAS NAGAR, Sept 5 —
Residents of Lambian village in Sector 62 here have urged
the Punjab Urban Planning and Development (PUDA) not
demolish their dwelling units during the ongoing drive
against unauthorised structures in the town and its
periphery. Mr Nachattar Singh, a resident of the village,
said PUDA officials had assured them that the dwelling
units would not be touched but late this evening a
contrary public announcement was made. |
Case against 7 establishment CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — The police has registered cases against seven establishments, besides a religious group, for defacing public property by sticking posters in various parts of the city. According to police sources, those booked under the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order, 1954, include Premier Training Centre, Sector 35, Access Infotech, Sector 40, Dabur Foundation, Sector 38, a type and shorthand college in Sector 30, Sector 40 resident J B Singh, besides two cases against Vishwas Meditation. No arrests have been carried out so far but further investigations are on. 19 arrested A case under Sections 147, 148, 149, 323 and 506 of the IPC has been registered. One injured |
Apples flood city markets CHANDIGARH, Sept 5 — City markets are full of apples. Also holding ground are bananas, pears and mausamis, but none of these fruits are as yet friendly to the buyer’s pocket. Apples are available in two varieties — Red ones and golden ones. The prices of both varieties have fallen gradually over the past fortnight. Bananas are ranging from anything between Rs 15 a dozen to Rs 20 a dozen. Pears are also available in a large number of varieties like Kashmiri naakh, babbugosha and nashpatis. These also vary in their cost, the Kashmiri variety being the most expensive. Papayas are available at affordable prices. Pomegranate prices continue to touch the roof at Rs 60 a kg. Today's prices (in kg) Apple Delicious Kashmiri Rs 25 Apple Golden Green Rs 20 Bananas Rs 18 a dozen Pears Rs 20 Papaya Rs 15 Pomegranate Rs 40 |
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