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| Sunday,
April 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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TRIBUNE VIGIL Chandigarh, April 14 “It has been almost two months now and the pit is lying as it was the day the digging work was finished”, said an employee of the garden. There was no sign of any construction work in sight. Employees at the Rock Garden said the work on the extension of the parking was stopped soon after the digging at the pit was over. However, they were not aware why the work has been suspended. Employees at the garden said since the number of visitors coming to the garden were increasing, the need to extend the present car parking was felt. By rough estimate, said sources in the garden, everyday over 3,000 to 3,500 visitors throng the garden and the crowd at the garden increases significantly on the weekends and holidays. The pit as such is not creating any problem for the visitors, but instead we have found a place to throw away the used cans and polythenes, said a city resident, who had gone to the garden with his family today. Polythenes, empty cans of soft drinks and other waste materials were seen lying in the pit. Even the vendors selling cut fruits and other eatables do not hesitate to throw the leftoffs in the pit, said an employee of the garden. Employees at the garden feared that with the coming monsoon the pit would get filled with water and the foul smell is eminent. “Thank God!”, said a lecturer at the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, “The recent rains were not heavy otherwise the pit would have got filled by now”. The creator of the Rock Garden, Mr Nek Chand, is said to be in Pakistan and hence could not be contacted. When contacted Mr Krishanjit Singh, SE of the Chandigarh Administration, said he had no knowledge about the extension work being carried out as he had recently joined. When asked how much time such construction work normally takes, he said ‘‘it take around three to four months”. Mr Puranjeet Singh, UT Chief Engineer, also said he was not aware of the construction work as he had recently joined. Mr B.K. Sharma, Superintendent of the Health and Sanitation Wing, when contacted said that his department only removes garbage from places it come to their notice and added, “I have no knowledge that garbage is being dumped in any pit near the Rock Garden”. |
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Fresh rain, snow in
region
Chandigarh, April 14 The continued inclement weather has been causing serious concern among the farmers whose standing or harvested wheat crops are threatened to be blackened. The weather office here said the western disturbances and other systems like upper air cyclonic circulations with a trough aloft Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and north-east Rajasthan moving north, north-eastward was likely to clear the sky over the next two days. The systems are likely to cause more rains and snow at a few places in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, rains and thunder showers at a few places in Haryana and isolated places in Punjab. In Himachal Pradesh high-altitude areas in the tribal district of Lahaul Spiti and the adjoining areas of J and K have reported a spell of moderate snowfall. As Shimla was virtually deluged with 37.5 mm of rainfall and the day temperature dipped to 17°C, people had to take out woollens to ward off cold. Nahan was the other wet station in Himachal with 22.1 mm of rain and the maximum temperature hovering around 28°C, three degrees below normal. Sundernagar received 13 mm rainfall and Bhunter about 1 mm during the past 24 hours. Parts of Lahaul Spiti, which normally does not receive rains at this time of the year, reported widespread rains in mid hills and lower parts. Tourist resorts of Wildflower, Naldehra and Kufri in Shimla district also experienced rain. A number of stations in Kinnaur, Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur, Solan and Sirmour districts too reported rains. Chandigarh and surrounding areas saw the maximum dipping to 31.6°C, two degrees below normal after 2 mm of rainfall. Ambala in Haryana reported 4.7 mm of rainfall and a high of 33°C. Hisar and Rohtak after traces of rains had the day temperature of 34.2°C. Amritsar in Punjab again had traces of rain today while Patiala recorded 0.5 mm and Ludhiana 5.2 mm rain.
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Rain lashes city Chandigarh, April 14 The city recorded 1 mm of rain between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Since yesterday morning the city has received a total of 3 mm of rain. The local met office said the rain had occurred due to upper air cyclonic circulation over Haryana and adjoining north-eastern Rajasthan. The met office said the sky can remain partly cloudy tomorrow also. |
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Exquisite bonsai create illusion of a woodland Chandigarh, April 14 But for the past two years, efforts in this direction, have been made by Anil Kaushik who founded the Bonsai Club in 1999 and garnered the support of curator of Panchkula’s Cactus Garden Dr
J.S. Sarkaria and an ardent plant lover from the city Mr B.P. Singh. The team, which took off with its maiden show of bonsai two years ago, has since laboured a lot to make this interesting branch of gardening loved and sought after. Today’s show comprised a strong 180 varieties in different styles and sizes. Informed
Kaushik, “At the last show we just had about 91 entries. The figure has doubled and we are happy about it.” Only today the club registered eight people as members. The bonsai on display are of different styles. To begin with there were bonsai in formal upright style (called Chokkan in Japanese) wherein the trunk tapers towards the top, characterised by beautiful curves on the trunk. Then there are varieties in slanting style, wind-swept style, cascade and semi-cascade style, twin-trunk and the root on rock style. Some of the bonsai being exhibited have been picked up from the woods. Among these are the ones which have a potential to be developed into bonsai. The best part of the collection is the group bonsai which contains about five bonsai each. This one creates an illusion of a forest. Response to the show has been more than expected, with many visitors turning up on the very first day. As for the history of this art which is a synthesis of art and science — it originated in China. Informed Mr
Kaushik, “Though the birthplace of this art is China, it was actually honed to perfection in Japan. The plants got transported to Japan through the Buddhist monks, sailors and court officials. The Japanese took these plants to be some kind of ornamental plants and started perfecting the skill of bonsai.” Whatever little art of bonsai is being propagated in this region is through the Bonsai club. Its members meet every week and discuss the possible refinements to the bonsai being worked upon. Any good bonsai generally takes about five years to grow. The show will be on till tomorrow between 11 am and 8 pm. |
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VC who made JNU financially
secure Chandigarh, April 14 Q: How have you been able to transfer large amount of funds from private parties to the university? A:
It has been done purely on “pride of associationship” basis. There are many companies of national and international repute that want their names to be associated with the university. They are proud of the achievements of this university and all one has had to do is get in touch with them and ask if they are willing to help out. We have got five new hostels built in the university in the past four years and all of these have been built using funds donated by big business houses. Q: Is this a step towards privatisation of some form? A:
What is privatisation? As long as there is no compromise of any variety being done in the whole transaction, it really doesn’t matter what it is called. Look, if a big business company of the country wants to help in getting a hostel built on the campus which it wants in somebody’s memory, it is welcome as it does not harm the university in any manner. But if we were to sell degrees or something, that will harm the fair name of the institution. JNU has a traditional ethos which is in no manner being compromised with. Moreover, the whole thing is being done with the support of the over 15,000 persons who are associated with the university in one way or the other. Q: What about the funds from the University Grants Commission etc? A: The major funding agencies still remain the UGC and the Ministry of Human Resource Development as it is a central university. We could have managed with these alone for the routine functioning of the university, but when it comes to dreams or certain missions one needs funds from all possible sources which are ready to pay without any compromises involved. Q: But will it not in some manner reduce the importance or say of the UGC in the matters of the university? A: No, the main funding agency is still the UGC and only the gaps between what is and what should be which are being filled in. Q: How has it improved the situation in the campus? A: We have a school for arts and aesthetics coming up. This is just one among the five new centres which we have been opened in the university. There is the Centre for Molecular Medicine, another for Law and Governance, Sanskrit Studies and Advanced Studies. We have also started an IT school with a centre for Bioinformatics, Internet service and computer training. We are going this way as we do not want to lose our strength as far as humanities and natural sciences are concerned. We are just filling in the gaps which have come in. Like we are not starting any MBA or engineering courses in the university. Q: What about the consultancy rules of the university? A: Consultancy is allowed to everyone provided they pay 25 per cent of what they earn to the university. In fact, we are also renewing the whole industry institute partnership thing. Negotiations are on with many IT and biotechnology companies. |
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Maj Bhatnagar objects to
prosecution statement Chandigarh, April 14 Colonel Srivastava, the accused’s Commanding Officer during the Kargil operations, was being examined by the prosecution. In reply to a question, he stated that on his arrival at Ganasok on June 18, 1999, he had met the Commander, 70 Infantry Brigade, Brig Devinder Singh, who informed him that the accused was unwilling to carry out an attack on Point 5203. The defence counsel, Capt Rajneesh Bansal, objected to this on the grounds that the statement was hearsay and could not be admitted as evidence. He added that Brig Devinder Singh, who had earlier deposed before the GCM, had not made any such statement. Captain Bansal contended that the prosecution counsel, through this witness, is trying to bring hearsay evidence on record, which is inadmissible under provisions of the Indian Evidence Act (IEA). He added that the alleged author of the statement (Brig Devinder Singh) had already been examined as a prosecution witness and at that time it was not brought out if such a statement had been made by him to Colonel Srivastava. Referring to Section 60 of the IEA as well as some past judgements on the issue, the defence counsel contended that statements based on hearsay could not be considered as evidence against the accused. Colonel Srivastava, in response to the prosecution’s questions, also gave a backgrounder to the sequence of events leading to his arrival at Ganasok. Earlier, the defence also raised an objection that the prosecution was putting leading questions to the witness, but it was overruled by the court. The court has been adjourned till April 16 as the prosecution counsel sought time to reply to the defence’s contention. |
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Girija to produce Punjabi films Chandigarh, April 14 After making it big in the dream city Mumbai he is back to his roots and now wants to explode the myth that Punjabis cannot produce good quality films and TV programmes. We have best of actors, best of locations and technical support and yet we fail to produce good quality films and serials. The reason is not far to seek as full potential of Punjab, especially its cities, had not yet been explored by the film industry, Girija told Chandigarh Tribune in a chat here today. With that end in view, the actor will soon don the mantle of the producer. In the pipeline are two Punjabi films and two serials — “Bole tara ra” and “Asa hun tur jana” — which will be shot in Punjab. The last, which is a social drama revolving around the lives of four young girls coming from different backgrounds and studying together, has music score by renowned music director, Jaidev Kumar. However, that does not mean that he is full time into production as acting continues to be his first love. I do not want to be stereotyped and with that end in mind I am diversifying into good character roles in my forthcoming films like “Radhe Shyam Sita Ram”, “Tum se acchha kaun hai” and “Dil lagake dekho”, the actor said while talking about his current projects. Besides this, “Sambandh” and “Alif Laila” were already on the air on SaBe TV and were doing well. With new technical innovations, the quality of film and TV productions has improved a lot, he said adding that the youngsters today were more focussed and career-conscious and wanted to do good work. On the other hand, the quality of script writing left much to be desired. |
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Golden Forest employees in judicial custody Chandigarh, April 14 The case against the three were registered under sections 406,420 and 120 of IPC in police station, Mani Majra. The complainant, Mr Raghunath, had stated in the complaint that he had deposited amount Rs 40,000 in one of the schemes of the company. He alleged that the accused had cheated him and failed to return the deposited amount to him. |
Tributes paid to
Ambedkar Chandigarh, April 14 Speaking at a function organised by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Federation in the Valmiki Bhavan in Sector 24, the local MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, asked the people to follow the teachings of Dr Ambedkar. The Mayor, Mr Raj Kumar Goyal, president of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC), Mr B.B. Bahl, and Mr Amar Nath Sarhadi, president of the federation, were prominent speakers. At a function organised at the Congress Bhavan in Sector 35, Mr Bahl lauded the role of Dr Ambedkar in the upliftment of the downtrodden. Mr Rampal Sharma, Mr Sunil Parti, Mr Surinder Bhatia, Mr Subhash Chawla, Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri and Mr Bimal Bitta were prominent among those present. Members of the SC\ST Cell of the CTCC distributed sweets among the inmates of the Kusht Ashram in Sector 47. The president of the BSP, Mr Mata Ram Dhiman, urged the Chandigarh Administration to redress the grievances of residents of the labour colonies and villages on a priority basis. Similarly, the Lok Jan Shakti Party celebrated the birthday of Dr Ambedkar at Mani Majra, Darua and Mauli Jagran under the presidentship of Mr Hem Raj. The party activists distributed sweets, books, copies and pencils among the poor persons at these places, according to Mr Amarjit Singh, spokesman of the party.
PANCHKULA The 110th birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar was celebrated at Shri Guru Ravi Dass Bhavan, here today. Speaking at the function, the Director of Primary Education, Haryana, Mr RR Banswal, said Dr Ambedkar was a messiah of the Dalits and created the much-needed awakening in society. He added that Dr Ambedkar was of the opinion that Independence and awakening of the society could not happen without education. For this reason alone, he
insisted on spreading literacy not only among the dalits but also stressed on educating the masses. Earlier, a two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.
SAS NAGAR The Punjab Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Mr Swarna Ram, today called upon the oppressed to fight for their rights. The Minister was speaking at a function on the 110th birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar in Sri Guru Ravidass Bhavan here. He said Babasaheb had to face a great deal of discrimination during his lifetime for securing the rights of the oppressed. Mr Swarna Ram announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the Sri Guru Ravidass Naujawan Sabha of Punjab that had organised the function. A cultural programme was presented on the life and philosophy of Dr Ambedkar. The Minister also inaugurated the Sri Guru Ravidass Charitable Dispensary on the premises of the bhavan. |
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Jacob’s call to spread message of
peace Chandigarh, April 14 Presiding over the function to mark the combined birth anniversary of Ramakrishna, Sharda Devi and Swami Vivekanand at Ramakrishna Mission Ashram this evening, the Governor said: “Mother Goddess” had been a source of inspiration for the humanity for ages. He said people perhaps did not know that rock carvings excavated in Goa recently belong to 5000 BC. these excavations depicted Mother Goddess. |
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Cong infighting
to the fore Chandigarh, April 14 Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Devinder Singh
Babla, a close confidant of Mr Dhawan, said the group had decided not to participate in the rally as the CTCC chief, Mr BB
Bahl, was sidelining the group. He alleged that Mr Dhawan was deliberately “humiliated” at various meetings held in connection with the organisation of the rally during the past few days. Ms Mohsina Kidwai, AICC general secretary, and Mr Mukul Wasnik, member of the Congress Working Committee, will be prominent speakers at the rally. |
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Fire Services Day
observed Chandigarh, April 14 As per the directions of the Government of India, the week is observed to pay homage to 66 firemen, who lost their lives when they were
fighting the fire on April 14, 1944 in the vessel S.S Fort Stikine berthed at Bombay docks. The MC Secretary, Mr Ashwani Kumar, unfurled the flag and wreaths were placed by the Chief Fire Officer, Mr G.S. Bajwa, and others at the martyr’s spot at the Sector 17 headquarters. A two-minute silence was also observed in their memory. Soon after, a procession of 10 fire tenders carrying posters and banners of fire safety started from the headquarters and passing through Sectors 17, 18, Industrial Area, Phase I and II, Tribune Chowk, Sector 32, 34, 35, 22 and 23 returned back. The idea behind the procession was to propagate the fire safety message among the public, said Mr Bajwa. Later, as many as five dedicated firemen, who have done outstanding work during the last one year, were given appreciation certificates. Those honoured include firemen Mr Deedar Singh, Mr Gulshan Kumar, Mr Bhupinder Singh, Mr Uphar Singh and driver Mr Narinder Singh. While Bhupinder Singh was honoured for his contribution in extinguishing the rehri market fire, Deedar Singh for fire fighting in a fire at Sector 27 and Gulshan Kumar for the same in the MCC office. With a view to further boost their morale, it was announced that those employees who get these certificates atleast three times will be given an additional increment. More such incentives are likely to be announced in the near future to motivate the employees to work even better. Station Fire Officers, Mr S.K. Gosain and Mr Madan Lal Sharma, were also present on the occasion. During the Fire Safety Week, emphasis will be laid on imparting elementary fire fighting training to school children, besides creating general awareness among the employees working in high rise buildings and those residing in slums and colonies so that the incidents of major fires can be minimised. |
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Sukhna shramdan in May Chandigarh, April 14 This year the engineering wing has moved a proposal to the Chandigarh Administration to allow the Railway authorities to lift silt from the lake bed to be used for earth work on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link. The Railways had approached the Administration, seeking permission to lift the silt as this was the nearest source for the ongoing work on the rail link. Initially this was turned down but now the Railways have come around to offer Rs 100 per truck and also their own machines to lift the earth. The silt in the Sukhna lake has very good binding quality due to the presence of a good content of clay which comes down the mountains in rains. |
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Martial arts on display at procession Chandigarh, April 14 The procession, comprising hundreds of vehicles carrying devotees from various parts of Punjab and Chandigarh, started from Gurdwara Sant Sar in Sector 38. It passed through various parts of the city including Sectors 37, 36, 35, 20 and 21 before it culminating at Gurdwara Gursagar near the Sukhna
Lake. Gatka parties gave a daring demonstration of martial arts. Devotees on the trucks, tractor-trailers and two wheelers, reciting gurbani participated in the
procession. |
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Cop complains against SP Panchkula, April 14 The constable, Sanjay, “I needed to be with my brother who needed immediate medical treatment, for which, I approached Dr Rao. However, he did not grant me leave and my brother expired for want of treatment.” Dr Rao said the constable had approached him at a time when the police had been carrying out raids to arrest Haryana employees on strike. “I was required to manage the operation and a number of personnel wanted to take leave. This constable wanted an earned leave and not a casual leave. I denied him only an earned leave. He could have availed himself of a casual leave if the matter was that urgent,” Dr Rao said. |
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36 landlord-tenant
disputes settled Chandigarh, April 14 According to a press note by the department, the camp was organised with a view to dispose of complaints filed by the general public before the police, both the parties were called on the spot and as many as 172 complaints were redressed. All SDPOs, DSP Special Crime Cell, SHOs and inquiry officers were present at the respective camps. The camp was carried out under the supervision of Mr Parag Jain, Senior Superintendent of Police. Following is the detail of the complaints of which were redressed at the camp with their number in parenthesis: landlord-tenant dispute (36), money matters (29), matirmonial
disputes (11), complaints of threats (23), assault by others (8), property disputes (7), illegal encroachment (1), minor disputes (3), quarrels (1), cheating (6), vehicle sale purchase dispute (1), road side accident (1), misbehaving with police officers (3) and miscellaneous (35). |
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Scheme to be launched
today Chandigarh, April 14 |
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Camera, computer stolen Chandigarh, April 14 A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. Scooter stolen A case under Section 379 of Indian Penal Code has been registered. Two arrested The two were booked under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code. |
‘Need to promote tourism in region’ Chandigarh, April 14 Raja Narinder Singh assured the representatives of industry that the government would give a serious consideration to their suggestions. He also released a concept paper by ITFT which envisages the city as a destination for international events and conferences in order to generate revenue and direct as well as indirect employment opportunities . The recommendations in the paper include rationalisation of tax structure for both hotels and transport sectors, setting up of North India Prayatan (tourism) Bhavan at Chandigarh, a north India emporia, promoting of year-round tourism for this region and working out of innovative tourism packages. It was also suggested that eco tourism-related activities be promoted and rural tourism and youth tourism should also be encouraged. The concept paper highlights the competitive advantages the city has and also the steps required to improve the present conditions and promote tourism. Off-season tourism should also be paid equal attention. There is a need to have trained tour executives at Chandigarh for sight-seeing as well as excursion tours in this region, it was suggested. Mr Manmohan Singh, president of the Hotels and Restaurant Association of Chandigarh, said that private participation in the industry is the need of the hour. Capt Swadesh Kumar, president, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India, Col A B Singh, chairman Hot Millions group, Mr B.L. Nijhawan, president Domestic Tour Operators
Association of India, Major-General Ugrasen Yadava, ex- director General Resettlement, representatives from SBI and ICICI Banks also spoke on the occasion. |
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