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| Saturday,
September 21, 2002,
Chandigarh, India
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PU to start diploma in Mass Comm Chandigarh, September 20 The course will provide guidance, understanding and basic skill needed for those interested in journalism and mass communication. A person who possess a
degree in any discipline is eligible to join this course. The fee for the course will be approximately Rs 5,000. The medium of instruction will be English though candidates will have the option to take the examination in English, Hindi or Punjabi medium. The last date for the submission of applications is
September 30 (without fee) and with a late fee of Rs 150 the last date shall be October 25. The PU spokesperson said the course provides for ample job prospects in newspapers, radio, TV programming , production houses, TV satellite channels, multi-media production houses, advertising agencies , public relations agencies, media related government departments and media consultancy firms, among other options. |
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Company director held in lottery fraud case Chandigarh, September 20 The Punjab Finance Department got a case registered with the Chandigarh Police on September 1 last following it suspected that a private company identified as venture Business Advisers Private Limited Consortium had attempted to cheat the state government by furnishing bogus, invalid and forged bank guarantees at the time of signing agreement to run the operations of online lottery. Sources in the Delhi Police said the suspect, Maneesh had landed at the airport at about 3 am and was immediately arrested by the Delhi Police. According to the information available, the Chandigarh Police has written to the Airport Authority of India about the promoters of the company. After the arrest of Munish, a fax message was reportedly sent to Chandigarh Police. A team of Chandigarh Police had reportedly gone to Delhi to question the suspect, who had reportedly got interim bail. However, no official of Chandigarh Police was available for comments. In the case registered by the Chandigarh Police, the name of M/s Venture
Business Advisors Pvt Limited, comprising Jupinfotex India, Mumbai, BSBK Pvt Ltd, Bhilai and Souncraft Industries, Mumbai, had given the highest bid. The bidder through its signatory has submitted a bank guarantee alleged to be issued through State Bank of India, Mumbai. The bank guarantee was valid for six months against the requirement of validity for the entire period of the agreement. Thereafter the above said agents submitted another bank guarantee through Western Cooperative Bank, Mumbai, for one year — which was renewable for seven years. The Punjab Lotteries Department during its course of investigations found that the bank guarantees had been forged from Western Cooperative Bank, Mumbai. The issue has already seen a lot of heat between the Chandigarh Administration and the Punjab Finance Department over the handing over referring the case to the CBI without consulting it. The Finance Department has decided to raise the issue before the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. The lottery case along with the infamous rape case and another case involving a Haryana Minister had been referred to the CBI by the Chandigarh Administration. |
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PGI projects may face financial crunch Chandigarh, September 20 Terming the approved outlay of Rs 200 crores by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the 10th Plan (2002-07), through its letter dated July 18, as grossly inadequate, the PGI will raise the issue at a meeting of the Standing Finance under formulation of the 10th Five Year Plan ( 2002-07) of the Institute. Under item no. 11 of the agenda prepared for the September 28 meeting, it has been mentioned that the liability on account of purchase of machinery and equipment under the Ninth Plan was Rs 115 crore. It has been stated that only token provision has been made for new schemes proposed to be taken in the 10th Plan, as there was constraint of funds. Some money would also be spent on the continuing schemes of the Ninth Plan to be completed in the next plan. It is further stated that the estimated requirement of additional funds under the plan would be assessed during the mid-term appraisal and the government will be asked to provide it. The new schemes include the Advanced Neuro Sciences Centre, New OT Complex, Molecular Medicine and Bio-information centre,
upgrading of Community Medicine Department to School of Public Health,
upgrading urology to advanced urology centre and modernising Animal House. As per the observation made by the SFC at its meeting on December 21, 2001, the PGI has made year wise phasing of expenditure during the Tenth Plan, as it was difficult to spend the plan funds during the initial years. While a sum of Rs 94.84 crore would be spent on continuing schemes of the Ninth Plan, Rs 65 crore would be spent for developing various departments, including liability of equipment ordered in previous plan. However, a sum of Rs 40.16 crore has been allocated for new schemes proposed under the Tenth Plan. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has allocated Rs 94.54 crore under non-plan allocation for the year 2002-03 to the PGI. The PGI has anticipated an income of Rs 20 crore during the current financial year, making the non-plan allocation of Rs 11.45 crore. In February, the centre also allocated Rs 25 crore under the plan for the current year. The budget estimates for the current year would be placed before the SFC for approval. |
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Anant Chaudas Chandigarh, September 20 According to a press note, the devotees started the celebrations early in the morning. The devotees offered prayers to Bhagwan Vasu Pujya. A folk-tale giving details of Anant Chaudas was also narrated by Virag Shastri from Jabalpur. Later, a shobha yatra was taken out in which hundreds of devotees participated. The function concluded with ‘aarti’ at night. |
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Private firm bids for sold property Chandigarh, September 20 This was communicated to the Finance and Contract Committee, which after discussing the new offer and legal opinion against the cancellation of auction of SCO 178-179 in Sector 9 decided to refer the matter to the Municipal Corporation House scheduled to meet later in the month. The representatives of the Phulkari Estates Private Limited, Mr N.K. Nayyar and Mr R.L. Goel, hiked their offer with a promise of 10 per cent advance deposit to Rs 1.5 crore from the September 18 offer of Rs 1.4 crore. The two representatives said they could not make the same offer of Rs 1.85 crore as there had been a slump in the market during the intervening period between today and January 23, 2002, when the offer was allegedly rejected. The bid winners, Mr Amit Jain and Mr Rajeshwar Jain, warned that they would go to court if the corporation cancelled their auction saying it was a contract between the buyer and the Municipal Corporation and cancellation could only be resorted to when there was a violation of terms and conditions. Another NRI bidder, Mr Puneet Jain, also came for today’s proceedings and said bids of Rs 1.7 crore and later Rs 1.85 crore were made before him by Phulkar Estates Private Limited but were rejected saying bids below Rs 2 crore would not be accepted despite the reserve price of Rs 1.6 crore. Phulkari Estates Private Limited in a press note also came down heavily on the BJP saying. “We only appeal to the leaders not to degrade the matter to a political warfare but only to take it as an example to bring about systemic changes in the process of fixation of the reserve price and the preparation of the bid sheet even for an auction that is subsequently withdrawn for any reason whatsoever.” The note also said: “We earnestly feel that any effort to derive political mileage out of this will not be in the interest of either the city or the Municipal Corporation.” It will also not serve the purpose of those who want to exploit the issue, the note signed by Mr R.L. Goyal, the director of the company, said. Virtually disowning the BJP, the note said: “We brought the fact to the notice of the councillor of ward number 12 but we are now surprised to find that this matter had wholly been given an unnecessary and uncalled for political
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Karmapa hopeful of early solution Chandigarh, September 20 The 17-year-old spiritual leader, who heads the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, said that though he was not aware of the actual details of the recent talks, he was confident that there would be an early solution to the problem so that lakhs of Tibetan refugees who had been forced to flee their homeland could return back. ‘‘The exact details would be made public only once the envoys report back to the Dalai Lama,’’ he stated. Ever since the envoys of the Dalai Lama, including his own brother, went to China to hold talks with the Chinese regime, the Tibetans have been pinning their hopes on a positive outcome so that their four-decade-long struggle could come to an end, paving the way for their return to Tibet. The Karmapa, while on his way back from Kolkata, stopped in the city to break the long journey from Delhi to Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile. He had gone to Kolkata on the invitation of the Mahabodhi Society of India for the 138th birth anniversary celebrations of their founder. Talking to TNS, he ruled out any possibility of his shifting from Dharamsala to any other place in India. ‘‘The reason for my landing in India was to go to the traditional seat of the Kagyu sect at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, and that remains my ambition and as such I have no plans to shift elsewhere,’’ he clarified. It was on January 5, 1999, that the Karmapa had taken the world by surprise when he made a sudden appearance in Dharamsala, after fleeing from Tibet. Ever since, there has been speculation from time to time about his shifting to another place. ‘‘I do have plans to set up a monastery or institute for my followers somewhere in India, but I do not know when this will materialise,’’ he said, without disclosing the destination. In reply to a question if he would act as a mediator between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government for an early solution to the Tibetan problem, he said that he could not think of doing so as he had yet to settle down properly in India. The Karmapa also said that he was undertaking religious education from his guru, Tai Situ Rinpoche, at the Gyuto Monastery, near Dharamsala. |
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PM urged to honour commitment Chandigarh, September 20 ‘‘Mr Vajpayee and 17 of his ministerial colleagues had demanded on March 15, 1990, that 6 Krishna Menon Marg, the official residence of Babuji since 1952, be made his memorial and now they should honour their commitment instead of serving an eviction notice,’’ Ms Kumar told reporters here. Ms Kumar said as soon as Mr Ram's wife, Indrani Ram, died on April 14 this year, the government sent an eviction order on May 14 despite the place having remained Babuji's memorial for 15 years. Ms Kumar said she had already sent her belongings to a private house and was ready to hand over the keys to some authority which guaranteed safety of the national treasure housed in the functioning memorial. She said 190 MPs, including the Leader of the Opposition, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Convener, Mr George Fernandes, again wrote a letter on July 1 repeating the same demand. Ms Kumar released a letter to the press signed by Mr Vajpayee. When asked whether she would organise protests to oppose the removal of the memorial, she said: ‘‘I hope the Prime Minister will honour his commitment.’’ Ms Kumar, however, said crores of sympathisers of Babuji could not be stopped from protesting if efforts to remove memories of a great son of the soil were made. When asked about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha's opposition to Ms Sonia Gandhi on the basis of her foreign origin, Ms Kumar said the issued had already been settled and there was no merit in raising it again. Stressing that her organisation was working in the social field and was apolitical, Ms Kumar said her colleagues of the movement would soon decide whether they should contest elections in Himachal Pradesh and other assembly elections. When asked if she would again go back to the Congress, Ms Kumar seemed non-committal, saying as of now she maintained equi-distance from all political formations. In support of her claim that the official residence of Mr Ram was already functioning as a memorial for 15 years, Ms Kumar showed photographs of Presidents of India and Prime Ministers attending official functions in the house. |
Making a house would
drive you nuts Chandigarh, September 20 The UT Administration appears to have finally woken up to take cognizance of this fact and has invited suggestions for simplifying procedures and cutting down red-tapism. The present channels are as follows: 1. Dairy clerk in the Estate Office, 2. receipt clerk of residential/ commercial/industrial category, 3. estate office for ownership verification, 4. estate office for no dues verification, 5. back to receipt clerk, 6. to record room for plan file, 7. to draftsman for paper scrutiny, 8. to concerned inspector for site report, 9. to draftsman for working out the fine, if any, 10. to cashier for deposit of additional security, 11. to concerned draftsman for architectural objections, 12. to head draftsman for the re-check of such objections, 13. to SDO for verification and approval, 14. to despatch clerk for preparing the plans list for despatch to architect’s office only once a week, i.e. Tuesday, 15. to peon for handing over to Sector 9 architect office, 16. to receipt clerk of architect’s office for receipt no., 17. to concerned Chairman of the Planning Advisory Committee for receipt No. and dispatching to the concerned Architecture Department, 18. scrutiny and objection by draftsman of the Architecture Department, 19. rechecking by the architect of the Architecture Department, 20. to respective Town Planner/District Town Planner, 21. scrutiny and checking by draftsman of ATP/DTP, 22. rechecking by ATP/DTP, 23. to concerned chairman of the planned advisory committee, 24. to put up in the meeting being held every Thursday. Public Health and Fire Department objections raised by concerned officials, 25. presence of all 12 members essential. Otherwise postponed to the next weekly meeting, 26. if objections are raised to a plan, send it back to building branch of the Estate Office of Sector 17, 27. after attending to objections, it is again sent to the planned advisory meeting to Sector 9 only on Thursday by the private architect, 28. after approval of all the members and chairman, send back to the SDO Buildings, Sector 17, 29. to draftsman for calculating the composition fee, if any, before release, 30. to head draftsman for approval, 31. to SDO for approval, 32. to Estate Office for AEO approval, 33. to back to SDO, 34. to draftsman for collecting and issuing the composition fee, 35. to another draftsman for fixing approval-form and stamps etc, 36. to head draftsman for re-checking, 37. to SDO for approval and, 38. to despatch clerk for release to the private architect. According to Mr Ashok Bansal, general secretary, Hotel Association of Chandigarh, the plan should be sanctioned “under one roof” with the following procedure. It should be received by a draftsman rather than the receipt clerk and should be accepted/returned after scrutiny of all the papers on the table itself. 2 Ownership verification should be confirmed from the computerised record and if this is not possible, a separate sheet for confirming ownership should be sent to the respective department. 3 No dues verification should be required only at the time of granting completion certificate and not during the sanctioning of a plan. 4 Inspector of site verification should be on a separate sheet and section 5 should be imposed only for zoning violations and not on any sanctionable and compoundable charges. 5 A qualified draftsman’s and architect/DTP members of the Architecture Department should function from the Estate Office with full on a regular basis.  |
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Selja urges women to back Sonia Chandigarh, September 20 Ms Selja, a former union minister and also the General Secretary of the All-India Mahila Congress, made the appeal here today at a party workers’ meeting to prepare for the October 1 ‘’Women Empowerment Meet’’ in Delhi. Ms Selja said the issue of foreigner status of Ms Sonia Gandhi had been raised by politicians and Ms Jayalalitha to hide ‘’failures’’ of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre. The former union minister hailing from Haryana said the Congress was the most sincere about the cause of empowerment of women and this had been revealed when the Bill for representation to women in legislatures came up. She said the Congress was the only party which issued a whip to Members of Parliament in support of the Bill. Ms Selja claimed that the Congress was ahead of other parties in providing representation to women in the team of party office-bearers. She said the party had already given 26 to 27 per cent representation to women in the team of office-bearers. Ms Selja, however, said the party was still behind the target of 33 per cent representation. With the consensus eluding on the bill for the 33 per cent representation to women in legislatures, the Election Commission had urged political parties to give 33 per cent nominations in an election to women candidates. Another All-India Congress Committee Secretary and the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, said the mask of the BJP was exposed in the Gujarat riots in which wombs of women were allegedly torn to kill their foetuses. Ms Selja also said the Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, was only a symbolic head of the government and the real powers had gone to the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lal Krishan Advani, who supported the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi. The Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, welcomed Ms Selja and introduced her to women party councillors and Mahila Congress workers. Yesterday, the All-India Mahila Congress President, Ms Chandresh Kumari, urged women to be conscious of their rights and demand them. “The two Mahila Congress leaders came to the city as part of women empowerment meet in Delhi un which the Congress women elected representatives will take put. |
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Stress on maintaining ecological balance Chandigarh, September 20 Inaugurating the seminar-cum-workshop, Mrs Varsha Joshi, Director Public Instruction (Colleges), emphasised the need for building sustainable environmental reservoir and its banking concept to maintain ecological balance. Delivering the keynote address, Dr R.P. Bajpai, Director CSIO, said technology and civilisation had to find the meeting ground for the preservation of environment. Citing examples from local, national and international scenario, Dr Bajpai emphasised the need for spreading awareness to build culture along the environmentally friendly lines. The first technical session dealt with Perceptions and Awareness in which two dignitaries — Dr K.K. Garg, Additional Director, Northern Regional Office of Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, and Mr H.G.S. Dhaliwal, SP (OPS), Chandigarh Administration — talked on relevant issues. Dr Garg highlighted the national awareness education campaign initiated by the Ministry of Environment, while Mr Dhaliwal urged teachers to involve students in preserving the environment. The second technical session focussed on environment education and challenges in which Prof S.C. Jain, Chairperson, Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, spoke on thermodynamics, energy conservation and pollution, while Dr S.C. Mann, Joint Director, Haryana Pollution Control Board, informed the participants about ‘clean technologies’ needed for checking pollution. During the last technical session, recent trends in environment education were discussed in depth with the help of side and multimedia presentation by Mr Vivek Verma, Principal System Analyst from National Informatics Centre. Earlier, Mrs Surinder Tangri, Principal of the college, while welcoming the guests, informed that awareness was the key to tackling environment related problems. The seminar would conclude tomorrow. |
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Jacob aghast at poor sanitation in colony Chandigarh, September 20 General Jacob later summoned the Acting Chief Engineer, S.K. Mehtani, to Raj Bhavan and asked him to submit a complete inspection report of the area. Mr Mehtani informed the Administrator that maintenance work of the houses has already begun and all complaints of the residents would be attended by October 31, 2002. “Let it be a Divali gift,” the General is reported to have told Mr Mehtani later on. The visit by the General was part of the surprise visits paid by him to the foreign students’ Hostel, Sector 15, and College of Arts this morning. General Jacob found the maintenance of the police colony poor. Residents complained about leaking roofs and seepage in walls. The balconies, which are common for the flats built like hostel-type accommodation, are crumbling. To bathe residents have to fetch water from outside, and the same is true for cooking and cleaning of dishes in the kitchen. Residents told the General that toilets, bathrooms and kitchens in the houses of the police colony did not have water connections making their life hell. And this too in a city like Chandigarh. Earlier, General Jacob had reached the foreign students hostel in Sector 15 without any notice. The Administrator wanted to see improvement, if any, in the hostel, after his last surprise visit one-and-a-half-years ago. The Governor reached the hostel’s main gate. It was locked. The Governor walked down to the kitchen without waiting for the gate to be opened. He found the kitchen of the mess, full of slush with peels of vegetables floating around. This was despite the fact that kitchen had been redone after his last visit but was not being maintained and cleaned by the contractor properly. Though gas stoves were being used by the contractor, cleanliness and hygiene of the kitchen left much to be desired. The Governor found the dinning hall also full of cobwebs and dirt-laden ceiling fans. The Administrator went to various rooms. Students complained that worms were found in cooked rice being served to the students in the meals. Moreover, they were not getting full diet as per being served to other hostels. Later, General Jacob paid a surprise visit to the College of Arts. The Administrator told the budding artists that before venturing into modern arts, they must understand the basics of conventional art. Appreciating the various works of the students, General Jacob said that “we must be cautious about the effect of light and shadow in the painting because they provide depth in a work of art.” |
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Jacob releases booklet on Project Sahyog Chandigarh, September 20 A colourful booklet on the subject was released by the UT Administrator, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), today. The booklet titled ‘‘Project Sahyog — Waste to Wealth’’ has been published by the Chandigarh Administration. Speaking on the occasion, General Jacob said it was his endeavour to make the city an ideal city in respect of solid waste management. No city could achieve this goal without evolving a systematic and organised way of disposal of solid waste. Project Sahyog is a step taken in this direction. Appreciating his Adviser, Ms Neeru Nanda, for pursuing the project with a missionary zeal, General Jacob said in today’s world, management of waste was one of the most difficult issues, which each country was facing. It is, therefore, our duty to set an example by taking this initiative. Our city will soon be a model for others, he commented. General Jacob said “through the execution of Project Sahyog, we are fulfilling the country’s commitment towards good, clean and healthy environment.” He appealed to the residents of Chandigarh to come forward and join hands with the Chandigarh Administration to promote this programme. Prominent amongst those present on the occasion were the Adviser, Ms Neeru Nanda, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr M.P. Singh, Managing Director, CITCO, Mr S.P. Singh, councillors of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and Members of various NGOs. |
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Shopkeepers complain against enforcement staff Chandigarh, September 20 The mandal vice-president and chairman of the Task Force Committee, Mr Kamaljeet Panchhi, along with Mr Satpaul Garg and Mr Subhash Sethi, met the Mayor and the Secretary after a visit to the spot in Sector 40 where clashes between traders and enforcement staff allegedly took place. They said a case against traders was registered when the shopkeepers objected to their “illegal” behaviour. These leaders urged the MCC and the Administration to issue guidelines for behaving decently with shopkeepers. |
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Khalsa Panchayat’s action flayed Chandigarh, September 20 As per the Sikh tradition, only Akal Takht has the authority to issue edicts. Mr Satwant Singh Anandpuri, President of the Khalsa Conference said the Khalsa Panchayat was guilty of lowering the dignity of Akal Takht. The panchayat had challenged the decision of the takht in the case of Baba Dhanwant Singh. The panchayat formed its own five member committee to deal with the subject. Mr Anandpuri demanded severe punishment for those associated with such a move of the
panchayat. |
Juveniles held on theft charge Panchkula, September 20 The boys aged 14, 15 and 16 years respectively were arrested by the police during a special naka last night. As many as seven stereos were seized from them. The boys were reportedly stealing stereos for “living it up in style”. They were presented before a local court and sent to 14 days judicial custody. Fraud Arrested Two held CHANDIGARH Chain
snatching Theft Assaulted Arrested Girl suffers burns Clash Though no action was taken by the police in the case, a case under the Arms Act has been registered against Baj Singh for possessing a firearms. A police official, however, said Baj Singh was not related to either of the groups and was just a passerby. |
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Body found Zirakpur, September 20 The police said the blood was oozing from one ear of the deceased and there were injury marks on his body. The exact cause of his death could not be ascertained. A senior police official said possibility of a murder could not be ruled out. Meanwhile, after registering a case the police has sent the body to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for a post-mortem. |
Hilti to open centre in city Chandigarh, September 20 A world technological leader with operations in more than 120 countries, Hilti believes in bringing its global expertise to the local industry. Hilti India, an ISO 9001 company, strives to offer the highest standards of quality, safety, application-friendliness and environmental compatibility to its customers. The company offers support to professionals in the construction industry through technical advice, application-product training, technical literature and after-sales services. |
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Japanese firm to open factory Panchkula, September 20 The HSIDC is learnt to have allotted eight acres (32400 sq
mtr) of land for this 100 per cent foreign direct investment project. In a ceremony held at the corporate office of the
HSIDC, here today, an allotment letter was handed over by Dr Harbakhsh Singh, Managing Director of the corporation to a senior functionary of the India- based subsidiary of the company.
Musashi Seimitsu is engaged in the manufacture of automobile parts with manufacturing facility in eleven countries, including the USA, Thailand, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Hungry and Germany. The company’s annual turnover during the last fiscal year was 72160 million Yen (approximately Rs 2829.39 crore). The proposed project involves manufacture of flat gears and related automotive parts as a dedicated vendor to Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Private Limited,
Manesar. The capital cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 62.74 crore, proposed to be financed by way of share capital of Rs 40 crore and term loans of Rs 20.27 crore from commercial banks. The main raw material for the project, steel bars and wires will be procured both from indigenous and imported sources. When implemented, the project will provide direct employment to more than 500 persons in this relatively backward region of the state. The company is committed to start commercial operations and supply to Honda Motorcycles and Scooters by October 2003. |
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