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Students block traffic, submit memo to DPI
Chandigarh, September 10 The students blocked Madhya Marg for about half hour before being persuaded by the police to lift the blockade. Raising slogans against officers of the Administration, the students, blocked the entry gate of their respective colleges and asked the students to boycott classes. Beginning from DAV College, the students took out a procession which culminated at Panjab University. The students were protesting against the decision of the Administration to hold indirect elections to the Students Council on September 24. The students have threatened to intensify the stir if the Administration did not withdraw its decision. Student leaders said after last year’ s agitation against the fee hike the Administration, wanted to suppress the voice of the students and the college managements wanted that the students of their liking should be elected. Members of the NSUI held rallies in Government College for Men, Sector 11, Government College, Sector 46, and DAV College, Sector 10. Addressing the activists, Harpreet Singh said the move was aimed at crushing democracy as direct elections were being held since 1997. Hishey Negi, state vice-president of the union, said direct elections were important for a healthy democracy. They later submitted a memorandum to the DPI (Colleges). Saurabh Joshi and Gurparvez Singh Sandhu of the ABVP gave a strike call at DAV College, Khalsa College and Government College, Sector 46. Yajendra Yadav, secretary of the ABVP, said the dictatorial attitude of the Administration would not be tolerated. The ABVP has announced to start an indefinite fast from tomorrow.
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Irate college students damage 2 buses
Mohali, September 10 A statewide college strike against the attitude of bus drivers and conductors towards the student community had been planned for today and students were to limit themselves to burning an effigy of the state Transport Minister followed by a protest march to the SDM’s office. The protest, led by members of the All-India Democratic Students Organisation, at the college was going on as planned but as news spread that the student, Jatinder Singh Honey, who was thrown outside the bus yesterday had received serious injuries on his leg, which would have to be amputated, furious students turned violent. The students came out on the road and brought two buses on the main road to a forced halt. After ordering the passengers out, the students started throwing stones, at the buses. Some students, who used their bare hands to smash the buses, also injured themselves in the process. The Principal called the police, which had to resort to the use of force to push back the students back onto the college premises. More than 30 policemen, led by the Phase I SHO, Mr Jagjit Singh, were asked to push the students away from the main road into the college. In the college, the students were addressed by the principal, who told them to give a list of their demands in writing, which would be forwarded to the departments concerned. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, students said bus drivers and conductors avoided carrying students who had passes. ‘‘Most of the time the bus driver does not stop the bus at all outside the college. We have protested many times against this. However, when they do stop for other passengers, we rush to get on the bus. Then we are physically pushed out of the bus. If we hang on to the door handle, the conductor hits us with the ticket cutter,’’ said one of the students, who did not want to be named. Others said conductors even encouraged students to sit on the roof of the bus. ‘‘If is not just unsafe but also illegal. Many of us have sustained injuries while coming to college on bus rooftops,” said a student showing stitches on his wrist. The college Principal, Mr Harkuldip Singh, said his college students were not
“Last year, following a protest by students, a constable of the Mohali police was posted here to stop buses for students. It solved the problem for some time. But then the constable was withdrawn and the problem resurfaced,’’said the Principal.
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City to sweat it out
Chandigarh, September 10 Engineers, while increasing the duration of the cuts, said the allocation of power had been reduced and imposition of cuts was the only way out. The Administration has also increased the peak hour restriction from 6 pm to 10 pm instead of 7 pm to 10 pm. The Administration would review the scenario in October.
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Undeterred, villagers continue gathering mortar shells
Mandlai/Bhudd, September 10 The range, which had remained abandoned for seven years, is being used by three units — Garhwal Rifles, 19 Jat and 6 Dogra — for testing rocket launchers and automatic grenade launchers. This brought cheer among the villagers, who are busy earnings by selling the unexploded shells, bullets and their metal scrap. Aware of the danger that they face while collecting the explosive material, the villagers shrug their shoulders as they say, “One unexploded shell
will earn us approximately Rs 120 — which is a big amount for most of the The firing range, one of the biggest ranges under the Western Command, was used by the Army for heavy artillery till 1997, when the range was abandoned following protests by villagers. But a large number of mortars and other unexploded artillery used in the range were not removed and the residents, in search of brass in these unexploded bombs, often sustained injuries while trying to extract the metal from these bombs. Almost each household in these villages and four other small clusters of villages — all of them called Bhudd — and villages of Bhurewala and Kodu have either lost a family member while trying to extract scrap from the unexploded shells or have a member who has suffered a physical injury in such accidents. Since a majority of the population in villages around the range are herders, they often discover these mortars and shells and then sell these to the local grocer, who in turn sells it to scrap dealers in Naraingarh and Ambala. Since people are poor, and cannot afford to send children to high school in Raipur Rani, most children, too, collect these shells from the range and sell them to the grocer,” informs Prem Singh, resident of Mandlai village. A visit to the villages near the firing range by The Tribune team today revealed that some of the residents were hiding in the wilderness along the firing range and each time an Army unit fired a mortar, the villagers would run to get the shells. The public announcements made by the Army authorities asking people to stay
In the villages of Bhudd and Mandlai, several residents, who had collected the shells during the past one month since the practice firing was on, showed off their possessions. One of the villagers, requesting anonymity, said they were experts and would pick only those shells which did not have explosive material. They informed that they had sold off most of these to the grocers in the village, who after yesterday’s accident, were quick to sell off the material to scrap dealers in Ambala and Naraingarh. Mr Raj Kumar, a member of the Mandlai Panchayat, informed that the Army authorities had also decided to have a new firing range on the other side of the village. “With the village locked between the two firing ranges, and shelling continuing almost all through the year, we will be cut off from the outer world. The government should either allocate some other land for the firing ranges, or rehabilitate the villagers of Bhudd and Mandlai elsewhere. Otherwise people will continue to fall prey to greed and suffer.”
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Why can’t men be in kitchen?
Chandigarh, September 10 As she speaks about the disturbing sex ratio in this part of the region and reservation for the not-so-fair sex, it appears that the “Arth” star is trying to give meaning to every woman’s existence. Shabana Azmi was in the city today to listen to the problems of rural women, who had come from various parts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to participate in the discussion on `` Women in Agriculture - Workers to Entrepreneurs’’, organised by the Dr Amrik Singh Cheema Foundation Trust. Clad in an ethnic suit cut out of tusser silk and hair held in a bun, she talks about the changing role of men and women in society. Impressing upon the need to bring about a change in mindsets, she says, “Why can’t men be in the kitchen and women at work or both in the kitchen or both at work.’’ It is ironic that a woman almost works double that of her husband, but still has to take his permission even to spend the money she earns on herself, she adds. “Women constitute half the human resource potential and unless they have equal participation in the developmental process, the dream of empowering women and turning India into a developed nation cannot be fulfilled,” she reiterates while emphasising the need to bring forward women from the rural and the backward areas. Shabana while talking on the issue of reservation says that it was time politicians stopped paying lip service on an issue which has been put on the back-burner by them. “The political parties should before taking up the Reservation Bill ensure 33 per cent reservation for women within the internal set ups of their respective parties. Only when there is reservation for them in governance and decision-making, will they have a say in the political process. The society at large will benefit when people fight together for equal performance just as it happened at the time of the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, she recalls. Her concern hovers around the health and education of women. Investing in women’s primary education and health will go a long way in ensuring a nation’s overall growth and development. The issues which need to be given attention both by the government and the civil society are: availability of safe drinking water, immunisation, hygiene and sanitation. She is of the view that it should be on the agenda of all political parties. She cautions that the issue of male-female ratio, which has touched the lowest since Independence should be taken seriously and needs to be tackled both politically as well as socially. To begin with the state governments, particularly in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal need to keep a strict vigil on the functioning of the ultrasound and diagnostic centres so as to check the practice of female foeticide. `` It is not law but an attitudinal change which will bring about the desired change,’’ she says as awareness alone can help translate legislation into action. Giving some startling facts she says, “The number of women we lose in our country due to pregnancy related problems is equivalent to the number of women who die in Europe during the whole year. The health of poor rural women needs to be focussed on. Lauding the facility of micro credit as a revolutionary idea of the 21st century , which is made available to the women for their self-help groups, she exhorted the need for proper vocational training of women. “The fight today, we must understand ‘’ is not between Hindus and Muslims but between liberal Hindus and Muslims on one hand and fundamentalist Hindus and Muslims on the other. Fundamentalists, whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian, are mirror images of each other. But we should not be polarised on religious lines, she says. To a question, she says, the roles she played in her films helped her show social oppression. Talking about her future plans, she says she is looking forward to her role as a Carnatic singer in Mahesh Dattani’s movie — “Morning Raaga” and a Hollywood Production — “Water Borne” in which she plays a Sikh woman working at a convenience store in the Britain.
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Mangla, Shivani get Neerja Bhanot awards
Chandigarh, September 10 Tagore Theatre today witnessed these commoners being elevated to their well-deserved social recognition. Justice O.P. Verma, Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, gave the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust awards 2002 and 2003 to them. They were given a cash prize of 1.5 lakh each and a trophy by the trust. A video film on the early life of Neerja was also shown at the award ceremony.
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War veteran waits for pension
Chandigarh, September 10 Even though he fulfills the requisite criteria for receipt of service pension, Harjinder Singh has been running from pillar to post for the past 37 years. With no source of
income. He has been living in the Old Age Home in Sector 15 for the past three years. Despite having put in almost 18 years of service and having fought two wars, communiques from the Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad, as well as the Signals Record office state that he is not eligible for pension as he sought discharge
voluntarily. The minimum of 15 years service is required to be eligible for pension. The pension authorities as well as the Signals Record office have been referring to Para 155 (b) of the Pension Regulations for the Army to say that voluntary discharge from the Army makes him ineligible for pension. However, a letter written by the Ex-Servicemen's Helpline at Western Command to the Controller of Defence Accounts states that the pension rules do not contain any Para 155 (b) and that Harjinder is
entitled to grant of pension. In fact, the solitary Para 155 of the Pension Rules clearly state, "A reservist who is not in receipt of service pension may be granted, on completion of the prescribed combined colour and reserve qualifying service of not less than 15 years, a reservist pension on his transfer to pension establishment either on completion of terms of engagement of prematurely, irrespective of colour service." Harjinder had joined the Corps of Signals in June 1949. According to the terms of engagement applicable at that time, the period of colour service was seven years, with a reserve liability of eight years. He was transferred to the reserve establishment in 1956. Thereafter he was called up for reservist training in 1958 and 1960 and then took part in the 1962 Sino-Indian and 1965 Indo-Pak wars. Earlier, he also had served with the UN Mission in South Korea in 1953 and with the Indo-China International Supervisory Commission. He sought discharge from the Army on account of domestic problems, which was granted in 1967 by which time he had put in a total of 17 years and seven months of service. "Since them I have written numerous time to the pension authorities, record office as well as the defence ministry, but to no avail," Harjinder said. "Every time it is the same reply quoting Para 155 (b) which does not exist," he added.
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Tribune Impact Tribune News Service
Panchkula, September 10 Armed with a posse of workers and the police, the Executive Officer of the MC, Mr O.P. Sihag, led the demolition drive. Over 40 labourers had been hired for the purpose. Of the 700-odd houses in the LIG Housing Board Colony in Sector 15, the encroachments were removed from 209 houses. Road berms and extended boundary walls, which had even taken sewers, electricity poles and water supply lines inside the houses. Two earth-movers were hired to remove the encroachments and the drive continued for almost five hours. The drive was more or less peaceful, barring some mild protests from residents. Mr R.S. Verma, a resident of the colony, alleged that the MC had failed to take action against those who had opened commercial establishments in the colony. “This is eyewash and they are only demolishing our ramps,” he alleged. It was at the intervention of the local councillor, Mr Sunil Talwar, that the MC demolition squad agreed to give three days’ time to the residents to remove the encroachments. Mr Sihag said he had requested the Deputy Commissioner to convene a meeting of officials of the MC, HUDA and Housing Board to decide on who was to remove the illegal commercial establishments in these colonies. Another demolition drive was launched by HUDA near Saketri village. The enforcement staff of HUDA razed as many as 200 jhuggis that had come up on the land after these were demolished last week.
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Government blamed for rejection of stay on Punwire’s sale
Mohali, September 10 According to a press note issued by the union president, Mr Shahid Ahmed, the Punjab Government counsel failed to produce the revival plan before the court leading to the setback. The employees would be holding a protest rally at Balongi Chowk on September 12. Stating that this had proved the government’s
no seriousness in the matter, Mr Ahmed added that the union would now intensify its protest against the government in the coming days. Union members warned the government that in case a decision was not taken in the favour of the employees, a door-to-door campaign against the Congress government would be undertaken by the employees in the areas where elections were due. Yesterday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed an application filed by the Punjab Government seeking the stay on the sale of Punjab Wireless Limited (Punwire). The PSIDC had moved the application in the court following a decision to this effect taken on July 20 during the second meeting of the core committee. The core committee headed by Mr Surinder Singla, Finance Minister, Punjab, had decided to ask the court for a six-month stay on the sale of the assets of Punwire in view of the fact that the Punjab Government was seriously examining the possibility of the company’s revival.
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Revision of poll rolls begins
Chandigarh, September 10 A meeting in this regard was held today under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer, UT, Chandigarh, Mr Arun Kumar, at DC Office, Sector 17, in which the Assistant Electoral and Registering Officers (AEROs) and representatives of the political parties were also present. The DC announced that from September 15 to October 15, 2004, the left-out eligible voters could submit their claims and forms for getting themselves registered as voters. From
October 16 to 31, 2004, the designated AEROs would verify the claims and forms followed by final publication of electoral rolls on January 3, 2005. Campaign would also be launched from September 18 to 19, 2004 and October 9 to 10, 2004 and forms would be available at all 406 polling booths, 57 post offices and at the offices of all the 11 AEROs and that of the Returning Officer. The DC also decided that besides the political parties, the electoral rolls will also be sent to the mohalla sudhar samitis, resident welfare association, gram panchayats, Councillors and NGOs so that they may encourage the eligible voters who attain the age of 18 years on January 1, 2005 to come forward to get themselves registered as voters. The DC emphasised that special initiatives be undertaken to register women electors and asked the AEROs to undertake physical verification of old age persons who had attained the age of 80 years or more and make special list for old persons. Mr Arun Kumar called upon the representatives of the political parties, to help the Administration and mobilise left-out eligible voters to get themselves registered as voters and asked them to also bring to his notice complaints.
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Sex ratio in Punjab disturbing, says First Lady
Chandigarh, September 10 Presiding over the general body meeting of the Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh Punjab and the Association for Social Health in India, Punjab state branch, she said it was a matter of great shame and regret that Punjab had the unfortunate distinction of the lowest sex ratio in the country. She said according to recent studies, girls were being denied basic education and nutrition. Exhorting NGOs to launch a drive for educating people to end the gender bias, she said India could not develop if female child was denied rights. Calling upon the NGOs to launch a drive against drug abuse, she said drug abuse, especially in some border districts of Punjab, was alarming. She also emphasised the need for encouraging micro-credit among rural women. Earlier, Mrs Swaran Sethi, general secretary of the sangh, spoke about the activities of both organisations.
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Auto-rickshaw drivers’ strike continues
Mohali, September 10 Mr Rajinder Singh Randhawa president of the Union said today’s strike was a complete success since the union members had finally united and efforts were on to intensify the strike further tomorrow. He informed The Tribune that auto rickshaws coming from Chandigarh were stopped at the traffic lights on the phase VII-VIII dividing road and the school children being ferried by them from Chandigarh were sent to their respective schools in rickshaws. He added that if the Chandigarh Administration did not take any step to defuse the situation then CTU buses coming from Chandigarh to Mohali too would be stopped by the striking drivers. He said that the Chandigarh auto drivers too had been warned not to bring any passengers to Mohali. According to members of the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Auto Rickshaw Union, the UT Administration had banned the entry of Mohali autos in Chandigarh and started impounding their vehicles. Mr Rajinder Singh Randhawa, said since their autos were registered in Mohali they had the permission to ply within 16 kilometers of Mohali and this would include Chandigarh. Mr Randhawa added that in the UT Administration allowed the entry of Punjab autos only after the payment of the road tax. “We are ready to pay for the counterfoil voucher but they do not allow us to pay it. We are being harassed for the past eight months and many of us have got our vehicles released after payment of thousands of rupees,” he said.
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SBP staff observe strike
Chandigarh, September 10 Addressing the employees, Mr Devinder Singh, president of the federation, criticised the indifferent attitude of the management towards their demands. He sought appointments for the dependents of the deceased employees on compassionate grounds, which had been stalled since the past six months; fresh recruitment of staff as the management continued to outsource people on contract at lower salaries, besides holding of JCC meeting terminating contractual labour. Ever since the bank had offered the voluntary retirement scheme, (VRS) 30 per cent of the employees had gone but there had been no fresh recruitments since then. The management had also not fulfilled its promise of giving some additional welfare schemes to its employees even as though it had recorded a net profit of Rs 100 crore. The employee leaders threatened to intensify the agitation if their demands were not accepted immediately. The future course of action would be decided during the next All-India SBOP Employees Conference slated to be held on October 2 at Patiala. Meanwhile, clients who had accounts in these 900 odd branche of (SBOP) had problems in transactions as the strike was total.
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Freedom fighter dead
Panchkula, September 10 Mr Bisht was jailed for six months in 1913 by the British government. He was also present near Birla House, when Mahatama Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948. A slipper of the Father of the Nation, which had fallen off after he was shot at, found a special place in Mr Bisht’s house. An architect from Roorkee, he joined the Military Engineering Service after the country gained Independence. He was one of the main architects of Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib. Mr Bisht was an athlete and represented the country in the 1993 Asian Games for Veterans held at Singapore. He was also a keen mountaineer, and was part of the team of Edmund Hillary in a mountaineering expedition. The SDM, Mr Virinder Dahiya, Tehsildar, Mr DN Malik, and Inspector Ashok Bakhshi visited the residence of the freedom fighter and paid their respects to the departed soul.
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‘Rid City Beautiful of stray cattle’
I
happened to visit the USA recently. While going on long walks in the morning and evening on walkways, I never came across stray dogs or cattle.
We have several times thought of making Chandigarh free of stray animals, but the menace continues despite the fact that a number of fatal accidents have occurred on this account. Sometimes the only breadwinners of families have lost their lives, leading to extreme agony and suffering for the families. Why can’t we rid City Beautiful of stray cattle in order to ensure safe driving/walking on the roads? G.R. Kalra,
HUDA apathy Residents of Urban Estate, Sector 9, Ambala City, have been facing inconvenience for the last 12 years due to defective drainage system, especially during the rainy season. HUDA officials visit the area every year and carry out routine checks of the system, make false promises and never come back to check whether their directions have been carried out or not. Several houses, particularly those from nos 77 to 88 and 90 to 123, are the worst affected. Residents of the locality and vehicles get stranded in water puddles for hours together. I purchased a house in the HUDA colony to lead a comfortable and peaceful retired life. Most of the basic civic amenities promised by HUDA in its letter of allotment are not being provided in this colony. Unfortunately, adjacent to Sector 9 the HUDA authorities have constructed a pucca nullah which is three to four feet above the level of the road. The nullah is being used as sewerage outlet causing foul smell. The nullah is also a big health hazard as accumulation of dirty water can lead to malaria. I request the HUDA authorities to take remedial measures and improve the sanitation system of Urban Estate, Sector 9. R.K. Jain,
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Tenant sells house thrice on forged
papers
Chandigarh, September 10 According to the police two more complaints of similar nature are pending inquiries for selling the same house. The police is also confirming if any cases are pending against Sanjeev Nayyar in Vasi, Thane and other places in Mumbai. The police is also investigating if Nayyar who is a Director of the Worldwide Corporation, Mumbai, is part of gang of land grabbers who forged documents on the basis of signatures of the actual person. It is learnt that this gang of land grabbers takes the help of experts in forging signatures to forge documents. Such signature experts are suspected to be based in Delhi. The fraud came to light when Sanjeev Nayyar and Kuldeep Nahar rented house number 2532 in Sector 35 measuring two Kanals owned by an 86-year-old Protima Sengupta in 2002. Sanjeev Nayyar told an interested party that he had purchased the house in the name of his employee Kuldeep Singh Nahar for Rs 42 lakh. He provided the complainant a photo copy of the agreement to sell also. The agreement was also signed by Nayyar as witness. There was a clause in the agreement authorizing the purchaser to get the sale deed effected in his own name or in the name of any other person. The complainant asked Nayyar to arrange a meeting with Ms Sen Gupta but he avoided the meeting on the ground she was ill. After this a deal was finalized for selling the house for Rs 65 lakh. The market price of the house is estimated to be around Rs 2.25 crore. The agreement to sell was reached on April 29, 2003. The complainant made a payment of Rs 32.5 lakh for which a receipt was also issued. Again, a payment of Rs 12.5 lakh in cash was made in the presence of Sanjeev Nayyar. When the complainant approached Nahar again, he told him that the earlier agreement was not signed in his presence. He also revealed that Sanjeev Nayyar had him get an agreement to sale done in favour of Kuldeep Singh Gill and Ajit Singh Waraich. When contacted, the son of Ms Sengupta Inder Sengupta told the Chandigarh Tribune that they never sold the house and the signatures were forged. He said they had also given a complaint to the police against cheating and an inquiry is on. They said their tenant had reportedly reached agreements to sell with three persons and they were not aware till June 21 when they got an anonymous call saying that their house being sold. Next day the Sen Guptas asked the tenant to vacate the house. Then a policemen came to record their statement in Mr Inder Sen Guta’s office, he told the policemen that he would do so in the Police Station, 36. The Sen Guptas were shocked to know in the police station that there was a complaint of trespass by Sanjeev Nayyar against Gill and Waraiach on June 17.
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Case registered against Punj Land Services
Chandigarh, September 10 Mr Harcharan Singh Gill, a resident of Nehru Colony, Majitha Road, Amritsar district, told the police that the Punj Land had charged fee for training in the marine services and assured him a job abroad after the training was completed. According to the police, the complainant had paid the fee in 2002. Punj Land Services had neither sent him abroad nor returned his money. The police has registered a case under Sections 406, 420, 120-B of the IPC in the Sector 36 police station. Assaulted:
The police has registered a case under Sections 325, 34 of the IPC in the Sector 26, police station. Vehicles stolen:
In another incident of car theft, Dinesh Kumar, a resident of Pushpak Complex, Sector 49, reported to the police that his Maruti car (CH-01-T-0244), which was parked in Sector 22-D, was stolen yesterday. The police has registered a case of theft in the Sector 17 police station. Dayal Chand, a resident of Jayanti Majri village, Ropar district, filed a complaint that his scooter (CH-01-R-6346) was stolen from the PGI parking, yesterday. A case of theft has been registered in the Sector 11 police station.
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Three of family hurt in mishap
Mohali, September 10 The three fell and received injuries. They were taken to the Government Medical College Sector 32 Chandigarh, from where they were referred to the PGI. Hasat and her father are said to be out of danger. Condition of Deepak is said to be critical. The police has registered a case against driver Amarjit Singh who ran away leaving the truck.
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SBI launches ‘Grahak mitra’
Chandigarh, September 10 Launching the initiative, Mr A.D. Chaudhuri, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India Chandigarh Circle, said this initiative was the second in the series of initiatives undertaken by the SBI, Chandigarh, under the BPR project. It will ensure the migration of customers to automated/alternate channels like ATM, cheque drop box, and Internet banking. The initiative will be launched at eight other major branches of the bank in Chandigarh before rolling out at other major centres in the circle.
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