Group clash at Khanpur village
Irate villagers block highway; 25 persons injured
From Rajmeet Singh and Shashi Pal Jain

KHANPUR (Kharar), Nov 6 — Vehicular traffic on the busy Chandigarh-Ludhiana highway came to a standstill for over six hours late this evening as irate residents of Khanpur village, located on the highway, sat on a dharna to protest against the alleged inaction on part of the local administration in controlling an unruly mob led by certain influential persons who had made an attempt to take possession of some land along the highway.

The villagers and the mob hurled stones at each other, resulting in injuries to over 25 persons on both sides. Some persons from the mob also fired at the villagers from single-barrel and double-barrel guns resulting in minor injuries to some protesters. At least three guns were taken into possession from the miscreants by the police. The police also had to fire teargas shells to prevent the situation from worsening further.

The brick-batting between the two sides lasted for over two hours before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mr Devinder Singh, imposed Section 145 of the Cr PC on the land, thereby prohibiting both parties from entering the land. But even then some tractors were put into service by few men to level the ground.

Apart from the difficulty faced by the road-users, there was delay in shifting the injured persons to the Kharar Civil Hospital as the road was blocked. Stones and other waste material were littered on the road after the battle between the groups ended at around 7 p.m. Villagers alleged that around 500 armed persons came in five trucks (HR-01-GA-0649, HR-37-B-0653, HR-0-16-A-0652, HR-01-GA-0650 and HR-37-B-0654). The entire drama occurred before mediapersons.

To control the situation from going out of hand, the police led by the Tehsilar-cum-Duty Magistare, Mr Malkiat Singh, had to fire teargas shells. A number of heaps of cow dung and a tractor had been set on fire by the miscreants.

The irate villagers claimed that they were in possession of the land for the past 50 years and it was being used for common purposes. They said similar attempts had been made by different persons in the last three decades to take possession of land but the villagers prevented it. Today the aggressors came in large numbers to take possession of the land, alleged the villagers. An SAD leader was allegedly seen by the villagers while burning the wild grass. They said the land in question was a common land of the Kharar Municipal Committee and no action had been taken by the government to protect it.

The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mr GPS Bhullar, said a case under Sections 148, 149, 427, 429, 307 and 435 of the IPC had been registered against Harbhajan Shergill and others. At least 17 persons had been arrested by the police and raids were being conducted to trace out the other persons. A truck and car had also been taken into possession by the police. The miscreants had come from Naraingarh area in Panchkula and Ambala district of Haryana where one of the persons was running sugar mill.

Meanwhile, after the situation worsened additional police force from Ropar and Mohali was rushed to the spot. The road block was lifted around 10 p.m. The villagers were sitting on dharna demanding action against the aggressors. The SDM, when contacted, said he had got an application for nishandehi of the land and the tehsildar had been appointed as the Duty Magistrate for the same and was give some force as some trouble was anticipated by the local administration. The persons who had come to take possession of the land had orders from a court which had upheld their ownership over the land.

Three ‘call girls’ held in city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — In a major breakthrough, the Chandigarh police today arrested three “call girls” allegedly operating in and around the city through mobile telephones. Their “pimp”, owner of a printing press, was also apprehended. The racket was “unearthed” with the help of a decoy customer.

The four — Priya Devi, Bindu, alias Neetu, Meenu, alias Sheetal, and Inder Pal Singh — were apprehended from near the oil pump in Sector 22 after a police party, on receiving a signal from the shadow witness, swooped down upon them..

Initial investigations have revealed that 28-year-old Bindu of Moga had allegedly joined the profession as her father was suffering from tuberculosis. The money was required to support her three younger brothers, sources added.

A resident of Panchkula, 32-year-old Priya Devi, had, meanwhile, joined the profession to “bring up her son” after being ditched by her husband. Meenu of Ambala district reportedly told the police that she had joined the gang as she needed money.

Sources added that the three were in the business because of “easy money”. Describing them as “daughters of decent middle class families”, they added that the three were charging anywhere between Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.

The alleged pimp, they added, was soliciting customers through personal contacts. The numbers of mobile telephones with the girls were also given to persons coming to his printing press.

Giving details of the arrest, Assistant Superintendent of Chandigarh police Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said the four were taken in custody after 15 notes of Rs 100 each, signed by him, were handed over to the accused.

The ASP added that the marked currency was recovered from the possession of the three girls and the alleged pimp after a search was conducted by lady Assistant Sub Inspector Paramjit Kaur.

Going into the background, the ASP stated that he along with Station House Officer of Sector 17 Police Station Satbir Singh, and other police officials, were patrolling the area when the secret information about their activities was received. Two independent witnesses, he added, were involved in the process.

Disclosing that a case under Sections 4, 5 and 8 of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act had been registered, he said two mobile sets and a Maruti car were also recovered. The mobile sets were with Priya and the alleged pimp. More arrest were likely to be made soon, he added.

9 elected to UT market panel
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — The grain market reverberated with the beat of drums and bursting of crackers as jubilant supporters of winning candidates for the UT Market Committee polls celebrated their victory here today. Nine contestants were elected from among 16 contenders.

Bhupinder Singh Badheri polled the maximum number of votes — 25 — from the Sarpanches and Panches constituency to secure his seat followed by Ramvir Bhatti with 23 votes. Others who won include Gurdeep Singh with 22 votes, Kuldeep Singh with 21 votes and Kesar Singh with 18 votes.

Those who lost were Harish Kumar (17 votes), Manmohan Singh (10 votes), Bhajan Singh (11 votes) and Kulwant Singh (9 votes). Five persons were to be elected from this constituency

Similarly, Des Raj from the commission agents’ constituency won and bagged 130 votes, followed by On Prakash Chawla with 122 votes. Mr Sat Prakash Aggarwal polled 75 votes but lost. Only two persons were to be elected from this constituency.

Mr Gurdev Singh polled 246 votes and was declared elected from the Mani Majra Cooperative Marketing Society constituency. His rival Prem Singh pollled 157 votes. Only one member was to be elected from this constituency.

From the palledars constituency, Rattan Chand won by polling 80 votes. He defeated his rivals Sohan and Subash who got 47 and 32 votes, respectively. One person was to be elected from this constituency.

The polling which started at 8 a.m. came to an end at 4 p.m. and all the results were out by 6 p.m. The results were declared by Mr H.R. Nagra, returning officer, for the poll which was last held in 1993. An administrator had been looking after the affairs of the body after the three-year term ended.

Following the election, the administration would notify those elected as directors. Next the directors would meet to elect a chairman from amongst them. Meanwhile, hectic parleys have already begun between various factions of the local unit of the BJP, the Congress and the Akali Dal to get their man elected as Chairman.

The BJP has four candidates followed by the Congress, the Akali Dal besides an Independent. It is another matter that those elected belong to rival factions of the parties concerned.

German film festival opens in city
By Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — As head of the Goethe Institute (better known as Max Mueller Bhavan) in India, Mr Peter Sewitz has been actively involved in giving a concrete shape to various programmes conceived as part of a German festival.

But to limit his activities to the festival alone would be understating his efforts. For he has been living in India much before the Indian and German Governments entered into an agreement to hold festivals in each other’s countries in 1988.

After putting in almost over three decades of service in various capacities, Mr Peter Sewitz is currently posted as programme director of the prestigious Delhi Max Mueller Bhavan. He is also the key man instrumental in getting many cultural shows organised in India, including the Berlin exhibition which was held in Delhi. Besides this project, Mr Sewitz has been involved in chalking out the programme of the German film festival which opens in the city from today. The Tribune spoke to Mr Sewitz who was in town for the inauguration of Am I Beautiful, the opening film of the festival which is being held at the Government College of Art, Sector 10, till November 12.

Mr Sewitz said the film festival was being held in two sessions. While the main programme comprised ten 35 mm films to be screened in seven cities, the parallel show would have seven 16 mm films screened in 20 cities. “Jaipur has already been covered and Chandigarh is the second series in the line,” said Mr Sewitz who has also held the post of the Director of Hyderabad, Calcutta and Mumbai Max Mueller Bhavans. Apart from this, he has also headed the Languages Department in Mumbai.

Talking about the culture of India and Germany and the underlying commonality, he agreed that there was a lot in common between the two cultures. “India is very much like Europe when it comes to culture, and this despite the perceptible cultural differences. We have many nuances in common,” he said, adding that the two countries, however, differed greatly on account of the value plane. “I applaud India for its cultural strength. In fact, this is one country where human relationships still stand strong, where marriages are still sacred. In the West, all these institutions have crumbled. There is no value system existing. So there India has a major score.”

He said a few difficulties did surface while making inroads into India’s culture as part of the cultural exchange team. “But they were not very major. We could overcome them. The best part was that just like Indian troupes were well received in Germany during the festival in 1991 and 1992, we are also being appreciated here. That is the reason we are coordinating with the German Foreign Office for more cultural programmes here,” he said.

Mr Sewitz also tried to compare India and Germany in respect to the amount of finances allocated for the promotion of culture. He said Germany was serious about its cultural heritage and spent a lot on making its artistes comfortable. “In Germany, an artiste can be sure of a great profession. But in India it is not quite like that. The best part about India is its very powerful cultural root, and this is very heartening,” he said.

He also said cinema did not have as much a mass appeal in Germany as it had in India. “Here cinema is a way of life and influences the value system in a big way. But back home it is not like that. Cinema is respected as just another vocation.”

Coming to the current film festival, Mr Sewitz said quality films had been chosen. All seven films of the current session were about five years old.

“The idea is to project the level of human relationships as they are in Germany. Individualism has taken over everything else. So doubts and apprehensions mark every relationship. Our attempt has been a projection of the German society. All films have subtitles,” he said.

Apart from films, promotion of language and science is also high on the agenda of the German Government. “We train people in German language. We also invite teachers and send them on scholarships. The focus is on developing a liking for German culture. Once there is curiosity, learning will follow,” he said. Seminars on science-related subjects were also in the pipeline. “For us, solar energy, films, traffic control are all part of culture,” he added.

Now traffic rules on PU campus, too
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — All handsome hunks driving down the narrow roads of the Panjab University campus on motor cycles with helmets placed on petrol tanks, beware. The Chandigarh police is planning to enforce traffic rules on the campus, too.

“The idea is not to challan violators. That’s a separate issue,” says the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Parag Jain, “our aim is to make this a model campus where all traffic rules are observed without someone trying to enforce these.” For this purpose, the police will take the help of students. “At a recent meeting between the Chandigarh police, the Vice-Chancellor and elected student leaders, students were urged to take initiative for maintaining law and order on the campus and ensure that traffic rules were observed,” the SSP said.

The decision has, however, been criticised by students on the campus. “How can the police enter the university without the permission of the VC?” says a student leader on the condition of anonymity, “this will only lead to the harassment of students by the police.” The SSP, on the other hand, does not agree with him. “The university is not an isolated place where the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act should cease to exist,” he says. “The VC’s permission is required only for raiding hostels. In any case, students themselves will enforce the rules,” he adds.

National meet from Nov 15
Badminton court awaits completion
By Arvind Katyal

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — There has been a delay in the replacement of the wooden floor of the three-court indoor badminton hall in Sector 42, the venue for the prestigious junior national and inter-state badminton championships going to start on November 15. The hall was constructed nearly 13 years ago and the entire wooden portion needed to be replaced. It was pointed out that since no proper ventilation points were kept, the wood got decayed.

Chandigarh Tribune had carried a story in its issue dated September 17, 1999, under the heading ‘Badminton hall needs repairs’, but no efforts were made to go in for the renovation of the damaged wooden floor. At that time only the bitumen layer on the ceilings were laid, as the hall had leaked. In last February, when the Chandigarh Badminton Association was allotted the junior nationals for the first time, it was thought that the things would move swiftly, but till last September no headway was made.

The UT Sports Department runs four badminton coaching centres — at Sector 42 indoor hall, Sector 23 Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 23, Panjab University Gymnasium and Government Home Science College, Sector 10. Only in Sector 42 and PU, the three courts were available catering to national standards. At PU the keeping of the ballot boxes for the PU Senate elections at Gymnasium had affected the practice schedule.

Now the nationals are round the corner and no coaching camp for training could be organised by the CBA, as it was waiting for the hall to be reopened.

Out of three courts at Sector 42 hall, only one court was being replaced completely and for other two courts, patches were being put. Though the ‘Hova courts’ (synthetic courts) will be laid for the nationals, the surface should have been ready, commented an association official.

Mr JPS Sidhu, Joint Director, Sports, UT, said work was going on at war-footing and they hope to get the hall ready in all respects by November 10. He said the Engineering Department was taking keen interest in doing the needful in the set time-frame but the fact was that the worst sufferers will be the players and it will affect the performance of the city players.

A junior player who recently took part in the North Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships at Delhi where Chandigarh bagged the Narang Cup said the advantage of playing at home court will not be in their favour as the authorities had failed to make it functional in time.

Mr Sidhu said that they had apprised the Engineering Department well in advance but the process was very long. The contractor present at the venue said they got the contract only last month and they were trying to finish the job well in advance by putting in extra labour. An astonishing part was that only one court was being renovated while other two were not touched. Once the nationals are over, the other two courts will again need complete renovation as the pressure will mount due to matches to be played by more than 300 players on these courts, said a senior player. A player wished that had UT Administrator Lt-Gen JFR Jacob (retd) visited the indoor hall, things would not have worsened like this, since he takes keen interest in sports.

Boy duped of jewellery by ‘god’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Cashing in on the innocence of a 14-year-old student, a youth, claiming himself to be “god” who had “just descended from heaven”, took away 7 tolas of gold jewellery on Sunday afternoon for warding off a curse on the boy’s parents.

Class X student, Anil Kumar, offered a gold chain, a ring and earrings, costing about Rs 40,000, to the “God” in black trousers and check shirt after being told that his parents would die due to “evil influence of stars” if he did not pray with the help of the jewellery.

Initially at about 3 p.m., Anil, a resident of Sector 18, took just a gold chain to the youth waiting for him at the traffic lights of the road dividing sectors 18 and 19. The fake God was not satisfied with this offering. He asked for more.

Anil went back to his house where his father was sleeping and his two sisters were watching a movie. On the pretext of going to a friend’s birthday party, he again departed. This time with all the jewellery from the safe.

The “God” then asked him to chant some mantras. While Anil was saying “Hari Om! Hari Om, the thug disappeared. It took Anil some time to realise that he had been duped. Shocked, he narrated the entire episode to the family at about 6 p.m.

“I have been looted’, was all Anil could mutter upon reaching home,” said his mother Chanjari Devi, struggling to control her tears. “He had been hypnotised — it was apparent from the way he talked”.

Narrating the sequence of events, Anil’s uncle Charanji Lal revealed, “The youth, aged between 25 to 30, asked Anil the way to a computer institute while he was returning home on his cycle after purchasing a belt from Sector 19. He questioned Anil about his family before asking him to bring the jewellery”.

Soon after the incident, Anil’s father Badhe Ram informed the police. Taking up his complaint, the police registered a case of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. Senior police officials, when contacted, said further investigations in the matter were on.

Widening of Himalayan Marg stretch under way
By Poonam Batth
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — A section of Himalayan Marg, from the bus stand chowk to the Piccadily chowk, is being widened by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) keeping in view the increasing volume of traffic on this road and the resultant accidents. Work has already started and is to be completed by the year-end at an estimated cost of Rs 20 lakh.

Officials maintain that the upgradation of the said stretch of the road from the existing two lanes to three lanes will help check traffic congestion. It has over a period of time become a traffic bottleneck, for almost all long-route buses from the Sector 17 Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) use it for their exit point and some of them even use it for coming in.

According to a senior official, the three-laning was essential as the road was too narrow for the volume of traffic on it. He disclosed that earlier also some of the roads were widened into three lanes in pursuance of the directions of the High Court. The High Court had ordered that the national highways passing through the city should be a minimum of three lanes each on both sides. While the section of NH-21 from the Piccadily chowk to the YPS chowk in SAS Nagar has already been widened, work has already begun on the stretch of road from the bus stand chowk to the Aroma traffic lights. The remaining stretch till the Piccadily chowk will also be completed by the year-end.

However, the three-laning will be done only on one side. The task is not easy as the mound, which had been preserved, had to be cut and carved to make space available for the third lane. The process will take time as the streetlight poles on the mound will also have to be removed. Hence, now there will be central verge lighting on this marg when the poles are put up there.

Besides, the movable stones dividing the road will be removed and replaced with a 3-foot wide central verge. This will also help prevent accidents as people will no longer be able to cross the road through the little passages and there will be no disruption of traffic. The embedded median will only ensure a smooth flow of traffic on either side of the road.

It may be recalled that earlier when the stretch of road from the Government Press chowk to the ISBT chowk was widened, a large number of trees were cut. And to further ease the traffic congestion in the area, slow carriages in Sector 17, which were in a shambles and neglected for a long time were opened to traffic.

Similar, slip-roads have also been provided at the Piccadily chowk, which is also a traffic bottleneck spot. Plans are afoot to beautify this area as the NH-21 turns from here towards SAS Nagar. The authorities have also removed all the private bus operators from parking their buses in this area and this has made more space for traffic. Infact, all the road berms along Himalayan Marg have been levelled and spruced up right up to SAS Nagar.

Meanwhile, the MC authorities have already expanded the parking area in front of showrooms in the Sector 22-C market to further put an end to congestion. The footpaths in front of these showrooms have been reduced to add to the existing parking space. Prior to this, the limited parking space also posed a lot of traffic problems.

DSP to solve murder case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — The mystery shrouding the death of a finance company employee, Sham Sunder, seemed to be partly solved today, with the Senior Superintendent of Chandigarh Police, Mr Parag Jain, directing a Deputy Superintendent of Police to submit his report on November 8 after enquiring into the allegations.

Taking up a complaint filed by a social organisation, Kumaon Nav Yuvak Mangal Dal, alleging police inaction in the case, the SSP also asked the DSP to inform him of the action taken in the matter. Sham Sunder, according to the complainants, had died “under mysterious circumstances” at a hospital on October 26. Giving details, they stated that Sham Sunder left his house for attending his duty on October 16, but never returned.

It was added that a call was received by the family stating that Sham Sunder would be returning home the next day as he had sprained his ankle.

COMMUNITY

Sex education imperative for adolescents
Tribune News Service

Dr Nina Puri, President of the FPAI, said, whatever has been done in the country regarding family planning and reproductive health it is population control which has been the core issue. “Demographically, India and the entire South Asia has a very young population which cannot be made the butt of sterilisation.”

Lt-Gen Mann tipped as COS, Western Command
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Lieut-General H.R.S. Mann has been tipped as Chief of Staff (COS), Western Command, when the present incumbent, Lieut-Gen B.S. Malik retires later this month, it is learnt.

This will be Lieut-General Mann’s second tenure at COS, Western Command. He is presently serving as General Officer Commanding, 33 Corps in Siliguri. A Guards officer, he had taken over as COS, Western Command, in October 1997. He had moved to Headquarters Central Command, Lucknow, in May 1999 and a few months later he was posted to Siliguri as Corps Commander.

Meanwhile, Lieut-General Malik retires this month after a service span of 38 years. He had taken over as COS on May 6, 1999, after a tenure as Director-General, NCC, in Delhi. 

Territorial Army banner presented
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — The Western Command Territorial Army Banner was presented to 105 Infantry Battalion (Rajputana Rifles) at Headquarters Western Command in Chandi Mandir Cantonment today.

Presenting the banner, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, lauded the performance of the unit and exhorted its officers to continue their efforts to achieve higher goals.

The banner was received by Lt Sanjay Dabas on behalf of the battalion. The Western Command TA Group Commander, Brig Rakesh Mehta and the battalion's officiating Commanding Officer, Lt Col Anuj Thapliyal were also present on the occasion.

Brig Mehta informed that the Chandigarh based 1101 Railway Engineer Regiment has been adjudged as the best Railway Engineer Regiment in the country. The regiment would be awarded the Chairman Railway Board's Trophy shortly.

Violence flayed at conference for peace
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Migration has been a very predominant factor in conflict widely visible in the case of Assam, where aggression from Bangladesh remains a continuous threat.

These views were expressed by Mr K.P.S.Gill, a former Director-General of Punjab Police, at the ongoing advanced course of ‘Conflict Resolution and Peace for South Asia’ at the local Commonwealth Youth Centre here today.

Mr Gill said that police intervention through use of “well directed violence” could contain violence and even eliminate influence of terrorists . The sustained campaign to counter violence with ‘violence’ had paid in case of Punjab.

Giving facts Mr Gill said that the state identified that 125 villages provided 70 per cent terrorists and 60 per cent casualties were from 600 villages out of the total of nearly 14,000 in Punjab.

‘State violence’ was contested by a number of participants in the deliberations, saying that “ terrorist or state violence” was equally condemnable. The main issue was an effort to evolve strategies and enable interventionists to create building of peace in South Asia, a press release said.

The consultation workshop on the conflict resolution strategies was jointly organised by the Department of Peace and Research, Uppsala University, Sweden, the local Institute for Development and Communication, besides Commonwealth Youth Programme Asia Centre.

Dr Parmod Kumar, Director of the Institute for Development and Communication, opined that there was a need to evolve a dialogue avenue to create alternatives to resolve emerging conflicts, particularly among South Asian countries. These countries have common historical context, political and economic interests in the new global order and there a need to evolve a common strategies of action.

The underlying assumption that killing of terrorists and punishment of a few policemen will result in elimination of terrorism is wrong, Dr Parmod Kumar added.

Prof Apurba Baruah, Department of Political Science, NEHU, Shillong, was of the view that institutions of inter-community conflicts violate rights not only of the members of other communities but in an effort to close in rank of their own community they trample the individual rights of members of their own community.

Prof Peter Wallensteen, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, while giving an overview to conflict resolution theory, distinguished between armed and non-armed conflicts.

One highlight of today’s schedule was a lecture by Prof Randhir Singh on ‘Conflict and peace in the age of globalisation’. The course concludes on November 14.

Suicide cases: city ranks second
From Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

WITH 79.2 per cent increase in the number of suicide in 1998 compared to those reported in 1997, the City Beautiful has occupied the second position in the country among the Union Territories (UTs), having maximum number of suicidal deaths.

As compared to 48 deaths due to suicide which were reported in the City Beautiful in 1997, 86 persons ended their lives in an unnatural way in this city 1998. Daman and Div, which registered 111.11 per cent suicide cases in 1998 as compared to 1997, ranked first among the UTs in the country.

Interestingly, the planned city of country — Chandigarh — with 427 deaths due to accidents in 1998 ranked second among the UTs in the country. The rate of death due to accidents has shown 30.98 per cent increase over the previous year, 1997. In 1997, 326 persons lost their lives in various accidents, which took place within the limits of Chandigarh.

According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau, there has been significant increase of 9.3 per cent in suicide cases in the country in 1998 as compared to 1997. The number of suicides reported in the country in 1998 was 1,04,713 as against 95,828 in 1997 and 88,241 in 1996.

During the decade, 1988-1998, the incidence of suicides regd compound growth rate of 4.33 per cent as against the population which had a compound growth rate of only 2.01 per cent. There is 62.9 per cent increase in suicides (from 64,270 suicides in 1988 to 1,04,713 suicides in 1998). During the decade 1988-1998, the population rose by 21.9 per cent and the rate of suicides increased by 33.7 per cent.

The figures showed that in 1998, 65.5 per cent of the total suicide reported in the country took place in only six states, including West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Heavily populated states of India, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had shown comparatively lower per cent of suicidal deaths in 1998, recording a bare 4.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, of the total.

Nursery owners told to keep lands
By Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — The Chandigarh Administration has allowed owners of five nurseries to continue to occupy about 8 acres of prime commercial land on the Chandigarh-Panchkula highway.

Minutes of a recent high-level meeting of the Administration have been conveyed to all departments concerned and the Municipal Corporation. These show how the Administration has violated all norms to allow the owners of the nurseries to use the land. The nurseries will be surrounded by institutions and offices.

“After this decision, more persons whose lands are being acquired will quote this precedent in courts to get relief from acquisitions,” sources said.

The Administration’s decision is also against a report of its former Land Acquisition Officer (LAO), Mr Ashish Kundra. The LAO feared that such exemptions from acquisitions will create a precedents. However, the Administration says that it will not be so and each case will be decided on merit.

The Administration has also said that objections raised by the LAO are not serious and can be ignored. In October 1999, the then UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen (retd) B.K.N. Chhibber, had ordered that nurseries should be relocated in pocket number 5.

The Administration had promised the MC (the ultimate beneficiary) that it would compensate the MC for any financial loss. The MC has also been asked to take a final decision on the issue, keeping in view the orders of the previous Administrator.

The MC was to get this land in Mani Majra for further auction or sale. According to rough estimates based on the average land price of Rs 5,000 per square yards, the cost of 8 acres works out to be about Rs 20 crore. “Officials should try to find out who owns these lands and where are the nurseries,” sources said.

Now, the issue will be tabled before the House in the MC where it will be stressed that the civic body will be compensated. This means that the nurseries will remain on prime land. Also, to keep the nurseries there, the Administration will either allot alternative land to the MC or pay compensation. The beneficiaries will the owners of the nurseries and the cost will be borne by the exchequer.

Another source said the case had been in the court for several years now. Owners of the nurseries had requested twice that they should be allotted land if they were to be evicted.

32,144 kids get anti-polio drops
From Our Correspondent

DERA BASSI, Nov 6 — As many as 32,144 children upto the age 5 years were administered anti-polio drops in the first round of the third phase of the polio eradication campaign started by the Health Department and the Rotary Clubs of the township here.

To vaccinate children at every corner, besides setting up 103 booths (10 in urban and 93 in rural areas), four mobile vans were pressed into service. Special teams were constituted to vaccinate children of the brick-kiln workers, labourers and slum- dwellers.

Mr Bhupinder Singh Saini, Chairman of the pulse polio eradication drive, said that over 2000 children from urban areas and 2,000 from rural areas were given anti-polio drops in Dera Bassi. Apart from this, 2,202 children were also vaccinated during a door-to-door campaign today.

Meanwhile, 3,500 children were vaccinated in Lalru and its surrounding areas by 17 teams headed by Dr Daler Singh Multani, SMO, Lalru. To eradicate polio from the area, local sports club and residents also joined hands with the Health Department.

Justice Kuldip Singh sues newspaper
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Justice Kuldip Singh today denied making any statement regarding “an international Sikh state” at a seminar organised by the Institute of Sikh Studies here on November 5.

Terming the news item appearing in a section of press on November 6 as “ wholly false, baseless and an act of highly irresponsible journalism”, Justice Kuldip Singh said that he had neither attended the seminar nor made any statement.

In a denial issued here today, he stated that the news item was carried in the paper “to harm his reputation in the eyes of the public”.

He added that he received calls from associates in Punjab expressing surprise on the alleged utterances reported in the paper.

Seeking an apology from the resident editor of the paper, Justice Kuldip Singh added that no apology could mitigate the damage done to his reputation.

His counsel, Mr Anil Malhotra, also served a legal notice for “slanderous and false publication” on the paper.

Rally by Punjab Regiment
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — In support of its demand for employment to the wards of ex-servicemen, servicemen and war widows, The Punjab Regiment took out a rally at Kalka today.

Maj Gen SK Awasthy, AVSM , Chief of Staff, Army Training Command and Colonel of the Punjab Regiment , addressed the ex-servicemen and servicemen who took part in the rally.

Brig R.M. Sharma, Commandant, Punjab Regional Centre and Colonel M.L. Prasher, Commanding Officer of the 102 Inf Bn (TA) Punjab were also present on the occasion.

Former Finance Secy dead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — A former Finance Secretary of Chandigarh, Man Mohan Singh, died here today following a pulmonary haemorrhage at his residence .He was in coma for the past seven months after being afflicted by Alzheimer disease.

A 1962-batch Punjab-cadre bureaucrat, he had served in different capacities with the Punjab Government before joining as the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture.

He retired from the IAS in 1994 to join as the Punjab State Election Commissioner. In 1996, he retired after being afflicted by the disease. He was regularly contributing to The Tribune. He was the pioneer in establishing the Harike Wildlife Sanctuary.

He is survived by his wife and two sons. His last rites will be performed at the Sector 25 crematorium at 4.30 p.m. tomorrow.

CRIME

2 infants found abandoned
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Two infants were found abandoned in Rose Garden, Sector 16, here yesterday. After initial investigations by the police it was revealed that the twins were born at General Hospital, Sector 16 two days ago. The infants, who were born prematurely, had died soon after birth, according to the police.

Sources in the police said that the condition of the woman was serious after the delivery and her husband in order to be present by her side asked his brother to bury the children. The brother threw the children in Rose Garden.

Highly placed sources in the police said that they would be able to give more information only after conducting investigations.

BUSINESS

Jewellers’ plea on sales tax
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Members of the Jewellers Association here have urged the Chandigarh Administration to lower the sales tax on gold and silver objects in the city to ensure better tax collections.

Mr Subash Kataria, chairman of the Chandigarh Jewellers Association, said today that the taxes on gold, silver and related ornaments were the highest in the region. While the sales tax was only 1 per cent in Delhi, it was 2.2 per cent in the city, which was in addition to a surcharge.

Besides, silver utensils were taxed at the rate of 8.8 per cent, while the tax on such items in Delhi was only 1 per cent. Similarly, precious, semi-precious gems were taxed at that rate of 8 per cent, while the surcharge was 1 per cent in the national capital and such gems were tax-free in Jaipur.

In addition, the city was the one in the region where even mangalsutra’s were taxed, he revealed.

He lamented that more than 2 lakh cases were pending and the administration was not doing anything to clear the backlog. Their demand to have a lok adalat to settle the cases had fallen on deaf ears.

Discount sales add fun to shopping
By Binny Sharma

CHANDIGARH, Nov 6 — Shoppers are having a great time. Year-end is drawing near and the showrooms all over the city are offering attractive discount sales.

"This is the ideal time for a discount sale, because the sales over the past year are known and we can easily work out the discount we can offer. The "sale" season started on Divali and it will go on till the new year. The offers of discount depend on the sales registered over the year", says Mr Piyush Sachdeva who runs a showroom in Sector 17.

The discount may range from 10 per cent to 50 per cent but the main point is that a product purchased now is cheaper than what it was before the “sale”.

"Our aim is to attract customers and Divali is the best time for this as it falls towards the end of the year when the store also needs to be replenished with fresh stocks. The festival season is an occasion when we get publicity and also record greater sales, opines Mr Anurag Kapoor who owns a leading store in Sector 17.

Mr Amit Jain owns a crockery store and he feels that the purpose of offering a discount sale is to gain publicity and to attract customers. What matters most is the annual turn-over. Sale figures recorded in the last few months of the year are important. A small loss does not matter, but the relationship that the company establishes with the customer is important. Besides, the company gives incentives to the dealers all the year round.

Mr Praveen Bansal who runs a company's footwear outlet said: "We got instructions from the company to go for a discount sale."

New and innovative ideas are being tried by shopkeepers to make their "sale" more attractive. Mr Bhupinder Singh of a footwear showroom has added a new attraction to his discount sale. "The concept of a draw of lots for gifts is old but for the first time the lucky draw will be held in public, in my showroom. Such gestures and attractions help build our credibility with the customers. Otherwise, almost every shop announces a "sale" these days. This season is just the time for such offers."

The customers who are drawn towards the “sale”, have different reasons to add fun to their shopping. Ms Neeru Gupta, a housewife, said, "I do the maximum shopping at this time of the year. I know the shopkeeper will never suffer a loss, but there surely is some kind of discount over the listed price."