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| Sunday,
September 16, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Political
leaders support Punwire staff’s
demands SAS Nagar, September 15 Mr Saheed Ahmed, president of the Punwire Employees Union, said the Punjab Government had made every effort to destroy the electronic industry in the town. No effort was being made to provide employment to the people who had lost their jobs due to the closure of Punwire. The employees demanded that the investigations into the cases of cheating and misappropriation of funds of the company to the tune of crores of rupees should be handed over to the CBI. They lamented that the local police had not been able to recover any amount of the misappropriated money from the officials of the company named in the FIRs, registered by the police in the past one year. The cases have been registered on separate complaints by the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC). Mr Ahmed said so far the police had registered over 30 cases of misappropriation of funds to the tune of over Rs 137 crore.‘‘Not a single penny had been recovered from the senior officials of the company’’, he said At least 16 cases of misappropriation of around Rs 54 crore were registered last year and around 14 cases of cheating and misappropriation of over Rs 80 crore were registered a few days back. The employees said some of the suspects named in the cases had got benami property in their name or had invested the misappropriated funds in setting up their
business. The facts should be thoroughly probed by the CBI before further proceeding, said Mr Ahmed. He said the government was showing that the management of the company was corrupt but the board of directors of the company were senior bureaucrats, who should be held responsible for the present state of affairs. The once blue chip company did not sink in one day, lamented the employees. A demand to make the report of the price water house and the inquiry conducted by retired Judge H.K. Sandhu should be made public. |
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Burglars
strike in Sec 11 house Chandigarh, September 15 The occupants of the house were said to be out of station since yesterday morning. The sources said when Mr Gurbachan Singh entered the house, he saw the doors open and the house ransacked. This is the third case of burglary in the past one week. The modus operandi in all the three cases, said police sources, is almost same as they entered the house after breaking the rear door. On Saturday, burglars had broken into the house of Dr K.L. Passi in Sector 16 and decamped with Rs 1.65 lakh in cash and jewellery valued at Rs 2.50 lakh. The very next day, a gang of thieves struck a Sector 34 house. A case has been registered. |
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Neighbourhood
Watch Scheme launched in Sec
8 Chandigarh, September 15 This scheme was launched in association with the Residents Welfare Association of Sector 8. The scheme would cover the geographical area of this sector having about 715 private houses. An estimated 7,139 residents of the area would be the members of the scheme, aimed at enhancing the safety and the security of the area by improving the police-community interface. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bassi said that community policing had to take centrestage in order to curb the growing crime, which is a part of any modern evolving society. He said that seeing the overwhelming response to this scheme by the various Resident’s Welfare Associations, the police had decided to extend the scheme in many sectors of the city. He said that the beat system of the police had been appreciated by the city residents and that they had an overwhelming response. More than 140 beats were set up in the city, he said. Earlier, the
SSP, Mr Parag Jain, said that the central theme was that the city police was functioning despite the manpower constraints. ‘‘We need the help of the community for the proper maintenance of law and order,’’ he said. An exhibition on road safety and on theft alarm systems had also been organised on the occasion. Mrs. Satinder Dhawan, councillor of Ward No. 1, Mr. D.S. Sandhu ,president of the Residents Welfare Association also spoke at the function. This is the seventh sector in the city where the scheme has been launched. The scheme, a brainchild of the IG, Mr Bassi, was first launched in Sector 38 West in January this year. Subsequently, the scheme was also launched in Sector 15, Sector 19-D , MIG Flats in Sector 61, Sector 46-D and Sector 55. |
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Blood banks should ‘transact’
safely Chandigarh, September 15 The CME was inaugurated by the PGI Director, Prof S.K. Sharma, who emphasised on significance of blood banking in view of the transfusion transmissible diseases like AIDS, VDRL, syphilis and malaria. ‘‘The National AIDS Control Society (NACO) has laid down rules and regulations to ensure standard of blood and make it safe. Since voluntary donations are not able to bridge the gap between demand and supply, commercial blood banks, which neither have the infrastructure nor the manpower to collect safe blood were coming up,’’ he said. Dr Sharma also emphasised on the need to maintain quality control in blood and blood products. During the day-long scientific sessions, experts deliberated on various issues, including technological advances and future trends in transfusion medicine, haemophillia, thalassaemia , gene therapy and stem cell harvesting. According to the PGI Transfusion Department Head, Prof S.K. Agnihotri, the present requirement of blood in the city was being met adequately by the PGI and the GMCH. ‘‘But all over India, there is an estimated shortage of about 30 per cent which is entirely manmade and can be overcome by judicious and appropriate use of blood and its products,’’ she said Dr Ambika Nanu from Blood Transfusion Department, AIIMS, said that blood safety was a highly complex issue and faced multi-pronged problems for which there are no easy solutions or shorts. She urged the ‘decision makers’ to understand the factors governing availability of safe blood and take timely and meaningful decisions to provide safe blood transfusion for the country. Prof V.P. Chaudhary from AIIMS, New Delhi, presented a lecture on diagnosis and management of thalassaemia while Dr Neelam Marwaha from the GMCH spoke on the treatment and diagnosis of haemophillia . Speaking on the technological advances and future trends in transfusion medicine, Head, Government Medical College, Patiala Transfusion Department, Prof Kulbir Kaur said automation and mass production could facilitate in lowering of costs and enable the benefits of new advances in technology to spread widely throughout the world. Dr Ranjana Minz from the PGI Immunopathology Department spoke on adoptive immunnotherapy and gene therapy in transfusion medicines. Lt Gen Rajat Kumar from the Army Hospital Research and Referral deliberated on stem cell harvesting, clinical applications and preservation. According to him hematopoietic stem cells could be collected from bone marrow, peripheral blood and cord blood and were used for a variety of malignant and non-malignant disorders Speaking on the recent developments in bone marrow transplantation, the PGI Internal Medicine Head, Prof S.Verma said this was the only curative treatment for several incurable hematological disorders and congenital immune deficiencies Scientific discussions were followed by a panel discussion by experts which included PGI Emiretus Professor Dr JG Jolly, Dr Agnihotri, Dr Nanu, Dr Kulbir Kaur and Dr N Chaudhary. They spoke on the medico-legal aspects of blood transfusion and emphasised on 100 per cent voluntary donations by healthy donors for safe blood supply. |
Western Command celebrates Raising
Day Chandigarh, September 15 A wreath was laid on behalf of all ranks by the GOC-in-C Western Command, Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh, at the Veer Smriti War Memorial. Buglers sounded the Last Post and a ceremonial guard reversed arms as a mark of respect to those who had laid down their lives in the line of duty. As a part of the celebrations, a get-together was held in the Command Officers’ Mess, which was attended among others, by the Governor of Punjab, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), serving as well as retired officers. A barakhana for troops was also organised. On the eve of the Raising Day, a mega musical show was also organsied at the Raina Stadium yesterday. Well known crooners Jasbir Jassi and Mohini Singh had the thousands of spectators swaying to popular Hindi and Punjabi tunes. It was perhaps for the first time that such an event was organsied in the cantonment. The genesis of Western Command can be traced back to the abolition of the Presidency Armies on April 1, 1895, and the subsequent formation of four Army commands. Before the Partition, Northern Command of the British Indian Army was responsible for the defence of North West India and was located at Rawalpindi. After Partition, most of the command area except Delhi and East Punjab became part of Pakistan. In June 1947, Punjab Boundary Force was set up for both West and East Punjab, comprising units of both Indian and Pakistani armies. It was disbanded on September 15, 1947, with both nations assuming responsibility for their respective areas. It was then that Headquarters Delhi and East Punjab Command was raised for the defence of these areas, with the HQ being located at Delhi. Referred to as the DEP Command, Lieut-Gen Dudley Russel, took over at the first General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. The DEP Command was given the role of restoring law and order in riot-torn Punjab. Since the task entailed constant movement, a special self contained train comprising coaches from the old Viceregal Train was placed at the disposal of the HQ DEP Command. On October 26, 1947, with the outbreak of the first Indo-Pak conflict, area of responsibility of the command was extended to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The command was tasked to undertake operations against large bands of infiltrators and raiders backed by the regular Pakistani army, who had entered the state with a view to annex Kashmir. General Russel immediately reacted and the troops were airlifted and deployed effectively on October 27. This gave the Indian Army a foothold for carrying out subsequent operations, which saved Srinagar from being captured by Pakistan. Since the area of responsibility of DEP Command was extended beyond Delhi and East Punjab, it was redesignated as Western Command on January 18, 1948. On January 20, 1948, Lieut-Gen (later Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa) was appointed as the new GOC-in-C. |
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QUESTION
YOUR COUNCILLOR Chandigarh, September 15 Question: “When will the proposed green-belt and community centre in Sector 42 come up? At present, there is no hall for holding socio-religious functions in the sector. The area around this sector is marked by wild growth of cane grass and an abode of snakes. What have you done to improve the situation?” Mr Shiv Kumar, a resident of Sector 42-B, asks Ms Sharma. Answer: “The estimates for developing the green-belt have already been approved by the Finance and Contracts Committee of the MC and the work should begin by December after the work in Sector 41 is completed. The work on the community centre will commence in the next 20 days or so and I have already given Rs 2 lakh from my ward development fund for this. I had taken up both demands with the Administration soon after becoming a councillor. The problem of cane grass near the Sector is due to callousness on part of the Horticulture Wing of the Administration. The MC, however, is regular in undertaking special campaigns to clean up parks and open spaces.” Question: “The V-3 road dividing Sectors 42 and 43 needs to be recarpeted. The condition of one of the roundabout between Sectors 42 and 43 is even worse. The market area of the sector does not have a proper parking lot and toilets block. What have you done to redress these problems and what solution do you have in mind?” says Mr Naresh Arora, President of the Sector 43 Market Association. Answer: “I had taken up the issue of strengthening this V-3 road with the MC authorities, but the work could not begin due to financial constraint. The work will be undertaken in due course as it is one of the V-3 roads that are to be transferred to the Administration as a one-time measure for recarpeting.” “The MC officials have been rather
negligent in undertaking the repair of the roundabout in question and the recarpeting project has got delayed because the Health Wing officials have not been able to plug a leakage in a nearby drainage pipe.” “I have already got the parking lot in Sector 42 constructed and forwarded the demand for the public toilets block to the authorities concerned. Though the market is yet to develop fully, the work on the parking lot is almost over.” Question: “The problem of poor storm-water drainage in Sector 41 still persists. The wild growth of congress grass in open spaces is also posing a health hazard. What is your reaction?” Mr S.D. Kapoor, a government employee and resident of Sector 41-B, wants to know. Answer: “Though I have tried hard to improve the storm-water-drainage system in this sector, the problem
persists in some areas due to an absence of road gullies and choked drains. I have made the SDO concerned visit the trouble spots and asked officials to install additional road gullies wherever required. The construction work in the area is also partly responsible for the problem as waste material chokes the gullies.” “The Administration and not the MC is supposed to clear the congress grass and I have taken up this matter with the Administration several times.” Question: “Sanitation in the sector is not satisfactory. Filth marks the recently constructed pedestrian pathways. The menace of stray dogs and cattle on the roads leads to accidents. What have you done to solve these problems?” says Mr Arun Gupta, a resident of Sector 41-A. Answer: “The sanitation in this area is not up to the mark because two villages — Badheri and Butrela — surround this part of the city. Since most of the houses in these villages are rented out, the occupants lack civic sense and throw garbage wherever they like. Though the sanitation service here is in private hands (on contract), residents are far from satisfied and should take up the matter with the MC. The civic body has not been able to control the menace of stray dogs and cattle and need a better staff for the purpose.” Question: “The residents of Badheri village have been facing lot of inconvenience due to frequent power cuts because of faulty wiring. When will the lanes get paved.” says Ms Jagdish, President of the Badheri Market Welfare Association. Answer: “The estimates for changing the defective wiring have been approved and the work will begin shortly. The problem of frequent power cuts and low-voltage supply is because of old wiring only. The work on paving lanes will be started soon after this work is over in Butrela village.” Question: “When will the work on green belt in Sector 41 be over. Residents of the village are misusing the space for the green belt for grazing animals. Streetlights in the area are mostly non-functional. When will these problems be solved?” Answer: “The area for the green belt has been cleared of ‘jhuggis’ and a pathway has already been built there. The work should be over in a month.” “The issue of non-functional streetlights is always taken up with the official concerned whenever there is a problem and is solved soon thereafter. In some cases, due to overlapping of the MC and the Administration works, the job gets delayed.” |
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Ominous
11 Chandigarh, September 15 Examples are: * Date of the attack: eleventh day of ninth month =
9 +1+1 = 11. * September 11 is the 254th day of the year = 2 + 5 + 4 = 11. * After September 11, there are 111 days left for the year to end. * Twin WTC Towers — standing side by side, represent the number 11. * The first plane to hit the towers was Flight-11. * State of New York — the 11th State added to the Union. * New York City (NYC) — 11 letters. * The Pentagon — 11 letters. * Afghanistan — 11 letters. * Ramzi Yousef — 11 letters (convicted of orchestrating the attack on the WTC in 1993). * Flight 11 — 92 on board * Flight 77 — 65 on board * Last but not the least, George W Bush — 11 letters. |
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Girl found
dead Panchkula, September 15 The deceased, Sudha, had reportedly complained of pain in her stomach since Friday night. Ms Prassanta, sister of the deceased, said Sudha again complained of pain today before entering the toilet. "She did not return after a long time and I got suspicious and knocked at the door but there was no response," said Prassanta. Sudha was found unconscious in the toilet when her sister broke open the door. The family members took her to General Hospital in Sector 6 where the doctors declared her brought dead. After registering a case with the police, the body has been sent for the post-mortem examination. |
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Man jumps
to death Chandigarh, September 15 According to information available, the victim's one-and-half-year old son was undergoing treatment at the APC. Sources in the police said the child was getting free treatment. However, the police did not find any suicide note. |
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IN FOCUS SAS Nagar One of its fire engines is about 20 years old, which puts its reliability in doubt, and the other two were purchased six or seven years ago. The fire brigade also lacks a hydraulic platform to fight a blaze in a mulistoreyed building. The multistoreyed building of the Punjab School Education Board in Phase VIII has inadequate fire-fighting arrangements. Two more such buildings — the housing colonies of the Punjab Mandi Board and that of ICL — are to come up and will add to the responsibility of the fire brigade. Another handicap is the lack of a multipurpose fire engine with automatic functions. At present the fire brigade has a portable system to fight chemical flames which has to be operated manually, consuming valuable time in an emergency. Even the fire hydrants at various points in the town are not functional. Following construction activity over the years, some of these hydrants have got buried in earth and are difficult to locate. Material purchased by the Municipal Council for the hydrant system years ago is rotting in its godowns. The Water Supply Wing of the Public Health Department has now prepared estimates for the system and sent these to the council for clearance. The fire brigade also faces a shortage of properly trained staff. Twenty raw hands were employed on three months’ contract recently. They are being given training by the regular staff, comprising five firemen, six drivers and two sub-fire officers, apart from a telephone operator. The unit is headed by an Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO). The ADFO, Mr Balwinder Singh, says if regular staff is not appointed before the contract of these men expires, he will have to request the Municipal Council to extend their contract appropriately. He says his unit receives in a year, an average of 150 fire calls, including 15 to 20 for help to tackle big fires, from Ropar district. He is of the opinion that as the population of the town is increasing, there is need for setting up sub-fire stations. PUDA should allot land for this purpose on priority basis. He says the fire brigade lacks proper rescue equipment such as cutters, power saws and hyudraulic jacks. Most of the items need to be imported and are vital not only at the time of a fire but also during natural calamities like earthquake. “We are trying to find out the cost of such equipment through e-mail to see whether it can be acquired,” he adds. Mr Balwinder Singh says the municipal council has approved the addition of a mini fire engine to the unit. This can easily move in small streets. The body of the vehicle is being fabricated. He also proposes to press the council to provide funds for the purchase of a multipurpose fire engine. |
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CM urged to hold ‘sangat darshan’ Chandigarh, September 15 All associations stressed upon the need for granting NAC status to Naya Gaon and Kansal on the Zirakpur pattern as the population of the Karon, Chhotti Karon, Janata Colony & Kansal panchayats had already crossed the 50,000 mark and could not be governed by the respective panchayats in a proper manner. The meeting stressed that electricity connections should be released immediately in villages on the periphery of Chandigarh on the Haryana and UT pattern. Due to the delay in releasing electricity connections, the residents of 335 villages had been facing a lot of problems, the associations stressed. |
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CM’s ‘bal sangat darshan’ on Oct 1 SAS Nagar, September 15 Mr Ajit Salani, chairman of the society, said the programme was being organised to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti. As many as 250 children from different urban and rural areas of Punjab would detail the Chief Minister about their problems. |
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ROADSIDE
ENTREPRENEURS Chandigarh Mehndi is now the in thing among the college girls and this new found fad has become a source of employment for scores of unemployed persons. Until a few years ago, mehndiwalas used to flock the city markets a couple of days before Karwa Chauth or some other festivals. For the rest of the year, they were just not seen. Today, these persons are regularly flock some of the city’s markets. “Times have changed and now we run our business throughout the year”, said
Santosh, a 30-year-old mehndi applier of Sector 22, and pointed at some others in the same market, who were busy applying the herbal paste on extended hands. There were at least 20 mehndiwalas in that
market. Bhim Sen, another mehndiwala, said his customers were in the age group of two to 60 years. Not only the brides but also other girls, who were to attend the marriage, also got mehndi applied on the hands. “The mehndi craze among the city girls is evident from the fact that they do not forget to have it applied before going to their college
freshers’ or farewell parties. Some girls even apply mehndi without any special reason”, asserted Arvind Kumar, a mehndi applier of Sector 15. But these mehndiwalas do raise their “price” during the Karwa Chauth festival. Mehndiwalas who normally charge Rs 15 to Rs 20, start asking for Rs 100 or even
more. Lata, a mehndi applier on the Panjab University campus, said that the on the eve of this festival, they even get up to Rs 150 per palm but for the rest of the year, “we return home with hardly more than Rs 150”. However, old mehndiwalas are now facing a problem. According to Iqbal Mohamad (50), a
mehndiwala, who occasionally puts up his stall in the Sector 15 market, “Now-a-days, the young ladies ask for Arabian patterns which was not so a few years ago”. The pattern came into fashion after models and film stars started wearing them. However, Iqbal Mohamad and his like are in no mood to learn the new styles and even if they learnt, “the younger ones in the profession will outdo us”. These mehndiwalas keep pocket books with scores of mehndi patterns for the customers to select from. However, most of them know only a few designs and the customers do not have a choice in the real sense. A mehndiwala in Sector 15 quipped: “These books are our advertisements to attract customers”. |
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3 selected for Khana Khazana finals Chandigarh, September 15 City residents will be able to see the three — Rachna Kharbanda, Deepak Bharadwaj and Renu Tandon besides Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor — cooking in three different episodes of Khana Khazana, which will soon be aired on Zee television. Today, the best ten contestants were divided in three different groups out of which three finalists were selected. The round featured questions based on various cuisines, culinary skills and food-based video clips. After the food quiz round, the three were selected for the exciting magic box round. The magic box contained sets of surprise ingredients, which were picked by the three finalists. The contestants had to choose what to cook with these ingredients and they had to cook in front of the audience then only. The chef, Sanjeev Kapoor, also prepared different dishes from the same ingredients handed over to the three participants. One finalist out of the three best cooks will represent the city at the Khana Khazana Cookery Contest national finals which will be held in Mumbai. The Khana Khazana cookery contest will be held at Delhi on September 18. |
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TOI Resident Editor
bereaved Chandigarh, September 15 The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and the Minister of Information and Public Relations, Mr Natha Singh Dalam, expressed deep sorrow and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family. In separate messages, the two said that Mr Varma was an able administrator and a gentleman whose loss would be felt by society. |
20 kg of poppy husk seized, 2
held Chandigarh, September 15 Snatching: In a case of chain snatching, two scooter-borne youths, in Sector 15 snatched a gold chain from Ms Arti Arya, a resident of the same sector late last evening here yesterday. The incident took place outside the residence of the victim. The scooter number is not known. A case under section 356 of the IPC has been registered. Dowry case: Within eight months of marriage, Ms Neelam Verma, a resident of Sector 31, lodged a complaint with the police that her husband and her in-laws were allegedly harassing her and were asking her to bring more dowry. The crime branch of the local police, registered a case against the complainant’s husband Vishal Galhotra and his parents under Section 498 - A of the IPC. The accused are resident of Phase I, SAS Nagar. Vehicle theft: Mr Prem Singh, a resident of Lahora village here, lodged a complaint with the police that his scooter (CH - 01 - M -5603) was stolen from his residence on Wednesday night. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered. Four held:
The local police arrested four persons from different parts of the city and seized 30 bottles and 110 pouches of illicit liquor from their possession. Those arrested were Jai Ram ( Kanpur district, UP), Babu Lal (Colony No. 5), Raju, alias Lambu (Janta Colony, Sector 25) and Lal Chand (Ferozpore, Punjab). All four were booked under different sections of the Excise Act. SAS Nagar Chain snatched: A theatre artiste, Raman Dhillon, has complained to the police that when she was going to her parent’s home in Phase II here on Friday night, two youths on a motor cycle snatched a gold chain she was wearing. The police is investigating. |
MARKET
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Chandigarh, September 15