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| Tuesday,
October 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Villagers being forced to
make way for migrants CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — Farmers who own land in the UT villages here and belong to this region will have to move out. On their lands, the Chandigarh Administration will now rehabilitate slum dwellers who belong to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Fresh acquisition of land has begun in more than 12 villages of the UT. Under this controversial rehabilitation scheme of the Administration, houses will be allotted almost free of cost to migrants living in labour colonies. No one in the Administration has defined the target use of the land that is being acquired in the UT villages. There seems to be no other reason for acquiring land, except the rehabilitation of persons living in labour colonies. Sources said the land that was being acquired was for 16,000 flats for slum dwellers. Notices under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, have been despatched to hundreds of persons who own land in the UT villages. On this land, several persons have built their houses because they could not afford to buy land in Chandigarh. However, according to revenue records, these persons and their houses do not exist because these are outside the lal dora. Despite several promises, officials have not extended the lal dora limits of the villages since the late 1890s. Villagers have been demanding the extension of the limits for long. “No one cares, perhaps because educated persons live here,” said Mr Jagir Singh, a resident of Dhanas village. He said only slum dwellers were important for the Administration and the demography of the UT villages had already changed a lot. The move to rehabilitate slum dwellers in the 10 UT villages will cause social upheaval there. The Administration plans to build about 1,600 flats in each village. First, persons break the law by encroaching upon the government land and then get free plots as rewards from the Administration. Numerous rehabilitation schemes have failed to make the city free of slums. Two days ago, The Tribune had reported how the Administration had spent crores of rupees for rehabilitating more than 2,500 slum dwellers of Sector 31. The slum remains as it was, even when residents have been allotted plots in Mauli Jagran. The Administration always succumbs to pressure of slum dwellers, rehriwalas or squatters. Villagers are angry because of this and so are the persons who have built houses on lands outside the lal dora. The question that is bugging even several officials is why aren’t the rehabilitation schemes closing down. Past year, the Administration had said only those persons who had moved in before December 8, 1996, would be rehabilitated. Mr Angrez Singh Badheri, President of the Pind Bachao Committee, said the Chandigarh Administration, over the years, had been rehabliatating encroachers because they were a vote bank of politicians. “These persons had encroached upon land that the government had acquired from original oustees at throwaway prices,” he said. “Under the garb of the Land Acquisition Act, we are being discriminated against for being Punjabi. Land has even been allotted to housing societies. The original residents should be considered refugees,” said Mr Angrez Singh. |
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Controversial transfer? PANCHKULA, Oct 9 — Controversy surrounds the transfer of Mr Sandeep Garg, Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority, which was effected here today. He is succeeded by Mr Srikant Balgad, Joint Secretary, Local Administration. Sources said that the ball was set rolling by the eviction proceedings initiated by the officer against all commercial site owners who had failed to pay up their dues pending with the Estate Office, totalling over Rs 45 crore. It is learnt that this recovery is to be made from the owners who have not moved court while as much amount is pending with commercial site owners who moved court. The demolition drive undertaken by HUDA in Madalpur village, where the court had vacated the stay order on October 5, added fuel to fire with Mr Garg taking immediate steps for the removal of encroachments. However, officials concerned denied this while stating that this was not the only transfer effected and the other officers had simultaneously been shifted. Meanwhile, during his stint as Administrator, Mr Garg introduced a number of measures to check red-tape and unnecessary harassment by the public. He brought about the move of organising fortnightly meetings for the passing of building plans for housing societies. Following the success of this move, Mr Garg introduced immediate disposal of building plans of residential areas by a committee which met every fortnight for the purpose. At this meeting, either plans got the nod of the department or were informed of shortcomings in the plan which needed rectification. Among others, the shop-owners along the Mansa Devi shrine were rehabilitated in booths constructed by HUDA. Besides, a blueprint of the beautification plan for the entrance to the temple was also made. Demarcation of all four villages in the city was carried out following complaints of encroachment and spread by them into the sectors they were situated in. In Sector 4, the work of construction of a wall to contain the spillover from the villagers extending into the sector also got under way during his term.
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Admn directed
to seek names for GMCH Director CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The appointment of a new Director Principal at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, has taken a new turn. The Union Health Ministry has reportedly asked the Chandigarh Administration to seek a panel of names from the AIIMS, Delhi, and the PGI, Chandigarh. The case of extension in service for Prof V.K. Kak is still pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs and a final no is yet to be received. Professor Kak attained the age of 62 this month. No extensions are given beyond this age under Central Government guidelines. However, Prof Kak is not on an extension, but he is on re-employment, sources in the GMCH pointed out, adding that the University Grants Commission and the Medical Council of India accept the age of 65 for re-employment cases. Meanwhile, sources in the Chandigarh Administration confirmed that the case of Professor Kak’s extension was not being pursued and a panel of names was being sought from the two premier institutes. The lists of the PGI are almost ready and will be with the Administration within a few days, while the AIIMS may take two or three days more than the PGI. Professor Kak, who is a neurosurgeon, was appointed Director Principal in June 1995. Prior to this, he was working at the PGI. If his retirement comes, it will be at a time when the GMCH is seeking permission from the MCI for its postgraduate courses. |
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PU students’ body poll on Oct 20 CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The much-awaited dates of elections to the various students councils of Panjab University and local colleges for the session 2000-2001, was announced here today. The elections to the Panjab University Campus Students Council will be held on October 20. This was announced by Mr V .K. Bansal, Dean Students Welfare, Panjab University, in a press conference at the Students Centre today. Election to the college councils will also be held on the same date. The nominations will be filed on October 17 between 10 a.m to 11 a.m. Scrutiny of papers will be held on the same day and the list of eligible candidates will be displayed at 1.30 p.m. Objections can be filed on the same day between 2.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. On October 18, the list of approved candidates will be displayed at 11 a.m. Withdrawals can be made by 1 p.m. The final list of candidates will be displayed at 3 p.m. Voting will take place at 10 a.m., the next day. Election to the student council will be held for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary. Simultaneous elections for the department representatives (DRs) will be held. The DSW said this year, the number of DRs would be more as compared to the last year as the number of students this year had increased and some new departments had come up. Last year, 65 DRs were elected. The exact number of DRs will be announced in the next few days, after knowing the exact number of students. Meanwhile, the DSW appealed to all the students to make the election process peaceful. He warned that the defaulters would be strictly dealt with. ‘‘The DSW has power to postpone the elections in case it become necessary’’, he informed. He urged the students not to deface the university walls and other public property. ‘‘Our poster removal squad will be always ready to remove posters from the public property’’, said Mr Bansal. According to Mr Bansal, wooden boards would be erected in front of all the hostels and departments for the students to put-up posters. ‘‘In fact, at some places, we have erected such boards’’, said the DSW. A three-member election tribunal has been constituted to look into the complaints of students. The members are Prof R.K. Kakkar, chairman, Department of Geology; Dr P.S. Verma of the Department of Political Science; and Dr Veer Singh of the Law Department. The students can complain regarding the elections to their respective chairman or DSW, which will be forwarded to the tribunal. ‘‘The DSW will not look into the complaints, but it will be he who may take action’’, informed Mr Bansal. Mr Bansal said with the announcement of elections, the Chandigarh police would increase its vigil. He announced, ‘‘The police will man the PU gates and the campus to check the presence of outsiders’’. He advised the students to carry their identity cards along with them to avoid any harassement on the hands of the police. However, he clarified that the police was only to assist the university authorities in the smooth conduct of the electioneering. With the announcement of elections, the code of conduct for elections has come into force. A meeting of student leaders of Panjab University and local colleges and the Senior Superintendent of Police, was held on September 22. The following code of conduct was agreed upon in the meeting, to be observed during the election days. No outsiders will be allowed entry in the PU campus or in the local colleges. No guests will be allowed in the hostels. No drinking will be allowed in the PU and college campuses. Character assassination or foul language will not be allowed. No rallies of the competing parties will be held at the same venue and same time. Defacement of public property will not be allowed. The traffic rules will be followed strictly while canvasing by the candidates and
their Meanwhile, resting aside the controversy of evening classes in the Department of Laws, the DSW announced that there would be morning and evening classes. He said, ‘‘75 students had earlier applied for the evening shift. In the next day or two, the dates to admit to those candidates will be announced.’’ He said 27 candidates had been admitted to the department. There would be 177 students in the morning shift and the evening shift would have 225 students. During the election days, students would be made to follow the traffic rules on the PU campus. A speed limit of 40 kmph has been imposed. No jeeps and cars would be allowed in the campus after 10 p.m. The publicity material should consist of only pamphlets, cards and banners. No loudspeakers would be allowed during the campaigning. The hostel wardens would keep a check on their respective hostels. Each of the wardens would be assisted with three to four teachers. They would remain in the hostels till 10 p.m. |
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Man claims son was killed, police insists it is suicide PANCHKULA, Oct 9 — It is a 70-year-old's race against time as he tries to bring the murderers of his 22-year-old son, Vinay Kumar, to book, without much success. He alleges that the police has tried to make out a case of suicide when it is actually murder, basing his conclusion on the post-mortem report. The police contends that though the murder angle has been investigated time and again, the investigating officer has had no leads and nothing noteworthy has come up despite attempts for a breakthrough. According to the record, Vinay Kumar was found dead on March 24, 1998, in the bushes near the road leading from Mansa Devi road to Saketri village in suspicious circumstances. While a bottle poison was found next to the body, the post-mortem report confirmed that he had fractures in his arm also. The police initially dismissed it as a case of suicide and filed a cancellation report in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Panchkula. However, the father of the deceased, Mr Ram Sarup Sharma, insisted that it was a murder case and filed objections against cancellation in the same court. Pronouncing his order on May 20, 2000, the CJM, Mr V.P. Gupta, rejected the cancellation report submitted by the police and directed the reinvestigation of the case by an officer not below the rank of DSP. He added that the SP supervise the investigations himself. "It has been almost five months since the orders were passed and there has been no activity on the police front. I do not know how long my body can bear the stress of running from pillar to post, looking for justice. The last resort for me is to appear in the darbar of the Director-General of Police scheduled for tomorrow," he says. Mr Sharma reiterates that his son was murdered since his body was found in the bushes where one would not ordinarily venture even to commit suicide. He adds that the boy could have been forced to take poison by somebody, but the police neither took any fingerprints from the bottle of poison, nor did it take any footprints from the area. His tale of woes does not end at that. "The police worked out a love angle in the suicide, contending that Vinay had consumed poison after a girl of Sector 19 had fallen to her death at her residence. If we link the two cases in the love angle, I think it is a case of double murder, while the police is bent upon closing the file," he rues. The Superintendent of Police, Ms Kala Ramachandran, informed that though the DSP (City), Mr Om Prakash, had investigated the matter, there were no new leads in the case. "All clues in the case point to suicide and there is no evidence to substantiate claims of a murder," she explained. |
No body to deal with
sexual harassment SAS NAGAR,
Oct 9 — On September 26, a stenographer-typist in the office of the SAS Nagar Municipal Council complained that she was being sexually harassed by her two colleagues. A case was registered by the police in this regard. The matter is being investigated. On May 6, a Class III woman employee of the civic body alleged that her colleague was harassing her. Later, the complaint was withdrawn in the presence of the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Sohana police station. In two similar incidents, a Superintendent and a Junior Assistant of the civic body were accused of harassment by women employees. Since both complaints were made verbally, the matter was sorted out with the intervention of the Executive Officer concerned. Were the statements of these complaints genuine or doctored? The question remains unanswered in the absence of a complaints committee of the civic body that was to be constituted for the implementation of a Supreme Court order regarding cases of sexual harassment. The condition is that at least half of the members of the committee, including its head, should be women. In July past year, the Heads of Departments, Deputy Commissioners and Subdivisional Magistrates had been asked by the Personnel Department of Punjab to constitute such committees. The authorities concerned had been asked to involve representatives of NGOs or some other bodies dealing with cases of sexual harassment. This was done to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure from senior officials. The officials concerned were asked to enforce appropriate work conditions, generate awareness regarding rights of women employees and make provisions in conduct rules for the prohibition of sexual harassment. |
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Protest against petro
price hike CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — Activists of the Chandigarh Territorial Mahila Congress staged a dharna in Sector 17 here today in protest against the recent hike in the prices of oil products and the LPG. Various speakers, including the President of the Mahila Congress and the President of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee, Mr B.B. Bahl, while criticising the Central Government for hiking the prices, demanded immediate roll-back in the prices. Later, a memorandum to the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen JFR Jacob(retd), condemned the third hike in the prices of petroleum products since October last. “As is known the prices of the petroleum products payable by the consumers in India are influenced not only by the prices of crude oil and products in the world market but also by the quantum and structure of customs and excise duties. A scientific and coordinated approach makes it imperative to take a hard look at the elements which influence the prices paid by the consumers. From the public pronouncements of the ministers it is far from clear as to how the government arrived at this unacceptable decision,” it added. The hike in the prices of kerosene will impose an intolerable burden on the poor. Besides, the increase in the price of diesel will have a cascading effect on the prices of all commodities. Similarly, the huge increase in the price of LPG will cause immense hardships to all sections of society. |
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Decision on Divali mela sites on Oct 14 CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — A special meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) will be held on October 14 to take a decision on the auction of stalls in the Sector 17 Plaza for the three-day Divali mela beginning October 24. This was decided at the meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee here today. However, the auction of the Circus Ground site in Sector 17 and the exhibition ground, Sector 34, is likely to be held on October 14. These sites could not be auctioned for want of response from the bidders in the October 3 auction in which Nehru Park, Sector 22, was auctioned for the 10-day mela beginning on October 17, sources said. It may be recalled that the House of the corporation at one of its meetings had decided to auction these four sites on chunk basis. Earlier, the MCC had been allotting the stalls in the Sector 17 Plaza. |
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IAF rally participants reach Ropar CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The eight participants in the Indian Air Force cycle rally — Sagar se Himalaya — today reached Ropar via Patiala, spreading the goodwill message of national integrity. The rally, which started on September 23 from the Air Force, Naliya (from where Pakistan's aircraft Atlantique was shot down on August 10 last year), reached Ropar via Bhuj, Santhalpur, Gandhav, Barmer, Jodhpur, Churu, Hisar and Patiala. The significant part of this rally, which will reach Rohtang Pass after covering a distance of 2000 km on October 17, is the zeal of the eight participants comprising two officers and six air men. They are all halting at villages and various towns en route with an objective of inspiring the youth of the nation into joining the defence forces. An inspired lot themselves, they have planned to hoist the National Flag and the Indian Air Force flag at the height of about 14,000 feet. Among the participants are Ft-Lieut G.D. Dabral, Flying Officer Nishant Gupta, M. Bahuguna, V.K. Singh, T.S. Bora, A.k. Pandey, S.K. Bansal and P.
Sehrawat. |
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Sikh women ‘should not wear skirts’ CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The Nanavati Commission, set up to probe the 1984 riots in Delhi, will bring out all details before the government within six months, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Avtar Singh Hit said today. He also demanded from the Home Ministry that no jathas should be sent to Pakistan till the issue of the control of gurdwaras there was resolved. Mr Hit was talking to newsmen at a “meet-the-press” programme held at the Press Club here. “All paper work at the level of the fact-finding committee has been done and the recording of evidence, etc, has started. We are very hopeful that justice will be done this time and the commission will not succumb to any political pressure like the earlier commissions and save the culprits,” said Mr Hit. Mr Hit reiterated his concern over the efforts being made by supporters of the former SGPC chief, the G.S. Tohra, in Delhi to take jathas to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan despite the DSGMC’s disapproval of the same in the light of the appointment of a former ISI chief as the President of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. “The Home Ministry should not be giving permission to these jathas, and the Punjab Government should take up the issue with the Centre, and the Centre should be questioning the Pakistan Government on this,” he said. Mr Hit also stated that Punjabis in Delhi would hold a demonstration against the Union Government if it did not reach any positive conclusion in resolving the ongoing paddy procurement crisis in Punjab. Mr Hit, who is also the president of the Delhi Akali Dal, when questioned about Bibi Jagir Kaur, refused to comment, but stated that no Sikh should go beyond the principles and rules laid down by the faith. It was a person’s own responsibility to follow these, he said. Mr Hit clarified that the Sikh community had raised its voice against the wearing of helmets only in the case of baptised Sikh women who wore turbans and dastars. Mr Hit felt that such women should be excused from wearing helmets while other Sikh women should wear these helmets just like everyone else. When asked about the dress code he had defined for Sikh women in Delhi, Mr Hit stated that he was against Sikh women wearing skirts and Sikh boys wearing caps. “This cap culture started with Bishen Singh Bedi and now one sees so many Sikh boys covering their heads with caps. As far as skirts are concerned, it is not a part of our culture but something borrowed from the British. If those people during their 200-year rule in India did not take anything from our culture, why should we ape the West in our dress?” he explained. Mr Hit demanded that space should be earmarked outside the Parliament building for statues of those from Punjab who laid down their lives during the freedom struggle. |
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Competing in devotional spirit CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — Mesmerised eyes stared with devotion at dying Shravna clutching an arrow with his quivering hands. The devotion was no less as other Ramlila committees staged scenes from the epic during a two-day competition organised by the Chandigarh Kendriya Ramlila Mahasabha late in the evening at Sector 28 here today. For the enthusiastic crowd, the gods had descended from heaven to take them back into the treta yuga. Their boisterous sighs of sympathy filled the air as six of the 17 committees competed against each other well past midnight. The mild chill of October was no deterrent as the devotees sat on the cane chairs after wrapping themselves up in blankets. The competition started as bit late. It was scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. but the spectators started to trickle in at about 10 p.m., soon after Amitabh Bacchan bid adieu to the audience in Kaun Banega Crorepati. Once the contest commenced, all eyes were fixed on Dashrath, Rama, Bhagyawati and other actors in cheerful red and yellow attires, glittering, under the bright lights focused on the stage. According to the President of the Gharwal Ramlila Mandal (Bijli Board), Mr S.C. Gosain, each of the committees participating in the contest was given 20 minutes to stage a scene from the epic. Their performances, he revealed, was to be judged by a team of three artists. Six to eight teams, he added, would be able to participate in the competition today. The rest would take part the next day. The General Secretary of the Chandigarh Kendriya Ramlila Mahasabha, Mr S.S. Bissht, added, ‘‘We are considering the possibility of extending the competition by another day in view of the overwhelming response to the competition not only from the local committees, but also from committees in Panchkula and Mauli Jagran’’. |
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Postal Week till Oct 14 CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The Department of Posts is celebrating National Postal Week from October 9 to October 14. The celebrations start on October 9 which is the World Post Day. The slogan for this year is “one world, one postal network”. October 10 will be celebrated as Philatelic Day and October 11 as Business Development Day. October 12 will be celebrated as Savings Bank Day and October 13 as the Postal Life Insurance Day. October 14, the concluding day of these celebrations, will be Mail Day. These celebrations aim at highlighting the important services being provided by the Indian Postal Department and the attempts to make the postal staff promote healthy interaction with clients. |
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PRICE WATCH CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — The prices of the commonly used vegetables have witnessed a slight decrease in the past about fortnight. Perhaps the highest priced vegetables were peas and capsicum, which were being sold at Rs 40 to Rs 50 per kg in Azad Market in Sector 20. The price of ginger varied from Rs 20 to Rs 25, which was slightly lower than the prices prevailing about a fortnight ago. The price of lemon was from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg, according to a random survey of the retail vegetable markets today. The price of tomato was quoted at Rs 8 to Rs 10 and that of bittergourd from Rs 12 to Rs 14 a kg. Similarly, potato was priced at between Rs 4 and Rs 5. The price of cauliflower was quoted at Rs 12 to Rs 14 per kg and that of cabbage hovered around Rs 16. Brinjal was moderately priced from Rs 5 to Rs 7 per kg. On the other hand, onion was available at Rs 10. |
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A tribute to nature’s most beautiful manifestation CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more. When Vincent Vangogh made this statement, he knew that nature was a perennial source of inspiration to almost all the artists. Kajal Nalwa is one such artist in the making. From Lawrence School, Sanawar, to Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai she was always driven by an urge to give vent to her creativity. After taking a formal course in textile designing, she took to the painting brush. Today when her first solo exhibition was inaugurated at the Art Folio, Sector 9, by Naresh Kapuria, curator of the Art Junction housed in the Hotel Intercontinental, New Delhi, she had all the reason to be happy. “Colours of life”, as the title of her collection of about 30 frames goes, spreads the message of brightness all the way. The works reflect flowers at their colourful best, and the country life in all its romantic grandeur. The artist, who has earlier held a group show at the Art Junction, manages to secure the maturity so specific to a good work of art. The mediums have been used rather experimentally. So while one frame captures flowers in oil, another taps the amazing beauty of a Kashmiri lass in water colours. Acrylic is also seen quite often, though this medium has been recently employed by her. The characteristic feature of these works is their honesty of expression. So even when the intricacies of art assume undertones at places, the appeal of the work still remains intact, given the freedom of ideas at play. Says Kajal, “I work for my own satisfaction, more than for anything else. I never knew I would cover this long a distance. But now I am so full of vibrancy for my works that I want the world to shape the happiness which my colours reflect.” Among the themes being pursued by the artist, nature comes the first. But the foremost are flowers, the nature’s most beautiful manifestation. A deep urge of the artist to secure environment and wildlife also gets expressed through the assemblage. Then there are glimpses of rural life of Rajasthan as also of South Indian villages. Kashmir also recurs in the artist’s imagination as she paints three works, one showing a Kashmiri girl sitting in an endless wait, another showing the general ambience of the heavenly land, and yet another portraying a day in the life of a Kashmiri craftsman who seems to be crying over a Lost World. The use of pallet knife has been made at many places to break the monotony of design. A different texture has been procured in various paintings with a view to add to the novelty of expression. As for the future, Kajal is confident enough. “I will now experiment with texture of my works. I have been reading a lot of stuff.” After her exhibition at the Art Folio which ends on October 13, Kajal will take her works to Delhi and then to Mumbai. |
Man succumbs to injuries CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 — Paramjit Singh, of Sector 45, who was going on a scooter, was seriously injured when he was hit by a motor cycle(CH01-X-8406), being driven by Joginder Yadav, of Sector 38, near the SAS Nagar barrier, here yesterday. He was admitted to the PGI, where he died last night. A case has been registered and the accused arrested. Theft cases In another incident, Mr Ajay Gulati of Pinjore alleged that someone had stolen clothes and an artificial chain from his car (HR-49-3993), which was parked near Gulati Bhavan, Sector 33. In yet another case, Mr Sanjay Kaplish of Sector 40-B, reported that someone had stolen a stereo from his car (CH01-D-2436), which was parked in front of his house. Separate cases have been registered. Liquor seized SAS Nagar Theft case |
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Unnatural
act PANCHKULA, Oct 9 — A nine-year-old boy
was sodomised by his teacher, Naushad Alam, at
the madrasa in Rajiv Colony yesterday. His
father, Mr Mohammad Isar, said the boy
informed him that only three boys had come to
the madrasa to study in the morning. The
teacher sent back the other two, while he was
sodomised when he was alone.
The police has registered a case under
Section 377 of the IPC following the complaint
and arrested the teacher. |
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