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4 dead as car falls into gorge Chandigarh, May 11 City resident Tilak Raj (28), who was killed in the accident, was to get married to a girl from Una in a few months. He had left for Dehra Dun from his residence in Sector 24 on Sunday. Another victim, Mitesh (26), was a relative of the owner of the company, Mr Subodh Saggi. He was a native of Model Town, Amritsar. The other two victims were identified as 48-year-old Mansa Ram of Mehera district, Himachal Pradesh, and 32-year-old Rama Nand of Ashirwad Enclave, Dehra Dun. All four were “contractual” employees of the Sector 7-based Saggi Electronic Company. They were on their way to Srinagar in Uttaranchal from Rishikesh when the accident took place near Bachali Ghad, 18 km from Dev Prayag. It is yet to be known how the accident took place. Residents of Bachali Ghad, spotted the car (Indica CH 03H - 6919) in the gorge. |
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40 pc electorate used voter cards Chandigarh, May 11 In Central Chandigarh , with Sectors like 17,18,19,20 and 21 the voting percentage was not high. Normally, these sectors have heavy polling. This time it was 49.7 per cent. These sectors have 36,966 votes, out of this 18,373 votes were cast. Chandigarh was divided into 11 sections for polling purposes. The highest polling took place in Sectors 11, 12, 14, 15, 24, 25, Dhanas village, Sarangpur village, Khuda Lahora village, Klayan Labour Colony, Kumhar Labour Colony, Khuda Jassu village and Khuda Ali Sher village. It was 53.67 per cent. The area has a total of 52,255 votes, out of this 28,049 were cast. The lowest polling was in area comprising Sectors 1 to 10 and Kaimbwalla village. A total 10,320 voters are listed and 4,776 people cast their votes. Though this was the lowest at 46.27 per cent. It was higher than usual when no more than 27 per cent votes were cast in the municipal elections in December 2001. This area also has the least number of listed voters. Interestingly in the area comprising Sectors 32, 33, 34, 44, 45, 46, Burail village, Faidan village, Nizampur village, Sectors 48 and 49 has a total of 80,406 votes, out of which 54,902 votes were polled. This was 48. 95 per cent. This was the second lowest in the city. Official figures for the Election Commissions photo identity cards were also impressive, as about 2 lakh voters used these cards during the polling. In the police colony, probably most cops were out on duty, thus could not vote. This was the lowest recorded poll in an urban area. In the Northern sectors, a booth in Sector 10 recorded 53.38 per cent polling. In the same area, a booth in the MLA hostel Sector 4 recorded 37.89 per cent polling. This was for Sectors 2, 3, 4 and 5. |
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Those who couldn’t vote
Chandigarh, May 11 Mr H.L Dua 388, Sector 44-A. Chandigarh. Dr Manisha Priyamwada 388, Sector 44-A. Chandigarh. Mrs Saubhagya Verma 638, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh Ms Kaunika Verma 638, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh. Mr Rakesh Verma 638, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh. Mrs Sneh Prabha Sanan 1105, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh, Mr I.K. Sanan 1105, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh. Mr Amit Sanan 1105, Sector 11-A, Chandigarh. Mr S.C. Vohra 3337, Sector 21, Chandigarh. Mrs Neelam Vohra 3337, Sector 21, Chandigarh. Mr Sudesh Monga 3337, Sector 21, Chandigarh. Mr Baljinder Dhingra 336/1, Sector 40-D, Chandigarh. Mrs Veena Dhingra 336/1, Sector 40-D, Chandigarh. Mr J.S. Kanwar, family 1-A, Sector 36-A, Chandigarh. Mr Sunil Sharma, family 1342, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh Ms Meenu Chaddha 309, Sector 46-A, Chandigarh Mr Manan Mukherji 1060-F, Sector 19-B, Chandigarh. Ms Sharmila Mukherji 1060-F, Sector 19-B, Chandigarh. Mr Harbhajan Singh 1195, Sector 8-C, Chandigarh. Mrs Harvinder Kaur 1195, Sector 8-C, Chandigarh. Ms Divya Sharma 153, Sector 22-B, Chandigarh. Mr Gurmeet Singh 2032, Sector 23-C, Chandigarh Ms Seema Rani 2032, Sector 23-C, Chandigarh Mrs R.K. Jaswant Singh 14, Sector 2, Chandigarh. Dr Baljeet S. Kapoor 14, Sector 2, Chandigarh Mrs Kiran Kapoor 14, Sector 2, Chandigarh Ms Ambika Kapoor 14, Sector 2, Chandigarh Mr Bhagwan Kapoor 14, Sector 2, Chandigarh Ms K. Tilotma 5248/2, Modern Housing Complex. Mr K.V. Singh 5248/2, Modern Housing Complex. Mr V.K. Mehta 3427. FF. Sector 23-D, Chandigarh Ms Kanchan Mehta 3427. FF. Sector 23-D, Chandigarh Prof S.C. Bedi T-II-46, Sector 25, Chandigarh. Mr Vijay Mohan Aggarwal House Number 3, Phase IV, Mohali. Mr Anil Kumar and Ms Nutan Kumar Not available |
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The Day After Chandigarh, May 11 |
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Poll results on BSNL mobile phones Chandigarh, May 11 The facility is free to BSNL mobile customers, which are about three lakh in the Punjab circle. The broadcast will be displayed using ‘Cell ID 51’/Cell ID 50 and will repeat after 10 minutes, according to an announcement here today. |
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Chautala hoardings to stare at you again Panchkula, May 11 With the elections to the Lok Sahba over, various government departments, including boards and corporations, are set to install hoardings on the orders of the Haryana Government. The hoardings were pulled down following the directive of the Election Commission (EC) on March 9, which said these violated the model code of conduct. A top functionary of the Haryana Government told Chandigarh Tribune here today that directions to the government departments to install the hoardings would be issued after May 13 when the counting of the votes was completed. INLD sources said the party wanted to take full advantage of the “achievements” of the government during the past four years by displaying these through the hoardings in the run-up to the Assembly elections in February next year. Keeping in view the Assembly poll, the propaganda through hoardings was all the more necessary in the wake of reports that the INLD was not doing well in the Lok Sabha poll, results of which will be known on Thursday. Once installed, the hoardings will remain only for a period of about six months, as during the election process for the next Assembly poll, these will have to be removed again. The government departments, which spent a lot of money on the removal of the hoardings, will have to cough up a substantial amount on their re-erection. Besides impinging upon the model code of conduct, the hoardings and advertisements on the national and state highways also violated the directives of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It may be recalled that Deputy Commissioners were reportedly appointed the nodal officers for deciding the number and place of the putting up of the hoardings. The “orders” to install hundreds of huge hoardings, costing several crores of rupees, were passed at a meeting presided over by Mr B.D. Dhalia, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, last year. |
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City may be first in declaring poll result Chandigarh, May 11 Officials here have estimated that they will be able to declare the result within 70 to 75 minutes after the start of counting which starts at 8 a.m. It may be recollected that Chandigarh was one of the few constituencies where Electronic Voting Machines (EVM’s) were used in the 1999 Lok Sabha poll, thus there is experience in handling these machines. This time officials have decided amongst themselves to aim and be the first. Officially nobody is confirming this as the Election Commission of India will not like it. Officials said it had been made clear that no process will be overlooked and agents of political parties would be given a re-count on the EVMs when they want it. In Chandigarh about 2.67 lakh votes have been polled. The counting will take place at four centres spread across the city. With distances being shorter in Chandigarh, none of the centres are more than 4 km away from the Sector 17 office of the Returning Officer, Mr Arun Kumar, who is also the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh. For communication of results from each of the counting centres, officers have mobile phones. Fax machines and landline telephones have also been installed to immediately convey the result to the RO who will sit in his office. Two of these centres will have 14 counting tables each, while two other centres will have 21 counting tables. This means, in one round, votes from 70 booths will be counted simultaneously. It takes about 3 minutes to complete the counting on one EVM. This includes the 40 seconds start up time of the battery. There were a total of 409 polling booths in Chandigarh. Going by these estimates the counting should be over within a maximum 75 minutes. This time frame has been given keeping in mind the factor of re-count, on any EVM. Also the postal ballots which have to be counted by hand. Chandigarh has also got permission from the Election Commission Of India to bring out the EVMs from the strong rooms in one go. This means each counting table will have five to six EVMs. Once votes are counted the staff will move on to the next EVM. Officials estimate that this itself will save about 35 minutes of time. Had the routine process of counting the votes in one round and then going back to the strong room, it would have taken six to seven minutes each time. |
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Elaborate security around counting centres Chandigarh, May 11 The process of sealing electronic voting machines (EVMs) and strongrooms went on till 3 am today in some cases. The counting will take place on May 13. Five security rings have been formed around the counting centres by the police and the ITBP. Police teams are doing patrolling around these centres. The number of security personnel around the counting centres will be increased on May 13. Each of the four companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the disposal of the Administration will be deployed at each counting centre on to prevent possibilities of any violent reaction to the election result. Around 200 personnel would be guarding each of the four counting centres on May 13. Senior police officials remained busy till 3 am in making security arrangements for the polling staff which was busy in sealing EVMs and strongrooms. Nine-inch-thick walls have been erected on the main entrances of the strongrooms. Four armed security personnel of the ITBP have been posted around the strongrooms. One of them will remain deployed at the roof of the building. They are guarding counting centre in three shifts of four each. There is another cordon of the security by the Chandigarh Police. Then there is a perimeter patrolling of each of the counting centres. The Traffic Police is there to regulate traffic on the roads leading to these centres. Two police control room (PCR) vehicles have been stationed at each of the counting centres to further strengthen security. Apart from this, there is patrolling by the staff of the police station concerned. Each counting centre will have an Inspector (in charge), one Assistant Sub-Inspector and one Head Constable for supervision. The senior police official, have also tried to bring accountability in the security arrangement around the counting centres. The system of making DDR entries has been introduced to fix responsibility of the police personnel on duty. |
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Indian geologist makes it to Guinness Book of World Records Chandigarh, May 11 Hailing from Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, this geologist-turned-entrepreneur has been a 'rebel' of sorts. First, he left a cushy state government job to start a drilling company on his own and then moved up at high-altitude to drill deep tubewells against the laid-down geological dictum that "the probability of being able to economically harness groundwater on mountain peak is low." Investing Rs 30 lakh to start hydrogeological drilling operations, he successfully explored and drilled for groundwater all along the Indus-Tsangpo Suture zone in Leh and across Karakoram Range in the Nubra valley. The success list includes drilling borewells for the Army at Siachen Glacier, Tyagshi in Partapur, Nubra Valley and Thakung, which is the farthest point on the Pang Gong Lake on the Indo-China border. Dr Arya had sent in his entries to the Guinness for three categories - drilling the highest borewell in the world with artesian conditions at Leh at an altitude of more than 11,000 ft above the mean sea level, drilling highest borehole in the world at 15,500 ft above mean sea level on Khardungla Mountain Range and the drilling borewell in the coldest climatic conditions at Siachen Glacier that is operational even in winters when temperatures plummet to -55 degree C. While the artesian condition entry has been given a nod and the highest borehole overall is being investigated, the entry for the coldest climatic conditions has been rejected. A communiqué received by the hydrogeologist from Mr David Hawksett, a UK-based Guinness World Record science and technology representative, reads: "I have now been in touch with some of my expert consultants and can confirm that we will accept for the highest artesian borehole in the world. I am still investigating your claim for the highest borehole overall." |
PSEB introduces token system for bill payment Mohali, May 11 To avoid rush and keeping the convenience of public in mind, the PSEB authorities have set up token number display units. The system, which started here today on a trial basis, would become fully functional in a week. Power consumers, who go to deposit their bills, will be given a coupon, the number of which will be displayed on the screens put up for the purpose.
After receiving the coupon, the consumer can attend to other works till his turn comes or can sit and wait. It is for the first time in Punjab that such a facility was being provided to consumers. Mr S.C. Aggarwal, Superintending Engineer, said senior citizens coming to deposit their power bills felt harassed. To avoid that, the board officials came out with a scheme that was prevalent in banks. Mr V.K. Mahajan, Additional Superintending Engineer, said four display units had been set up at cash windows. He said the board was also making arrangements to put up benches for people. Fans and a water cooler would also be provided. He said 52,000 consumers were attached to the PSEB office. |
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Low voter turnout in Mohali Mohali, May 11 While the voting percentage at certain polling booths in rural areas of the Kharar 69 segment of the Ropar constituency was more than 70, the voting percentage at a polling booth in the town was as low as 23. Only 204 out of a total of 1,104 persons cast their vote at a polling booth in Government Senior Secondary School, Phase III B 1, putting the percentage at 23.19. Only 29 per cent voters cast their vote at a booth in Government Elementary School, Phase VII. The highest polling in the town was recorded at a polling booth in Swami Ram Tirath School, Phase IV. As many as 689 persons out of a total of 1,360 cast their vote, putting the percentage at a little more than 50. At a booth in Government Elementary School, Phase IX, 530 votes out of a total of 1,100 were polled, putting the percentage at 48. The polling percentage at a polling station in Padiala village was as high as 72, followed by a polling booth in Ballomajra village, which recorded 71 per cent. At a polling booth in Bajehri village, 70 per cent of the voters cast their vote. |
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BSF, commandos guard strongroom with EVMs Mohali, May 11 The counting of votes will be done on May 13. Mr Harpreet Singh, DSP, said here today that 30 personnel from the BSF, along with a number of commandos had been put on duty to guard the strong room. Nobody was allowed near the area. Even government officials who came to take a round of the counting centre had to enter their names in a register. Round-the-clock foot patrolling was being carried out around the counting centre. Some policemen had also been stationed on the roof top as part of security arrangements. He said the work of putting a wire mesh inside the counting centre would be done tomorrow. This was done to maintain a distance between officials who were counting the votes and representatives of political parties who watch the counting process going on. He said additional force from the sub-division would be called on the day of counting which would help in forming inner and outer cordons. Nakas would also be put up at certain points. Meanwhile, the Assistant Returning Officer-cum-SDM, Mr M.L. Sharma, said that 14 tables for counting of votes had been put up in the counting centre. Forty two employees would be put on the job of counting. They had been given the necessary guidelines in this regard today. |
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District Electoral Officer convenes meeting Panchkula, May 11 According to official sources, a rehearsal for the counting of votes was held here today. The counting will begin at 8 am on May 13. The SDM, Mr Varinder Dahiya, said applications for the appointment of polling agents for the counting by political parties could be submitted tomorrow. Meanwhile, 61.32 per cent of the total of 2,26,737 voters cast their votes in yesterday’s polling in the segment. While 77,972 men voters cast their votes, the figure for the women voters was 61,058. The highest polling per cent was recorded at Toka village where 88.74 per cent of the electorate cast their vote. |
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Admn denies neglecting Thathar Panchkula, May 11 The administration has written to the Haryana Election Department that 281 voters of Booth No. 220 at Thathar were “instigated” by certain BJP leaders to boycott polling for their vested interests. None of the candidates had approached the voters of Thathar and nearby hamlets, including Jia, Gobindpur and Basrawa. This could be the reason behind voters’ indifference towards polling, sources said. Denying the allegations of neglecting those hamlets of the development front, sources said an amount of about 1.5 crore had been spent on various development projects in these villages during the past four years. Regarding the construction of a link road to Thathar, sources said it was not feasible to construct a road on a stretch of about 1.5 km. Thathar is already linked with a motorable “forest tract” and the nearby hamlets are linked with concrete roads, sources claimed. |
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34 Medium Regiment celebrates Cassino diamond jubilee Chandigarh, May 11 The rally, which started from Belgaum on April 12, covered 2000 km through the deccan plateau and culminated at the unit location. As many as 16 participants, including JCOs and ORs took part in the rally. The rally was received here by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh. Other activities held on the occasion included a special Sainik Sammelan, release of the special First Day Cover by the Army Postal Service, Barakhana, entertainment programme and the Cassino get together. A number of jawans were awarded for their outstanding performance in various fields. The regiment was conferred the battle honour title “Cassino II” for its heroic exploits in the battle fought during World War-II in which the city of Cassino (Italy), which was freed from the German occupation on May 11, 1944. The regiment was originally raised as 8th Battalion of the 5th Maratha Light Infantry at Belgaum on February 1, 1941. |
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Fauji Beat The Government of India has ordered an inquiry into the shipment of 1,500 ex-servicemen to Iraq by some security agencies in contravention of government orders. In view of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the Central Government had imposed a ban on April 15, on Indian citizens from going to Iraq. The ban, it is mentioned, would be lifted when the security situation improves in that country. A large number of retired Indian Army officers are keen on taking up security jobs for big money in Iraq. Most of them say that the government should not come in their way and that if they could risk their lives during their service, they could as well do so now when a handsome package was being offered to them. The US Army is keen on having retired Indian Army officers in Iraq to combat the deteriorating security situation there. These officers were at full liberty to go there had the government not imposed a ban. The retired Army officers should put their sojourn to Iraq on hold until the ban is lifted because such a venture is not only fraught with danger and disgrace but will also put the government in an embarassing position. Soldiering and religious faith Indian soldiers are deep-rooted in religious faith, which acts as a motivating factor at the time of war. Spiritual training is an important part of a unit’s curriculum. And to impart this, every unit in the Army has a mandir, gurdwara, masjid or church, according to the religious faith of the troops. On completion of his training, a recruit, by placing his hand on the religious book, takes an oath of allegiance to his country, unit and superiors at a passing out parade called “kasam parade” and thus becomes a sepoy. All units have authorised religious teachers to impart spiritual training to troops. The troops attend mandir, gurdwara or the institution of their faith, on Sundays, religious festivals and on raising days of the units. All officers in a unit attend mandir or other religious institution on important festivals, raising day and Battle Honour Day. During the war, the religious faith infuses added confidence in a soldier to accomplish his task in the face of danger. In the final assault, the war cry puffs up a soldier to do or die for his unit.
NCC in villages The NCC is basically an urban-based organisation. This deprives rural schools, especially in the border areas of Punjab, of the military training. There has hardly been any development in the three border districts of Punjab i.e. Ferozepore, Amritsar and Gurdaspur in the past 50 years. Besides, border villages in these districts have suffered maximum loss of life, limbs and property in various wars. More than 17,000 acres of land in these villages fall beyond the fence. The owners of this land almost live from hand to mouth. There is a strong case to introduce NCC in schools falling in border villages. This will not only train the youth to provide a second line of defence in case of emergency but will also help in development of these villages.
Polyclinic in Chandigarh sought There are around 50,000 ex-servicemen living in and around Chandigarh. All of them have to go to the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, for blood tests. Of them, a sizeable number of ex-servicemen are over the age of 75. Most of them feel that Chandigarh has been neglected while deciding the location of polyclinics under the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). Locating a polyclinic in Chandi Mandir, they say, amounts to duplication of medical facilities in that station. The Army authorities in all fairness to the aged ex-servicemen should locate a polyclinic in Chandigarh. Pritam Bhullar |
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Zirakpur, May 11 Deputed at Focal Point police post, Rajpura, Padam Pal (57) was on his way back to his native village, Kheri-Gurna, near Rajpura, after performing election duty at Handesra village when the mishap took
place. He was accompanied by his son Rakesh Kumar when a Maruti car (HR-03B-9306) knocked him down at a bus stop on the busy highway at Chhat village at about 10.30 pm. The legs of the Head Constable were crushed under the wheels of the car. He also sustained injuries on the chest and head. The driver of the car sped away with the vehicle. Padam Pal was immediately rushed to GMCH-32 in Chandigarh. The doctors referred him to the PGI after his health deteriorated. After struggling for life more than five hours, Padam Pal died this morning. The body was handed over to the family members after a post-mortem examination.
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Deputy Speaker to meet PUDA, MC officials Mohali, May 11 Residents of the sector had met the Deputy Speaker and urged him to solve the problem of shortage of drinking water in the sector. The president of the council will also attend the meeting. |
Liquor smuggler, henchmen assault man Chandigarh, May 11 Surinder Kumar was admitted to the Sector 16
General Hospital, while Gurcharan Singh was taken to the PGI with multiple injuries. The liquor smuggler, Parveen Kumar, a resident of Sector 40, was booked for assault and smuggling of liquor. Five boxes of liquor were seized from his Maruti car. The vehicle had been left by him at a lonely place. According to the police, Parveen Kumar claimed that Surinder Kumar, who was attending marriage of his cousin in the Parashuram Bhavan, owed him some money. When Surinder Kumar refused to pay the money, Parveen allegedly brought a group of persons and assaulted him with sticks. The police has arrested Lila Ram, Bittu and Shyam Lal in connection with the assault. Other accused, Parveen Kumar, Mamu and Sonu, among others, ran away. A case under Sections 147, 148, 149, 323 and 307 of the IPC has been registered against them. |
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Immigration racket accused remanded Panchkula, May 11 Sikka was arrested on May 2 on a complaint lodged by Mr Narinder Behl, a resident of Sector 21, on the charges of defrauding him of Rs 1.46 lakh on the pretext of sending him to New Zealand. Later, several residents of the region had complained to the Economic Offences Wing
(EOW) of the police against Sikka alleging that he had taken money from them on the pretext of sending them to New Zealand.  |
Sensex falls on fear of hung
Parliament Chandigarh, May 11 Transactions worth Rs 500 crore are conducted by investors in the city everyday in the share market. Among the investors are those residing in small towns and cities of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh who buy and sell shares by conducting transactions on terminals with as many as 125 share brokers. Experts in the share market opine that prior to voting for the last phase of polls on May 7, shares in the banking sector were on a higher side but as the markets opened on May 10, the shares have witnessed a decline in their prices. The results of Andhra Pradesh assembly poll today further gave credence to the fact that the Centre would have a hung Parliament. As a result, the Bombay Stock Exchange ( BSE) Sensex fell by 229.94
points. Sensex, which had touched a figure of Rs 6,000 at the beginning of this month, is now at 5325.90. Similarly, Nifty share market closed at 1699.45 points, a decline of 69.65 points. Stock broker and Director of Vikson Finance Private Limited, Mr V Kumar said shares in the banking sector registered a major fall today. The closing price of Corporation Bank was Rs 336.10 per share; PNB ( Rs 327.40 per share); ICICI Bank ( Rs 238); SBI ( Rs ( Rs 617.5) and HDFC Bank ( 607.20). He said on May 1 and 2, the PNB share was sold for Rs 397, the ICICI Bank for Rs 325 and the HDFC bank for Rs 695 but the fall in prices of these shares has anxiety writ large on the faces of investors. |
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Chandigarh, May
11
Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal (Congress): It was extensive but sustained campaign spread over three months. And that is precisely the reason why we will win. The BJP, which built up a media hype over “India Shining” and “Feel Good”, lost steam midway with the result that it had nothing much to say towards the end of the campaigning.
Mr Satya Pal Jain (BJP): The election campaign spread over nearly four months was good but gruelling. The peaceful and smooth manner in which polling was conducted proved that all allegations of planned violence, rigging and booth capturing levelled against us by the Congress were wrong and baseless. However, participation of the voters in the election process could have been better. Despite attempts to the contrary, Sikhs have voted heavily in my favour. 
Mr Harmohan Dhawan (INLD):
I have attracted a large number of votes in the villages and labour colonies. Those will give me a good lead. In the city also, we are on a strong wicket. So far, elections in the city were fought on non-issues like legacies of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Mandir-Masjid dispute etc.
