Chandigarh, September 15
The Chandigarh Administration today reversed its decision of holding indirect elections to student councils in city colleges. Taking cognisance of the students’ agitation, the UT Administrator, Justice O.P. Verma (retd), today directed the Administration to issue instructions, reverting to the earlier practice of direct elections.

Now students would elect the student councils of their respective colleges. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, MP, met the Administrator regarding the students’ demand today. Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had played a vital role in convincing Justice Verma. Amandeep Singh Mankoo, spokesman of the Joint Action Committee, and Nitin Goyal, president of the local unit of the NSUI, welcomed the decision.

Meanwhile, the authorities of Government College, Sector 11, confirmed that three students, Anurag Dhillon, M.S. Rikhy and Nitin, had been suspended for creating hooliganism on the college premises, demanding direct elections. The college principal, Prof Balwinder Singh, said the students tore answer books of students appearing in the internal examinations. The Principal also forwarded a complaint in this regard to the police.

When the students suspended met the Principal today, they were told to bring their parents and apologise. The students, however, said they were being victimised.

Chandigarh, September 15
Posters of presidential candidates of students’ organisations of Panjab University smile at passersby from trees and pillars as election fever grips the campus. These may stay on until after the elections despite the imposition of a code of conduct banning these.

None of the students’ organisations are in a mood to remove posters despite the university authorities giving them three days for the same, failing which cases will be registered against them under the Defacement Act. At a time when campaigning strategies and preparing election manifestoes is on the mind of students’ organisations, they claim to care a fig for what the university says.

Claims Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Gurparvez Shelley, “We have our hands full these days. We have hardly any time to paste new posters. How can the university expect us to lend a few hands to remove our posters. At this point, it is out of the question. It a routine instruction which comes every year.” The ABVP has got 18,000 posters printed for the elections.

Echoing similar sentiments, Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) candidate Rajwinder Singh Lucky says, “We can assure the university authorities that we will not put any more posters, provided all organisations agree to this. We are unwilling to undo what has already been done. The university is expecting too much from us. The posters will not be removed. We will instead pay whatever fine the university imposes.” Besides cards, banners and pamphlets, PUSU has 5,000 posters printed.

Activists of the Students’ Organisation of Panjab University, which has got nearly 6,000 posters printed for the elections, ask how the university can direct them to remove posters, especially when some parties have got mileage by putting up posters for nearly a fortnight before the elections. “We can call a meeting of all organisations on the issue. In case this is not done, we will not initiate a drive to remove our posters. There is little the university authorities can do when all organisations put up a united front on this issue,” says party president Ranjit Singh Raju.

They are of the unanimous opinion that if the university authorities have a major problem with posters of candidates, they can get these removed on their own. “If the university does that, we can cooperate by not protesting. That is about it; nothing more, nothing less,” they maintain.

Chandigarh, September 15
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Central) S.C. Sagar held a meeting at the Sector 17 police station here today with representatives of student unions and associations in connection with campaigning and observing the code of conduct during the pre-election period and on the day of the elections to the student council of Panjab University.

It was decided at the meeting that canvassing would be allowed till 9 pm in girls’ hostels and till 10 pm at boys’ hostels. No outsiders would be allowed to stay in the hostels and the students should carry identity cards with them.

The use of loudspeakers and heavy vehicles was banned on the campus. Weapons and lethal arms were also banned on the campus. The students were advised not to make any personal attack on any individual. It was also decided that no posters would be allowed on the campus.

Dera Bassi, September 15
In a gruesome incident, a woman killed the younger two of her four daughters and dumped the bodies in a pond in Mubarikpur village, 2 km from here, late last evening.

Disturbed over the daily quarrels with her husband, Sipahi Lal, Sarita Devi took the extreme step last evening. She first strangled Anisha (5) with the help of a cloth and then threw her body in the village pond, near paddy fields. After confirming that Anisha was dead, she threw eight-month-old Pooja in the pond at the other end and the infant drowned. She committed the act while Sipahi Lal was at work.

Sarita Devi, who was in a state of shock, admitted that she had killed her daughters. She said she had done this because of the daily squabbles she had with her husband over cooking food for the family and sending the two elder daughters, Anuradha (10) and Khusboo (7), to school.

The crime was discovered after Sipahi Lal found his wife and two daughters missing from the quarters when he returned from duty about 9.30 pm. His elder daughters told him that their mother had gone to get medicine for a younger daughter from a chemist.

Sipahi Lal got suspicious when Sarika did not return till 10 pm. He started inquiring and came to know from a villager that his wife was lying on the bank of the village pond.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Sipahi Lal said Sarika told him that she had killed the two daughters. Following this, he approached the only person he knew in the locality, Bittu, owner of a grocery shop. They then went to Mr Chand Rana, village sarpanch, who advised them to report the matter to the police. Sipahi Lal lodged a complaint at the Mubarikpur police post at 1.30 am.

Villagers started assembling at the pond early in the morning as the news of the killing spread. The bodies were floating on opposite sides of the pond.

The police, with the help of a labourer, removed the bodies and sent them to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem.

Having migrated from Kamalpura village in Mujjafarpur district of Bihar, the family was living in a rented accommodation in the village for the past one month.

They had shifted to the village from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony in Sector 49, Chandigarh. The colony was cleared by the Chandigarh Administration in a demolition drive recently.

Sipahi Lal is working with the marketing division of a paper manufacturing unit in Mohali. He was paying Rs 500 per month as rent for the accommodation in the village. His elder daughters, Anuradha and Khusboo, are students of Class II and I in a Pandwala school.

Mr Manmohan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dera Bassi, said Sarika had admitted to having committed the crime in anger.

She has been arrested and booked under Section 302 of the IPC on a complaint by her husband.

Chandigarh, September 15
The telephone numbers of major public-utility services all over the country, including the police, fire service, Railways, roadways and airlines, are set to be four digit.

With Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) switching over to a new state-of-the-art-technology, these services will have a common four-digit number all over India, making it easier for the public to access them.

BSNL has set the ball rolling by allotting a toll-free number, 133, to the Railways for providing a variety of services to the passengers and for general inquires. The Railways can suffix any number from 0 to 9 to this number to make it four digit to dedicate each number to a particular service, sources told The Tribune here today.

The Railways can thus use 10 numbers for various services such as arrival time information, global inquiries or recorded announcements. To begin, the Railways is toying with the idea of starting 1333 for giving information on arrival of trains.

Designed on international standards, the new system could go a long way in making various services accessible to the common man. As it works on the pulse code modulation (PCM) technology, the chances of numbers being engaged are remote, according to an official.

Another advantage of the new system is that it would streamline information flow to all parts of the country. Moreover, the four-digit number for a particular service, like the police control room (PCR), would be the same throughout the country. Anyone wanting to connect to a public information service in a different part of the country will have to dial the area code followed by the relevant four-digit number.

Earlier, as part of a nationwide exercise, BSNL had changed all landline numbers to seven digits.

Chandigarh, September 15
After a prolonged dry spell the city today witnessed a revival of the monsoon. The spell of rain, which started yesterday night, is expected to last for another day, as per the forecast of local Met officials.

Although not very significant, the 9.9 mm rain recorded till 8.30 am today provided the much needed break from the persisting heat wave. The temperature drop has also been significant on account of the return of monsoon system in the northwestern zone of the country, of which the city is a part.

The Met Department attributes the return of rains to the creation of a cyclonic circulation over Uttar Pradesh. They, however, add that this spell of rainfall would not last long as the weather systems were hinting towards the return of another dry stretch. Officials add that after August 23, the region had not seen any the development of any significant monsoon system until yesterday night.

Among the stations that recorded the highest rainfall today are Karnal and Kalka which witnessed heavy rainfall — 56.2 mm and 52 mm, respectively. Punjab, however did not witness active monsoon today, with Patiala recording a meagre 0.5 mm.

As far as the city is concerned, it has been witnessing traces of rainfall during September although the downpour has never been too significant to note. The last major rainfall recorded in Chandigarh was 61. 8 mm on August 18. Met Department also recorded rainfall in Chandigarh on the following days. August 24 (26. 1 mm), August 25 (14.8 mm), August 26 (traces of rainfall), and September 13 (2.4 mm).

Today’s rainfall of 9.9 mm has been the highest this month so far.

Chandigarh, September 15
A solemn wreath laying ceremony to pay homage to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty, marked the 57th Raising Day of Western Command at its headquarters in Chandimandir today.

The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh, paid floral tributes at the Veer Smriti war memorial on behalf of all ranks of the command.

Wreaths were also laid at the memorial by three former chiefs of the Command, Lieut-Gen P.S. Hoon, Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi and Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh.

A large number of officers and other rank also attended the ceremony. As a light rain, due to which the ceremony was delayed by a couple of hours, washed the lush environs, a ceremonial guard from Gharwal Rifles reversed arms and buglers sounded the Last Post.

A two minute silence was also observed as a mark of respect to the martyrs.

In the evening, a social get-together and a band concert by the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Band were held at the Shivalik Officers Institute, Chandimandir.

A large number of serving and retired officers along with their families attended the function. A performance by dare-devil motorcycle riders of the Corps of Military Police and a dog show were held in the military station yesterday.

The band concert and motorcycle display were also organised in Chandigarh today for the local residents.

In his Order of the Day, General J.J. Singh paid tributes to the sacrifices of the veterans and assured them that the path laid by them would be the driving force of all future ventures.

He said that the Western Command was fully prepared for all eventualities and would emerge victorious from all challenges bestowed upon it.

Raised as Delhi and East Punjab Command on September 15, 1947, with its Headquarters at Delhi, it controlled all formations with an operational role in the territorial areas of the present Western and Northern Armies.

It was redesignated Western Command in January, 1948.

In 1954, the Headquarters of the command moved to Shimla. After the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Northern Command, with its Headquarters at Udhampur, was carved out of Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir.

Headquarters Western Command moved to its present location at Chandimandir in 1985.

During the past year, Western Command has won the hearts of the people of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh by rendering instant and sustained aid to civil authorities.

This included rescuing marooned people in areas devastated by unprecedented floods caused by incessant rains, provision of medical aid and food, restoration of communication by constructing bridges in a record time and taking anti-flood measures.

It also undertook activities to provide infrastructural support to several villages and assisted them in their development.

Chandigarh, September 15
Advocating a social boycott of those responsible for perpetuating inequality against women the Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh, Justice OP Verma (Retd.), today called for collective participation of genuine non-government organisations to tackle the multifarious problems being faced by the women in society.

Inaugurating a consultative meeting with non-government organisations (NGOs) on the ‘Status of Women’ organised by Social Welfare Department, Chandigarh, and sponsored by the National Commission for Women, Justice Verma said that though the Constitution and subsequent rulings of the Supreme Court had given sufficient safeguards for the protection of rights of women, yet our society was yet to come out of its old mindset vis-a-vis the status of women in society.

Justice Verma said that this bias could not be corrected by legislative measures alone and society as a whole would have to rise against the culprits by adopting the measures like social boycott resorted to by panchayats in the bygone era.

The Governor said that right from the conception of a girl child in the womb, plans are set in motion to get her eliminated. He said that recent census figures had confirmed our worst fear that female foeticide despite legislative ban was flourishing in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh.

Justice Verma said that women commission must also address the problem of ‘honour killing’, desertion of wives by NRI bridegrooms, bride burning for dowry cases and harassment of women in working places.

Earlier, Mrs Poornima Advani, chairperson of the National Commission for Women, emphasised the need for a ‘women’ policy. She also demanded a separate family court in the UT. Ms Pam Rajput demanded a UT commission for women as well as a Mahila Bhavan in Chandigarh. 

Chandigarh, September 15
Dr Poornima Advani, Chairperson of the National Commission on Women, has come out strongly against any move to legalise world's oldest profession, prostitution.

"I have been to some of the worst red light areas in the country - Kamathipura in Mumbai, Sonagachi in Kolkata, to name only a few.

And everywhere I found women engaged in sex trade only due to the force of circumstances.

Nobody is doing it willingly and happily. Therefore, to say that the sex trade should be legalised is like putting a gloss on the misery of the people by pretending that there is nothing wrong in it" said Dr Advani in an interview with TNS here today.

"I have spoken to even those who are in this trade and have been misled into demanding legalisation of prostitution. I put a straight question to them: Will you like your daughter to ply this trade?

And each and every time they flinched. They wanted their daughters to stay away from this profession and lead a healthy, normal life.

So how can anyone demand legalisation of prostitution?"

Dr Advani also objected to the description of prostitutes as sex workers as propagated by certain NGOs.

"We don't regard them as sex workers because sex is not a work..."

She came down heavily on the indecent representation of women on TV and movies and felt that they were making their own contribution to the promotion of an atmosphere of permissiveness in the country.

"We have written to the government and TV channels to take immediate measures to stop this trend. But nothing has happened so far.

I quite understand that there are very powerful commercial interests involved.

But what I regret is that every time we raise this question, the talk of 'moral policing' becomes louder."

She also said that she had asked about 4000 NGOs to give their views on the subject.

The issue could easily become the subject matter of a PIL in the court.

She also expressed concern over the growing disparity in the male: female sex ratio in this part of the country and wanted immediate steps to tackle the problem.

She favoured every police station to have a woman desk where women could go and lodge their complaints.

"Registration of an FIR is a extremely crucial as far as a woman victim is concerned".

She also said that the commission had already completed situational analysis of women in 17 states and UTs of the country. 

Chandigarh, September 15
Gripped by extreme penury, Anil Chauhan, 26, who hails from Patna, is finding life extremely harsh. With both his kidneys having already failed, Chauhan who is getting treatment at the PGI for last several months, is bogged down by the repeated rounds of the hospital for dialysis. He alone has the responsibility of looking after his old mother, wife Sushila and three small children.

The disease runs through the family as Anil's father too died of renal failure a few years ago.

“I lost my father four years ago and when I contracted the disease I lost my job of a labourer in Patna. I was the sole earning member in the family and now we all our living in the PGI sarai since June this year,” says Chauhan.

The only ray of hope for survival for this poor patient is a kidney transplant. But arranging for finances to the tune of Rs 3 lakh is a tall order for the extremely poor family.

Those willing to contribute for Anil's treatment can contact him at the Janta Sarai, PGI Room No. 14. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) Ms Manju Wadwalkar can be contacted at 0172-2747585 extension : 6003. 

Mohali, September 15
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) today finalised the formation of a separate enforcement wing that would include policemen to control violations on PUDA land within Mohali zone. This decision was taken during a meeting held under the Chairmanship of the Chief Administrator here today.

The newly constituted enforcement wing of PUDA would comprise a naib tehsildar, one SDO (enforcement), four junior engineers, four work supervisors, one senior clerk, one junior clerk, 10 beldars, 10 police constables with an ASI as in charge on deputation to PUDA.

Sources added that an enforcement branch comprising an SDO and two junior engineers was functioning within PUDA but in the absence of more staff and police, the wing was not able to achieve much. As many as 10 policemen headed by an ASI will be made available by the police department and will be on permanent duty with PUDA.

It was pointed out to the CA during the meeting that other than a host of illegal colonies that had come up in the state, land worth crores of rupees had been encroached upon across Punjab. Urban Estate in Mohali constituted 20 sectors but many of the vacant plots were under the constant threat of being encroached upon, said a source. The source added that while there were over 3,000 irregular structures in the periphery alone that should have been demolished, a host of encroachments in the form of temples and gurdwaras had come up on PUDA land in Mohali township and its outskirts.

The enforcement wing would discourage violations under all Acts enforced by PUDA, including the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act 1995, Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act 1995 and the Punjab New Capital Periphery Control Act 1952.

A JCB 10-seater matador and one tractor-trailer along with drivers and other dismantling tools will be provided to the wing.

Chandigarh, September 15
The police arrested five thieves from different parts of the city during the past 24 hours, according to information given by the police today.

The Sector 19 police arrested Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Sector 21-D, and Devinder Singh, a paying guest living in Sector 21-A, on a complaint filed by another paying guest living in the same house. Mr Gurpreet Singh had reported to the police that the two had stolen a car stereo, speakers and documents from his car parked outside the house on September 12. The police has booked them under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC and recovered the stolen property.

A stolen motorcycle was also recovered from Devinder Singh. The Sector 19 police had registered a case of theft on a complaint filed by its owner, Mr Harbans Singh Gill, a resident of Sector 18-D, on September 13.

The duo have been remanded in two days’ police custody.

The police arrested Satish Kumar, a resident of Pipliwala Town, Mani Majra, on a complaint filed by Ram Singh, a resident of Kheri village, Kurukshetra district, that the accused had been caught red-handed by him while stealing his purse at a chemist’s shop in the PGI yesterday. A case of theft has been registered at Sector 11 police station.

Ranjit Kumar, a resident of Attawa village, was allegedly caught red-handed by a security guard in Piccadilly cinema while stealing taps yesterday. The police arrested the suspect and recovered six taps from him. A case of theft has been registered against him at Sector 34 police station.

Panchkula September 15
A labourer employed at a factory in Barwala was electrocuted on Tuesday. According to the police Dalu, a Nepali, had come out of his quarter on the factory premises, when a live overhead electric cable snapped and fell on him. He was rushed to General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Two Arrested: Two persons — Kashmiri and Prem Kumar — have been arrested in separate incidents, on charges of speculation. A sum of Rs 3280 was recovered from them.

Snake Bite: A 20-year-old woman, Asha, was bit by a snake at Sanjay Flour Mills, Pinjore, late last night. She was rushed to General Hospital, from where she was referred to PGI, Chandigarh.

Two Injured: Two persons were injured in separate accidents today. Mukesh, a labourer employed at a factory in Mubarakpur, was injured when a GI pipe fell on his head. In another incident, Amrik Kaur was injured, after her scooter skidded in the slush near Nadda Sahib, today. She sustained head injuries and was referred to PGI, Chandigarh, from General Hospital here.