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November 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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List of constructions around
defence Chandigarh, November 16 In a prelude to likely ‘‘action’’ in the coming days, the Secretary of the Department of Local Government of Punjab, has asked for a detailed list of constructions falling within in an area of 900 metres from the Chandigarh Air Force Station, a radar installed in Lohgarh village, High Grounds, Bhabhat and Air Force Station, Barwala, in Haryana. The Secretary has asked the revenue officials to submit a comprehensive report on the constructions that have come up within a radius of 900 metres around the four defence installations located in the area. He also asked them to submit the report within a week. He also asked them that no building plan should be passed for the construction to be come up in this area. The Secretary has asked them that no construction should be allowed within 900-metres radius of the Chandigarh Air force Station, a radar installed in Lohgarh village, High Grounds, Bhabhat and Air Force Station, Barwala. It may be recalled that on a complaint by the IAF authorities, Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, Secretary to the department of Local Government of Punjab, through the Vigilance Wing of the department on October 22 had issued a notice to Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat authorities to prohibit any type of construction within the said limits. The notice had stated that no building plan (for the structures to be constructed within in the prohibited area) be passed and those passed earlier should be frozen with immediate effect. The vigilance team had also seized documents pertaining to the approved building plans besides the building plans submitted by the applicants seeking approval. Construction in Bhabhat and Lohgarh villages were prohibited in the previous orders, but as per the directions to the revenue department, constructions that have either come up or are being constructed within 900 metres of the Air Force Station, Bartana village, have also been included. According to sources in the department keeping an important defence installation in Bartana village construction surrounding it has been banned. Future of hundreds of already constructed or under construction buildings in the area had become uncertain. Sources in the revenue department said keeping in view the national security, the government had once again taken an initiative to ban constructions around defence installations in Ramgarh village too. Reacting over the decision of the government, residents of almost 26 villages, that would be affected, today constituted Ilaqa Zirakpur Bachao Committee under the presidentship of Ms Jaspal Singh. Mr Narinder Sharma, general secretary of the committee, said an emergency meeting of the sarpanches and residents of the affected villages would be held in Zirakpur tomorrow evening. In the meeting the further course of action would be decided. Efforts to contact Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, Secretary to Local Government of Punjab, of phone proved futile till late in the evening. |
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Rent Act amendment issue hots up Chandigarh, November 16 Property owners of the city will meet Deputy Prime Minister Mr L.K. Advani to impress upon him that the recent notification to bring about the amendment should not be withdrawn. This notification brings the tenants and landlords on an equal footing. The Joint Action Forum of Property Owners Associations today said a delegation of the forum would apprise Mr Advani about the plight of property owners of the city. The forum held a meeting today and welcomed the support extended by the Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh in favour of the rent Act. A spokesperson for the forum today said it was being considered to constitute a platform on the pattern of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal with a view to give uniform care and attention to all categories of traders unlike the
Meanwhile, the following have been elected as office-bearers of the Joint Action Forum of Property Owners’ Associations: patron — Mr Karnail Singh Doad; president — Mr R.K. Bhasin; senior vice-president — Brig Sant Singh (retd); vice-presidents — Brig N.S. Sandhu (retd), Dr A.S. Khara, Mr Amarjit Singh Sethi and Mr R.K. Gupta; general secretary — Mr R.P. Malhotra; organising secretary — Mr Narinder Paul Singh Chhina; finance secretary — Mr Anupal Singh Bawa and executive members — Mr Rakesh Wadhawan and Mr Kartar Singh Dhillon. The Chandigarh Beopar Mandal said a car and scooter rally of traders would be organised on November 18. The rally will start from Neelam Cinema and culminate in
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Amendment
in rent Act hailed Chandigarh, November 16 He urged the Chandigarh Administration to ask the Income Tax Department to take
cognisance of newspaper reports about the practice of “pagri” for subletting commercial property. He said instead of bowing before the tenants, who were exploiting land-owners, administration should make the provisions more stringent. He said the administration or the judiciary should register criminal cases against one persons misusing the earlier rent Act by exploiting the owners. “By collecting ‘pagri’, such tenants have caused heavy losses to the exchequer by filling fictitious income tax details and returns”, he alleged. He said the committee requested all land owners of villages and the city to fight the menace unitedly. He added that the unity of owners would help the administration in its approach to retain the laws without bowing before the ongoing protests under the aegis of the Beopar Mandal, which is actually a “pagri mandal”.
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UGC identifies PU for
computer networking Chandigarh, November 16 This was announced by Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of PU in his statement read out to the syndicate meeting held here today. In the first phase the UGC has released 90 per cent of the total grant. The remaining 10 per cent amount will be released when the networking is commissioned. Reliable sources said the total system capacity was “ two Megaflops which was the best in terms of bandwidth and speed”. “In this connection, the UGC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ERNET, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for setting up a UGC network for integration and virtual enhancement of academic infrastructure in educational and research institutions of the country. The UGC has prepared a tripartite agreement which is to be signed by the UGC, university and the ERNET”, an official note said. The university has decided to give a special chance to all candidates of third year undergraduate class who had appeared in a special chance for compartment conducted by the university. These students failed because the paper that they received was set according to the latest syllabus while they had prepared according to the syllabus they studied. The case pertaining to the revision of the pay scale of Mr M.G. Sharma, the Finance and Development Officer, was referred to the local Chief Fund Examiner following deliberations in the house. It may be remembered that the issue had arisen because
The house has recommended majority of the appointments which came up for deliberations. The issue of appointment of Dr Kewal Singh as Director of Sports again remain undecided. It may be remembered that his appointment was turned down by the syndicate putting a question mark on his work experience which should have been at least 15 years according to UGC norms. The matter then featured in the Senate which ordered a relook into the matter. The syndicate today decided that the matter should first be referred to the UGC to seek clarification whether his experience in Kenya could be counted while calculating his experience. The university meanwhile appointed Mr Trilok Singh as the Deputy Director of Sports. Mr Trilok Singh is an Olympian. The syndicate decided that it will study the proposal to exempt the condition of probation for teachers promoted under the Career Advancement Scheme. The syndicate has decided that it was for the senate to decide on a resolution which sought that in case of absence of a head of department, the charge should be given to the next senior-most teacher instead of handing over the charge to the Deans. The syndicate allowed the university decision to declare results of plus two of the CBSE for candidates who cleared the compartment in their third special chance. The results of the BA I students were held back because of non-declaration of the earlier results. The syndicate felicitated Prof Arun Goyal of Department of Correspondence Studies, for his appointment as a member of the University Grants Commission for three years. The syndicate also felicitated Prof Jitendra Mohan for getting the ICSSR national fellowship for his outstanding contribution in social sciences. The syndicate was informed about the fellow Lala Lajpat Rai’s contribution of Rs 4.70 lakh for the maintenance of the extension library at Ludhiana and another amount of Rs 3.75 lakh for major repair of the auditorium at the extension library. He has made the contributions out of the MP Fund. The syndicate felicitated students of the Law Department, who won the national-level moot court contest recently. |
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UGC chief to visit PU Chandigarh, November 16 Professor Nigavekar will speak on “Role of higher education: Its present challenges” at Physics Auditorium. He will also be inaugurating the National Centre for Human Genome Studies and Research.
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Army approached on shell issue Chandigarh, November 16 According to a senior police official, the Army authorities have been approached to dispose of the shell. The shell has been “safely” kept outside the Sector 39 police station. The ammunition — almost 1.25-foot-long and shaped like a fish — was discovered around 8.30 p.m. yesterday. An anonymous caller had reportedly informed the Police Control Room of a strange ammunition lying hidden in some shrubs near Prajapati Bhavan. |
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‘Negligence caused my wife’s death’ Chandigarh, November 16 Yet to come to terms with the sudden demise of his 37-year- old wife on November 14, he was so enraged that with the body of his wife in the vehicle he drove straight to the Tribune office, alleging that she had died due to the negligence of the doctors treating her. “ What am I going to tell my children, who thought that their mother would be back hale and hearty after the stone is removed,” he says as sorrow is overcome with indignation. He said that it was on October 19 that his wife was admitted to the PGI, after doctors at Kurukshetra referred her here. “ Everything had been going on fine till complications developed after she was operated upon on October 31, as a result of which she started passing out blood from the mouth as well as with stools,” he disclosed. Since her condition continued to deteriorate, another surgery was performed that evening at 9.30 p.m, which lasted for three hours, he said. Jai Pal said when he asked the doctors if his wife’s stone had been removed, he was told: “Forget about that as the crucial question now was to save her life.” “This did create some doubt in my mind but even then I could not think that she would actually die,” he said. It was finally on November 14 that she breathed her last in the presence of her mother-in-law, Lajwanti at PGI. Jai Pal, alleged that it was due to the negligence of the doctors that after the operation his wife started bleeding. “Despite, being a poor labourer I spent over Rs 70,000 on the treatment of my wife but now I have realised that nobody values the life of a common man, not even the PGI doctors, in whom I had great faith,” he says. The PGI PR committee, when contacted about the details of Bachni Devi’s case and the cause of her death denied that there had been any negligence. “She was a case of recurrent bio geneic colangitis (liver abscess), which is a life threatening condition but all the same a pre- operative biliary decompression was done in addition to anti biotic administration to relieve her fever and jaundice,” said doctors who treated Bachni Devi. As far as bleeding after the operation is concerned the doctors said that it is a known complication of the disease. They added that a surgical interaction was done after which bleeding had been controlled, but she succumbed to her infection. |
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FAKE VISA RACKET Chandigarh, November 16 These allegations were made by the Delhi-based couple, Mr Mickey Sahni and Ms Preeti Sahni, while attending a press conference here yesterday. They said the policemen were now demanding Rs 2 lakh more. Ramandeep Singh was arrested from Delhi on September 29 earlier. It is worth mentioning here that on November 13, the Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested SI Sarvan Singh while allegedly demanding and accepting Rs 5,000 from Ms Pooja Sharma, wife of Harish Sharma, another accused in the case. The cops were allegedly demanding the money to dilute the charges against the accused. Ms Pooja Sharma, who was present at the conference also alleged that she had already paid more than Rs 85,000 to the cops. She also disclosed that in charge of the Operation Cell, Inspector Jagbir Singh, was to collect Rs 50,000 from her on November 13. But when he came to know that only Rs 5,000 would be paid, he sent SI Sarvan Singh. She also claimed to have taped conversation of the cops with her. She said she was forced to approach the CBI after some senior officials of the police and Administration did not pay attention to her grievances. Mr Mickey Sahni, brother-in-law of Ramandeep Singh, told mediapersons that on September 29 he was called at police station in Rajouri Garden. Some officials of Chandigarh Police, including SI Sarwan Singh, had reached Delhi to arrest Ramandeep. “I was asked by the UT cops to reach Chandigarh the next day with Rs 1 lakh”, alleged Mr Sahni and added, ‘‘he also snatched my mobile phone”. Mr Sahni revealed that he was given a mobile phone number by the cops. He along with his wife, Ms Preeti Sahni, reached Chandigarh with Rs 1 lakh. When he called on the mobile number, he was told to reach a house in Sector 28. “When I along with my wife reached the house, the cops present there raised their demand from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. We were only carrying Rs 1 lakh and that was paid to them”. “After a couple of days they again demanded Rs 1.45 lakh but we snubbed them and they stopped asking for money”, alleged Mr Sahni. It may be recalled that on September 27 the Operations Cell of the police had claimed to have busted a racket involving issuing of fake visas by arresting a 35-year-old resident of Army Flats in Mansa Devi Complex, Harish Sharma. Three more persons, a 22-year-old girl, Priyanka, Ramandeep Singh and Kushwinder were arrested from Delhi. |
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Invites
becoming VIPs’ nightmare Chandigarh, November 16 If you ask any of the officers about this, they will tell you there is nothing unusual about the phenomenon. Every time a guru or a spiritual leader, even a singer, visits the city, “not-so-influential” residents call up the authorities or their “contacts” for passes. “I was asleep when the phone rang up,” claims an officer with the Haryana government. “I forced myself out of the bed and looked at the clock. It was little over 7 am. ‘Who could it be at this hour?’ — I wondered before picking the phone up. It was a distant relative seeking a pass. I do not exactly remember, but I muttered something, before politely promising to arrange for an invitation card”. Agreeing with him, another officer with the Punjab Government adds: “Like always, this time also I received over five phone calls from my friends and acquaintances seeking invites for gaining access to a programme, all wrongly believing we had received passes from public relations department”. The reason for residents’ anxiety is not very hard to see. Reaching the venue is always easy, but that’s where their test begins. Pushing ones way through the jostling crowd is almost impossible as devotees, or revelers, patiently wait in long meandering queues for their turn to enter. “That’s the reason why most of the enthusiastic devotees, even revelers, want to be armed with VIP passes believing these would make their entry easy,” says Naranjan of Uttar Pradesh, putting up in Sector 34. But why VIPs? “Chandigarh is essentially a VIP city,” asserts a senior IAS officer “harassed” by repeated phone calls. “Officials of the Punjab and Haryana governments, besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh, live here and are presented with invites every time a function takes place in the city. That’s the reason why residents are always after us for the passes”. Explaining the trend, socio-psychologist Radhu Dutta says, “Telecast on television is not enough. Somehow, everyone wants to watch the proceedings live. Be it a fashion show or performance by a dance artiste. Even a show by a singer attracts huge crowds. Discourses too lure a large number of devotees. As everyone wants to enter without sweating it out, they run here and there for passes”. |
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A delight for
food lovers Chandigarh, November 16 Especially, if you've been wondering where to head if prawns are on your mind. Yes, Prawns are the specialty on the menu — whether you opt for snacks, soup or the main course. To facilitate the budget of a family/ group and a couple, the prawns come in two varieties — jumbo (for Rs 590) and medium ( Rs 210). If garlic is your flavour, go in for the prawn dumplings served with the spicy garlic sauce. Otherwise, you have the option of the seafood cooked in sweet 'n sour style. Or, the ginger embellished crispy snacky prawns. Also on offer are lamb with noodles, chicken with cashewnuts and chicken wings with honey for the non-veg. The vegetarians can take delight in cheese dumplings with ginger (Rs 105), spinach chilli garlic and veg hongkong, crispy wonder rolls, and cheese saute, among other things. Complement these with rice or noodles, available in a range of styles and combinations. As you top the meal (lunch or dinner) with apple and banana toffees, you let the ambience sink into your veins already throbbing with the treat. Cutouts of dragons, Mongoloid men and maidens and Chinese script on colourful flags and light shades and the buntings on the ceiling give a festive feel while the soft music completes the picture.
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READERS WRITE
Dr Kumar's reading of the relevant provisions of Panjab University Calendar Volume 1 (1994) — now reproduced and incorporated verbatim in its latest issue of the year 2002 — clearly shows that there is a cut-off date in the existing pension scheme of 1991 and this date is October 2, 1993. His analysis also shows that this cut-off date has been prescribed to cover different categories of university employees — those who joined the Panjab University service after October 2, 1993 on the one hand, and those who retired before and after this date on the other. The clear intent of the then policymakers was to extend the social security provision to as many university employees as possible. Unlike the enactors of the pension scheme of 1999, which has now been rightly rejected by the central Government, the then policy-makers both at the Syndicate and Senate of the university did not desire to corner the benefits of pension only to the group of people in power. They looked much beyond the vested interests of the few. In the analysis of Dr Kumar, however, a reference to one very important provision is conspicuous by its absence. For making the picture clear, it is necessary to bear in mind the provision of regulation 1.6 that prohibits the university to make “any subsequent amendment in the regulations” depriving the employees of the security provision so thoughtfully enacted. We are extremely pained to point out the manner in which the university has gone to dismantle the scheme of 1991 by taking resort to falsehood. This is true as Dr Kumar has shown in his analysis, that Panjab University has its own pension scheme — the scheme of 1991 incorporated in the Panjab University Calendar Vol. I (1994) at pages 201-215, which was approved and notified in the official Gazette, Government of India, on October 2, 1993, and came into effect January 1, 1986. The same scheme, without any change, finds place in the revised edition of PU Calendar (2002). Thus, to say that PU has no pension scheme or the scheme of 1991 which is in existence has no cut-off date, amounts to telling a blatant lie. The makers of the scheme of 1999 dwelt upon the non-viability of the scheme of 1991. But how do they make their own scheme of 1999 viable? They do so by brazenly suggesting that the pension should be given only to those persons who retired on or after March 31, 1998. In other words, all those who retired before March 31, 1998 are not entitled to social security measure. Is this the way to make the pension scheme viable? Their simple calculation seems to be that under the existing scheme of 1991, since there is no possibility of their being benefited to the ‘fullest’ measure, the very existence of the existing scheme of 1991 should be nullified! Without going into the nitty-gritty of fine calculations, on a rough and ready estimate, one retiree needs to be supported by the Provident Fund contributions of at least seven in-service employees. This conservative estimate of 1:7 is bound to decrease the provident fund corpus considerably if it is borne in mind that in the case of teachers with the benefit of personal promotion scheme, the post of a retiring Professor with high salary would be filled invariably by a Lecturer at a much lower scale. Nobody could disagree with Dr Virendra Kumar's seminal suggestion that in the matters of social security provision at institutional level, we should think of implementing the scheme in a manner “that would provide the much-needed security cover first to those who are in the most necessitous circumstances”. His poser, “shouldn’t it be axiomatic to say that the claims of those employees who retired first have precedence over the ones who retire later?” deserve serious reflection by all right-thinking people. Thus, any total denial of social security cover to the founder-members of the university, who are still with us in the evening of their life, by the dubious device of “exclusion cut-off date” is simply revolting. If the university can afford to raise and spend about Rs 5 crore every year without any authorisation form the government either for spending the money or for raising the age of super-annuation from 60 to 62 years, there seems to be absolutely no reason whatsoever for spending only a fraction of that amount for a cause which is not only just and equitable but also duly sanctioned and notified by the government. S.S. Kumar, Ramakant Angiras, B.K. Das, I.R. Trehan, and High Pajni, all retired Professors Panjab University, Chandigarh II Dr Kumar has rightly said, “the Old pension scheme 1991 and the new pension scheme 1999 are almost similar and there is no substantial difference in the two”. In fact, while the 1991 scheme stands for justice, equity, fairplay and humanitarian considerations, the 1999 scheme aims at depriving the senior citizens and havenots from the benefit of financial assistance in their old age. In all fairness, the whole issue of pension should be examined retrospectively, and to see prospectively if something could be done meaningfully to resolve the impasse. Instead of meeting the just needs of its employees (retired and working), the university and aid-giving governments have succeeded in creating two rival camps fighting against each other. Like all other universities, Panjab University does need a pension scheme and its equitable implementation on humanitarian grounds is a moral imperative. Trilochan Singh,
III It is most unfortunate that unless there is pressure exerted either by way of an agitation or through political influence or by a court decree, the Government will not consider anything straightaway, howsoever genuine the issue might be. What is the constraint in extending the benefits of the usual pension
scheme to the staff of one of the oldest universities which continues to occupy the frontline position in India in terms of its academic excellence and research output? Coupled with this is the not-so-conducive and ungrateful attitude of the incumbent staff and their respective unions towards their predecessors who had actually done the spade work and got a scheme sanctioned, although with many ifs and buts. I think they should change their attitude and create an ambience for a concerted action, even if it means approaching the judiciary. Arvind,
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Police faux pas at liquor vend Panchkula, November 16 The incident reportedly took place around 5 pm, when a team of police led by Mr Ram Kumar raided this liquor vend . Thinking that the vend was illegal, they saw all records and found some
entries missing. The police closed down the vend and took away the two employees- Kala and Sandeep to Sector 6 police station. It was then that the liquor vend owner, Mr Samundar Singh was called. He reportedly told the police that the vend was functioning for the past three years. The police then called the Excise Staff , and Excise Inspector, Mr Sohan Lal Sharma clarified that the vend was legal. |
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Nagar kirtan procession Chandigarh, November 16 The kirtan procession passed through Sectors 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 20, 21, 22, 36, 37 and 38 before concluding at Shahpur Gurdwara. Schoolchildren and kirtan jathas from various local Gurdwaras apart from devotees participated in the nagar kirtan. |
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Riding
a scooter with ‘black film’! Chandigarh, November 16 The letter, issued on October 17, further directed him to be present before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to explain his position as to why proceedings under the Contempt of Court Act be not initiated against him and if found guilty why should he not be punished in accordance with the law. |
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3 hurt in mishap Chandigarh, November 16
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One killed in road
accident Chandigarh, November 16 Cheating cases: A resident of Sector 44, Ms Sunita Rani, was reportedly poorer by Rs 10,000 after two unidentified persons took away the amount by cheating her on Friday. In her police complaint, she told the police that the duo had come in a Indica car. A case of impersonation and cheating under various Sections of the IPC has been registered. A resident of Palsora village reported that Rs 25,000 were stolen from “dicky” of his scooter on Friday. A case of theft has been registered in the Sector 39 police station. Meanwhile, the police has arrested Rajbir Singh of Sector 47 and Rattan Lal of Ram Darbar for allegedly stealing some cooking utensils and iron chains from the 3BRD here on Friday. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered. Eve teasing: The police on Friday arrested Munish Kapoor and Rajiv, both residents of Panchkula, on charges of eve-teasing. They have been booked under Section 294 of the IPC. PANCHKULA Booked: The police has booked Gulshan Kumar, Tirath Ram, Ram Piari, Anita and Darshan of Barwala on charges of harassing Seema of Billa village for bringing insufficient dowry after her marriage to Gulshan Kumar. A case under Sections 406, 498-A, 506 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against them. Judicial remand: A local court today sent Inspector Rakesh Kumar of Excise Department to judicial remand till December 4, 2002. The accused however, complained of a chest pain and was admitted to General Hospital here. Rakesh Kumar was arrested yesterday on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 50 from a truck driver for letting him pass from the sales tax barrier at Kalka.
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Stolen
vehicles recovered SAS Nagar, November 16 |
Textile industry needs paradigm shift: experts
Chandigarh, November 16 The three-day conference, which concluded here today, also recommended that both the government and the industry must take decisive and concrete steps towards making the sector globally competitive. Speakers at the conference rationalised that what the textile industry required was a level playing field for the organised Indian industry, infusion of new technology, encouragement to innovation, knowledge creation and management, and, above all, the creation of new work culture. Summing up the proceedings of the conference, Dr M L Gulrajani from the IIT, New Delhi, said the conference’s recommendations to the government included discontinuation of discrimination, introduction of MODVAT, easing the entry and exit policy and the creation of apparel parks. Stressing on the key role of the creation and management of knowledge, the conference called for the creation of a textile university and revamping the textile research associations like ATIRA, BTRA, SITRA, NITA etc. On the product development front, the conference felt that the industry needed disruptive technologies for a quantum leap into the future. This meant creating high knowledge based fibres using biotechnological methods. The future belonged to intelligent and dynamic Smart Textiles, equipped for biochemical sensing, health monitoring, electronic functions and mechanical sensing.
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‘Need
to encourage NRI investors’ SAS Nagar, November 16 Mr Malhi also pointed out that he had tried organising many Indo-Canadian ventures but had failed due to lack of enough effort on part of the government here.‘
‘And it is mainly the bureaucrats who are to be blamed for this,’’ he said. The MLA, Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, who was the guest of honour on the occasion informed that a special NRI department was being set up in Punjab which will take care of the information and help that NRI investors want from the state. ‘‘Punjab friendly bureaucrats have been made in charge of the department which will also have its offices at district levels,
’’he said. Mr Bir Devinder Singh also stated that they had many expectations from those residents of the state who had made it big in foreign countries. ‘‘They can help Punjab regain its days of glory. Punjab has lost its first position to other states and now we are being compared to Bihar,’’ he commented. Earlier, the President of the Mohali Industries Association, Mr B.S. Baidwan welcomed the guest and introduced Mr Malhi to the various members of the association. In his welcome address stated that some of the sick industrial units in Mohali can be easily revived if NRI investors can give easy loans to these companies. Mr Malhi also announced on the occasion that the Canadian consulate building will be inaugurated in Chandigarh today and will be functional within a year. |
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Now, pay BSNL bills at HDFC Bank Chandigarh, November 16 This was announced by Mr Prithpal Singh, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of BSNL, here today. He announced that this facility would soon be extended throughout Punjab. BSNL will also sign agreements with the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and UTI Bank to provide the facility regarding the payment of bills online and through ATM cards. It had also signed agreements with ICICI Bank, and Bank of Punjab to deposit bills without any extra cost, he added. Mr S.C. Chaudhary, Principal General Manager, BSNL, Punjab circle, said the account holders could issue standing instructions to their banks to debit the bill amount from their accounts. Otherwise, they could make payments through ATMs, internet and mobile banking. The subscribers would continue to get telephone bills. Ms Neena, Regional Head of HDFC Bank, said the facility would be provided free of cost to all account holders and it would allow them to pay telephone bills 24 hours a day and seven days a week at any time from anywhere. Regarding the payment of mobile bills, Mr Prithpal Singh said as soon as the subscribers got their bills by December end, that facility would be extended to them as well.
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DR Virendra Kumar's viewpoint “PU pension scheme in prospect and retrospect” (Chandigarh Tribune, November 6) is revealing and enlightening. I wish if Dr Kumar's analysis of the PU pension scheme of 1991 would have been made known, say, two years earlier, much of the precious time and energy of both the Syndicate and Senate of Punjab University spent in enacting the so-called new pension scheme of 1999 could have been easily saved. The way the whole exercise was undertaken in this respect is surely a sad commentary on the functioning of the university.