 |
|
| Saturday,
February 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
|
Love birds fly to Himachal Chandigarh, February 14 While the UT police personnel kept working out strategies with regard to maintaining law and order in the city on the occasion of St Valentine’s Day, the real fun makers had already flown away into the hills to fill the Day with all that it was worthy of — togetherness, love and bliss. The first lot of Valentine Day revellers entered the boundaries of Himachal Pradesh at 6.30 a.m. As The Tribune took the drive uphill to see what the celebration was all about, it discovered that most of the couples had chosen to disappear into the hills. This was explained by a string of cars parked all along the National Highway, beginning from Parwanoo right up to Barog and even beyond. Employees at the Toll Collection Centre, Parwanoo (on the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border), who are in-charge of collection of toll tax, informed The Tribune team that the rush today was three times more than that on the normal days. Teb Raj, one of the employees collecting tax at the border said that the first group of youngsters went uphill as early as 6.30 a.m. He added that over 1000 young girls and boys had moved into the hills by about 1 pm already. “You can imagine how many of them have gone. Most of them were in four wheelers, loaded with heart shaped
balloons. Few were on two wheelers.” As The Tribune team drove further, it found many revellers making merry. Uninhibited, the couples were seen moving around the roads, singing, dancing and celebrating in style. In fact, many of them had parked their cars in safe corners and were sipping into beer mugs. The owners of liquor vends along the highway, when contacted, confirmed that the Valentine spirit was reigning high. One of the owners said, “The sales have been double. Beer is selling more than
As far as the celebrations go, the hottest spot, without doubt, was Timber Trail Resort in Parwanoo. Manager of the hotel said that the youngsters had surprised the hotel staff. He added that although the hotel authorities had not done anything special to attract the crowd, revellers had been moving in and moving out. Even dhabas cashed in on the Valentine Day celebrations. Not less than three cars on an average were seen parked outside dhabas at a time. Fruit juice vends were also heavily frequented, so were the three shops in Parwanoo which sell non-vegetarian pickles. Said one of the workers there, “We don’t know why but the rush today has been more than normal.”
|
|
Rose buds wilt in hands as love goes disco Chandigarh, February 14 As they shifted weight from one leg to another in the market corridors, waiting for tearing passion to break loose on the road meandering through the thumping hearts of city guys and Chandigarh's history, they realised with horror that Cupid's fluttering wings had been clipped. The commotion of love was missing, there was no doubt about it. Alive to the geri route's celebrated past, they had kick-started their wax-polished bikes to reach the "hot spot" even before their wrist watches announced the time for bunking classes. Were expecting resistance by the cops. The reason was not hard to see. For so many years now, the men-in-khaki had been declaring geri route "out of bounds". Things would be worse in 2003 with the colleges open, they were sure of it. The "spectacle" took them by surprise. The blockades were there, so were the cops, but pretty damsels in semi limousines with impressive speakers booming the latest numbers were not being chased by jalopies decked up with fluttering balloons. Even two on a bike with her fair arms around his broad shoulders were missing. At a loss, but not crestfallen, they moved towards Panjab University campus — the venue of prime celebrations — sure that the junketing would gain momentum by the time they returned. Again, they were taken aback to find almost free access to the campus. For a change, they did not encounter any problem in parking the vehicles even though they had to steer their way through a crowd of aflame guys and gals shaking and rattling to the thumping beats of reverberating music booming from speakers placed atop at truck. Things were hotting up, so it seemed. Excited, they left behind the protective seclusion of their cars to savour fun. But once at student's center, they realised love had been nipped in the bud there also. Unshaven guys in leather jackets over worn-out denims were holding roses, but reed-thin dames in tank tops over boot-cut trousers were not there to accept their bouquets of affection. Dejected, they returned back to the geri route only to find rundown balloon vendors looking expectantly at the passers-by hoping someone or the other would buy cheerful red hearts. Florists in Sector 15 also looked around in expectation as the crowd failed to turn up. Some action did take place on the road separating government college for girls and boys. Daring knights-in-shining-jackets climbed up the bricks to offer gladiolus to the hep-chicks putting up in the hostels.
Sukhna Lake was the happy hunting ground for lovers. As the morning sun's not-so-potent rays attacked the silvery shield of water, they walked hand-in-hand stopping only to offer chocolates and other token of affection. In Sector 17, it was complete Indianisation of the festival. Teenyboppers, alien to Chandigarh's culture, marched up and down the corridors, holding cards with love messages printed across in Hindi. Things were, however, different at the discotheques and private balls. Exhilarated figures, illuminated by colourful blinking lights, twirled all around the polished dance floors to the beats of sizzling Punjabi numbers. Heaven is a place on earth, it appeared as angels descended on the floor in backless tops over short skirts.
|
|
Chaos on geri route Chandigarh, February 14 While the unwary cops thanked the God for the day passing by without any flare-up, there was a virtual chaos on the geri route as crowd sped past in their vehicles — honking horns and bleeding their hearts out. Before the sun went down for the day, the deserted looking love-lane of the city “pumped back” to life. The celebrations were, however, short lived. A call from a police official saw the police force rushing back to their pre-determined barricades. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Central, Mr S.S. Randhawa, and the Station House Officer (SHOs), Mr P.L. Chauhan, were back on the road to check the unruly revellers. The enthusiastic crowd was dealt with a heavy hand. A black-coloured gypsy was stopped and its occupants were rounded up. But they were let off with a warning. Though some of the revellers were moving around in open jeeps with red light atop their vehicles, the police focussed their energy on clearing the geri route. The barricades were back and off were the revellers. Till late this evening, the revellers waited in parking areas of Sector 10 and Sector 11 markets for the police to leave once again. It was certainly not the day for the Valentine revellers. They left for their homes hoping that the next year the police would not steer it way through their hearts.  |
|
Love in Strawberry Fields Chandigarh, February 14 Stepping beyond the expression of romantic
love, tiny tots at Strawberry Fields Kindergarten came up with their own homespun way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. According to five-year-old Mehtab of Upper KG: “We love festivals. If we can make cards light candles, put colour and burst crackers on Christmas, Divali, New Year Day, Holi or
Gurpurb, then why cant we do something for Valentine’s Day? The entire city is dolled up. We too want to tell so many people that we love them.” At an interactive play session, each class undertook an interesting activity. They talked of each other, telling the class who their best friends were and what it was that they specially liked about them. If little Rhea was enthralled by Harnoor’s long plaited hair and dimpled chin, Raghav was smitten by Madhav’s “He-man kind of roly poly muscles”. The children had a field day as they indulged in this intimate
tete-a-tete, which at the end of the session made them feed so very good.
Aveena, craft teacher for children, said: “They did not want to be left out. This way we not only involved them in the festivity that has gripped the country by storm but also helped them see that love has so many dimensions, forms and ways of being expressed. They responded to the theme spontaneously and warmly”. As they spoke up one could see their confidence levels going up as also their self-esteem taking a boost, every time a classmate said something nice about them. Some children also took back home a big red heart-shaped balloon. Truly the circle of love had expanded in this novel celebration at Strawberry Fields. |
|
Effigy of St Valentine burnt Chandigarh, February 14 The students assembled at the main gate of the college this morning and protested against changing the nature and spirit of Valentine’s Day. “We have seen in the recent years that hooliganism reached its height on Valentine’s Day celebrations, particularly in the city. Boys forcibly offered flowers even to girls unknown to them. Girls were also being harassed unnecessarily “, said a student of the college. Another student questioned, “What is the logic behind girls and boys freaking out on geri route”? Most of the students of the college did not go out on the geri route in protest against those who were freaking out without understanding the true nature and spirit of Valentine’s Day. Vikas Kaushik, president of Students Central Association said: “We welcome western culture if it helps us to maintain peace and harmony among people”. Yajwinder Singh, president of the college unit of the ABVP, said the parishad would soon come up with a “no to soft drinks” movement in the city, calling youngsters to avoid soft drinks as medical experts had already declared soft drinks dangerous for health. |
|
Warm response to treasure hunt Chandigarh, February 14 In keeping with the Valentine’s Day spirit there were roses for all participants. Gifts hampers and discount cards from Ebony and Connect phone cards for all participants were also distributed. The Connect Valentine stall kept a lively beat in the city center throughout the day with one minute games, request songs while there were impromptu dance and singing presentations from the crowds thronging the venue. The winner of the first prize of Rs 10,000 was the team of Mr Amit Verma and Mr Manjit Singh while the two second prizes of Rs 2,500 each were won by the teams of
J.S. Dhillon/Nisha Chawla and Tarundeep Singh/ Nishtha Sareen. |
|
|
Co-worker
kills woman for resisting advances Panchkula, February 14 He then, tried to commit suicide by hanging himself from a rope tied to in a hook in the ceiling, but repeated pleas by other labourers that the victim was alive and moving convinced him not to take this extreme step. Hoping to save the victim, Jagir opened the door. By this time, the police had been called and the accused was taken to a local hospital for medical aid. It is learnt that the victim , along with her husband, Ram Chander had been working in the factory for the past over four years. The accused, Jagir, hailing from West Bengal, had joined the factory only a year ago and had been working there as a labourer. According to information available, the accused would often make passes at the victim. The victim, Darshini, had often complained to her husband, Ram Chander about Jagir. Ram Chander, however, refused to take much notice of this, even as the victim continued to suffer, say the police. However, things took a serious turn this morning. Darshini and Jagir were reportedly alone in the factory this morning when the accused made sexual overtures towards her. This led to an altercation between them and Darshini reportedly hit Jagir for his misdemeanour. At this time, all other workers of the factory, including Ram Chander were working outside. The accused then dragged Darshini to another room and locked it from inside. By this time, the victim had raised an alarm and the other co-workers gathered inside, while a few of them gathered near the window of this room. Jagir took a glass bottle lying here and threw it on the victim’s head and then strangulated her. The police has registered a case of homicide and attempt to suicide against Jagir under Sections 302 and 309 of the IPC.
|
|
|
M.K. Jain’s arrest stayed Panchkula, February 14 The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr H.S. Bhangoo, also issued a notice to the state in this case. The arrest has been stayed to grant time to Jain so that he can come out with evidence in his favour. The defence counsels pleaded before the court that the victim, a 23-year-old girl, had made different statements before the Panchkula police in the FIR and in the statement recorded before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Panchkula, on
February 12. They pointed out that it was precisely because of this reason that the CJM court had yesterday sent the other accused, Manoj Pal, in judicial remand. The defence also pleaded that the girl, who was a victim in the infamous Shimla girl rape case in Chandigarh, had changed her statements four times before the Chandigarh court. They pointed that in this case, the police had already concluded its investigations and said M.K. Jain was framed by Haryana IAS officer, N.K. Jain. Meanwhile, the police now say that it will
reinvestigate the truth behind the allegations made by the 23-year-old girl. A senior police officer, while talking to Chandigarh Tribune, admitted that there were many loopholes in the statement made by the girl in the FIR. He said going by the past record of the girl and her contradictory statements made before the magistrate, they would now have to review the case. It may be noted that the girl had got an FIR registered under Sections 364, 342, 392, 506 and 34, IPC, against M.K. Jain, Manoj Pal and two others on the night intervening February 11 and 12.
|
|
Can men in blue pull their socks up? WHEN Saurav Ganguly won the toss against Holland, one of the minnows of World Cup, and elected to bat, everybody in the sub-continent was hoping a glut of runs from the most heralded batting lineup in the world. Cricket fans and buffs were expecting fireworks from the blades of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav, Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Youvraj Singh after their rather dismal performance in New Zealand on some truly treacherous tracks. However, in South Africa the pitches were supposed to be more batsmen friendly and more than that the opposition in the India’s World Cup campaign opener was mediocre. The prayers of the countrymen, the cheering campaign on the electronic media, the astrologers’ predictions were all in place. The entire nation was supposedly drenched in the blue colour mania but the only difference was that our “men in blue” were seeing red in everything. In less than 50 overs, the most formidable Indian batting lineup laid low for 204 and was cooling its heels in the pavilion. To many supporters it was like a nightmare. It seemed the team had not come out of their hallucination of the disastrous New Zealand tour. There seemed to be a mental block. The change of batting order did not bring in any visible transformation in the performance level except that Sachin Tendulkar was able to notch up another 50 in his favourite slot of an opener and went on to become the highest run getter in the World Cup history eclipsing Javed Miandad’s record. The two youngsters, Youraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia, however, brought some respectability to the innings by notching up a tidy partnership. But how long are we going to have these batting hickups at the top of the order? Our team’s top batsmen who are rated as one of the best in cricket business today have of late become very
inconsistent and unpredictable, Individually, however, they continue to lead the chart. It is nod individual brilliance but a compact team performance that decides the eventual winner. Our bowlers led by old war horses Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble, however, put up a spirited performance to save us from further blushes in the match by demolishing Dutch batting lineup and earning four valuable points for the team. Dutch are known to be great exponents of field hockey these days where they have got the better of India on quite a few occasions. However, such a performance on the cricket field against Indians must have come as a pleasant surprise to them and of course it must have been a rude shock and eye opener for India. When Kapil’s Devils went to England in 1983 to participate in the Prudential World Cup, they were an unheralded lot and they had no star value. Instead they were 11 hardworking players who complimented one another in batting, bowling and fielding without any individual brilliance. The result of this fine fusion was the eventual lifting of the trophy by India by defending a modest total of 183 runs against run plunderers like Sir Vivian Richards of the West Indies. It was a case of a focussed team pulling the rug from under the feet of tournament favourites West Indies. All along we have been praying and wishing that the
Indian team repeats 1983 but what conscious efforts have been made to get the team to that mental level and resolve. They dye has been cast. It is a long and arduous road to the super sixes, then the semi finals and finals and after that the
sweet fragrance of eventual victory. As a true Indian, I wish the World Cup to be with us but as a keen follower of the game I feel there is a big leeway between our expectations and the performance level of the team, including their mental block. If India has to be back to its winning ways and become world champions they must adhere to two cardinal principals of success i.e. self-belief and focus. At present our talented players are sadly lacking in self-belief after the disastrous New Zealand series and the focus has been disturbed because of long drawn out but still not fully settled players’ contract row with the ICC, India can still do it. Only the team has to be more resolute and play as a cohesive unit with each one complementing the other to revive the nostalgia of 1983 triumph. |
|
Truckers block state highway Panchkula, February 14 The blockade began at 9 am and lasted
till about 1. 30 pm, with the owners of stone crushers, who had
employed these truckers for collecting river bed material (RBM) from
the downstream of the Ghaggar in Punjab area, too, joining the stir.
They lifted the jam only after the Panchkula police and Mubarakpur
police accepted their complaint against the Panchkula-based firm.
The protesters said the employees of Panchkula-based royalty firm,
Maa Shakti Royalty, swooped on the truck drivers this morning, while
they were lifting RBM and forcibly took away Rs 200 each from them as
royalty. They say that since Punjab was not under the jurisdiction of
this firm, so the firm was not authorised to collect royalty from
them. The stone crusher owners alleged that since the owner of this
firm had political patronage, he was allowed to go scotfree. Mr
Yoginder Singh Thakur of Thakur Building Material Suppliers said
earlier they were getting RBM from Panchkula, where they were forced
to pay Rs 420 per truck as royalty. It was then that the Punjab
Government allowed them to lift RBM from its area for the past 18 days
and were charging royalty at the rate of Rs 370 per truck. It was then
that the employees of the Panchkula firm converged here and took money
from them. The protesters also alleged that the Haryana government
authorities tried to pressurise them to lift the jam by calling the
District Transport Officer, Panchkula, to challan the trucks. However,
it was only after a heated argument between the protesters and the
authorities that no truck was challaned. |
|
|
Rescuing
women in distress Chandigarh, February 14 Ms Chibber is Executive Officer, Immigrant Women’s Domestic Violence Services in Australia. She heads a government organisation there and looks after the interests of women in distress. The Australian Government makes it known to the migrants, Punjabis, Spanish, Russian, Indian, East Europeans etc. to maintain their ‘’culture’’ and ‘’identity’’ and adhere to their ‘’religious’’ beliefs and faiths at home. But outside their homes, migrants should assimilate the Australian culture as well. Though structurally the rural areas of Victoria (Australia) are quite different from the type of rural settings in Punjab, one common denominator is that rural people are ‘’neglected and ignored’’ even abroad, facing same set of problems as faced by people in Punjab. These could be in terms of potable water or lack of electricity or infrastructure. The main difference between Indian and Australian rural areas, however, is cleanliness, where Punjab fails. ‘’If I were to share the incidence and magnitude of violence inflicted upon women, most of the men sitting here will not be able to go home and sleep well. There is strong undercurrent of discrimination as well as racism in that society. In fact, the same kind of stream runs in our society as well, where preference is for a white and not a black bride,’’ she added. Ms Chibber is working on a ‘model’ that would respond to the issues related to migrants and their problems. The proposed ‘model’ is anchored in ‘’evidence-based research’’ and will be both ‘’qualitative and quantitative’’. A woman may be ‘’liberated’’, yet she may not be ‘’safe’’. Therefore, need is to present a holistic picture of domestic and family violence, may it be physical, emotional or economic. Responding to a faculty member’s question as to what is her brand of ‘’feminism’’, Ms Chibber said, ‘’Not the western model type. I am a feminist who is more of a family therapist and for whom rescuing women in distress is more of a passion. At times theories do not work. One cannot divide humans into genders and treat accordingly”. The CRRID Founder-Director, Mr Rashpal Malhotra, introduced the distinguished visitor to the institute and briefed her about its role and functions. She acknowledged the contribution of the faculty to the social cause and issues and was hopeful the work of CRRID would bear fruit in creating awareness in the rural people and educate women about their rights.
|
|
|
SCL develops hi-tech chip for European countries Chandigarh, February 14 A hi-tech silicon chip designed and developed by Semi Conductors Limited (SCL), Mohali, in collaboration with the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata, is to be used by seven European countries in their nuclear and space research programmes. The Head of the micro-electronics division at SINP, Prof Swapan Sen, who was here to attend a seminar on micro-electronics, told TNS that the application of the chip, christened “Manas”, lies in its capability to generate very high resolution images. Besides nuclear and space research, the chip also has tremendous utility in the field of medicine. “About 150,000 such chips are being supplied to the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, referred to as CERN in French,” Professor Sen said. “These will be used by CERN for research into the Big Bang Theory on the origin of the universe,” he added. The first batch of 30,000 chips has already been dispatched. Professor Sen said Russia, Switzerland, France and Italy were among the countries using the Indian-designed chip in their high energy nuclear physics energy experiments called Large Hydrogen Colliders. “Manas” is a “mixed signal, very large scale integrated circuit chip”, whose power to detect charge in nuclear reactions is stated to be to the tune of “ten raised to the power of minus 15 Coulomb”. Mixed signals mean that it is designed to process both, analogue as well as digital signals. It has the advantage of producing low noise and having the capability to detect a wide range of charge. Professor Sen said utilisation of the chip for medical imaging would result in the patient being exposed to just one-tenth of the radiation as compared to the conventional techniques like X-ray. “Manas would enable technicians to record the image on normal paper using a computer and a printer, doing away with the need of using film will,” he said. |
|
Nagar kirtan held Chandigarh, February 14 Hundreds participated in the nagar kirtan and paid their obeisance to the guru. Hymns were chanted during the procession. The devotees also served “prasad” to the commuters. The police had made elaborate arrangements for the procession. Motorists were directed to take alternate roads to avoid inconvenience.
|
|
UT employee burnt to death
Chandigarh, February 14 The fire was brought under control by fire brigade personnel after breaking the front door of the house. The body of the victim, Mohinder Kanwar Pal, was taken out by policemen and shifted to Government Hospital Sector-16, for a post-mortem examination. Police sources said the bed on which Pal slept last night had been reduced to ashes. Besides this, a TV set, a door of the room and a small table were also fully charred. Pal is survived by wife. He was married four years ago.
|
|
Idol installed SAS Nagar, February 14
|
||
Kiran manager’s murder: 5 pistols seized Chandigarh, February 14 Already four members of a gang of professional criminals, who were allegedly hired by Ravinder Singh, an Assistant Manager of Jagat cinema to eliminate his boss, are in police custody. Another assailant, Mohinder Pal, was today arrested by the police. According to the police, a five pistols and 12 live cartridges have been seized on the basis of disclosure statement given by the arrested assailants. Raids were being conducted to arrest the other assailants, including the assistant manager. The Assistant Manager, Ravinder Singh, saw the deceased as a hurdle in his way of
earning money through wrongful means. The contract killers had been hired for Rs 5 lakh. So far Rs 2.70 lakh had been paid in instalments. Sources in the police said the Assistant Manager was suspected to be involved in the embezzlement of funds of Jagat cinema.
|
|
Airtel point launched
Chandigarh, February 14
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
