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Chandigarh to get more power
Chandigarh, May 31 The project on its completion will generate 330 MW of power. The agreement was signed between Mr S.K. Sandhu, Secretary, Engineering, on behalf of Chandigarh Administration and Mr A.B. Agrawal, General Manager, (Commercial) on behalf of NHPC today. Chandigarh has no power generation system of its own. To meet its requirement, power is being purchased from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and from National Hydro Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC), National Hydro Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC), Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd (NPC) through National Regional Electricity Board (NREB). At the time of creation of Chandigarh the peak power demand was only 13.0 MW and the power requirement was of the order of 1.38 LU per day. The power requirement in the city on account of development and population growth has risen to the extent that average power requirement of UT Chandigarh has touched LU per day and the peak demand has been recorded 226 MW against total entitlement or allocation of power to the tune of 228/151 MW. Peak demand during the summers of 2005 is anticipated to touch 248 MW.
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Fire at Dadu Majra waste dump;
residents flee area
Chandigarh, May 31 Smoke could be seen rising from the dumping ground at about 9 a.m, local residents said. Soon a fire tender arrived on the spot and left after extinguishing the fire. The smoke did not stop as the fire spread to the bottom of the pile of dry waste. This was followed by a day-long experience of battling with the irritating and unhealthy smoke. Residents protested against poor services provided the Fire Department. Sources in the fire department said at least four fire tenders had been rushed to the spot from the fire stations in Sectors 11, 17 and 38. “The fire spread in the piles of dry waste. We could do little to extinguish the fire”, an official said. Smoke spread to the adjoining residential areas in Sectors 37, 38 and 38(West) and residents there complained of uneasiness. Mr Gurcharan Singh, a senior citizen of Sector 38 (West), said “When we are facing an uneasy time here one can imagine
the plight of the residents of Dadu Majra. This is not the first incident of fire at this venue. There have been earlier occurances” Residents raised slogans against the Administration and the Fire Department. Mr Rampal said, “We have been protesting against the dumping ground in the vicinity of the residential area from the past several years but the Administration has not paid any heed to the grievances of the people. Instead, the Administration has extended the existing area and is also setting up a garbage treatment plant in the area”. In another fire, some bushes in Sector 31 caught fire in the evening. Plants in a considerable area span were burnt.
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Documents forged to grab property
Chandigarh, May 31 A 77-year-old widow, Ms Inder Kaur Bhasin of Sector 34-C, today accused her adopted son and his wife of forging documents to grab her property and fraudulently executing a “gift deed”. She was allegedly not allowed to enter her house a few days ago when she went there to collect her belongings. She had to take police help to enter her own house, alleged the old woman. Ms Bhasin, who is at present living with her married daughter at her Sector 21 house, said, “I am surprised at his action. My husband treated him like his own son. We adopted him when he was just one-day-old about 38 years ago.” Mr Jasjeet Singh said the matter was sub-judice and was pending trial in a civil court. Denying the allegations, Mr Singh told Chandigarh Tribune that he never considered himself as an adopted son. “Dr Gurdeep Singh Kochar, my brother-in-law, is conspiring against me to grab my property. Actually, I bought the plot and later constructed the house in 1993. Due to some reasons, I had transferred the house to my father’s name, which was again transferred in my name after his death. Moreover, my mother had also gone with me to Dera Bassi to make the GPA (General Power of Attorney).” Ms Bhasin alleged in her complaint to the police that Jasjeet Singh, her adopted son and a contractor and his wife Hergeet Kaur forged a GPA in her name from Dera Bassi in connivance with certain revenue officials and others, who stood witness to the forged document. A case has been registered at the Sector 34 police station in this regard on May 21. Narrating the incident, Ms Bhasin told mediapersons that her husband, Hardit Singh, died in February, 2000. Soon after his death, Jasjeet forged the GPA in Dera Bassi. She said the fraud came to light when on February 13 this year, she opened her cupboard, where she kept her husband’s will and other documents related to property. To her utter surprise, she found the files were “missing”. She asked Jasjeet about the files to which he expressed ignorance. Unmindful of any fault on part of her adopted son, she filed a report of missing documents at the Sector 34 police station. She was told that on the basis of missing report, she could get duplicate documents from the Estate Office. When she contacted the Estate Office, the property concerned was shown as gifted to the couple by her (Ms Bhasin). She, however, added that she had never gone to any notary nor signed any affidavit or indemnity bond. On the contrary, she maintained that she had undergone an eye surgery on the same day when both the documents were forged. The SHO of Sector 34 police station, Mr Ajaib Singh Somal, when contacted, said we have registered a case and the investigations are on in this matter. We will send the records to the experts for verification and action will be taken on the basis of reports.
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Chandigarh-Trivandrum train to run weekly
Chandigarh, May 31 The train (number 2653) will run once a week leaving Trivandrum on Saturday at 8:50 a.m. to reach Chandigarh on Monday at 3:50 p.m, making it a 55-hour journey. The first train leaves Trivandrum on July 9. On the return journey the train (2654) will take about 58 hours. It will start from Chandigarh at 8:45 am every Wednesday to reach Trivandrum on Friday at 6:30 pm. The first train will depart from here on July 13. This difference between running times in either direction is possible as the track availability hampers smooth movement, said officials. Also in Kerala there is single track unlike the Delhi — Mumbai route or the Delhi —
Kolkata route which has a double track. Ticket bookings from Chandigarh is yet to start and also booking on the internet is still not available. Normally, one can book a ticket 60 days in advance. Starting from Chandigarh, the train will stop at Ambala, New Delhi, Nizamuddin, Agra, and join the Konkan railway route at Kalyan (Mumbai), thus having halts at Goa and Mangalore also. Within Kerala the train will stop at Cannanore, Calicut, Shoranur, Trichur, Eranakulum, Alleppey, Kayankulam, Quilon and terminate at Trivandrum. Originally the Railways wanted to extend the Kerala Express 2625/2626-between Trivandrum and Delhi till Chandigarh. This would have meant a daily train. There was a protest by Kerala MPs not to extend the Kerala Express.
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Day markets along with Apni Mandis
Chandigarh, May 31 The house cleared the proposal leaving scope for improvements and corrections in the terms and conditions. The city will be divided into three zones and the markets will be allotted for a contract of one year only. The markets will be located near the site of the existing apni mandis. Vendors have been asked to specifically sell items other than agricultural products. Meat, explosive and lottery can also not be sold. The contractor will be entitled for a share of 15 per cent out of the total earnings. The licensee is required to maintain the promptness of service and cleanliness of the premises. The venue of the day markets are required to maintain a complaint box. The Weight and Measures Department will be asked to keep a regular check on the measuring apparatus of the vendors. The corporation cleared as many as nine sites for Apni Mandis. The sites include Sectors 46-B, 45-C, 15, 33-C, 52, 43-A, Ram Durbar, Manimajra and Dhanas. Mrs Anu Chatrath, Mayor, announced that the corporation will commence the cleanliness drive in labour colonies of the city within this week. She was replying to a question posed by Mr Sohan Lal Vaid, Deputy Mayor. Mr Vaid said “the city had completed the cleanliness drive in the city earlier this year but no efforts had been made to extend the drive to the colonies.” The MC in context of the Draft Laws of Municipalities made a suggestion that the term of the Mayor should be extended to two years in lieu of one year. It was felt that one year was a very less tenure for a Mayor to settle down in the system. It was also suggested that the term of the MC should be extended to six years instead of the current five. The house also suggested that the Mayor be authorised to write the Annual Confidential Report of
the Commissioner and other senior officials. The suggestions will now be given to the UT Administration before being forwarded to the centre. There was yet another long discussion on the draft laws. Mr P.C. Sanghi said that wards could be reserved for different categories, including the Schedules Castes and Women in the wards. However, the Mayor should be elected democratically after the elections without any reservation. The tenure of the mayor should be extended to more than two years because one year was very less. Mr Subhash Chawla, a former Mayor, differed. He said that MC was a training ground for future leaders so one year was enough. Brig Sant Singh said the proposal of the Mayor writing the annual report of the Commissioner was wrong. The role of the officials differed from the politicians so both the areas should not be related. Mr Chawla said that officials should be made answerable to the elected leaders because they have to go back to the public and show their results.
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Councillors seek FIR against MC president, EO
Mohali, May 31 The councillor — Mr Amrik Singh, Mr Manjit Singh Sethi, Mr Manmohan Singh Lang and Ms Harbans Kaur — in a legal notice sent to the Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab, alleged that council president Kulwant Singh and Executive Officer H.B. Garg had indulged in cheating, embezzlement, tempering with official records and corruption practices. The notice stated that in case an FIR was not registered, the matter would be taken up in the High Court. It stated that when the present team of councillors took over in January 2000, the council had a corpus of Rs 6.78 crore in various banks. The council earned an income of more than Rs 20 crore each year and during the past five years the income of the civic body came to about Rs 90 crore. But very little amount had been spent on maintaining roads, sanitation health, etc. The councillors also demanded an inquiry by the CBI or a team of judges into the working of the civic body. When asked by mediapersons whether such issues were being raised keeping in mind the coming elections to the civic body, the councillor said they had been raising their voice against the malfunctioning for the past several years. Meanwhile, Mr Kulwant Singh said this was not the first time that some councillors belonging to the Opposition had levelled allegations. He said on one hand they kept saying that no development works were done by the council and on the other, they produced lists of works got done by them in their wards to convince residents with an aim to get votes. He alleged that most of the councillors, who had levelled allegations, had faced cases relating to corruption and had even stayed behind bars.
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Businessman commits suicide
Chandigarh, May 31 According to the information, Ramesh was found hanging in his shop by his servant Roop Lal around 7:45 am, who informed the police about the incident. The police said Ramesh was an alcoholic and used to say that he would kill himself one day. He was married for the past 14 years and had no children. Geeta, wife of the deceased, told the police that Ramesh was depressed over the losses he suffered in his business. Ramesh was a timber merchant. He originally hailed from Gurgaon. The body has been for post mortem examination. A case has been registered at the Mani Majra police station.
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Paid parking in Sec 22, 34, 35
Chandigarh, May 31 The sites were auctioned recently Parking lots were demarcated today and notice board displaying the rates were also put up. The city already has paid parking in Sectors 17, 8 and 9.
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War plans sale: defence experts demand probe
Chandigarh, May 31 Defence experts, nonetheless, called for a thorough probe without any prejudice to ascertain facts and present the correct picture of what may have then transpired or absolve the Army of any blame. The repercussions of the allegations, if true, would have to be viewed with grave concern. Gohar Ayub Khan, whose father Field Marshal Ayub Khan was the Pakistani dictator during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, had yesterday alleged that an Indian brigadier, who rose to a senior position, had sold war plans for Rs 20,000 to fund his wife’s hobby of canning fruits and vegetables. Senior officers discount the Pakistani industrialist-turned-politician’s claims on the grounds that there had been no Indian “Grand Plan” which could have been leaked. Also, to be noted is the success with which Indian formations were able to cut across the International Border (IB) and Pakistan’s inability to achieve tactical or strategic gains during the conflict. Officers have also termed it as a publicity stunt for his forthcoming autobiography and are unwilling to lend credence to the theory that a brigadier would take the risk for the “petty” reasons cited. The most glaring inconsistency in Gohar’s statement is that Pakistani forces ran into trouble while crossing the Beas. Beas is about 50 km from the IB and though Pakistani plans envisioned crossing it, they reached nowhere near it. “Pakistani forces could not proceed beyond Khem Kharan, where their armoured division was decimated by Indian formations,” Major-Gen Rajendra Nath (retd), a military historian said. In fact, the only place along the entire western frontier where they made an initial gain was in the Chhamb Sector where they had themselves planned an offensive, and had moved their armoured division well in advance he added. Pakistan’s 1 Armoured Division and the 11 Division had launched an attack in this sector, but were checked by the 4th Infantry Division, which had taken up defensive positions after falling back. Indian Army’s 7th and 15th Infantry Division, which were part of 11 Corps, were tasked to advance up to the Ichhogil Canal, Pakistan main defence line. “These divisions reached their objectives and some units were even able to go beyond,” General Rajendra Nath said. “Had Pakistan known about Indian plans, this may not have been the case,” he added. Terming the whole thing to be unlikely, Col Bimal Bhatia, a retired Military Intelligence officer, said he was of the opinion that if the allegations turned out to be true, the question was that of repercussions on Indian security later on. “If true, the establishment would have to determine how the alleged mole could have been used for other purposes,” he said. Colonel Bhatia, like several other officers, did not discount the possibility of the allegations being a mischievous ploy to demoralise the other side. “This is a known game played by intelligence agencies,” he said. “Such things become the topic of discussions, which create doubts about security and integrity,” he added. In fact, an intelligence source said a brigadier who had held the post of Director, Military Intelligence, in the 60s and had subsequently moved up the ladder, had travelled to the United Kingdom in 1967 and was known to have relatives there. An intelligence officer said that this particular piece of information, was perhaps being used by Pakistan to lend authenticity to its claims, as was often done by world’s two biggest intelligence agencies during the cold War. According to Mandeep Bajwa, a city-based defence analyst, Gohar’s earlier statements and sentiments have given him a very low credibility. “He is known to have strong anti-India feelings. He never forgave India for denying victory to Pakistan, which led to the downfall of his father,” he said. “Gohar was then establishing himself as an industrialist and his father’s defeat resulted in heavy financial loss and lowering of prestige, which is why he throws up such allegations,” he added.
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Mock rail accident drill
Panchkula, May 31 The top railway officials at the Ambala railway division, who were spearheading the mock drill, flashed a message around 1.30 am that a tractor trolley had overturned near the Surajpur level crossing (Gate No 137), and the speeding Delhi-Kalka passenger train (303 Up) had collided with the tractor trolley. The train, was, infact detained on the route for almost an hour-and-half for allowing the mock drill to be performed. The message flashed by authorities said that several people had died in the accident. Some officials were already deployed at the ‘accident spot’, so as to assess the alertness and reaction time of the railway officials posted on the Ambala-Kalka rail section. Speaking to Chandigarh Tribune, the Divisional Railway Manager, said that such exercises are held at regular intervals to ensure that the reaction time of the rescue and relief teams is good.
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No Tobacco Day observed
Chandigarh, May 31 The dentists advised the people not to use pan masalas, tooth powders, cigarettes and bidis. They urged the people to stop smoking as the inhaled smoke led to debilitating lung diseases, heart problems and brain disorders besides causing various kinds of cancers affecting the oral cavity and the lungs. Pamphlets were distributed and posters depicting the adverse effects of tobacco were put up at the Dental Department. In addition to this counselling on various methods of quitting tobacco, including use of nicotine replacement therapy, was also conducted. Drug Awareness and Counselling Centre of the Servants of People Society in collaboration with Tobacco Cessation Clinic, PGI, organised an informative and interactive talk on facts about tobacco-related illnesses, forms of tobacco, constituents of cigarettes, bidis, pan masalas and ways of quitting tobacco today. Spread over five days, the talks were delivered in different government schools and today on the final day, an awareness rally by students of the Government High School, Sector 24, was organised. The children carried placards and banners and at the end of the rally, cigarettes and tobacco products were burned to reiterate the message for the day. Over 50 participants also celebrated ‘No Tobacco Day’ at Maloya Colony. The Maloya Field of the Targeted Intervention Project and Lala Lajpat Rai Bhavan has been declared as ‘No Tobacco Consumption Zone’ by the Servants of People Society. The State Bank of India, Staff Training Centre, Panchkula, organised a talk and no tobacco signature campaign at its centre. A talk on the ill-effects of tobacco ended with suggestions on how to give up tobacco. The government was urged to impose a total ban on smoking at public places in addition to a total ban on advertisements in print, television and cinema. NULIFE Chewettes, an approved substitute for smoking, was also distributed. The talk was followed by a ‘no tobacco signature campaign’ where all 97 trainees and staff members signed the ‘shapath patra’ where they took a pledge that they would not smoke or consume any tobacco product from today. Godwin Education Society, an NGO, organised an awareness rally to mark the day at Labour Colony No 4, the biggest slum in the city. The children of Godwin Public School took part in a rally holding banners and placards. Pamphlets, literature and folders were distributed among people to raise awareness on the ill-effects of consuming any form of tobacco. A magic show was also organised in addition to slogan writing and a drawing competition after which prizes were distributed.
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Progressive society crisis deepens
Chandigarh, May 31 And with this the controversy regarding irregularities in the construction of 597 dwelling units has got murkier and the role of the son of a top functionary of the Engineering Department of the UT Administration, who is the engineer consultant, has come under a cloud. However, the removal of the president, Mr Daljit Arora, from the post of the president is likely to kick up a storm. Mr Arora has been removed for “anti-society” activities. Mr Harish Khanna, who was earlier joint secretary, has been elected the new president. The removal of Mr Arora, without calling the general body meeting of the society, reflects infighting in the society and bodes ill for its future functioning, sources said. It may be recalled that the allegations of the use of substandard material in wooden work, marble and Kota stone laying and electrical fittings kicked up a controversy recently. It was also alleged the construction cost was shown as higher by the contractor in connivance with consultant engineer. Earlier,
a technical report alleging irregularities was submitted by the project engineers, Mr VP Sharma of the Hi-Tech Associates, to the society. To verify the report, the society had reportedly constituted the technical committee under the chairmanship of Mr JG Luthra. This committee, too, okayed the report of the Hi-Tech Associates. It was also alleged that excess payment had been made to the contractor. On January 15 this year, the Hi-Tech Associates, M/s Continental Foundations and the president of the society had agreed to peg the cost of the Category “B” flat at Rs 7.1 lakh. However, now the society was demanding more money from the allotees to complete the work, alleged an allottee.
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Lions Club office-bearers
Chandigarh, May 31 The following have been elected office-bearers of Lions Club District 321-F: Cabinet secretary — Mr Gagan; District cabinet treasurer— Mr Manjeet Singh; District PRO— Ms Renu Bali; District cabinet secretary (Governor’s projects)— Mr K.S Sethi; District cabinet secretary (Governor’s programmes)— Mr R.P.S Bajwa; Additional district cabinet secretary— Mr Virender Singh; and In charge bulletin publication— Mr Sanjay Sardana.
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Goods worth lakhs gutted
Chandigarh, May 31 According to reports received here, the fire broke out in the Euro Cotspin Limited around 8 pm. A large number of cotton bales and other materials were destroyed in the fire. Since a large quantity of inflammable material was stored in the unit, a heavy loss is expected to the industrial unit. The exact cause of the fire could not be known immediately. Scores of factory workers, police personnel and fire department personnel were engaged in the fire-fighting operation. Fire engines from Dera Bassi, Dapper, Ambala and Rajpura were on the job to put out the blaze till the filing of this report.
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Panchkula sans power on 2nd day
Panchkula, May 31
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Bhattal to address media
Chandigarh, May 31 She will also inaugurate a summer workshop to be organised for children of the club members. A table soccer, installed by the Table Soccer Federation of India, will also be inaugurated.
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Tribune employee retires
Chandigarh, May 31
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1 held for burglary in factory
Chandigarh, May 31 According to the police, Gurnam Singh, a resident of Mangle Tanda village in Ludhiana district, was arrested from the village last night and the stolen property was recovered from him. Gurnam Singh was reportedly working in the factory No. 800, Phase II, Industrial Area. On May 29, he came to the factory in a mini truck and broke opened the locks of the gate and committed a theft. Gurnam Singh reportedly stole two sets of computers, two air pressure pumps, four buckets of grease, eight cartons of mobil oil, one CPU and other articles valuing Rs 2.5 lakh. Liquor seized Motor cycle stolen
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Five held for gambling
Chandigarh, May 31 The police recovered Rs 2,970 from them. Gulshan Kumar of Burail village was arrested from Kabari Market in the village, while Sushil Kumar of the same village was caught gambling near bus stop in Sector 45-C on Sunday night. Cases have been registered.
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Decomposed body found
Dera Bassi, May 31 According to the police, a cycle and newspapers were also found near the body. The police has also recovered some papers, listing names and telephone numbers of some prominent personalities of the area, from the body. The police has sent the body to Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem.
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Biz Clip
Chandigarh
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