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Meeta removed as
PGI’s DDA
Chandigarh, October 21 Rajivlochan, who had joined the PGI in March, 2001, was on a four-year term as the DDA, which was due to end in February, next year.
Events leading to DDA’s repatriation *
Aug 24: DDA issues circular challenging Director’s authority. *
Aug 27: Union Health Ministry asks DDA to proceed on indefinite leave and serves show-cause notice; Financial Adviser gets DDA’s duties. *
Sept 2: DDA submits reply; defends the circular. *
Sept 11: DDA tries to join back but her joining report is rejected by Director. *
Sept 25: DDA loses her major powers to Financial Adviser; retains Hindi and Computer Cell. *
Oct 21: DDA repatriated to her state cadre,
Maharashtra; Prof Sarala Gopalan gets charge
of DDA. The decision of the DDA’s repatriation was taken by the Department of Personnel and Training and was conveyed to the PGI through the Union Health Ministry’s orders. Confirming the development, the Secretary Health, Mr J.V.R. Prasada Rao, while talking to The Tribune from Delhi, said: “A panel of names would again be asked by the Department of Personnel and Training for selection of the new DDA for the PGI.” Following the development, the Director PGI, Prof K.K. Talwar, handed over the charge of all seven administrative wings under the DDA to the seniormost professor in the institute, Prof Sarala Gopalan, who is also Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in addition to her own duties. Meeta Rajivlochan was divested of all her powers last month by the Director after she had issued a controversial circular challenging the authority of the Director in August. In the circular, she had asked the staff not to hesitate while disagreeing with the Director. A major chunk of the administrative work was then handed over to the
Financial Adviser, Dr Harmeet Singh. Prof Gopalan, however, will now look after all seven administrative wings of the PGI. Through a fresh office order issued by Prof Talwar today, Prof Gopalan has been given the charge of Establishment I and II, Legal Cell, Estate Branch, Committee Branch, Hindi Section and Computer Cell, thereby giving no additional charge to the Financial Adviser. The demand for DDA’s repatriation had gained ground in the PGI after she had issued a circular challenging the authority of the PGI Director. The Union Health Ministry had taken a serious note of the incident and asked the DDA to proceed on indefinite leave and also served a show-cause notice on her. Last year too, during the tenure of the former Director, Prof S. K. Sharma, Meeta Rajivlochan was involved in the controversy of the demolition of Shri Ravidas mandir on the PGI campus, which had invited criticism from employees and faculty of the PGI.
Joy among PGI staff
The orders of the DDA Meeta Rajivlochan’s repatriation to her parent cadre and a senior professor taking over her position today has brought joy to employees of the PGI. The PGI’s Employees Union has expressed happiness over the development. The president of the union, Mr Subhash Nirankari, said: “The DDA’s actions had many a time worked towards lowering the reputation of the institute.” Citing incidents of temple demolishing last year and the DDA’s tussle with the former Director, Prof S. K. Sharma, office-bearers of the union said: “If possible, the PGI should not have a bureaucrat handle such an important office in the institute.”
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Decision on Sec 22 market deferred
Chandigarh, October 21 The decision was taken in the light of the fact that the association had moved court against the MC for delaying permission for setting up a podium during the ongoing shopping festival to display prizes for the lucky draw contest. The case of the association will come up for hearing on October 25. While the Mayor, Ms Kamlesh, recommended the case of the Sector 22 market, sources said other members of the committee were not in favour of giving permission as the matter was sub-judice. It also decided that an additional Rs 25,000 would be charged from the organisers of the shopping festival in Sector 17. This would be over and above the sum of Rs 1 lakh already deposited by the organisers with the MC for setting up the podium. A rent of Rs 50,000 has been fixed for setting up a podium in shopping areas during Divali. While the committee approved all works pertaining to repair and broadening of roads and installation of tubewells, the new electric crematorium, proposed to come up in the Industrial Area, was deferred. The contract for carcass disposal was allotted and permission for installing BTS tower at the water works in Sector 12 was also given.
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Police martyrs remembered
Chandigarh, October 21 The IGP and other officials, including those of the paramilitary forces laid wreaths on the memorial there. The
contingents of the Chandigarh police, Haryana police and Punjab police participated in the parade and paid homage by reversing the arms. Panchkula:
A commemorating parade was held at the Secretariat here. The ADGP, Haryana, Mr C.P. Bansal, said the supreme sacrifice made by the personnel in the Ladakh region should not be forgotten. Floral tributes were paid to the martyrs. A contingent of the police participated in a parade and reversed the arms. The names of 788 police personnel, who died while performing their duty, were read out. Fatehgarh Sahib:
Police Commemoration Day was observed at the police lines here. Mr Shiv Kumar, SSP, paid tributes to police martyrs. He urged people not to forget their sacrifices. He appealed to police officers to perform their duty with dedication and asked them to ensure that justice was provided to the public. The SSP honoured the families of the jawans. Two minute’s silence was observed in the memory of the martyrs. Patiala:
A parade was taken out to mark the commemoration day. The DIG, Mr I.P.S. Sahota, Deputy Commissioner, District Sessions Judge, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Chief Judicial Magistrate and officials of the police department were present. Mr L.K. Yadav, SP (H), read out the names of police officials who laid down their lives.
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Five injured as bus brakes fail
Chandigarh, October 21 The CTU bus driver and its passengers were heard shouting that the brakes of the bus had failed. They were urging drivers who had stopped at the traffic lights to save themselves. The bus went over a woman lying prostrate while her husband was thrown aside with the impact of the bus. The couple was going on a scooter when they were hit by the bus. The woman fell in the middle of the two front wheels of the bus and kept lying still while the bus went over her. The woman, Janak Madan, survived with injuries in her head, back and arms. She is stated to be out of danger. Her husband R. K. Madan, an SDO in the telephone exchange, escaped with minor injuries. The bus came to a screeching halt when a scooter fell in front of the bus. A rickshaw-puller, Baldev, said he heard several people shouting that the brakes of the bus had failed. They were urging the people on the road to save themselves. He said the bus driver came to know about the brake failure when he tried to stop the bus at the bus stop. The bus was coming from Kisan Bhavan and going towards the cricket stadium. Panic gripped the area as a large number of people were injured and there was blood on the road. Bhupinder Singh, riding a motor cycle, a scooterist Sonu and a cyclist Pankaj were injured and taken to hospitals. All of them are stated to be out of danger. Baldev said had the scooter not got entangled in the front wheels of the bus, some people may have even died. The police inspected the bus to find out if there was any mechanical failure in the brake.
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27 strike
it rich overnight
Chandigarh, October 21 The Supreme Court had decided the matter in favour of the allottees who had applied for the plots under a scheme in 1980, however, they were not allotted anything as the land where the Administration proposed to set up the industrial area, was under forest cover and could not be cleared for such development. These persons have been allotted plots in Phases I and II of the Industrial Area following a draw of lots. Those left out, will be adjusted in the upcoming Phase III of the Industrial Area in Mauli Jagran, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, said. The Chandigarh Administration held a draw of lots to decide who will be given the plots. The entire process was videographed. It is yet to be decided if the plots will be on leasehold or freehold. Among the allottees is the
wife of a former Chief Secretary of Haryana and the wife of a retired journalist. Both were among the original applicants. The lucky one are: three kanal plot — North Land Engineering; two kanal — Neera Goyal and Air Marshal Randhir Singh (retd); 1½ kanal: Latech Export, Shivalik Steel and Mandeep Grewal; 1 kanal: MMB Enterprises, Ramesh Bhatia, Gift Auto, Simran Singh, Babbar Engineering, Capt Beli Ram, Sachdeva Engineering, Hira Tikko, Harpret Singh, Jagmohanlal Nirwani, Wing Commander J.M. Kaushal and Vishwakarma Food Industry; 14 marlas: Surjit Bansal, Sukhversha Bhanot, Rajkumar Jindal, Ankur Enterprises, Brahm Prakash Ganpat Thakur, Anil Chopra and Ashok Bansal; 10 marlas: Varinder Kumar, A.K. Industries, Hindustan Masala, Shiva Steel and Mohinder Pal; and 5 marlas — Satish Gupta.
Admn notice to building owner
Chandigarh, October 21
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RBI allows sampark centres to collect bills
Chandigarh, October 21 The UTI bank which is a partner of the Administration in this project, got the clearance form the RBI this evening, sources confirmed. The Administration has given a go-ahead from next week for the collection of the bills at these centres which are computerised and connected through an optic fibre link. At present, three sampark centres are functioning and another four will begin to function after Divali. The public will now be able carry out the following works at any of the these centres: water and sewerage bills, payment of power bills and sticker/postal challan issued by the police, and issues of bus passes and senior citizen cards, besides disability identity card and births and death certificates; Tenant registration and domestic servants registration can also be done here. The RBI clearance was required to make the sampark centres relay The RBI has now allowed the UTI bank to collect the bills and deposit the same in government accounts for water, power, police payments and others. The Director, Information Technology, Mr Vivek Atray, has confirmed the development. Sampark centres will remain closed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The licensing and registration authority said it will remain closed on October 23. It normally opens on Saturday for senior citizens and defence
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Decline in J&K killings, claims Sinha
Chandigarh, October 21 "Though violence in strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is continuing, the level has come down noticeably," he said. "Last year, 9-10 killings a day were reported," General Sinha said. "This has now come down to six a day," he added. He was here to attend the Battle Honour Day celebrations of his old battalion. With the "winds of peace" blowing across the state, tourism has picked up. "This is important because not only tourism has important implications for the state's economy, but it also indicates the people's willingness to defy violence," he said. From just 28,000 tourists who visited the state in 2002, the number swelled to 1.70 lakh last year. This year, with three months still to go, the number of tourists has crossed 3 lakh, including about 15,000 foreigners. "A major achievement this year was that four lakh pilgrims went up to the Amarnath Cave. This is an all-time high and double the highest number of pilgrims that ever visited the place," the Governor said. Despite repeated threats of attacks, the event was totally violence-free. Further 54 lakh persons visited Vaishno Devi shrine, which too was the highest ever. Infiltration, General Sinha said, is down by 30 per cent, which would go down further with the fence along the Line of Control being complete. Terming the Army's move to fence the LoC as a "master stroke", he said that in the long term we could stop infiltration, which would have a great impact in restraining militancy. Results, however, would not be immediate as there are a lot of arms caches and militant hideouts in the state, which would take time to neutralise. Psychological initiatives, he said, would go a long way in bringing about an attitudinal change in the people and result in militants getting isolated.
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Gorkha troops’ valour lauded
Chandigarh, October 21 It was awarded the battle honour for valour displayed by it while combating Japanese troops during the Second World War. Addressing a special Sainik Sammelan, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Lieut-Gen S K Sinha (retd), said while the battalion had shown all-round improvement since his days in the regiment, the Gorkha troops' dedication and discipline continued to be their strongpoint. General Sinha had commanded the battalion from 1964 - 1967 while it was based in Ladakh. Stating that the battalion's performance in various theatres, including Indonesia, Hyderabad, Nagaland J&K and the north- east has always been most commendable, he expressed confidence that in the years to come the present generation of officers and troops would add more lustre to its glorious record. The battalion, which goes by the sobriquet Frontier Force, earned the Battle Honour Tiddim in October, 1944, for gallantry during the Second World War. It accomplished the task of extricating a Jat machine gun company surrounded by Japanese forces in the north-east. The battalion, then commanded by Lieut-Col J.Maridim travelled about 100 miles from Imphal to Tiddim to take on the opposing forces, killing over 300 of the enemy. The battalion earned one Indian Order of Merit, two Distinguished Service Order, one Bar to Military Cross, two Military Cross and 15 mentioned-in-dispatches. Among those who attended the celebrations was Colonel of the Regiment, Lieut-Gen Richard Khare. Besides, 10 officers, including four still in service, who had commanded the battalion during their careers, also made it a point to attend the event. Noticeable among them were Lieut-Gen J S Rawat (retd), who was also the Colonel of the Regiment and his son, Col R M S Rawat. General Sinha also met the GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lieut-Gen J J Singh, where he was briefed on the operational situation and military matters related to the Western Theatre.
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MC at your doorstep in Panchkula
Panchkula, October 21 Ms Chaudhary was addressing citizens after an interaction session with residents organised by the Panchkula Press Club today. Representatives from various resident welfare associations, social organisations and prominent residents participated in the programme. They raised issues regarding the beautification of the town and raised the problems in the various sectors. In reply to queries about the contribution of the Municipal Council for its beautification Ms Chaudhary said she had given a top priority to the development of parks, maintenance of streetlights and roads. She said the council had spent Rs 4 crore on the recarpeting of roads, beautification of empty spaces at T-points and the development of parks. The residents also raised the issue of slum colonies dotting the town and on vacant HUDA and council land. They said unhygienic conditions in these colonies were creating sanitation problems for residents staying in sectors nearby. Mrs Chaudhary said the council was already working on regular cleaning of “gullies” in these colonies, and fogging of the area was done at regular intervals. With regards to questions on the stray cattle menace, the president said they were planning to shift the dairies to a dairy complex outside the city. Residents of Sector 17 requested that the apni mandi should be shifted from the open space in Sector 16, adjoining the sector, because it was creating a sanitation problem for them. Ms Chaudhary assured them that the issue would be taken with the Market Committee authorities. She also said the beautification of land adjoining the various seasonal rivulets would be done.
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Cops given warning for beating up couple
Mohali, October 21 Mr Rakesh Agrawal, SP, said here today that he had asked the Phase XI chowki in charge, to give a warning to those involved in the beating up case as such a behaviour was uncalled -for from police personnel. He said that if they failed to improve their behaviour, he would have to make a complaint to the Commandant concerned.
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Warm send-off to Tribune newsman
Chandigarh, October
21 Senior members of the editorial staff of Punjabi Tribune, including Deputy Editor, Mr Dalbir Singh; Assistant Editor, Mr Karamjit Singh; Acting News Editor, Mr Sham Singh; and Special Correspondent, Mr Jagtar Singh Sidhu, besides Additional General Manager, Mr O.P. Arora, appreciated the good work done by, Mr Daljit Singh, as one of the oldest members of the editorial staff of Punjabi Tribune. Mr Sra has immigrated to the USA.
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Relay fast by CTU drivers
Chandigarh, October 21 CTU workers have been protesting for the past 17 months against the purchase of these buses. The issue has been brought to the notice in writing before the Administration, Advisor, Home Secretary, MP and the Prime Minister through Mr A.B. Bardhan. The Administration, at a meeting held in September, showed keenness to add 102 more such buses to the CTU fleet.
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Rail traffic disrupted
Chandigarh, October 21 According to sources, an engine shunting on the line near Kalka got derailed blocking rail traffic. The Pashim Express for Mumbai left three hours behind schedule from Chandigarh. The worst hit were passengers headed for Kalka and Shimla. The Himalayan Queen reached Kalka behind schedule, forcing passengers to miss the onward train to Shimla.
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Counters for IT returns
Chandigarh, October 21
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Dasehra greetings
Chandigarh, October 21 Felicitating the people on the eve of Dasehra, he said this day motivated us to renew our fight against disruptive forces.
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25-year-old man commits suicide
Chandigarh, October 21 According to the police, Anil, who hailed from Morkhera village in Jind district, hanged himself with a dupatta from the girder in the ceiling. His wife Seema was away to her work. She works as a part-time domestic help. She went away to her work at around 8 am. When she returned home she found the house locked from inside. She pushed open the door and found her husband hanging. Seema informed the police about the incident. The police took the body to General Hospital, Sector 16. Post-mortem could not be conducted today. The police has initiated the inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.
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Murder accused held
Chandigarh, October 21 A daily wager Chohan, alias Raju Thapa, was arrested from the city, an official police note said here today. The Milkfed watchman Sohan Singh was killed by a group of inebriated persons in February, 2003. It was a blind murder but later the police arrested rest of Thapa’s accomplices. The police failed to trace Thapa as he had fled from the city and kept on changing places in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Delhi. Thapa had not contacted his family in Nepal for past 12 years since he left it for India. Thapa reportedly told the police that murder was at a spur of moment as the watchmen hit him and others with a baton when they refused to leave the verandah in front of the Milkfed office. Thapa told the police that they were drunk and hit Sohan Singh back with his baton only. He fell down and all of them ran away. Thapa could not give any convincing reply to the police as why he had not been in touch with his family during the past 12 years. Thapa told the police that he had parents and six brothers and sisters but did not know who among them was alive. The police grilled him for his possible connection with Maoist insurgents but Thapa said he even did not know about them. Thapa had earlier been booked for theft in Chandigarh. The police said it was surprising that Thapa might have been involved in some heinous crime in Nepal and that was why he might have been avoiding going back to his cournty. Thapa, however, denied that he had any crime record in Nepal. He was sent to judicial custody till November 3, by a local court.
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Four burglaries in 24 hours
Chandigarh, October 21 Ajay Kumar of Sector 37-C, reported to the police that thieves entered his house by breaking the locks and decamped with jewellery and other articles. According to the police, he and his wife were away from their house for only two hours. The exact loss could not be ascertained as yet, as a safe, broken by the thieves, belongs to his mother, who has gone to Delhi. A case has been registered under Section 380 of the IPC in the Sector 39 police station. Vikas Kapoor of Sector 44-C reported to the police that his house was burgled when his wife went to meet some neighbour for half-an-hour only. The thieves made away with four gold necklaces, one diamond ring, one gold chain, one mangal sutra, one camera and cash Rs 4,800. A case of theft has been registered in the Sector 34 police station. In another incident, Sawitri Devi of Sector 20-B filed a complaint in the police that cash of Rs 6,100, one gold ring and a mobile phone were stolen from her house. She informed the police that she went to the market for not more than half-an-hour when the incident occurred. The police said the thieves broken the locks of her house. A case has been registered in Sector 19 police station. Geeta of Sector 26-B reported to the police that one gold chain, one pair of tops, two gold rings and cash of Rs 10,000 were stolen from her house when she went to a doctor yesterday.
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Gang of robbers busted
Chandigarh, October 21 The gang was busted within hours of committing a robbery near the Municipal Corporation building in Sector 17 on Tuesday night. The police today solved two robberies committed on December 17 and 18 last year. Tuesday’s robbery was also solved with the recovery of the robbed amount of Rs 300, a watch and a mobile phone. On December 17, they robbed a Meerut resident Ramesh Kumar of documents and Rs 750 between the Transport Chowk and the Sector 17 and 18 light point. The next day they looted a lawyer from Delhi, Chamanlal Kalia, who was strolling in front of the Shivalik Hotel where he was putting up. They decamped with Rs 2,000, a mobile phone and a watch. Ramesh Kumar has identified one of them while the mobile of Mr Kalia has been identified through its code. The police hopes to work out more cases as the criminals had been telling the police that they do not remember how many robberies they had committed in the city. Ravi Bharadwaj of Sector 23, was on Tuesday night robbed at gunpoint at the sliproad near the Municipal Corporation building on the Sector 16 and 17 dividing road. However, the thieves were arrested within hours by a team of the Sector 17 police station led by SHO Satbir Singh.
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70,000 stolen from Sec 70 house
Mohali, October 21 There was no one in the house when the theft took place. The crime was noticed in the evening when children of Mr Parmeet Singh Madan came home. They could not open the door as it was bolted from the inside. The matter was brought to the notice of neighbours who then informed Mr Madan. The crime was then reported to the police. It is said that the thieves had entered the building from the back of the house. They searched the house as everything was lying
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3 cases of vehicle theft
Chandigarh, October 21 N.K. Kalra of Sector 37 reported to the police that an unidentified scooter-borne youth snatched mangal sutra of his wife from near Rehri Market in the sector last evening. A case under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC has been registered. Ashish Verma of Sector 9, Panchkula, filed a complaint that his Maruti car (CHF-3151) was stolen from the Panjab University campus yesterday. A case of theft has been registered. Mandeep Singh of Sector 40-B reported to the police that his motorcycle (HR-01-K-7450) was stolen from market in Sector 22-B, on October 19. A case of theft has been registered. Gurdev Chand of Sector 70, Mohali, reported that his scooter (PB-65-4456) was stolen from the market in Sector 40 yesterday. A case has been registered.
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6 rounded up for stereos’ theft
Mohali, October 21 Four stereos had been stolen from vehicles parked in a park in Phase XI after breaking the windows.
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Mr Daljit Singh Sra, Chief Sub Editor, Punjabi Tribune, was given a warm farewell here today on taking voluntary retirement from the organisation after 26 years of meritorious
service.