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Punjab Recorders closed down Mohali, December 16 With the closure of unit, nearly 100 employees of the company have lost their jobs. The company was set up in 1977 and was producing, among other items, parts for T-72 tanks. It is learnt that though the employees had been given benefits under the VRS, many other dues like LTA, LTC etc had not been paid since last year. Workers had filed a case in the labour court in this regard. It is learnt that no work had been going on in the factory for the past about six months, but it remained open and workers had applied for benefits under the VRS. Some months ago, the workers had gone on a relay fast in support of their demands which lasted for 23 days. The protest was withdrawn after Mr Bir Devinder Singh, Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, gave an assurance that the demands would be considered sympathetically. Mr Ramji Dass, secretary of the Ropar unit of AITUC, demanded an inquiry into the reasons that led to the closure of the factory and the payment of the pending dues to the workers. He said workers had been demanding the registration of a criminal case against members of the management as they alleged that the factory had to be closed down because of the wrong policies of the authorities. |
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Sumati Mehta to be new housing board chief Chandigarh, December 16 Mr Marwah, a UT cadre IAS Officer of the 1984 batch, would have completed three years in the Administration, in January next. Ms Mehta is a 1979 batch IAS officer of the UT cadre. Mr Marwah was in the process of implementing important schemes of the Administration like building houses under
rehabilitation scheme for poor sections and the permission to make changes in CHB flats. Mr Marwah was also handling the important charge of the Secretary, Social Welfare. Ms Mehta was expected to take charge by the next week, sources said. |
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Act fails to mitigate juveniles’ problems Chandigarh, December 16 All thanks to the UT Administration and the police which seems to be ignorant about the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, which directs it to adopt child friendly approach while arresting them and work for their ultimate rehabilitation. The juvenile or child means a person who has not completed 18th year of age. But the police does not seem to be differentiate between the majors and minors while arresting the children. Recently, a nine-year-old girl hailing from Tamil Nadu had been arrested by the UT Police on the charges of the stealing of Rs 150. The police took her to the court. She has no source to arrange for her bail or surety, therefore, she was sent to juvenile home. Similarly last year the UT Police had arrested a 10-year-old child for stealing a toy cycle. The child was sent to the juvenile home by the court. Only after spending a day, the juvenile was released on bail. The UT Police had also arrested the two children on charges of stealing in 2001.The children had been kept in illegal custody for the whole night by the police. The next day they were remanded in the juvenile home. Later, the police had filed the discharge application in the court stating that these children be released as they were not involved in the crime. When this correspondent visited the UT Juvenile Home in Sector-15, he found that 18 juveniles were lodged in four different rooms irrespective of the nature of the crime in which they have been involved. There is hardly any facility to prove that the
institute was meant for the development of the children. Talking about the problems being faced by the juveniles, an advocate, Mr S.S. Bhullar, who deals with the cases of juveniles said many times it was left to the advocates to fight for the children in the courts to declare them juvenile so that their cases were heard separately in juvenile courts and they be sent to juvenile homes. “ Children who are being caught for petty crimes are helpless to get bail. As at the time of arrest, neither their parents nor their relatives are generally informed by the police. As a result of this the juveniles are sent to juvenile homes,” said another advocate, Mr Ravindra Pandit. Legal luminaries informed that there was urgent need for the Juvenile Justice Act amendment while deciding, such cases. The experts say that as per the new Juvenile Justice Act, when the juvenile involved in a bailable or non-bailable offence is brought before a board, he or she should be released on bail with or without surety. But the juvenile shall not be released on bail if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him in association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger. The UT Deputy Superintendent of Police said the UT Police has a child protection unit exclusively to deal with the juveniles cases. But he admitted that only special cases of juveniles were referred to this unit and the police personnel dealing with juvenile cases were not being given any special training. The authority concerned dealing with the cases informed that the new Juvenile Justice Board comprising the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Mr C.L. Mohal and two social workers has been functioning in the UT District Courts to settle the matter in their best interest. The board has been constituted for the ultimate rehabilitation of the juveniles. The board has been taking up cases on every Thursday between 2 pm to 5 pm on the third floor of the old building of the Old Courts Complex. On an average 27 cases are listed for hearing. For any type of juvenile problem the counsel and the parents of the juvenile can consult the board. |
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Four flee from police
custody, 3 re-arrested Kharar, December 16 However, three of them were caught by the local police after about an hour. Sources say that an Inspector of the Ropar police, along with other securitymen, had brought six accused in a bus from Patiala jail to be produced before the court in connection with various cases of crime. After the hearing when they were they were being taken back towards the bus by the police, four of them escaped. The local police was immediately informed and wireless messages spread across the area. Out of the four accused Mandeep Singh and Jatinder Kumar had allegedly been involved in a case of kidnapping while Ajay Kumar and Naseem were allegedly involved in cases of theft. While the police was able to nab Mandeep Singh, Ajay Kumar and Naseem, Jatinder Kumar is still at large. |
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Arora’s son, grandson sent for lie-detection test Panchkula, December 16 Meanwhile, four police teams have also been pressed into service to find clues in the case of brutal murder of three members of a family. While talking to the Chandigarh Tribune Mr Desh Bandhu, DSP, said the teams were working on possibilities, causes and circumstances under which the crime was committed. The police has taken various expects like property, family relations, death of Vijay in a hit-and-run case, and some others, to make some headway in the case. Apart from this the police is also keeping a close watch on the visitors, and relatives of the family, he claimed. |
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Upsurge in investment as shares rally
Chandigarh, December 16 According to brokers, thousands of investors in the city have already made fortune worth crores of rupees, thanks to the ongoing boom period. Quoted a broker in Sector 17: “A segment of investors have earned over 30 per cent returns within days by buying shares of Maruti and some banks.” Mr V. Kumar, a stock broker and investment consultant of Vikson Finance and Investments Ltd, said: “Though investors are still skeptic about the rise in share prices, they should not forget that unlike previous booms in the market caused by Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parikh factors, this time the fundamental reasons are totally different.” He said the performance of the companies in the IT, FMCG, Auto sector should not be ignored. Good monsoon had reportedly created an additional demand of around Rs 40,000 crore in the rural India, giving a quantum jump to the economy. But investors should weigh all the pros and cons before investing in the shares. Interestingly, during lunch hours, a large number of government employees are these days seen visiting stock brokers in Sector 17 plaza. Said an employee of the Punjab Government: “The interests rates have already come down to 6 per cent and investment is the best avenue. So I want to try my luck, but will buy shares only of reputed companies.” Mr Kumar admitted that so far the number of retail investors had not attained the peak witnessed during previous boom periods. He claimed that ongoing bullish run in the market would continue for the next few days and it would not be surprising if the sensex crossed 6,000 points. Mr Tarvinder Dhindra, a stock market analyst at the Ludhiana Stock Exchange, said: “The unexpected victory of the ruling party in three states, flow of funds in the market by the foreign investment institutions (FIIs), peace initiatives on the Indo-Pak trade front and strong fundamentals of economics would continue to give a fillip to the bullish run in the stock market with minor corrections here and there.” Investors were showing keen interest, said brokers, in the shares of banks,
FMCG, textile, pharma and steel sectors. The brokers said the high growth rate of the GDP of the US economy and the announcement of the WalMart Retail Chain to outsource over $ 5 billion worth of garments from India have given a jump to shares in the textile sector.  |
AIG’s statement recorded in cop suicide case Panchkula, December 16 Two other senior police officials Mr Malik DGP Haryana and Mr Navdeep Singh Virk, a senior IPS officer, who is presently on deputation to the Union Government, have already written to the SDM in this regard. Mr Inder Singh had issued notices to seven persons, including the DGP Mr M.S. Malik, to appear before him, for inquiry in the Jaiveer Singh suicide case. On Monday, the SDM had recorded the statements of Jasbir Singh, a brother of Jaiveer Singh, a head constable deployed at Sector 5 police station. Jaiveer Singh had allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a 9 mm pistol at the Sector 5 police station on the night of October 10. He had also written a suicide note alleging that certain senior police officials in the state, including DGP Malik, AIG Welfare M.S. Malik, Mr Virk, DSP Lamba, Mehar Singh, Raj Pal and Hardeep Singh Jaggi had harassed him to the extent that he was forced to take the extreme step. The statements of Mr Malik, Mr Lamba, Mr Mehar Singh, Mr Raj Pal and Mr Hardeep Singh Jaggi were recorded by the SDM in the presence of Mr Jasbir Singh, a brother of the deceased. The SDM took almost five hours to record the statements. A battery of reporters and photographers kept waiting for the AIG outside the SDM’s office for over two-and-a-half hours to take photographs. Avoiding the mediapersons, Mr Malik came out of the SDM’s office alone and walked towards the District Court Complex and signalled his driver and security guards to pick him up from there. Meanwhile, the brother of the deceased, expressed his resentment over the investigations being carried out at SDM level. He has sought a CBI inquiry in the case and also threatened to knock at the Supreme Court’s door if he failed to get justice. |
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Sanitation work found unsatisfactory Mohali, December 16 According to sources 39 employees were found to be absent from duty and even garbage had not been lifted from certain points, creating unhygenic conditions. The council had formed six teams comprising the Executive Officer, the Additional Executive Officer, four assistant municipal engineers, sanitary inspectors and some staff members from the sanitation wing to carry out the inspection. Sources say that during the checking it was found that garbage had not been lifted from a point in Phase XI, from near the rehri market in Phase IV, from a point near the green belt opposite Phase IV, from near the PUDA park in Phase I. Mr Har Bhagwan Garg, Executive Officer, told Chandigarh Tribune that a special checking had been carried out to put the sanitation contractor on an alert as he was neglecting work at times. Mr Garg said that when he had visited the Ropar Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Seema Jain, some days ago she had directed the civic body to bring about an improvement in the sanitation aspect. A report about the special checking carried out today had been sent to the Deputy Commissioner. Mr Garg said that a letter had also been written to the sanitation contractor in which he was told that 39 employees were found to be absent from duty. The council would be making deductions from the bills that would be presented by the contractor for not employing the required number of employees as had been specified in the agreement prepared in this regard. The contractor was also told that sanitation was neglected in certain parts of the town. Earlier, on December 11 Mr M.L. Sharma, SDM, had caught the sanitation contractor unaware during a surprise inspection of the town and found that almost 146 out of 306 employees engaged by the contractor were absent from duty. He found the condition of sanitation unsatisfactory. The SDM, too, had carried out the inspection after he had been ordered by the Deputy Commissioner in this regard. Mr Sharma had then apprised the Deputy Commissioner about the position of the sanitation in the town. |
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British Library to be shifted Chandigarh, December 16 The new library has been specially designed to offer the users the best of British resources and is of special significance to children. ‘‘In addition to our individual membership, the library will have family membership and classic membership,’’ according to Mr Sushant
Banerjee, Manager of the Library. “In family membership, we will have customised special products and services for children. The children’s library is our exclusive feature where the finest ranges of books encourage children to make reading their favourite hobby. With access to the latest information through books, journals, publications and broad band Internet connectivity, students can maintain a competitive edge in a fast-paced world. Children can enhance their English language skills through books, CD-ROMs and more at the library. In classic membership, members will be allowed to take DVDs of classic English movies in addition to books and journals. The library will also provide remote access to 7500 online journals to the members. |
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Polio eradication: Admn seeks help Chandigarh, December 16 Addressing a meeting of religious leaders here today, the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Inder Singh Sandhu, appealed to all religious leaders to join hands with the UT Health Department to ensure that every child below five years was administered polio drops between January 4 to 6 and February 22 to 24, next year. The meeting was attended by more than 100 religious leaders. Speaking on the occasion, the Director Health Services, Dr C.P. Bansal, said the cooperation from the religious leaders would go a long way in making the pulse polio immunisation campaign a success. He thanked the leaders for the cooperation extended by them during the previous campaigns. Earlier, the Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr Lalit Sharma, chaired the steering committee meeting on immunisation campaign. The dates for the campaign were decided at the meeting. The Adviser stressed the need for a strict follow up in the form of house-to-house search on the second and third day of the campaign. He also directed that the railway station, bus stand and the slums must be covered during the campaign. A total of 1.35 lakh children in the age group of 0 to 5 years will be administered two additional drops of polio vaccine. For this the Health Department has divided the city into three zones, with a separate team comprising a monitor, area supervisors and sector supervisors for each of these. A total of 461 booths will be set up in the urban and rural areas including 44 mobile vans. |
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Nanotechnology conference from
December 22 Chandigarh, December 16 A spokeman of the CSIO said the organisation had taken up the work of nanotechnology and Biomolecular electronics jointly with Semi-Conductor Ltd (SCL). The conference would provide a closer interaction among the researchers and technologists to discuss the nanotechnology research which was in its infancy. Around 20 speakers from other countries and 40 distinguished delegates from the country were expected to participate in the conference. The conference would have 12 sessions , spread over two days. The subjects covered would be biomolecular electronics, nanofabrication, renomaterials, carbon nanotubes, novel nano device structures, nano computing and nano medecine. Prof VS Ramamurthy, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology, would be the chief guest at the inaugural session. |
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Punjab stakes claim to land in Bartana Zirakpur, December 16 While representing the Dera Bassi
administration, Mr Parveen Kumar, Naib Tehsildar, in a meeting with HUDA officials, claimed that the land (khasra no. 45,45/1) in Abheypur village (as claimed by HUDA) belongs to Punjab. Moreover, Mr Parveen Kumar while talking to the Chandigarh Tribune claimed that HUDA had also encroached upon Punjab’s land in other parts on the inter-state border and had been staking its claim. He presented the revenue records in a meeting that was attended by HUDA revenue officials, including Mr Achhar Singh Toor, Tehsildar (boundaries), Mr Madan Lal, kanungo and other revenue officials of both states. |
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Dalit rally reaches city Chandigarh, December 16 |
Restaurant sweeper held for theft Chandigarh, December 16 A resident of Ram Darbar, Satish Kumar, came under the police scanner as the investigating team noticed that the sawdust coming from the door fell inside the restaurant. The police also noticed that drops of wax of a candle fell inside the restaurant making it suspect that the lock of the door and the cash box had been opened by somebody from inside the restaurant. The fall of the sawdust and drops of wax of a candle gave the police a lead that the theft had been committed from within the restaurant. The police said Satish Kumar told the police that he committed the crime as he had to clear a debt. The police is yet to verify the statement of the accused. |
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Man caught stealing taps Chandigarh, December 16 In a complaint, Mr Vijay Kumar, also said the accused issues threats to him after being caught. A case under Sections 379, 411 and 506 of IPC has been registered. Meanwhile, Mr Suresh Kumar, a resident of Patiala district, reported that his Hero Honda motorcycle (PB70 3878) was stolen from the parking lot of Punjab Kala Bhavan, Sector 16, here yesterday. A white coloured Maruti car (CH03 L 4595) of Mrs Neelam Thakur was stolen from her Sector 21D residence on the night of December 11. Two cases of thefts have been registered under Section 379 of the
IPC. |
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Body found from Sukhna Chandigarh, December 16 There are no apparent injury marks on the body. The police suspects the man committed suicide. The police said as the body was found floating, the man might have jumped into the lake at least four to five days ago. The man was in his undergarments. The police started investigations. The body was taken to the mortuary of the General Hospital, Sector 16. —
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Surya Pharmaceuticals to enter capital market Chandigarh, December 16 The proceeds from the issue will be used to meet working capital requirements and to put in place infrastructure and machinery for continued R&D. The company is presently incurring expenditure on R&D at the rate of 2 per cent to 3 per cent of its turnover to remain updated on technology, process and products. Surya Pharmaceuticals was incorporated in 1992. Presently, the company is engaged in the manufacturing active pharmaceuticals, ingredients intermediates and recently into formulations. Mr Rajeev Goel, Managing Director, told mediapersons here today that the company was focussing on production of semi-synthetic penicillin, cepholosporins, anti-histamines (non-sedative), drug formulations, and drug intermediates. The company has obtained WHO GMP certification for Banur unit and formulation unit, ISO 9002 Certification for Baddi Unit I and has export house status. The company is exporting to countries in the Far East, Middle East and Europe. |
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National conference on urban infrastructure Chandigarh, December 16 Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab, will be the chief guest at the inaugural session of the conference. Mr Rachid Benmessaoud, Operations Adviser, the World Bank, will also address the inaugural session. Mr Gautam Thapar, Chairman, CII Northern Region and vice-chairman and MD, Ballarpur Industries Ltd and Mr Harpal Singh, Chairman, Fortis Healthcare Ltd, and convener, Infrastructure Development Panel, CII, Punjab State Council, will also address the conference which is being chaired by Mr Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, CII, National Committee on Urban Infrastructure & Chairman, Feedback Ventures Pvt Ltd. The conference will define strategies to minimise cost, search for low-cost technologies and make urban investment more demand oriented. It will also underscore the need to reduce investment up front as well as unbundle wherever possible, with strong citizen participation in urban governance. The conference would evaluate the progress on various fiscal, financial and institutional measures and reforms initiated by the government, as also the readiness of the states, in terms of their implementation. |
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BHEL gives presentation on electric trolley Chandigarh, December 16 The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) which has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chandigarh Administration, today made a presentation before the UT Administrator, Justice O.P. Verma, and senior officials about the details of the project. Since the Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr Lalit Sharma, is the chairperson of the nine-member high empowered committee, the presentation assumes importance. The wires will have flexibility is such a way that buses get a good turning radius and go to any corner of the road. They will not be like tram service which runs in fixed lanes. The project will not help in reducing the congestion on roads as the buses will run on existing roads. However, this will lead to cleaner environment. Haryana has signed a MoU With Konkan Railways for a sky bus project linking Delhi with Gurgaon and Manesar which entails operation of a bus on a raised platform and it costs Rs 30 crore per km. The sky bus does not congest the road but is expensive when compared with the electric trolley buses. The Union Ministry of Urban Development had formed a nine-member committee to give final shape to the ambitious electric trolley bus project for the city. Now the committee will send its final report to the Ministry before a formal sanction is sought by sending it to the Planning Commission for inclusion in the Budget Chandigarh has also highlighted the effectivity of the system to neighbouring state governments for operation of the buses in Mohali and Panchkula. About 2 lakh people come to Chandigarh for work daily and return in the evening to these two townships. |
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