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Where have 58,000 UT voters vanished? Chandigarh, May 9 The number of voters has gone down not only in the colonies, as was the general perception, but also in various sectors of the city. In fact, the biggest shift in the number of voters in the city areas. Sources said the city component of the total area had 3.35 lakh voters during the 1999 poll. This time the figure was approximately 3.02
lakh. The colonies had about 1.48 lakh voters in 1999 and this time the number was about 1.5 lakh. In villages, the number was around 92,000 in the last parliamentary elections. This time, the total was around 73,000, they added. Mr Satya Pal Jain, BJP candidate, said the fault lay with the election office. The onus also lay with the party offices of various political parties in the city which could have followed up the voter lists in advance. A senior official of the UT Administration said during the revision of voter lists, a large number of ‘bogus voters” were found and their names were deleted. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, Congress candidate, said,” The figure of 58,000 was too big to have been deleted. It puts a question mark on the voter list revision process. The list makes it seem as if the number of residents in the city had gone down remarkably. People have voters cards, but their name do not
figure in the voter list. The fall in number is unlikely to have an impact on the final result, as they do not refer to any particular area or community. Mr Arun Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, confirmed the official figure of 5.26 lakh. “The number is far more decent than that of a census in 2001 when the number of voters had fallen to about 4.9 lakh. The revision had been done following numerous complaints of bogus voting. The figure of 4.9 lakh voters was far below the earlier figure and there were demands for a revision”. The Deputy Commissioner said a door-to-door survey was conducted for the revision of voter lists. “We found that a large number of voters had got fake ration cards made. This is an important document when they apply for houses under various schemes. We conducted summary revision each year. Special camps were set up in schools to register voters. All claims had been settled.” |
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Stage set for smooth polling in Ropar constituency Mohali, May 9 Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of the various Assembly segments in the constituency addressed the polling parties before these were sent off. Trucks were used to ferry the election material and election parties from the head quarters to the polling stations. The working of the EVMs has been checked twice and those with snags have been replaced. A mock election voting drill will be carried out at the polling stations tomorrow morning before the actual voting begins at 7 am. The voting continue till 5 pm. Out of the total electorate of 13,39,553 in Ropar, the largest number of voters are in the Kharar Assembly constituency. This constituency also has the largest component of urban voters, most of these concentrated in Mohali. Out of the approximate number of 2.1 lakh voters in Kharar, more than 1.2 lakh are urbanites. Mohali township has 69 polling stations and 62,723 male and 50,659 female voters. Another 103 polling stations are located in the villages with two polling stations each in every village. The SDM, Mohali, Mr M.L. Sharma, is the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) for this segment. ‘‘As per police reports there are 36 sensitive polling stations here but as far as we are concerned, every thing is peaceful,’’ said Mr Sharma. Mr Man Singh Manehra, the BSP candidate for these election from this constituency will be casting his vote at a Kharar polling station. Morinda has over 1.4 lakh voters with a majority of voters concentrated in villages. Morinda has 135 polling stations. Mr S.S. Gill, the SDM, Kharar, will be the ARO for this segment. ‘‘Every thing is in place. We have 44 sensitive booths but otherwise all is peaceful,’’ said Mr Gill. The Chamkaur Sahib segment has 1.7 lakh voters, almost all of whom are living in villages. ‘‘116 polling stations have been established and I have received reports that all is well. We had 19 sensitive booths but these are quite and there is nothing to worry about.’’ said Mr Daljit Singh, SDM, Ropar, who is the ARO for Chamkaur Sahib segment. As many as 123 polling stations are in place at Samrala where over 1.1 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes. Arrangements for another 1.5 lakh voters are in place at Nabha. ‘‘Out of the 150 polling stations that have been set up, 47 are sensitive but everything is in order and things are going as planned,’’ said Mr Balraj Singh Sekhon, SDM and ARO, Nabha. Mr J.P. Mittal, SDM Khanna, also the ARO, said 150 booths are in place and there are 1.4 lakh voters. The two main candidates in the fray, Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra and Mr Shamsher Singh Libra will be casting their vote at Khanna. Over 1.6 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes at Amloh. ‘‘There are 39 sensitive booths here out of a total of 162. But there is no news of any problem at all,’’ said Mr Sandeep Hans, SDM, Amloh, and ARO. The office of the ARO too has been shifted from Amloh to Mandi Gobindgarh to keep a better watch on the voting process tomorrow. ‘‘All poll parties have reached their destination safely with the EVMs. The election supervisors have reported that the machines have been checked and are functioning properly,’’ said Mr. Darshan Singh Sandhu, SDM, Fatehgarh Sahib, as many as 14 polling booths are sensitive here out of the total 146 where over 1.3 lakh voters are expected to vote. Over 1.43 lakh voters are expected to vote at the 142 polling stations in Dhuri. |
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It’s blame game a day before Mr Harmohan Dhawan, INLD candidate, was left out of the “firing range” of allegations by Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal (Congress) and Mr Satya Pal Jain (BJP). However, Mr Dhawan charged both of his rivals with indulging in unfair practices, including liquor distribution. Mr Bansal and Mr Jain denied involvement of their party
Mr Dhawan said, “I will request the Chandigarh Police to be extra cautious in ensuring a check on distribution of liquor and other objectionable material.” Mr Bansal said the Election Office had sided with Mr Jain during the election campaign. “When we complained of the BJP indulging in unfair practices and distributing stepney covers, no action was taken. But an FIR was registered against the Mayor for attesting ration cards of the needy. This is an illegal act and we will take the matter to the court after the elections”, he said. All three candidates are sure of their success in the election. Mr Bansal feels he has performed exceptionally well during his tenure in Parliament, particularly with respect to expenditure of his share of the MPLAD fund. Mr Jain feels the NDA-BJP combine is most likely to form the government at the Centre, so he will be the best choice to voice the concerns of the city. Mr Dhawan said both his rivals had failed miserably in addressing various issues that had remained on their agenda from the past more than 13 years. |
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2,400 cops for
poll duty in city Chandigarh, May 9 There are reports that despite an all out effort of the Crime Branch of the police to keep a check on the supply of liquor, alcohol bottles and pouches have reached various colonies of the city. It is learnt that representatives of various political parties had smuggled liquor into the colonies much before the vends were ordered to pull down shutters last evening. On the other hand the police claimed there was no case of sale, supply and consumption of liquor on public places and the ban had been imposed strictly. As many as 13 raiding parties headed by Inspector K.I.P. Singh have been formed to check cases of liquor supply. According to reports, the police was specially checking vehicles bearing banners, flags and posters of the various political parties for liquor. When the reports last came in raids were continuing in the various colonies and other sensitive areas of the city. The police had also raided the houses and interrogated 215 notorious liquor smugglers. Meanwhile, the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were dispatched to the 165 polling stations. After the voting ends at 5 pm tomorrow, the EVMs will be sealed and sent to the four counting stations. A Sub Inspector or Assistant Sub Inspector will be the in charge of a polling station. On each polling booth, a head constable, two constables and a home guard volunteer will remain posted. Special police pickets being set up across the city are being managed by the CRPF personnel. As many as 11 DSPs are supervising the entire security arrangements for the polling process. Besides, a police team has been kept in reserve. As many as 66 polling stations out of a total of 48 have been declared sensitive and the police has made adequate arrangements to handle any unpleasant situation, sources said. |
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14 booths of Banur segment Dera Bassi, May 9 Mr Garg said every polling booth had been provided an electronic voting machine (EVM) while 15 EVMs had been kept in reserve. In the Banur segment, 40 per cent of the election staff had been deployed from Samrala tehsil. As many as 1,60,007 voters, including 11,40 new ones, would exercise their franchise tomorrow, he said.
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Intelligentsia urged to shun political apathy Chandigarh, May 9 They claimed that the intelligentsia had alienated itself from the election and nation-building process. As a result, less than 40 per cent of the city residents were moulding the country’s destiny by casting votes. On the other hand, the villagers eagerly
participated in the process, which was evident from the fact that 70 per cent of them exercised their franchise. The speakers included Justice P.K. Palli, who was the chief guest, Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, president of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Mr G.K. Chatrath, a former president of the High Court Bar Association, and Dr S.N. Singla, a former principal of Government College for Men, Sector 11. |
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Sikhs urged
to vote for BJP Chandigarh, May 9 Issuing a press note, Prof Balluana said the council had made an appeal to Sikh voters of Chandigarh to vote for the BJP candidate, Mr Satya Pal Jain, who has the backing of SAD (Badal). |
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Poll staff debarred
from casting vote, says Ganeshi Lal Panchkula, May 9 In a statement issued here, he alleged that certain officers had not been issued authorisation letters by the state government. Meanwhile, a senior leader of the BJP, Mr Habilas Jindal, alleged that the INLD workers had uprooted its tent and burnt the party flags in the Doon zone of the
district last evening. Prof Ganeshi Lal, while condemning the incident, appealed to the
Election Commission authorities to ensure that such incidents were not repeated. |
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Paid holiday
for commercial establishments today Chandigarh, May 9
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Army officer faces court martial Chandigarh, May 9 According to sources, the Officer Commanding of a Pioneer Company stationed in Chandigarh, Lieut-Col J.P. Singh, is facing several charges of intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline under Sections 52 and 63 of the Army Act. The
GCM, convened under the directions of the Leh-based Headquarters 14 Corps, is under progress here. Sources add that the officer has pleaded not guilty to the charges levied against him. The officer has been charged with misappropriating telephone bills to the tune of about Rs. 20,000. Sources said that he showed his private STD calls to be official and charged the amounts spent by him on such calls to unit funds. The officer is also alleged to have claimed travel allowance for official trips despite having used a service vehicle. Other charges include misuse of government transport and changing entries in vehicles' car diary, which carry the log of the vehicles' movements. Sources revealed that a court of inquiry was initiated into the mater earlier following a complaint by an officer of the same unit about a year ago. The complaint was made at a time when Army authorities were investigating into allegations of large- scale irregularities in the supply of vegetables to Leh. The supplies were being forwarded through N-Area here, where the Pioneer Company in question is based. Investigation at that time had indicated the possible involvement of a brigadier then posted at Leh and some armymen based here, sources said. The investigation too was initiated on a complaint received by the Army. As a welfare measure, a civilian shop to sell fresh vegetables had been set up at Leh, the supply for which was made from N-Area through local purchase. The vegetables were meant for sale and were not part of the authorised ration supply to troops. Sources said that the vegetables, which were also obtained through contractors at places other than Chandigarh, were despatched to Leh in service vehicles and aircraft whereas it was the responsibility of the contractors to have them delivered at Leh through their own means. Sources added that while the cargo was ferried in service transport, the transport charges to Leh were debited to the Army.
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Enthusiastic response to celebrations at British Library Chandigarh, May 9 The celebrations commenced with a fancy dress competition, titled “Do what you like”, for children within the age group of 4 to 6 years. A debate was held on “Television is the main reason for the decline of reading habit today”. A unique event titled “Family Chess” was also organised where children and grandparents tested their mental capacities. Next, was the extempore contest, where the members aged between 18 and 35 years were asked to speak on a topic given to them on the spot. The “Eve’s Special” contest saw eight teams of mothers and daughters participate in a fun-filled activity. The daughters participating in this event were to be more than 18 years of age. According to Mr Sushant Banerjee, Manager, British Library, “The Library is overwhelmed with the response that its members have given to these celebrations”. The academic sponsor of the celebrations is Chitkara International School.
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Scuffle in market over bid to cut council railing Mohali, May 9 Mr Hari Chand, who runs a department store, had directed a welder to cut and make a gap in the railing fixed by the Municipal Council in front of the shops. As the welder began his work, Mr Varinder Kumar, a kiryana store owner, raised an objection. Hot words were exchanged between the two shopkeepers and a scuffle ensued in which the shirt of Virender Kumar was torn. Mr Hari Chand told this correspondent that the railings provided in the market in front of shops had already been cut at various points by other shopkeepers for easier access to customers to their respective establishments. |
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Kidnapping case registered Mohali, May 9 On April 30, she had told her brother that she would be going to the Punjab School Education Board for some work before she goes to the office but never reached her office. Sources added that she had visited the Board that day and went missing from there. Mr Harish Sharma alleged that Sandeep, a resident of Sector 40, Chandigarh, could have kidnapped Indu, as he had been following her for many years now. He wanted to marry her when she was unmarried but even after her marriage, he had not stopped pestering her. He had allegedly also threatened her through telephone calls. |
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Industrialists allege harassment by PSIEC Dera Bassi, May 9 At a press conference held here today, office-bearers of the association alleged that the PSIEC had failed to comply with the notification of the Punjab Government and enhanced water and sewerage charges. However, the Department of Local Government, Punjab, had decided to keep the notification in abeyance with immediate effect. A meeting of the association with the Managing Director of the PSIEC was allegedly cancelled by him at the eleventh hour. Mr R.C. Kalia, general secretary of the association, alleged that the PSIEC had ignored the Focal Point area after the association opposed the imposition of maintenance charges (Rs 6 per square yard per annum) on industrial units. They said the industrialists had been facing an acute shortage of water since January. The association also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister on January 30 in this regard, he said. The association demanded that either the Focal Point be handed over to the Dera Bassi Municipal Council or it should be excluded from the civic body limits. The industrialists have been paying lakhs to the civic body as octroi but no development works had been undertaken in the Focal Point area, the association alleged. |
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Chandigarh, May 9
members in any unfair practice and at the same time charged the rivals of indulging in the same practice.
Mr Jain and Mr Bansal maintained that each one of them had addressed more than 700 meetings individually and travelled to every nook and corner of the city in connection with the poll campaign. 
