Panchkula, February 22
The state government reportedly has turned down Haryana Urban Development Authority’s (HUDA) proposal for holding a provisional draw of lots for residential plots in Sectors 2 and 6 of Mansa Devi Complex.

It is learnt that the proposal to hold provisional draw has been turned down on grounds that the option of holding the provisional draw was not mentioned to applicants when the housing scheme was floated in April last year. The legal experts have opined that this proposal could invite litigation from unsuccessful applicants in the provisional draw.

A fortnight ago, HUDA officials had proposed to hold a provisional draw in the ratio of three allotees for each plot. The proposal was mooted so as to shortlist applicants for 537 plots in Sectors 2 and 6 of Mansa Devi Complex (MDC), and thus reduce the interest burden on the Authority. It will now be a long wait for the thousands of applicants till the draw is finally held.

HUDA has been unable to hold the draw of lots because of two applications filed by HUDA in Punjab and Haryana High Court, in the Save The Sukhna case. HUDA authorities have sought permission from the Court to hold the draw and seek exemption for HUDA land reserved for Sector 2 and Sector 6 of MDC, that it does not fall in the catchment area of Sukhna.

A Naya Gaon resident had filed a petition “Save The Sukhna” in the High Court, restraining HUDA and Chandigarh Administration from any urbanization in the catchment area of Sukhna. It has been almost 10 months since this case is pending before the Court, and the next date of hearing has been fixed for March 4, 2005. HUDA is supposed to hold the draw for plots within six months of floating the scheme. In case it fails to do so, it has to pay interest earned to the applicants once the draw is held.

HUDA officials say that they had not given an option for provisional draw when the scheme was floated as there was no litigation involved with the land reserved for Sector 2 and 6 of MDC. As many as 33,793 applicants had applied for these residential plots, by investing Rs 465.103 crore with HUDA. Over 5900 applications were received for residential plots in Sector 2 MDC, and 27, 850 applications for 372 plots in Sector 6 MDC.

The earnest money received from applicants is getting HUDA monthly interest of around Rs 2. 60 crore (at seven per cent rate of interest, Rs 31.90 crore is the collective annual interest). So far, HUDA has earned over Rs 28 crore as interest on earnest money of the applicants.

The provisional draw proposal was mooted so as to reduce the interest burden on HUDA. It was proposed that money would be refunded to the unsuccessful candidates in the provisional draw. About 1600 applicants were to be short listed in the provisional draw.

HUDA had also decided to allow applicants to withdraw their money in November last year, pleading that the draw could take a long time to come through. But so far, only 118 applicants (from a total of 33,793 ) have withdrawn money. 

Panchkula, February 22
Mr Naveen Kumar, a Chandigarh Municipal Corporation employee committed suicide by hanging in a room of Lajwanti Dharamshala in Mansa Devi Temple area, late last night.

A resident of Sector 20-B, Chandigarh, body of Mr Naveen Kumar (27) was found handing from the hook of a ceiling fan in room No 102 of the dharamshala when father of the deceased Mr Hari Kishan along with his elder son Mr Praveen Kumar, reached the spot early this morning.

According to neighbours, instead of returning home from office Mr Naveen Kumar went to Mansa Devi Temple for offering prayers, last night. After parking his scooter in the market he got a room booked in the dharamshala. He made a phone call to his elder brother Mr Praveen Kumar and asked him to look after their parents and two sisters. Before switching off his mobile phone Mr Naveen Kumar in a choked voice also told his brother that he was going to die, the family friends said.

The family members of the deceased got suspicious and contacted the mobile company which helped them in identify the location from where Naveen made his last call. The parents reached the identified location “Mansa Devi” and found his scooter in the market. They however, failed to locate Mr Naveen Kumar, last night.

Chandigarh, February 22
Preparations are on full swing for the forthcoming Rose Festival to be held from February 25. The garden is all spruced up. Blossoming flowers have enhanced its beauty.

Booths are being set up and tents being pitched outside the garden boundary adjoining the entry from the Sector 17 side.

A site for joyrides has been established opposite the garden in Sector 17. Along with riots of flowers, other bonanza for visitors includes a lot of cultural activities, musical nights and many other competitions. Nearly 300 stalls will be set up and each stall owner will be charged from Rs 6,600 to 7,100 for three days.

Mr A.K. Malhotra, General Manager, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO), said, “The stalls are being set up. Nearly 500 entries have been received for the flower and potted plants competition and judges are finalising the contestants. Their names will be announced before the start of the festival”.

“The search for the best roundabout of Chandigarh is also on and results will announced soon. Results are also awaited for the best garden in the one-kanal house and two-kanal house categories in the city. A flower arrangement competition will be held on February 25 said.

Mr S.C. Poddar, Chairman, CITCO, said, “This three-day festival attracts a lot of crowd every year. It begins on the last Friday of February and concludes on Sunday. The total expenditure on the festival is expected to be more than 20 lakhs.

A photography competition was held on the theme “spring in the gardens of Chandigarh” today. There were two categories — amateur and professional — in the competition. In the professional category the first prize went to D.P. Rayat. The consolation prizes were given to Pradeep Tewari, photo journalist, The Tribune, and K. Sethi, photo journalist, Amar Ujala.

Chandigarh, February 22
The man whose heroics had once ensured the arrest of a Nigerian drug trafficker in 1994 paired up with a lawyer yesterday to nab the Israeli drug smuggler who had fled from the NCB custody. His previous heroics had gone unrewarded.

Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhatti, a clerk in the PGI and a resident of Sector 56, assisted lawyer Rajneesh Sharma in overpowering Lior Avi Ben Moyal.

Rajneesh Sharma had, during a press conference, talked about a Sikh gentleman who had helped him grapple with the fugitive. But a self-effacing Mr Bhatti had left the scene once the police arrested Lior.

Mr Bhatti came forward today after he saw newspapers going gaga over the valour of Rajneesh Sharma.

A few other claimants of bravery — a mechanic, Happy; a security guard of the Panjab University, Ranjit; and a barber — also came forward today.

They, however, said they had not nabbed the fugitive for any reward or recognition but for sense of duty.

Mr Bhatti visited the NCB official today and Zonal Director of the NCB Shrikant Jadhav assured him of dividing the reward between him and the advocate.

Mr Bhatti said in 1994 he had helped the local police arrest a Nigerian drug peddler in Sector 37 but was not reward by the local police.

Narrating the incident, Mr Bhatti said when he joined the struggle to nab the fugitive yesterday he was unaware of the fact that the man they were after was an international drug trafficker.

Mr Bhatti was going to his office on road separating Sector 14 and 25 around 9.30 am when he saw an advocate chasing a man and shouting: “This man has been absconding from police custody.”

Mr Bhatti got off his cycle and joined the pursuit on foot. He said he trusted his call for help because he was a lawyer.

Why more and more youngsters these days prefer a career in the aviation industry?

A majority of them seek a lucrative salary, perks and glamour. Besides this, they also feel that this is the easiest way to meet celebrities, from artist to players. But they should not forget that a lot of hard work is required in this profession.

What is your suggestion to those who are keen to join this profession?

Before choosing any institution they should check its authenticity. Most of the students believe that to become an airhostess they should know a foreign language. But the fact is that no international airlines make such a demand. They prefer students who have good command in the regional language and in English. However, knowing a foreign language is definitely an additional qualification.

What is the state of affairs of the aviation industry in India?

Aviation industry is witnessing a boom these days. The demand for manpower is much higher than the availability. This is because the institutes are not producing the required number of candidates demanded by the market.

COMMUNITY

Malik for greater role by states in case of calamities
Poonam Batth
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22
A former Chief of the Army Staff, Gen V. P. Malik, today emphasised on district administrations and state governments playing a greater role in the task of rebuilding at times of major disasters like tsunami. More civil works pertaining to repair of roads and bridges should be executed by them so that the Army has more time to concentrate on search and rescue operations, besides making supplies to the affected areas.

The General was deliberating on the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster in India and the neighbouring countries at a seminar on “Disaster management and the role played by the armed forces in the tsunami disaster”, organised by the Chandigarh Management Association here.

He called for an institutionalisation of linkage of all stakeholders like governments, general public, NGOs, funding agencies, the rehabilitation authorities and the armed forces, to prevent major disasters as the Tsunami in the near future. “The district administration needs to have better liaison with the armed forces and should be better equipped to handle the calamity by reaching the victims at the grass-roots level,” he said.

The country is among major disaster-prone areas of the world. On an average 3,500 lives are lost annually in such calamities. It is vulnerable due to very fragile eco-system, wide variation of terrain and climatic conditions, developing industry, increased developmental growth (like construction activities) and poor warning capabilities.

General Malik said disaster management was a national endeavour and that the armed forces were committed to creating the required mechanisms and institutions to address the entire gamut of issues connected with an effective disaster management.

A lot needs to be done in terms of reconstruction for the Centre can only provide assistance but it is the state government which has to be geared up and motivated to swing into action once the calamity happens. The use of the armed forces should be made judiciously, he stressed.

Chandigarh, February 22
For the past 10 years Natalia Ryabova has been engaged in the revival of folk traditions back home in Moscow. As the spirit behind Russian Federation’s International Children’s and Youth festival, she has been promoting performing arts by way of competitions between children and youngsters in Russia.

But now, she is looking for cultural links beyond the boundaries of her own land. And her very first choice is India. Though upbeat about the future of Russian folk traditions, Natalia, at present Director-General of Russian Ministry of Culture’s, festival programme, is quite smitten by the richness of Indian performing arts.

Not surprising then that she is in India, particularly in Punjab, to build links in the field of art. Her only condition is involvement of children and youngsters. The links are being sought to popularise genres of arts like music, dance and theatre in which both India and Russia boast of a glorious heritage.

Arriving in Chandigarh today, Natalia Ryabova spoke to The Tribune about the Russian Federation’s interest in inspiring Indian participation in the children’s and youth festival held every year in Moscow. Apart from that, the Russian Federation, she said, was keen on exchange of folk traditions between Russia and India, particularly Punjab, which has a celebrated folk dance and music tradition.

“Our Moscow festival is unique insofar as the profile of contestants is concerned. We believe that children, if trained in preservation of old dance and music traditions, will always safeguard them. We now want children all over the world to come together and perform from a common platform,” she said.

Ryabova also talked about the popularity of Indian dances in Russia. “Many of our children are learning your dances by way of your films. There is no literature to teach them, no books, and no visuals that can throw light on the nuances of Indian folk and classical traditions. We are thus keen to invite Indian instructors who can hold dance and music workshops in Russia. We also want groups of young artists from India to participate in our festival which we formally call Roza Vetrov,” Natalia said.

So far, Ryabova has held discussions with Prof Rajpal Singh, the spirit behind Heritage Institute for Art and Culture, which has been a regular participant in international festivals held annually in England. Natalia said, “The Russian Federation has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding with Professor Rajpal’s society, to begin with. We are also looking forward to support from the Punjab government.”

Once the understanding is reached, it will facilitate cooperation in areas like exchange of soloists, exchange of specialists for realizations of workshops and seminars, exchange of training appliances between Punjab and Russia and joint seminars on children and youth arts.

For his part, Professor Rajpal, who is also secretary of Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi, has offered to generate more support for cultural collaboration with Russia.

Panchkula, February 22
The Panchkula unit of Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) has urged the state government to reconsider its policy of prescribing drugs by generic names.

In a representation made to the Civil Surgeon, Dr Satvir Chaudhary, which has also been forwarded to Commissioner and Secretary, Health, the Association has decried the charge sheets being issued to doctors, who prescribe medicines by their brand names.

The Association says that they have already decided at a general body meeting of the Association that drugs supplied within the hospital are supposed to be written in brand names, and those which are not available in the hospital stock are to be written by salt (generic) names.

HCMS doctors claim that the policy was not serving objectives as the chemists , who were supposed to sell generic medicines at reduced price, are selling these at full prices. Quality of drug is also being compromised, as the chemist provides drug of a company which offers more commission, rather of a reputed company. They have also pleaded that many medicines, like cough syrups wax was not available in generic form.

Chandigarh, February 22
The police has arrested two youths from Sector 42, yesterday, involved in incidents of snatching and robbing.

According to the SHO of Sector 36 police station, Mr Jagbir Singh, both the accused, Wasim Ahmed of Phase I, Industrial Area, and Naushad Mohamad Sharif of Maloya, snatched the bag of person traveling on a rickshaw near Burail village during the night of February 20. On the same night they also snatched Rs 3,500 and a mobile phone from a pedestrian from near Kajheri village.

Chandigarh, February 22
Six members of the Market Committee of the city have proposed a vote of no-confidence against the committee Chairman.

As per bylaw 4 of the committee, the letter has been addressed to the Chairman to requisition an emergency meeting. Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri, Chairman, said “ I have come to know of the development and am making contacts with all members to know their point of view.” A two-third majority is needed in the House to get their motion approved. Six, out of nine elected members, have signed so the Chairman seems to be in difficult position.

Mr Badheri said, “ I cannot comment on the matter at the moment. I need to go into details of the case before taking any decision.”

The letter has been signed by six members, including Mr Harbhajan Singh, Mr Bhajan Singh, Mr Deshraj, Mr Sitaram, Mr Anand Singh and Mr Ranbir Singh.

Interestingly Mr Badheri was also removed as the Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti in December 2004 on a vote of no-confidence.

All efforts to contact the signatories of the memo proved futile. Mr Badheri said, “I have 24 hours to take an action on the memo. I will call a meeting tomorrow and announce a date for the meeting.”