Chandigarh, March 5
The build up to the first cricket Test match between India and Pakistan, starting on March 8, reached a feverish pitch today with the arrival of the Indian team here late afternoon and the Pakistan team is scheduled to reach Chandigarh tomorrow morning.

All seats in the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, Mohali, have already been sold out despite examination time. Hotels in and around the city are flooded with reservation requests.

Besides the PCA, the Punjab Government has also swung into action to lay out the red carpet for the VIP and not-so-VIP cricket fans from Pakistan. The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, is expected to hold a dinner for all Pakistani visitors at the Chandigarh Club on March 9. Catering arrangements for over 5,000 persons have been planned for the dinner.

The crowning glory of the cricket event will be a jugalbandi between Pakistani and Indian artistes at a special function to be held at a city hotel on March 11. PCA officials refused to divulge the names of the artistes but said the event was very much on the cards. Some Bollywood stars will also be flown in to lend glamour to off-field entertainment.

The good news for the Indian fans today was the return of 3,000 unsold tickets from Pakistan valued at Rs 1,000 each. These will now be made available to the public here.

Meanwhile, much to the delight of local cricket fans, the Indian cricket team reached at 2.45 pm here today.

In the evening the team except Ashish Nehra, Balaji and local star Yuvraj Singh had practice session at the PCA nets. Sachin tied a strap on his elbow while batting. He played many hard shots which showed that he has recovered from injury. Rahul Dravid and Irfan Pathan, who arrived yesterday, also joined the other members of team at practice session.

The team left for the hotel late in the evening where a team meeting was held at 7 pm.

The Pakistani team is scheduled to hold a separate practice session at 2.30 pm tomorrow at the PCA along with Indian team whose session would start at 3.30 p m.

Chandigarh, March 5
The city is ready to give a befitting welcome to more than 4,000 guests coming from across the border to watch the Indo-Pak Test. Punjab and Chandigarh have always been favourite places for Pakistani spectators because of cultural similarities, especially with guests hailing from Pakistani Punjab, forming a major part of the visitors. Indo-Pak Food Festival will be held at Hotel Maya Palace in Sector 35 from March 6 to 12.

Like on previous occasions, Shivalik Public School, Phase VI, Mohali, has offered to play host to 250 Pakistani guests. Mr D. S. Bedi, Director-Principal of the school and keen sports lover, said in 1999 also they had provided accommodation to more than 200 guests free of cost. This time too the school will provide not only free board and lodging but also conveyance facility free of cost.

Mr Bedi said it was our duty to give due respect to our neighbours. He said though annual examinations are also going on in the school, it was a unique opportunity to strengthen our cultural relations.

An auto-rickshaw driver, who had parked his vehicle outside the school, told The Tribune that when Pakistani guests had stayed there in 1999 he had ferried them to various markets. Many of them had visited grain market to sell dry fruits which they had brought from Pakistan. He hopes to do good business this time too.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will also hold a massive dinner for the guests at the Chandigarh Club on March 9.

According to Bibi Jagir Kaur, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a langar will be held for the guests on March 6 and 7 at Chandigarh and Mohali and arrangements for their stay have been made at Gurdwara Kalgidhar, Sector 27, Chandigarh, and Gurdwara Amb Sahib.

Mr Parveen Singha, sports in charge, Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, said 20 students of Class XII, including 10 girls, will liaison with the guests.

Chandigarh, March 5
A teenaged labourer was buried alive after he fell into a 24-foot deep and 12-inch wide bore pit on the bed of Sukhna Choe in Kishangarh village this evening.

Ziamul (20), hailing from West Bengal, fell into the pit after he failed to control a drilling equipment of the boring machine.

His body was extricated with the help of an earthmover after over six-and-a-half hours. During the rescue operations the neck of the labourer got severed with jaws of the earthmover.

As soon as the incident occurred at around 4 pm the police and the fire control rooms were informed. A JCB machine was pressed into service and earth was removed from the pit. Another earthmover (Polkline) was also brought to remove the earth.

To save Ziamul from asphyxiation, oxygen was also pumped inside the pit. Rescuers went down the pit through a ladder but the earth caved in again hampering the rescue operations.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, the UT Chief Engineer, Mr V. K. Bhardwaj, and other senior officials from various departments of the administration reached the spot.

Ziamul, along with his brother and other migrant labourers, was engaged in digging earth for laying sewerage from Kishangarh village to the city.

The labourers raised an alarm following which residents of the village and passers-by gathered at the site. Labourers engaged in other works at Mani Majra also reached the spot.

The police personnel deployed at the spot, however, had a tough time controlling the curious onlookers. Villagers also joined in the rescue operations.

While talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, some labourer fellows of the victim said Ziamul and his brother were engaged by Neeraj Bagga, contractor, for digging a deep bore. Today was the first day
of the work.

“We would have rescued Ziamul ourselves, had the Deputy Commissioner given us permission. Rescue operations were hindered as the police failed to control the onlookers” rued a labourer.

Chandigarh, March 5
Precious history lay trapped in the boxes in Panjab University, with its custodians urging the authorities to spare some space to preserver the pieces of past in a dignified manner.

The faculty at the Department of Ancient Indian history and Archaeology at PU boasts of its huge collection of antiquities dating back to 2300 B.C. in form of pottery, jewellery of the Harappan civilisation to sculptures of the Rajput and Muslim period. But what they are hesitant to add is that the last excavation ever done by this department was 22 years ago.

Even more discouraging is the fact that the collected materials of that last excavated site at Pallanpur, near Chandigarh (excavated in 1982), has since then been lying in locked boxes and almirahs kept in the corridors, with the department having no place to display them.

Chandigarh, March 5
The much awaited National Environment Policy will soon be a reality. After many deliberations, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has forwarded the policy draft which will serve as the first-ever baseline document encompassing all aspects related to environment in India.

Confirming this to The Tribune today, Ms Meena Gupta, Additional Secretary, MoEF, said the ministry had long been toying with the idea of framing such a policy. "Though we have a National Policy for Forests, we have none for environment.

There are only bits and pieces but no consolidated plan that can cater to all aspects of environment," said Ms Gupta, who was in Chandigarh today to preside over a one-day workshop organised by MoEF's Regional Office at CII in Sector 32.

She said the ministry felt the need to lay down a planned approach and identify specific areas where attention needed to be diverted.

"The policy resulted from this need. We have already prepared a draft and the policy will be formulated soon," said Ms Gupta. On the government's top priority are two areas - afforestation and river cleaning throughout India. Ms Gupta said, "The cleaning of all major Indian rivers is the most ambitious plan of the ministry right now. The Yamuna cleaning project has been running successfully for many years. Similarly, enhancement of forest cover throughout the country is our major priority."

Of the Rs 1234 crore of budget outlay for the ministry, Rs 420 crore go into cleaning of rivers in India this year.

About Rs 280 crore will be spent on afforestation, a major project under the National Afforestation and Economic Development Board. Said Ms Gupta,

"The national average for the forest cover is 25 per cent and the aim of the ministry is to help every state in the country achieve this target." Significantly, in the first phase of the ministry's afforestation plan, all 580 forest divisions in the country have been covered.

Furthermore, the ministry is working out measures to enhance transparency and avoid violation of existing laws. Said Ms Gupta, "We are keenly involved in reforming the regulatory processes under the ministry.

A lot of time is often wasted in getting environment clearances and genetic engineering approvals.

But we want to improve functioning of the ministry so that there is speedy disposal."

Concerned with non- compliance of environment- related safeguards stipulated by the ministry, Ms Gupta said the ministry's regional offices were in the process of organising workshops to deal with this problem.

"We will invite eminent environmentalists and project directors of various industries to understand the nature of problems they face when handling environment issues," she said, adding that the ministry's outstanding challenge was proper compliance of environment laws at the post clearance stage.

"When we give project clearances we lay down several conditions to ensure protection of environment.

And we must admit that though there is strict compliance of our rules at the clearance stage, there is poor compliance at post-clearance stage. The ministry will meet this challenge by organising workshops all over India," she said.

Chandigarh, March 5
If allegations levelled by a city resident are to be believed, then the Chandigarh police violated the directions issued by the Supreme Court by picking up her husband, after reaching their house, in plain clothes.

Ms Jyoti had claimed that her husband Sanjeev Kumar was frisked away by two policemen on March 2 before being tortured to death. The victim — a peon in the Haryana DPI’s office — had furnished sureties for two accused in a drug peddling case. Ms Jyoti had added that the two cops, belonging to the CIA staff, were not in their uniform.

For preventing such incidents, the apex court, in the D. K. Basu versus state of West Bengal case, had clearly held: ‘‘The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrested person should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations.’’

The court had added that the ‘‘failure to comply with the requirements, apart from rendering the official concerned liable for departmental action, would also render him liable to be punished for contempt of court.”

The directions, along with certain other directives, were issued to check the abuse of police power. Justice Kuldip Singh and Justice A. S. Anand had held that ‘‘efforts must be made to change the attitude and approach of the police personnel handling the investigations so that they do not sacrifice basic human values during interrogation and do not resort to questionable forms of interrogation.’’

Significantly, the SC had held that the process of circulating the requirements to every police station and to get them notified at a conspicuous place there was the obligation of the Home Secretary of every Union Territory or the Director-General of Police of the state.

Legal luminaries add that Sanjeev Kumar’s case is not an isolated one. Police officials, not only in the city, but also in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, do not wear name tags specifying their designation. They allege that some of the senior police officials are not even aware of the SC directions.

Elaborating upon the ramifications, experts say that it is virtually impossible to ascertain identity of officials in the absence of name tags — not only in case of arrest — but also in cases where the cops misbehave with hapless residents.

Chandigarh, March 5
A post-mortem examination has failed to ascertain the cause of the death of Sanjeev Kumar, the victim of alleged torture by two policemen of the Chandigarh police. The post-mortem examination was conducted by a panel of two doctors in the General Hospital today, the police said here.

The police said the doctors had taken the viscera of the victim and the same would be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to ascertain the cause of the death.

Meanwhile, the police has handed over the body to the members of the victim’s family. In the evening he was cremated in Sector 25. A large number of people attended the funeral and his six-year-old son lit the pier.

Currently I am working on instruments which are used for producing drugs. There are certain parameters for establishing the validity of the machinery used by the pharmaceuticals units. If these are not up to the mark then it affects the quality of drug production.

What difference between work culture in India and abroad?

The management abroad is very professional. There are more chances to express one’s abilities. In India promotion is time-bound and it is not judged by the performance.

What is the purpose behind visiting the city?

My parents are based in the city and I come here every year to meet them. And I also get a chance to tour India. This time I chose the South India and enjoyed a lot.

What you miss the most while working in the USA?

I miss my family and lots of my friends. Though I interact a lot with Americans yet I long for closeness which I find in my Indian friends.

Any future plans?

I want to set up a pharmaceutical industry in India as soon as possible.

— Swarleen Kaur

Chandigarh, March 5
More than a dozen religious structures located around the dumping ground in Dadumajra will be demolished in the coming week. This was announced by the Municipal Corporation in an official press release here today.

The area has been earmarked for development as a green buffer between the Dadumajra colony and the dumping ground.

“This action will felicitate the completion of the boundary wall of dumping ground and also help in completing work related to providing a buffer zone of green trees in the area,” the release said. The buffer zone is required under provisions of the municipal solid waste (Management and Handling Rules 2000).

The release said on the constitution of the municipal corporation it was given the function of handling the dumping ground in 1995. Citing an interim order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court it has been pointed out by the corporation that directions were issued that “sincere efforts be made by the MC and the UT Administration for removal of encroachments”.

The general house of the MC passed a resolution that unauthorised religious structures falling within the area of the dumping ground maybe exempted from removal keeping in mind the religious sentiment of the people. The UT has annulled the two resolutions of the general house of the MC.

It has been decided that all unauthorised structures, including the religious sites, will be removed from the dumping ground. The local residents of Dadumajra are not happy with the decision of the corporation. “We will stand firmly in our protest against the move,” priest of a temple said.

Panchkula, March 5
The Haryana Government has approved and accepted the inquiry report regarding financial irregularities in the Panchkula Municipal Council. The government has asked the Urban Development Department , Haryana to initiate the recovery of losses from the council president, staff and contractors hired for maintenance works.

Senior officials in the Urban Development Department inform that the percentage of recovery to be effected from the MC president, employees and contractors is being worked out. A recovery of over Rs 17 lakh is to be effected for flouting rules in allotting (on part of the MC authorities) and non-adherence to set rules in carrying out the sanitation work (on part of the contractor).

The responsibility for losses incurred because of poor maintenance of street- lights and sub-standard swings being installed in public parks here is being worked out separately. The percentage of recovery will be in accordance with each person’s role (including the president and the MC staff) in assigning the contract, and the contractor for the “sub-standard work”.

The inquiry conducted by the Urban Development Department, other than finding fiscal irregularities by the MC authorities in carrying out development works in various parts of Panchkula, also revealed that the work done was sub-standard. An inquiry into the standard of work being undertaken by the MC was conducted by the department in January. An officer of the rank of Executive Engineer of the department, conducted both inquiries and preliminary report on the quality of work was submitted to the department on January 13.

Sources in the department say that once the responsibility is fixed, the department will begin the procedure of charge-sheeting guilty officials and contractors.

The report had said that swings and benches installed in parks and other development works undertaken in over 200 parks here were of poor quality; defunct streetlights were not repaired on time; and there was large-scale absenteeism among sanitation workers employed by the sanitary contractor, leading to poor sanitation services in the township.

Sources say that investigation revealed that money was being paid to the sanitation contractor for over 400 sanitary workers, though the number of workers employed by the contractor was less. Samples of road repair work, and the material used for developing the parks was also collected for the inquiry.

The inquiry was ordered by the Commissioner, Urban Development, following a complaint made by Mr B.L. Tandon, convenor of the Peoples Voice Gods Voice Group. The complaint was submitted to the Chief Minister, who forwarded the same to the Commissioner, Urban Development, for suitable action. This is one of the four inquiries being conducted to assess the works being conducted by the Panchkula MC. Two inquiries are under way with the Haryana Vigilance Department, while the Panchkula district administration had ordered a separate inquiry against the alleged “mismanagement of works by the MC”.

Chandigarh, March 5
A local court today ordered to get the medical examination of Ashish Kumar, who was arrested with 2 gram of charas in Burail Jail, yesterday. The order followed the allegations of the petitioner’s counsel that Ashish was tortured in police custody.

Chandigarh, March 5
An altercation over the payment of wage led to the murder of a palledar in the Sector 26 Grain Market, late last night. Jaspal Singh (20) was stabbed in chest by his four co-workers in the market publicly, he was rushed to the PGI where the doctors declared him brought dead.

According to the police, Jaspal Singh, a resident of Nangran village in Ropar district had an altercation with Sonu, Prince, Kala and Kewal-all residents of Badala village in Una district of Himachal Pradesh, who alleged that Jaspal Singh embezzled with their daily wages. They had a minor scuffle, which was defused by the intervention of other people.

Later, Jaspal was sitting alone on a bench near shop No 15, where Kewal came with his son and two other persons who were also his relatives. They overpowered Jaspal and laid him on the ground and started stabbing him. On seeing the commotion, some shopkeepers gathered at the spot and the accused fled from the spot leaving profusely bleeding Jaspal behind. The shopkeepers informed the police and rushed the victim to the PGI.

The doctors declared Jaspal brought dead. He had a deep wound in his heart which caused his death. The police had informed the family members of the deceased and his brother, Pritpal Singh, who is in the army, He came to the city this morning and identified Jaspal.

The SHO of Sector 26,police station Mr Jarnail Singh, said, “The accused have been identified and soon the police would lay hand on them. We have sent the police parties to the village of the accused, but they have not reached there. The police had recorded the statements of eyewitnesses of the crime”

The post-mortem of the victim would be conducted tomorrow. A case under Sections 302 and 34 IPC, has been registered at the Sector 26 police station.

Chandigarh, March 5
Jewellery shops opened after a two-day strike in the city today, following a clarification by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, dispelling their doubts on “branded jewellery.

The ministry clarified that only jewellery being marketed and sold under a brand name would come under the ambit of excise duty.

Any goldsmith who puts a mark, sign or initial on an article jeweller would not attract tax. This would also be true in case of a jeweller putting a distinctive mark to enable recognition of his jewellery. Hallmarked jewellery, too, cannot be treated as branded, the letter states.

However, in case a jeweller advertises and sells his products under the brand name and puts an abbreviation or a mark which has a connection with the brand name would be liable for the tax.