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Match tickets elude enthusiasts
Chandigarh, March 6 Although contrary to expectations, of the 7,500 tickets sent to Pakistan Cricket Board over 4,000 tickets have been sent back and out of these, 3,000 tickets are lying with the PCA. The PCA officials informed that out of 20,000 tickets of general block some were reserved for students and about 12,000 were available at the PCA sale counter and ICICI bank
branches.
“It is the over excitement and the intensity of Indo-Pak clash that the tickets have been sold out much before the expected time,” said PCA officials. The grouse of the ticket buyers was that the sale counters were opened for a very short duration and only 50 to 60 tickets were sold in a day and if thousands of tickets had come back unsold then where had they gone. They alleged that the PCA officials were either obliging their acquaintances or they were hoarding the tickets to sell them for a hefty amount later. On being asked if they had made inquiries about the availability of tickets from inside, they said they were mistreated and no clear information was given by the PCA staff. Subhash Chander, a cricket enthusiast, had been coming all the way from Ambala for the past three days but every day he goes back empty handed. “The ticket worth Rs 100 is being sold for Rs 500” alleges Rajesh Kumar who has been coming regularly for the past 4 days and still is without a ticket. Even the supply of tickets at ICICI bank branches have been stopped since Thursday.
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Most Pak guests from Lahore
Chandigarh, March 6 The number of women and children have also surpassed the numbers witnessed during the India-Pakistan series in 1999. The moment buses started arriving at the stadium, there was a beeline of officials, students, relatives and journalists who all wanted to give a befitting welcome to the guests.
The Sajjad family, with Sajjad Haider as the head of the family and wife Afshan and daughter Maham and son Hashir Abbas, were all smiles at the generosity shown by Indians. Afshan asked this reporter, “Do you know where we can get a good quality silk saree”, Maham, who has just finished with her annual examinations and is aged nine, said she wanted to buy bangles and other garments. When asked if they have any relative here in India, they said not now. We are not aware of the whereabouts of our great grand relatives. Sajjad Haider said he was into electronic business and would like to study the electronics industry here. Kashan Chaudhary, his mother Zia and sister Sana were also thrilled to be in India and that, too, in Chandigarh which they say they have heard to be one of the most beautiful cities of India. Kashan said he had come to India more than a decade ago. The Chaudhary family are Christians and settled in Lahore while Kashan is into business. Sana is doing her M.Sc from Panjab University, Lahore. When asked if she had any particular choice for shopping, Sana said she would like to buy silk sarees and jewellery which she had seen in Indian serials. She asked if Panjab University also existed here and showed her curiosity in visiting it. She said they would be staying with one of their relatives, Mr K.K. Mansa, in Sector 42. Kashan said though he had a lot of interest in cricket, but the visit was planned to show India to his family. They would also like to go to Bathinda to meet their relatives if they got the permission. An old woman was seen sitting in one corner of the reception in the stadium. She originally belongs to Patiala and migrated to Pakistan in 1947. She had fond memories of living in Dharampura Bazar, Patiala. She would like to revive her memories. The guests were offered food on their arrival by devotees of Gurdwara Nada Sahib. They have put up food stalls for another four or five days. They would offer free food throughout the day for the guests.
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Cricket stars shine in Mohali
Mohali, March 6 Stating that the local unit of the Shiv Sainiks had assured the police that they were in favour of the match, Mr Rakesh Agarwal, SP Mohali said however the police are keeping a watch on their activities. Giving details of the security arrangements, the SP said eight areas have been identified around the stadium for parking. The sports complex opposite the stadium and the parking place opposite the Majestic park would be the VIP parking area, the market opposite Silvi Park Phase 10, the vacant area opposite children’s schools Phase X, park behind the PCA stadium and the vacant area opposite the Phase 11 market would be for the general visitors. “Arrangements have been made to accommodate around 6000 vehicles and none of those coming to the stadium in vehicles would have to walk beyond 500 metres,” said the SP. The stadium has been divided into eight security zones and a DSP-level officer would be in charge of each sector with 60 to 100 police men with him. Of the 13 gates entry gates only eight gates have been made functional, each one of these manned by the PCA own security in collaboration with the Punjab Police. One ambulance each is posted at the various entry gates and two fire brigades would be on duty outside the stadium round the clock. Two reserve police battalions, a bomb disposal squad from the army and two tear gas squads would be on duty from tomorrow. Over 20 horses would be also on special escort duty outside the stadium. From 8 am on March 8, traffic entering Mohali would be diverted at the Guru Nanak Colony, Phase 10 and the Amb Sahib gurdwara Phase 8. Traffic coming from the Guru Nanak Colony side would be diverted towards the sector 48- 49 roundabout from where it would enter Mohali from the Phase 10-11 dividing light point. Traffic coming from the Amb Sahib gurdwara side would be diverted towards the road dividing Fortis and PUDA Bhavan from where it would be directed towards the Sector 68 -69 light points. The diversion would last till 11am and begin again at 3 pm and last till 7 pm. Entry into stadium
The gates to the PCA stadium would be opened for entry of those who have tickets and passes at 8.30 am on March 8. Only the VVIPs, including the players would be allowed entry from gate number 1A, 1B and 1C. These visitors would be seated at level 1, level 2, AC lounges and the terrace block. Those with VIP tickets would enter from gate number 5 to be seated in the VIP block. General ticket holders would enter through gate 6, 7, 11 and 12. Gate 9 is for the PCA block while gate 14 is for entry of Club members. Gates 8, 10 and 13 are service gates.
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Warm welcome for Pak guests
Chandigarh, March 6 This was stated by Rohit Malhotra, a resident of Sector 15, while replying to a query as to why he was there. He was one among a few families from the city that had reached the Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, in the evening to receive the guests from Pakistan. When asked “brother or Pakistani brother? he said the word in addition to brother brought in an element of certain doubt. I will like to call them our brothers”. A bank employee by profession, Mr Malhotra’s family had migrated from Lahore in 1947. Subhash Mahajan, a former Ranji player for Haryana, was busy at the reception counter looking for families from Sialkot. “My father belongs to Sialkot. I am looking for families from that city to relive with them some moments of past history and share our present”. Mr Mahajan said, “I have a decent accommodation in Sector 22. I will house four-five families of the guests.” Dinesh Gupta, a resident of Panchkula said, “I have accommodation to house two families. I want to know about the culture across the border. I will take my guests to different places around the city to get them closer to the people here. You get what you give”. K.K. Mansa, a resident of Sector 42, had come to pick the family of Mr Kashish and family. Rajiv Jasrotia, a student of Panjab University, had come with his friends to pick up youngsters from Pakistan. “I and my friends stay in rented accommodation in Sector 15. I am looking for young friends from across the border. We can make their stay comfortable and can share our growing up. We don’t have tickets for the cricket match but we will give them company when they are back in the rooms. We will take them around the city and the university, in particular, and facilitate interaction with more students on the campus.”
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25 lucky YPS students
Mohali, March 6 These 25 have been asked by the PCA to stand ushers at various VIP entry points of the stadium. They would get to see the match for free of cost and also rub shoulders with players, the cinema stars and the other VVIP’s coming to see the match. The 25 students, half of them girls, are all of the new Class XII that started session last month. “These students are now free and do not have any examinations. Out of the hundreds of volunteers that we had, we have chosen these said school principal Harish Dhillon. The students would be in their school uniform during their five-day “duty”. These students are looking forward to the experience. “YPS students get a chance to be in the stadium during every national and international match that takes place in PCA.
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Police to set up visa extension centres
Mohali, March 6 The SP, Mr Rakesh Agarwal, said today that one counter of the police would be located outside the PCA stadium and the other would be manned outside the Sector 16 stadium in Chandigarh. Mr Agarwal pointed out that Pakistani visitors were granted visas for the three cities till March 17 but since many of them would be interested in visiting their ancestral townships across Punjab, permissions would be granted on a case-to-case basis. When asked if the Ropar police had the authority to extend visas, he said the SSP of the district was authorised to allow the movement of foreigners to another district with the permission of the host district. Fourteen hotels in the township have been listed to accommodate the visitors. Other than these, 70 families in the three cities have offered accommodation to them. Mr Agarwal said first the hotels would be filled following which the guests would be sent to these households. He added that although special police teams would patrol around these hotels and houses, none of the visitors would be bound to follow a schedule of returning to the hotels etc. “They are our honoured guests and the police would treat them like that. They can come and go when they want. They can shop wherever they want and visit any place in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula,” he said.
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Rickshaw-pullers
updated ahead
of matches
Chandigarh, March 6 SP Traffic Amitabh Dhillon, at a workshop asked rickshaw-pullers to turn ambassadors of the country to the Pakistanis. The Traffic Police today brought out a pamphlet for rickshaw-pullers telling them slogans on traffic sense. The rickshaw-pullers have been warned against jumping stop signal on red lights. They have been asked to follow cycle tracks. The pamphlet has been prepared by the traffic awareness organisation (TWO) headed by Mr Amar Manchanda. The pamphlet has caricatures drawn by artist Satwant Singh. Inspector Shivraj Sidhu said rickshaw-pullers must get themselves registered and have a licence.
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Sachin visits salon
Chandigarh, March 6 While talking to mediaperson Harbhajan said that it would be a tough series and both teams have equal chances to win it while Zaheer praised the PCA Stadium for its pitch and beautiful surroundings. All stayed there for half an hour. However, the salon announced free services for Pakistani visitors on the production of passport.
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Conference on science policy begins today
Chandigarh, March 6 The conference is being held in collaboration with the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTDS) and the Regional Council for Science Technology and Development (RCSTD). It will have over 25 participants from countries of European Union, the USA, China, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh and around 55 participants from India. These include scientists, financial investors, industrialists, government officials and parliamentarians who will talk from the areas of Science Policy, Technology Transfer, management and Organisation of R&D, Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industry, Herbal Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Environmental Policy issues, Information Technology and Knowledge Management, Agriculture Biotechnology and ethical issues, the Food Processing Industry and foreign Investment in India. The conference will also see an interactive session on "Science Policy" with members of Parliaments" in which parliamentarians from India and abroad viz Mr P.G. Narayanan (India), Mr Jaya Thakkar (India), Professor Saifuddin Soz (India) and Mr Nurul Islam Moni (Bangladesh) and Mr Paula Tiihonen (Finland) will participate. Haryana Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai is the principal architect of this conference, and had initiated this idea with the well-known experts and institutions in Europe and the USA last year. In the process he was assisted by Dr Mohsin U. Khan from NISTADS. Dr Khan is a widely acknowledged author of "Status of Science in South Asia", sponsored by the UNESCO.
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Passing Thru
What is the biggest problem faced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry?
The problem of how to bridge the gap between drug discovery and commercialisation of the drug. This is the weakest link in the chain and India suffers economically in this field due to this. We do not have enough experts in the areas that can bridge the gap for us.
What do you suggest to overcome this problem? The solution will not come about in a day. However, Indian drug discovery units and research labs, both government and private, should as a beginning tie up with companies abroad to be able to commercialise their drugs well. Indian companies can also acquire small companies abroad and commercialise their product. What do you feel should be other areas of thrust in this direction? I am very impressed with the Indian pharmacy research and industry. They are doing very well in fact better than many of the units in the USA. We have very talented students and the future is bright. What is your advice for pharmacy students? Pharmacy students should broaden their horizon and involve themselves in acquiring related skills. We need scores of experienced persons who with a basic training in pharmacy take upon issues like intellectual property rights in pharmacy, commercialisation of the drug etc. — Chitleen K. Sethi
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Decline in mobile phone users: survey
Chandigarh, March 6 These facts emerged in statistical figures released by the Chandigarh Administration for 2004 in its 17th edition of the annual data. Surprisingly, the number of landline telephone connections has also been recording a fall from 2,06,819 in 2001-2002 to 1,91, 821 in 2003-2004. While the communication sector has been seeing a great improvement in the city, the public transport has virtually come to a halt with the CTU fleet just remaining at 417 since 2001. It was 350 in 1991 when the population was much less than now touching almost a million. Interestingly, there has been a fall in the public call offices (PCOs) from 3,847 in 2001-2002 to 3,411 in 2003-2004. While there has been a satisfactory growth in these areas, Chandigarh has been able to only add 47 km of road till 2004 and only 116 km since 1991. Even the number of post offices in the city has gone down from 53 in 2001-2002 to 51 in 2003-2004. The fall in these areas or a slow growth could be attributed to the city already staying at a peak. Surprisingly, the birth rate has increased to 6.91 in 2002 against 4.78 in 2000.
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Retired paratroopers hold get-together
Chandigarh, March 6 The General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen S. Pattabhiraman, who is also a paratrooper, was the chief guest. The Chandigarh chapter of the paratroopers' get-together was formed in October, 2001, and consists of retired officers who had worn the coveted paratroopers wings on their uniforms during their service career. Besides those settled in and around Chandigarh, the association's members also drove down from places like Patiala, Sabathu and Ludhiana. Among those who made it a appoint to attend the get-together were old stalwarts Lieut-Gen R S Dyal, Major-Gen O P Sabharwal, Major-Gen H S Talwar, Major-Gen R S Herr, Major-Gen S S Sandhu, Major-Gen P Vig and Major-Gen Gurbaksh Singh. The senior-most member at the function was Major-Gen M S Dhillon, who was commissioned in 1942. A number of officers who had been decorated for gallantry during war were also present.
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Choked drains bane of Daria village
Chandigarh, March 6 Residents complain that as integration of the basic services like sewerage for population inside and outside the lal dora has not been done, the sewerage is often chocked. The minuscule number of safai karamcharis engaged by the panchayat were not able to maintain the cleanliness, said Mr D.P. Sharma, who has been residing in the village for the past 32 years. Use of open space in front of the village, adjoining the Railway Station, for loading and unloading of freight has become a major source of nuisance for the residents. A number of godowns on the periphery of the village had added to the nuisance. A visit to the village revealed that chocked open drains had become an irritant for the residents. A few days back, when encroachments were removed in front of shops, the flow of dirty water into the drains stopped. Though cleaning of filth and debris from the drains had begun, it would take a few weeks before the drain network in the entire village was cleaned. Dr Chander Shekhar, a resident of the village, said the public lavatory was not being maintained properly. “Today there are more people living outside the lal dora than those living inside it. It is telling on the state of sanitation. There are voters outside the lal dora also, but we cannot spend a penny on them”, rued Ms Jasbir Kaur, sarpanch of the village. She admitted that due to this the panchayat could not deploy safai karamcharis
outside the lal dora. The pancahyat had approached the Rural Development Department for laying of concrete bylanes and laying of underground network of storm water drainage, said the woman sarpanch.
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Blocked sewer has residents fuming
Mohali, March 5 The entire road dividing the village with Sector 71 opposite the Community Centre is inundated with sewage. The situation is posing a serious health hazard for the residents. Residents have been complaining to the municipal council for the past month but no action has been initiated.
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Experts share information on environment laws
Chandigarh, March 6 In attendance at the workshop, held to discuss implementation of environmental safeguards/conditions of all development projects accorded clearance by the Ministry, were Ms Meena Gupta, additional secretary in the Ministry, and Mr R. Chandra Mohan, joint secretary. While Ms Gupta laid stress on strict compliance of environment rules concerning development projects, Mr Mohan congratulated the regional office for providing a forum for discussion among policy makers, government officials, industrialists, executives, engineers and environmentalists. Overall, the workshop created awareness about the existing environmental laws. Mr S.K. Agarwal, Conservator Forests (Central), was also present on the occasion along with Dr P.B. Rastogi, Additional Director at the Regional Office, who briefed the delegates about the environment safeguards laid down for a variety of development projects including river valley/hydroelectric, thermal power stations, refineries, oil and gas pipelines, mining, industries, drugs, biotechnology, roads, airports, electroplating units, distilleries as well as hazardous recyclers. The need of the workshop was felt because most of the stakeholders were not aware of the existing environment legislations and monitoring of environmental parameters during or after the construction of projects. This, the visiting officials said, resulted in poor implementation of stipulated environment safeguards on one pretext or the other. The workshop was thus meant to have a better understanding of environment acts, rules, notifications and procedures and for better coordination among the Central Government and user agencies. It was attended by eminent people from the ministry, industrialists, executives and resource persons. Some of the important papers presented included - The role of Punjab State Council of Science and Technology in implementing environment safeguards by its chairperson Mr N.S. Tiwana; Karcham-Wangtoo Hydro Electric Project (1000 MW), status of project and environment impact assessment by Dr P.B. Rastogi; environmental management and socio-economic measures of Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Electric Project by N.S. Sekhar, environment engineer at Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, Shimla.
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New sign boards on roads sans ads
Panchkula, March 6 Leaving no space for advertisements, new sign boards have been installed on most of the main roads of Panchkula. Instead of advertisements of insurance agents or jewellers, the new signboards only carry a brief message on road safety. These sign boards have been designed and installed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). It may be mentioned that till a month ago, these sign boards were a major bone of contention between the Panchkula police and HUDA. The police had given contract to a private party for installing boards on all main roads, and painting advertisements on these. HUDA officials had objected to this, saying that not only were the sign board an eye sore because of advertisements, but also the purpose of sign boards was lost as the indicators of sectors were often missed in the glaring ads printed on the bottom of these boards. The HUDA officials had also raised objections that the police was illegally earning revenue through advertisements on these boards. Two months ago, HUDA officials had even launched a demolition drive and removed these sign boards on their own. However, the police seized the truck carrying the removed sign boards and later installed these on their own. It was later that the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Neelam P. Kasni, ordered for the removal of these boards, and asked HUDA to instal new sign boards, and ensure that no advertisements appeared on the sign boards. “The earlier sign boards were messy because of advertisements. It also deviated the concentration of the drivers from the sign board to the glossy advertisements, so we recommended a change,” she says. The police was asked to give its specifications for the new sign boards, and accordingly these had been prepared by HUDA.
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Expert worried over tapestries’ condition
Chandigarh, March 6 Ms Susan Bouret, who teaches tapestry conservation at the University of Clermont Ferrand, France, also made a shocking disclosure that the chemicals used to clean the tapestry that had been removed from the courtroom of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice are prohibited for this purpose in France. Making a presentation on cleaning techniques, presentation and hanging of tapestries at the concluding day of the seminar on Le Corbusier's tapestries here, Ms Bouret wondered if India had the wherewithal to clean, conserve and preserve tapestries as those designed by Le Corbusier. "In France, we are very regular in cleaning and doing restoration work on tapestries. But, from what I have seen so far in Chandigarh, I don't think the tapestries are being taken care of," she observed. Earlier, Mr Raghavan, a former chief conservator, National Museum, New Delhi, under whose supervision the tapestry of the Chief Justice's courtroom was cleaned before being hung back, gave a description of the manner in which the tapestry was cleaned. The seminar was organised by Alliance Francaise and the Embassy of France in India in collaboration with the Chandigarh Administration.
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Jawan waging battle on pension front
Chandigarh, March 6 Naik Pal Singh had served with the Artillery from 1980 to 1997 when he was discharged after having been placed in low medical category. Since then he has been running from pillar to post, but to no avail. A resident of Nawan Makkowal village in Punjab, he is now taking legal recourse through a city lawyer. Pal Singh had developed an acute skin disease (Psoriasis with arthropathy) immediately after being posted to the north-east in 1995. He remained admitted to various military hospitals after which he was sent to INHS Asvini, a naval hospital for further examination. The specialist concerned diagnosed that the patient continued to have skin lesions and arthrolegia, which was aggravated by cold climate and the course of the disease was unpredictable. The specialist also opined in the medical report that the patient was not to be moved to high altitude areas. Despite the advice, Pal Singh was posted to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, which is among the coldest and highest places in the country. He was placed in permanent low medical category. Despite the findings and opinion of the medical specialists, the Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension) did not sanction disability pension to him, maintaining that his disability was not connected to his military service. According to pension regulations, any person with a disability which is attributable to or aggravated by military service is entitled to disability pension. He has approached the Controller of Defence Accounts several times besides writing to the Artillery Records Office.
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Masons dwell on sacred law
Chandigarh, March 6 Also present on the occasion was Mr Vijay Kumar Dwarka, Assistant Grand Master of the Grande Lodge of France, besides representatives from the Eastern, Western and Southern lodges. Dr N. Vasishta, former Grand Master, said people from different walks of life joined the lodge according to their freewill. The main areas of interest for the followers were to propagate brotherly love, trust, relief from anxiety and charity.
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Blood camp
Chandigarh, March 6 Dr
R.P. Bambah, a trustee of the Tribune Trust, will inaugurate the camp at 9 am tomorrow.
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Cop’s wife commits suicide
Chandigarh, March 6 Ranjit Kaur was found hanging from the fan on the first floor of her house by her husband Gurcharan Singh when he returned home in the evening. No suicide note has been recovered nor has any apparent reason of suicide discovered. According to the police, a nine-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter of the woman went out to play in the evening. When her husband returned home, he met his children on the ground floor. He took them along on the first floor of his house but nobody opened the door. Neighbours also gathered. They then broke open the door to find the woman hanging. The brother of the woman has been informed about the death in Hisar. The parents of the woman and another brother are in the USA. A post-mortem would be done tomorrow when the brother of the woman reaches the city.
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Man dies, wife hurt in mishap
Panchkula, March 6 Hailing from Budha Khera locality in Ambala, the couple - Dalip Singh and Sunita - was riding their way back to their native place after visiting their relatives in Rallie village when they met with the accident. The crane (HR-46A-7293) mowed down the motorcycle rider leaving his mutilated body on the spot.
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Two killed in mishap on highway
Dera Bassi, March 6 Mr Madan Mohan Moudgil (55), an employee of the Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering, was run over by a Haryana Roadways bus on the Kalka-Ambala highway near Dera Bassi, late last night. According to the police, the bus (HR-68-1168) was on its route to Chandigarh when it was run over Mr Moudgil. The injured was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, in Chandigarh where he breathed his last. The bus driver reportedly fled away from the spot. The police has registered a case of negligent driving against the absconding bus driver at Lalru police station. The body was handed over to family members after post-mortem examination this afternoon. In another accident, a resident of CSIO Colony, Sector 30, in Chandigarh, Rajan, lost his life after a truck hit his motor cycle from behind on the Chandigarh-Zirakpur road, in Bhabhat village, this evening. The motor cyclist was riding his bike (CH-03Q-7696) on his way towards Chandigarh from Zirakpur when a truck (HR-03-8197) approaching from behind moved him down. The passers-by informed the police and the critically injured was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where he breathed his last. The truck driver fled from the scene after leaving behind the vehicle. The police has started investigations in this regard and has impounded the vehicles.
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Bank’s loan mela for women ends
Chandigarh, March 6 Speaking on the occasion, Ms Misra said Chinese products had created a market because of their cheap prices, but if women entrepreneurs in the small segment concentrate more on quality, design and marketing of their products, they would be able to compete with similar products in the Chinese market. She said 40 per cent of the budget of the board would be spent on the food processing projects being run by women entrepreneurs in Haryana. They will be given loans up to Rs 25 lakh with 30 per cent subsidy and this would help them set up self-employment ventures. The General Manager of Canara Bank, Mr Y.L. Madan, said the Chandigarh Circle had disbursed loans worth Rs 76 crore to 5,220 women in this area. Women, who put up their stalls, have to pay a very nominal fee of Rs 200 for participating in the exhibition. From handicrafts to household articles , sarees, shawls, fancy candles , decorative articles and stone jewellery, as many as 50 women entrepreneurs have displayed it all at this three-day exhibition. The organisers claim that not only has the number of participants gone up, but the variety of products exhibited is also different this time.
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