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‘Khul ja
EVM’ today Chandigarh, May 12 If all goes as per plan, Chandigarh may well become the first constituency in the country to declare the result. Officials claim that with EVMs in use, results can be out in as little time as one hour and 15 minutes. The voting machines were first used in the 1999 Lok Sabha poll and the administration has experience in computing the data. Seventeen candidates are in the fray this time. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress, Mr Satya Pal Jain of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mr Harmohan Dhawan of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) are the major candidates for the lone parliamentary seat from here. Mr Bansal is the outgoing MP. According to Mr Bansal, his re-election is assured since the BJP’s campaign lost steam midway. Mr Jain , on the other hand, is confident of his victory saying, “Besides my traditional voters, Sikhs have voted heavily in my favour.” Mr Jain had built his campaign around the image and personality of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the need to have a stable government at the Centre. The dark horse in the fray, Mr Harmohan Dhawan of the
INLD, is optimistic of romping home “because I have attracted a large number of votes from the villages and labour colonies”. The counting will starts at 8 am at four counting centres in the city. These include: Government College for Men, Sector 11, Government College, Sector 46, Government College for Girls, Sector 42, and Central Polytechnic, Sector 26. The centres at Central Polytechnic and GCG, Sector 42, will have 21 tables each and the remaining two centres will have 14 tables each. The Election Office has appointed about 300 UT employees to oversee the counting of votes. The counting of postal ballots will take place under the supervision of the Returning Officer. Each party or the candidate will be allowed to employ only one person at each table who will be ascribed the job of
counting. The results are expected by 12 noon. The counting centres have been turned into high-security zones. Security rings have been formed around every counting centre by of ITBP personnel and the local police. At least four companies of the CRPF are at the disposal of the administration for use in case of an emergency. Special security walls have been erected at the entry points to the strongrooms where EVMs have been kept. Two PCR vans have been stationed near each of the counting centres. The Congress, the BJP and the INLD have appointed their counting agents. Meetings in this regard were held in the evening. The agents were given training of tabulating their data which was important in wake of the new machines being used
in the voting process this time. |
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Independent levels charges
against Cong, BJP, INLD Chandigarh, May 12 Addressing a press conference, Mr Jain levelled charges against the Congress, the BJP and the INLD in this regard. Incidents of violations have been recorded on a 30-minute video compact disc. A copy has been forwarded to the Election Commission of India. A copy of the written complaint and the CD has been submitted to Mr Arun Kumar, returning officer. It has been pointed out that instead of the permissible one booth per political party, the Congress, the BJP and the INLD had set more than two tents at several places. Moreover, a large number of places had more occupants than the permitted number. Mr Jain levelled charges of raising of party slogans at polling booths, distribution of eatables and soft drinks, installing of party flags, posters and stickers at public places. Mr Jain also pointed out other such violations like certain political parties using vehicles to bring voters to polling booths, BJP issuing voter slips with photographs of party leaders, setting up of a booth outside Mr Satya Pal Jain's residence. Certain candidates even tried to mislead voters by saying that Mr Jain had withdrawn, he added. The letter added that the expenditure incurred by certain party candidates must have crossed the limits. A copy of the letter has also been forwarded to Mr
Ramaswamy, chief election officer, UT. |
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To readers who
couldn’t vote... Several readers in Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Patiala, Ambala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and other places could not exercise their right to franchise when they went to the polling station on Monday because their names
did not figure in the voter’s list. If you are one of them, let us know your name and address which we will publish in Chandigarh Tribune for the information of the Election Commission. The second list of the missing names is being publishe todayon
page 2. You can send us your name by fax or e-mail at: Fax: 0172-2655076 e-mail:
voterslist@tribunemail.com Chandigarh, May 12 Chandigarh Mr Amar Kant Goel 505, Sector 15-A Panchkula Mr Balraj Singh Lekhi 243, Sector 4 Mohali Ambala Mr Ravinder Singh 13-B, Gobind Nagar |
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A day of happenings
for this voter Chandigarh, May 12 A senior officer told The Tribune that after checking the voters list it was found that his name was listed at booth No. 91. |
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Choudhary’s court martial to begin
on May 24 Chandigarh, May 12 Sources revealed that the Director General, Air Defence Artillery, Lieut-Gen C.S. Chima has been nominated as the GCM's presiding officer, while the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Northern Command, Brig J K Deosthale, has been appointed as the judge advocate for the trial. Interestingly, the court will have seven members, sources added. Normally, a GCM comprises five members. Apart from the presiding officers, the other members are major generals, including some posted at Headquarters, Western Command. It may be recalled that a sting operation carried out about three years ago by a website, tehelka.com, had reportedly caught several army officers along with some political big-wigs and defence ministry officials demanding and accepting bribes. The officers caught on tape included three major generals, a brigadier, a colonel and a lieutenant colonel. General Choudhary is facing three charges under Section 52(f) and 63 of the Army Act, which deal with intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline, respectively. The general officer, who was then posted as the Additional Director General (Weapons and Procurement) at Army Headquarters, had allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh and a gold chain. According to reports, he later, also publically admitted having demanded accepted the cash and chain. The court martial of an officer of the rank of a major general is a rare instance. Meanwhile, Col Anil Sehgal, another officer accused in the scam, was arraigned last week. Arraignment is a legal procedure where an accused is brought before the court and his plea on charges read out to him is recorded. Sources said that he had pleaded not guilty to all five charges of corruption and misdemeanour against him. The GCM trying him at Chandimandir Military Station, near here, is currently adjourned. Colonel Sehgal had allegedly asked for Rs 2 lakh, claiming that the money went all the way to the top. He was then posted as Director, Ordnance Services at Army Headquarters. |
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Rotary to continue free cardiac surgeries project Chandigarh, May 12 At a function organised at the PGI here today, Justice O.P. Verma (retd), Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory, lauded the efforts of Rotary and said that there could be no better way to acknowledge one's presence in this world and to pay obeisance to the Almighty, than to gift a life to someone whom one did not even know. The Club honoured Dr. R.S. Dhaliwal, head of cardio-thoracic department of the PGI, who had conducted 100 surgeries, along with his team of doctors, anesthetists, profusionists, and sister nurses. Prof. K.K. Talwar, Director, PGI, presided over the function. PGIMER had been a partner in this project providing free medical services to the needy, while Rotary bore all expenses on equipment, medicine and post-operative care. The club also acknowledged the contribution of Mrs Babbi Harbhajan Singh, wife of a Rotarian of the club, who had been like a mother to all the children treated at the PGI under the project, and took care of every need. The club initiated the project on May 13, 1999, when Mrs.Kawal Bedi, was the President of the club, at a cost of Rs.42 lakh, raised by the Rotarians and their counterparts in Germany and Japan, with a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. The project was conceived to conduct 40 operations over a period of two years for the economically disadvantaged young boys and girls, but with further contributions from the Rotarians and the philanthropists, the project continued to be extended and ultimately completed 100 surgeries in four years' period. Under this project five children from Uganda were operated, and recently the offer to operate five children from Pakistan was made in December last, when Rotary Club of Chandigarh declared the city as 'Rotary Peace City' and extended its offer as part of its peace initiative. In order to continue with this project, renamed as 'Lifeline', the club has already started raising money and is reaching out to the people to contribute generously to the cause so that the project can continue to help the people in need. |
Society questions govt concern over smoking Chandigarh, May 12 Mr Hemant Goswami, chairperson of the society, presided over the meeting. He said the Act remained unimplemented all over the country and the implementing agencies appeared to be in no mood to implement the provisions notified. No hotel in the region, not even the government ones, had put up the statutorily mandatory boards at the entrance stating, “No Smoking Area — Smoking Here is Offence,”. No areas had been designated as smoking or no-smoking zones, despite the fact that they were supposed to do so by May 1. Mr Goswami quipped that no one seemed to fear the Rs 200 fine. He said the notification of February 25, as published in the Gazette Extraordinary, was applicable only in case of certain provisions of the Act and not the full Act as passed by both Houses of Parliament and accented to by the President. Sections 6 (b), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and part of Sections 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 20 had not been notified. This would mean that selling cigarette within 100 yards of an educational institution had not been enforced and when the provision would come into force was a matter of speculation as no time frame had been set for the purpose. He said when the Delhi Government made “The Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act, 1996”, it had Section 8 prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minor and Section 9 prohibited the sale within 100 m of the educational institutes. But when the notification was issued on the January 24, 1997, these two sections were not notified and it took around five years for these sections to see the light of the day. Same way, in the present scenario, if the Act was not to be notified and applied in full then why the government made the false pretense of its concern about the ill-effects of smoking, he said. Mr Goswami said though the Act banned smoking of cigarette or any other tobacco product at public places, the definition of public places (as clarified in Section 3(l) of the Act) excluded all open space. This meant that people could smoke in corridors and compounds of all public places and were also free to smoke in markets and public parks. Technically speaking, any place not covered by wall on all four sides was an open area. Another provision of allowing hotels, with a seating capacity of 30 or more, to have smoking area for their customers was also against the spirit of the Act. So far as smokers and non-smokers were sharing the same space, it hardly mattered whether it was a 30-seat hotel or otherwise. The effect of passive smoking would be there for the non-smokers dining in such hotels. By leaving such a wide slit open, the government itself had made a mockery of the spirit and philosophy behind the Act; there was no need to show such leniency or leave such gaps in the Act, added Mr Goswami. Another big area ignored in the Act was the throwing and littering of cigarette butts by smokers; cigarette butts were harmful and contained toxic chemicals. He said over 4.5 trillion cigarettes were littered worldwide each year, wind and rain often carried cigarette butts into waterways, where the toxic chemicals in the cigarette filters released chemicals threatening the quality of water. Addressing this problem was as important as was controlling smoking at public places. He also discussed a strategy with the society members to sensitise youngsters and the public about the ill-effects of smoking and a strategy to persuade the government to make appropriate amendments and plug the leaks. The society members also chalked out a plan to conduct over 60 workshops on the ill-effects of smoking in 2004-05 for the benefit of the youngsters. |
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Strive hard to achieve excellence, says Governor Mohali, May 12 This was stated by Justice O.P. Verma (retd), Punjab Governor and Chancellor, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, while inaugurating the Gian Jyoti School of TQM & Entrepreneurship here this evening. He said everyone had to strive hard to achieve excellence so that India did not lag behind other countries. Laying stress on producing quality products, Mr Verma said the workforce had to be disciplined for this, otherwise it would become difficult to achieve the targets we have fixed for ourselves. He said that China had inculcated a sense of discipline in the workforce, for which the development of the nation was given top priority and personal interests were given a back seat. He said China had recently captured the global market in the sphere of consumer goods. It had used the human resources in the best possible way. Indians had to analyse the reasons that were preventing the country to reach the level of China. In a printed speech circulated to the media, Justice Verma said that not very long ago, there were only two cars to choose from: the good-old rattling Ambassador or the Fiat. To get a Fiat one had to wait for more than 10 years. So was the case with scooters; waiting queue for Vespa was 14 plus. The choice everywhere was limited to one or two brands; mile long queues was at every corner. But now there were tens of models for everything. Gold-coin lotteries hidden in cakes of soap. Bankers chasing you buying fancy goodies on credit; and interest free at that. The Governor said that all this was the result of just one decade of globalisation and opening out of our economy to the world. There was no shortage of anything in today’s global world, where cut-throat competiton existed in every field. Tens of producers vie to lure a customer. No producer was safe, not even century-old icons like Mercedes, Coca Cola, GM and Ford. Each one felt threatened. The Governor said that the path to this new consumer-dictated world was shown by Japan. In its recovery from the ashes of the Second World War, Japanese manufacturers resolved to follow two Americans, Deming & Juran, as their national gurus and their quality teachings as a national mantra. In a short spell of two decades, Japan had not only rebuilt itself from ashes, but had turned a country renowned for producing cheap shoddy into the global symbol of quality across the world. Japanese manufacturers had started becoming powerful enough to challenge the mightiest of the world. Soon, SONY, National Panasonic, Toyota, Nissan & Honda became household names in every corner of the globe. Over-riding priority to total quality management (TQM) was not only confined to developed countries. Some underdeveloped nations also saw the Japanese miracle and decided to adopt the Japanese way; Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia. Last in line was China. Slowly, some of their corporations had also become strong enough to enter global markets and challenge the best. Hyundai, Samsung and LG from Korea, ACER from Taiwan. Most recent entrants were likes of Haier from China. Justice Verma said it is unfortunate that India was late in opening its economy to global forces. The awakening of Indian business and industry to quality and Japanese management methods, therefore, began only in the nineties, when the Indian customer had become as exposed and knowledgeable as the best of the world. With decades of lethargy created by licence Raj, change to face global challenges was not easy. Another fact becoming crystal clear was imperative necessity of massive downsizing by both government and already-established organised industry. Howsoever much we dodge, deficit financing by governments under political compulsions had crossed every bound and was no longer tenable. For industry, downsizing had become a must for remaining competitive in quality and price. The only way for creating employment, our topmost national imperative, were new techno-savvy entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who grew stronger and bigger. He congratulated Punjab Technical University for establishing its first advanced school totally focused on TQM and Entrepreneurship. He said it was a coincidence that this school was inaugurated in the birth centenary year of Dr Joseph M Juran, the man who taught quality to the world. |
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Bank told to specify loan interest rate Chandigarh, May 12 A “harassed’’ customer, in a letter to the National Awareness Consumer Group, Mr Kesar Singh has alleged that he had taken a loan of Rs 25, 713 from the bank for buying a scooter. He had deposited 36 instalments of Rs 1,036 per month with the bank and another Rs 5,000 as cash down payment with Amar Motors. But in a notice served upon him on May 4 the bank asked him to deposit Rs 11,771, which included interest and collection charges. Taking up the matter, the Consumer Awareness Group has directed the bank to specify the interest rate charged by it since the customer had already paid Rs 42,296 for the loan amount of Rs 25,713, including Rs 16,500 as the interest amount. A representative of the group told the bank that numerous complaints had been received from various customers alleging cheating and fraud by the bank. In a letter to the bank authorities, the group warned the bank that if it did not set its working straight, the matter will be brought to the notice of not only the Punjab and Haryana High Court but also the RBI authorities. Mr Kesar Singh, a Class IV employee with the RBI, alleged that at the time of taking the loan, he was made to sign various papers which were in English, but was not told anything verbally. He had told the bank that he did not know English. Senior officials of the ICICI Bank, on being contacted, said as per the agreement, 36 instalments of Rs 1,036 per month were to be deposited but the same were never deposited by the due date. Hence, the executives had to go and collect the same from his residence or work place because of which Rs 11,771 were still outstanding on account of collection charges and interest amount. Another customer, Mr R.C. Ahuja, has also alleged that he had applied for housing loan (case No: 00001940250) on February 27 for which the bank had offered to give him loan at the interest rate of 10 per cent per annum and had sought 30 post dated cheques. The loan was sanctioned. But later, when the amount of monthly instalments was intimated to him, the rate of interest to be charged from him worked out to be 17 per cent per annum. He said he was prepared to go forego the entire loan money two months after it was sanctioned in view of the exhorbitant interest rate, which he was not aware of at the time of applying. Mr Dhramavir Puri, Regional Head ( Sales), ICICI Bank, when contacted, said that the matters pertaining to housing and auto loans and other general complaints were being resolved at the respective levels. He assured early redress of the complaints. |
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PIL on land allotment to influential Chandigarh, May 12 In three separate applications moved today, Mr Sharma also sought that since one of the respondents, advocate Shalendra Jain has business relations with two sons of a sitting High Court Judge, all matters adjudicated by the Judge should be called for and judgments declared null and void. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Ajay Kaushik said that the since the UT Administration did not submit the entire record as directed by the High Court, it should be asked to submit the remaining record also immediately. Saying that as per the original zooming plan for Sector 38, where the land has been allotted to the respondents, the site in question was meant for commercial/cultural purposes only, the petitioner said that the zoning plan was suspended in the present case. He also pointed out that the record pertaining to the change in zoning plan was not submitted in the court. In his application for handing over the matter to the CBI inquiry, the petitioner said that since influential and powerful persons and their kin were involved in the case, the CBI should be directed to hold an inquiry into the allotment of land and register a case. Saying that a loss of at least Rs 50 crores has been inflicted on the exchequer, the petitioner also prayed that the CBI be asked to book persons responsible for this loss. After hearing counsel for the petitioner, the Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice BK Roy and Mr Justice Surya Kant directed the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, who is also the Estate Officer of UT, to file an affidavit regarding the production of the record. The Bench also noted that despite earlier directions, proceedings of the Screening Committee meeting that finalised the allotment were not submitted. As for the plea of the petitioner that the judgements in all cases in which advocate Shalendra Jain appeared be quashed, the Bench dismissed the application, saying that it has nothing to do with the present PIL. The case will now come up on May 18. |
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MNS officers' vehicles to go without pennants Chandigarh, May 12 According to sources, a directive in this regard has been issued by the Adjutant-General's branch at Army Headquarters. The directive follows a change in the uniform pattern of MNS officers which had generated considerable controversy. All MNS officers have now switched over to the new patter safari-suit type beige coloured uniform. The MNS is an auxiliary service. Though MNS officers wear badges of rank similar to those worn by regular Army officers, their status within the services is not viewed as equivalent to regular officers. Officers of the rank of Brigadier and above are authorised to fly a pennant on their vehicle as well as use a star plate. The pennant denotes formation to which the officer belongs, while the star plate symbolises the officer's rank. The highest ranking MNS officer is a Major-General who has her office in New Delhi. All command headquarters have an MNS officer of the rank of a Brigadier. Earlier, they were being provided with official staff cars. |
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Two women, one passion
Mohali, May 12 Mrs Latika Tilloo, wife of Air Commodore S.S. Tilloo and Ms Thankam Gomez, head of nursing department, Fortis Heart Institute, though busy with their lives and profession, however manage to do a lot for the needy and less fortunate. It was just a matter of chance that the two were together at the valedictory function of the Nurses Week at the Fortis hospital here today. ‘‘Being the president of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association, Chandigarh, is being like the head of a family that has 1,300 members. I know most of them personally and try and take care of them. Its a responsible position but I find it immensely satisfying when I am able to help a widow or needy person,’’ Mrs Tilloo said. The feeling was shared by Ms Gomez, who said, ‘‘Being head of the nurses in the hospital does no include calling poor desolate women to the hospital and giving them sewing machines free of cost and help them earn a living. I had the option of not doing anything as part of the celebrations. But we chose to take this as an opportunity to so something for those who need us,’’she said. So when widows were given sewing machines, government school students uniforms and slum children clothes as part of the celebrations today, it was one of the most satisfying experience, she added. Mrs Gomez, who was working in the Middle East earlier, had joined Fortis two years ago. ‘‘We have been celebrating the nurses week for some years now and will continue to do so. We have promised the government school, Matour, and another elementary school at Phase VII that we will give them material for uniform each year for the students,’’ she said. Mrs Tilloo on the other hand ensures that the wives of Air Force officers in Chandigarh get involved in community activities.‘‘We try and get jobs for the widows, even get them some training to help them get jobs. We work in slums too.’’ But the most important part of Mrs Tilloo’s day is the counselling session she holds. ‘‘Wives come to me with problems. It is a wonderful feeling when one saves a family and helps people come together,’’ she added. |
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Sewing machines distributed Mohali, May 12 The celebrations were marked by the distribution of sewing machines to widows by Mrs Tilloo. Slum dwellers who were presented clothes, toys and footwear by nurses of the hospital, were also present. |
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British Library to have new books, DVDs Chandigarh, May 12 Speaking in connection with the celebrations, he said Ms Alice Cicolini, Head Arts, British Council India, would give away prizes to winners at the concluding function to be held on May 14. The celebrations began on May 2. Since its inception in May 2000, the library has a collection of 17,000 books with a membership of over 8,500 individuals. At the new office in Sector 9, the authorities have added the information technology section and a new children’s section. Mr Banerjee said new books on management, information technology, computers, engineering, recreation and reference books had been added. A wide range of movie DVDs had also been added. The library has dedicated 2003-2004 to inculcate reading habits among children. He said a lecture by Sir Mark Tully, children’s book festival, and book festival on lifestyle were among the main events held during the year. |
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PEC student
missing since March 5 Chandigarh, May 12 She said the
family had received blank calls several times from mobile phone number
9811973052 but nobody spoke. Mrs Verma said her elder son, who is in
California, had been getting similar calls from mobile phone
9811973154. She said the voices in the background were heard on the
calls made to the USA. The Railway police recovered the scooter of
Rantan Kanwar from the Chandigarh railway station 15 days ago. Mrs
Verma said the mobile numbers had been handed over to the police. Mrs
Verma lodged a complaint with the Panchkula police on March 28. She
said her son had once gone to Muktsar, along with a friend and
returned after seven days. However, during his stay in Muktsar, the
family had been informed. Mrs Verma said her son was keen to join the
Army but the family had told him not to do so. Recently, he got an
opportunity to join the Army in campus recruitment but he was not
given permission. |
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Readers Write I WANT to express my feelings regarding the serious bungling in the arrangements for the elections that concluded on May 10. I feel that day by day the election campaign and the system of conducting elections is deteriorating instead of showing improvement, and this malady is spreading unchecked. First of all, take the case of mudslinging to which the parties resorted to in a shameful manner. The Election Commission made some half-hearted efforts to check it but it remained limited only to the electronic media and that also to some extent. The print media was bombarded first with India Shines/ Bharat Uday ads, and then with nonsense advertisements of washing dirty linen in the open public, and the print media did not try to put any restraint on this. This slander continued unbridled throughout. Secondly, I would like to point out the faulty system of revision of voters’ lists. The authorities say that adequate arrangements were made to include the names of the eligible voters, but the fact is quite reverse. In Chandigarh alone, as per reports published in the press, about 60,000 eligible persons, who have photo identity cards prepared by the Election Department have been deprived of their right to vote. Who did this mischief? This can be done only in an organised manner, otherwise how is it possible that such a large number of persons should find their names deleted from the electoral rolls? The authorities say that anyone can check the voters’ list in the election office and at other designated places, but about these arrangement the less said the better. The lists are not displayed properly and moreover, it is so cumbersome for each and every person to go the election office or other places. Moreover, when the person has the photo identity card he feels sure that his name will be there in the electoral rolls. Thirdly, I want to draw attention towards the inefficient training to the people on polling duty. I have come across a number of persons who were carrying the mark of indelible ink on different fingers. Some of them had the mark on the index finger of the left hand while the others had it on the index finger of the right hand. So much so, some persons were marked on the middle finger of either this hand or that hand. Perhaps, this was done deliberately to encourage bogus voting. Mohinder Singh, Chandigarh A national government Mr H.K. Dua’s column appearing in The Tribune of April
28 perdicts that neither the BJP nor the Congress is going to get
absolute majority to form the government at the Centre. All the
opinion and exit polls suggest the same outcome of the present
elections. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are not
having a happy experience of running a coalition government as is
evident from their utterances at different times. The Congress was
never in favour of forming a coalition government. However, of late
they have reconciled to this inevitable proposition. The coalition
government with such a large number of partners, that, too, with
different ideologies, can’t be a cohesive and progressive in
governance. The real issues of good governance like honesty,
efficiency and development are ‘forbidden’ for fear of fall of
government. Under the present scenario, the only alternative is of
forming a national government comprising of honest, intelligent,
healthy, experienced and experts in all fields coming from all spheres
of society. However, help of major political parties is necessary
which will prove their concern for the nation. Fortunately, we have
at present a unique personality at the helm of affairs who can help in
pinpointing such personalities without any bias. I mean our President,
Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Arun Gupta,
MC not needed The
notion that if one man completes work in one week, how long will two
people take to complete the same work? The answer is two weeks because
they will consume time in gossip. Same holds true in case of Panchkula
MC and HUDA. Things were no good earlier, too, but they have become
worse now with the coming up of the MC — It amounts to feeding more
mouths and hence increase in expenditure, which the honest tax payers
are made to pay in the form of property tax etc, while services all
round are deteriorating. Street lights are perpetually out order near
the General Hospital, stray cattle are found in abundance and so are
stray dogs. Mosquitoes and flies have arrived and are naturally going
to play havoc in the coming months, specially during the rainy season.
There was announcement one-and-a-half-months ago regarding fogging
operations. But this step has not been undertaken. Arpit
Khanna,
Curb expense on ATMs This has reference to the reported news item ‘State Bank of
Patiala installs 191 automated teller machines’ to facilitate a
better customer service, appearing in The Tribune dated April 22,
2004. No doubt the modernisation process in selective areas of banking
business has become essential but at the same time the administration
of public sector banks must take in view the overall interest of the
public and the staff as well. The heavy establishment cost and
expensive infrastructure will not serve any constructive purpose.
Rather, the expenditure will defeat the very purpose and existence of
public sector banks. All that is required is to ensure a better and
efficient delivery system aiming at the welfare of the
community. Further the administration must treat all the employees as
an integral part of these institutions. No employee willing to serve
in these banking institutions should be rendered surplus. The
misconduct or mischief on the part of those who are found guilty of
debarring others from performing valuable public service, should be
treated as a punishable offence, and those who, at the cost of these
institutions are settling their personal scores, must also be brought
to book. Nirmal Kumar,
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Work on Kajauli waterworks’ fifth phase from 2006 Mohali, May 12 Talking to mediapersons later, he said two new tubewells would be dug in the sector to ease the problem. He added that the two tubewells which were already functional in the sector were running on generators and it had been decided to shift the electricity connection of the abandoned tubewells. ‘‘The demand of water here is as high as Rs 10 lakh gallon per day while PUDA is able to supply only half of this quantity. We have decided to divert the canal water supply to this sector at 6 am every day for a few hours,” he said. Mr Bir Devinder said water shortage would be taken care of to some extent when the fourth pipeline of the Kajauli waterworks starts functioning next year. This would augment the supply to Mohali by another 2.5mgd. ‘‘But most of the water shortage will be taken care of once the fifth phase of the Kajauli waterworks is in place. The project will begin in March, 2006,” he added. |
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NOC comes for a price Mohali, May 12 Mr Rajinder Singh today barged into a meeting being held by the MLA Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, at the PUDA office here and said he had been running from pillar to post to obtain the NOC since December last year but the PUDA Estate Officer had been dilly-dallying the matter. “Then I was told to meet Mr Chet Ram, the AEO, who told me that my file was missing. Following this he called me on my mobile telephone and told me that everything in PUDA had a price and my work will be done if I am ready to pay.” Mr Rajinder Singh assured the MLA that he would give an affidavit to this effect so that appropriate action could be taken against the officer concerned. |
Group clash on road, bid to murder case registered Chandigarh, May 12 Inspector (Press) Jas Mohan Singh’s son, Simranjeet Singh, Station House Officer, Industrial Area, Nanha Ram’s son, Rajesh, and their friend Kanwarinder Singh Rana sustained injuries in the attack made with iron rods. Rana received head injuries and was operated upon in a private hospital. According to sources, the three were going on their motor cycles after attending a birthday party in Sector 34 when two cars (a Honda City and Ford Ikon) reportedly passed by them in a rash manner. The motor cyclists reacted to this and stopped the car drivers. Following this, the two parties had an altercation. The group of eight persons in two cars allegedly brought out iron rods and attacked the motor cyclists. The police later traced the alleged attackers and arrested Deepak, Mukesh, Navtej, Ramesh and Gaganpreet after booking them for an attempt to murder and rioting under Sections 147, 148 and 307 of the IPC. The vehicles used in the attack have been impounded. One of the absconding attackers has been identified as Chikna, who was earlier acquitted in a murder case registered at the Sector 39 police station. |
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Woman duped
of gold ring Chandigarh, May 12 The two then took out two pieces of paper and asked her to keep something yellow on one of them. She again refused to do so. On their insistence that she could keep her ring on one of the paper the woman relented. She kept the ring on one of the papers. After this the beggars asked her to fetch water for them. The beggars then handed back a ring wrapped in a piece of paper to the woman and asked her to open it after two days. The woman got suspicious and opened it within 10 minutes only to find an iron ring. By that time the beggars had disappeared. |
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Four vehicles stolen Chandigarh, May 12 In another case, Mr Tarlochan Singh of Sector 27 lodged a complaint that his Maruti car (CH-01C-5599) was stolen from in front of his house on the night of May 10. Meanwhile, a resident of Ambala city, Mr Gopal Krishan, lodged a complaint that his LML scooter (HR-01F-9431) was stolen from Sector 23 yesterday. A Bajaj Chetak scooter (HNE-9616) of Mr Gulshan Lal, a resident of Sector 23, was reportedly stolen from a parking lot near 30 Bays Building, Sector 17, on May 6. |
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Market Pulse Chandigarh, May 12 The RIM subscribers can also view updates from CNBC and Aaj Tak and also text- based prominent headlines. New semi-formal shirts:
This new concept is part of the brand’s strategic plan to expand its reach in the market for premium and luxury T-shirts. The brand now enters the semi-formal territory. The latest collection has superior moisture control, made of a special knitted fabric called altima, which has two layers. The absorbing layer absorbs the moisture through the dry layer, which faces the skin and evaporates it. The fabric ensures thermal control, which maintains an ideal temperature inside the cloth and superior ventilation. The knitted altima has better ventilation than normal woven shirts. Z-shirts reflect the international trend of the season. These come in solids, stripes and checks in regular collar trim shirt styling and each is priced at Rs 1199. |
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