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| Wednesday,
July 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Cong rejects proposed MC bylaws Chandigarh, July 2 The bylaws placed before the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, were rejected recently by Ms Joshi, the local Congress MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, and the leader of the Congress in the Municipal Corporation, Mr Subhash Chawla. The disapproval had been communicated to the Municipal Commissioner, Mr M. P. Singh, Mr Chawla told Chandigarh Tribune here today. The Mayor has asked officials to frame new bylaws so that each ward should have a separate ward committee. Before the corporation officials were asked to frame bylaws pending for five years, the Congress had shown its inclination to have individual ward committee for each ward. Mr Chawla said the Congress had objections to forming one committee for two to four wards, election procedure and haziness about the term of the committee. He said according to the proposed bylaws a councillor would have been the chairman of a ward committee and with the number of councillors in a committee being more than one, an election would have been required. Mr Chawla said in such a situation intra-party and inter-party politics and egoes of councillors could have been a big obstacle in development. He said the party wanted to “depoliticise” development at the grassroot level to give local people a say and a monitoring handle in the development of their wards. But with this arrangement the ward committees would have become battle ground for politics among councillors of the same party and of different parties. The term of the committee was also not clear, he said. The former Mayor and BJP Councillor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, who first initiated efforts towards formation of these committees during his term, said it would be appropriate to form a ward committee for each ward. Mr Gupta said he and Ms Shanta Abhilashi of the BJP had made efforts in this direction but nothing came out of this. |
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PU not to allow double affiliation to colleges Chandigarh, July 2 The university may “initiate action against these colleges which had got affiliated to Punjab Technical University without
approval of Panjab University”. A proposal in this regard has been drafted following a meeting of the Vice-Chancellors. The proposal comes up for active consideration of the university Syndicate. A senior official of the colleges branch at the university said that dual affiliation of a number of colleges, particularly in the Ludhiana belt, was a well-known fact. The university affiliation assured uniformity of teaching norms which were compounded under double affiliation. A university note reads “It has been brought to the notice of the university that some colleges affiliated to Panjab University had also sought affiliation with Punjab Technical University in respect of courses like MSc (Information Technology), BCA and MCA”. “The issue was raised in the meeting of the Vice-Chancellors with the Principal Secretary, Punjab, on June 27. The committee was of the view that it was entirely up to the university to decide the matter of double affiliation as per their individual rules and regulations. The government had no role”, it reads. “Starting a new college on an old campus cannot be accepted as a separate college. The AICTE has framed certain norms for establishment of colleges for technical education, including MBA and MCA. The university may initiate action against the defaulters,” the note adds. Senior official of the colleges branch said the university might consider allowing “double affiliation” in case the college was interested in taking up a course not offered by the university. However, for courses being run by the university, there was no question of allowing double affiliation. It was also pointed out that there were differences that PU had with the PTU with regard to the requirements for conditions for students to take up the courses. A post-graduate course in information technology was offered to students from any stream at PTU. However, PU wanted the student to have a background in that particular subject at the undergraduate level. There were also certain other areas of “confusion”. It was also felt that under double affiliation colleges might be “forced” to use the existing faculty to manage these courses as well. The university could not interfere directly to assure quality in courses. There were certain other areas of administrative nature which would be “complicated” in case of double affiliation.
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BOTTOMLINE Chandigarh, July 2 Hoping that the Mr Sinha will spearhead with equal enthusiasm the lofty development plans which the PGI has laid down for the future, the PGI Director is, however, likely to keep his fingers crossed. Will Mr Sinha be able to resist the temptation of crossing over the thin line differentiating between enthusiasm and an extreme negative day-to-day interference? A temptation which, according to what is now public knowledge, the erstwhile Health Minister Dr C.P. Thakur, succumbed to in routine manner. Sources said that Mr Thakur had been sending express orders to the PGI on day-to-day issues which otherwise came under the direct purview of the Director and sometimes officials even below the rank of the Director, taking decisions, which according to sources, were even illegal in nature. An important instance was the minister quashing the termination order of a employee leader for gross
misbehaviour issued by the PGI authorities after a due inquiry done by a retired District and Sessions Judge. Equally important will be the Director’s personal equation with the new minister. Having a past ‘bad’ record with Dr Thakur, the PGI Director would be beginning on a fresh slate with Mr Sinha. And it is not just the Director who is hopeful of a new beginning in the Ministry—Institute relationship. ‘‘Mr Sinha is consummate politician well known for his diplomatic ways and ability to impress people. He is even better known for being an incorruptible honest and plain-speaking person and a very able communicator’’ says the PGI Deputy Director, Administration, Mrs Meeta Rajiv Lochan. From having a medical man Dr C.P. Thakur in the hot seat of the President of PGIMER, one of the three most important and powerful autonomous medical research and educational institutes in the country, to having an actor turned politician, the shift obviously has a negative tint. To add to the subtle tint is the Indian Medical Association’s letter to the Prime Minister that only a medical man should be given this office. Agreeing with this, the PGI Dean, Prof O.N. Nagi, however, states that the Minister for Health and Family Welfare may or may not be the President of the Institute. ‘‘The minister can appoint anyone as the President if he chooses not to be the President himself,’’says Prof Nagi. Considering that the medical men, who have been in charge of the office, are equally responsible for the abysmal condition of the state of health of the nation, Mr Sinha will simply have to live down his public image of being an actor and a politician.
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Panel for basing property tax on rental value Chandigarh, July 2 “The committee meets next on July 23 and is likely to have another meeting before the House studies reports on the survey for determining the tax,” the committee Chairman, Mr C.K. Swahney, said here today. The committee did not find the capital-value and another method for calculating the tax suitable. Mr Swahney said the committee was devising a formula to give the MC a maximum revenue and be accurate. He said rough estimates of each area had been made, but a detailed survey had to be done to ascertain the rental value of any building. The new formula would try to give a value on the lower side of the average for a locality and propose rates likewise. The proposed structure would be of 2 per cent, 4 per cent and 6 per cent taxes, he said. Mr Swahney said the committee had no power to declare the date of the imposition of tax and punitive measures for wrong self-assessment. These matters had to be taken up by the House, he said. |
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Admissions
on, but seats gone Chandigarh, July 2 While most students with 50 per cent in the arts stream and 60 per cent in the science stream had been adjusted, the next lot of seats would be given to students who had appeared for the Punjab School Education Board examination. Principals of city colleges said that they were expecting a higher percentage from students whose results were declared recently by the board. “We are ensuring there is scope to adjust these students as and when they come,’’ a principal said. Students with first divisions managed to secure seats in the bachelor of business administration (BBA) in colleges and admissions to this course had almost been closed on account of non-availability of seats. Admissions to the new BSc (biotechnology) course in GGDSD College, Sector 32, closed at 72 per cent while admissions to vocational courses of BTech, BSc (IT) and Computer Applications also closed at a cut-off percentage of 60 and 70 per cent. In Government College for Girls, Sector 11 and Sector 42, admission would be open till July 15 and counselling sessions would continue in the colleges. Admissions to the undergraduate courses for the general category began at Government College, Sector 11, the cut off on the first day being nearly 70 per cent. Admissions for the reserved category were conducted yesterday with 65 per cent being the cut-off percentage. Meanwhile, centralised admissions to BCom, BCA, MSc (IT) and MCom were yet to begin. These admissions were slated to begin on July 13 at the Khalsa College for Women, Sector 26.
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BEANT ASSASSINATION TRIAL Chandigarh, July 2 Ballistic expert Roop Lal today appeared before the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr H.S. Bhalla, in the afternoon to record his statement in the case. But he was directed to appear before the court again by the Judge. The CBI counsel stated that Roop Lal had examined the articles recovered from in front of the UT Secretariat after the bomb blast on August 31, 1995. The CBI counsel also produced the documents before the judge carrying details about the articles recovered. Then the defence counsel raised an objection that the CBI had attached some additional documents carrying details about the articles and the agency had not supplied the copies of the new documents. Later the CBI counsel supplied the copy of the new documents to the defence counsel in the court. But the defence counsel said that he needed time to go through the documents and could not cross-examine the witness at this stage. The defence counsel also complained to the judge that he was facing problems to discuss the case with his clients (four accused in the Beant Singh assassination case) as the jail authorities always deployed security guards near him during the meeting time. He added that being an advocate he had the right to discuss the case with his clients without screening. On the other hand, the CBI counsel said that seeing the sensitivity of the case, the jail authority had the right to keep watch on the activities of the accused. After hearing the arguments, the judge adjourned the case for tomorrow. Meanwhile one of the accused in the case, Lakhwinder Singh, pleaded before the court that he was facing some health problems and the authorities concerned be directed to get his MRI test. After his plea the judge directed the authorities to call doctors for check up. |
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TRIBUNE IMPACT Chhat Bir, July 2 Mr G.S. Grewal, Executive Engineer (canals), has asked the official concerned at Patiala to inform him if the department has received any complaint regarding breach in Banur Canal from the zoo authorities. He has also asked the official concerned to check whether there is any space for wild animals to enter the zoo. Mr Grewal said a clipping of a news report on the incident published in this newspaper had been sent to the department office in Patiala and the official concerned had been asked to submit a report. He said, had the zoo authorities sought permission for installing grills at the open ends of the canal, the department would have given it. However, Dr Vinod Sharma, Chief Warden (zoos) of Punjab, said whenever the zoo authorities installed temporary fences on either ends of the canal for keeping stray dogs at bay, the drainage department removed it, saying that accumulation of straw carried by water caused breaches. According to the zoo officials, Mr Gurpal Singh, Deputy Director of the zoo, has already written to the Medical Officer Health (veterinary) at Kalo Majra village, seeking that stray dogs of the area be located elsewhere. “In spite of repeated representations, nothing has been done, so far, in this regard,” an official said. Over 60 stray dogs still roam around the zoo, over 25 of which have, now, been domesticated by the zoo employees living in the nearby Forest Department colony. |
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Kanwal Sibbal does city proud Chandigarh, July 2 Sitting on a comfortable sofa at his residence, yesterday, Mr Sibbal was surfing the channels looking for something “worth-watching” when he saw his son on a news channel. Instantly his fingers released pressure from the remote-control keys as he got up excitedly. “Oh, he has made us all proud,” said Mr Sibbal in an exhilarated voice chocked with tender emotion. “And this is not the first time, Kanwal, brought up in Chandigarh, has done so”. Gloating over his son’s achievements, Mr Sibbal said, “He was always a brilliant student and proved his competence right from the beginning. In his graduation, he stood first in three subjects — English, English Honours and History. When he was just 20, he took examinations for entering the Indian Police Services. He was fifth or sixth in the combined merit, but first in the IPS category”. He said, “Kanwal, however, did not join as an IPS officer. Next year, he sat for the examinations again and got into the Foreign Services. Since then, there has been no looking back for Kanwal. Today, he has reached the highest position a person can achieve in this field”. Regarding his younger days as a student in Chandigarh, Mr Sibbal said, “He is a local product, no doubt about it. In fact, he has never studied outside the city. He did his matric, graduation, post-graduation and law from Chandigarh. And all the while he was very regular, not only in his studies but also in games and other extra-curricular activities”. Kanwal, he added, never missed a movie, never missed cricket. He played billiards everyday, but never compromised on his studies. Now-a-days, he is concentrating on Yoga which he does daily”. Mr Hira Lal Sibbal was not the only one thrilled over the achievement. His young and promising advocate cousin and former Deputy Advocate-General, Deepak Sibbal, was also excited. “Not only are we proud of his achievements, the entire city, in fact the country is happy over his success,” he said. He said, “We always knew he, like younger brother Kapil Sibbal, would bring laurels to the family. His achievements include stint as Ambassador to Egypt, Tanzania and France. He was also posted in Lisbon and Portugal before staying for sometime in New Delhi”. Regarding his family life, Mr Deepak added, “He tied the knot with a French woman working in his office when he was the first Secretary. They now have two kids and are happily settled.” But what about celebrations? “Well these will be held by the middle of this month when he is in the city,” said Sibbal. “We do not exactly plan to throw a bash, but we are hoping to have a nice family get-together”. |
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Old in age, young in deeds Chandigarh, July 2 It is his strict regimen coupled with the disciplined life that he leads which helps him float on water without moving any part of his body for such a long duration. “No doubt lot many people can float on water, but not for so long, especially at my age,” says Mr Karam Inder Pal, after the demonstration at the Panjab University, swimming pool. It was at a very young age when Mr Pal took to swimming, notwithstanding the fact that the canal in Nawanshahr substituted for a pool. “After shifting to Chandigarh in 1956, I became a regular at the Sector 23 swimming pool,” he said. Barring the two days when the pool is closed, not even rain, hail or scorching heat can stop him from coming to the pool for his swimming sessions. Easy though it may seem that, but to keep floating on water for an hour is no mean task, as it requires a lot of stamina and practice, agree the swimming coaches at Panjab University. “I would recommend swimming and yoga for all age groups,” he said. A keen swimmer for the past 25 years, he can keep floating in two postures for one hour. Floating on water with his body flat is easier as compared to remaining afloat with folded legs, he remarks. He feels that swimming can be a sure healer for those suffering from joint pains. When he started practicing the “shava asana”, he could barely manage for five minutes, but with regular practice he has been able to achieve the stupendous task of sustaining for an hour. With both his sons not inclined towards swimming, it is his daughter, Sonia Pahwa, who is making an endeavour to follow in the footsteps of her father. Mr Pal, who has remained a football player during his young days, feels that both yoga as well as swimming is good for the body and the mind. |
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READERS WRITE
Accidents occur due to rash driving, road condition and the lack of road sense among the public. As the police has already identified the accident-prone areas, it should not be difficult for them to impose speed limit, put up speed breakers and to forbid overtaking in these areas. This step will help reduce accidents. Heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses, tractor-trailers are responsible for most of the accidents. Overloaded trucks emitting smoke most of the time is not uncommon. A tractor-trailer has no weight limit to carry cargo. Nor does it use caution or backlights. The drivers do not have any road sense. I would like to suggest that the police should make an effort to motivate people, especially drivers and other vehicle users on road sense. Vehicles having dark exhaust need to be controlled. These are the ones which irritate the other drivers. Mostly one would like to overtake such vehicles to get rid of the smoke, inviting trouble for themselves and others. Checking of driving licence has to be done vigorously, specially of youngsters, who get licence by mentioning wrong age. Of course, some don’t have licence at all. They are the ones who break the law and drive fast, ignoring the speed limit in the congested areas. Sign boards for correct turning are a must. These boards are covered with posters. The driver gets confused when he has already crossed the turn. Parking is another major problem around marketplaces. See how people park cars in the parking area of Sector 11 SCO. Many a time, two cars are parked in the wrong way, covering the area of about five cars. There is no proper marking in the area for car parking. Public awareness is required. Of course, no one shall follow the rules unless he is made to understand or pay for it. When an accident occurs and somebody is critical, passersby do not help him/her for fear of police harassment. One way to motivate people to help accident victims is to prevent police harassment of good samaritans. If a good samaritan brings an injured person to the hospital, he/she should be given a credit card by the police for his/her services. I am not sure if this can happen in our country where we first suspect the person than to believe him. But if this happens, at least the victim will not die on the road and reach hospital for timely treatment. Can our system do something to ensure this? S.S. Gill, Panchkula Restore its pride During a recent visit to Chandigarh’s Rock Garden with my family, I was shocked to see that the original creation of the garden by Nek Chand was lost. It now looks like a park more of a commercial centre with 2-3 phariwalas selling uncovered goods in unhygienic conditions. The original work is lost somewhere. It no doubt gives the beauty of hills with waterfalls, so many swings depicting the culture of Punjab, Laughing Mirrors section stolen from a circus, an aquarium with less than 10 live fish and more number of dead fish, but where is Nek Chand’s masterpiece? Being a Chandigarhian by birth, I really feel for it. I would like that the original Rock Garden should be restored and the new phases may be given the name of Rocks Park. And if it has to be retained, then the whole garden should be renamed as Rocks Park. As a newspaper from the City Beautiful, I would like to draw the attention of The Tribune Editor so that the message goes to the right people for appropriate and expeditious action. Dr Ranjay
Vardhan,
No lessons learnt Apropos of the report “Bylaws force house owners, architects to lie officially” (Chandigarh Tribune, June 21), the local administrations (Chandigarh, PUDA and HUDA) are asking architects to make structural plans for buildings either already built or to be built. If that is so, then the situation is indeed shocking. My information is that the practising architects are also submitting structural safety certificates of the buildings to the authorities concerned. I would like to clarify that the structural design of buildings or other structures is not the job of architects as they do not have even the basic qualifications to undertake this job. In fact this is the job of civil/structural engineers. Apparently, some kind of a racket is going on between architects and the administration, possibly because of an unholy nexus between the two. Otherwise, how can the administration ask the architects to do something for which they are not even qualified. In all governments, departments, structural drawings are prepared by engineers only and no architects are involved in this job. Also the structural safety of buildings can be vouched by engineers only and never by architects. The concern voiced by the practising architects is therefore totally misplaced as the matter does not concern them at all. In case any architect furnishes structural drawings or structural safety certificate for a building, he apart from wilfully misleading the owner is also guilty of doing something which he is not qualified to do. Should this not result in the cancellation of their licences? In fact, this is somewhat similar to a quack (unqualified “doctor”) writing a medical prescription for a patient and the administration accepting it. Clearly, even after the Gujarat earthquake, we have not learnt our lessons. There is no dearth of qualified engineers in this part of India and only a small advertisement by the administration calling for enlistment of suitably experienced engineers for doing this job is sufficient. But then, who will break the unholy nexus between practising architects and the administration? Perhaps The Tribune could do something about this. K.S.GILL,
Mohali
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An octogenarian
philanthropist Chandigarh, July 2 Mr Bansal has also been working for other social organisations and believes that ''apart from our family responsibilities, each one of us should think about those who are left abandoned and are living in miserable conditions''. Mr Bansal informed that he was the general secretary of the People Action Front and was working for the betterment of the youth. |
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Married
women’s rights Chandigarh, July 2 .A married woman had rights regarding custody of her children and entitlement to free legal aid and availability of services of Member Secretary, State Legal Services Authority, Woman and Child Support Unit of Chandigarh Police through the Lok Adalat UT,
Chandigarh. In addition, every married and un-married woman could seek guidance or help regarding any problem from any 24-hour helping of the police on telephone numbers 1091 and 705011. |
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SBI celebrates State Bank Day Chandigarh, July 2 Nearly 60 saplings of poplar and silver oak were planted and over 100 children took part in the painting contest at Sri Guru Harkishan Model School, Sector 38. Mr B.R. Sharma, Deputy General Manager, highlighted the various schemes being run by the bank. Mr R.C. Satija, Assistant General Manager, apprised the participants of the personal banking schemes of the bank. Mr D.K. Sharma, Chief Manager (A&A), stressed the need for saving among children.
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Washing
line at city rly station Chandigarh, July 2 The addition of the washing line is significant as now Chandigarh railway station will be a de facto terminus. In the absence of a washing line, the trains had to be taken to Kalka, resulting in loss of time and money. |
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Cases of murder, dacoity solved Panchkula, July 2 Baldev Singh was wanted in connection with the murder of Paramjit Singh, a jeweller in Haripur village in Sector 4, who was shot dead by four robbers after being looted of jewellery and some cash on April 12, 1999. Three accomplices of Baldev — Ashish, Devendra and Prabh Sharanvir Singh— were already in the custody of the police. They had visited the shop to purchase jewellery and later robbed the shopkeeper at gunpoint. A case under Sections 307 and 394 of the IPC and various sections of the Arms Act was registered by the police on the complaint of Ms Saroj Mittra. The second accused, Bhagwan Singh, who was wanted in a robbery case, was arrested by the police from Dhoki village in Agra district on June 30. The police said Bhagwan Singh, along with four other persons, struck at a jewellery shop, M/S Rinku Jewellers in Sector 9, in June 1999. They had robbed the jeweller Harish Chand Bhola of cash and jewellery at gunpoint. Sodomy incident:
Earlier mother of the victim, Ms Saroj Bala had complained to the police that the accused took her son to a Golden Forest’s owner building near the village after and committed the crime. A case under Section 377 of the IPC has been registered. House burgled:
Chandigarh As per police sources, the registration number on the truck was fake and later it was found that it belonged to a Kinetic Honda scooter. Allegedly an effort was also made to tamper the engine number of the truck. A case under Sections 420, 473 and 120B of the IPC and 61\1\14 of the Excise Act has been registered. The sources said the accused were taking the beer from Ambala to some place in Punjab. Army man’s car hit:
Stolen:
Mr Sudhip Rawat, a resident of Sector 19, reported that the rear wheel of his scooter was stolen from Sector 28 here yesterday. Mr Gurmit Singh, a resident of Phase IV, SAS Nagar, reported to the police that his Maruti car (PB 65-B 4148) was stolen from Sector 19 market on June 29. Mr Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Darua village, complained that the stereo his of Ambassador car was stolen from his residence on the night of June 28. Three cases of theft have been registered. Man injured:
Following the accident, workers were instantly put into action to erect a three and half feet wall all around the dug-up area. Narinder was reportedly came to the court to meet his advocate. Kharar The Kharar police has registered a case against the driver of the truck who has absconded. The deceased was a resident of Mundi Kharar. Lalru The police said that after Labho Devi consumed some poisonous substance, she was rushed to a private hospital in Ambala where she died. The cause of this extreme step could not be ascertained, the police said. The police has started investigation under Section 174, CrPC. |
Industrial exhibition at CII Chandigarh, July 2 Mr Kailash Chand Aggarwal, former president, Industrial Association of Chandigarh, inaugurated the exhibition. Mr D.P. Khandial, president of the association, was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr Jeetender Gupta, chief organiser of the exhibition, said about 60 companies were participating. The main focus of the programme, he said, was on displaying engineering, machine tools, electrical/electronics components and instrumentation. All the major manufacturers of these goods from Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Faridabad, Noida and Sholapur are participating in the three-day meet. The organisers claimed since the exhibition was specifically organised for the industrial units, about 2,500 industrialists from Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Himachal Pradesh and UT were expected to visit the venue in the next two days. Among others, the Bellstone hi-tech international industrial departmental store has also exhibited its products. The product range include, said Mr Amit Sethi, in charge of the stall, testing instruments for industrial products such as cement concrete, fuel tar, sand testing, food testing and automobiles. He claimed that company was dealing in more than 90,000 industrial products under a single roof at Delhi. Mr Sethi said,‘‘The Bellstone is importing all types of laboratory, scientific equipment and engineering control devices. It has sold its testing instruments even to the ISRO and other prestigious organisations.’’ Mr Sandeep K.S. Pandey, an exhibitor from Nasik, however, lamented that since the organisers had not advertised the exhibition properly, so the response was not satisfactory. Mr Jeetender Gupta claimed that they had send personal invitations, e-mails and advertised in all the major newspapers and the number of visitors would increase in the next two days. |
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Banks can
change soiled notes Chandigarh,
July 2 The public could now approach any of the following bank branches for exchanging their soiled and mutilated notes free of charge: Allahabad Bank, Sector 17-B; Bank of Baroda, Sector 17-B; Central Bank of India, Sector 17-B; Punjab National Bank, Sector 17-B; Punjab and Sind Bank, Sector 17-B; State Bank of India, Sector 17-B; UCO Bank, Sector 17-B; Union Bank of India, Sector 17-B; State Bank of Patiala, Sector 17-C; Indian Bank, Sector 3-A; Canara Bank, Sector 35-B; State Bank of India, Sector 7-C; and State Bank of India, Sector 17-B (Treasury branch). |
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Apropos of Ms Ruchika M. Khanna’s report (Chandigarh Tribune, May 11), Panchkula Superintendent of Police Charu Bali’s plan to establish a police helpline and trauma centre in Panchkula to help accident victims is commendable. I wish her all success in this mission.