PU Syndicate to take up probe against lecturer
By Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The case of a university teacher indicted by an inquiry report in a case of fraudulent enhancing marks of a candidate from zero to 42 in reevaluation comes up for discussion in the forthcoming Syndicate meeting of Panjab University.

An independent inquiry by Mr P.H. Vaishnav, which was presented in a Syndicate meeting in November 1999, had indicted Dr Goyal . The decision was not implemented with an observation that ‘it needed to be looked into further’.

Dr B.B. Goyal was indicted in the case where the university found that marks of a candidate were found increased from zero to 42 in reevaluation. The paper contained only the words ‘radha swami’ from page one till the last.

The case was reported earlier in columns of The Tribune. The item will also contain other related aspects of the case, including an office note giving facts of the case; a letter from Justice H.S. Rai; a letter from Prof P.P. Arya; legal opinion by the university retainer, Mr Anupam Gupta, and a letter from Dr Goyal.

The report of Mr Vaishnav says that “ I cannot resist the conclusion that Dr Goyal has favoured the candidate of the impugned answer-sheet by giving him 42 marks, where he deserved zero. It is of little consequence whether this arose out of negligence or out of conscious favour being done to the candidate”. He also remarked that Dr Goyal, in his letter, had failed to establish mala fide intentions of those handling this reevaluation case in the branch concerned.

A university letter said the item came up for consideration in the meeting in November 1999. It was withdrawn with observations that the issue needed to be further looked into.

In December 1999, the Vice-Chancellor appointed Justice A.L.Bahari as the inquiry officer, who declined the proposition. Justice H.S. Rai was asked to conduct the inquiry. He remarked that he had not been able to appreciate what the Syndicate wanted — whether to further consider the evidence already recorded or to further the considerations in view of the letters of Prof P.P.Arya and Dr Goyal.

The Vice-Chancellor sought legal opinion of Mr Anupam Gupta, who said that the matter should once again be put before the Syndicate before further proceeding into the matter. Dr Goyal communicated the inquiry officer that if it was fresh inquiry, the university be directed to give a copy of the charges and if it was extension to first inquiry, the university be directed to supply the report on the basis of which he could submit his objections.

Prof P.P. Arya, president of the Panjab University Teachers Association, in a letter, said the PUTA, in a executive committee, proposed that there was an urgent need to review the functioning of the paper setting, conduct of examination and evaluation work. There had been lapses in the past without an effective redressal of the same, he added.

Professor Arya’s letter added that the inquiry report against Dr Goyal was inconclusive and left several ambiguities to be resolved. In order to maintain credibility of the examination system and evaluation system, an impartial and comprehensive inquiry should be conducted, he further said.

In case of Dr Goyal, the Senate is the punishing authority, being the appointing authority. In order to be sure that the answer-book in question was written by the same candidate who applied for reevaluation, his handwriting was compared by an expert of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. These were the same. Dr Goyal also alleged that fights with colleagues was one of the reasons for him being victimised, which was turned down in the P.H.Vaishnav report.

Who will maintain streetlights?
By Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Oct 22 — The Punjab State Electricity Board and the SAS Nagar Municipal Council are at loggerhead over the maintenance of streetlights in the town. However, residents are at the receiving end. Officials say that there is an extra financial burden of about Rs 1.25 lakh per month on the civic body. They said the job of maintaining over 9,000 streetlights in the town could be done by the Electricity Wing of the council at a lower cost. They said privatisation of the streetlight maintenance in town was an option before the civic body.

However, officials of the electricity board say that the maintenance of streetlights was being done under an agreement between the two bodies as per the Indian Electricity Act. They said it was the council that was not fulfilling the terms and conditions of the agreement. They also said no written daily information about defective streetlights was being given by the council.

Sources in the council said after the Engineer-in-Chief (Commercial) of the board had issued instructions regarding handing over the maintenance of streetlights to the civic bodies, the council officials had taken up the matter with the Deputy Commissioner of Ropar. As per the guidelines of the Engineer-in-Chief, the power lines that have been laid by the civic bodies and the ones being used independently for streetlights, will be maintained by the civic body concerned.

When the matter came up before the Deputy Commissioner, officials of the electricity board and the civic body gave their version of the story. However, the Deputy Commissioner reportedly decided in favour of the electricity department. Sources in the electricity department said the board would handover its staff of 26 to the council for the job. The Deputy Commissioner reportedly asked the council officials about the number of persons kept on contract by the civic body, even as the board men had been put on the maintenance duty.

The electricity board officials said the council officials wanted to adjust their men somewhere. The council officials said it was paying Rs 1.25 lakh per month to the board and the bill for the maintenance of streetlights was being included the power-consumption bill. No new power connection for streetlight was released till the council agreed to pay for its maintenance.

Medical graduates get degrees
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, said doctors should have scientific temper and a humanistic attitude. He said these qualities would help them succeed in their profession. He was delivering an address at the second convocation of the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital in Bhargava Auditorium of the PGI here today.

The convocation ceremony was attended by faculty members, students, their parents and the other guests. Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery were awarded to 48 students. Students also received medals and certificates for doing well in studies. Dr Richa Goyal got the Best Graduate Award for the year 1994-99.

Prof Pathak congratulated the new doctors and advised them to be aware of the latest developments in the scientific world. “Science has not only made diagnosis easy but has also offered some radical cures. Whether it is the development of specific drugs or surgical correction and restructuring of diseased organs, pure science has always served applied science well.”

He said path-breaking technologies like imaging using the x-ray roentogenology, ultrasound, computerised tomography, magnetic resonance and radionuclide applications were all branches of physics. “Even fibreoptic visualisation that had made it endoscopically possible to examine all cavities in the body, is a branch of physics,” he said.

Prof V.K. Kak, Director Principal of the GMCH, cited the academic and extra-curricular achievements of medical students. He said the college would soon introduce postgraduate courses in 11 subjects. He said inspections for approving the courses had recently been done by the Medical Council of India that had forwarded its recommendations to the Union Government.

Prof Kak said it was the collective wisdom of staff members that had helped a new institution like the GMCH provide quality education and healthcare to people. “A new medical institution is not bound by any preconceived notions and can introduce socially and economically relevant changes in training of students,” he said.

Prof Kak said if medical teachers adopted a humanistic attitude while training students, the pupils would also emulate them. He said learning was a life-long process that did not end with getting a degree.

Dr Kak administered the Hippocratic Oath to the fresh graduates before presenting them their degrees. Those who received gold and silver medals included Dr Richa Goyal, Dr Anish K. Gupta, Dr Gunchan Punani, Dr Jasmine Kaur, Dr Amit Saini, Dr Navdeep Dhillon, Dr Shivani Ohri and Dr Lalit Aggarwal.

Madhya Marg to be driver’s delight
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — With the Chandigarh Administration all set to transform the facade of the city’s Madhya Marg, driving through the lane may well become a pleasure.

The scheme, a part of the Administration’s attempt to beautify the city, will be executed by a private company. Though the exact landscaping plan is not ready, what comes through will probably resemble the road divider patterns followed in countries abroad.

According to senior officials in the UT Engineering Department, the proposal includes sprucing up the road berms and slow carriages, the bus stops and the areas around the roundabouts. A senior official has informed that plans are being chalked out to undertake the project of placing tiles all around the bus stop, as also the immediate vicinity on either side of the road. The idea is to benefit the commuters, who often end up dirtying their clothes and shoes in the process of waiting there for long hours.

The road berms which have been levelled, will also be fitted with tiles. The move will clear up the area, which currently sports an ugly growth of grass and shrubs.

Keeping in view the traffic chaos outside the PGI and the Panjab University gates, the authorities have decided to expand the parking area of the taxi stand, opposite to the main gate of PGI. The shortage of space has, in the past, led to many problems. The new parking place will be able to accomodate at least 60 vehicles.

The official has further informed that for the first time, a private company has agreed to undertake the project involving beautification of the road berms and main chanelising islands near the roundabouts. In the past, various private companies and big business houses have undertaken maintenance of rotaries on this stretch of the road, but no one has ever came forward a project of this kind.

Mr Bal Sehgal, incharge, Chandigarh Chapter of Quark Media House ( India), the company which will execute the work, says they have major plans to landscape the four-km stretch of the road on either side of Madhya Marg on the pattern of countries abroad. The emphasis will be on developing the stretch from PGI to Transport Chowk as a green belt marked by evergreen foliage. “Our endeavour is to create something which has an impact for a longer period. The drive through this clean and green pathway will become memorable,” he claims.

The plans of the company to develop and maintain the area have been accepted. The MoU will initially be signed for a period of two years and will subsequently be increased on an yearly basis, based on their performance. The Administration is always keen to have more greenery along the roads, but is unable to do so within the given constraints of the budget. They have readily accepted the offer of the private company to do the needful.

Half of economy “still closed”
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Coastal states will lead to the resurgence of India as they are more outward looking and receptive to economic reforms than landlocked states, says Mr P. Chidambaram, a former Union Finance Minister, maintaining that the "unreformed sectors have to be reformed" during the next 10 years to make the Indian economy viable and internationally compatible.

Speaking at a colloquium on “Perspectives on economic reforms” organised by the Bradlaugh International Centre here last evening, Mr Chidambaram warned that economic reforms might bring about inter-regional disparities and might even create socio-political problems.

He said that though India opened its economy in 1991 to bring about economic reforms, half the economy of the country was still closed. Most of the sectors, including roads, bridges, aviation and airports, were still closed.

“What India needs is 10 years of corruption-free and scam-free governance. This is possible only with the cooperation of people. They can punish bad or corrupt politicians at the time of elections by rejecting them," he said, maintaining that without that economic reforms would not bring the desired results.

Mr Chidambaram supported "limited subsidies". The government had to subsidise primary education, primary healthcare and even the supply of food to extremely poor people. “These subsidies cannot be wished away," he said.

Mr Chidambaram held that there was nothing nobler than the creation of wealth, maintaining that there was nothing “inevitable in the reforms process.”

Mr Gurcharan Dass, author of “India Unbound”, propounded his theory that 50 per cent of the population living on the west side of a hypothetical line drawn from Kanpur to Chennai would become middle class by 2020 and the population on the east side of the line would take 20 years more to become middle class .

Mr Dass maintained that though India missed the industrial revolution, it would straightway jump from the Green Revolution to the “knowledge revolution”. The service sector would emerge stronger. India, with a strong manpower and workforce, thus need not go after the industrial revolution. He felt that the flaw responsible for the failing industrial revolution in the country was the Brahmanical concept, which in the knowledge revolution might stand the country in good stead.

With strong service and agriculture sectors, he said, the Indian economy was in for a good time. With population growth pegged down to 1.5 per cent and the growth rate at 7 per cent, the difference of 5.5 per cent of net growth would usher in a new era in the Indian economy. He agreed that when a developing nation tied up with a developed nation, it became the beneficiary in the sphere of free flow of technology and its affluence also went up.

Mr Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, Indian Express, said that unless people at the helm of affairs were made accountable, economic reforms would become meaningless.

Earlier, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, secretary, Bradlaugh International Centre, in her address of welcome, said that after Independence , the second most important event was the beginning of economic reforms in 1991. But these reforms, she said, had left certain issues unanswered. These included the pace of reforms because it was sluggish, with a half-hearted attempt at implementation. Above all, there was the issue of the unfinished agenda.

Earlier, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), president of the centre, also talked about the difference economic reforms had made to the life of an average Indian.

Kalka-Mumbai train flagged off
From Our Correspondent

KALKA, Oct 22 — The Kalka-Mumbai train was flagged off today from the Kalka railway station by Mr Vijay Kumar, divisional manager, Railways, Ambala.

Addressing a press conference, the divisional manager said the train would be attached to the Paschim Express at Ambala. He added that the train would have six bogies with three sleeper coaches, one AC 111 class and two luggage bogies.

Mr Vijay Kumar informed that the railway stations at Shimla, Kalka, Chandigarh and Anandpur Sahib had been declared model railway stations and another two were in the pipeline. These railway stations would be provided with modern facilities and amenities. He added that the Railways had also decided to utilise its vacant land. He said a shopping complex would be constructed at Solan railway station on the vacant land. He informed that the Railways had also completed its revenue records.

Mr Vijay Kumar said the Railways was going to open its third computer reservation office at Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh shortly. The ladies waiting room at Kalka railway station, which was closed a few months back, would be restarted with an attached toilet and bathroom, he added.

Industrialists and residents of the area welcomed the decision to start the Kalka-Mumbai train. The facility would help in promoting business in the area, besides offering logistic convenience to the passengers, they added.

Pension still far for college teachers
By Chitleen K. Sethi
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — More than 4,500 private college teachers of Punjab and Chandigarh have, for years now, been asking for the implementation of the pension-cum-gratuity scheme of the Punjab Government. This scheme has been approved, accepted and notified by two governments in the past ten years, but is yet to be implemented.

It all began in 1990 when a notification of the Punjab Government said private college teachers would be given pension in lieu of the Contributory Provident Fund by the managements of the colleges. The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) protested against this and demanded that the pension should be given by the Punjab Government. This issue that affected more than 140 private colleges of Punjab was raised in the manifestoes of The Congress and the SAD in the Assembly elections in the state.

The Congress came to power then and Dr Kewal Krishan, the then Finance Minister, announced in the Punjab Assembly on April 3, 1992, that all private college teachers would get pension.

A committee comprising the Finance Minister, the Education Minister, the Finance Secretary and the Education Secretary of the state was formed to look into the matter. In 1995, the Finance Minister wrote to the PCCTU, assuring that it had been decided to give pension to teachers of private colleges. In March 1995, the Finance Bill introduced in the Assembly accepted the pension scheme and on January 3, 1996, the council of ministers passed the scheme. In December 1996, The Punjab Government sent a detailed notification to all colleges concerned for immediate action on it. It also asked teachers for their options as the cut off date was April 1, 1992. This notification included in its purview, the non-teaching staff of the colleges as well.

After the next elections, the SAD-BJP alliance came to power in February, 1997, and rejected the demand, saying that it was a “Congress baby”. However, no public statement was made on the issue. The teachers staged many agitations, dharnas and strikes in most colleges. More than 30 executive members of the PCCTU and the national Secretary of the AIFUCTO were jailed for a week.

In April 1998, the Punjab Government issued an executive order that it was pleased to implement the pension scheme according to the order of December 18, 1996, for teaching and non-teaching staff. Managements of all private colleges were urged to deposit the Contributory Provident Fund share along with an interest in the Government Treasury. However, many college principals failed to see that it was done.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Chief Minister introduced the bill regarding the pension-cum-gratuity scheme in the Vidhan Sabha on March 30, 1999. The bill was unanimously brought under the Act of the Assembly. The Governor of Punjab signed the Act on April 17, 1999, and this was notified on April 26, 1999.

More than a year later, the Act remains where it was — on paper. Teachers say that nothing has been done to implement it. The teachers have been constantly trying to bring this to the attention of the authorities concerned, including the Governor. The Governor had assured them that an inquiry into the reasons for the non-implementation of the scheme would be conducted. Teachers have organised more than six statewide strikes in the past two months. Prof Charanjit Chawla, General Secretary of the PCCTU, said, “The SAD-BJP government has cheated teachers and the non-teaching staff of private colleges at the insistence of the bureaucracy. The government lacks political will to deal with such officials.”

Mr R.K. Lakhanpal, Principal Finance Secretary of the state, said, “This pension scheme is financially not viable. The CPF contribution by teachers is not enough to last more than four years. After this, the Punjab Government will have to bear the burden of paying pension to teachers. Usually, employees contribute to a fund for their pension while they are in service. Here, employees want all benefits of social security without contributing anything themselves.”

Mr H.S. Deol, Director Public Instructions (Colleges) of Punjab, said, “The implementation of the pension scheme is not at the level of our directorate. It is the job of the government. We have only twice worked out the financial modalities involved in the implementation of the scheme. The figures that we had calculated the first time were not acceptable to teachers. Now, the colleges have been asked to send the related information again on prescribed performas. However, only eight out of the 147 private colleges in the state have supplied the information. Teachers of the other colleges say that the procedure is too complicated.”

While teachers and the government are caught in this continuous battle, thousands of teaching hours are going waste and no one seems to be bothered.

COMMUNITY

Banish caste and gender bias: Jacob
Tribune News Service

Earlier, Mr K.S. Raju, while welcoming the Governor, spoke about the problems of the area. Justice J.V. Gupta, Mr Satyapal Jain, a former MP and Mr Gurpartap Singh Riar, president of the local unit of SAD, also spoke on the occasion.

A nightmarish bus journey
By Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Holding the lives of passengers to ransom, the drivers of many buses that leave the city around 8 p.m. drive the buses allegedly under the influence of liquor. They may not stop the bus at the mandatory bus stops but make it a point to halt at a theka on the way.

This correspondent had a first-hand experience while travelling in a Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) bus leaving Chandigarh at 8 p.m. to reach Patiala on Wednesday last. The driver stopped the bus (PB-11-N-9533) in front of a theka on the outskirts of the city just on the approach road to Zirakpur.

To the surprise of the passengers he gulped two pegs of liquor and came back to his seat. Just 10 minutes after he downed the liquor the atmosphere inside the bus changed. The bus started moving in a "serpentine-like" manner. The sleeping passengers woke up with a start. It took them a few minutes to come to terms with the nightmarish experience.

After that all the passengers were seen sitting on their toes. The effect of the liquor was visible on the driver who was controlling the steering wheel with his shaky hands. The effect became so marked that at a moment of time it seemed that he would jump out of the driver's window. He was perspiring so badly that he had to wipe his hands and the steering wheel of the bus with newspapers as the wet hands were losing control on the steering wheel.

The PRTC bus, otherwise known for its snail's speed, was beating a "superfast" bus if its speed was to be compared. It hit the Patiala bus stand in a record 1.15 hours' time despite halting at all the stops on the way, including Rajpura bus stand.

The bus honking at the top of its horn's noise went through all the traffic bottlenecks without slowing down a bit, thereby scaring the passengers. They were all holding their breath and missing their beats. Some of them were even silently praying.

The bus finally reached its destination and the passengers had a sigh of relief.

Senior citizens honoured
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Oct 22 — The local Senior Citizens (Pensioners) Council organised a function to honour its senior members at Shastri Senior Model School here today. Mr A.N. Sharma, Chairman of the council, spoke about the problems faced by the pensioners and submitted a memorandum of demands to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, Mr Khushi Ram, who was the chief guest.

The ADC said quarterly meetings would be arranged by him in the town regularly for sorting out problems faced by the senior citizens. The SDM, Mr Jaipal Singh, was the guest of honour. Mr AS Bhatti, President of the council, said the persons honoured were Mr Pritam Singh Gill, Mr Shamsher Singh, Mr AS Bhinder, Mr N.S. Gill, Mr PS Kochar, Mr Surinder Lal Maini, Dr Bachan Singh, Lieut-Col Parshan Singh, Mr Iqbal Singh, Ms Amar Kaur and Mr R.S. Sahni.

Recruitment rally from Nov 6
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — The Punjab Regiment is conducting a recruitment rally at 102 Infantry Battalion at Kalka from November 6. Recruitment will be made for Sikhs (except Ramdasia and Mazabi), Dogra clerks and tradesmen. Wards of serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and widows will be recruited on November 6 and 7. Sikh candidates will be recruited on November 8 and 9, while Dogra candidates will be recruited on November 10 and 11. Clerks and tradesmen will be recruited on November 14. The minimum qualification for soldiers (general duty) is matriculate, while for clerks is Class XII and for tradesmen is Class VIII. 

Bansal releases book on WTO
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Due to infirmities in the World Trade Organisation agreement India needed to quickly pick up pace for economic reforms, with a threat from the developed world since the date of implementation of the agreement on January 1, 2005.

These views were expressed by Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, the local MP, while releasing a book, India And World Trade Organisation: Planning And Development, by Dr P.K.Vasudeva here today.

Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, commented on various aspects of the book.

The others who spoke included Prof M.R. Aggarwal, Prof Satish Kapoor, Dr Naresh Kumar and Mr Narender Singh.

Tribune employee bereaved
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Mr Nazar Khan Mohammed, father of Mr Shamim Mohammed, Senior Clerk (Accounts), The Tribune, died today after a prolonged illness. His burial will take place at Burail graveyard at 11 am on Monday.

CHANDIGARH  CALLING
Legendary folk singers

THE coming month will see a host of legendary folk singers from Pakistan descend on the city. Among the names in this category who are due to visit the city on the occasion of the fourth Aalmi Punjabi Festival is the nightingale of Pakistan, Reshma, whose folk songs are still fresh in the memory of all the music lovers.

The art fraternity of the city is already enthused about the third week of November when the conference is to be hosted. The occasion will not only imply an exchange of ideas, but will also reinforce bonds of unity, with acclaimed Indian sufi singers like Hans Raj Hans interacting with the Pakistani artists like Akram Rahi, Aarif Lohar, Faiz Ali Faiz, Surraya Khanam and Humra Mumtaz.

Plaza carnival

After the carnival organised by the UT Administration to mark World Tourism Day, there is yet being organised in Sector 17 Plaza, this time by the Centre for Carnival Arts. The Plaza carnival, opened here on Friday last and will go on for a long time till May next year. The idea is entirely to tap the local talent which is immense.

The carnival will feature certain cultural activities which will be open to anyone in the age group of 15 to 25 years. It will also have a corner devoted entirely to art. The feature of this corner will be the principal of the local Arts College, Prof Prem Singh, demonstrating the basics of art.

Apart from this informative session, there will also be a lot of practical painting — with the students of the Arts College sketching portraits of the public!

Meanwhile, Prem Singh has sent us a Divali greeting card on behalf of the child artists of Janata Colony. The card has been drawn by a boy, Balvinder, on a postcard.

Special feature

The office of the Director, Public Instruction, (schools), Punjab, in Sector 17 has a special feature that guides the visitors to locate the office. The feature is the smell of the cardamom. Thanks to the tea vendor on the second floor of the office.

He prepares tea flavoured with cardamom that fills the environment strongly with its smell in the otherwise stinking office due to the toilets inside the premises. The vendor is paraphernalia that comprise a wooden bench, a stove and utensils occupies a small corner of the staircase. The place is like a heaven for the tired visitors who climb up and down the stairs time and again to get their work done from this government office.

City’s village pond

Following the lead of the Children’s Alliance for the Protection of the Environment (CAPE) for a unique conservation exercise in reviving a village pond in between the Technical Teachers Training Institute (TTTI) and the Municipal Nursery, Sector 26. The TTTI has launched the de-weeding and levelling of the adjoining pond areas filled with waste materials and earth. A park is being developed and plants, which promotes bio- diversity would be planted. Staff members, their families and visitors would enjoy nature in perfect peace and silence away from the humdrum of the city.

On the other side of the pond, batches of children from schools would be taken round to this nature preserve under the popularisation of science scheme of the departments of science and technology, Government of India, the Chandigarh Administration and the state governments. School managements may contact CAPE office at Karuna Sadan, Sector 11-B Chandigarh (Phone 746832).

Bharat Gaurav

Ms Sudesh GB Singh, a prominent social worker, has been given the Bharat Gaurav Award for her outstanding contribution in the field of humanitarian services. She has also been presented a certificate of excellence for her contributions in art, culture and social services, especially in the field of empowerment of women, rehabilitation and upliftment of defence widows and their families.

Ms GB Singh brought about a social revolution by marrying off hundreds of defence widows belonging to different castes, creeds, religions and races under one roof. She also set an example getting reservation of seats and fee concessions for defence widows and their wards in various professional institutes.

Ms Singh has just returned from a successful trip to the UK and the USA leading a delegation of the International Punjabi Society. She spoke to large gatherings promoting tourism and investments in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. She was presented the award at a function attended by various dignitaries at New Delhi.

On order

It appears that the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh wakes up after the problems of citizens are highlighted in the press.

A case in point is the printing of zebra crossings and rumble strips on the city roads by the corporation recently. It may be recalled that the Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed the authorities to print the traffic signs in the city recently.

One wonders why the corporation cannot do its job on a routine basis.

Tailpiece

Last week, elections kept Panjab University in a festive mood. And when the results came, the celebrations predictably centred round girls’ hostel, as the photo on top of the page by Manoj Mahajan shows.
—Sentinel

CRIME

Four booked in assault case
Tribune News Service

According to the information available, the victim, Mr Swaran Singh, a resident of Sector 20, Chandigarh, was coming from the house of Mr Tilak Raj on a rickshaw on October 18 when the four persons — Pal Singh, Yug Raj, Ricky and Swaran Singh — who came in a car, intercepted and assaulted him. The victim had to be hospitalised at the Phase 6 civil hospital here. A case under Sections 326, 342, 382 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the suspects.

Driver booked

In connection with the case of an employee of the SAS Nagar Municipal Council, Mr Suresh Kumar, whose left leg was badly injured two years ago in a road accident involving a truck, the police registered a case under Sections 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC against the erring truck driver. The case was registered after the Punjab Human Rights Commission directed the local police to register an FIR against the erring truck driver.

Chandigarh Constable injured

Conastable Naresh Kumar of the traffic police was hit by a motor cycle being driven by Ashwani Kumar, a resident of Sirsa, on Madhya Marg in Sector 8. The accused has been arrested and a case has been registered.

Van stolen

Mr Vishal Sood of Sector 45 reported that someone had stolen his Maruti van (CH-01-X-7972) from his house on the night of October 20. A case under Section 379 of IPC has been registered.

Cheating case

Mr Amodh Aggarwal, assistant area manager of Eureka Forbes, reported that Kamlesh Kumar Lakhra of Sector 19 in Panchkula, who was working as junior accountant in the company, had cheated the company to the tune of Rs 3,08,720 and commited criminal breach of trust. The accused is absconding. A case under Sections 408, 420, 468 and 471 of IPC has been registered.

TV stolen

Mr Krishna Kumar of Janta Colony, Sector 25, reported that his television was stolen from his house. A case has been registered.

Whisky seized

The local police arrested Soma, a resident of Mauli Jagran, from Transport Area and seized 600 pouches of whisky from his possession. A case under Section 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act has been registered.

Stereo stolen

Dr Manoj Kumar of Sector 40 reported that someone had stolen the car stereo from his car (CH-01-V-5511) while it was parked at his house. A case has been registered.