Wednesday,
April 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Hotels run from SCOs face axe Chandigarh, April 2 Almost all hotels run from shop-cum-offices (SCOs) sites in Sector 35 are facing resumption proceedings. These hotels are a major boost in the city’s economy and provide regular availability of rooms. The office of Estate Officer, armed with building bylaws that have lost their relevance in today’s concept, has initiated resumption proceedings against all of them saying these sites do not conform to building bylaws. The answer is not simple as two different views have emerged. One is to keep the tourism trade alive, while the other is to maintain the ideas of Le Corbusier—who planned and developed the city. The Hotel Association of Chandigarh, through the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, has petitioned the UT Administrator seeking his intervention to “save the tourism industry in the city”. So how far should the administration yield? Well placed sources confirmed that a change in frontal facade will not be allowed at any cost in any forthcoming rules. Inside the buildings the hoteliers are still free and flexible, said the source. So far no amendments have been made in the building bylaws, which govern the hotels. The hotels fall under the category of Public Buildings, however sites are auctioned in regular commercial areas. Auction money is usually 70 per cent higher than for a normal site in the same area. Interestingly, no separate rules exist in the UT for hotels and there is no control sheet demarcating the exact usage and permissions. With no such written rules, the buildings are not passed and resumption proceedings are on, said a hotelier in Sector 35. Sources confirm that a final push will be given to the proceedings only after the new rules are in place. The Hotel Association says hotels in SCOs with the existing bylaws are almost impossible from the operational angle. It is due these conditions that top hotel chains in the country that have shown interest backed out after seeing the iron cast building bylaws for hotels. This has initiated a move from the administration to reframe its policy of auctioning hotels sites with more sops to attract the bigger players of the Indian hotel industry. An important change will be a more liberalised payment plan for cost of land and a focus on budget hotels. This will also require resizing of hotel plots. So far, hotel sites are auctioned within set parameters of shop-cum-office sites. Hotel industry pundits have highlighted to the administration that it takes up to six years for a hotel to start recovering its investment and have sought a staggered payment plan. As a part of the plan to allot sites of different sizes, 10 sites have been identified across the city that are bigger than the routine sites for hotels and a decision on whether these can be part of the staggered payment plan is to be taken soon. |
3 hurt as experiment ends in a blast Naya Gaon, April 2 The makeshift “reaction chamber” exploded, causing a thundering blast, in the area. The police and ballistic experts of Punjab, are looking into claims of the self-styled scientist, Mr Tejpratap Singh Virk. However, the experts did not rule out the possibility of the presence of explosive material in the ingredients used in the experiment. The blast took place at about 11 am in the garage of a house in Shivalik Vihar in Naya Gaon. Window panes of the garage were shattered and doors were broken due to the blast. At the time of the reported blast, there were women and children in the house. However, none of them sustained any injuries. Mr Harpal Singh of Sant Anant Mission and another activist of the mission, Mr R.P.S. Sarna suffered injuries as glass from the windows hit their bodies. The two were admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, where their condition was said to be stable. The experimenter, Tejpratap Singh Virk, who did his BE (Mechanical) also sustained injuries. He is a resident of Sector 27, Chandigarh, and was an activist of Sant Anant Mission. When The Tribune team reached the spot, the occupants of the house (where the accident took place) in Shivalik Vihar, were
busy cleaning the house of the remnants of the blast. They allegedly tried to mislead the local police in the morning by saying that an LPG cylinder had burst. After sometime they said the a pressure cooker had burst. However, there were no signs to prove that the blast had been caused by a cylinder or pressure cooker. In the meantime, senior Punjab Police officials, including the SSP (Ropar), Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, and the SP (Detective), Mr S.P.S. Parmar, reached the spot. Later, in the afternoon a forensic team headed by Dr. S.N. Sharma, Deputy Director, Ballistics, reached the spot and took samples. The police would be seeking legal advice before registering case. According to the police sources, the legal advice would be taken as Virk claims that a bonafide experimental model had exploded. However, much would also depend on the forensic report. According to Virk, he was working on the experiment for the past two months. ‘‘Today, I was expecting results and thus I requested my guru ji Harpal Singh to witness the experiment’’, informed Virk. Mr Harpal Singh and Mr Sarna were standing near the “reaction chamber” when Virk went to the nearby gas burner, which was attached to the chamber. According to him, as soon as he lit a match stick, the chamber exploded. ‘‘Had the experiment been a success, I would have worked to develop a more compact model which could have been fitted in a car’’, he said. According to him the probable cause of the blast was that the fire entered the chamber itself. ‘‘On Internet I came to know that in the past century, hydrogen was used as fuel and I decided to use the gas to propel motor vechiles’’, claimed Virk. According to him he purchased related literature from foreign countries and the equipment from Rajpura and local markets. When asked why he was carrying out the experiments in Naya Gaon and not at his place, his reply was, ‘‘because of space constraints’’. |
DC Ramsekhar gets one-yr extension Chandigarh, April 2 Information regarding extension for Mr Ramsekhar as Deputy Commissioner was confirmed by officials in Chandigarh Administration tonight. A formal letter will be issued by the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) in the next week. The MHA is the appointing authority for all bureaucrats and senior police officials to Chandigarh. The file granting approval on behalf of the Prime Minister will go back to the MHA next week. Initially the MHA had refused permission to Mr Ramsekhar, a 1988 batch Haryana cadre IAS official who is on deputation to Chandigarh. The UT Administrator, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), had requested the MHA that the DC may be allowed to continue for one more year. The three-year tenure of Mr Ramsekhar had ended on March 22. This step of seeking extension was taken by the Administration to retain the services of the Deputy Commissioner for one more year as he is in the middle of the implementation process for the recently introduced people-friendly building bylaws. The Administration wrote a letter to the MHA highlighting the need to retain the official as it was a crucial time for the implementation of changes like ownership on General Power of Attorney (GPA) basis, conversion of leasehold property into freehold among others. The Deputy Commissioner deals with these subjects in his capacity as the Estate Officer. Attached in the recommendations of the Administration was a strong recommendation from Mr Ramsekhar's parent cadre of Haryana deploying his services to the Chandigarh Administration. |
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Robbers strike in two houses Panchkula, April 2 From the house of Mr Raj Kumar Verma, they took away goods worth Rs 80,000. Mr Verma is a Punjab National Bank employee and posted in Sector 17 Chandigarh, while his wife is a Haryana Government employee. The couple was away when the robbery took place The robbers ransacked the house. The couple found jewellery (gold and silver), electronic goods and some garments missing at 6.45 pm. Mr Verma then informed the police. The robbers entered the backyard of the house after scaling the boundary wall. They then tried to break open the bolt of a door with the help of some iron rod, but failed. Finally they removed a pane and removed the grill of a window. The robbers ransacked cupboards, almirahs of the bedrooms and the drawing room besides the stores and took away the goods including some cash, jewellery, and other household goods. Though a police party visited the house last evening but forensic experts and a dog squad failed to turn up till late on Tuesday evening. Mr JP Dahiya, DSP, visited the house today evening and a case was registered. In similar another incident, robbers struck at a showroom owned by Mr Manoj Garg, in the same sector and took away goods worth Rs 4,000. Similarly the gang had broken into Mr Jawahar Lal’s house in the same sector on March 31 midnight. they entered the house by breaking open the lock of the house. The robbers also took away some jewellery , a camera, and a wrist-watch. The police has registered a cases under Sections 457, 380, 454, 380, 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code in all the three cases. |
PUDA detects wastage
of funds
SAS Nagar, April 2 It was also reportedly found that the laid down specifications of certain engineering works were being grossly violated. The wasteful expenditure could run to lakhs of rupees, said sources in the Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department. The irregularities came to light when the Secretary, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department, the Chief Administrator of Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority and senior officials of the engineering wing made a surprise check at some sites where development works were in progress. The officials also visited the sports complex in Phase 9 ( Sector 63) where work of constructing the retaining wall on both sides of the Leisure valley choe and another site near the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) where work of channlisation of the choe was in progress. The sources said that it was found that the RCC frames being constructed at the bed of the choe had not been put up before the Planning and Design cell and the type of stones being used for stone pitching was coming from an unapproved quarry. The officials have sought a reply from the officials concerned of the engineering wing. A senior official said the top brass in the department wanted to warn the officials below that wasteful expenditure would not be tolerated and all the engineering works would be screened, if required. The sources said the manner in which the channelising of the Leisure Valley choe was being done was a technically wrong. The work could have been executed at a much lesser cost. Placing stone crates on the choe bed had resulted in the blocking of the natural flow and depositing of waste material in stone voids. As a result the deposited sullage was creating unhygenic conditions for the people living in the area which had the international-level PCA stadium. A sports complex was also coming up along the choe which carries untreated sewage of Chandigarh and SAS Nagar. Already residents of Phase IX have protested against the depositing of sullage and carcasses on the bed of the choe. Mr BS Tej, president of the Citizens Welfare Council, said the council had sought vigilance probe in the wasteful spending of public funds. |
PGI meeting to appoint
Dean Chandigarh, April 2 The post of the PGI Dean fell vacant when the Supreme Court last month quashed the appointment of the then PGI Dean, Prof O.N. Nagi, upholding a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. The Supreme Court ordered, ‘‘The only correction which is required in the High Court’s judgement is that the appointing authority for the Dean is the Governing Body and not the Institute. Except for correcting this, the judgement of the High Court calls for no interference. It is quite evident that the appointments have to be made in accordance with the law and the rules.’’ The Governing Body members will be discussing the names short-listed by the PGI Director out of which one person will be chosen as the next PGI Dean. According to the process which is followed, the PGI Director generally gives the names of the senior faculty members, and the final decision is taken during the Governing Body meeting which is then ratified by the Institute body. Although the PGI Director also makes his one personal recommendation to the Governing Body, there is nothing to say in the rules that the director’s recommendation is binding on the decision making body or that the person to be chosen as the Dean has necessarily to be a head of the department or the seniormost. Those in the fray are Dr R. J. Dash, Head, Department of Endocrinology, Dr Subash Kumari Gupta, Head, Department of Cytology and Gynaecological Pathology, Prof Sudha Suri, Head, Department of Radio Diagnosis and Imaging and Dr Sarla Gopalan, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Whether Dr Nagi who is the next in seniority, will form a part of the panel of contenders is undecided. When asked whether he will be contending for the post, Dr Nagi said, ‘‘It is not for me to decide; it is the Director’s discretion.’’ |
Two sustain injuries after being attacked by
dog Chandigarh, April 2 Talking about the incident, Mr
S.P. Lamba, a retired IAS officer said he had just returned from his morning walk at about 4.30 am when he heard screams for help. His wife, who was standing on the terrace, saw Mr P.N. Gupta, who lives near his house, being attacked by a ferocious German Shepherd dog. Mr Lamba said he rushed downstairs and hit the dog with a stick several times without any effect. The dog was tearing at his victim’s left arm and trying to grip his neck. When Mr Lamba, a 69-year old heart patient, hit the dog on the head, the animal lunged at him and grabbed his arm. He was bitten on his arm and feet. He, somehow, managed to make it to the gate of his house, dragging the dog with him and hit the dog with the swinging gate. The dog finally released him and Mr Lamba managed to get inside the house. The dog then attacked Mr Gupta again and Mr Lamba said he had found some bricks and began throwing those at the animal, which perhaps inflicted an injury on his ribs and he let go of Mr Gupta who received injuries on his head, arm and leg. Mr Lamba said after he brought Mr Gupta into his house and called up the police, the owner of the dog, whom he had seen several times earlier too, entered his house without permission and he had to ask him to leave. |
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Sweeper
suspended for burning leaves Chandigarh, April 2 The Additional Commissioner, Mr. Ashok Vashishth, issued an order of suspension of Mr Kuldeep Singh after receiving a report from the Medical Officer, Health, Dr G.C. Bansal. The report was submitted today. The Medical Officer was asked by Mr Vashishth to send a report on the violation of instructions after an inspection by the Municipal Commissioner, Mr M.P. Singh and Mr Vashishth himself on Saturday. The heap of leaves was spotted by the two officials in front of the Government College for Girls, Sector 11. Mr Vashishth said the Municipal Corporation and the Medical Officer had been instructing sweepers every year to collect leaves during the autumn instead of burning them to prevent the city from air pollution. In the previous years, punitive measures such as marking the employee absent and deducting his salary had been resorted to in such cases. |
Wasteful spending on choe
channelling SAS Nagar, April 2 It has also been reportedly found that the laid down specifications of certain engineering works were being grossly violated. The wasteful expenditure could run to lakhs of rupees, said sources in the Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department. The irregularities came to light when the Secretary, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department, the Chief Administrator of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority, and senior officials of the engineering wing made a surprise checking at some sites where development works were in progress. |
We can’t afford costlier hotels anymore This has reference to Mr A.S. Prashar’s article ‘Death of Coffee House’ (Chandigarh Tribune, March 16). It is good news that Chandigarh’s Additional District and Sessions Judge J.S.Klar has restored the possession to Indian Coffee House, a favourite food joint in Sector 17, by ordering a stay on eviction. Reports suggest that Coffee House can now remain open till the case is finally decided by the district courts. There is no denying that this hotel is a significant landmark and I do not question its utilitarian or sentimental value for the people of Chandigarh. However, the writer has not dealt with the price factor in his article. The foodstuffs served in Coffee House are costly. For instance, a small vada in this hotel costs Rs 8.50. You have to pay extra for sambar and chutney. Similarly, a small cup of hot coffee costs Rs 7. Special coffee is available only for Rs 12. In sharp contrast, food available in another hotel, very close to Coffee House in this sector, is cheap and it suits everyone’s pockets. In this hotel, you get a bread pakora and samosa served in clean plates (with free chutney) for Rs 3 only. You get a full cup of tea just for Rs 3. The snacks served here are certainly hot and delicious, compared with those available in Coffee House. Perhaps this is the reason why VVIPs, including High Court Judges, foreign tourists and others visit this hotel regularly. Chandigarh is in need of more and more tea stalls and hotels of this type. We simply cannot afford costlier hotels anymore. Simple, low-budget hotels are a must today. And as Chandigarh has become a cosmopolitan city, these hotels and restaurants — including the popular dhabas — will have to cater to the needs of all sections of society in all the sectors, including the shopping complex in Sector 17. NARINDER SINGH,
Chandigarh |
A clarification With reference to the write-up dated March 31regarding the Indian Coffee House, it is clarified that Mrs Anil Kaur is the owner and landlady of SCO 12, Sector 17-E, Chandigarh, the ground floor of which is occupied by the Indian Coffee House. She had filed a rent case in February 1996 for non-payment of rent which was decided in her favour on 1.10.2001. The coffee house filed an appeal which was dismissed in default on 4.3.2002, according to Commander Ranjit S. Pratab (retd), husband of Mrs Anil Kaur, the owner and landlady. |
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Residents suffer in office-bearers’ ‘fight’ Panchkula, April 2 Expressing resentment over the situation a resident, Mrs R.Bakshi said people were being made to suffer due to clash of egos and petty politics. ‘‘These so-called office-bearers of the society are holding the residents to ransom for their vested interests’’, she said. Mr Batla, another resident, while expressing concern over the absence of security guards said there was a feeling of insecurity among the residents and added that representatives of both the groups should resolve the issue amicably to save the residents from further harassment. Several other residents said these essential services were their right and and it was the duty of the welfare body to see to it that the residents were not denied these. |
READERS WRITE This has reference to the government advertisement (The Tribune, March 22) seeking the attention of the Central Government pensioners and defence personnel drawing pension from civil estimates and residing in Panchkula to get CGHS cards made within ten days and the consequent stopping of the fixed medical allowance of Rs 100 following the opening of the CGHS Dispensary No.1. By providing medical facilities to pensioners in Dispensary No.1 situated in Polyclinic, Sector 45, Chandigarh, the CGHS Directorate has hit the Panchkula-based Central Government pensioners hard. The decision, far from helping the pensioners, will only add to their problems, especially from the financial point of view. The CGHS Dispensary is almost 10 km away from the boundary limits of Panchkula. To visit this hospital even in the shortest route, one has to either engage a private vehicle or travel by bus. A pensioner has to change two buses — one from any place (that falls in the bus route) in Panchkula up to ISBT and another from ISBT to Sector 45 bus stop. Bus journey on this route is cumbersome and time-consuming. To and fro local bus fare will come to Rs 24 or even more. This is just for one passenger — the pensioner. The bus fare will get doubled if an attender or escort accompanies the pensioner. The kind of journey one has to undertake to get himself treated in the hospital in question will perhaps aggravate the pensioner’s illness. The other point mentioned in the advertisement is regarding the withdrawal of the medical allowance of Rs 100 to pensioners. This is arbitrary, unjust and undemocratic. On the one hand, the authorities concerned do not provide medical services to pensioners at a point reasonably proximate to their places of residence. On the other, they deem it fit to withdraw the medical allowance being granted to them. The two decisions are thus a bolt from the blue for the pensioners. Panchkula city has its own distinct identity. It is not an appendage of Punjab or Chandigarh city. It is one of the district headquarters of Haryana state. It is not a part of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, as the CGHS authorities seem to think. Technically, Panchkula cannot be called a CGHS-covered city without having a CGHS Dispensary in it. Strictly speaking, this hospital is not within the radius of 3 km in Panchkula city. In view of the facts mentioned as above, the authorities should withdraw the advertisement, restore status quo ante on the medical allowance and do justice to the pensioners. RAM PRAKASH GHARU,
General Secretary, Central Govt Pensioners’ Assn., Panchkula Donate medicines Medicines have become very costly these days and hence are out of the reach of the poor. It is also a fact that these medicines — tablets, capsules and injections — remain unused in some households after the patients’ recovery. These residual but costly medicines can somehow be made available to the poor and the needy. A few days back, I noticed a ‘Medicine Donation Box’, provided and managed by the Red Cross at PGI. Similar boxes need to be placed at all the dispensaries and hospitals (run by the government or NGOs) or some other places in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. To avoid misuse, only responsible persons such as medical officers incharge should operate the boxes, which can be opened once in a week. Given due publicity, people will definitely contribute towards this social cause, and may help save some lives. J.K. MAGO,
Panchkula |
Sector 55
residents seek better facilities Chandigarh, April 2 The Chandigarh Housing Board Residents Welfare Association has drawn the attention of the authorities towards the woes of residents of Sector 55. In a letter to the Chief Engineer, UT, the association has said that roads in the sector had not been carpeted since around 500-odd houses were constructed in the sector in 1995. The association has asked the Inspector General of Police, Mr Bhimsen Bassi, to at least provide a telephone to the nearby police post in Palsora. It has appealed to the Adviser to the Administrator, Ms Neeru Nanda, for taking up overall development of the area. Roads and lighting are poor. The area does not have a school, dispensary and not even a ration depot, the letter to Ms Nanda said. |
Move to retain
engineers decried Chandigarh, April 2 The president of the association, Mr V.P. Dhingra, in a signed statement said that the body was reacting to the news published in Chandigarh Tribune. |
Jewellery worth 90,000 stolen from marriage palace SAS Nagar, April 2 Mr Bajwa, a resident of Phase 3A, had gone to there along with his daughter to attend the marriage reception of his nephew, Harinder, when the incident took place. Much to his anguish the security guards at the marriage palace refused to acknowledge that a theft had taken place within the complex of the marriage palace. Even the local police took time to respond and was trying to save three security guards named by the complainant. Talking to TNS, Mr Bajwa said at around 11 pm he noticed that the door of his car ( PB-10-C-9310) was open and a vanity bag containing the jewellery of his daughter was missing. A bag containing clothes had also been opened. Documents and valuables in other cars, parked nearby, had also been reportedly tampered with. He said that he had expressed his doubts that three security guards, Bikram, Krishan Singh and Suchan Singh might have been responsible for the theft but the police had not entered their names in an FIR registered under Section 380 of the IPC. They had only been detained in the Phase 1 Police Station for questioning, said the complainant. |
BACHITTAR MURDER Chandigarh, April 2 Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Singhal also dismissed bail applications moved by three of the accused in the case. In his detailed order, the Judge observed: “The trial court is directed to expedite the trial and conclude it as early as possible. The court will proceed day-to-day. If the same is not possible, the trial court will not adjourn the case for more than 15 days on each
occasion”. The former MLA, it may be recalled, was murdered in December, 1996. According to the prosecution, the victim was shot at after the assassins descended from a car. The prosecution had added that Bachittar Singh was returning from Ludhiana after attending “Chetna rally” organised by the Akali Dal. |
Kidnapping case
registered Chandigarh, April 2 It may be recalled that the in charge of the police post at Palsora, SI Baldev Singh was suspended yesterday after his failed to register a case when approached by the complainant. A case under Sections 363, 366-A, 341, 342, 328, 323, 506 and 120-B was registered today. |
Dhaba owner held for selling liquor Chandigarh, April 2 Industrialist booked Dowry case Assaulted Stolen Car stereo stolen Stolen Hostel’s TV stolen Tyre stolen Panchkula Arrested Mr Manoj
Yadava, SP, said that three gamblers — Naresh Kumar, a resident of Haripur village in Sector 4, Lal Singh of Sector 29, Chandigarh and Kishore Kumar of Old Panchkula — were arrested from Majri Chowk while playing satta. A sum of Rs 330, 530 and 660, respectively, was also been seized from their possession. In a similar case three others — Vijay Kumar of Sector 14, Prem Sagar of Abheypur village and Govind Bahadur of Sector 19, were arrested while gambling in different places. The police has also seized Rs 530, 825 and 700 from their possession, respectively. All six accused have been arrested under the Gambling Act. Vehicle thefts The police has registered cases on the complaints of scooter owner, Mr DC Paliwal, a resident of Panchkula and the car owner, Mr Rajesh Gupta, a resident of Chandigarh.
SAS Nagar Car found |
Making sites
hacker-proof Chandigarh, April 2 Mr Raj Vrach, Chief Executive Officer of i2k2 systems, who is currently in
Chandigarh, on a short visit from USA, today launched the service. Any person obtaining domain name from i2k2systems will get this service free of cost, according to Mr Manjinder Singh, an official of the company. I2k2 Systems was the first company in this region to start this free service. All existing 1,200 clients of the company would be upgraded to this service. Explaining the need for the service, Mr Vrach pointed out that several users were usually blackmailed by the hackers. Many people had lost control of their domain names, as the person had access to their e-mail accounts. The cyber laws were new in India and the police too was not fully aware of the ramifications and implications of the problem. Hence the need of the hour was to get the “domain name protection service”, before one’s domain got hacked. The benefits of the service were manifold, he said. It prevented the change of “domain registrars”, with the result that no one could send any fraud documents to registrars. It would also prevent the fraudulent “DNS” changes by any employee or competitor to stop one’s website. |
BIZ CLIP Chandigarh The prizes to be won will include a Hyundai Santro car, Rs 1 lakh in cash, a foreign trip for two, a refrigerator, a colour television and washing machine. Besides this, Lipton Taaza is also offering 1,500 diamond pendants as second prizes and over 50,000 free packets of Lipton Taaza as third prizes. Also, gifts are guaranteed on the purchase of 500 gram, 250 gram and 100 gram packets of Lipton Taaza which will include redemption offers and also gold plated pendants. TNS Summer collection The collection includes over 70 exclusive shirts with both button down and point collars- full sleeves as well as short sleeves, at prices starting from Rs 845 onwards. The collection comes in bright colours ranging from flaming reds, meadow greens and sunshine yellows to azure blues, radiant purples and bright oranges. The Arrow wardrobe is available in three ranges: Arrow, America;s Premium Arrow, America’s Sport; and Arrow, America’s Classic.
TNS |
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