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Man drives scooter into Sukhna Lake A Sector 29 resident, Ajay Kumar, after coming from the UT Guest House side turned towards the police post at the lake, crossed a barrier and drove down the steps into the lake. He was seen going down the lake by constable Phool Singh and Home Guard volunteer Makhan Singh, who jumped into the lake to rescue him. He was taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital, where he regained consciousness after around two hours. However, Ajay Kumar’s alleged suicide attempt resulted in an injury to a 20-year-old Panjab University student, Rishi. He sustained injuries on his head. Another person, Bhupesh who was sitting on the steps, escaped unhurt. The police has booked Ajay Kumar for attempting suicide under Section 309 of the IPC. Ajay Kumar, however, had a different story to tell. He said “why should I commit suicide. I have a government job, a wife and three children. I am a happy man.” He said he was coming from the Raj Bhavan side when an Indica grazed past his scooter on the turn near the lake. Following this, he lost balance. He said after this he could not even apply brakes. The police has disputed his theory saying that one had to take a circuitous route to reach the steps near the police post and it was not possible unless it was a deliberate attempt. The police said there were no scratches on the scooter nor did it hit any barrier. It said that Ajay Kumar in fact had pushed the barrier with his legs. The police later retrieved the scooter from the lake. On the other hand, the mother of Ajay Kumar said her son was a habitual drunkard and had often been involved in accidents and clashes with people. Ajay Kumar could not remember the complete number of the car which, he said, had hit him. |
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BBA students face grim future Chandigarh, February 24 The students who have already completed the BBA course are being forced to enroll themselves for other skill-oriented courses. The high fee of the course is another deterrent, said the Principal of a local government college. Some colleges in the city have already discontinued BBA classes. In Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, the BBA classes were discontinued last year due to poor response. Ms Vial Baraga, Principal of the college, said more students were opting for the commerce stream. The BBA classes have also been discontinued at the Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, after a few students opted for the course. The classes have also been discontinued at two government colleges in the city. Mr. P.S. Sangha, Principal of the Guru Gobind Singh College for Men, said the course was introduced in 1998 without any planning. No area specific surveys were carried out to find out the job prospects. No proper counselling was being done for the students who had opted for the course. The only course, which would follow the BBA in the natural hierarchy, is the Masters in Business Administration (MBA). But there is no reservation for BBA students in MBA admission. Even if a section of these students are adjusted, it will still leave out scores of them without a fair option for a post graduate course in an alternative stream. Mr Carangid Chula, a Panjab University, Fellow said the Bachelor in Business Administration, Bachelor in Computer Application (BCA) and Masters in Science (Information Technology) courses had been started without proper planning. As there was no absorption in jobs, a number of colleges in the rural and semi-urban areas have discontinued classes. The course was introduced due to political pressure, he added. Jasper Singh, who passed out of a local college, said, “We cannot make it in economics and we cannot do English. The course does not have any value in the job market. There is virtually no industry, which offers jobs on basis of the BBA qualification. The degree was thought off as a prelude to an MBA. Another student, Interpret Singh, said, PU has limited seats for MBA. Naturally, all cannot get admission. |
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No female foeticide in Pak “We have no such problem in our state”, said Dr Semee Hussain, Physician Cardiologist, F.J. Medical College, Lahore, who is part of the delegation of Pakistani doctors currently on a visit to India. She told TNS here today that the desire for a male heir was as strong among the people there as it might be here in India. But because of the strong religious belief that female foeticide was against the tenets of Islam, it was rarely practised. She was amazed to learn that ultrasound machines were being used for sex determination of the foetus in pregnant mothers in most cities of the Punjab-Haryana region and that in some districts, female-sex ratio was down to about 750 females for every 1000 males. She was appreciative of the government efforts to curb the practice by banning the use of ultrasound machines for sex determination at medical clinics. Dr Hussain said that although ultrasound machines were as prolific in the big cities of Pakistan as they were in Indian cities, there misuse to determine the sex of the baby was not rampant. “Of course, when a baby girl is born, there is not much of a celebration in the family”, she admitted. “They tend to go into some sort of a depression. But after a while it is life as usual. And those who do not have a male heir, they try to produce more children. The practice of having more than one wife lends another dimension to the problem. “Therefore, overpopulation has become one of the biggest problems of Pakistan as it is in India. It will be useful for the two countries to work together to curb population growth”. She pointed out that in certain areas of Pakistan, like in the NWFP, people preferred to have daughters because of the monetary compensation they received from the bridegroom’s family at the time of their wedding. |
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PU finalises 240 teaching days Chandigarh, February 24 At a meeting chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, here today, the committee comprising college principals and lecturers as well as professors of the university, finalised 200 teaching and 40 examinations days, also counted as teaching work, for the new session. The members agreed to begin the academic session from July 5 against July 1 in previous years for all on-going classes. A margin of five days has been provided to accommodate the Lok Sabha elections. This year, the colleges have been also asked to display the time-table for the on-going classes on their notice boards before they close down for the summer vacation. It was decided that a copy of the same should be sent to the Registrar, Panjab University, as well. The decision has been taken to ensure all colleges begin the new session on time instead of citing poor attendance in classes as a reason for the delay in starting the session. According to the academic schedule, admissions would be held from July 5 to 17 for under-graduate and post-graduate classes and late admission would be allowed from July 19 to 24. The admission with the permission of the VC would be open from July 26 to August 31. Classes for these students would begin from July 19. While the first term would be from July 5 to September 25 followed by autumn break from September 26 to October 3 during which supplementary examinations would be held, the second term would stretch from October 4 to December 24. A winter break from December 25 to January 2 of next year would be followed by the final term, January 3 to March 31. Announcing the schedule of the final examinations to be held in 2005, the committee fixed its date from April 1 to May 15 though the practical examinations would be conducted in the third week of March. In 2005, the summer vacation would begin from May 11 and continue till June 30. |
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Jagtar panel wins Tribune staff union election Chandigarh, February 24 Out of 25 executive committee seats, his panel bagged 24 seats. In all 1,009, out of the 1,046 votes, were cast. Mr Sidhu was declared winner for the post of president. He defeated Mr Vidya Rattan by 669 votes. For the post of senior vice-president, Mr Rajiv Kaplish defeated Mr Narinder Singh Bhullar by 658 votes. For the two posts of vice-president, Mr Mohinder Nath and Mr Uttam Chand defeated Mr Samuel Benjiman and Mr Harmesh Chand by 660 and 662 votes, respectively. Mr Anil Gupta defeated Mr Mohan Verghese by a margin of 675 votes. The other office-bearers were: secretary — Mr Parmod Bansal; office secretary — Mr Ramesh Dhiman; finance secretary — Mr Raman Sharma; joint secretaries — Mr Sandeep Sharma and Ghansham Pandey. Mr Om Vir and Mr Naveen Pun were elected propaganda secretaries. The executive members elected were: Mr Sukhbir Singh, Dr Joginder Singh, Mr Gian Singh, Mr Arvind Saini, Mr Ram Singh Thind, Mr Niranjan Pal, Mr Ravinder Kumar, Mr Surinder S. Walia, Mr Ram Murti, Mr Puran S. Dadwal, Mr Dinesh S. Guleria, Mr Rajinder Singh, Mr Ashok Kumar-III, Mr Ramesh Chand Sharma and Mr Joginder Kumar Bhatia. Mr Puran Chand Sharma, Mr Narpinder Singh, Mr Jagir Singh, Mr Sushil Kumar Tiwari, Mr Vikas Diddi, Mr Ajay Thakur, Mr Kasturi Lal, Mr Paramjit Singh, Mr Raj Kumar-I and Mr Surinder Kumar were declared elected unopposed. |
Kharar MC to present 446 lakh budget Kharar, February 24 An increase of more than Rs 100 lakh has been proposed in the budget this year. Major part of this amount will be spent on development works. Last year the budget was Rs 342 lakh. A sum of Rs 278 lakh have been proposed to be spent on development works while Rs 142.40 lakh have been proposed to be spent on establishment and Rs 25.60 lakh on contingency. The civic body earns its income from a number of sources, the main being the octroi. The council has proposed to earn an income of Rs 180 lakh from octroi and Rs 95 lakh in the form of building fee. The sale of property within the MC limits is going to fetch Rs 50 lakh, while an income of Rs 35 lakh has been proposed to be earned from the payment of water bills. The proposed income from sales tax and excise duty is Rs 25 lakh and from house tax Rs 22 lakh. Out of the proposed expenditure of Rs 278 lakh, Rs 98 lakh have been proposed to be spent on installation of new tubewells, construction of public buildings, streets and drains. A sum of Rs 45 lakh have been proposed to be spent on the payment of power bills related to supply of water and another sum of Rs 22 lakh on power bills related to streetlights. A sum of Rs 18 lakh has been proposed to be spent on the disposal of solid waste and Rs 17 lakh on the repair of streets and drains. The proposed expenditure on laying new pipelines for the supply of water and disposal of sewage is Rs 15 lakh while Rs 12 lakh have been proposed to be spent on the maintenance of water supply and sewerage system. Out of the last year’s budget of Rs 342 lakh, the council had achieved a target of Rs 296 lakh by January 31 and was confident to achieve the entire target by March 31. |
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Riar announces alliance with BJP Chandigarh, February 24 The BJP-SAD alliance is an established fact in Punjab to which the local unit is also attached. Mr Riar had not accepted an “unconditional” alliance earlier with the local unit of the BJP. He was demanding a Sikh candidate for the poll “as decided earlier”. The BJP had sent a press note, some time back, announcing an alliance at the local level. The SAD had sent one saying there would be no alliance till a Sikh candidate was nominated. Mr Riar said “the alliance had been struck as per the party high command decision. There was a difference of opinion and not a dispute over any land or property. We discussed and we settled our differences.” Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former member of Parliament, said, “Our hearts have understood each other. Now our common agenda is to record a historic victory by removing the Congress to the far background”. Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, president of the local unit of the BJP, said the progress ensured by the BJP during the past five years was a sure reason for the party victory. |
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Autorickshaw owners protest impounding of vehicles Mohali, February 24 The protesters gathered near the bus stand in Sector 62 and raised slogans against the Chandigarh Administration. The vehicles remained off-road for more than an hour. The protesters demanded that the impounded vehicles should be released without imposing any penalty, failing which they would be compelled to go on strike again. Mr Rajinder Singh Randhawa, vice-president of the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Autorickshaw Union, told Chandigarh Tribune that more than 20 vehicles were impounded by the police today. He said when they plied their vehicles in Chandigarh, the police there asked them to show documents relating to road tax and also the road permit. As these documents were found missing, the police resorted to challans and even impounding of vehicles. He said some of the autorickshaw owners had met officials of the State Transport Authority, Chandigarh, yesterday regarding their problem. There they were told that vehicles could be plied in Chandigarh after getting the meters functional. Moreover, not more than three passengers were to carried at one time. He said the autorickshaw owners were ready to pay road tax and also get road permits but the authorities concerned were not conceding to their demand. He said that a penalty ranging between Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 was imposed by the police and it was very difficult for the owners to pay this heavy amount. He lamented that autorickshaws from Chandigarh plied freely in Mohali and no action was taken against them. He said passengers from Mohali had to go to Chandigarh as number of offices and other establishments were based there. |
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Money was to be returned after probation: firm Chandigarh, February 24 The company, in a press statement issued by Manager Business Development Khush Sharma, said the company spent a hefty sum on their training. He said the appointment of an “agent” with the company was subject to overall performance during the training and suitability of assignment. The company representative said in case of these probationers, their services had been terminated due to their poor performance. The complaint by these former probationers aimed at spoiling the reputation of the company and force their way back into the company, he alleged. The employees had themselves signed documents agreeing to these service conditions, he added. |
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Rebate in power tariff for companies Chandigarh, February 24 The export turnover shall be verified by the Department of Customs or the Software Technology Parks of India. This verification report must be submitted to the SDO concerned within six months of the close of the financial year. The rebate will be available with immediate effect, an order issued by Secretary, Engineering, said today. |
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Readers Write This refers to a news report “Nationalise school education, advocates Johl” (Chandigarh Tribune February 11 ). Prof Johl’s views as regards higher education deserve attention by all concerned. But his suggestion for the nationalisation of school education is wide off the mark. A government schoolteacher’s employment up to 58 years of age, annual increment, yearly bonus and time-scale promotion, irrespective of performance, are guaranteed. In the event of death while in service, irrespective of its cause, at least one member of his / her family gets employment on compassionate grounds. The same is applicable to supervisors, inspectors and higher officials in the department concerned. As rightly stated by Prof Johl, “the lack of accountability in government schools and absence of correlation between salaries paid and work done is responsible for the plight of education”. As the name implies, government schools are already with the government. Prof Johl’s suggestion , therefore, leaves only private schools for being “taken over by the government”. Wouldn’t it mean levelling down of the quality of school education whereas the need is to bring up the standard of education in government schools to the level of private schools? Instead of nationalising private schools, the government should take more interest in improving infrastructure in government schools and try to enforce some work culture in the system to produce results so as to compete with private schools. The government should spend more on education instead of giving free power and water and other sops like shagun etc to buy votes. A good government model school within a radius of 5 km, with free transportation, facility should be available to every child. The annual increments, yearly bonus, time scale promotion to teachers and higher officials in the department should be according to performance for which strict yardsticks be laid down. Dalip Singh Ghuman Is Panchkula safe for living? Daylight robberies and thefts have made Panchkula sectors unsafe. In the recent past, every third day, there is some act of robbery, theft, snatching of chains, and unearthing of flesh-trade racket etc. Mostly senior citizens, pensioners and government servants and a little percentage of businessmen have made their homes here, considering it a modern and pollution free city adjoining Chandigarh. But recent happenings have forced them to move to unearthing of flats, which are comparatively safe. Sectors 2,4,12 and 12A are more prone to untoward incidents. The administration should give this problem a serious thought and some immediate concrete steps should be taken to restore the confidence of residents. Citizens on their behalf should also help the law-forcing agencies. No domestic helpers be engaged without police verification. Is Panchkula safe for living? D.K.Talwar Ban processions on highways It has become customary to take out processions (shobha yatra) a day before any religious festivals. Followers of that particular religion or sect participate in large numbers. The procession passes through all major roads, streets and markets. Some devotees en route offer snacks, bananas, oranges etc to the participants. Volunteers putting a specific coloured scarf over their heads, some of them holding lathis and other such things, control (stops) the traffic in their own way. Schoolchildren are made to walk along the whole stretch without bothering about the climate and their individual endurance. Teachers accompanying are usually seen scolding and sometimes slapping the students for one reason or the other. Disposable plates, leftover food, banana peels, orange peels are all littered on the road making it messy and dangerous for the pedestrians and the vehicles. Traffic is blocked for facilitating easy passage of procession. Police personnel too become helpless to allow emergency vehicles to pass due to the jam. Most of the participating devotees even do not know about the importance of the day, but they just keep on singing religious chants. Such processions should not be allowed on the national highways and congested places, where there is danger of a stampede or a long traffic jam. Dr Pawan Dviwedi A disheartening
decision The BJP government has ruined its own slogan for the coming elections “Feel good factor” by announcing that the auction of commercial property would only be done on a leasehold basis. It is most disheartening decision without thinking repercussions. As a matter of fact we had been representing to the UT Administration and the Ministry of Home Affairs to allow the conversion of lease-hold commercial property to free-hold as had been done in the case of residential houses by paying conversion fee. The owner of a smallest booth (‘8x13’) in Chandigarh will lose Rs 1 crore in 100 years by paying 2.5 per cent lease money in first 33 years, and next 33 years at the rate of 3.75 per cent and last 33 years by 5 per cent lease money to government. How much he will save from this smallest shop. I hope honourable and learned administrator will cancel this order immediately. Babu Singh |
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Congress dharna today Chandigarh, February 24 The Chandigarh Congress has decided to oppose the decision of the UT Administration for auction of commercial sites on leasehold basis instead of freehold. |
Five thieves arrested Chandigarh, February 24 The police recovered Rs 9,110 from Kumar Mohan, who allegedly stole the amount from house number 3060 in Sector 41-D yesterday. The police recovered six bicycles from a Shahi Majra resident, Narinder Kumar, and sent him to jail without any remand. A gold chain and a bangle were recovered from a Phase 7 Mohali resident, Rajinder Kumar. These had been stolen from the house of Mr Kuldeep Kumar in Sector 45-C. A stolen mobile phone and a wrist watch were recovered from a Burail village resident, Surinder Kumar. These had been stolen from house number 138, Sector 46. Rohit Kumar was also arrested by the police for theft. While Narinder Kumar has been sent to the jail, Rajinder was remanded in the police custody till February 26. Rest of them were sent to the police custody till tomorrow. Meanwhile, auto thieves struck in Sector 20, stealing stereos of five cars last night. All four wheels of a vehicle belonging to Mr Liyaquat Ali, were stolen from in front of house number 662. Parts of some vehicles were stolen from in front of house numbers 651, 665 and 658. Sources said the thieves took advantage of the withdrawal of the beat staff for making arrangements for the strike by employees. Vikram Garg, a resident of house number 3797, Sector 22-D, reported that his briefcase, containing Rs 20,000 cash, a cheque book of Canara Bank, registration of Santro car, was stolen for his car, parked in the Sector 23 market. Mohan Lal, a resident of Punjab Rubia House, Kalia Complex, Gujran Wala Mohalla, Ludhiana, reported his Honda City was stolen from in front of his house in Sector 15-A. |
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Doctor held for carrying out MTP Panchkula, February 24 According to official sources, the team raided the clinic in the morning when the illegal MTP of Ms Sarawati was being done at the clinic of Dr Meenu Bansal in Sector 10. The District Training Officer, Dr Shail Gupta, the District Malaria Officer, Dr VP Kakkar, and Dr Ashu Gupta and Dr Usha Gupta comprised the team.The team also seized the equipment used in the illegal MTP. The sources said the police was informed immediately and Dr Meenu Bansal was arrested and a case registered against her. It may be
recalled that the clinic is not authorised to carry out MTPs.The department had launched a campaign against the female foeticide under the PNDT Act. |
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Man stabs himself to death Chandigarh, February 24 No suicide note has been found from the spot. He was seen lying in a pool of blood by his neighbours who called the police which broke open the door of his house. Ramesh Chander’s wife and children live in Hamirpur district. The neighbours of Ramesh Chander had gone to Daddu Majra last night and when they returned in the afternoon they noticed the body lying in his room. Ramesh Chander lived in house No 1210-A in Sector 29-B. The police today called a team of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to rule out the possibilities of any foul play. |
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Scooterist crushed to death Chandigarh, February 24 He was going to the office from his residence (519, Phase 6, Mohali) when the accident took place. Sukhwinder Singh was taken to the PGI where he was declared brought dead. He sustained multiple head injuries. The driver of the truck fled from the scene leaving behind the vehicle. The police has impounded the truck (HR-37A-2509). |
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Thief on bail
arrested again Mohali, February 24 The police said that he again got involved in incidents of theft in and around Chandigarh and was arrested by the Mohali police yesterday. |
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Chandigarh, February 24
Chandigarh, February 24
