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| Wednesday,
August 14, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Rain brings cheer all around Chandigarh, August 13 The Director of the local MET office, Mr
S. C. Bhan, announced “It is the revival of the monsoon.” Explaining the cause of rain in the past 24 hours, Mr Bhan said two upper air cyclonic circulations’, one over southern Punjab and the other over western UP adjoining Haryana, had caused today’s conditions. The wet conditions will prevail, he added. The rain which started late last night resulted in a drop in temperatures in Chandigarh adjoining Ambala and Patiala. The maximum temperature was 26.0, 26.7 and 27.4° celsius, respectively. In all the three cities this was 7° below the normal average for this time of the year. Chandigarh had received 7.5 centimetres of rain till 5 : 30 p.m today. It was around the same time that the skies cleared up a bit. By the evening city residents were out enjoying the cool breeze and thronged city markets and open spaces. Early this morning the city woke up to showers. Several morning walkers and joggers had to postpone their morning activity. School children got delayed as they struggled to reach school, on buses, on foot, bicycles, rickshaws or on vehicles of their parents. In offices employees were
delayed. Several daily passengers who come to work in the city from the surrounding towns were delayed as buses were running slow due to wet roads. In several playway schools the attendance dropped as the toddlers remained home. In city colleges and the Panjab University a festive atmosphere prevailed even as students were confined to their own departments. The canteens were crowded with students. In PU, the Students Centre, normally a beehive of activity, did not witness the usual hustle and bustle. |
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Mittal re-elected PUTA president Chandigarh, August 13 Prof Mittal polled 206 votes against 192 polled by Dr Ronki Ram (Political Science Department) and 118 by Dr Anirudh
Joshi (Sanskrit). Dr Joshi has made a commendable mark in the elections despite the fact that he did not enjoy the backing of either of the prominent groups. The university has two vice-presidents. They are Dr
R. K. Sharma( Correspondence Studies) and Dr D. S. Toor (Physical Education). Both polled 239 votes each and were jointly declared elected. Dr Sharma will hold the office for the first six months, which was decided by a toss. There was some controversy with regard to the counting of
votes in the vice-president and the general secretary categories which led to a recount after a heated round of discussions. Dr Ashwani Sharma (Regional Resource Centre) was declared elected general secretary. He defeated Dr Rajan Gaur (Anthropology), who polled 234 votes. There was a controversy with regard to the marking on certain votes which was finally decided by the presiding officer. Dr Charanjeev (Public Administration) was elected joint secretary. He polled 246 against 226 votes secured by Dr Sudip Minhas (English). Dr
D. V. Rai (Bio-Physics) was elected treasurer. The defeated candidate, Dr Ranbir Kaur (Laws), polled 225 votes against 267 polled by Dr Rai. A total of 15 votes were declared invalid in the contest for the president while as many as 49 votes were invalid in the race for the post of the joint secretary which had led to a written complaint by Dr Sudip Minhas seeking recounting in all categories of the contest. The matter was later decided by the presiding officer. |
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Leaking
roofs force PGI OTs shut Chandigarh, August 13 “We have had to close one of the ENT operation theatres and shift the equipment from there to protect it from damage caused by rainwater from the leaking roof,” said one of the members of the OT staff. The PGI authorities responsible for the maintenance of the OTs could be seen frantically looking for men of the engineering wing to get the leak plugged, so that, operations could be performed. A few months ago, two OTs had to be closed after short-circuiting. On an average, 80 operations are performed every day in the PGI. While patients continue to pour in from all over north India, the six OTs in the New OPD Block remain unused for a frivolous reason. Often, patients have to wait for months for their turn at the OTs, as a large number of emergency cases that come in every day cause the delay. “Introducing day-care surgery here may be an ambitious project, but seeing the rush of patients here, optimum utilisation of the available facilities is more important than keeping the six OTs unused till the day of the launch,” said one of the senior doctors of the PGI. The PGI has 10 main OTs in the Nehru Block and five in the Emergency, besides 15 small ones in various departments. “Even with so many OTs, it gets extremely difficult for us to handle the rush, which causes a lot of inconvenience to patients,” says one of the surgeons. A number of the PGI departments have been shifted to the New OPD Block that was inaugurated in April 2001. “Introduction of the day-care surgery is a long-term plan that requires that infrastructure becomes available in the hospital and patients have better facilities at home,” said a spokesperson of the PGI. “With not even a single centre in the country having the day-care-surgery facility, it will be some time before we can even dream of matching the West in this regard,” opines a doctor. Though the minor OTs in the New OPD Block are being used for performing biopsies, excisions of the breast lumps and the soft tissues, but the six OTs on the same floor remain locked. Officials of the engineering wing were not available for comments, but money is indeed being spent on the maintenance of the
OTs. |
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POLLUTION PANGS
Panchkula, August 13 A visit along the stream from Chandi Mandir to Lalru shows that the river water is full of mud. A number of residents staying in villages along the river say that water coming down after Burj Kotian village is so muddy that it is unfit even for consumption by animals. Sources in the Fisheries Department inform that there has been a rapid decline in fish production here because of the pollutants from stone crushers and the silt deposition in the river. Statistics show that there has been around 50 per cent decline in fish production between Burj Kotian in Chandi Mandir and Railley village in Panchkula district. Officials in the department say that the silt flowing into the river from the sandstone mountains of the Shivaliks has added to the problem. The upstream of the river was once rich in Indian major carps, catala, rohu, mrigul, calbasu etc. Other varieties of fish like cat fish, murrels and common carps (an exotic fish that survives even in polluted water) were also found in the river. However, the Indian major carps is rarely seen in the river now and other varieties have also shown a declining trend. Though exact decline in fish production in the river between Railley village and Mansa district (the area that falls in Punjab) is not known, sources say the decline could well be over 50 per cent because of industrial effluents being discharged into the river. Industrial effluents, mainly comprising zinc, cadmium and lead, are adversely affecting the fish population in the river. Sewerage discharge into the river has also added to the pollution levels. The Director (Fisheries), Mr B.S. Sarahan, when contacted, said the upstream of the river was biologically never rich in aquatic life. “This is because the river is not a perennial river, but mainly a flood control nullah. However, the pollution in the river, coupled with mining activity on the river bed, has led to decline in fish production.” It is learnt that a study was conducted by a two-member team of experts from the Central Fisheries Research Institute, Karnal, to check the decline in fish production in the Ghaggar because of pollution, in 1998. The survey, conducted by Dr T.N. Mishra and Dr Usha Mosa, showed that the water of the river, once it reached to head near Sirsa after passing through various places in Punjab, became acidic in nature and the dissolved oxygen level fell from the required 6 to 9 ppm to about 1.6 ppm. Thus making it difficult for the fish to survive in the river water  |
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Slow carriageway coming up along NH-21
Chandigarh, August 13 The slow carriageway, proposed to be about 16 km long, will decongest the highway. It will be built in two parts — first, up to the Tribune roundabout and the rest later. Sources in the traffic police said the issue of widening roads and providing slow carriageways along the national highway, Vikas Marg, Shanti Marg, Dakshin Marg and the remaining section of the Madhya Marg (from Mani Majra to Transport Chowk) had been taken up with the Administration. Some roads in the city are already being widened. In view of the increasing number of road accidents, the police had asked the Engineering Wing to build a slow
carriageway along the road running from Transport chowk to Tribune chowk. Mr B.S. Bassi, Inspector General of the Chandigarh police, said the Administration had been urged to widen the roads leading to SAS Nagar, as the volume of traffic on these roads was high. An official of the Engineering Wing said at least four alternative roads from Chandigarh to SAS Nagar were near completion. While one of the roads, along Sectors 48 and 49, had almost been completed, a road passing through Sectors 55, 56, 51 and 52 and another passing through Kajheri village were under various stages of construction. All these alternative routes would save motorists a lot of time in travelling between Chandigarh and SAS Nagar. Meanwhile, the traffic police has also asked the Engineering Wing to reduce the height of the streetlight poles, as the tree foliage prevents the light from falling on the road properly. The issue of the absence of streetlights along the slow carriageway, timers on traffic lights and reflectors on road dividers had also been taken up with the Administration. |
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READERS WRITE THE deadlock between cable operators and residents’ welfare associations of different sectors is cause for serious concern. Efforts should be made to end the impasse in the larger interests of both consumers and cable operators. The residents’ welfare associations in Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula have protested against ‘overcharging’ by the operators. They have decided that they would not pay more than Rs 100 per month. Star Plus connections have already been snapped in SAS Nagar. A core group has been formed at SAS Nagar which will decide to provide effective services to all the
residents. They will decide the rates of cable, its routes, disputes, channel mapping etc. The Government of India continues to build “consensus” on the amendment to the Cable Network Bill in the Rajya Sabha and addressibility in the cable TV sector has meant continually inflated bills for the subscribers. Most of the channels are again ready to increase the subscription rates. Star Plus, Zee
TV, Sony have their packages and the total cost is Rs 122. The other channels such as ESPN, B4U will charge Rs 61. The copyright charges and entertainment tax would be Rs 36. The total cost has been calculated at Rs 220. The cable operators also want Rs 50 to Rs 100 per connection. The charges, put together, would be around Rs 300 which will be beyond the reach of the common man. Most of the subscribers are not interested in watching all channels. They are of the view that they should not be punished for their likes and dislikes or those of the others. The main purpose is to get wholesome entertainment from the cable network. The city subscribers are also not watching Astha TV due to some technical snag in the programme. I would request Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj to intervene and take up the matter with cable authorities and others so that everyone in the city enjoys cable television as per their choice. I would also request the companies not to give advertisements to the television channels because they are harassing consumers every month. M.
L. Garg, Chandigarh
II From July 1, 2002, the cable operators have hiked the monthly cable rates — Rs 275 in Panchkula, Rs 180 in Chandigarh and Rs 150 in SAS Nagar. I don’t know why this separate tariff structure for different places as all these are satellite towns of Chandigarh. The rates should have been uniform in all three towns, including Chandigarh. Though the rates are higher in Panchkula, the services rendered are extremely poor. In fact, they put consumers at places like AWHO Complex, Sector 4 MDC, at great disadvantage. Owing to power failure in Sector 16, people in Sector 4 MDC are also deprived of the reception. Since the cable operators are charging hefty rates, they should have made elaborate arrangements to ensure continued power supply (through a standby source) and proper transmission of signals to the Cable Network in the AWHO Complex. It is a pity that whenever we ring up the Cable Network office for non-receipt or poor quality service, the standard response is “Peechhe se bund hai or peechhe se kharab hai”. Since we are making payment to the Cable Network, it is their duty to get us the best reception. Apparently, as they lack equipment like receivers, we are unable to get good reception. Channels are being switched to various receivers with impunity. If the operator cannot give us the best reception, he should charge us the same rates in vogue in Chandigarh. Introduction of the Conditional Access System (CAS) is on the cards. Consumers and residents welfare associations of various sectors should demand the CAS and ensure that subscription costs are worked out in a transparent and fair manner. The CAS will ensure that consumers will have the option of watching the channels of their choice and will not pay for a package of channels as is being done these days. Will the authorities look into this problem being faced by the consumers? GURCHARAN,
Panchkula
III In Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula, people have been protesting against the unreasonable, unfair and arbitrary increase in the cable tariff by the operators In some sectors, the operators have hiked the tariff by a whopping 100 per cent. People have also become victims of the monopolistic attitude of the cable operators who demand and collect exorbitant subscription without bothering to improve the quality of their services. The other day, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner expressed helplessness to check the operators’ ways under the Consumer Protection Act. Unfortunately, the attitude of the Chandigarh Administration too has been lackadaisical in this regard. The latter has given a long rope to the cable operators to exploit and blackmail consumers by raising the tariff now and then without any rhyme or reason. It would be appreciated if the Municipal Corporation/councils at Chandigarh, Panchkula and SAS Nagar take over the operation of television cable services. This will not only go a long way in resolving the problems of the cable consumers but also boost the revenue collection of the corporation/councils. If the latter lack the necessary infrastructure, the project can be leased out to contractors who will be under the direct superintendence and control of the corporation/councils. However, if the corporation /councils are reluctant to jump into the field, the welfare associations, senior citizen associations, NGOs and other organisations should come forward and take over the operation of cable services on cooperative basis. This will not only put an end to the exploitation of consumers by cable operators but also ensure quality services at reasonable tariff. M.
L. DHAWAN, Chandigarh
IV I feel we are fighting on the wrong lines. The cable operators are not at fault. Instead, the fault lies with the telecasting companies which are filling their coffers both ways — by charging the viewer as well as the advertiser. And we, the consumers, suffer both ways. We pay as viewers to the pay channels through cable operators and to the sponsoring companies as consumers by buying their products at inflated prices including the huge advertising costs. I seek the co-operation of all like-minded people, cable viewers and local cable operators to unite and boycott all pay channels. There are still many free channels which can provide us good entertainment. Hence, let us ask our local cable operators to show only free-on-air channels for a reasonable fee. We cannot allow foreign companies to fill their banks with our hard-earned money. Let us unite and say no to pay channels. P.
R. KANSAL, Chandigarh
In a state of chaos I often visit the District Courts, Sector 17, Chandigarh, to purchase stamp papers and court fee stamps as also to follow up some ongoing cases there. Unfortunately, there are hardly three to four stamp vendors in the morning and two or three in the evening despite the heavy rush of people including women queueing up in the hot sun and rain without any shelter. It is time the authorities took steps to reduce the hardship of visitors I feel if the court has the full strength of stamps vendors, this problem can be solved to a large extent. Moreover, there are some stamp vendors who do not seem to be interested in the profession. Why can’t the Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, dispense with their services and recruit new vendors to deliver the goods? I appeal to the Chandigarh Administration to ensure the full strength of stamp vendors at the District Courts the whole day. Those standing in the queue also deserve some shelter and amenities. J.
S. NARANG, Chandigarh |
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Fifty years of bookselling THE IQ of city’s residents can be measured truly by the number of bookshops dotting its up-market commercial centres. That way the presence of several bookstores in Chandigarh is certainly a tribute to the enlightened denizens of this designer city — in sharp contrast to the rest of the towns in North India (except perhaps one bookshop in Ludhiana and two in Shimla), that boast of a high commercial and industrial potential but cannot show up more than a few well-managed modern bookshops. Chandigarh has Browser, Capital, Variety and Universal. Lyall Book Depot in Ludhiana and Maria Brothers and Minerva Book House in Shimla can also boast of good and varied stocks of titles. The oldest bookshop in the City Beautiful, the English Book Shop, just celebrated its golden jubilee (on August 10). It is a unique event in the literary and social history of the region. Chandigarhians must feel proud to flaunt the fact that the new city has good bookstores which enjoy as much popularity and respectability as any highbrow hotel, restaurant or discotheque. People here are as liberal in loosening their purse strings over books as on clothes, fast food or any other consumer extravaganza churned out by multinationals. The English Book Shop has just completed 50 years of popular book dispensing in Sectors 22 and 17 of the city. It had its humble beginnings in a small booth storing school books and stationery in then only exclusive city centre (Sector 22) in 1952. During the past half a century of its existence, it has flowered into one of the five popular bookshops of the city catering to the literary and academic tastes of people of all disciplines in knowledge and age-old wisdom — literature, history, politics, philosophy, science and information technology. It is a tribute to the moving spirit behind the venture, Mr Chander Parkash Chaudhary, now the Director of the English Book Shop (EBS). Also, bookselling is an honourable occupation, unlike selling soap and bootpolish. A bookseller has to be patient and friendly to his customers because you normally spend 15 to 30 minutes in the shop to buy a good book as against only one minute to purchase the shaving cream. Mr Chaudhary came to Delhi as a displaced person from West Punjab on the eve of partition. Later, he moved over to Chandigarh after Le Corbusier’s new city found its commercial feet. Mr Chaudhary had thus an inkling of the gentry that would migrate to the new capital of Punjab from all parts of the north-western India. After all, the new civil secretariat, a new university and its big library, a Central State Library, an Engineering College and several large hospitals were to come up here. The large clientele of book-hunters and book-addicts were thus to reside in the emerging metropolis. Mr Chaudhary encourages book lovers to gather along the book racks displaying tastefully the wonderful stock of coloured books and magazines and browse the books even without the intent to purchase anything. This is not only good-humouredly tolerated but openly encouraged in this bookshop because of its large open space. No other bookshop in the city has so much space to move around. “It is because of this liberal reader-friendly atmosphere that in the evenings our bookshop look like a social watering hole where bureaucrats, politicians and other booklovers rub shoulders,” says a beaming Mr Chaudhary (75), who is helped by a youthful team of his two sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv, and nearly a dozen salesmen and other staffers who look after the running of this family venture. The occasional presence of Mrs Chaudhary at the cash counter in the forenoon and afternoon completes the family environment and gives the shop a unique flavour. Rajiv and Sanjiv with their cheerful and smiling demeanour are on first-name terms with innumerable committed and regular customers, for whom ending their evening round of Sector 17 at the English Book Shop is a must. Rajiv says good humouredly that his shop resembles a lost-and-found place, since it is a meeting centre of all those souls of the city who are keen to meet an old friend or acquaintance in the City Centre. If you are busy going through a book or a magazine at the racks, it is not unusual to get a thump on the back from an old friend standing just behind you. The journey from a smaller market in Sector 22 to plush City Centre in Sector 17 took Mr Chaudhary 33 long years. The present bigger and popular bookshop in Sector 17 was opened on August 10, 1985 — 17 years ago. It is the friendly and family ambience in the 50-year-old bookshop which has made it one of the few big book stores in the city and also its social, cultural and literary hub. The Director, Mr
C. P. Chaudhary, remembers many celebrated names that used to frequent his shop in the past. He recalls such book-lovers in 1950s and 1960s such as Mr Justice
G. D. Khosla, well-known writer Nayantara Sahgal, celebrated bureaucrats Dr M.S. Randhawa and Mr
E. N. Magat Rai, and great novelist Dr Mulk Raj Anand to name only a few. Among the present clientele are many distinguished judges, officers, scholars and professionals who extend committed support to the bookshop and visit it once a week. On the occasion of celebrating its golden jubilee, the management has announced a special rebate of 15 per cent to 25 per cent on all general books. EBS has a well stocked collection on several subjects, but it takes a special pride in its unique Children’s corner where well-illustrated books for youngsters are displayed. Book-lovers of all ages join heads to browse the “literary toys”. One wishes that all bookshops proliferate to satisfy the knowledge-hungry people of this city with a vengeance.
I. L. Dawra |
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Traffic
restrictions on I-Day Chandigarh, August 13 The road stretches on Udyog Path from the roundabout of Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23 to the small rotary near Gurdial Singh petrol pump, Sector 22-A; and from crossing of Sectors 16 and 17 to the roundabout of Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23; on Jan Marg from light point near Lyon’s restaurant to the Parade Ground will remain closed for vehicles from 6 am till the
VIP’s and senior officials with authorised car parking labels on their vehicles will be allowed entry from the roundabout of Sectors 16, 17, 22 and 23 on Udyog path. The parking of vehicles will be allowed in the parking area in front of the market of Sector 22-A. Members of the public can park their vehicles in the parking areas of Sector 22-B, adjacent to the Blood Disease Hospital, Sector 23-B, on the rear side of Neelam Cinema, in the parking area of football stadium and in the circus ground. All buses coming from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and other places to the ISBT, Sector 17 will be diverted towards the ISBT roundabout from the Bajwara and Piccadilly roundabouts via the small rotary near Gurdial Singh petrol pump, Sector 22. For the function in the Punjab Raj Bhavan, the road stretch from the roundabout of Sectors 5, 6, 7 and 8 up to the T-point near the Golf Club and from the T-point near the Punjab Raj Bhavan to the residence of the Adviser to the UT Administrator will remain closed for the general public from 2 pm till the ending of the function in the Raj Bhavan. The invitees at the function, having pink parking labels on their cars, will have to park their vehicles in the parking area on the rear side of the Adviser’s residence. The self-driven cars of senior citizens with pink car parking labels will be allowed parking in the parking area near the mini zoo. The invitees with green parking labels will have to use the road turning from Sectors 7 and 8 to reach the parking area adjacent to the Adviser’s residence in Sector 7. Members of the Golf Club will have to use the road from SGGS College side to approach the club from 2 pm onwards till the ending of the function. |
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Zoos closed on I-Day Chandigarh, August 13 |
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Mega fasting prayer Chandigarh, August 13 |
Youth commits
suicide SAS Nagar, August 13 The body of 26-year-old, Happy was found hanging in a room of his house. Members of his family declined to comment on the reason why he took the extreme step. The police sent the body to the local Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination. It was inquiring into the case. |
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