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Magic Land’s rainbow bewitches city
Chandigarh, November 27 She won many a heart as she painted a woman’s face, not missing to decorate it with jewellery, her own passion. What followed was a routine but interesting trail of the various “corners” that filled the venue hosting the festival with “Magic Land” as its theme. Taking off with tableaux by the College of Art, Rock Garden, the Environment Society of India and many government and private institutions, the festival offered space for people from almost all walks of life. Among the most interesting of all events held today was the “smart” science demonstrations by members of the Tarksheel Society of Punjab, an NGO committed to defeating superstition. Its members attracted one and all with their rather aggressive claim, “We challenge the ‘sadhus’ to prove their magic skills to us and we will honour them with Rs 5 lakh.” The game would have been fought hard, but for the missing sadhus! Nevertheless, Tarksheel members held their fort, spreading awareness about how best to avoid being cheated of one’s hard-earned
money.
The most innovative and interactive of all corners, as always, were the ones put up by the Centre for Education and Voluntary Action, called the Friends of Children. It was all about fun and learning. While one corner was occupied by Ms Jayshree and Raja Jaikrishen, who helped students of Guru Harkrishen Public School see beyond pictures through the fine art of collage-making, in another were volunteers narrating stories to children. Also involved were youngsters who invited children to solve science and maths puzzles, create utility products out of junk, make masks and puppets and learn the Japanese art of paper folding. Flowers and airplanes were the most favoured of all motifs when it came to teaching origami, in which parents took an equal interest. The senior citizens’ corner was the most spirited as always. Busy in the creative activity were about 14 senior artists from the city, including Aditya Prakash, S.S. Bhatti, R.D. Lahotia, R.C. Singla, Malkiat Singh, J.R. Yadav, Asha Sharma, Jodh Singh and Shiv Singh. Among the sculptors in this corner were B.M. Chugh, L.S. Matharoo and J.L. Ahuja. Looking at the theme “Magic Land” from their own perspectives, the artistes wove a rich tapestry of illusion and reality, bringing canvases to life. On the cultural front, it was the familiar troupes. There were folk artistes and naqaals adding zest to the affair. Potters from the Sector 25 Kumhar Colony also held visitors captive as they demonstrated their skills. The gourmet section was “heartily” called “Khana Khazana”, where Amritsari kulchas ruled. Being organised by CITCO, the carnival features participation from the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh Museum, the Environment Society of India, the Chandigarh College of Architecture, the traffic police, the IT Department, Administration, Theatre for Theatre, the Amateur Cycle Association, which is offering discounted cycles trips to visitors, and Kala Chetna.
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On road to run 550 km in 150 hours
Chandigarh, November 27 Arun, who was here on the first leg of his run today as part of the National Integration Week, is a pioneer in a rare sport called “ultra marathon.” The sport, being monitored by the International Association of Ultra Runners, primarily involves running the maximum distance in the minimum time possible. Running has been a passion for the 35-year-old Arun, whose story is a saga of triumph of willpower over body ailments. “I was the weakest child in my class in schooldays and underwent four major surgeries for parotid tumour between the age of 14 and 17 years,” he told Chandigarh Tribune. However, with a life’s motto of “never give up”, Arun worked steadily to gain physical strength, with the result that today he holds the national record of 532.8 km in a six-day race. The feat was performed in August this year in Germany. Talking about his training schedule, Arun said he ran 160-200 km per week and slept only about four hours midnight onwards. A vegetarian and a teetotaller, his favourite food comprised honey, fruit juice, bananas and sugarcane. Regretting that there was hardly any sponsorship for the sport, Arun said his aim was to win every race he ran and cover 800 km in six days. “It is my dream to run up to all state capitals from Delhi in the minimum recorded time,” he added with a smile. “I will want to quit, I will want to die. Let me die, do not let me quit,” was the guiding principle of his life. “I want to prove to my daughters, Zola and Sofia, that all is possible for a willing heart,” he added. With that end in mind, his email address is:
a_runrunrun@yahoo.com.
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Thieves break into Sector 34 bank, fail to rob
Chandigarh, November 27 The grill did not seem strong and access must have been easy. While there were elaborate security arrangements at the bank, the weak point in a public toilet that shares a common wall with the bank toilet had remained unnoticed. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr A. K. Raina, Chief Manager of the bank, said the thieves had gained entry through the window in this common wall. The public toilet through which the thieves gained entry has its door opening into the staircase of a building adjoining the bank. The bank official claimed there was no loss of property as the thieves had failed to break open the door of the strong room. The computers and other articles were also found intact. The thieves had apparently tried to cut the door using gas-welding equipment. They did damage the door a little, making an inch-wide hole, but failed to open it. He said they received information about the incident around 11 pm. An employee working with Krishna Medicos, a shop adjacent to the bank, informed them that the widow grill of the toilets was broken. The police was called immediately. A case has been registered.
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Restaurants, discos to close by 1 am
Chandigarh, November 27 According to a press note, the running of the
discos, restaurants and clubs have also been banned from 1 a.m. to 4.30 a.m. from Monday to Friday for a period of 60 days. However, these places can open up to 2 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, it added.
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Creativity required for scientific innovation: Expert
Chandigarh, November 27 Speaking expansively about the scientific discovery and innovation, Prof. Menon said that innovation could come about only if the people were creative and imaginative. ``Unless you are creative, you can not be innovative,'' he said. Listing down what all is required for scientific innovation in the country, Prof. Menson said that the educational institutes had a major role to play so that a sense of excitement and curiosity could be enthused among the young persons which could lead to newer discoveries. ``I think the best Indian brand in the world today are B. Tech students coming out of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)s. It has happened mainly because the cream of the students is taken in through the rigorous entrance test in the IITs and then they are made to stay together and interact. The product that you get in the end is of the best quality,'' he said. Hailing Albert Einstein as the greatest scientist of our times, Prof. Menon narrated a number of instances where the scientific genius have risen despite lack of fancy educational degrees. ``Commitment and dedication, apart from intellect are required for great scientific discoveries and advancement,'' said Prof Menon and added that the United Nations declaring the year 2005 as the year of Physics was the honour for the discoveries of Einstein in the past century. Giving instances from the lives of mathematician genius S. Ramanujam and other scientists, Prof Menon said that the real, true innovations were not necessarily outcome of logical thinking but the ideas kept coming when exhaustive work had already been done in the selected field. Director of the National Centre for Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, Prof. Asis Datta presided over the function and Prof Sandip K. Basu, Director of the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, was the guest of honour.
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Flag march ahead of poll
Chandigarh, November 27 DSP Om Parkash said the exercise was meant to instil confidence among the residents so that they may cast their vote without fear. Another police officer said the exercise was to “make the police presence felt.” According to the SHO of Sector 34 police station, the flag march started from Terraced Garden in Sector 33 and passed through the internal roads of sectors 20 and 33. Two DSPs, Mr Om Parkash and Mr B.D. Bector, supervised the march. Four SHOs from sectors 34, 36, 19 and Industrial Area police stations with policemen in vehicles were part of the march. A teargas vehicle and a water canon also moved along with them.
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Seniority principle followed in
Chandigarh, November 27 At present the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh will take over as the 24th Army chief on February 1, 2005, after the present incumbent, Gen N.C. Vij superannuates. Though Sikh officers have made it to the level of army commander, just a rung below the chief, they have so far never been placed in the top slot. The announcement has been hailed across the board by serving as well as retired officers spoken to. They said that it is the professional capability rather than religion that matters. Sikhs are the largest ethnic minority in the Army, comprising 10 per cent of its strength. The seniority principle has been violated only once, when Gen A.S. Vadiya superceded Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha in 1983 during Indira Gandhi’s reign. On every other occasion, the principle has been adhered to. There were reports that Lieut-Gen Harbaksh Singh, the hero of the 1965 Indo-Pak war had been superceeded by Gen Sam Manekshaw, but some senior officers say that Manekshaw had been senior among the two. While appointing service chiefs, all officers at the level of Army Commander and equivalent are considered by the Cabinet. Several aspects, including the service record of the officers, seniority and the ability to co-ordinate with the civilian leadership and the bureaucracy are among those. Incidently, if the principle of seniority is considered, Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh Sangra, who retired a few years ago as GOC-in-C, Western Command was in line for Army chief. The equation, however, had changed with the government increasing the retiring age of armed forces personnel by two years. At present Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh is the second senior most Lieutenant General in the Army. The present vice-chief, Lieut-Gen Shantanu Choudhary, is senior to General Singh, but he retires in December this year before the present Army chief himself. Another possibility for the chief’s post was Lieut-Gen Hari Parshad, GOC-in-C, Northern Command. Both, General Singh and General Prashad are of the same seniority — August 1964 — and the same regiment — Maratha Light Infantry. What makes General J.J. Singh senior is a little known fact. His personal army number, which is allotted at the time of commissioning according to merit is IC-16078, while that of General Prashad is IC-16109.
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MC workers back to serving VIPs
Mohali, November 27 The matter was brought to light by Mr Manjit Sethi, an opposition councillor, before the last monthly meeting of the council. A list of 54 such employees was also circulated by him. The handwritten list contained the names of the employees and the officer or minister in whose house they were working. Other than MC officers, the list also had names of senior officers of Mohali administration who had deployed MC safai karamcharis as house help and drivers. According to Mr Sethi, once the matter was highlighted in the House, these employees were called back to the council to perform their original duties. “In fact, a special roll call was taken a fortnight ago by the council president. All these employees were found to be present and were asked to take up their set of duties. However, only 10 out of the total 54 employees missing were retained by the council. The rest went back to the VIP houses. ‘‘Now out of these 10, seven have once again stopped working in the council and have gone back to working in private homes,” said Mr Sethi today pointing out that only three employees were back with the council. The Municipal Council President, Mr Kulwant Singh, admitted that these employees had been working with VIPs discharging duties of drivers, house helps and gardeners. “Since sanitation work in the township had been given out on contract, these employees have been working in VIP houses for many years now. But when the arrangement was objected to in the House, we called all these employees back and asked them to get back to their work of keeping the township clean,” he said. When asked if these employees had again gone back to VIP homes to work, Mr Kulwant Singh said he was not aware of this development. “I do not keep their attendance registers with me. The supervisors are responsible for ensuring that they are present in the council for duties,” he said. The Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Punjab, Ms Rajni Gautam, said she could not comment on the matter since she did not know exactly what was going on in the council with regard to these employees. However, she added that since the matter had been brought to her notice now, she would find out the details of the case.
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Tribune Impact
Chandigarh, November 27 Talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, Baljit Singh, the investigating officer in the case said, Sukhwinder Singh was arrested from Patiala yesterday. When the police official was asked about the other two co-accused, he claimed that they had not been found guilty in the preliminary inquiry. However, Mr Kuldeep Kumar Kaushal, counsel for Sheela Rani, said, “We are moving the court for the prosecution of the other two co-accused.” He alleged that the police was trying to shield the other accused as they were Punjab Police personnel. The Chandigarh Tribune had published a news report “Widow cheated by a cop” on November 24 highlighting the case. Sheela Rani, the aggrieved woman, alleged that Sukhwinder Singh had duped her of Rs 3.87 lakh on one pretext or the other. Sheela had alleged that the police was not arresting the Head Constable despite the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed his anticipatory bail on November 2. Sheela Rani had complained on September 18 that the cop had married her in September 2002 in Patiala in the presence of his two brothers Kuldeep Singh and Daljit Singh. She had alleged that the cop had concealed the fact that his first wife was alive. A case under Sections 406, 493, 499, 420, 500 and 120-B of the IPC was registered.
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Tent city for devotees at Chamkaur Sahib
Mohali, November 27 Elaborate arrangements are being made for the convenience of lakhs of devotees who are expected to pay their respects at Gurdwara Sri Qatalgarh Sahib, Chamkaur Sahib, from December 16 to 20. This was stated here in a press conference jointly addressed by the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Ropar, Mr Pritam S. Sallomajra, former MP, Ms Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal and the Youth Akali Dal spokesman and President SAD, Mohali, Mr Harsukhinder Singh Bubby Badal. Stating that SAD was assisting the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in organising the various functions to ensure that the solemn occasion is a memorable one, they informed that SGPC had taken 81 acres on lease at Chamkaur Sahib, out of which 51 acres would be used to set up a tent city that would accommodate nearly 8,000 persons. The rest 31 acres would be used to host various sammelans, sports and dramatics events. Mr Bubby Badal said a high level committee had been formed by the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to oversee the arrangements. The committee consisted of Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Mr Sewa Singh Shekwan and Mr Sukhdev Singh Bhaur. Mr Badal said circle level meetings would be held to mobilise people and arrange transportation which will be attended by the top party leaders of the district along with the committee members. The Morinda circle meeting would be held on November 28, Chamkaur Sahib circle meeting would be held on November 29, Anandpur Sahib circle meeting on November 30, Mohali circle meeting would be held on December 6 and Kharar circle meeting would be held on December 7.
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Panchayat ghar for Tibbi village
Panchkula, November 27 The foundation stone of the ghar was laid by Mr Chander Mohan. Residents of the village had been demanding a panchayat ghar for some time. After their requests were not complied with by the district administration, the district vice-president of the Congress, Mr Madhu Khan, approached the MLA, and he sanctioned the money from his own pocket. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Chauhan said the Chautala government had been making false promises to the people, and asked people not to be misled. The present government had not undertaken any development work in the Kalka Assembly constituency, he added.
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Bassi promises special audit
Chandigarh, November 27 In a statement issued here today, Mr Bassi said the complete list of 5,000 members would be compiled and an “extraordinary” general meeting would be called in January 2005 and a special audit from April 1, 1998, till date done. Listing his priorities, Mr Bassi promised transparency in the functioning of the club. Meanwhile, Mr Sunil Kumar Gupta has been nominated executive member by Mr Bassi.
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2-hr jam on Kalka highway
Zirakpur, November 27 Re-surfacing of the busy Kalka-Ambala highway has been causing major traffic jams for the last week. The work is being executed by the Building and Roads Wing of the Punjab Public Works Department (PPWD), leading to vehicles moving at a snail’s pace. Mr Sarabjit Singh, a resident of Lalru returning from Panchkula, said the local administration had failed to regulate traffic during the resurfacing of the road. PPWD officials were not available for comment.
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Corridors cleared, re-taken in a few hours
Chandigarh, November 27 In a crackdown in Sector 22 this morning, officials of the enforcement staff of the MC began clearing corridors in the market of encroachments by shop owners as well as vendors on the pavements. The seized rehris were loaded in two trucks of the corporation. While the drive was under way in the market, booth owners of the adjoining rehri market shifted their belongings into their shops. By the time the enforcement staff arrived at the booths, the passages were clear. The operation lasted for a couple of hours, after which the staff left. A few hours later, the encroachments were back in place. The cleared corridors were once again taken over by shop owners and vendors and the goods displayed in Shastri Market passages and the parking area returned. Encroachments have been a chronic problem in city markets and the corporation has been unable to ensure their removal. Sporadic drives are undertaken from time to time, but have had little or no effect on the vendors selling their wares in corridors.
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20 m refrigerators in India threat to atmosphere
Chandigarh, November 27 This was stated by Ms Cecilia Mercado, programme officer of the United Nations Environment Project Regional Office, Bangkok, while interacting with mediapersons here today. CFCs are mainly found in refrigerators and air-conditioners, used as coolants in these machines. Ms Mercado expressed serious concern over the illegal trade of items containing CFCs in India after the manufacture of CFC-based items having been stopped in the country. “Since India is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol, in which countries agreed to phase out the use of products containing CFCs, the use of these machines is required to be phased out entirely by 2010 in the country,” she said. Ms Mercado said illegal cross-border trade of CFC-based items had been reported in the country. “That is why we have tied up with the Faridabad-based National Academy of Central Excise and Narcotics to train the customs officers about the illegal trade,” she added. Under the programme, a training cell was being formed to train small technicians who were engaged in the repair of CFC-based refrigerators and air-conditioners in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh. At the two-day workshops, technicians in the next few months would be made aware of “good practices” in the repair of refrigerators and air-conditioners. “While in India the manufacture of CFC-based refrigerators and air-conditioners has stopped completely, the old items in use continue to pose a threat. We will train the technicians to repair these carefully so that CFCs are not released into the atmosphere, causing a depletion of the ozone layer,” Ms Mercado said.
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Benjamin wins architecture award
Chandigarh, November 27 Mr M.P. Rawal, Head of the AYA secretariat, and Lt-Col I.J.S. Bakshi (retd), professional adviser for the awards, said 233 entries had been received. The entries from India were in the categories of the Architect of the Year Award, Commendation Award and the Young Architect’s Award. The entries from the states were in the categories of the State Architect of the Year Award, Commendation Award and the Young Architect’s Award. The focus countries were Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
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Accident victim cop dies in PGI
Chandigarh, November 27 The police said the body was handed over to the relatives after the post-mortem. A case was registered under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC in the Sector 34 police station. Thoru Ram was on his way back home after visiting a friend in Sector 55. An unidentified vehicle hit his Scooter near Colony No 5.
Newborn abandoned
A newborn male child was found abandoned near a taxi stand in Sector 46-C last night. The police said it received a phone call at around 10:30 pm from Mr Baldev Singh, Principal of Government High School, Sector 31, who informed them that he had heard cries of a child last night at around 10 pm when he was walking past a garbage container near the taxi stand. On this the police went there and found a newly born baby in the container. The police rushed the baby to GMCH-32. A case of concealing the birth by abandoning the child under Section 317 of the IPC was registered in the Sector 34 police station.
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Man held for stealing scooter
Mohali, November 27 According to the police, Surinder Singh, a resident of Phase V, Mohali, had complained to the police that his scooter (PB-12-1464) had been stolen from Phase V.
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1 killed, 2 hurt in road mishap
Zirakpur, November 27 According to the police, the three were carrying newspapers to Ambala Cantonment from Chandigarh when the driver lost control over the vehicle and it met with an accident. The jeep (HR-61AD-2100) collided with a streetlight pole and turned turtle. The deceased Yogesh Kumar was a resident of Samlehri village in Ambala. He was an Ambala-based newspaper agent. After noticing the mishap, passers-by assembled at the spot and rushed the injured to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, in Chandigarh. Seriously injured Yogesh was declared brought dead by the doctors at GMCH while seriously injured Anal Chauhan of Hallomajra village in Chandigarh and Bittu of Ismailpur locality in Ambala, are said to be out of danger. The body was handed over to the family members after post-mortem at Civil Hospital, Rajpura, this evening. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against the jeep driver at Lohgarh police post.
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Truck driver’s body found
Zirakpur, November 27 Passers-by noticed the body and the news spread in the locality. He was later identified by his brother, Babli Ram. The body was handed over to the family this evening after a post-mortem at the Civil Hospital, Rajpura. The police has initiated inquest proceedings.
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New restaurant opened
Chandigarh, November 27 Speaking on the occasion, Ms Sharanita Keswani, Director, KFC, Marketing, Yum Restaurants International said, “KFC has four restaurants in Bangalore and plans are afoot to open more branches in Kolkata, Pune and other metros and keeping with Indian sentiments in mind, the chain has developed products to suit local tastes and preferences.”
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