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3 of family hurt in accident
Dera Bassi, March 6 According to the police, Capt Ajay Singh, his wife Navjit Kaur, their child and driver Padam Singh sustained injuries. The injured were taken to General Hospital, Panchkula. The truck driver reportedly fled. The accident resulted in a traffic chaos on the highway for more than The police had to remove the damaged vehicles with a crane. The police has impounded the vehicles and a case has been registered with the Mubarikpur police post. |
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AIR notice to employee on poll code
Chandigarh, March 6 The notice, issued to one of the duty officers at AIR, Chandigarh, came in the wake of sharp criticism of repeated references to the “India Shining” advertisement campaign of the BJP during one of its programmes aired on the night of February 29. The scheduled programme, "HT City Jukebox", was broadcast from the AIR Chandigarh station on February 29. Slotted for 9.30 p.m., the programme, otherwise a musical, carried reactions of people on the "India Shining" campaign of the BJP. The programme, as required under the Election Commission rules, should have been screened before being aired. However, it was broadcast without proper care being taken with respect to the model code of conduct announced by the EC on the morning of February 29. Once aired with objectionable portions of the advertisement at 9.30 p.m. on February 29 (Sunday), the programme was again repeated in the same format the next morning. More than the original programme aired a day earlier, it was the morning programme that the listeners reacted to. Several calls were made in protest to the AIR’s, Chandigarh office in Sector 34 after the programme was aired in violation of the EC's code of conduct. Meanwhile, a senior official of AIR,
while maintaining that the screening of the programme had been done on
February 27 in a routine manner, said that it was a 30-minute
sponsored programme, which had been screened as per the regular
schedule. However, it was the responsibility of the Duty Officer on
February 29 to screen all programmes that were to be aired after the
model code of conduct was announced the same day. This programme was
not screened and hence it was not taken off the air, much to AIR’s embarrassment. We understand that the problem occurred because the code of conduct came into force on a Sunday, it was mentioned. The situation became more complicated when the programme was aired in the same format on 10.05 a.m. the next day. This despite the circulation of clear instructions to be followed by all AIR officials, following the EC’s announcement of the model code of conduct on February 29. |
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RRD plans to tie up with farmers’ unions Chandigarh, March 6 The
RRD, which was raised over five years ago, will also be fielding eight candidates in the state. “We will be contesting from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Sangrur,” the party president, Col Harsharan Singh Sandhu (retd), told The Tribune here yesterday. “We are in the process of finalising other places,” he said. He added that talks were on with the functionaries of farmers’ unions. A meeting of the RRD’s executive members was held here recently to chalk out the plan of action for getting into the election fray. Corruption at the higher level in political parties, adverse impact of globalisation among farmers and issues pertaining to the armed forces and welfare of ex-servicemen were on its poll agenda. Colonel Sandhu remarked that regardless of which party had come to power, be it the Congress or the Akalis, they were plagued by corruption at the top level. While globalisation had benefited the industry, it had had an adverse effect on the agricultural sector, he said. He said their party strongly demanded induction of armed forces personnel, who are released from service at a young age with meagre pension, into the paramilitary forces and related civilian organisations. Colonel Sandhu ruled out any alliance with other political parties, though, he said, if any candidate from the party contested as an independent, he could get support of parties opposed to the Congress and the Akali Dal. “The Panthic Committee approached us, but we do not want to align ourselves with any communal organisation,” he said. An ex-servicemen’s association based in Jaipur also contacted the
RRD, but the party was restricting its activities only to Punjab, he added. Though the RRD assumed a low profile after the last general election, Colonel Sandhu said that it had now been active for the past four months and was strengthening its base. |
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Ex-servicemen to give issue-based support Chandigarh, March 6 At a meeting held in Mohali today, they decided to provide “issue-based” support to candidates who they feel have helped them in the past and are confident they would do so in the future. Support to candidates would be irrespective of party alignments. Speaking to The Tribune after the meeting, Brig Harwant Singh (Retd) said that they would announce their support to candidates once the complete list of nominees are declared by various parties. Among major demands put forth by ex-servicemen are employment guarantee till the age of 60 years, removal of anomalies in pension schemes, nomination of eminent servicemen to the Rajya Sabha and employment to dependents of service personnel who die in harness. Pointing out that most of the service personnel retire early to keep the age profile of the Army young, ex-servicemen demanded that job opportunities should be provided so that they remain employed till the age of 60 years like those in other government departments. Since the armed forces per se retire at a young age, they cannot fulfill the government stipulation of 3 years’ service to be eligible for full pension. They demanded that their condition of 33 years be removed and a soldier should get full pension on completion of his colour service. Demanding a separate pay commission for the armed forces which can better understand their service conditions, they also sought revision of the Warrant of Precedence, which they felt had consistently degraded the status of service personnel over the years. This, they felt, would restore the “izzat” of servicemen. Other issues raised at the meeting were the long-pending demand for one rank-one pension, de-classification of widows into “war widows” and “other widows” and extension of some service benefits to retired personnel. |
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7 held with 250 kg hashish
Chandigarh, March 6 |
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Holi(day) confusion in govt schools
Clarification The report ‘City celebrates Holi tomorrow’ that appeared on page 1 of Chandigarh Tribune dated March 6 mentioned that government schools ‘would remain closed’ on Saturday. This was factually incorrect. The error is regretted.
Chandigarh, March 6 The confusion affected at least two government schools. While the authorities of Sector 16 Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, ensured that the annual examination for Classes V and VI were held as scheduled, the authorities of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 20-D, preferred to postpone the tests for Classes I, VI, VII and IX. A fresh date has been notified.
Mr Karan Singh, Principal of the Sector 33 school, said, “We had to call some of the teachers from their homes following confusion.” Ms Kusum Gupta, Principal of the Sector 20-D school, said the tests had been postponed due to confusion. Sources in the Education Department said as the schedule for annual tests up to Classes VII, IX and XI was generally prepared by the school authorities concerned, most of them had desisted from scheduling tests one day prior to Holi. “Learning from the past experience, we made it sure that no tests was scheduled for today,” said the Principal of a government school. He said there had been a confusion in the past, too, about the Holi holiday. Due to confusion, the presence of teachers in some of the schools was thin, sources said. Agitated parents of some students said as Punjab and Haryana had declared it a holiday, the Chandigarh Administration should have followed the suit so as to allow the people in the city to celebrate the festival of colours on the same day. The DPI (Schools), Mr D.S. Mangat, said there was no holiday in government school and making a declaration of holiday was the prerogative of the Chandigarh Administration. He said it had been clarified to all school heads this morning that it was a working day. Senior officials of the UT Education Department were sent to some of the schools to clear the confusion. The president of the Independent School Association, Mr D.S. Bedi, said private schools had preferred to declare it a holiday on the eve of Holi. |
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Be careful with colours today
Don’ts * Do not purchase synthetic colours sold on footpaths. They may contain brick and mica powder, even carbon, charcoal and dry cell extracts, besides sand, starch, salts and other non-permitted agents. * Do not remove colours from the body with kerosene, petrol or even spirit. They can further dry the skin. * Avoid eyes. Make sure that colours do not enter either your or the other person’s eyes. Balloons should also be hurled with caution. Do’s * Adopt precautionary measures. * Buy colours in sealed packets with ingredients mentioned on them. * Offer your own colours to the visitors.
Chandigarh, March 6 “You may find it hard to believe, but 99 per cent of the colours used by the revelers are synthetic,” the doctors assert. “That is why problems due to their use during Holi are on the rise in the city.” The doctors strictly advise you against purchasing colours sold on footpaths by road-side vendors. “If possible, pick up colours sold in sealed packets mentioning the ingredients. You can also go in for herbal colours containing vegetable dyes.”
Even Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Justice O.P. Verma (retd) has advised the people not to use synthetic and harmful colours during the festival of joy. Giving details, the doctors add that synthetic colours can result in eye irritation, besides skin allergies and respiratory problems as they use “brick and mica powder, even carbon, charcoal and dry cell extracts”. A senior doctor of the PGI says, “The colours also contain sand, starch and salts, along with other non-permitted agents that can cause problems, including eye irritation, besides skin allergies and respiratory
problems. The prohibited agents include Rhodamine B, Methyl, Violet Malachite and green Auramine”. Claiming that the “adoption of precautionary measures is any day better than consuming antibiotics for curing allergies”, the doctors say that as far as possible, you should offer your own colour to the visitors. This way you can be sure of the product being applied on your skin. In any case, make sure that there are no hard particles in the colour. Also, insist on dry holi. Make sure that the colours do not enter your or the other person’s eyes. Balloons should also be hurled with caution so that they do not hit the eyes. The doctors also recommend the use of moisturiser before playing holi as the colours can leave the skin dry. The doctors also assert that the colours should not be removed from the body with kerosene, petrol or even spirit as these can further dry the skin. “You should first try to remove the colours with soap and warm water. If you do not succeed, try deep cleansing milk. In case nothing works, go in for kerosene. But it should be the last resort.” For protecting hair, they suggest the use of swimming caps. “In case people still rub colours in your hair, go in for mild shampoos. A harsh shampoo or soap can cause a great deal of damage. Also, go in for a leave-in conditioner. It forms a coating on the hair, preventing dirt and pollution from settling down”. |
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Holi revellers to let hair down
A riot of colours (only vegetable colours), merry-making, chilling out with friends and enjoying gujias with beer. That’s how most city residents plan to celebrate the festival of colours.
While most of the denizens, including Gen Z, would rather be home, a few with their adventure spirit alive, will venture uphill for a whiff of the cold air and fun in the hills. Never mind that the calorie meter will shoot up with the choicest of sweet dishes and that the board examinations and regular school examinations will dampen the revellers, spirit. But fun times will friends and family reunions, and we get a checklist of what some of the city residents plan for the day. Says Rakesh Mohunta, Head of Operations, Ethos: “It will be a fun day as my daughter, Neha, is coming home from Delhi for Holi. We will be having fun with dry colours, eating and drinking beer at a friend’s place. Earlier, bhang was a fav dish at holi, but we have stopped having it for some years now. As always, we will also be taking pix, as a remembrance to this years Holi. Neenu Vij, painter: “The board examinations have dampened our Holi spirits . But being an artiste, I find the festival of colours irresistible. Though we would prefer to avoid celebrations so that my sons study is not affected, with friends promising to call on us, we might let down our hair and get in the fun mode”. Sanjay Ahuja, proprietor, Moti Mahal restaurant: “Its the time to get together with friends and family, and share a meal, and chill out with beer. On most Holis we prefer to take a small vacation, but with the kids examinations on, the celebrations will be in the city. Our group of friends will get together and enjoy the festival. Anju Khanna, Clinic Manager, VLCC: Its time for a family reunion. I will be spending time with my family at Amritsar. We will be going around town and meeting friends.” |
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Holi revellers enter into scuffle
Dera Bassi, March 6 The problem started when some youngsters, who were reportedly drunk, started staring at some girls accompanying a group. This led to a scuffle among the revellers which was sorted out after the Dera Bassi police intervened. Though Holi was not celebrated by the residents of the city and satellite towns today because of confusion over the exact date of its celebrations yet revellers from the adjoining areas took part in “Holi Hungama” at Fun City, near here. As residents of this part of the region were confused over the celebrations of this festival, revellers, including children and youngsters from the adjoining areas of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh gathered in large numbers here to make merry. Smeared with “gulal” and other colours, the Holi revellers started pouring in the venue at about 11a.m. Before going to have “dips and dance” in a water pool, the Holi revellers joined the rain dance on tunes of Punjabi pop songs. With ‘pichkaries’ in their hands, small children, leaving their parents in the pool, joined their friends and played in a small canal around the main pool. The organisers had made elaborated security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident. A number of young boys and girls had to return disappointed as the entry passes and tickets had been sold out. A number of children from the surrounding villages were found standing in front of the venue longing to join the revellers. |
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Celebrate Holi in true spirit, says Verma
Chandigarh, March 6 Felicitating the people on the eve of Holi, Justice Verma said the festival of colour symbolised peace, love and brotherhood. The “festival of joy” is celebrated to herald the arrival of spring — the season of hope and new beginnings. The day also provides Sikhs in Punjab an opportunity to display their martial arts during Hola Mohala held annually at Anandpur Sahib. Justice Verma advised the people not to use harmful colours during the festival and not to force festivities on others. He exhorted the people to celebrate this festival collectively in its true spirit of mutual love and brotherhood. |
Number of stray dogs on the rise
Chandigarh, March 6 Due to some reasons, the drive has been stopped. It all started in May last year when the MC wanted to speed up the sterilisation process. All this culminated in an action plan. Now as this policy was to be finalised and details of facilities of other states were being sought, the MC teams catching dogs have stopped functioning. Sources said the teams were busy catching stray cows and could not catch stray dogs. Till December 25, stray dogs were being sent to the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (SPCA) and the People for Animals (PFA). The Administration has a plan to nab stray dogs and pack these off in special trucks to veterinary care centres for sterilisation in adjoining states. The Administration and the MC wanted to speed up the sterilisation process. The NGOs have said that pups should be sterilised as they need less operation time and the cost of medicine is also less. The NGOs say they can operate on 10 pups per week. To send dogs to neighbouring states will be a costly affair. Two non-governmental organisations are handling the sterilisation scheme and are paid Rs 450 per dog. The problem is that post-operative care of one dog takes about a week. The NGOs have limited space and can handle only a given number of cases on a weekly or monthly basis. There are an estimated 5,400 stray dogs in the city.  |
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Tribune staff to donate blood on Women’s Day
Chandigarh, March 6 Dr R.P. Bambah, a Trustee of the Tribune Trust, will inaugurate the camp at 9 am. Justice S.S. Sodhi, another Trustee will also visit the camp. A team of doctors from the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, led by Dr Sabita Basu, will conduct the camp. The union also organises a blood donation camp in September each year. A blood donation camp was also organised for Kargil jawans on a call given by the Army authorities. |
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ISKCON celebrates appearance day of Lord Chaitanya
Chandigarh, March 6 According to ISKCON spokesperson Nand Maharan Dasa Prabhu, a large number of devotees thronged the temple on the occasion. After performing special ‘Mangla aarti’ at 4.30 am, the devotees took part in a nagar sankirtan. Chanting “Hare Krishna mahamantra” , devotees took several rounds of the city during their 11-day sankirtan programme in order to propagate the sacred message of Srimad Bhagvadgita and teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. “His Grace” Nand Maharaj Dasa Prabhu asked the people to adopt the path of spiritualism shown by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The main attractions of the programme were Sringaar aarti, followed by bhajan and kirtan and offering of bhog to the Lord. Krishna prasadam was also distributed among those present on the occasion at 8.30 pm on Sunday, a “nritya natika” on Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will be staged by the children of ISKCON devotees as a part of the celebration. |
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Repair internal
roads, say residents
Mohali, March 6 The forum President, Mr Yogesh Gupta, said today that most internal roads in the sector needed repair. Even road cuts made for laying pipes were not being repaired despite residents making payments in this regard. Stray cattle had become a nuisance with animals damaging ornamental trees and plants. Besides, congress grass was growing in parks. He said labourers living in jhuggis and nearby villages had created unhygienic conditions by defecating in open spaces earmarked for commercial and residential purposes. Most of the manholes and road gullies were uncovered. The forum demanded the setting up of a community centre and a shopping centre in the area. |
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Krishna Chaitanya devotees hold
procession
Chandigarh, March 6 According to the press secretary of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, the procession was started by chairman of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math Charitable Trust B.V. Vishnu Maharaj. Earlier during the day, a large number of devotees thronged Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math in Sector 20-B. The programme started with Mangla arti at 5 am. Saints from different places sang “the glories of the Lord”. A special “kalas abhisheka” programme was also arranged. The devotees celebrated the occasion by spreading “Krishna’s prasadi colours”. |
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Zoo bear dies of cancer
Chhat Bir, March 6 Sources in the zoo revealed that the animal was suffering from cancer for the past about one and a half years and had lost sense in his foreleg. Though a team of doctors of Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, had diagnosed the disease a couple of months ago, the bear could not be saved. The zoo Director, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, admitted that the bear, aged about 22, had died of cancer. He claimed that the animal was segregated from other bears after the ailment was diagnosed. The animal was cremated after post-mortem examinations this afternoon. With the death of the bear the number of Himalayan black bears has been reduced to 10 from 11. The zoo is presently housing 17 bears, including one Himalayan bear and six sloth bears besides two new-born cubs. |
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Residents want PSEB to refund “excess” amount
Mohali, March 6 In a letter to the chairman of the board, the general secretary of the society, Mr Albel Singh Shyan, said the action of the PSEB in charging the highest tariff from consumers for non-clubbing of meters, irrespective of the date of installation of meters, was wrong. Highest tariff was being charged in the case of meters which had been installed 20 to 30 years ago. He said the condition of a separate registration deed and a separate rent deed in case of meters installed after January, 1996, should also be withdrawn. Instead, the PSEB could obtain an affidavit from the owner stating that his children were living in different portions of the building and the owner would be responsible for clearing the dues, if remained unpaid. |
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BJP workers celebrate Holi
Chandigarh, March 6 Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former member of Parliament, addressing the party workers, said Holi was celebrated in the entire country without caste or creed barriers. Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, party president, spoke on the festival as a symbol of unity. Sweets were distributed among the party workers at the function. |
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Scheme to empower women
Chandigarh, March 6 The project is being launched by the Youth Technical Training Society in collaboration with the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. The Project will be named VAMA ( Sanskrit for woman). The institute is one of the leading business schools in the country. |
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Special satsang
Mohali, March 6 The satsang will be led by Brahmrishi Kumar Swami ji, who will also meet the public and help them solve their problems. The satsang will begin at 4pm and continue till 7pm. |
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Kirtan darbar
Chandigarh, March 6 According to Baba Sadhu Singh, chief of Nanaksar (Kaleran), eminent ragis will participate in the kirtan darbar to be held at the end of akhand path from 11.30 a.m. onwards. There will be a community kitchen too. |
Heroine found near GPO
Chandigarh, March 6 Meanwhile, Bablu Gupta of Mani Majra was arrested yesterday allegedly for liquor smuggling. The police said 50 pouches of liquor were recovered from his possession. In a separate case, a resident of the PGI Complex, Mohinder Gupta, was booked under Sections 4 and 5 of the Noise Control Act. During the past 24-hours, the police has registered at least three cases of thefts from different parts of the city. Mr Anmol S. Bhullar of Sector 44 reported that his Maruti car (HR 08A 8188) was stolen from his residence on the night of March 4. A Hero Honda motorcycle (PB 13I 2998) of Mr Harminder Singh, a Sector 45 resident, was also reported to be stolen. The alleged theft took place from near Kisan Mandi on March 2. Mr Shri Ram of Dadu Majra Colony reported that thieves broke into his house yesterday in the afternoon and took away a TV and CD Player along with some toys. |
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Advocate held in hit-and-run case, gets bail
Chandigarh, March 6 He has been booked under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC. According to the police, the car involved in the accident was allegedly owned by Mr Rai, who is son of a former High Court judge. The accident took place when Ravinder Singh (25) came out of a wedding party in Rajasthan Bhavan on the night of February 16. Three days after the accident, the police impounded the car on February 19. Mr Rai had denied that his car was involved in an accident on the night of February 16. He had claimed the car was parked in the driveway of his house in Sector 9 at the time of the accident. |
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7 booked for forgery
Chandigarh, March 6 All of them had allegedly obtained loans of over Rs 30 lakh for purchase of plots in connivance with some other persons, including some of the field officers appointed by the finance company to verify the documents of the loan seekers. However, no arrest has been made so far. Those booked are Chanderkanta of Sector 27, Kunj Bihari Lal of Sector 7, Dolly Sahni of Sector 35, Parminder Singh Kochhar of Sector 40, Budh Singh Verma of Sector 30, Bishan Dass of Sector 41 and Ashok Kumar Dhingra of the CSIO Colony, Sector 30. They have been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC. Sources said Chanderkanta had taken a loan of Rs 3.3 lakh; Bihari Lal, Rs 6.6 lakh; Kochhar, Rs 3.67 lakh; Verma, Rs 3.97 lakh; and Dhingra, Rs 3.94 lakh. The cases were registered on the complaint of Mr Mohit Saxena of Birla Home Finance. In his complaint, he had alleged that the persons had obtained loans by forging their salary slips and income tax returns. |
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Dacoity case solved
Panchkula, March 6 According to police sources, the other five accused have been
identified as Rakesh and Ravinder (Bhiwani), Jaspal Bhatti (Mohali), Vijay (Muzaffarnagar) and Madhu (Baltana). The 40-year-old main accused, Ravinder, had already undergone a 14-year jail term and was released from Burail Jail in 1996. Cash, ornaments, mobile phones and valuables amounting to over Rs 8 lakh were looted from the house of Mr Manoj Nangia, a gas agency dealer, on the morning of February 19. A car, which was also taken away by the dacoits, was later found abandoned near the BEL factory. The police said Madhu, who was thrown out of the job by Mr Nangia about six months ago, was main person behind the planning of the dacoity. Balwinder was arrested by a police team constituted by Mr Rajesh Duggal, DSP (City). Mr Ashok Bakshi, SHO of the Sector 5 police station, and Mr Haripal Walia, Additional SHO, among other constituted the team. |
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