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| Monday,
September 3,
2001, Chandigarh, India
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Sushma to open 2 DD
transmitters
today Chandigarh, September 2 Both the transmitters have been functional and already relaying DD programmes for the past many years in Chandigarh and the surrounding areas. The DD-1 Jalandhar transmitter has been working in Kasauli since 1980 and relaying Jalandhar Doordarshan programmes for only four hours in the evening from 4 p.m. from LPT. The LPT remains off for about 20 hours a day, raising questions about the wasteful investment and optimum utilisation of the transmitter. The second transmitter, which Ms Swaraj will ‘inaugurate’, was already working in Sector 34 from All-India Radio premises. The transmitter was relaying DD II Metro programmes. It has only been shifted. In fact, both the transmitters have only been relocated. Thus, it is felt that Ms Swaraj is not going to give anything additional to the people of Chandigarh and will, metaphorically speaking, only be serving “old wine in new bottles”. Several city residents feel that Ms Swaraj should announce relay of DD Punjabi channel programmes from the DD-1 Jalandhar LPT which she will inaugurate tomorrow. If such an arrangement is made, people of Chandigarh will be able to watch three channels, namely DD-1 National relayed from Kasauli, DD-1 Jalandhar/Punjabi from Sector 37 and DD-2 Metro also from Sector 37. At present, DD Punjabi is available only through cable and many cable operators do not relay this channel. If she announces the relay, the programmes es will become more popular as many residents of Chandigarh and adjoining areas do not have cable connections. The DD authorities can make
use of the LPT by relaying programmes of DD-1 Punjabi channel started by Jalandhar Doordarshan recently. This will also result in utilisation of the LPT for greater duration. There would be no additional expenditure and the people would be able to see DD Punjabi programmes through terrestrial
mode. Without any extra expenditure the Doordarshan authorities can face the competition from private Punjabi satellite channels, including Alpha Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Tara. The Doordarshan authorities had on Tuesday, August 28, relayed DD Punjabi programmes till 4 pm. If they could do this on a single day and sometimes on earlier occasions, including when the first anniversary function of DD Punjabi channel was also relayed, why cannot they do it every day? Now also, before starting relay of Jalandhar Doordarshan programmes from the LPT daily at 4 pm, the Doordarshan authorities sometimes relay DD Punjabi programmes for a brief duration. |
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Strike to put Ma, Pa on ferry duty
today Chandigarh, September 2 With the buses of the Private Schools Bus Operators Association already off the road, the decision of the association has come as a bolt from the blue for the anxious parents. This would mean that the parents would have to ferry their children to the schools tomorrow. And if this continues, it would have a serious effect on the studies as September is the month for the first term examinations. Confirming the decision, Mr DS Bedi, president of the association, informed that decision had been taken to express solidarity with the private bus operators. He, however, clarified that the schools would remain open tomorrow. Calling upon the Chandigarh Administration to have a negotiated settlement with the bus operators, Mr Bedi was of the view that setting deadlines for phasing out the old buses would not solve the problem. It may be recalled that the private bus operators had already decided to continue to strike till the Administration softened its stand and allowed them six months' time to replace the old buses. While the private bus operators and the independent schools are on strike tomorrow, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) authorities had offered its own buses to the schools for ferrying the children. At least 40 buses had been kept as standby and could be offered to the schools in case they were needed by the schools, sources said. In fact, the crisis continued
to weigh on the minds of the parents today. The Tribune office was inundated with calls from the concerned parents asking about strike tomorrow. The administration and the bus operators should sit together and find an amicable solution soon as it becomes very difficulty for the working couples to ferry their children from the schools, added Ms Nidhi Sharma, a mother of two school-going children. |
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Is it Saral or investigation
notice? Chandigarh, September 2 The form, devised with Canadian help under consistent pressure from the First World and the WTO to improve the tax administration to mop up revenue collection, will herald calculation of income on the basis of expenditure with an apparent aim to dig out black money. The ten-page new form number 3 for the salaried has mandatory-to-be-filled eight schedules on salaries, income from house property, income from other sources, capital gains, statement of set-off of current year’s loss, statement of total income, statement of taxes and general information. The 12-page form number two for the non-salaried has schedules on salaries, income from house property, profits and gains of business and profession, capital gains, income from other sources, statement of set-off of unabsorbed losses and allowances brought forward from previous years, statement of total income, statement of taxes and general information. The common feature “general information schedule’’ in both forms makes it mandatory for the assessee to give details of all bank accounts in a list beginning with the bank to which refund of the tax is to be made. This schedule also asks for details of credit cards, investments in immovable properties during a year (excluding business assets), investments in excess of Rs 1,00,000 in movable assets, details of expenditure on education of children, expenditure on vehicles owned by self, dependents and family members and other expenditure/outgoings in excess of Rs 50,000 during the year. The new form is a virtual
Avtar of Saral form’s predecessor seeking information on all aspects excluding expenditure details introduced now to tap unaccounted money and facilitate acceptance of forms, what the Income Tax Department calls, at the face value. The Saral’s predecessor was done away with in 1996. The new form has also made filing of schedules mandatory under Section 139 (9) of the Income Tax Act 1961 and failure to file them will lead them to be declared invalid, an income tax consultant and advocate, Mr Mahavir Singh, told The Tribune. He said the form seemed to be a precursor of a form which will have all information asked for in an Income Tax notice issued under Section 143 (2) of the Act. A notice seeks details like account of movable and immovable assets of last three years with documents, cash flow statement, monthly details of household expenditures and that they are being shared by somebody else in the family, details of earning family members, bank pass books and transactions and details of deposits. The notice under Section 143 (2) also asks for details of education expenditure on family members, vehicle expenditure, club membership and expenditure on that, details of white and electronic goods, break up of salary along with allowances, rent paid, telephone numbers and reimbursement of expenses. The tax consultant said the new tax regime, once backed by computerised network, may ideally follow American pattern where the return has as many as 150 pages and notices are issued in one out of a lakh cases. The present system and restructuring in the Income Tax Department has been modeled with the help of the Canadians and is meant to tap the unaccounted money. But that would only be possible when most of transactions are computerised and the department has computer access to them with certain legal permissions which the department did not have in many cases, he said. Another consultant, who did not want to be named, said though illegal but income and expenditure details provided in the return may give the unauthorised Income Tax personnel an opportunity to extract money from businessmen. The Income Tax Commissioner, Chandigarh, Mr Ashwani Luthra, however, said the department cannot approach an assessee personally and only notice could be issued to seek further details but with so vital details already incorporated in the form, acceptance of 95 per cent returns would only be on the face value and post investigation embarrassment could be forgotten. Another tax consultant, Mr Dinesh Goyal, said with the Department lacking computerised access and shortage of staff, returns may have suppressed information on number of children, wrong name of the school, no information regarding Rs 50,000 expenditure incurred during the year and less of vehicle expenditure. The new return form may hit the credit card business adversely while the real estate business may
draw more money as an after effect. |
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Screening of Kashmiri migrants
begins Chandigarh, September 2 According to police sources, a number of people from Jammu and Kashmir converge at the city for the winter months. But only the ‘sleepers’ and ‘sympathisers’ of militants among these temporary migrants are a cause of real concern. The local police is already looking for a suspected ‘sympathiser’ who arrived in the city a few weeks ago. It is learnt that the said person is a close link between militants in the valley and the Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan. A senior police official, on the condition of anonymity, said a special team had been formed to keep track of the man. According to sources, the arrival of the said person is just the beginning and more such persons from the strife-torn state are expected to follow. The local police has started preparations to face any eventuality. The Crime Branch and the Crime Branch Operation Cell of the city police has been assigned the job of verifying the influx from the valley. The police is already keeping a watch on the areas inhabited by Kashmiris. Surveillance is also being carried out outside ‘madarsas’ and the mosques in the city. It is learnt that a number of sympathisers of Kashmiri militants arrive in the city each year around this time. A senior police official said they would generally roam about in the garb of shawl sellers. With various Kashmiri militant outfits claiming responsibility for blasts in various cities of Punjab, the myth about their activities being limited to the valley or the national capital has been shattered. The bomb blasts in buses in Fatehgarh Sahib and Jalandhar and the one that rocked a couple of shops in Hoshiarpur in the year 2000, are proof of the ulterior designs of these militants. It is learnt that for the past three years, the police is regularly keeping a watch on all migrants from the trouble-torn state in the city. The CBO cell is also learnt to have been keeping a close watch on truck drivers and cleaners from Jammu and Kashmir visiting the city. The local police has decided not to leave anything to chance. Surveillance on buses arriving from Jammu and Kashmir will also be increased in the coming days. |
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DPI, Admn to look into slapping
incident Chandigarh, September 2 As the 37 students of Class IV of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, slapped their four class fellows heartlessly ‘following their teachers orders’, the teacher Ms Nirmal Saini simply watched her orders being followed. Strangely, not a single student of the class seems to have either questioned the orders which the teacher had given them for obeying nor reportedly showed any kind of distress at slapping their class fellows. One of these four students, Khushpreet, who had to be admitted to the PGI yesterday evening following the incident was discharged today but has been asked to visit again tomorrow for an ENT test as he has been complaining of loss of hearing since the incident. A daily diary report has also been registered by the father of Khushpreet at the Sector 39 police station. The incident occurred when the school’s Punjabi teacher Ms Nirmal Saini found four students of her class — Ankush, Khushpreet, Sunil and Harsimran — missing at the start of her period. She called for these students and in a fit of anger asked the rest of the class to punish them. These students, however, claim that they had been asked to do a duty of making passes next to the drinking water cooler for the school by some other teacher. These children are still in a state of shock and scared out of their wits. Harsimran’s eyes are swollen and cheeks blue. Sunil has decided to leave school. Meanwhile, the relatives of these children have demanded appropriate action against the teacher who, they suggested, should be immediately suspended. It has also been reported that the DPI, Schools, and senior officials in the Administration have stated that they will look into the matter first thing on Monday morning. |
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Hills will tell when earth will shake Chandigarh, September 2 The CSIO Director, Dr R.P. Bajpai said that a project to set up a data telemetered seismic network in this region had been taken up under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The network, inter-connected with other agencies in the country, is expected to become operational in about a year’s time. The total outlay for the project is around Rs 50 lakh and funding is the responsibility of the central government. The project is a part of the National Programme on Himalayan Seismicity, taken up by the DST. The programme, designed to keep the sensitive region under constant seismic watch, received a boost after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat earlier this year. The ultimate aim of the programme is to work in the direction of “short-term” earthquake forecast so that mitigation and risk reduction can be done effectively. The setting up of a regional seismic network here assumes significance as Chandigarh falls in the second highest category of tremor risk. Seismic data reveals that the city experiences about 30 “noticeable” earthquakes, having a magnitude of four or more on the Richter scale, in a year. The adjoining mountainous areas in the Himalayan belt fall in the highest risk category and a major earthquake in some areas could adversely effect Chandigarh. The Seismological Observatory at the CSIO, which started functioning in February 1999, is being upgraded to incorporate an advanced “Tri-axial Digital Accelerograph”, a sensitive equipment for recording strong seismic motions. Recently equipped with a 24-bit seismic data acquisition system, the observatory has been connected with the national seismic network via VSAT connectivity, as well as with the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, the India Meteorological Department, Delhi, and Roorkee University. According to Dr M.A. Shamshi, head of the Geo Seismic Instruments Division at the CSIO, the digital data from the two field stations at Kasauli and Morni will be transmitted through dial up connectivity to the Central Recording and Processing Station (CRPS) at the CSIO for analysing seismic activity, computing earthquake parameters and source characteristics. The data processed at the CRPS will be further transmitted via VSAT to the National Seismic Data Centre in Delhi for archival purpose and global data sharing, as well as to other institutes involved in seismic studies. The network has already been designed and would be configured by incorporating state-of-the-art technology, including personal computers, modern sensors, advanced data and communication facilities. The two field stations have been designed around broad band digital seismographs and digital communication facilities. The seismic station at Morni, the first to be set up in Haryana, would also provide data on seismo-tectonic activity going on around the fissure which erupted near Nada Sahib a few months ago. CSIO representatives have already met with the Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula in connection with identifying a suitable site. |
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PU forms panel for good budget
session Chandigarh, September 2 The committee has been constituted by Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of the university, on a resolution that was moved by Mr Satya Pal Dang in a Senate meeting in March. The procedure aims at making the discussions “fruitful and adequate” and replacing prolonged and time-wasting discussions on “unrelated” issues. Due to “erroneous figures” and “inadequate knowledge of members of the Senate”, the university budget for the session 2000-2001 could not be passed when Prof M.M. Puri was the VC. This had happened for the first time in the history of the university. The budget was passed in principal, but another meeting of the Senate was called for detailed discussions. The five-member committee will be led by Mr R.S. Verma, a former Chief Secretary of Haryana. The other members of the committee include Mr Satya Pal Dang, Prof Charanjit Chawla, Mr G.K. Chatrath and Prof S.C. Vaidya. The university will be represented in the committee by the Registrar. The budget session in the past VC’s tenure saw the Finance and Development Officer, Mr M.G. Sharma, stand up in the Senate for the first time and give explanations for the figures. However, these were not acceptable to the general House. “Glaring” mistakes were discovered in the university budget and these were also highlighted in the meeting. Prof Ram Prakash said, “One glaring omission was that the agenda item for the Senate was not properly drafted. New and additional demands for the session 2000-2001 were not accepted either by the Board of Finance or the Syndicate, with the exception of the item on the Depreciation Fund Account. Professor Prakash said that budget had not been presented properly. “Only a few members spoke on the budget, which called for the attention of the House for devising a clear procedure for discussion,” a senior fellow of the university said. Prof Puri had said the budget was too serious a matter to be rushed through and he would not be a party to such a hasty action. The budget had been passed on vote-on-account and the discussions followed later. Prof Charanjit Chawla said figures had not been properly shown, especially the figures on the fund for higher education and research. Prof V.K. Bansal said the budget preparation should be proper. |
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CHANDIGARH CALLING AT last the Chandigarh Administra-tion has woken up to the needs of residents living in southern side of the city. Traffic lights have been installed at the junction of Sectors 45,46,49 and 50, a known accident- prone spot where several people have been injured or killed. This road connects the city with the busy phase X and XI in S.A.S. Nagar. Incidentally it also leads to the PCA stadium, and the newly built Fortis hospital. With the coming up of several housing society projects the number of people using this road has grown manifold. Actually demands have been pending that the entire Dakshin Marg should be double-laned.This junction is also on the same road. A few weeks ago the Union Ministry of Surface Transport had sanctioned a sum to partially double-lane the road. Residents are praying that the Administration listens to them soon or else several lives will be lost as the volume of traffic has gone up. Inviting card The “sarkar” can be colourful also. The Society For Promotion of Information Technology in Chandigarh (SPIC) which has the Adviser to the UT Administrator Ms Neeru Nanda as it head , showed this last week. When the SPIC-Microsoft computer centre was to be inaugurated the SPIC sent out invitation cards which would have put any top private company to shame. Gone were the standard sarkari whites. The card and the brochure were in shade of mauve and colours of ripe wheat. Beautifully laid out insets were in eyepleasing colours. Other than the state-of-the-art 3500 square feet computer centre, the officials were praised by all in attendance about the cards. Non-stop! You must have read “non-stop” neatly painted in bold letters on long-route buses. Nothing unusual about it. But a city resident was surprised to see the words painted in red letters on a funeral van. Even after contemplating for hours together, he was not able to make out the meaning. Does “non-stop” mean journey to heaven, or to Sector 25 cremation grounds, without break? He wasn’t sure. The meaning became clear only after a friend suggested: “Non-stop means that the van will not stop to pick up corpses on way to the cremation ground”. Without buses With the city school buses off the roads the city residents had to get hold of any vehicle they had at home and drive their children off to the school. Scooters, cars and of course the VIP cars were all there waiting outside schools to pick up the students up after school. Mothers had a day out and were seen waiting outside the schools in the sun patiently for their kids. (see photo on top) Blanket for Mayor Whereas most organisations chose to felicitate the city Mayor Harjinder Kaur with bouquets or, at the most, shawls, the Punjab Arts Council surely stood out for its novel gift. At a special function organised in Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16, by the Council members on August 30, Harjinder Kaur was presented with a Korean blanket. The Mayor was obviously caught unawares by the “novel gift”, which is supposed to have been suggested by secretary general of the Arts Council, Mr H.S. Bhatty. Bhatty was heard saying: “loiyaan taan sare dende ne. Asi kuch naya dena chaunde haan...” Hence the blanket. The matter did not end there. The Mayor was requested to wrap the blanket around so that the press photographers could take some good shots. She was seen struggling to hold the heavy stuff until, of course, she decided to settle. Even as people in the hall were still smiling at the Arts Council’s amusing idea the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi people came forward with a gift of phulkari. The Mayor finally heaved a sigh of relief. That she was now at peace was confirmed by the statement made by her friend Shobha Koser: “Hun ae hoi na kuch gal!” Cause of confusion Last week the city saw two light and sound programmes on the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Interestingly, both were titled Sher-e-Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh. While the first one was a project of the Punjab Government, the second one was altogether different from the first. This difference, however, remained latent until August 30, which saw the project of the Punjab public relations department staged at Parade Ground in Sector 17. Most of the visitors, including scribes, thought this was the same project directed by Harbax Latta and sponsored by Bank of Punjab. People were, however, surprised by the absence of director Harbax and his father Dr Harcharan Singh, who has written the story. It took about half an hour to hunt for the real director of the August 30 show — Ripudaman Singh, who had been busy offering prayers and counting beads in a remote corner of the parade ground. The confusion was dispelled after long when it was known that the Punjab government’s production had nothing in common with Harbax Latta’s multimedia project, except the title. One was, however, left wondering as to why the Punjab government timed its show just two days in advance of the inaugural screening of Latta’s show on September 1! What a compliment! Celebrated Punjabi poet Surjit Pattar, when asked to say a few words in the honour of Mayor Harjinder Kaur, at Punjab Kala Bhawan on August 30, went out of the way to greet her. He described her as a “khoobsurat and khoobsirat shakhsiyat”. Not just that, he went on to remark: “Sadi Mayor sahiba nu ae guzarish hai ki siyasat vich jake oho khud siyasati na ho jaan balki siyasat nu vi apne varga “khoobsurat te khoobsirat bana den”. Drug addicts A report published in these columns on June 18, about the problem of drug addiction among the Nigerians has evoked a strong reaction The writeup was accompanied by a photograph of two unidentified blackmen lying unconscious by the roadside. A communication from Mr G.D. Akpan, Minister Counsellor (Information) High Commission of Nigeria, New Delhi, points out that “while Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and tenth in the world, it does not mean that every black man found in India is a Nigerian. Furthermore, Nigerians are hardworking, responsible and law abiding, though there may be a few bad ones as found in other countries all over the world. “As the world globalises and many citizens from different countries live in other countries, it would be good to use the advantage of globalisation in creating unity and understanding amongst nations rather than engage in campaign of calumny against other countries without substantial evidence”. Grassy problem Chandigarh College of Architecture could do with some more gardeners. The otherwise well kept drive-in is in stark contrast to the unmowed tall grassland that the college grounds look like. The lawns have some creative metal structures which are barely visible because of the tall grass having grown on all sides. High-tech banking The operations of high-tech banking — mobile banking, net-banking and banking via cellphones and telephones in the city — have not proved productive. Banks are also reluctant to reveal the figures for the users of these services for obvious reasons and most of these types of services have been launched by private sector banks. As distance here is less, people rarely feel the need to use any of these services. Even the users abandon the services after a few attempts as services are only attractive on the surface or they do not serve any real purpose. People prefer to get their work done by personally visiting the branch. There are also few takers for these services in the city. Basically it was meant to keep the rush of the customers in the bank branches low as far as possible. The whole thing has been converted into a mad rate race where every bank is trying to outdo the other by starting a new high-tech banking service at the cost of profit. It is a very costly affair. NADEP compost After continuing its efforts towards the promotion of vermi-compost biotechnology for over a decade, the Environment Society of India (ESI) has now launched the application of NADEP compost. It has set up two NADEP compost units—one at Khuda Alisher village and the other at Nature Park, Sector 26, for training and demonstration. NADEP compost involves the use of agriculture biodegradable waste and help in keeping villages neat and clean. The ESI has tried successfully the use of horticultural biodegradable waste with cowdung. NADEP enhances the manure quantity to the maximum and is the only aerobic method of compost manure. Studies carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has revealed that NADEP compost has the best nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium (NPK) combination among all composts. It is three times more effective than the regular compost. NADEP compost is named after Narayan Deorao Pandharipande of Maharashtra state, inventor of one of the seven methods of compost methods —Albert Howard, American, Chinese, Pusa, Indore and Bangalore. Recognised by IART, New Delhi, the NABARD has launched a finance scheme on NADEP compost manufacture in villages. Tailpiece Found written on the back of a Maruti 800: Senior citizen driving: please be careful and keep distance — Sentinel |
Ditched by UTI, investors gear up for
protest Chandigarh, September 2 95-year-old Rajinder S. Bhinder who had put around Rs 1 lakh in this scheme, curses the day when he thought UTI meant “safety, liquidity and attractive returns” . “They have said things would be alright in two years wonder if I can wait that long”. Similar is the case of G.S. Hundal (71) who says his only source of income was dividends from the UTI’s scheme . These and several other such investors from Chandigarh and around , most of whom are above 60 years of age, want only one thing- “no relationship with UTI”. The 40 odd members of a newly formed UTI Investors Forum here today resolved that they would take nothing less than a 14.5 per cent interest on their investments in US-64. “We want all our money back but will not accept less than 14.5 per cent”, said Mr S.K. Madan, Chairman. Bitter over the “government’s inaction” Mr Sidhu said, “We advise others also not to put their money anywhere especially where anything is managed by the government or its departments. We are not concerned about the development if we are not even sure whether our own hard-earned money will remain safe in their hands or not”. According to a resolution passed by the forum more than 1 lakh investors from North zone would be mobilised and Parliament would be gheraoed if government failed to take up the issue soon. “The investors have decided to approach the President for justice and we will not hesitate to hold demonstrations against the government which has disappointed the investors” said president of the forum, Prof Joginder Kaushal. “We had invested not only our money but our faith also in UTI , most of the people being retired were mainly dependent on the dividends and had put their post retirement money into UTI schemes. We’ve been duped”, said Prof Kaushal, 75, who had bought almost 2,000 units of US-64. Verbal assurances by the government are fake, the investors said. “They rejected the requests of the investors of repurchase or total refund , on flimsy grounds”, Mr Madan stated. He narrated the case of Rita Bhutani, another investor, who had bought units worth Rs 2.5 lakh, and had approached the trust for a refund in May. She was asked to get her signature attested and when after about 10 days or so she approached the authorities again for refund, she was refused. “The investors will not sit quietly over the issue. We will make all efforts and constitute such forums throughout the country and raise our voice”, said investors. |
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6 more live shells found, defused Panchkula, September 2 Since Friday, the Army authorities have found 16 — 10 on Saturday and six on Sunday — misfired bombshells in Mandlaya and Bhoor villages. The Army and the police had jointly launched a special drive to locate and recover the bombshells from the villages after the problem was highlighted by the Chandigarh Tribune on Friday. After recovering the explosives from the villages surrounding Boor Army firing range, the Army authorities have found and defused 796 misfired bombshells so far. |
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Presidential Review rehearsals begin Chandigarh, September 2 It is learnt that rehearsals for the parade and other ceremonies has commenced, while rehearsals for the fly-past will commence here about 15 days before the scheduled event. A total of 750 officers and airmen, with nearly 150 personnel drawn from each IAF command, are stated to take part in the parade. Local authorities have also started reviewing the security arrangements. Sources say that while the airbase perimeter will be manned by the Army, the role of the local police will be to secure routes leading from the Air Force Station to specific places, including Raj Bhavan, PGI and Chandimandir. The local police would also have a presence at the entrance to the station. While quick reaction teams will be deployed at strategic points, the sources do not rule out the possibility of mobilising an air defence regiment on the alert. Several senior officers of the Chandigarh Administration and the local police, including the Deputy Commissioner and the SP, have also been spotted along with IAF officers going around the airbase. |
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INTERACTIVE PROMISES * To improve upon the condition of roads. * To develop green belts and parks to make the area clean and green. * To provide better drinking water facility. * To ensure overall development of colonies. PERFORMANCE * Roads are still not complete. * A number of parks and a few green belts were developed. But maintenance is lacking. * Water supply problems persists in certain areas. There is need to provide boosters. Chandigarh, September 2 Q: What have been your achievements during the term? A: Recarpeting of the V-3 roads, separating Sectors 39 and 40 and Sectors 40 and 41 has been done along with most of the V-4, V-5 and V-6 roads. V-5 and V-6 roads in Palsora have also been completed. Estimates worth Rs 30 lakh have been passed for providing storm water drain in Maloya colony. While 44 parks in the ward have been developed, the work on a green belt in Sectors 40-A and 40-B, at a cost of Rs 8 lakh, is in progress. Two community centres have been completed in Maloya and Palsora colonies. A sum of Rs 2 lakh is being spent on the renovation of the Sector 40 Community Centre, recently vacated by Kashmiri migrants. Two tubewells, one each in Maloya and Palsora, 12 water storage tanks, four handpumps and 20 taps had been installed. As many as 14 mobile toilet vans were made available in Palsora colony. Q: What do you think you could not do for the electorate? Why? A: I wanted to develop a green belt and have a community centre in Sector 39. Though I took up the matter with the Administration, yet, it will take some time before it becomes a reality. Drinking water problem continues to persist in some areas as boosters are yet to be made available. The dispensary in Palsora is also incomplete. I wanted to have a school, near the Haryana Government employees’ houses, but could not accomplish that. Q: How did you use the Corporation forum to redress the grievances of the people? A: I earnestly took up the problems raised by the people with the authorities concerned and followed them up till they were solved. Q: What did you promise to the voter during your election campaign? A: Better roads, parks, green belts, water supply and overall deveopment of the colonies, adjoining the city, apart from completing pending developmental works in the ward. Q: How responsive has been your party? A: Not much cooperation from the party was received. Infact, no meeting of the party on the issue of grievance redress was ever called to make the working of the councillor more effective in the area. Q:How supportive has been the bureaucracy in your role as a councillor? A: Mixed response. Senior officials, especially the chief engineer and those from horticulture wing, were supportive. Q: Would you like to recontest the election in view of your performance? A:If party gives me the ticket, I will definitely contest again. Q:What will you suggest to your successor, in case you do not contest? What must he do for citizens overcoming the party and bureaucratic hurdles? A:If any of the BJP candidate wins from this ward,I will give him all possible help and co-operation to ensure smooth working. However, every person has his own style of functioning and I will not interfere in his functioning. Q: Why should the voter vote for you? A: I think the voter would vote for me keeping in mind my sincere feelings for the public causes and also my capacity to work for them. Q: What have you personally gained by being a councillor? A: Perhaps, the respect that the people have for me is the greatest asset. Infact, such is the confidence of the people in me that they used to come even from other wards. |
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Question your councillor The five-year term of the Municipal Corporation is drawing to a close. It is time for stock-taking. What did the councillors promise at the time of elections? And, what has been their performance? Have they been able to deliver? Have they been able to come up to your expectations? Today, we publish seventh interview in the series Interactive in which a councillor has been questioned as regards his promises vs performance. You are invited to question your councillor by 8 p.m. on Wednesday either through e-mail: question_tribune@yahoo.com or at phone number 680345 for one-and-a-half minutes of recording on the Tribune interactive voice response system (IVRS). Editor
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Chetna march to reach city today Chandigarh, September 2 He said the march would be received among others, by the president of the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Mr Gurpartap Singh Riar. Mr Riar would later flag off the march to Delhi. On September 4, the march would leave for Gurdwara Majnu Ka Tila in New Delhi and would culminate at Gurdwara Sis Ganj the next day. |
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Conciliation centres
planned Panchkula, September 2 Mr Virk said that any person or social organisation already dealing with such activities and desiring to be associated at the district or subdivisional level for lending a helping hand for running the counselling and the conciliation centres might submit their biodata to the District and Sessions Judge or the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who were the chairman and secretary, respectively, of the District Legal Services Authority at the district headquarters or to the seniormost judicial officer-cum-chairman of the Subdivisional Legal Services Committee at the Subdivisional level. |
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IT Commissioner
inaugurates centre Chandigarh, September 2 A voluntary organisation, Kusum Arora Memorial Trust, will run the centre in coordination with the mandir management headed by Mr S.K.Bhutani. Mr K.D. Arora, a former IAS officer who is the chairman of the trust, welcomed the chief guest and thanked him for showing interest in community service activities. |
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Ramakant to participate in bodybuilding meet SAS Nagar, September 2 Mr Ramakant would be participating in the championship along with six other boys from the country. Earlier, he had won the runners up trophy in Mr India Bodybuilding Championship — 2001 and had held the titles of Mr Punjab and Mr Chandigarh. |
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Positive thinking for world
peace Chandigarh, September 2 This was said, here today by Mr Kirpa Sagar, former Registrar of Newspapers, India and presently member
Incharge, press and publications, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Delhi, in his concluding speech at the two-day regional writers’ and media conference. Mr Sagar said he was delighted to learn that all participants had a high level of commitment to human values. Earlier, Mr J.R.D. Satyaarthi, Head, publication department, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Delhi, in his presidential address said, “The resources of love, compassion and mercy are yet to be fully tapped by our administrators. The problems which defy solutions at political level are to be dealt by saintly people who are selfless and free from prejudices of caste, creed, colour, culture and nationality”. In his valedictory address, Mr Kesho Ram, zonal in charge and Parmukh, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Chandigarh, said: “A series of blood donation camps are being held in the region to strengthen the human integration movement launched by the Sant Nirankari Mandal”. More than 50,000 persons in the 6-25 age group had been imparted training in promoting humanism through creativity and communication.” Mr Naranjan Singh, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Punjab, in his address, said, “Mental, social or economic discrimination is the product of hatred, but, hatred itself is a by-product of ignorance about God who is a non-psychic objective reality of all-pervading consciousness. More than 200 persons, including, script writers, graphic artists and singers from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi took part in the conference. Earlier, during his visit to Indira Colony in Mani Majra, Mr Kirpal Sagar said; “economically weaker sections are the real and basic strength of the nation and every effort must be made to develop them into productive human resources”. He praised the Mani Majra branch of the Mandal for having launched various social welfare programmes. |
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Extend ‘lal dora’,
demands JD (U) Chandigarh, September 2 Addressing the rally, the president of the local unit of the party, Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, blamed the Punjab and Haryana Governments and their officials in the Chandigarh Administration for working against the interests of the residents of the city. Moreover, the party has demanded the extension of “lal dora,” and regularisation of the houses built outside the “lal dora”. |
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Green drive
launched SAS Nagar, September 2 Mr Sucha Singh Langha, PWD Minister, Punjab, who was the chief guest planted saplings on the occasion and said all religion should work for the upliftment of society and improve the environment. |
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Onam celebrated SAS Nagar, September 2 Today’s function was the grand finale of cultural activities organised by the samiti since August 15. Mr P Muraleedharan, general secretary of the samiti, said the samiti was promoting rich cultural heritage of South India. The main aim of the society was to promote spirit of oneness irrespective of caste, creed and religion in the name of Lord Ayyappa. The samiti was organising a medical camp on September 15. The samiti gave Karthiayani Amma Memorial Scholarships to Priya Joseph for the top position and Anish Kumar Pillai for the second position in the Class X examinations. C. Krsihnanunni Nambair Memorial Scholarship was given to Anubha Mathew and Bindhya for the first and second position, respectively, in the senior secondary class examinations. |
Two stabbed, case
registered Chandigarh, September 2 According to an FIR registered under Sections 323, 324 and 34 of the IPC, Som Nath and Subhash Chander were injured by the accused after a minor altercation. The injured have been admitted to the General Hospital, Sector 16.
Theft cases Four cases of theft have been reported from different parts of the city during the past 24 hours. One gold wrist watch and Rs 10,000 cash was stolen from Dr Gurdeep Singh’s residence in Burail. Later, the accused, Salim, was arrested in this case. Darshan was caught red-handed while stealing a pair of shoes from the Pracheen Shiv Mandir, Sector 19. A television set, Rs 3000 cash and two sarees were reportedly stolen from the residence of Mr Varinder Singh at Darwa village. A case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered. A Maruti car (CH-01C- 8218) was stolen from the Sector 45-A residence of Mr Darshan Singh. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered.
One arrested Gurpreet Singh was arrested on charges of hitting a police constable, Lok Bahadur Rana, while the latter was on duty there. A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered. |
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Smack seized from villager Chandigarh, September 2 Police sources said the value of the smack was about Rs 200 per 0.5 gm in the local market. |
BUDDING
ENTREPRENEUR Chandigarh, September 2 He completed the course from Government Senior Secondary School at Mani Majra Town in 1995 and is now earning more than Rs 25,000 per month. Mr Gurcharan Singh says, “My father has helped me to succeed in my profession. Unlike most parents, he never discouraged me. Instead, he has always stood by my side and encouraged me to go ahead. My teachers, too, have inspired me. They taught me to take calculated risks in life and to have faith in the almighty. I am thankful to them for moulding me — just another average student — into a budding entrepreneur. It is because of their efforts that people sometimes address me as a successful man.’’ After competing his studies, he joined his father’s business at Amar Motor Garage in Sector 7. The nature of his business included sale of spare parts of automobiles and repair of four wheelers. After joining the business, he purchased advanced machines, including computerised wheel alignment, computerised wheel balancing, automatic rim straightning and denting machines. He also opened a service station and started selling spare parts for all types of four wheelers. “A number of things I learnt during the vocational course were effectively put to practise in the business,” he asserted. Today, Mr Gurcharan Singh is a happy man. “I am glad that I joined the vocational course and am doing what I love doing the most. Instead of sitting in an air conditioned office and passing instructions to my subordinate officers, like most of the managers do after completing degree courses, I enjoy the work done in the service station under my personal supervision. I also have the satisfaction of seeing my business grow,” he said. |
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