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‘Path’, protests thwart demolition drive
Panchkula, September 28 Amidst claims by the shopkeepers that they had no-objection certificates issued by HUDA in their possession for the said “encroachments”, the staff attempted to demolish the encroachments in front of seven shops spread over 10 marlas. However, pre-empting this move to demolish the shops, the residents organised an “Akhand Path” in the village while women stood guard at the entrance of these shops to prevent the labourers and the two JCB machines from entering the village. After demolishing one “wrongly identified” dhaba in the absence of its owner, the drive was called off after nearly three hours in view of the protests by residents. They were given two more days to clear the village of all illegal construction, failing which the staff of the Estate Office would be back. While Sudesh Kumari lambasted the staff for demolishing her dhaba without being served any notice, the other shopkeepers said that they had the registry of the shops in their possession along with no-objection certificates. “However, the Estate Office doesn’t seem to understand that,” a resident rued. Sudesh Kumari has, meanwhile, decided to lodge a case for compensation. In response to a PIL filed by Mr B. Singh on illegal construction in Haripur village, the Punjab and Haryana high court had sought a status report a week ago. In response, HUDA had issued notices to 15 residents to remove encroachments, giving them two days for the same. Today, Estate Officer, Mr Dilip Singh, along with SDOs and JEs, 30 labourers, nearly 50 cops and two JCBs descended on the village to carry out demolitions.
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Novelist who made history in fine arts
Chandigarh, September 28 Floating the idea of a separate Department of History of Fine Arts, giving the subject an identity separate from that of history of which it was initially a part, is all credited to Dr Anand’s campus stint of four years in the early 60s. His one-time neighbour and later, a student of the Fine Arts Department whose idea was conceived by Dr Anand, Dr Urmi Kesar, recollects, “A Tagore Professor of Literature and Fine Art at the university, he gifted an invaluable collection of art works to the Fine Arts Museum. A ceramic plate of Picasso and a Jamini Roy painting is among the things that he contributed. In fact, he was instrumental in putting us in touch with a Frenchman who gave his collection of contemporary works of art to the museum. When I joined, he had already left the university but would visit the department often. He started the History of Fine Arts as an option in the Department of History, PU. This later became a department.” Another of his neighbours, Dr Saudamini Bambah, remembers Dr Anand for his impromptu parties. These parties were a concourse of intellectual minds, she maintains. Dr Bambah says, “He would invite all people he met all through the day and order food from the mess of Hostel Number three. Invariably, the number of guests would far exceed the number he had ordered food for. Then, we had to run around at the last minute, arranging for more food for the guests. He never seemed to remember how many people he had called. I last met him at the railway station sometime back and he was as enthusiastic in narrating his experiences during his stay in England. He was a good addition to the campus.” With an association that dates back 42 years, Mr Rashpal Malhotra, Director, Centre for Rural Research and Industrial Development (CRRID), adds, “Dr Anand was a great promoter of the young and had a way of instilling confidence in them. I was one of the beneficiaries of his generosity as a teacher and mentor. Today, that had helped me build up CRRID. I met him a couple of months back and he seemed very weak though his mental faculties were perfect. With his death, we have lost a friend of the young.” Dr Anand was a Tagore Professor at the university till 1965. He was instrumental in setting up the Department of Fine Arts, starting it as a hobby class on the campus, and worked with only an assistant and a peon at his disposal.
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Killer Kalka-Ambala track claims 25 lives
Chandigarh, September 28 Police records suggest that most of those killed were victims of accidents, going by police investigations. Of the 21 victims in the Chandigarh GRP area, 13 died in accidents and six allegedly committed suicide. Two of them died of illness. Though circumstances suggest that most of them have committed suicide, the GRP says unless proved, it cannot be termed as suicide. The police says a suicide note and the nature of mutilation of a body indicate as to if it is suicide or accident. The police got suicide notes in a couple of cases and the rest were treated as suicides on the basis of injuries. It is difficult to confirm suicide as families of victims generally refuse to give a statement, confirming suicide, apparently because of social stigma. The police seems to be lenient in investigation. A policeman associated with investigation says if the head of a person is severed from the chest or a body is cut into half, there is a strong possibility of the person having committed suicide. If injuries are on shoulders or on either side of the body, it seems like an accident, he adds. The failure to identify seven of the 21 persons killed leaves the scope that a few of them may have committed suicide. The question arises as to why a person who is not belonging to colonies near the track will go to the track. The police does not have statements of family members of the deceased to rule out suicide. A policeman says the high number of accidents can be because of the area along the rail lines being populated and due to this, people cross the track for various reasons. A police officer says the number of suicides is suppressed because family members of victims are not able to claim insurance if suicide is proved. He adds that entry into the railway line corridor is illegal, as per the Railway Act and is legal only at prescribed points like railway crossings. According to the GRP, Indira Colony, the military area and the Haryana CID police lines are the most dangerous spots, where a large number of deaths have been reported this year. A large number of the persons are killed during the day apparently because a large number of trains pass during the day.
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Ignore rail warning, get robbed
Chandigarh, September 28 The three unidentified victims were found unconscious early morning today by Railway Protection Force personnel when the Kalka-Howrah Mail stopped at Chandigarh railway station. They were admitted to the General Hospital. Doctors said they were not fit to record statements. They are suspected to have been offered sedative-laced eatables between Kalka and Chandigarh, the police said.
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Justice Verma proceeds on leave
Chandigarh, September 28 The office of the President of India has sanctioned Justice Verma’s leave, however, no orders to appoint his replacement have been made so far. Normally the Governor of Haryana is given charge in the absence of Punjab Governor. In Chandigarh the role of the administrator is crucial as several decisions are taken by administrator, including those of promotions. In USA, Justice Verma will be attending the investiture ceremony of the Houston University.
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Mobile phone towers: Admn’s directive to companies
Chandigarh, September 28 It has also been submitted that since the permission granted by the UT Administration covers the entire geographical extent of Chandigarh, there will be no hindrance to the licensee for complying with the conditions of providing at least 90 per cent area coverage, provided such locations are in non-residential areas. The telecom
operators in the city like Spice, BSNL, Airtel and Hutch are using the GSM technology while Connect, BSNL” and Reliance are using the CDMA technology. The distance between two towers is determined by factors such as transmission frequency, density of consumers, sound quality desired etc.” It was felt in the interest of proper urban planning, public health and public safety that the number of towers should be kept at the minimum possible. It was further explained that it was possible for two or three operators to share a tower but the number of sharers could not be very large due to technical constraints. It was explained by telecom experts to the Administration that for coverage in a city like Chandigarh telephone operators would require a large number of towers.” Therefore, it was decided that in the first instance each telecom operator would provide to the Chief Architect a comprehensive plan showing the minimum number of towers required and the scheme of sharing these towers as well as current practice with regards to sharing of such towers.” The Chief Architect would work out a comprehensive plan on the basis of further additional locations. The Estate officer shall ensure the enforcement of legal provisions regarding the erection of buildings in
Chandigarh.” In particular, unauthorised buildings, including mobile telephone towers, would be subject to such enforcement.” In compliance with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding policy on the installation of towers for mobile telephony, the Chandigarh
Administration” had already clarified to the high court that no permission would be granted for the installation of towers in residential areas.” Referring to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the reply has said there was no definite conclusive study, which confirmed that health was adversely affected by radiation emitted by mobile telephones.” However, keeping in view the opinion expressed by medical experts, the UT Administration would continue with its policy of permitting mobile telephony towers to be installed only in non-residential areas.
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Omission of freedom fighters’ names shock Sachar
Chandigarh, September 28 In a release, Mr Sachar has ridiculed the justification given by Mr. S. Settar, Visiting Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, that these deletions were done "so as not to project controversial characters at the class VII level". "I am shocked that the lives of Chandrashekar Azad and Bhagat Singh, the icons of freedom struggle, could be considered controversial by any Indian. Their acts of bravery and commitment to the freedom struggle to the extent of laying down their lives were the inspiration on which people of our generation and our children have been brought up," Mr Sachar said. Expressing surprise that "such persons" can remain associated with teaching history in Karnataka, Mr Sachar, who is a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, has demanded that the Karnataka Government should immediately tender unqualified public apology for this insult to the pillars of freedom struggle. He has also demanded that teaching of their lives should be restored in the history books immediately.
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Indian ads getting creative, says expert
Chandigarh, September 28 “I think we have made considerable progress on the ad front in the past one decade”, says Mr Sandeep Goyal, Chairman and co-owner of Dentsu Communications Private Limited a Japanese advertising agency which handles the accounts of some of the top Japanese multinationals like Toyota, Sony and Citizen. A product of the local St John High School and DAV College, Sandeep was in town to visit his family. He has also authored a book “Dum Dum Bullet” which is making waves in literary circles these days. In an interview with TNS, he points out that “our ads are strong on ideas, slick in execution and carry brand messages with a strong local, flavour. We are beginning to win awards at Cannes, the Mecca of advertising. Mr Goyal says biggest brands are here but the fight has just begun. Coke is battling Pepsi but both haven’t quite figured out what to do with a Thums Up that refuses to die. Toyota and Honda are trying to dislodge a Maruti Suzuki who everyone thought would bite the dust years ago, but continues to rule. McDonald’s is yet to become omnipresent but the neighborhood dhaba and Udipi restaurant continue to have their well preserved franchise. For every Hutch, there is a home grown Airtel, Spice and Reliance. Advertising is what will differentiate brands and create consumer preference as the market place becomes more and more crowded. The organized advertising business in this country is about Rs. 10,000 crore. By 2010, it may well have doubled. So, the business is healthy and robust. Advertising is also a fair weather business. In developed economies like the US and Japan, 3-4 per cent of GDP is spent on advertising as it is seen to be the biggest catalyst for growth in consumer consumption. In India, we have still to touch 1 per cent of GDP mark. Today mobile service providers and mobile handsets are a significant spenders on advertising. Cars, mobikes, automobiles as a category are spending a lot. Credit cards, banks, insurance and soon maybe pension funds are all advertising categories born in the past 10 years. In the past decade, the number of television channels has gone up from maybe eight or 10 to almost 200 at the last count. And as more shopping malls come up and consumer needs multiply, I am sure advertising will swell in both volumes and value. As regards the question whether electronic media poses any threat to ads in print media, my answer will be: yes and no. Television advertising creates more and more awareness but its duration per spot is very expensive. It is for this that the print medium is vital. So I think, both media will co-exist and grow. Thus, the print will continue to service needs that television cannot reach at a micro level. Hence, how the cake will be cut and shared will largely depend on proactive response to changing consumer behaviour.
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At a loss about mobile phones in Secretariats
Chandigarh, September 28 This is the situation in the high security Punjab and Haryana Secretariats, where carrying mobile phones is not allowed. There is no arrangement of safely depositing these somewhere before entering the seats of governance of the two states. The archaic security arrangements do not seem to have considered the changing lifestyle of all-time and all-place connectivity provided by mobile phones. Visitors to these buildings face this problem at the security checkpoints as the security guards do not allow them to carry their mobile phones with them inside the buildings. When the visitors ask them where they should deposit their phones, the security guards fail to show them a place where these can be safely kept. Altercation between the visitors and the security guards erupt immediately. This has been going on for years. Visitors who do not come in their own vehicles are the worst affected as they have no place to leave their mobile phones behind. The security guards treat such people rudely at the security checkpoints. Staff at reception counters do not entertain such visitors and carelessly tell them to look for a place themselves, knowing that there is no such place available on the premises. The visitors are seen appealing to the reception staff to keep their mobile phones, but only a few have their prayers answered and manage to find a place for their phones at the reception counter. Some visitors are left with no option but to leave their mobile phones at the tea shops outside these buildings. The shopkeepers are making a quick buck by charging Rs 10 per mobile phone. The Administrative Officer, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Mr Narinderpal Singh, cites shortage of staff as the reason. He says due to the ban on recruitment, they are unable to do anything in this regard. He says visitors should leave their mobile phones at home when they come to the Secretariat. The Administrative Officer, Haryana Civil Secretariat, Mr Malkiat Singh, claims that he is not aware of this inconvenience to visitors. He has stated that from tomorrow, he will issue guidelines to the reception staff to keep mobile phones of visitors at the reception counter.
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Govt museum Director gets fellowship
Chandigarh, September 28 He will participate in the next triennial general conference of the International Council of Museums in Seoul, South Korea, between October 2 and 8. This will give him opportunities to enrich his ongoing research in digital documentation through global interaction with members of the International Council of Museums in different parts of the world. The ICOM conference is attended by at least 2,500 museum professionals and experts from around the world. The ICOM 2004, focusing on “Museums and Intangible Heritage”, will feature discussions on the depth of the time-honoured spiritual, psychological and mental world of diverse culture and tradition. The conference will offer every museum professional with opportunities to discuss the intriguing subject. Mr V.N. Singh will present papers on the latest techniques of digital documentation and training in handling of our tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
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Siddiqui emphasises morality
Chandigarh, September 28 Commenting on the general behaviour of people, he said that ethics should guide our action to behave nicely as a part of our belief system and not as compulsion. He rued the diminishing moral values and a lopsided view of ethics amongst the younger generation. Dr Siddiqui said that people with morally weak and opportunists could never be-come people of integrity. He informed that special efforts were being made in the police force to correct social behaviour and make it responsive to the needs of the citizens.
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Permission for dumping construction material on roads mandatory
Chandigarh, September 28 According to an order from the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, this condition is being incorporated in the requisites for sanction of plan, both fresh and revised, by the building branch of the Estate Office, it shall also be applicable to all those cases where building plans have already been sanctioned but the construction is yet to be completed.
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Pulse polio campaign
Panchkula, September 28 She was presiding over a meeting to review the arrangement of the Pulse Polio Programme made by the District Health authorities here today. She emphasised the importance of this campaign and directed district health officers that all slum areas,
bus stand, railway station, entry and exit points, labourers working at various brick-kilns and migrant labourers should be given due attention in this regard. She also directed the officers of the Education Department that schoolchildren may be educated regarding the campaign. She appealed to the residents of the district to being their children in the age group of 0-5 years to the nearby polio booth in their sectors as well as villages for polio drops. Ms Kasni further stated that about 71,000 children are below the age of five years in the district. She said that as many as 320 booths had been set up in the district. She said 1,280 workers had been deputed, besides health department workers, ICDS voluntary workers, staff of the Education Department and students would also associated in the campaign. As name as 58 supervisors had been deputed to supervise the programme, she added. The Civil Surgeon, Dr Satvir Chaudhary, said that polio drops would be given from 8 am to 4 pm. He said that 7 transit teams and 13 mobile teams had been set up.
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Career counselling fair for young
Chandigarh, September 28 Director of Akanksha Communication Private Limited, Krishan Tewari, said, “Our institute organises these kinds of fairs all over India to highlight the highly demanding ever growing global scenario of the global houses, government career-oriented programmes which could provide platform for the jobs to the unemployed educated youth of the country”. This event is for students, freshers and final year students who are looking for jobs, summer training and live projects to work upon in the market. Giving a
career-related presentation about IAF. Sqb Ldr Sanjeev Verma, Air Force Station, 3 BRD, Chandigarh said the fair was a platform where youngsters can be made aware about job opportunities in the Indian Air Force. Those interested in making a career IAF can avail the opportunities in three branches of IAF, including the flying branch, technical branch and ground duties. This fair is on till
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Residents protest
Mohali, September 28
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LIC Hindi fortnight concludes
Chandigarh, September 28 The annual Hindi magazine of the division “Sampark” was released. Mr
N.P. Chawla, Senior Divisional Manager, called upon the employees to accept
Hindi from the heart.
The prize winners:
Word knowledge: Mr Rajesh Kumar, Assistant, Barnala, first; Mr Mithilesh Kumar
Satyarthi, Assistant, Barnala, second; Mr Vijay Gupta, HGA, Patiala-II, third. Consolation prize: Mr Yashwant Singh, Assistant, Morinda. Essay writing:
Ms Anjana Singla, Assistant, Patiala-I, first; Ms Sangeeta Sukhi,
HGA, Nabha, second; Ms Babita Arora, Assistant, Ropar, third. Consolation prize:
Ms Neelam Singal,
AAO, CAB, Chandigarh.
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Workshop on electrical safety
Chandigarh, September 28 A team led by Mr Mahesh Mittal, Principal, Technical Training Institute, Patiala, spoke about the safety measures. Junior Engineers, linemen, assistant linemen and electricians were educated about the proper usage of tools, and how to do temporary earthing.
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12 booked for selling, buying small plots
Chandigarh, September 28 Suresh Kumar, Dinanath, Suresh Kumar, Karam Singh, Khalil Ahmed, Devi Charan, Karamjit Kaur, Shanti Devi, Rajrani Devi, Balwant Singh, Om Chand and Santosh Chandel were booked under different sections of the three Acts along with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. They have been accused of selling and purchasing plots below the size of 1,000 metres. This is the first time that buyers of plots have been booked. In the earlier cases registered at the Mani Majra police station, only sellers of plots were booked dispite recommendations from the Deputy Commissioners office.
Car thief held
Nineteen-year-old Varun, allegedly involved in three cases of car theft and one case of scooter theft, was arrested by the crime branch of the Chandigarh police on Sunday. A driver by profession, he was earlier involved in four cases of vehicle theft, for which he was facing trial. A resident of Dadu Majra Colony, he was intercepted by the CIA staff at a bridge near Dhanas village while he was going in a stolen Maruti Esteem car (CH-01-T-5566). The police was working on a tip-off about the car thief and picket points were set up in different parts of the city. The car he was driving was stolen from the PGI parking on Saturday. He was produced in court and was remanded in police custody. He reportedly revealed during interrogation that he had stolen three cars and one scooter, which were later recovered from his possession. He also stole a Maruti car (HR-26-A-0864) from the Sector 37 market on September 14, another Maruti car (CH-01-U-3833) from the gurdwara in Sector 38 on September 1 and a scooter (CH-03-H-2925) from Sector 39 on September 21.
Liquor seized
The police arrested two persons on Monday for carrying liquor illegally. Mukesh Kumar of Burail village was arrested from the Ramlila ground in the same locality with three bottles of countrymade liquor. Ravi of Dadu Majra village was arrested with six bottles of whisky from a picket set up at Sector 38-West. Cases under the Excise Act were registered against them.
One held for eve-teasing
Shambhu Gupta, a resident of Kishangarh village, was arrested on the charge of eve-teasing at the Sukhna Lake on Monday. A case under Section 509 of the IPC was registered against him.
Dowry cases
Ms Kamlesh of Nehru Colony filed a complaint against her husband Rakesh, a resident of Kakkapur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, that he had been harassing her to bring more dowry. A case under Sections 406, 498-A and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code was registered. Ms Pushwinder Kaur of Sector 37-B reported to the police that her husband Ajay Abrol and her in-laws, residents of Dadu Majra Colony, were harassing and maltreating her to bring more dowry. A case was registered in this regard.
Theft cases
Ms Nirmla Devi of Mani Majra reported to the police that her house was burgled on Monday. Thieves decamped with two pairs of tops and one pair of earrings. A case under Section 380 of the IPC was registered. Ms A. Kureshi, a resident of Sector 8, reported to the police that her purse, containing Rs 2,000 and a mobile phone, was stolen from a tailor shop in the Sector 7 market. A case under Section 379 of the IPC was registered. Mr Reshabh, a resident of Sector 7 in Panchkula, reported to the police that his Maruti car (DL-2C-A-4237) was stolen from Sector 8 on Monday. Mr Padam Nath Panday of Sector 41 reported to the police that his scooter (CH-01-U-1802) was stolen from his house on Sunday night. Cases were registered in this regard. The police arrested another person on car theft charge. He was caught red-handed while stealing a car from Sector 8 on Tuesday. Twentysix-year-old Shoal Lal, a resident of Sector 7 who was unemployed, was also in the habit of taking drugs. A case under Section 379 and 411 of the IPC was registered.
Vehicle recovered
The police recovered a stolen Maruti van from the possession of two thieves, handed over by the Haryana police on September 25. During interrogation, Surjit Singh of Kambali village in Ropar district and Rajesh Kumar of Chanarthal in Kurukshetra district had admitted that they had stolen the Maruti van (CH-03-0380) from Sector 45 this year.
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Blank stamp papers seized
Panchkula, September 28 The possibility of the stamp papers being sold on the black market was being probed.
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Infant found
Panchkula, September 28 Power theft
The police registered two cases of electricity theft on the complaint of Subdivisional Officer K.C. Narwal. He had caught Dharam Pal of Battor village and Pala of Barwala village stealing electricity. Cases were registered in this regard.
Scooterist hit
Scooterist Jaswinder Singh was hit by a car being driven by Raghu near the cold store at Barwala on Thursday. The police registered a case and arrested the accused.
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Biz Clips
CHANDIGARH CAMP: Indian geriatric group is more prone to problems like obesity and blood sugar, according to Dr K.P. Singh, an endocrinologist of the region. Researchers recommended that physicians should provide patients of metabolic syndrome with adequate resources to improve compliance to diet and exercise regimens, said the endocrinologist, who is a senior consultant, endocrinology, Fortis Hospital, while speaking at two camps organised by the hospital for senior citizens on the eve of World Heart Day.
TNS
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Trends of accidents and suicides on the tracks seems to be rising as 23 persons were killed last year between Chandi Mandir and the CID police lines. Four of the 25 victims this year were killed between Kalka and Chandi Mandir.
