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July 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Clashes follow demolition around gurdwara Chandigarh, July 12 Tension had prevailed in the area as a team of the Chandigarh Administration demolished structures around an allegedly unauthorised gurdwara. The holy book and religious insignia were removed keeping in mind religious honours and tradition. People who owned allegiance to the Gursagar Gurdwara claimed that the structure was a place of worship established in the name of Bibi Charan Kamal. Officials of the Administration present on the spot said the religious insignia and adjoining structures had come up within the past six months. The land belongs to the erstwhile village of Jhumroo. It had been acquired by the Administration about two years back. The land owners had even been paid compensation. The other authorised gurdwara in the area was left untouched as their land was exempted from acquisition. Adjacent to the permanent gurdwara was located a ashram under the banner of the Manav Kendra. This was also demolished by the team of the Administration. In this case the team faced no resistance. Forty other structures, most of them along the road separating Sectors 48 and 49, were also razed to the ground. Demolition started in the morning with the anti-encroachment team arriving on the spot with bulldozers and earth removers. The walls of the unauthorised gurdwara were pulled down, the cattle sheds were removed and so were other structures within the compound. This led to the first clash between the cops and the managers of the gurdwara. The management insisted that they be allowed to be finish the ongoing religious ceremony. This was allowed by the team. After the ceremony was over, the cops asked for permission to start demolition. Heated words were exchanged between a group of women and DSP Subhash Sagar and Inspector K.I.P. Singh. Demolition was carried out and the team moved ahead to demolish the ashram. About 2 p.m. someone re-installed the insignia. The Chandigarh Administration team, which included SDM South Gyanesh Bharti and Enforcement Magistrate Ishwar Singh, asked the gurdwara management to remove it. This led to the second clash in which another round of heated words were exchanged. The SDM ordered the arrest of the ones trying to communalise the issue. The crowd was explained that the religious structure was unauthorised and had to be removed. Some among the protesters pacified the situation and cleared off the goods and material. The arrested persons were booked under Sections 107 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They were released later in the evening. The injured cops included a woman constable. The place of encroachment is where the UT-Punjab border zigzags through southernmost sectors of the city. The land where the encroachment stood has been allotted to housing societies. The Adviser to the UT Administrator, Ms Neeru Nanda, immediately called for the land records on hearing about complaints against demolition. She and other senior officers were shown on the map that one of the gurdwaras was authorised while the one which was demolished was not. |
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Mayor may ‘slip’ over soap
sale Chandigarh, July 12 Mr Goyal clarified “He did not approach the Corporation, did not get any contract, nor did he submit any tenders to the MC and he had been an institutional supplier for 12 years, much before becoming a Councillor, as a distributor of the Hindustan Lever Limited, and it does not amount of violation of law.” Most of the hotels and hospitals in the city make purchases of their soap requirement from the company and we cannot stop anyone from doing so for that may lead to the cancellation of our dealership, he added. The alleged exposure of the Mayor comes a day before the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC) meeting to be held apparently to prepare for the next Corporation elections due by the year end and being left alone in the five-member party Corporation group in the 30-member strong House. The Assistant Commissioner-I, Mr Ashok Vashishta, has asked all wings of the MC to furnish a detailed report to know the facts and ordered a centralised system of purchase because of variation in rates in the purchases of the same items in different wings. In the orders issued today, he has directed the heads of various wings to ensure that mustard oil is purchased from HAFED or MARKFED, whichever offers the lowest rate and the soap also from the authorised distributor and wholesaler in the city. According to information available, after receiving the report in next five to seven days, the MC will forward the same to the Union Territory Administrator to take necessary action which could even be Mayor’s disqualification if found guilty. Mayor’s Bachanlal and Shiv Kumar Company, an authorised dealer of specifies the eventualities which lead to the disqualification of a Councillor, “If he is interested in any subsisting contract made with, or any work being done for, the Corporation except as a shareholder ( other than a director) in an incorporated company as member of a co-operative society.” Section 13 (2-iv) also states that “The sale to the Corporation or to any other municipal authority or any officer or other employee of the Corporation on behalf of the Corporation, of any article in which he trades or the purchase from the Corporation, of any article of a value in either case not exceeding Rs 5,000 in the aggregate in any year during the period of the contract or work.” Former Mayor Gian Chand Gupta, leader of the BJP-SAD in the House, Mr Des Raj Tandon, Deputy Mayor, Mr Mohinder Singh and BJP Councillor, Ms Ranjana Shahi have demanded that the Mayor should be sacked immediately for he has been misusing his official position for personal gains. They have alleged that ever since Mr Goyal had assumed the charge of the Mayor, he in connivance with some MC officials had been supplying soap and mustard oil from his own firm to the MC. Earlier also, Mr Goyal had been charged of misusing the official machinery for deploying the MC employees for doing private work of clearing “malba” from his brother’s house. He has also allegedly constructed 54 illegal shops in Manimajra in gross violation of the Act. Even Congress Councillors maintain that as per the Act, none of the elected Councillors can enter into any contract with the MC for financial gains. |
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Rare pangolin sent to
zoo Chandigarh, July 12 According to an employee of the school, the first reaction of the labourers was surprise and fear. One of the labourer reportedly hit the pangolin, resulting into an injury on foreleg. However, the labourers later put it in a drum and covered it with a nylon net. Later in the morning, schoolchildren rushed in large numbers to have a glimpse of the animal. The children were making wild guess about the identity of the creature. The school employees wanted to feed the animal but they were not aware of its food habits. The school authorities reportedly tried in futile to contact Chhat Bir zoo officials. Ms Ambika Menon, Vice-Principal of the school, later sent one her employee to Chhat Bir zoo to hand over the animal to the zoo authorities. The animal was taken to the zoo in a wooden carton. It may be mentioned here that last month a female Pangolin was rescued from human captivity in Singhpura village, and was sent to the Chhat Bir for public view. The creature was found during a well-digging operation. Pangolin is a rare species and eat particularly termites, and other insects, including earthworms. It may be recalled that a pangolin which was kept in a cage had disappeared in 1999 from the Chhat Bir. The animal had disappeared within a months period from being brought to the zoo. Another pangolin had also escaped form the deer’s enclosure. A similar pangolin was found in Sector 19 of Panchkula on June 17 last year and was later released in woods by the wildlife authorities. The species is a protected animal under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection (Preservation) Act 1972. Meanwhile, a wild tortoise strayed into the house of Mr Navjeet Singh, a resident of Sector 44-D, on Wednesday. The family put the tortoise into a bucket and fed it. However, the reptile escaped from the “house” on Thursday. |
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Fate of indicted staff
uncertain Panchkula, July 12 Though all malpractices and exploitation of the public has been curtailed for now, the fate of the employees indicted by the report is still uncertain. The report submitted to the district administration after a detailed inspection and surprise check at the two SDM offices in Kalka and Panchkula and the Sub-Registrar, Kalka, nailed a few employees for unaccounted cash with them. Submitted almost a month back, the report also stated that the public was unnecessarily being harassed, the papers being held back without any specific reason and employees playing truant during office hours. It is learnt that the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora, recommended a few transfers though the task of “cleaning up” the two offices has been left to the two SDMs entirely. An official of the administration said that with the few transfers that took place last week, the two officers had expressed satisfaction with the new set up. When contacted, the SDM, Panchkula, Mr M.S. Yadav, said that he had received a copy of the report last week. “I am verifying the facts in the report and appropriate action would be taken against those found guilty of the charges provided they cannot offer any valid justification. I will submit a report for the same to the Deputy Commissioner in a week's time,” he added. It maybe recalled that the DIG, CID, Haryana, had sent a report to the district administration of corruption rampant in the two offices. On the basis of this report, raids had been carried. The inspecting team had found cases of renewal of licences and issuing of registration certificates pending for over a month in these offices, excess cash with the employees, temporary number slips were issued without a mention of the expiry date and no confirmation was sought of issuing of no objection certificates Also, the licensing authority was found guilty of issuing licences on the basis of a report by the Motor Vehicle Inspector rather than the competent authority and papers mandatory for issuing licences were also found incomplete. Taking serious note of the findings, Ms Arora had asked the officers to promptly disposed of all pending cases pending in these offices. |
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PUDA modifies booth sites
scheme Chandigarh, July 12 The scheme, which opened on June 25 and is due to close on July 27, has been drawing a good public response. It covers booth sites available in new as well as old sectors of Mohali. The modifications designed to attract more buyers were approved at a meeting held here today under the chairmanship of the PUDA Chief Administrator, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu. The modifications relate to the mode of payment as well as allotment. The period for payment of 75 per cent of the balance price has been extended from one-and-a-half years to three years, in half yearly equal instalments, subject, of course, to interest @ 15 per cent per annum. The mode of allotment for the Tatkal Scheme and the Ordinary Scheme has been refined as under: (i) As stated in the brochure, the tatkal applications shall be taken up in the draw first of all, to the exclusion of the ordinary applications. This shall be done phase/sector-wise. This draw, effected sector-wise, shall assign to the successful tatkal applicants as also those on the waiting list, a seniority number. The seniority number so assigned shall be published and all successful applicants shall be invited through the same public notice to appear before the Estate Officer after a period of approximately two weeks there from and choose a specific booth site within the phase in question. Person with seniority no. 1 shall get the first chance and thereafter the other applicants shall be taken up sequentially, in accordance with the seniority numbers. Booth sites opted for by the applicants shall naturally stand deleted insofar as the choice of the applicants having a subsequent seniority number is concerned. If any successful applicant does not appear before the Estate Officer on the said date either in person or through his authorised signatory, he shall be allotted a booth site there and then, through draw of lots. Nothing in the above procedure shall preclude the applicant from giving the site preferences in writing to the Estate Officer at least two clear days before the aforesaid gathering and these choices shall be considered by the Estate Officer in accordance with the seniority, subject, of course, to the availability of opted booth site. The option made in writing once shall not be permitted to be altered , although if a person is present at the time of allotment of booth number and all his options given in writing have been exhausted before hand, he shall be permitted to make on-the-spot choice. In any case, should any choice not be available before the Estate Officer, the booth site shall be allotted through draw of lots, while considering the seniority number, and not at the end of the list. (ii) Ordinary applicants: The ordinary applicants shall also be permitted to make their applications phase/sector-wise and the same procedure for allotment shall be followed, except that an ordinary applicant shall be dealt with only after exhausting the tatkal applicants. (iii) Second and third choice for tatkal applicants: The tatkal applicants of a particular phase/sector shall also be permitted to give up to three choices, of phases/sectors as tatkal applicants. They shall be regarded as ordinary applicants, if they so opt, only if the aforesaid tatkal options are not available. |
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23 hepatitis
cases in city Chandigarh, July
12 Till about a month ago, it was not mandatory for blood banks to carry out HCV testing and was started only on June 1 this year. During the very first month of making the HCV testing compulsory, out of 2941 units of blood collected by the three blood banks in the city, which includes the PGI, GMCH, Sector 32, and General Hospital, Sector 16, 0.78 per cent blood was found to be infected with HCV. Experts say this indicates the importance of HCV testing made mandatory for all blood banks in the country from June 1, 2001, following a notification of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on January 29, 2001. An amendment of (second) Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, made testing for the virus mandatory for each unit of whole human blood and its components. After a Supreme Court judgement in 1996, following a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Common Cause, the central and the state governments decided to take a number of steps towards revamping the entire blood transfusion services while addressing various critical areas. These included making the testing of HIV, malaria, VDRL and hepatitis-B by blood banks mandatory for each unit of whole blood and its component before use. HCV testing was not included in this. It was after the first phase of the National AIDS Control Programme in 1998 that HCV testing was also made mandatory. Considering the high cost of screening, it could not be implemented and the orders were withdrawn as it costs more than Rs 100 to test each unit of blood for the virus. The test was made compulsory following the second phase of the programme, though it could be practically implemented only in 2001. HCV damages the liver, which the doctors say can be minimal or very serious. Some of the symptoms, which vary from person to person and day to day, include fatigue, jaundice, nausea, pain in abdomen, fever, muscle aches, joint pains, swollen legs and feet, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and vision loss. The sharing of IV snorting drugs, body piercing and tattooing is the most common way of being infected. Even stopping bleeding at the injection site can transmit the disease. Though
there is no India-specific data available, some studies reveal that 20
per cent of the people having hepatitis-C have been infected through
contaminated blood or blood products. |
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Harassment, Punjab school board
style SAS Nagar, July 12 Blame it on the computerisation of the process of preparation of the results or handling of the result sheets by the employees of the board, the end suffers are the candidates. The plight of the affected candidates can be imagined from the fact the last date of admission in various courses in colleges of Chandigarh is July 14. The affected students are running from pillar to post to get their DMCs rectified. The plight of candidates of humanities group with RLA (Result Late Award Awaited) was worse. Inquires reveal that in certain cases even such subjects which a candidate had not taken had been mentioned in the DMC. The total of the pass marks was wrong and total numbers secured by a candidate were missing. To top it, the signatures of the officials concerned who have to verify the details in the DMCs are missing. In a specific case (see accompanying DMC) a private candidate from Chandigarh, Poonam Dogra, had appeared in General English, Hindi, History, Sociology Religion and History Culture of Punjab. She was taken aback when she got the DMC through the mail which mentioned that she had got compartment in General Punjabi. Against the subject of History Culture of Punjab, the DMC mentioned the candidate had appeared in General Punjabi which she had not taken. Further, taken the total marks obtained were shown as 149 whereas these should have been 182. The signatures of the board employee checking the marks of the candidate were also missing. More such cases have also come to light. |
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14-day remand for shooting incident accused Panchkula, July 12 The superintendent of Police, Mr Manoj Yadava, said the search for the third accused in the shooting at a pool parlour in Sector 6 was still on. Mr Yadava added that the true identity of the man who had fired the shot in the parlour identified as Pratap yesterday was established today. A resident of Kirwari village in Hisar, his real name is Mahavir. Mahavir, has a earned himself a name in the police records—extortions and dupings being the name of the game for this 31-year-old resident of Kharwari, a village in Hisar. Investigation into his past led from one clue to another for the police, hot on the heels of the accused who fired the shot at the cyber cafe, injuring an innocent net surfer in the process. The case is getting murkier by the hour. Police sources said Mahavir, alongwith his family, had come to town a couple of days ago to attend the marriage of Sanjay Rahi, son of a lecturer of DAV College. It is leant that when Papneja called Rahi for “help”, he was with Mahavir. On receiving distress call Rahi handed Mahavir his car keys and asked him to drive down to the cafe to rescue his friend, since Mahavir’s own car had gone for repair at a service station in Mani Majra. Known for always carrying a revolver, Mahavir arrived at the cafe and threatened Sanchit Bhasin, involved in confrontation with Papneja. Later, he fired a shot and fled the spot. The police sources said, Mahavir immediately left the city along with his family and went underground. Interestingly, Rahi and Mahavir had been introduced to each other through a common friend, Pankaj Tomar, running a printing press in the city. Meanwhile, the condition of Rajiv Sharma, injured in the brawl between two groups was stated to be stable. |
A fun-filled eight-day trip to
Pakistan
“We don’t want to go back so soon”. This is what all the 10 members of the Rotary International Youth Exchange all-girls’ team were saying towards the end of our eight-day trip to Pakistan. We had left on June 21 and were scheduled to return on June 28. It was my dream to go to Pakistan, meet the people, see places and find out why there is such anti-Pakistan feeling in our country. My dream came true, and in style. As part of an international youth exchange all-girls team, we were very special, and this trip will remain in my memory for ever.
The Pakistan International Airways evening flight from Delhi to Lahore on June 21 was full of excitement for all members of the delegation that included a Rotarian group leader, Mr HMP Singh, and his wife, Mrs Gayatri Singh, along with 10 of us from five different schools in and around Delhi. The group comprised Shymaine Pandey, Rohini Rangrajan, Eesha Verma, Avny Lavasa from Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, Swati Seth, Aditi Poddar, Deeksha Kakar from Springdales, Pooja Sood from Delhi Public School, Noida, Nidhi Raidani from Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai, and Ridhima Khanna from Air Force Bal Bharti School. After a day (and night) full of adventure and excitement, our team finally reached Islamabad at half past one in the morning. Surprised and elated to see all our hosts with their families at the airport to receive us, the tired girls gladly accompanied the hosts to their homes. The next morning was the most thrilling time for us. For the first we were going to actually feel what it was like being in Pakistan. The Rotary Club of Islamabad had carefully planned the itinerary. The day’s sightseeing included visits to Shakkar Parian, Rawal Lake and Faisal Mosque. The day’s programme also included a drive to Margalla Hills that surround Islamabad on three sides. Our hosts drove us around in their cars and treated us like members of their own families. My host, Masrur uncle, said that the previous day he had dinner with three daughters and now there were five. The warmth of the people moved us beyond words. After meeting them I realised how similar we were. What we call Hindi songs, they call Urdu songs. They like Hindi movies and music perhaps more than we do. They watch our Hindi serials with more interest than we do. Nidhi’s and Shymaine’s hosts actually served them meals according to what our serials show. The next day we left for Lahore by bus early in the morning. The Daewoo bus service is considered to be superfast and covers a distance of about 300 kilometers in four hours and a half. We were in Lahore at 1 pm and the new hosts and their families were at the bus stand to pick us up for a busy schedule planned for us in Lahore. It is a vibrant city like Delhi. Except that the hoardings and boards were written in Urdu, nobody could tell whether one was in Delhi or in Lahore. In Lahore one can spend months and yet feel that the stay was not enough. Our trip to Wagah border from Lahore in the evening was a unique experience. A couple of years ago, I had visited the border from Amritsar. The ceremony I saw was one of the best things I had seen and it gave me a sense of pride in being an Indian. Since then I had wanted to visit the border again. I had no idea that I would be seeing the ceremony from the other side. Standing on the Pakistani side, we felt greater pride in being Indians. It was great to see thousands of our countrymen on the other side of the two gates that separate India and Pakistan. Even as we watched the proceedings from Pakastani soil, we felt part of the huge crowd on the Indian side. That evening dinner was at the house of Mr Max Babri, my host who has a Swedish wife. There we had the pleasure of meeting Salma Agha, an Indian singer of fame. Our last day in Pakistan started with last-minute shopping for gifts to be taken back home. Every member wanted just to be there for a longer period. The love and concern with which we were treated, was embossed in our hearts. After shopping and a quick brunch, we had planned to meet at the airport along with our hosts. Leaving after such a wonderful stay was like the end of a dream. Back home, when I think of my stay with my new friends in Pakistan, a few images come to my mind. The pub culture or going to discos is not a part of their life. The young crowd ( around 20-year-olds) does go but not that much. Maybe because they are not allowed. After all, even here several parents do not like their children to visit pubs or discos. Mahajabeen (14) loves to dance on Hindi film or album songs and has prepared many dances on Hindi songs. She even showed us a few dances one evening. Anum (14) is also a good dancer. She also danced in the bus while we were going to Murree. In the bus the 10 of us played ‘antakshari’ with the Pakistanis who had accompanied us. While deciding what to play on the stereo in the bus we had a big argument because the Pakistanis wanted Stereo Nation and the Indians wanted Junoon. They are crazy about our movies and film stars. Komal (16) thinks that while walking in the streets of Mumbai, you run into filmstars every five minutes and that is why she is dying to go to Mumbai. Their attitude towards Indians is very friendly but the usual row about which cricket team is better came up a few times but it was more a funny situation than anything else. They love Indian jewellery. The image that everyone here has of Pakistan is that of a very orthodox country where people are crazy about their religion. That is not true. They do know about the history of their religion and what the Prophet did etc. They do pray five times a day but do not go weird about it if they do not . But one thing is certain, they talk with a lot of respect to everyone, whether younger or elder. Having friends of the opposite sex is not a common thing. Actually, it depends on what their parents think. Going to Pakistan was one dream fulfilled. On coming back, a new dream was born — that of having friendly relations with Pakistan and its people who showered us with infinite affection. We hope every countryman shares or dream. No matter what problem politics has created between Pakistan and India, we are one people with a common history, a common background, a common culture and common roots. |
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MURDER MILES Chandigarh Official statistics record six major accidents at this junction so far this year. Four persons have lost their lives in these accidents and two have been seriously injured. However, the authorities concede that the actual number of accidents taking place at this point is much higher. On an average three or four minor accidents occur here every day. These accidents generally take place after dusk, during the evening rush hours. The junction is poorly lit and most of the streetlights are often found out of order. Visibility, specially at dusk, is poor and accidents take place between cyclists or pedestrians and heavy vehicles. According to the police, unregulated turns into Sectors 44 and 45 result in many an accident. Since there are too many turnings for houses in the two sectors, accidents happen when the motorist on the road gets confused as vehicles emerge from these irregular openings. The road also does not have a proper central verge. As a result, head-on collisions take place between vehicles, often resulting in fatalities. Since the road turns into the highway leading to SAS Nagar, the flow of traffic is heavy. Also, heavy vehicles such as trucks and tractor-trailers use this road, in addition to cars and two wheelers. Recently, a scooterist was crushed to death by a tractor coming from the opposite direction. Also, Colony No 5, one of the biggest slums of the city, is located on one side of the Burail Road, and the village of Burail is also close by. A number of animals — cattle and pigs — from these areas stray on to the road and cause accidents. |
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Market
Pulse Panchkula, July 12 She stated that special stress should be laid on kisan credit cards, farmers’ club and self-help groups. She stressed that all rural branches of banks should form at least one farmers’ club in the face of liberalisation of our economy. Ms Arora said that during the year 2000-2001 the number of kisan credit cards issued in the district were to the tune of 10,742. She said that all the remaining farmers should be given credit crds in the next three years and the first year target should be 40 per cent and all the banks should cooperate to achieve these targets. She expressed satisfaction over the achievement of district credit plan 2000-2001. She said that areas where the district has lagged behind should get special attention by all concerned. She said that all out efforts should be made as an ongoing process to ensure that the district should be an achiever on all the parameters this year. The lead district manager, Mr V.K. Bakhshi, welcomed everyone and
briefly discussed the importance of this meeting. He said that after drawing the district credit plan, its progress was reviewed from time to time. He added that the plan for the next year had since been launched with an outlay of Rs 171.33 crore. He said that the recovery process in various government sponsored schemes would become more meaningful by involving the concerned sponsoring agencies in the process. Mr Bakshi said that achievement of the district credit plan to the tune of 180 per cent was quite
satisfactory. In agriculture and allied sector achievement is 268 per cent, in non-farm sector it is 101 per cent and in other priority sector achievement is to the tune of 99 per cent. Speaking at the function, Mr S.N. Wasan, Senior Manager, Punjab National Bank, Regional Office, Chandigarh, informed the house that the district has achieved targets on the key parameters and also the district credit plan as on 31.3.2001 Mr Wasan said that the bank deposits in the district had shown a growth of 19.20 per cent and advances to the tune of 35.20 per cent. The priority sector advances have registered a growth of 51 per cent which is much higher then the national goal of 40 per cent. There is an increase of 33.52 per cent in agriculture advances during this period against the national goal of 18 per cent. |
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Farmers’ body threatens stir
over Admn move Chandigarh, July 12 The union has threatened that if the Administration goes ahead with its decision, they will resort to an agitation. Approximately 10,000 farmers from various villages of Punjab sell their vegetable produce in apni mandis in different sectors of the city every month. Mr Jagtar Singh Bhamian, president of the union, said the taking over of the mandis by the Chandigarh Administration would work against the interest of the farmers. He said, “The Punjab Mandi Board, which presently supervises the mandis, provides the farmers an opportunity to directly sell their vegetable produce in the markets.” He said the board was providing them plastic crates and weight balance at subsidised rates. Mr Swaran Singh, vice-president of the union, threatened to launch an agitation if the Administration takes over the charge of the mandis. He said the union would resort to dharna and rallies. He also threatened that the milk supply to Chandigarh would be stopped. |
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CTCC flays hike in power
tariff Chandigarh, July 12 The meeting, chaired by the CTCC Chief, Mr B.B. Bahl, and attended by the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, the Mayor, Mr Raj Kumar Goyal and the Congress councillors, urged the administration to withdraw the hike. The expulsion of Mr Harmohan Dhawan from the party by the AICC was also discussed at the meeting. The meeting, however, was not attended by the Munish Tewari faction. Ms Satinder Dhawan, councillor and wife of Mr Harmohan Dhawan, was conspicuous by her absence. Unrest among occupants of the Chandigarh Housing Board flats, who were worried over the threat of the authorities to demolish the additions and alterations carried out during the past decade was also discussed. The CTCC supported the cause of the allottees and called upon the administration to make amendments in the building bylaws in consultation with CHB Residents Federation. The action of the administration in demolishing the10-year-old Ruhani Satsang Manav Kendra at the Sector 49 Labour Colony without any notice was also condemned. |
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Flowers blooming in milk
packets Chandigarh, July 12 The engagement which started as a hobby about three years back has now taken the shape of a passion, and each member of the family lives the passion very honestly. Mayur contributes his bit in keeping his house delightfully decorated with flowers by bringing buckets full of clay from the ground. He says: “It is a very difficult task to fetch so much clay to the third floor, but I do it because I feel it’s a part of my routine now.” As for the origin of this hobby which is now being lapped up by Ruksana’s neighbours also, Ruksana had once seen a TV show wherein thrown-away milk packets were used in place of costly moulds to arrange flowers and other plants. She says: “I began experimenting with just two packets. The results were stupendous. Now I have 200 packets, all blooming with colourful flowers which adorn the dry concrete of my house. It feels great to see your labour bear fruit.” Ruksana does not miss to mention the role his son Mayur had to play in helping the flowers bloom. She says: “He kept pursuing the hobby very honestly. He used to do all the labour work. Also, he used to be after his father to fetch fertilisers to be added to clay. I must say that it’s Mayur’s effort shining on the walls of my house.” Mayur also has the same thing to say. He adds up,” I was so much in love with this occupation that the first thing I did after getting back from school was to ask my mother how many flowers we had on a particular day. I would also make note of the numbers and try harder to increase the count next time.” Now, however, it has become very difficult to kept tab of the number of flowers in the verandah of Ruksana’s house. They are large in numbers and beautiful in appeal. Nowadays Ruksana is tipping her neighbours on how to raise flowers in milk packets. Going by the success she has achieved, it will not be surprising if she becomes an expert in the field one day and also comperes a television show in this regard. |
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Sabha’s
plea to Administration Chandigarh, July 12 A press note issued by the sabha said the application of building rules relating to the residential and the commercial buildings to the religious institutions was not desirable. Till such rules are framed, no action should be taken against the existing religious institutions. It also urged the Administration to include two members of the sabha in the committee, to be constituted for formulating the rules. |
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Police inaction
alleged Chandigarh, July 12 A press note issued by the association said Ms Saroj Bala had taken Rs 1300 from the residents of the colony in the name of a school. However, when enquiries were made, it was found that no school owned by Ms Saroj Bala existed in Hallo Majra. This clearly showed that she had duped the residents of the money she had collected. The president of the association said they had lodged their first complaint with the police on April 14. Subsequently, a complaint was also lodged on May 2. Till now, the police did little to redress the grievances of the residents.
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FENG SHUI
TIPS Clothes are a very important factor in everyone’s life. The shapes and shades influence everybody. In Feng Shui it is said that “clothes wear us; we don’t wear them”. In simple language it means that clothes affect our moods. They affect our feeling and behaviour. Where and how we keep our clothes also has a subtle influence on our lives. Keeping our clothes in a separated decamp loom will be helpful. It is easy to keep our bedrooms fresh and tidy. It is said that, while sleeping, a person is healing. So our bedrooms should be clutter-free. Clothes in our bedrooms mean you will create immediate stress for your body. Our last and first waking thoughts should be: “I must put those things away”. Waking up in a clutter-free environment, over a long period of time, will gradually strengthen our health by promoting more restful sleep and waking moments. When we get up happy and ready in the new day, we can work hard in our offices. We don’t get annoyed unnecessarily with our subordinates. This means more input in our work. This implies that we should keep our bedrooms clutter-free always.
Harshna Address your Feng Shui queries to: |
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City’s oldest resident dead Chandigarh, July 12 |
Fake passports case: cops after third accused Chandigarh, July 12 According to information, Dhiraj Dayal Massih, a son of Dayal Massih, has reportedly gone underground following the arrest of the other two accused in the racket namely Rajiv Puri and Dayal Massih. The three accused were running the racket involved in making fake passports that ensures the holders a trip anywhere in the world, without a visa. The accused promised their clients that the said passports, issued by a recognised council, were valid in five countries. People were also lured on the pretext that these passports ensured an International Exit Visa. Also, the visas issued by the authority ensured entry into the chosen foreign land at a much lower cost. While immigration to the USA cost about Rs 6 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs, the passport of the authority ensured entry in the USA for about Rs 1 lakh. According to the police, Rajiv Puri, who is the mastermind of the fraud, had set up an immigration consultancy in Sector 34. Other than arranging for tickets and visas for his clients, he had begun issuing passports of the world government. The other accused, Dayal Massih, claims to have been issued a manpower licence by the Protector of Immigrants and was authorised to send people abroad for jobs. However, he reportedly joined hands with Rajiv, a close friend of his son, Dhiraj Dayal, in order to dupe people, claims the police. In fact, the former had sent at least six persons to Rajiv Puri for issuing the authority passport. Puri had taken Rs 70,000 per passport from Massih. The entire process began when Rajiv had chanced upon a website, www.worldserviceauthority.org, through a search engine. The website reportedly promises easy immigration to any country in the world. He said the passports were procured by the accused from the Washington DC address mentioned on the website upon a payment of US $ 100 to US $ 200. |
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Woman crushed to death by
bus Chandigarh, July 12 According to the information available, Lakshmi Devi was killed when the bus (CH-01G-5560), coming from Maloya to Chandigarh, suddenly moved to the right and ran over her. The police informed that she was a cosmetics retailer. The driver of the bus, Nirmail Singh, has been arrested. Two arrested Liquor seized Thefts reported Caught-red-handed Two booked Two injured |
Regularisation of
basements sought Panchkula, July 12 The President of the mandal, Mr Kuldeep Chitkara, stated that while the Haryana Urban Development Authority has allowed basements under booths in the new sectors of Panchkula extension since 1998, it has compounded basements in some shops in Sector 5 at the rate of Rs 150 sq ft. The members have stated that in Hisar, Gurgaon and Faridabad, basements under booths have been compounded by the respective administrators. |
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BIZ CLIPS CHANDIGARH EXHIBITION:
A two-day exhibition-cum-sale of coloured stones and diamond studded jewellery will be organised by Ravoy Gems at a local hotel from July 13. It will also organise an exhibition-cum-sale in Ludhiana on July 21 and 22.
TNS LICENCE: The Northern Regional Office of Bureau of Indian Standards has granted the first licence in the region each for “Galvanised Steel Sheets (plain and corrugated) “as per IS 277-92 and for “Cold Rolled Low Carbon Steel Sheets and Strips”. While galvanised steel sheets are used for roofing, paneling etc.; steel sheets and strips are mainly used as raw material for making of precision tubes and pipes for manufacturing cycles and rickshaws.
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