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| Sunday,
March 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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6-month-old child found
abandoned Chandigarh, March 16 The child, wearing a light blue shirt with red and white striped trousers, was found crawling near counter No. 6 at about 4.15 p.m. with a biscuit in his hand. Police sources believe that the child has either been abandoned by his parents who do not want the child or left behind in panic by a kidnapper. They add that from his appearance, the child appears to be from a middle-class family. The child was later produced before an
SDM. |
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CBI raids Kansal’s Parwanoo house Parwanoo, March 16 Following Kansal’s arrest, the house had been sealed and was opened today in the presence of Ms Manjulika, an employee of the E&T department. The FIR registered against Kansal, who was also present here, states her to be the owner of the house. Meanwhile, Manjulika, talking to Chandigarh Tribune at Parwanoo claimed that the house had been bought in her name by her father, but the house had been sold to a property dealer last year. Several neighbours present maintained that the house had been locked for the past few months, while some of them stated that Kansal visited the house several times, generally during the night. They also said that a lot of construction activity had been undertaken at the house during the past about a year and a half ago. Kansal, however, maintained that the house did not belong to him and he had never visited the place. He said that many businessmen and other people were against him because of his strictness and rude nature. He said that since 1968 there had not been any recruitment in the Sales Tax Department, resulting in a huge shortage of the
staff, there by putting additional load on the departmental staff. It took the CBI sleuths quite a while to break open a number of locks on the main entrance door as well as on several other doors and cupboards inside. The power supply to the house had been disconnected. According to sources, two air-conditioners, a pair of double beds, office furniture, including a metal filing cabinet, a refrigerator, several metal cupboards, some construction material and other items were found in the two-room house. Earlier the accused was produced in the court of UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L. Mohal, in the afternoon and was remanded to police remand till March 18. The CBI sought remand of the accused in order to recover incriminating documents from the accused’s benami property. The CBI counsel argued that during the interrogation the accused had made statement regarding some documents and the CBI wanted police remand of the accused. On the other hand, Kansal’s counsel argued that there was no need of the police remand as the property in (Parwanoo) mentioned in the FIR did not belong to him. |
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CHEEMA CASE Chandigarh, March 16 Sources reveal that the Inspector Cheema was secretly taped by the complainant while asking for a large sum of money in return for presenting his case in court in such a manner that Ajay, though arrested, would not have to face trial. According to the FIR against Cheema, Ajay had paid him Rs 25,000 on two occasions, after which Cheema had further demanded another Rs 10,000. Sources said that once Cheema is arrested, a voice spectrography will be carried out to compare Cheema’s voice with that on the tape. Meanwhile, five television sets and four video cassette players, along with photo copies of a number of fixed deposit receipts, the total of which could be well over Rs 3 lakh, were recovered during searches conducted by the CBI at Cheema’s residence, sources add. |
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Admn keen on buying power from HP Chandigarh, March 16 Himachal Pradesh has surplus power available during the summer and the Administration is seeking to buy about 20 MW of power. The arrangement is being worked out as an option to tide over the impending crisis as getting power from the Centre will be tough. The rates of buying power will be fixed by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Administration will tie up independently with HP, sources confirmed. The Administration is wanting power from its proposed Chamera stage II power generation project on the Ravi river. In the past, the Administration had shown
keenness to invest in the Central projects to get a share of power supply in lieu. It was considered economically prudent to invest in a Central project in Himachal Pradesh and “wheel the power” to Chandigarh through high tension lines by paying the National Grid Corporation. This would mean the expertise of NTPC’s or NHPC’s engineers would be used by paying up one time in lieu of power, say officials. In the past two years, the Administration has been asking the Power Ministry to ensure that some share of power is allocated to Chandigarh in any of the projects planned in the coming years by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) or the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). Already the two corporations have two mega projects in hand in Himachal Pradesh. The NTPC is a major partner in the Kol Dam project while the NHPC ‘s Nathpa Jhakri project is nearing completion. |
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India, Bhutan share historical bond: envoy Chandigarh, March 16 Mr Tishering said there was a historical bond with the Sikh shrine in Amritsar. Saints in Bhutan particularly held the message of ‘not smoking and not consuming alcohol’ close to their own thinking for humanity. India and Bhutan had close ties which in a way were unparalleled between any two ‘neighbouring’ countries in the entire world. Besides heavy imports from India, Bhutan supplied electricity in a big way. Work was on for more electricity production units, he said. The Ambassador, on his two-day visit to the city yesterday, called upon the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana. He also met Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University. Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, the man behind the setting up of the association, said: “The two countries had excellent relations without any grouses. At present the city had 32 students studying in separate colleges in the city. At one time the numbers were very high and efforts will be made to revive the past trend”. The association plans to start exchange programmes between people of the two nations. A group will be sent there and another one received here. The visitors will stay with the local residents which would promote cultural exchange in a better way. The association also plans to organise seminars and invite leading academicians, businessmen and artists to keep in regular touch with each other. The visiting ambassador said he had made a request to give special seats for students from Bhutan in the medical field. Due to a long list and a lesser number of seats elsewhere, an attempt was being made to secure certain seats here. Mr R.N. Anil, secretary-general of the Indo-Bhutan friendship Association, highlighted the salient features of the Himalayan kingdom. “The country has a king who lives in a cottage. He travels among the masses to know their problems and sort them out immediately”. Mr Harbhagwan Singh, Advocate-General of Punjab, said India and Bhutan had shared a rich past of cultural ties from centuries. The association was a strong step in the direction of strengthening the ties. |
Consumer awareness fair opens Chandigarh, March 16 The Consumer Forum of Chandigarh in collaboration with the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation is organising this fair in the Sector 22-B Nehru Park. Ms Neeru Nanda, Adviser to the UT Administrator, inaugurated this fair here today. Users of telecom services complained about faulty instruments and excess billing. They said computerised complaint-booking service was not good enough for registering these
problems. Mr R.C. Vaish, Principal General Manager Telecom, said there was a proposal to change all old instruments progressively within a year and finally within five years. He said the frequent faults were due to extensive digging for laying cables by private entrepreneurs. In the taxation section, a general complaint was regarding the issuing of Permanent Account Numbers (PANs). An assessee has to submit a fresh application every time along with photographs and assessment forms. Sometimes, two or more PANs are issued and refunds are not sent in time. Even senior citizens have to visit the Income Tax Office several times for refunds. Regarding the insanitation in the city, the Adviser said she had asked the NGOs to associate themselves with the welfare associations of sectors because these had a wide network in the city. She stressed the need for sampling of milk at the NGO level to monitor the quality. She said she was surprised to see that even five-year-old consumers were aware of their rights. The Chairman of the consumer forum, Mr Jaidev Singh, urged the Adviser to give the forum a space for operating a District Consumer Information Centre funded by the Centre. Brig J.S. Phoolka told her about the events being organised to mark the World Consumer Day-2002. Tomorrow, a poster-making competition on consumerism will be held and complaints regarding food and supplies and health and sanitation will be taken up. There will be a cultural programme in the evening. Following are the results of the on-the-spot painting contest held today: Age group 5 to 8 — Akshey Bhardwaj, Taania and Piyush; Age group 8 to 12 — Shilpa Sharma, Kohima and Aiyana; Age group 12 to 15 — Shikha Khanna, Neha Kaura and Varun. |
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Social activists have
influenced policy-makers: expert Chandigarh, March 16 "Since Medha Patkar started the Narmada Bachao Andolon in 1984, there has not been any proposal for any big dam in the country. Similarly, after Ms Arundhati Roy took up the cause, the right of the Information Bill was adopted by a number of states in the country", Mr Mohan said, adding that there were a number of others in various parts of the country who were spearheading movements for upholding the right of the downtrodden and the oppressed. Mr Mohan was here today in course of a 22-day yatra of Haryana to spread the message of JP in his birth centenery year. The yatra, organised by a few socialist and Gandhiite outfits, started from Narnaul in Haryana on March 6. "We have covered nine districts of Haryana till date and at each place we have held at least two meetings", said Mr Devinder Singh, a retired college teacher who is also an admirer of JP. According to Devinder Singh, cynicism about the future of the country could be found only among the elite. "The common people are not at all cynical", the activist said. Mr Yogendra Yadav, well-known for his frequent appearances on the television during the elections as an expert, said they were basically targeting three groups — youths, women and Dalits. Mr Yadav, who is also a scholar of repute, said they were talking to people regarding issues such as casteism, non-parochial nationalism, gender inequality, money power and muscle power in politics. "We are getting a good response as people like to hear about these issues from individuals who do not have any political ambition", Mr Yadav said. The main objective of the yatra was to create awareness among people to erect a barrier against corruption in various spheres, including the government and politics, Mr Yadav said. Incidentally, despite youth power being a key element of their mission, the motley crowd of yatris, who interacted with the media here today, mostly comprised of elderly men. Mr Yadav, who is in his late 30s was the youngest in the crowd. Mr Surendra Mohan and Mr Devinder Singh are both old and remember having participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942. Dalip Singh, a trade union activist from Narnaul as well as a few other yatris who took part in the interaction session seemed all past 70. However, what was evident during the
meeting was that age could not dampen the old patriots’ zeal for
social change. |
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Experts
doubt Aryan migration theory Chandigarh, March 16 This and more related facts were discussed at a discussion on ‘Vedic-Harappan relationship — new perspectives’ organised by the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, at Panjab University recently. Dr Ashvini Agrawal, Chairman, said: “The recent discoveries of artifacts said to belong to the eighth millennium BC in the Bay of Cambay by marine archaeologists may be a feather in the cap of archaeologists who discovered these earliest remains of civilisation in India, but they have definitely made the problem of the cradle of civilization more complex for archaeologists as well as students. In spite of extensive resources in the field and numerous writings on the subject produced over a span of two centuries, the Europeans brought with them their own methods to determine the history and culture of the land they had just colonised. The rich repertoire of Sanskrit literature belonging to ancient India left them wonderstruck. The writings of early European scholars like Wilson and Max Muller propagated the idea of Aryan migration to India from the West to prove that local inhabitants were descendants of the westerns. This imperial approach was gradually infused into the minds of the Indian people and still continued among several scholars, experts at the deliberations opined. The archaeological discoveries of Harappa and Mohenjodaro in the early twenties changed the entire scenario and rethinking became a necessity. It was suggested that Harappans were the original inhabitants. This theory continued to be followed for a long time till inquisitive minds, including Sri Aurobindo, questioned the western concept. The archaeological excavations in the post-1947 period covering a vast stretch of land in India and Pakistan have revealed extensive evidence of the rich past in the area of about 8,00,000 square km. Excavations at Mehargarh in the Kacchi plains and Kile Gul Muhammad should the civilisation could date back to 8 BC. Further discoveries at Rehman Dheri, Amri, Kot Diji in Pakistan and Ropar, Lothal, Kalibangan, Banawali, Dholavira, Kunal and Rakhigarhi strength end this belief. More and more evidence now indicated that the theory of Aryan migration could be a myth. There was no evidence of any violent end to the Harappan culture or any foreign occupation during the Vedic-Harappan period. As a result, several eminent western and Indian scholars were now of the view that a fresh look to this issue was a must. Prof B.B. Lal, a former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, aptly remarked. “It is time to rethink”. Among the prominent participants were Dr M.C. Joshi, Dr J.P. Joshi, Prof B.P. Sinha, Dr S.P. Gupta, Prof Suraj Bhan, Dr R.S. Bist, Prof N.S. Rajaramand Prof O.P. Bhardwaj. |
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BSF bags overall band championship Chandigarh, March 16 While the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the CRPF bagged first and second positions in the brass band category, the Madhya Pradesh Police bagged the third prize. In the pipe band category, the BSF bagged the top position, with the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police securing the second and third position, respectively. The BSF also won the first position in bugle calls, followed by the Andhra Pradesh Police and Assam Rifles. The prizes were given away by the Governor of Haryana, Babu Parmanand. Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that the police forces are now facing a lot of problems in carrying out their tasks, and bands and other competitions have a very effective role in providing entertainment and boosting the morale of the
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Tribune
Union election results Chandigarh, March 16 Mr Jandu was elected President. Mr Haresh Vashisht was elected to the newly created post of Senior Vice-President and for the post of General Secretary Mr Anil Kumar Gupta won. The following is the full team of office-bearers and members of the executive committee; President — Mr Balbir Singh Jandu; Sr Vice-President — Mr Haresh Vashisht; Vice-Presidents — Mr Mohinder Nath and Mr Uttam Chand; General Secretary — Mr Anil Kumar Gupta; Secretary — Mr Parmod Bansal; Joint Secretaries — Mr Ghanshyam Pandey and Mr Naveen Pun; Office-Secretary — Mr Brahm Parkash Sharma; Organising/Propaganda Secretaries — Mr Sandeep Kumar Sharma and Mr Omvir Singh, and Finance Secretary — Mr Raman Sharma. Executive members — Dr Renuka Nayyar, Mr Gian Singh, Mr Vishal Gulati, Mr Rajinder Kumar Tiwari, Mr Ram Singh Thind, Mr Vikas Diddi, Mr Narpinder Singh, Mr Sushil Kumar Tiwari, Mr Puran Chand Sharma, Mr Jagir Singh, Mr Ajay Thakur, Mr Dharminder, Mr Rajesh Thakur, Mr Uday Singh, Mr Raghubir Singh, Mr Ashok Kumar Sharma, Mr Sohan Singh, Mr Ramesh Chand Sharma, Mr Dinesh Singh Guleria, Mr Ashok Kumar, Mr Daya Ram, Mr Kamal Kumar, Mr Susheel Kumar, Mr charan Das, and Mr Ram Singh. |
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Muddy water complaint The problem began yesterday but the HUDA authorities are yet to identify the reason for the muddy water supply. Thinking that a leakage in the pipes could be the reason, digging work was carried out at various places, but yielded no results till late evening. Mr Parveen Goyal, a resident, said that after two days, the water in their overhead tanks had finished and they were without water. The problem is from the source of water supply, he said. Residents of the area complained that HUDA had hiked the water charges manifold. Said Mr Satpal Gupta, another resident, “Why should we be made to pay such high bills when the services provided are deficient? At least 20 houses are without water and nobody is bothered,” |
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Subscribers’ complaint against JTO Zirakpur, March 16 In a complaint to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Telecommunication, the Chief Managing Director, BSNL, New Delhi, the Advisor TRAI, New Delhi, the CGM, Punjab Circle, Chandigarh, the local MLA, and the CBI office in Chandigarh, the Zirakpur Market Association, sarpanches of Peer Muchhaila, Bishangarh, Adda-Jhungian and some other villagers said that M.S. Gill, a Junior Telecommunication Officer (JTO), had been harassing the subscribers for the past many years. It was also alleged in the complaint that the JTO had even threatened some subscribers with dire consequences who had complained against him for his misconduct and intention for bribe. Following the complaints, the JTO was transferred but his transfer was cancelled, which further added to their woes. The subscribers have demanded immediate transfer of the JTO. |
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‘Stick to ISI-marked products’ Chandigarh, March 16 He said consumers should stick to ISI marked products so as to ensure that they got quality products. It would also give them legal protection. “The cases fought by the BIS do not cost anything to the consumer. Only a letter on a simple paper is enough for an action by the bureau,” he said. He said every company had to take yearly clearance from the BIS to use ISI mark on its products. Mr Kapoor said consumers had the right to consumer education, information regarding the source of the product, procedure to use it, to know the date of manufacturing and expiry of a product, getting variety of goods at competitive prices and right to be heard in consumer bodies. The BIS Director, Mr R.D. Angra, informed the consumer about the BIS developing 17,000 standards for different products and ISO series for international acceptability. Ms Renuka B. Salwan, Deputy Director, Public Relations, BIS, said standardisation made products internationally acceptable. Mr Surinder Verma, chairman, Citizens Awareness Group, said the organisation had been working on issues related to health, sanitation, environment protection and consumer awareness. Ms Manjeet Kaur, Director, Regional Resource Centre, Panjab University, said the basic right of the consumer was to get value for money for every product and service. Dr Cheena Gambhir from the Government College for Girls, Sector 42, spoke about the Consumer Protection Act. |
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YOUNG VOICE It’s a beautiful life, where each day brings with it a new experience and guides us on the path of improving our physical, mental and spiritual levels. Ms Meera Oberoi, a basic-course teacher of ‘The Art Of Living’ for the past three years, takes classes in Panchkula and Defence Area near Zirakpur. “Through a beautiful combination of meditation, breathing process (sudarshan kriya) and yoga, the course teaches one to celebrate life,” she says. She said, though she had everything one wanted in life — a wonderful family, social and economic status — something had been missing. Then, she undertook this course and her attitude towards life changed.
TNS |
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Taxmen
survey diagnostic centre Chandigarh, March 16 The survey continued till late night, according to the department sources. The department survey is done to check whether account books of an assessee have been maintained as per auditing norms or not. Three to four officials of the department had conducted the survey, the sources said. |
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READERS
WRITE Chandigarh’s Sector 61 has long been neglected. This sector, carved out by the Chandigarh Administration on the boundary of Chandigarh-SAS Nagar adjacent to Phase VII of SAS Nagar, consists of 504 MIG flats constructed by the Chandigarh Housing Board. The allottees were given physical possession of flats in February-March 1998. Even though the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) has been bringing the problems of this sector to the attention of the authorities, little has been done to redress our genuine grievances. The road dividing Sectors 61 and 52 is too narrow to cope with the increasing flow of vehicular traffic. This has resulted in many accidents. This road needs to be widened up to 44 feet as per the prescribed engineering specifications. Blinkering lights need to be provided at the entrance of the sector. Owing to the geographical location of this sector in a zig zag manner (touching the boundary of SAS Nagar adjoining Phase VII), the plugging of the boundary by way of providing iron grills is necessitated so as to prevent the entry of stray cattle. These points came up for discussion at the police-people meet on February 22, 2002. But no follow-up action has been taken till date. In the absence of a direct approach road to Chandigarh, the residents are forced to cover the 2-3 km stretch passing through SAS Nagar area. Low water pressure, particularly from houses 431 to 482, is another big problem which has not been looked into by the authorities in the last eight months. Overhead water tanks remain empty sometimes, causing hardship to residents. Apparently, one reason for the water problem in our sector is that water is supplied to the residents of CHB Colony in Sector 52 from the tubewell of Sector 61, which was exclusively commissioned for Sector 61. To add to our woes, whenever there is power shutdown, there is no water supply. A generator set for the Sump House of the tubewell is a pressing need. The RWA has been pleading for a separate electric feeder as kundi connections by the residents of Rehabilitation Colony of Sector 52 result in power failure, especially in the summer season. Nobody seems to bother about Sector 61. The Central Park (under the control of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation) and the area along the road dividing Sector 61-52 is full of bushes, congress grass and what not. The internal roads of the sector are in a dilapidated condition. It remains to be seen when the CHB Chief Engineer would undertake the work of recarpetting of roads. The residents are deprived of a CTU bus stop in the vicinity of the sector. As a result, they are forced to pay higher bus fare as the CTU bus has to pass through SAS Nagar and the residents are asked to alight from the bus near the roundabout of Yadvindra Public School. V.K PURI Chandigarh
Vehicular pollution The Chandigarh Administration does not seem to be learning anything from the Delhi Administration. See how Delhi has been doing its best to check vehicular pollution. But nothing happens here. The increasing number of autorickshaws, three wheelers and trucks in Chandigarh and Mohali areas do not seem to be following the emission control norms prescribed by the Pollution Control Board. These vehicles emit obnoxious smoke and have become a health hazard to the citizens of City Beautiful. Heavy vehicles including trucks loaded with sand cause irritation to eyes. Who will check these monsters on the road? The Delhi Government is reportedly going ahead with its plan to phase out 15-year-old vehicles. Why cannot the Chandigarh Administration emulate the example here? I am afraid some people of Chandigarh are buying the cheap, old vehicles from Delhi and exporting pollution to Chandigarh. Who will stem the rot? NAIB SINGH Chandigarh
No certificate The students of one-year diploma course in computer science of Harton Workstation, Punjabi Mohalla, Ambala cantonment, have not yet been issued diploma certificates. The examination was conducted by the State Board of Technical Education, Haryana, as far back as December, 1999. On enquiry, the Director of Harton Workstation says that he is still awaiting the certificates from the State Board of Technical Education. When the Board has taken a hefty fee of Rs 15,000 from each one of us, it is not known why it is holding up our certificates. In the absence of these certificates, we are not able to apply for jobs anywhere. I appeal to the authorities concerned to issue the certificates immediately. ANISH BANSAL Ambala cantonment |
Sumo knocks down cyclist Chandigarh, March 16 Car taken away Cheating alleged Car stolen Mobike theft Panchkula Cop dead Chain snatched A case under Sections 356 and 34 of the IPC has been registered. SAS Nagar Burglaries Fraud alleged Vehicles stolen |
Colourful start to Hyundai ‘Joy Drive’ Chandigarh, March 16 They all were served with sumptous heavy breakfast with lunch promised at Salogra (near Solan) before their final destination at Shilon. According to Mr V.P. Bhasin, General Manager, Marketing, these customers were selected after an advertisement given in the newspapers and through a draw of lots. About 100 out of them were selected from the owners of the HMIL vehicles based at Chandigarh and Ludhiana. Earlier, Mr R.S. Gujral (IAS), Home Secretary, UT Administration, flagged off the rally. Amarjeet Singh, a resident of Sector 33, was the first customer to be flagged off. Satish Goyal, a leading chartered accountant and Santro owner said: “HMIL was giving total thrust on the customer satisfaction and the present interaction event will surely provide more emotional touch with the company.” Later Mr Bhasin in an exclusive talk with this reporter said that HMIL regularly organised such customer-oriented events. The recent one was a Hyundai Treasure Hunt at Kolkata last week. He said during the present event the participants and their families would have a gala time, which will include fun, games, music, dinner and lots of other mega surprises. He said HMIL, subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea, is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in India. It presently markets 16 variants of passenger cars, including three models of Santro in B segment, Accent in C segment and Sonata in D segment. He said HMIL sold over a record 2,50,000 Santro cars since the start of the commercial production in October, 1998, and over 1500 Sonata cars since its launch in July last year. Mr Bhasin said for having a close rapport with customers, they had programmes in sales and after-sale
service areas. These include ‘True Friendship’, ‘Do it Yourself’, ‘Follow up Programme’, ‘Postal Survey’, ‘Happy Birthday’ vehicle scheme and lucky coupons. |
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Panchkula, March 16