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| Sunday, November 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Gaiety marks Gurpurb
celebrations CHANDIGARH, Nov 11— Gurpurb, to mark the 531st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in the city today. Long queues of devotees could be seen at
gurdwaras, which were decked especially for the occasion. A special programme of recital of shabad kirtan and gurbani by ragi jathas were organised. Community kitchens were also popular among the devout, who partook
langar. Around night time, crackers were busted and members of the public lighted their homes. Shopkeepers wooed people with special offers and some even distributed sweets. Besides the various gurdwara’s and religious bodies, various social organisations also held small functions in the city. The members of Lions Club Rose Chandigarh distributed fruit and clothes among the inhabitants of Kusht Ashram on the occasion. Mr B.S.
Jaswal, District Cabinet Treasurer, and Mr S. Seth , District Chairman Public Relations, lauded the work being done by this club. Ms Renu Bali, president of the club, pledged to serve those in need . Mr Dharam Paul Gupta, president of the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said that the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev have proved a light house in everyone’s life. By following his teachings, one can attain peace, prosperity and tranquility in life. Gurpurb was celebrated with fervour and gaiety at the Bharat Petroleum petrol station on the Dakshin Marg in Sector 21. An ardas was organised and prasad was distributed to customers at the pump. The Lions Club Chandigarh Supreme distributed suit lengths amongst the 40 inmates of the Bal
Niketan, Sector 15, here today. Later in the day, the club members went to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sector 38, where fodder and a cheque for donation for the welfare of animals was handed over to the president and doctors of the
SPCA. Mr Sanjay Mehandi Ratta, president of the club, informed that more such projects have been planned in near future. Mr K.K.
Bansal, secretary of the club, said all members were committed for the welfare of the downtrodden. The Janta Rehri Market,
Manimajra, organised a procession which started from Mansa Devi Chowk and ended at Gurdwara Manji Sahib Mata Raj
Kaur. Devotees were given fruit and prasad. PANCHKULA: Devotees flocked to Nada Sahib in large numbers since 1.30 a.m. to offer prayers at the gurdwara on the occasion of
gurpurab, which was celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervour, here today. Over 3 lakh devotees
offering prayers at the gurdwara, for the first time the parshad made for the celebrations was in short supply. “We were not prepared for this kind of rush. It is much more in comparison to last time, long queues have been growing ever since we opened the doors,” the manager, Mr Bhuipinder Singh, said. The programme began with the bhog of the akhand path organised by villagers. The sarpanch and former sarpanch of the village, along with 50 others, participated in the prayers. Ten persons were, later, given siropas as part of the celebrations. Led by Bhai Ranjit Singh, Bhai Mahender Singh, Bhai Amar singh, Bibi Navneet Kaur, all raagis, participated in a kirtan. The dhadis included, Sadhu Singh Parwana, Karora Singh Batth, and Ajit Singh among others. A langar, where villagers of Nada contributed in the preparation of food, saw many devotees partake food. As a special case to mark the celebrations of the birthday of Guru Nanak, jalebi was offered as parshad. Outside the gurdwara, the celebrations took the form of a fair, where devotees took time to stop over and roadside vendors did brisk business by selling pictures of the Sikh gurus, flowers, booklets, scarves and other mementoes associated with the celebrations amidst heavy police deployment. A special parking to accommodate vehicles of devotees which throng the gurdwara each year was made keeping in mind the chaos at the venue. Police personnel diverted traffic to the parking, even while some devotees managed to go past the barrier and park on the roadside leading to the gurdwara. Meanwhile, celebrations and contests marked Guru Nanak's birth anniversary at the gurdwara in Sector 12, beginning with a kirtan. The Seva Bharti organised a speech contest in praise of Sikhism and the gurus, which saw enthusiastic participation from children. A langar was also held at the premises which saw as many as 800 devotees. An exhibition of paintings and books was also held and committee members made speeches. |
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Admn panel suggests changes
in building bye-laws CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — Major amendments and relaxations have been suggested in building bye-laws for residential buildings in the city. These will enable more coverage area on first and second floor houses of marla and kanal category houses; more area in the basement while the stilted portion in group housing societies has been excluded from the calculated covered area. A high-level committee of the Chandigarh Administration headed by Mr Sarbjeet Singh Sandhu, Chief Architect and Secretary Urban Planning, yesterday sent its recommendations to the Chandigarh Administration for approval, which is expected to come before Wednesday. Once this is done residents will have to apply with fresh designs and get an approval for covering the terrace. The committee has allowed people living in marla houses in sectors 31 to 47 to cover the terraces on the first and second floors, thus increasing the area in their homes. Till now terraces were mandatory in these sectors and the change will now bring the pattern of these houses at par with the houses in first phase sectors. In case of kanal category houses the second floor, that is about half of the area allowed on the ground and first floors, is allowed to be covered. Another important development is about several kanal houses located on the V-4 roads in Sectors 10,11,18,19, 27 and other sectors will be allowed more area. In the past 50 years, these houses located on the road which bisects each sector have been governed by architectural controls, thus reducing their area. Now people owning these houses will be allowed to cover the area permissible to other kanal houses in other sectors and locations of the city. Other kanal houses are allowed to cover 1870 square feet on the ground and first floor, respectively. On the second floor about 900 square feet of area is allowed. The committee has also increased the area of permissible basement and now up to 50 per cent of the ground coverage is to be allowed in a uniform manner in all houses. The Department of Urban planning will also prepare a standard design for temporary car shed which may be suggestive in nature but not binding. In another major change, on the pattern of Delhi, the committee has said that the stilted area used for parking in group housing societies is to be exempted from the floor area ratio (FAR) that is the covered area. In case of cheap houses, the coverage has been enhanced to 75 per cent and the first floor with equivalent covered area be allowed subject to payment of charges . For commercial buildings the committee has said that the tenant be also issued a copy of resumption notice that is usually served only to the land lord. This will help save the tenants from harassment of resumption notices as they can themselves remove the violations, if any. A resumption notice allows a landlord to get the building vacated. Another change for commercial buildings is that the internal planning such as number and size of columns, beams beside the location and design of stairs should be left to the discretion of the owner. Other outer controls may not be altered suggests the committee. This is the first amendment allowed for residential buildings. |
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IA to improve service to tourist
sectors CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — Restoration of flights to tourist sectors, upgradation of capacity on busy routes and building up of sufficient cushion to ensure sanctity of schedules, besides bringing major potential traffic areas, including Chandigarh, under better air traffic are the immediate priorities of Indian Airlines which expects delivery of first of its five Boeing 747 aircraft taken on lease from an international consortium later this month. The remaining four Boeing 747 aircraft are expected to arrive in coming some weeks. The delivery of two Airbus, which are also being taken on lease, is expected in April next year. Three of the senior executives of Indian Airlines — Director Commercial, Mr Manak Paes; Director Planing, Mr Ashok Bhushan; and General Manager (Operations), North, Mr Naresh Chand — were here to interact with leaders of trade, industry and business here to seek their suggestions on the frequency and timing of flights from New Delhi to Chandigarh so as to airlink this joint capital of Punjab and Haryana to other major cosmopolitan and metropolitan cities of the country. The visiting IAC officials were assisted by Mr Rajinder Kumar, Station Manager of the airline, here. Mr Manak Paes, a younger brother of Olympian Dr Vace Paes and uncle of tennis ace Leander Paes, said that Chandigarh was a major potential area which had remained “ignored” in the past. “We shall consider all suggestions before we announce our new schedule of increased frequency of flights between Chandigarh and New Delhi. We want to ensure that once new flights are introduced, timings are followed so that the airline builds its credibility.” Mr Paes maintained that after crash of Alliance Airline aircraft at Patna, some services were either curtailed or rescheduled because of the shortage of aircraft. Once new aircraft start arriving and after their engineering checks and induction, these would be gradually pushed into services first to restore curtailed tourist sectors. The worst hit had been Agra-Khajuraho sector followed by Rajasthan sector. After all five Boeing and two Airbus aircraft have been inducted, the endeavour of the airline would be to improve its capacity on important and busy routes besides building its credibility in terms of flight schedule and timings. The Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the airline, during his last visit to the city, had announced doubling of flights between Chandigarh and New Delhi. Mr Paes said that senior team of the Airline was here today as a sequel to the visit of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director. “We had fruitful discussion with representatives of travel, hotel and restaurant industry, business, trade and industry and are convince that Chandigarh has a big potential for air traffic. We would soon announce our new schedule,” he added. Mr H.S. Bajaj of the travel trade made it clear that if the Airline was
planning to link Chandigarh with Delhi via Amritsar, the new flight would be a flop as before. Instead, an evening flight to Delhi from Chandigarh would get an enthusiastic response as it would provide not only late evening connection to al other major towns in the country but would also facilitate international travellers taking late evening or early morning flights to various international destinations. Mr Manmohan Singh Kohli of Hotel and Restaurants Industry maintained that Indian Airlines, being the national carrier, must improve its publicity and credibility to become the main carrier in this region which has tremendous potential as “transit” centre to various heritage and pilgrimage destinations in North India. Mr Chaman Lal Sharma, President, Chandigarh Club and a noted taxation lawyer, suggested that while connecting Chandigarh with Delhi, a service to Jammu should also be considered as it would be economically viable because of heavy pilgrimage traffic to Vaishno Devi. He also wanted that sanctity of the schedule must be maintained to infuse confidence among air travellers. Mr A. Bagtotia of PHDCCI said that a regular evening flight to Delhi was required. Mr Naresh Chand said that Indian Airlines was keen on improving its service to Chandigarh by increasing its frequency. Initially, it was suggested that Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi flights must operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with an option of operating the fourth flight either on Tuesdays or Thursdays. The unanimous view about the timing of the flight was between 4 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. |
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Two die of burn injuries CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — A 32-year-old city resident, working in a dispensary, burnt himself to death, while another woman succumbed to burn injuries at the PGI here today. Two others tried to end their lives by setting themselves ablaze. Swaraj Kumar of Sector 24 was declared dead at the PGIMER after being admitted there with 100 per cent burn injuries. He had reportedly set himself ablaze after sprinkling kerosene on himself at the residence of his in-laws in Sector 38. At the time of the incident, only his father-in-law, “suffering from poor eye-sight”, was present, maintain sources. Though the exact cause behind the “extreme step” was not known, sources reveal he was suffering from depression. The police is looking into the matter. Manpreet Kaur of Khuda Ali Sher, admitted to the PGI with serious burn injuries on November 8, was declared dead late in the evening today. The police is investigating the matter. In another incident, 19-year-old Saroj was admitted to Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital with 80 per cent burn injuries after she set herself on fire at her residence in Sector 31 at about 3 p.m. Doctors on duty said her condition was serious. Sources say her husband was not at home when the attempt was made. The police is investigating the matter in order to find out the reason behind her taking the step. Ms Khalita Khan of Ram Darbar was also admitted to the Sector 32 hospital with 70 per cent burn injuries. She had reportedly set herself on fire on November 10 at about 6.30 p.m. after pouring kerosene on herself. The police has registered a case under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. |
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Mohali gets another DSP SAS NAGAR, Nov 11 — In an unprecedented move, the Punjab Government has posted a second Deputy Superintendent of Police in the SAS Nagar subdivision. The DSP, Mr Amarjeet Singh Bajwa, will be the third PPS officer to be posted at the SAS Nagar subdivision in addition to a Superintendent of Police, Mr B.S. Randhawa and Deputy Superintendent of Police, City, Mr Sukhwant Singh Gill. It could not be ascertained against which post had the new DSP been posted, as there was only one sanctioned post of a SP and a DSP in the subdivision. The vacant post of the DSP ( City) had been filled by Mr Gill in March this year. The post had been lying vacant for four years. Prior to 1995, there used to be a Superintendent of Police and a Deputy Superintendent of Police in the subdivision. But then, a Superintendent of Police was posted. The district police officials said that the workload in the SAS Nagar subdivision had also increased, necessitating the posting of the new DSP. Sources in the police said the new DSP, Mr Bajwa, who had been transferred from Kapurthala, would draw his salary from the Commando Training Centre in Phase XI. Sources in the police department said the new DSP had been posted in the town on the insistence of a Youth Akali Dal leader, who was close to the Punjab Chief Minister. They said a proposal to have an additional post of a DSP and additional police stations in SAS Nagar had been sent to the higher police authorities, but the some was yet to be sanctioned. Providing housing accommodation for the officers was another problem. Presently, the office and the residence of the SP has been housed in a rented accommodation in Phase IV. The office of the DSP (City) had been housed in residential quarters in the premises of the Phase 1 police station. The sanction for constructing the office-cum-residence of the SP and the DSP in Phase IV had been received and the Punjab Police Housing Corporation was expected to start work on the project soon. An official, on the condition of anonymity said concerted efforts to have better policing in the
town were not happening with the additional force requisitioned from the border range “reluctant” to job their new assignment. At least 70 per cent of the cops, including the NGOs have been “missing” from duty. Some of the cops failed to show up after joining. Though the additional force was to come from Tarn Taran, Batala, Majitha and Gurdaspur districts, only force from Amritsar district had been sent so far and they too were reluctant to take up the new assignment. Besides facing problem of accommodation and food, the force from the border range had to go all the way to Amritsar to draw their salary. Now the District Police authorities have requested the Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, to send only willing cops to SAS Nagar. The DGP had been requested to invite options from the force throughout Punjab. |
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‘No particular architect
favoured for project’ CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — The New Town Planning and Development Authority, Anandgarh, has maintained that it was not favouring any particular architect for the proposed Anandgarh project. A spokesman of the authority, in a press release, said all participating architects and planners were supplied with copies of site maps and no special treatment was given to any particular architect. He said 10 weeks’ time was given to the participants in the National Design Competition for preparing the master plan of Anandgarh. The time, he added, was extended till November 10. He claimed that the design competition was adjudged by a jury of assessors comprising eminent professionals. “Steps are being taken to ensure that anonymity is maintained during assessment by the jury as per the guidelines of the Council of Architecture for such competitions,” he added. Investigations by Chandigarh Tribune revealed that the then Senior Town Planner of the Authority, in a note to the Chief Administrator, Anandgarh Development Authority ( dated October, 29, 1999) had stated that a representative of a particular architect — who is among the shortlisted architects for the Anandgarh Project — had approached him to obtain the pictures of Anandgarh photographic mosiac, which was a
secret document. However, the outcome of the case could not be ascertained. The photo mosaic of site of proposed for Anandgarh Project was prepared by taking aerial photographs from the Town and Country Planning Department, Punjab. The advertisement for the ‘National Design Competition for the Master Plan of Anandgarh’ appeared in the newspaper in March this year and the architects were shortlisted in July 2000. In the meantime, the response to the Design Competition was less than 50 per cent. Sources in the Punjab Government said that only four shortlisted architects submitted the entries for the Anandgarh project. A total of 10 architects were shortlisted and they were to submit the conceptual plan by 5 p.m., November 10, 2000. Mr I J S Bakshi, Principal, College of Architecture, Sector 12, collected the entries on behalf of the Authority. Sources in the Punjab Government said that the jury to select the master plan would meet on November 14 — 15 and by the next day, the master designer would be selected. The Master plan selected by the jury as well as all other submissions received for the competition will be exhibited to the public in Chandigarh, shortly after the selection. |
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Dowry complaints on the rise CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — If you think Chandigarh is divorced from matrimonial disputes, read this: In last six years, 24 cases of alleged dowry deaths were reported to the Chandigarh Police. This is not all. Over 124 first information reports alleging (FIRs) harassment and cruelty by in-laws were also registered during the same period. In November, three cases of subjecting a married woman to cruelty have till date been registered. Last month, two complaints of dowry demand, including one against an Assistant Sub-Inspector, was lodged. The allegations are almost the same. Arranged marriage takes place. Soon after the wedding, the bride is asked to bring in more dowry. She fails. In-laws, or the husband starts harassing her. Senior police officials, however, believe that the number of complaints alleging harassment by the in-laws is "much higher than reported to the police". "In substantial number of cases, the fear of approaching the cops, or of bringing a bad name to the family, prevents the woman, or her parents from approaching the police," says a senior official. "They either accede to the demand, or try to get the matter resolved through mediators. Some do not react till it is too late, unfortunately". Cops also reveal that while some of the genuine cases are not reported at all, others are using it as a tool to blackmail. "When the husband refuses to legalise the parting of ways, the wife lodges a complaint with the police. In accordance with the law, the husband and his parents are taken into custody. After being released, they are more than willing to compromise". The testimony, they assert, is there for all to see. "As many as 70 percent of the cases end in a compromise. Not all are resolved by using such tactics but it is true in a substantial number of cases". Contrary to the general belief, the complainants, claim sources, belong to middle class or upper middle class. "Poor and rundown hardly approach the police," they add.
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Nirankaris meet on Nov
18 CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 —The pressing need and scope for spiritual awakening will be the theme of the 53th Sant Nirankari Samagam which will begin from November 18 at Burari Road in Delhi. Thousands of Sewa Dal volunteers of the Nirankari Mission were working round-the-clock for the past one month making preparations to welcome lakhs of devotees from all over the country and abroad, said Mr C. L.
Gulati, spokesperson for the Chandigarh branch of the mission. “These volunteers had started preparations for the samagam from October 15 when the samagam venue was inaugurated by the Head of the mission, Baba Hardeb Singh
Ji,” he added. |
Homage paid to riot
victims CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — The Sikh Forum held a meeting here today to pay homage to those killed in the 1984 Sikh riots. Speakers, including, Lt-Gen J.S. Aurora, Justice R.S. Narula, MP K.R. Malkani, Ms Madhu Kishtwar, Dr Maheep Singh, Mr H.S. Phoolka and Dr A.S. Narang pointed out that the carnage would not have happened had the police done its job. Speakers urged various employees who have since retired to come out with the truth and file affidavits before the commission probing the riots. They said that initial investigations were shoddily conducted and created loopholes so that the guilty could go scot-free. It is sad that only one person was given death sentence, which was subsequently made into life sentence by the apex court, although more than 4, 000 persons were brutally massacred. The forum resolved that a special Act should be created so that the police and the administration are held accountable for such lapses and that the bill for information mooted by the government should be suitably amended.
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Non-functional traffic lights ZIRAKPUR, Nov 11 — Non-functional traffic lights on the intersection of the Chandigarh-Ambala and the Kalka-Patiala highways continue to be a major traffic hazard on the busy roads here for the past over six months. Due to these faulty lights, a number of accidents have occurred so far. Vehicular traffic remains disrupted for hours on the roads as the road users hardly maintain the rules. The barricades erected by the police department have reduced width of the usable road and resulted into congestion on the highway. Traffic jams for hours can often be noticed along the highways during office hours. Worst affected are the students, patients and those who have to catch trains from Ambala and buses from Chandigarh and Patiala. Same is the condition of the lights on the Zirakpur-Panchkula intersection. The poles without lights for some months ago show the negligent behaviour of the department. According to Mr Krishan Sharma, a local resident, the department had hardly thought about the safety and convenience of the road users. The traffic light poles were broken by a truck belonging to a milk plant near Lalru about six months ago. Since then the department has installed the poles only but those too without any lights. ‘‘Earlier, the department had installed a sound system to control the traffic on the intersection but that too could be used for about two months. Now neither the sound system nor the lights are functional which put the customers and general public to great inconvenience while crossing the road’’, said Mr Lal. Police personnel on duty said that representations to the concerned department had been given many times which have brought not results. Mr Ajit Pal Brar, Sub Divisional Engineer of the Punjab Public Works Department (W and R), said that the area have been transferred to the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat and to maintain them is the job of Panchayat authorities. However, Mr A.L. Bansal, Executive Office of the civic body, has denied from transferring of the area to the panchayat. It is learnt that the Punjab State Electricity Board has disconnected the power supply to the traffic lights due to the non-payment of electricity bill by the department. |
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Tributes paid to martyr PANCHKULA,
Nov 11 — The fifth Martyrdom Day of Caption Rohit Kaushal, was observed at his native village, here today. To mark the occasion, a blood donation camp was also organised. On behalf of the District Administration, Mr Srikant Balgand, from Haryana Development Authority, Panchkula, paid tributes to the martyr. Among others who paid floral tributes to the martyr included Mr Rajiv Ranjan, the subdivisional officer, Panchkula, and Mr H.C. Sharma, the Mayor. Caption Rohit Kaushal, died on
November 11, 1995 in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, while fighting terrorists. He was the only son of his parents. Mr S.S. Kaushal, his father, and his mother were also present at the occasion. |
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Workshop on conflict
resolution CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — Conflicts happen all the time. It is the potential danger of an armed conflict which needs to be concertedly avoided and resolved. But given a conflict situation, how will you react in the capacity of a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, a social worker, an officer or even as an ordinary citizen of the country? The ten-day conflict resolution workshop going on in the Commonwealth Asia Centre is teaching their participants this and much more. Organised by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Department of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Uppsala University, Sweden, and Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh, the workshop has brought together participants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Nepal and India. And the participants are not merely sitting back and passively receiving the lectures being doled out by the experts. They are also using the mock situation method for the participants. This practical experience at problem solving is not only benefitting the participants immensely who consider it an effective way of going about getting educated but for those who attend this session it is a rather interesting experience. The participants are given a conflict situation and asked to resolve it with the various parties involved in the conflict being represented by the participants. The participants may not realise it but it is a clear test of their diplomatic skills, control over their emotions, ability to understand others and putting across their point of view clearly. The first situation they were given was one which dealt with a problem of water shortage between two neighbouring villages where the solution lay with the start of a project by the Water Works Department. In the picture was an NGO, the powerful landlords, the two village community heads and the people from the Water Works Department. The concerned players thrash out the issue in a “meeting” after having thought of a well planned strategy first amongst themselves. By the time the mock meeting ends, most of the participants are totally charged and into their “roles”. Are all the parties happy? If yes, then it is to be judged if the solution is a permanent one or will the conflict situation arise again? The mock problem is then compared to a such real life situation and along with the conductors who now come in and discuss the various strategies employed and what all could have been done or said as an alternative. The group moves on to look into mock problems of terrorism, human rights, regional disparities specific to the country of the participants. They are then asked to play the moderator or peace maker and try and resolve that problem. The participants from Shillong were, for example, asked to try and give a solution to the north east situation while those from Sri Lanka were asked to mock mediate in the LTTE problem. This is mainly done since the inhabitants of these areas are closest to the culture of their region and would be able to think and suggest solutions according to economy and regional specifications of that region. |
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Jat regiment’s spirit of adventure CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — The cycling leg of the Mahaveer Jat Expedition was flagged-off for its next destination to Ambala by Col Surjit Singh, the seniormost Jat officer at the station, here today. Besides the team leader, Lt Maneesh Sengar, the expedition includes 1 JCO and 20 persons from other ranks. The team had arrived in Chandigarh on Thursday after pedalling their way from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh. This is part of a three-week long multi-disciplinary adventure expedition including cycling, running and motor cycling, being undertaken by the Jat Regiment to inculcate the spirit of adventure and comradeship amongst its troops, besides testing leadership qualities, skills and stamina. Its members will be drawn from all battalions of the Jat Regiment who will traverse the region on foot, cycles and motor cycles. While the different legs of the expedition will be flagged-off from various places where Jat battalions are based, they will all culminate at the Jat Regimental Centre in Bareilly to commemorate the regiment’s millennium reunion. The cycling leg, was flagged-off by GOC 26 Division, Maj Gen P.K. Grover, from Jammu on October 27 and involves covering a distance of about 900 km. |
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Divali was a silent affair CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — It was a relatively silent Divali this year if the data for noise levels collected on that night are to be believed. The noise levels recorded on that day on an hourly basis reveal that the levels were within the permissible limits, except in one or two instances. Moreover there was a considerable fall in the noise levels recorded this year as compared to that of last year. Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., when the noise levels reach the peak, the reading came out to be 64 decibel against 92 decibel, last year, although the levels were higher than the permissible limit of 45 decibel at night. The noise levels did not cross 64 decibel, while last year the level was never less than 71 decibel between 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. last year. Various schools and environmental organisations active in the city who had launched a strong campaign advocating a celebration without firecrackers, can claim the credit for this. It was a common observation this year that children actually said no to firecrackers. If the trend continues, the day is not far when the festival of lights becomes a silent affair. While the noise levels were within the permissible limits the levels of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), observed a rise as compared to that last year. The ratio of SPM measured on a normal night vis-a-vis Divali in 1998 and 1999 was 237:464 units and 255:721 units respectively however the ratio this year has come out to be 303:935 units against the permissible limit of 360 units. Similarly, the ratio of sulphurdioxide for the year 1999 was 28 units on a normal night and Divali night respectively. This year, the levels of sulphurdioxide have gone down to 23 units on Divali night. These levels are well within the permissible limit of 80 units. According to Prof S.K. Jindal, Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGI sulphurdioxide and SPM are natural irritants. "If present in concentrated doses, these irritants affect the central nervous system, skin, eyes, respiratory tract and can cause serious bronchitis and asthma." he says. Besides being dangerous, as they can cause an injury, the crackers that emit gases polluting the air, can cause burning sensation in the eyes. Dr Amod Gupta, Head, Department of Ophthalmology, says that a cracker burst at close distance from the eye can lead to the chemicals being released into the eye and cause imflammation. It can also lead to ‘keratitis’, a sort of cataract. |
Employees hold dharna CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — Super Bazar employees held a dharna in front of their office to protest against the decision of the administration to close the establishment and terminate workers. Mr Kamaljit Singh, spokesperson of the super bazar employees joint action committee, said the decision was arbitrary and no thought had been given for the rehabilitation of the employees.
Besides this, the service benefits had also not been given to the workers. |
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Woman alleges
harassment CHANDIGARH, Nov 11 — A Sector 20 resident here has alleged that she was maltreated by her husband and in-laws for bringing insufficient dowry.
Deepika Gulati stated that her marriage with Rajiv Gulati was solemnized
on March 19, 1999. Taking up her complaint, the Chandigarh Police has registered a case of criminal breach of trust and subjecting a married woman to cruelty under Sections 406 and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. Senior police officials said the police would proceed in accordance with law after recording the statement of the witnesses. Girl child dies
in accident SAS NAGAR,
Nov 11 — A four-year girl child died and her parents received injuries when the moped they were riding on was hit by a truck at Phase 7 Industrial Area here. The father of the girl, Resham
Bhadur, was admitted to the PGI with serious injuries on his legs. The driver of the truck escaped from the scene of the accident. |
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The rough cop of ‘Kurukshetra’ Easy predictability of progress of action in rather monotonous settings mars the beauty of ‘rough action of a strong willed cop’ in ‘Kurukshetra’ (K.C. and Dhillon). There is a strong attempt at mixing the components of ‘art’ in the film. The justice-seeking cop fails to emerge stronger as a hero in the absence of unclear roles of the supporting cast. The new cast has shown appreciating performances in the limited expectancies. Good against bad have had predictable results, and Sanjay Dutt makes no attempt at a different approach by simply executing the bad elements largely being sustained in Bollywood in roles of cops and politicians. Sanjay Dutt in a short tenure as an ACP has witnessed nearly a dozen postings because of the ‘‘fear he set in the spines of criminals and even perpetrators of crime holding good offices’’. Mahima Choudhry, his wife, remains fear-struck urging her husband to post himself out of trouble. He does not agree. Om Puri as Chief Minister is out to defend his son, a rapist, arrested by Sanjay Dutt , now on bail. Dutt has sworn to get justice for the raped girl. The CM will not allow it. Dutt is given support by a political rival of Om Puri throughout. It is towards the end when Dutt gives him a file pertaining to rape for production in court, does he realise the political opponent’s ties with the CM. Sanjay is determined to fight despite loosing a child when his pregnant wife falls and when his sister is disrobed and left as a warning to Dutt to give back the papers. The papers do reach Om Puri. The movie however has worth mentioning musical scores including ‘Aapka Aana’. A ‘ghagra’ dance is indeed a remarkable composition and choreography. Mahesh Manjrekar as the director surely is worth mentionable in parts. The film is a Nanjibhai Shah presentation for Pravin Shah and Sagoon Wagh. It also stars Salil Ankola, a cricket pacer of the country, in a debut presence but fails to make an impact in a rather unclear role. Dev Kohli has rent the lyrics set to music by Himesh Reshammiya and dialougues by K.K. Singh. The movie also stars Shivaji Satnam, Mukesh Rishi, Sayaji Shinde, Kashmira Shah and Pramod Moutho. The screen opens with the face of Rajat Sharma holding a la ‘Aap Ki
Adalat’. |
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