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July 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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15-day ban on ACs in
commercial units Feeling the heat SAS Nagar, July 19 Shops, banks, restaurants, hotels, inns and institutes in the township shut off their air conditioners following the visit of PSEB employees to almost every commercial unit and getting the signatures of the owner on a notice informing them of the ban orders. The notice also stated that in case these units did not follow the orders a fine up to Rs 20.000 would be imposed on these units as well as the fact that their electricity supply too could be disconnected. The saving grace in the notice was the statement that the orders were valid for the next 15 days until and unless a similar order was passed once again in the wake of delayed monsoons. Stating that the notices, which were circulated for signatures today, were more in the form of appeal or request to the owners of the shops, the Superintending Engineer (operations), Mr J.S. Sekhon, added that he did not want to create a scare regarding these orders. ‘‘These orders have been passed purely as a stop-gap arrangement to meet the additional demand of electricity due to delayed monsoons. Another similar appeal will be made to the owners and after that the process of penalising them will be started. The amount of the fine will depend on the load of a particular unit,’’ said Mr Sekhon. Mr Sekhon also assured that since these orders are purely dependent on the monsoon's arrival, the decision would be reverted once there was rainfall. ‘‘Which could even be tomorrow. So there is nothing that
While most of the recipients of the notice immediately complied with the orders, a large number of shopkeepers started getting together outside their shops and deciding if they should represent to the PSEB for any exemption of any variety. But till the late evening no decision on the matter had been taken by any of the heads of the market associations of SAS Nagar with everyone claiming that they were the worst affected. ‘‘It is not the ban order, but one gets used to coming to a cool office and today after days we are sitting in stuffing heat,’’ said a bank employee. For students of various computer institutes in the market, the day ‘‘passed off very slowly. Its so hot one realises only when one has to sit here without the ACs and trying to concentrate on studies,’’ said a student. Housing of government offices of the Municipal Council and Punjab Urban Development Authority in prime commercial area here had a negative fall out today with the PSEB employees trying to serve notices to these offices asking them to put off their air conditioners with immediate effect. It took a large amount of convincing by various officials of MC and PUDA that they were not ‘commercial units’ even when they occupied commercial property.
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Crumbling
temple finds NRI god
Mullanpur-Garibdas, July 19 The NRI made the offer after Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, inaugurated the building of Shri Muna Lal Puri Government Senior Secondary School here today. He donated Rs 4.5 lakh to three more village schools of the area. The NRI will set up a vocational-courses degree college in the area, for which, Capt Amarinder Singh has promised him land. The NRI built the school here at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore and handed it over to the village panchayat. In his address at the inauguration, Capt Amarinder Singh said education system in the state should be revamped, so that, Punjabi students could compete with the best in the world. He said, with the advent of information technology, the traditional system of learning had become redundant. He urged the Punjabis settled abroad to follow the example of Mr Puri and help the state. The CM said the government would build the boundary wall of the new school and also talked about his anti-corruption drive. Earlier, Mr Puri said it was a special day for him and his family, as his long-cherished dream of seeing modern education come to his native village (Mullanpur-Garibdas) had been fulfilled. He said he would finance development projects in the nearby villages as well and the Puri Foundation would bear the cost of uniforms of all children studying in the government schools of Mullanpur-Garibdas. Regarding the Jayanti Majri Temple, he said: “A lot of persons have approached me in this regard and, if, they form a temple trust, the Puri Foundation will give the body a Rs 1 crore grant.” The temple is not in a position to bear even a mild earthquake. Mr Puri was born in Mullanpur-Garibdas and he studied till Class VIII in the government school here. He has, earlier,
donated Rs 1 crore to the British Council for setting up the British Library in Chandigarh and given away vital medical equipment to Command Hospital at Chandi Mandir during the Kargil War. |
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Additional
400 cops deployed on patrol THE GREAT COP CRUNCH Chandigarh, July 19 After the withdrawal of six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the responsibility of deploying force along the VIP routes and other-related routes is being shouldered by the local police. Six companies of SSB force and three companies of the Punjab Police Commando’s have been deployed for manning security at vital public buildings, Burail Jail and banks. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Parag Jain, told Chandigarh Tribune that the decision was aimed at ensuring greater preventive display of force. The additional force would be used for frisking vehicles at special ‘nakas’ to be set up during morning and evening hours. Around 30 such ‘nakas’ would be set up in different parts of the city. The additional force at the disposal of Station House Officers (SHOs) of the 11 police stations was also being used for intensifying patrolling in busy commercial areas and the public places like bus stands and the railway station. The 400 cops, including Sub-divisional Police Officers, have been withdrawn from the Police Lines, the Economic Offences Wing and the Crime Against Women and Child Support Unit, operation cell and the home guards. Sources in the Police Department said there was an acute shortage of force at police stations. At present, only 27 per cent of the total 3,969 police personnel were with the police stations.
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Hospital
tanks or monkey bathtubs! Chandigarh, July 19 As part of an awareness campaign and care for the health of the people, the company has offered cleaning of tanks of religious places in the city, Panchkula and SAS Nagar at no-loss-no-profit basis. Tanks had to be kept clean scientifically so as to avoid people getting contaminated water which, as per the World Health Organisation, kills 25,000 people daily worldwide, the company's partner, Mr Atma Ram, told Chandigarh Tribune. He said 80 per cent of diseases were caused by contaminated water. Mr Ram said even if water stored in tanks was not meant for drinking but the bacteria found in the water might enter the body through gargles, cleaning of mouth and during bathing. He said most of the tanks surveyed by his people had at least three times higher bacteria than the permissible limit of 50 total dissolve solvents per litre. Mr Ram also said even the water supplied by the Municipal Corporation in SAS Nagar did not meet the requisite limits of the purity of water. He said the cost of cleaning and use of hygienic chemicals would cost the company 3 paise per litre and in a yearly contract the company would provide four cleanings for the price of three. Mr Atma Ram said there was no lid on the hospital tank where monkeys were taking bath and when it was pointed out to the hospital authorities, they said the lid could only be placed after a permission from higher authorities. The entire tank was first drained out and then cleaning was done with high water pressure and chemicals, Mr Ram said about the process of cleaning. Mr Atma Ram said the cleaning required clearing the tank of germs, dust particles, dirt, mud, bacteria and viruses. He said according to statistics three young children died every minute in the country because of contaminated water. Telling about kinds of impurities, he said physical impurities were those which could be seen with naked eye, like mud, dirt, soot, filth, and other dust particles. There were chemical impurities like invisible organic salts that smelt bad, added colour and bad taste to water. The most dangerous kind of impurities were germs and bacteria which caused disease, he said, adding the conventional method of cleaning could at best take care of chemical and physical impurities. |
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Deputy Mayor’s wife chargesheeted again Fact
File Chandigarh, July 19 “Ms Usha Rani has been chargesheeted and a notice for the recovery of Rs 6,90,522 has been issued,’’ sources told Chandigarh Tribune here today. The notice and chargesheet readied yesterday have been sent to the Municipal Commissioner, Mr M.P. Singh, for approval. It is likely to be delivered to Ms Rani on Monday. Ms Rani is likely to be given three weeks’ time to reply to the chargesheet. The fresh chargesheet has been issued on the basis of an inspection of one year record of Ms Usha Rani. The inquiry was ordered in January, 2001, and the report was filed in April 2002. The order of the inspection was issued after temporary embezzlement was found initially in 1997. The period under scrutiny was for one year ending in November, 2000. The alleged involvement of Ms Usha Rani in embezzlements had taken a political toll on the prospects of her husband, Mr Balraj Singh, as soon as he assumed the charge of Deputy Mayor. The Opposition parties in the Municipal Corporation had accused the Congress of seeking to influence the official action but the leader of the Congress in the corporation, Mr Subhash Chawla, gave an assurance before the House that there would not be any interference in the inquiry. The issue of Ms Usha Rani had disturbed a couple of meetings of the House till the assurance from Congress came. The Municipal Commissioner, Mr M.P. Singh had denied any interference in the probe, saying the law would take its own course. BJP members Gian Chand Gupta and Kamla Sharma had alleged that the Congress was seeking to influence the probe against Ms Usha Rani and shielding the “corrupt’’. Mr Balraj Singh has washed off his hands from the controversy, saying whatever happened was not individually against him.
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Sites for 5 new police posts Panchkula, July 19 Sources in HUDA informed that the proposal for creating
these sites had been received by the Senior Town Planner, HUDA, from
the District Town Planner a few days ago. It is learnt that this has
now been sent to the Chief Town Planner for final approval. While
the Sector 7 police post, till now operating from a booth in the
Sector 7 market and the Crime Against Women Cell, also operating from
a booth in the Sector 10 market, will get a new building, new police
posts will be set up in Sectors 4, 11 and 12 here. However, the
proposal for having a new building for the Sector 6 police post is
still pending. When contacted, the Superintendent of Police,
Panchkula, Ms Charu Bali, said the new police would be made
operational once the buildings were handed over to the department.
“The police force in the district will also be augmented when the
other police posts are ready and get sanction from the police
headquarters,” she said. The district police chief also informed
that considering certain flaws in the old police posts, HUDA had been
asked to make certain changes in the building design. “We have asked
them to make provision for rest rooms for the staff and separate
toilets for male and female staff,” she said. It may be noted that
when the city was being designed, the planners forgot to keep sites
for construction of police posts in most sectors. Later when the
matter was taken up by the Police Department the Town Planning
Department allocated sites for these police posts. Meanwhile, the
hapless cops posted in Sectors 6 and 7 police posts as well as the
Crime Against Women Cell are forced to stay in inhuman conditions. The
dark and dingy booths, often with leaking roofs, act as their barracks
at night. The same place is used to cook food in the absence of a
separate mess. Allotted by HUDA in the early 1980s, these booths have
not been maintained. |
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Kajauli
water tank foundation laid Chandigarh, July 19 Being built with Rs 70 lakh expenditure, the 200-feet-wide and 200-feet long and 9-feet deep pool, it will be completed within this financial year. The tank will provide a cushion for the Municipal Corporation to store clear water as the cleaning facilities of the municipal body far exceeded the available water supply, the Municipal Commissioner, Mr M. P. Singh, told Chandigarh Tribune after the foundation laying ceremony. The underground clear water reservoir has already been dug up in the Sector 39 waterworks where cleaning of water of the whole city is done. Another similar reservoir will be dug up in the same area after the completion of this work, adding a total of 4 mgd of additional clear water capacity. The large part of the Kajauli waterworks is with the Punjab government and work is yet to start from that end. Today’s function was attended by the Municipal Commissioner, Mr M. P. Singh, Additional Commissioner, Mr Ashok Vashishth, Chief Engineer, Mr V. K. Bharadwaj, former Mayor, Ms Harjinder Kaur, area Councillor, Ms Shyama Negi, councillors, Mr Sohan Lal, Mr P. C. Sanghi and Mr Dildar Khan. The Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee President, Mr B. B. Bahl, was also present on the occasion among others. |
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Babu Parmanand in PGI with
fractured wrist Chandigarh, July 19 According to Dr O.N. Nagi, after giving preliminary treatment to Babu Parmanand last night, he was sent home as it was not possible to give him anaesthesia. “After plastering the fractured radius bone of the wrist this morning, we have admitted him so that he can be kept under observation for two days,” said Dr Nagi. The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was among the first ones to arrive at the PGI to enquire about his health. |
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Strict scrutiny for licence seekers Panchkula, July 19 |
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Showers! Chandigarh, July 19 |
Two arrested for harassing schoolgirl SAS Nagar, July 19 According to the girl’s father, today morning the girl had been escorted to school by her relatives, but just as she entered the school building, the two men, who had been waiting for her in the canteen, stopped her and pulled her out from the other gate. They took her to a corner and cut a part of her plait. They told her that they would come again at 2pm. The girl started crying and immediately told her relatives who were standing at the entrance of the school. At 2 pm when they came again, the girls’ father and relatives caught them and took them to the police. The girls’ father Mr Jagdish Singh, a resident of Phase I who runs a shop in Mohali village, stated that his 10-year-old daughter who studies in Class V had been complaining them about the two men even before the summer vacation. Relating her experiences, the girl said the two men had, on an earlier occasion, taken her by force to Franco Hotel on their scooter, but when she raised an alarm they had to let her go. After the school reopened after the holidays a few days back, they started hounding her again. According to the SP Mohali, Mr H.S. Bhullar, the police has registered a case against one of the men, Yadvinder Singh Dhillon, a resident of Sohana, under Section 295 of the IPC, while investigations were still on regarding the involvement of the other man in the case. None of the school authorities was available for comments all through the day. With much effort when this reporter was able to contact the chairman of the school, Mr J.S. Bedi, he denied having any information about the incident. He said he and the Principal of the school had been out of station for the past two days. While he had returned just then, the principal was to come back tomorrow, he said.
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Theft cases in city Chandigarh, July 19 According to a police official, about six months back burglars had struck in the same house and decamped with valuables worth about Rs 5 lakh. In another case, Subash Chand, a resident of Shastri Nagar, in a complaint has lamented that the Mani Majra police had not arrested the suspect involved in a case of theft in his house. According to information available, Subash had left for his in-laws' house in Hoshiarpur on July 2. When he returned on July 16, he found that Rs 15,000, two gold rings and a gold chain had been stolen. He claimed that a rickshaw-puller, who was living in a nearby house, had committed the theft. A Yamaha motor cycle was stolen from the parking area of Sector 8 on Thursday. Besides, three incidents of burglary were reported from the city on Thursday. Darshan Singh, a resident of Sector 14, said burglars took away two gold chains and other household items from his house. In the second case, Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Mani Majra, complained that a video game, a stereo, a watch and some cash were stolen from his house. In another case, Anand Singh, a resident of Sector 41, complained that burglars took away Rs 5,463, one gold ring, a gold chain and a silver ring from his house. Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Sector 15, said his mobile phone and a purse containing Rs 100 were stolen from his residence on July 18. In all the cases, the police has registered FIRs under Section 380 of the IPC. Injured:
Panchkula They have been booked, along with eight others, on the complaint of the Assistant Estate Officer, Mr Vijay Bhardwaj. They were allegedly working for accused Rajendra Saini, property dealer, who had encroached upon HUDA land on the Punjab-Panchkula (Sector 19) border by diverting a seasonal rivulet acting as the natural boundary between the two states. Fraud:
In a case registered under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC, Mr Sharma said that the registration number of his cielo car is DL-6CA-6170, but a fake registration number HR-03D-2671 was obtained. Three booked:
Scooter stolen:
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Man commits
suicide Chandigarh, July 19 According to the police, the victim was suffering from TB. The body was noticed at around 6.25 am today and was taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital for post mortem. The body has been handed over to the family members. In another case, a 27-year-old woman, Vimla Devi, reportedly tried to commit suicide by jumping from a tree. Timely action by passers-by saved the woman from ending her life. A police official said the woman, a resident of Burail, was a widow. She had gone to Ram Darbar to meet a friend, Kidar Singh. |
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MARKET PULSE Chandigarh, July 19 The latest additions in SOC plethora of range are: Active Range — This range comprises of men and women’s jackets made of versatile fabrics such as Micro Canvas, metal Denim & Nylocot priced from Rs 995 up to Rs 1495. Bottoms range starts from Rs 795 and go upto Rs 1095 whereas a shirt would come for Rs 595 onwards. Women’s tops start from Rs 395 to Rs 595, and bottom range starts from Rs 795, going up to Rs 995. Club Range:- This cool club range includes jackets & blazers made of breathable, absorbent fabrics that require easy care. The trims of vibrant colors set the mood active & live. This range includes fabrics such
as: alligator range, serpent skin, bonded fabrics, moss with bonded fur. These jackets are that essential statement of style for those who ride the high side of life, in swank parties or rollicking pubs. For men, Jackets are from Rs 1495 and go up to Rs 2495 and trousers are priced from Rs 795
onwards. Weather proof: A unique concept for the funky and happening youth. An all-weather range of lightweight jackets in special fabrics to save you from wind, rain or the sun. Reverso & Zipoffs: A range of reversible jackets & zipoffs to take you an extra mile. Made of breathable, absorbent fabrics that require easy care, the range can be found in vibrant
colors. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank today inaugurated the first on-line ATM of Panjab University Campus, Chandigarh. The ATM was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Pathak appreciated the vision of ICICI Bank in anticipating the financial requirements of the people and establishing itself as a customer-savvy and technology-driven bank. He advocated that ICICI Bank ATM network will enable the university residents to access their account round the clock and will provide varied value added services to the University. Mr Anand Kumar, Regional Head — Retail Banking, speaking on the occasion informed that ICICI bank is launching bank@campus, a specialised account for the convenience of the students of the Panjab University. Apart from offering free remittance facility, this account will also facilitate the students to pay their fees online after the finalisation of the arrangement with the university. he also informed about the various valued added services for the university powerpay — Salary accounts, online money transfer facility from abroad for NRI students, services in foreign remittances including foreign exchange and international debit and credit cards. Mr Anand Kumar further informed that the bank will also tie up with university for distribution and selling of admission forms from ICICI Bank branches across the country. |
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Cossets
celebrates first anniversary Chandigarh, July 19 Coinciding with its first anniversary, Cossets store in Chandigarh shifted to a new, more spacious store at SCO 39, Sector 26, Chandigarh, which was inaugurated by Ms Suman Ranganathan. Adding 25 more stores in this calendar year and venture into services like insurance, tour and travel, loans, etc. are just some of the future plans of Mr Puneet Nanda (Managing Director) and Mr Rajeev Dugala (Director), the duo behind Cossets. Under their aegis, the group has grown a multi-crore Business House. Nescafe is also opening a beverage counter at Cossets where it will be offering 18 different kinds of drinks — Tea, Coffee, Slushes, Shakes.
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