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MC acquires 12 acres for garbage processing unit
Chandigarh, June 19 The UT Administration has also sanctioned the proposal for the processing unit submitted by the corporation. The corporation had accepted the proposal for the garbage-to-pellet making technology to treat garbage on May 13, which was submitted by the JP Industries, a
Solan-based cement plant. JP Industries has a Rs 900-crore cement plant that can make effective use of pellets in power production, sources said. Although the power produced from the pellet will be far less than required by the industry, the establishment had shown keen interest. The sources said the corporation would now sign an MoU with the company. A project report would be submitted to the corporation, which would be followed by a formal agreement. “The work on ground is likely to begin after around four months,” the official said. The decision on the technology for garbage treatment has also paved the way for the release of second installment of grant by the Central Pollution Control Board. An amount of around Rs 9 crore was being held back in abeyance because the city had been unable to decide on the technology for garbage treatment. The CPCB had sanctioned a pilot project for the city. Various technologies had been taken into consideration for processing garbage in the city. A former Mayor had accompanied a team to a garbage treatment plant in Hyderabad on a proposal that was finally turned down by the House. The corporation had also considered a plant in Delhi. Also, the corporation had deliberated on the Plasma technology, which involves heating gas in garbage. This technology does not have the approval of the Environment Ministry. Garbage-to-pellet and pellet-to-power technology was found to be best suited for the city. One of the original the bidders in this category from Hyderabad has a plant located around 50 km from the city. Going by the size of the UT, the plant could not have found a place in the city and had to be located either in Punjab or Haryana. Mr Ram Tirath, a resident of Dadu Majra, said it was heartening to learn that a unit was coming up in the vicinity of the area because untreated waste was piling up as were the woes of the residents. The corporation should upgrade the current system to cover the garbage disposed at the dumping ground till new arrangements were made, he added.
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Time to air grievances
Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 19 A random survey of the village and settlements outside the lal dora reveals that the residents want a solution on the issue of unauthorised structures outside the lal dora. Of the total 12,000 voters, around 2500 are outside the lal dora. “Unlike last time we will not be taken in by false promises made by the candidates to regularise our structures,” said Mr C.P. Mittal, a resident of Deep Complex. The residents have formed a Joint Action Committee, a forum of those living outside the lal dora, to contest their case. Over 800 houses have come up outside the lal dora and the issue of demolition is like a Damocles’ sword hanging over their heads. Instead of sorting out the basic issues like water, electricity and cleanliness, officers prefer to discuss the issue of encroachments, said Mr B.S.Rawat, a resident of Deep Complex in the village. A visit to the village reveals that cleanliness has been a major causality there. A low lying chunk of land, overrun with wild growth, is being used to dump garbage. Located along the Ambala-Chandigarh highway, the site paints a shabby image of City Beautiful. During rains, the strom water is also collected in the low lying area, allowing mosquitoes to breed. Not to mention that the village panchayat was spending thousands of rupees on private safai karamcharis. The employees collect garbage from open drains and dump it on the outskirts of the village. Mr Sukhdeep Singh, Sarpanch of the village, said estimates of development works are not cleared for months by officials in the Chandigarh Administration. He said integration of the basic services like sewerage for population inside and outside the lal dora should be been done. Not a single penny could be spent on providing amenities to those living outside the lal dora, said a member of the village panchayat. Encroachments have led to the narrowing of the road in front of shops and houses. There have been instances when a fire broke out in the heart of the village and fire engines could not reach the spot. Mr B.S Rawat, a resident of Deep Complex, said the sufferings of those living outside the lal dora are innumerable. “There is no regular supply of water for us. The power cable used by a private contractor to give bulk power supply hangs precariously over wooden poles,” he adds.
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Weather stations upgraded for
Chandigarh, June 19 Besides SASE, a Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratory engaged in avalanche forecasting and cold weather engineering, has also upgraded its network of conventional laboratories to state-of-the-art weather stations. Certain technical features have been incorporated in these weather stations for accurate meteorology and avalanche forecasting. SASE is devising methods for accurate forecasting of avalanches up to four days in advance. Following the impetus laid on enhancing mountain warfare and high-altitude deployment in the wake of the 1999 Kargil conflict, SASE had launched a five-year project to establish three upper air observatories and 22 surface observatories and a network of unmanned automatic weather stations. Two upper air observatories are already functioning in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Though primarily defence oriented, data and information generated by SASE is also supplied to government agencies, certain civilian establishments and local populace in avalanche prone-areas. It issues avalanche warnings bulletins for selected regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal and has also compiled a data bank of snow-meteorological parameters in these three states for research work. SASE is also offering consultancy services to state governments for the protection of important installations and settlements, consultancy to Director- General, Border Roads Organisation, and expertise in realignment of roads and co-location of camps in snow-bound areas. Recently, SASE has prepared avalanche hazard data cards using remote sensing and GIS techniques for the Army. These cards are handy, easy to refer and contain track profiles duly marked with avalanche-prone sites. The cards also contain salient information about the area, including a digital model of the terrain. To reduce casualty rate and also to accelerate the pace of socio-economic growth of the inaccessible snowbound hill regions, a number of highways and roads in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal are also being studied for identification of avalanche paths, snow drift deposition, frequency and severity of avalanche activity and extent of highway affected.
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Monkey mayhem in Sector 45
Chandigarh, June 19 The monkeys opened the covers of overhead water tanks, and soiled and tore clothes on lines in the houses, a resident said. “We called up the police and were told to contact the corporation officials. There was no response on the emergency number of the corporation,” he said. The problem continued till late in the evening.
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Passing Thru
Elaborate on the controversy about certain painkillers and their adverse affect on the heart?
There has been a debate on the issue after painkiller Rofecoxib was banned in the US and subsequently in India due to its cardiovascular adverse effects. This was one of the fastest actions ever taken by the Indian drug authorities. Physicians must be careful in prescribing the strong painkillers, especially COX-2 inhibitors on long-term basis, because the increased risk of cardiovascular events could be due to the effect of all COX-2 inhibitors. What do you think should be the safest first line of moderate treatment for fever and pain? The safest drug for the treatment of fever and pain is paracetamol. Paracetamol is also the first-line-treatment for pain and fever in children as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations. Any breakthrough for safe and effective management of pain and fever? There has been some advancement in the modified formulation of paracetamol, which is made to act faster: for example addition of sodium bicarbonate to paracetamol. The availability of such paracetamol formulation may settle the issue of faster relief. — Neelam Sharma
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College Call get admission Neelam Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 19 The students will have to provide their supplementary examination results before the last date of PU admissions, (which is August 31 for session 2005-06) so that they can be considered for any of the vacant seats still left with the affiliated colleges. “Till last year, we were refusing admission to those students who had secured less than 20 per cent marks in the subject of their compartment. We were following this practice even if the candidate had improved this score in the supplementary examination and got more than 20 per cent marks before the last date of admissions. However, this year we will consider such cases if the seats are vacant after the supplementary results of the Class XII are declared,’’ says PU Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak. The decision is only applicable for admissions in BA, B.Sc and B.Com (I) and not in any other professional or non-professional course run by PU. “This decision is likely to benefit a number of students who are able to meet the admission criteria of PU after their supplementary results of compartment are declared. If the seats are vacant and the students are fulfilling all other eligibility criteria, then why deny them a chance,’’ remarks a PU Syndicate member. In fact, the university Syndicate, at its recent meeting, has also given its mandatory nod for allowing such admissions from the forthcoming session so that the academic year of some students could be saved. The point was first raised by a university Fellow, Dr Rajinder Bhandari, who argued that when the university was allowing admission to those students having more than 20 per cent marks in the compartment subject were eligible to join higher classes then why not consider those students for admission who score more than 20 per cent marks in the compartment subject after the supplementary examination.
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Spunky boy scores 79 pc despite
cancer
Chandigarh, June 19 Though the score might seem “mediocre” in times when the highest score hovers around the 98 per cent mark, Hargunpreet is no ordinary boy. He has scored the high percentage despite being a blood cancer patient for over two years now. The son of a schoolteacher, Hargunpreet was inspired by an article of a cancer patient who scored 63 per cent in the examination held last year. “The article appeared in The Tribune last year. This prompted me to labour and score even more than that student. I am satisfied with my achievement which has brought a lot of happiness into our lives after a longtime,” he says. A topper of Budha Dal Public School, Patiala, he was forced to pull out of school after he was found to be suffering from the dreaded disease as soon as he entered Class X two years ago. Then, began the numerous rounds to PGIMER in the city. “I was forced to pull out of school and join a government school near my residence,” he adds. The 22 weeks of intensive chemotherapy and 13 sessions of radiotherapy left him frail and weak. He dropped the board examination last year. However, this year, with the story of another students of leukemia at the back of his mind, he mustered enough courage to take the examination. “The strong medicines did not allow me to attend classes regularly. I would go to school as and when my health permitted. My teachers were very accommodating and explained problematic topics during their free periods. During the days that I could not go, I would sit at home and pray and meditate a lot. I read books on the lives of great men and religious leaders and even wrote articles on them,” Hargunpreet maintains. His interest was not confined to academics alone. In school, he excelled in painting, essay writing, turban tying and calligraphy, winning prizes and participating in all activities with enthusiasm. However, all through the examination his father Roopinder Singh urged his son not to tax himself for a few marks. “He would study long into the night. Obviously, we could not sleep while he was awake and were worried about the way it was affecting his health since he hardly had any strength. However, he persisted in his efforts and came out with flying colours. He is a hero in our eyes,” the father states. Hargunpreet wants to pursue higher education in philosophy and religious studies and become a religious preacher like Giani Sant Singh Maskeen.
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PU approves five new courses in MCM
Chandigarh, June 19 The college has also been granted affiliation for M.Sc (IT) and Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA). The PU Syndicate, in its meeting on Saturday, had given nod to the new courses in the college after the reports of the inspection committee had given a favourable response. The Syndicate has also given its approval for increasing the number of seats in MA (English) at Government College, Sector 11, from 35 to 60.
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Symposium on architecture
Chandigarh, June 19 Addressing the aspiring architects, Mr S.L. Kaushal, Chief Architect, Government of Punjab, advised the students to take up a career in which they had a natural aptitude. He said, “Architecture allows a student to develop his personality, as it is the most comprehensive form of education. The job of an architect broadly is to bring order by designing spaces both inside and outside towards creating building environment for enhancing quality of life. An architect needs to have a passion for integrity, who thinks and plans for all.” Prof I.J.S. Bakshi, Director, Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture, said “There are diverse employment and self-employment opportunities for architects. With a number of specialised jobs emerging such as landscape architecture, urban design, architectural conservation, project management, building construction and technology, interior design, computer-aided design etc., the field is wide open for various career options.” Talking about the changing face of architecture, Mr Dilbir Singh Bhui, Former Chief Architect, Uttar Pradesh Awaas Vikas Nigam, who has been actively involved in the designing of mega projects in Lucknow, Kanpur, Punjabi University, Patiala, and various projects in Uttaranchal, added, “The one great thing about architecture is that it depends upon ones imagination and one can continuously learn many new things every day. With newer technologies coming in these days, an architect faces greater challenge to adapt these technologies in his routine planning and design. The future for all design-related fields is very bright in India.” According to Prof Surjit Bains, Principal of Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture (CSPA), “With more and more young students opting for architecture, the need for new architecture schools has increased. It was for this reason that the Chitkara Education Trust set up the CSPA at its 35 acre educational institutional campus on the Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway, 32 km from Chandigarh.” The Chairman, Chitkara Educational Trust, Mr Ashok Chitkara, said “The objective of the symposium is to bring together, on one platform, accomplished and experienced practising architects as well as academicians face-to-face with students aspiring to take up architecture as their career.”
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Seminar on company liquidation held
Chandigarh, June 19 Mr Justice J.S. Narang of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was the chief guest on the occasion. He spoke on the topic briefly and explained the process of liquidation followed by courts.
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B.Sc (I) results declared
Chandigarh, June 19
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Kasauli beckons weekend revellers
Where to stay
The town offers a variety of places to suit every pocket ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 4,500. While the officials visiting the place prefer the state government-managed Circuit House, Ros Common or the PWD guest house, for others the choice could be among Kasauli Resorts offering facilities like steam and sauna bath, gym, variety of games, live band every evening or the oldest yet comfortable Alasia Hotel. With tourism being the main attraction a number of private hotels like R-Maidens, Maurice, etc, are also available.
Nestling amidst the evergreen pines, the pristine cantonment town of Kasauli offers a perfect combination of solace, peace and quietude to the city weary souls.
Originally spelt, “Kusso-wlie”, the town was among a chain of cantonments built by the British around 1940 to garrison troops in preparation for a war against the Sikhs. The British paid Rs 5,000 to the local Rana for the land but it was soon annexed by them and later converted into a hill resort. Initially known for the Pasteur Institute, which manufactured anti-rabies vaccine, it is now the abode of hordes of famous people of India. It is the magic of the pine- whipped air, the rich green hue and the unblemished pristine landscape that some of the famous artists, including writers have made it their summer abode. This includes noted journalist and writer Khushwant Singh, Bulbul Sharma, renowned artist Vimaan Sunderam and also Ruskin Bond who was born here. Being a cantonment has proved to be a boon for the town as it has restricted the construction of new buildings keeping alive the charm of the grand old Britsih-made buildings. A stroll on the Lower Mall in the evenings is a refreshing experience. Leading to the town’s highest point known as the Monkey Point, it is the most sought after place for the holiday revellers. Earlier called the Tapp’s nose for its long snout like look, it is, however, under the control of the Air Force authorities who pose certain restrictions on the visitors. The Upper Mall leads to some of the famous buildings, including the 125-year old Kasauli Club, Khushwant Singh’s Raj Villa, the century old Central Research Institute housed in an old structure, St Cloud’s, and Gilbert House etc. With green hue cascading the slopes, it is the varied birds which break the monotony of this quiet hill town. The trillings of the black birds, chirping of the bulbuls, mynahs and hill crows in the mornings coupled with the hoot of the koels and Himalayan barbets’ incessant calls greet a visitor in the afternoons. The Magpies, bearing long curved tails, and black langoors are also visible at most of the places. So are the mouse deer, jackals, foxes, barking deer, etc. In Kasauli, the famous adage of “In hills it is fashion to walk and not ride in cars” is perhaps the reason why there are restrictions on the movements of vehicles along the malls especially in the summers. Experiencing a mild snow fall in the winters, the temperature remains pleasant during summers when it receives the maximum rush of tourists.
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Complaint of missing child falls on deaf ears
Mohali, June 19 In a written complaint to the SP of Mohali, Shanti Devi, a daily wager worker living in Industrial area, Phase IX, here, has alleged that her family’s acquaintance Naushad a resident of Nehru Colony in Phase 3A, is responsible for her child Kalu Jamuna Prasad going missing. Relating the incident, Shanti said she had gone with her brother-in-law Jokhan Lal to Kharar for some work on May 31. Since there was no one at home she left her child with Naushad, a friend of Jokhan, in Nehru Colony asking him to take care of the child till returned. “However, when we came back in the evening, we were told that my child went out to play in the afternoon and has not returned since,” she said. Having lost her child was just the beginning of Shanti’s harrowing story. She went to the Phase VIII police station but she was told that she should report to the Phase 11 police post. “We went there and were told that we should go back to the Phase VIII from where we were virtually shooed away like dogs yesterday,” said Shanti. Begging for help, Shanti says she is not even sure if her child is alive. “But please ask the police to question Naushad. I am sure he knows where my child is,” she says.
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Youth Cong celebrates ‘Young India
Day’
Chandigarh, June 19 Mr Bansal said, “Mr Rahul Gandhi is a charismatic leader who has a vision for the future of the nation.” The youth pledged to make efforts for social justice and equality in the nation besides promoting scientific temper. Mr H.S. Lucky, president of the local unit of the territorial Congress, said the youth had an inspirational figure in Rahul Gandhi to follow for leading the nation towards progress. The youth leaders present on the occasion included Mr Didar Singh, Mr Gurinder Happy, Mr Ajay Sharma, Mr Narinder Singh, Mr Sumit Chawla, Mr Rakesh Garg, Mr Ramandeep, Manpreet, Mr Ajay Sikka, Mr Anil Goyal, Mr Ashwani, Mr Sandeep, Mr Anil Sharma, Mr Ajay Singla, Mr Rajesh Manu and Tarandeep.
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Congress committee meeting on June 22
Chandigarh, June 19 Party sources said at the meeting, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, would be authorised to nominate the president of the local unit.
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Maharana Pratap Jayanti celebrated
Panchkula, June 19 Speakers highlighted the contribution of Maharana Pratap to the nation. A few poets also recited their poems in the honour of Maharana Pratap. The function was nicely organised. The
existing body of the sabha was dissolved and a new executive committee of the sabha was elected. Those elected are: president — Mr Ram Swarup Singh; senior vice-president — Mr Dharam Singh Rana; vice-presidents — Mr V.P.S. Raghav and Mr Ashok Chauhan; general secretary — Mr Dhoom Singh Chauhan; joint secretary — Mr Mahesh Parmar; organising secretary — Mr Sudhir Raghav; stage secretary — Dr Khem Singh Katoch; auditor — Mr O.P. Singh and press secretary — Mr Rahul Chauhan.
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Encroachments make rehri markets fire-prone
This refers to a news item “Fire in shop” in Chandigarh Tribune dated June 10. The UT Administration has warned the traders of the rehri markets of Sectors 15, 19 and 22 to remove all encroachments from verandahs and passages by June 13. The decision is praiseworthy. The city Fire Department has recently stated that more than 600 buildings in the city has no fire-fighting system. The department has also warned that Sectors 15, 19 and 22 rehri markets are the most vulnerable to fire.
The Municipal Corporation had suggested measures to streamline rehri markets in different parts of the city to check fire threat. The Sector 19 rehri market was gutted twice in the fire in 1981 and 1993. Booths have been built in Sector 19 and other parts of the city but the owners are not cooperating with the Administration. The reasons behind this attitude is encroachments. Even the parking place for the vehicles has been encroached upon. They have no fear of the MC, Estate Office or the
police. The Sector 19 and 22 rehri markets are a virtual death trap in case of a fire. The Delhi Fire Department has recently disconnected the water and electricity connections of those who have failed to comply with fire safety norms. Can we have a similar action from the authorities concerned. M.L.Garg,
Ban on burning of dry leaves In violation of the apex court’s orders regarding the ban on the burning of dry leaves and other waste, safai karamcharis burn these in vacant residential plots or under trees on road berms. The official of the Municipal Council/ environment societies/ welfare societies never check these. Toxic fumes, which includes carbon monoxide, are emitted while burning these, leading to cough, irritation in the eyes and respiratory disorders. The Municipal Council should ban it and impose a fine for violators. Welfare and environment associations should also discourage their members from throwing garbage and burning it in vacant residential plots. The council should get these plots cleaned regularly. K.M. Madan,
Telephone bill woes A resident in Panchkula normally has three week’s time for payment of a telephone bill. They are generally issued on the seventh of a month to be paid by 28th of that month. But these are received very late. This gives one only a few days instead of the 21 days allowed by the government in this regard. This means that 15 days are taken by the department for delivery of bills. This is causing a lot of inconvenience to senior citizens as they
resident alone and have no body to help them. Efforts were made to contact the BSNL authorities for the past more than two years, but in vain. No body owns the responsibility for the timely delivery of the bills. The BSNL authorities blame the Department of Posts for the late delivery and the latter in turn blame the BSNL authorities. Will the BSNL, Chandigarh, and Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Ambala, look into the matter and remove the grievances of elderly people. Er Sham Lal Gupta,
Moon is the way out It is very interesting to read the story contributed by your correspondent Mr Tripti Nath titled ‘The moon within their reach’, Chandigarh Tribune, May 5, 2005. It is out of curiosity and doing something new that people started buying land on moon through Lunar Republic Society of New York. Not too surprising are the comments of Professor Kochher who has given his expert scientific opinion in this matter. However, one should not ignore the most pertinent and important fact that man has been polluting land, water and atmosphere for centuries now. There is an increasing invasion by bacteria and diseases that are threatening life on earth. We may also be a victim of cosmic phenomenon and God's doing which may extinct living species. Thanks to the scientific progress and scientific thinking which has reduced danger to some extent. Nevertheless, time may come when control on life-supporting resources will be corroded so badly that scientists may not be able to fight against it. The only desperate attempt then will be to leave earth and set foot on other heavenly body. In this attempt, moon is the only place where settlement may be possible in due course of time. Since necessity is the mother of invention, man will develop moon to its living conditions. M.M. Fazil,
PEC's result woes This communication is being sent to highlight the problems of the PEC students. Punjab University conducts examinations for all branches of Punjab Engineering College (PEC). It has come to our notice that examinations were conducted by PU six months ago only for few branches and the results have not been declared yet for many branches. The students are preparing and appearing for the 2nd, 4th and 6th semester examinations but the results for 1st, 3rd and 5th semesters are still awaited for few branches. The results are being declared at a time when the students are appearing in the final examinations and it has disturbed their peace of mind because results which were declared fifteen days ago, their detailed marks card (DMC) have not been dispatched to the PEC. The students, who want to apply for revaluation, can not apply since they have to attach DMC (detailed marks card) with revaluation forms and these forms are available and accepted by PU within 20-25 days after declaration of results. Many students are in a state of shock because no DMC (detailed marks card) is received by the college in spite of the repeated visits to the PU results branch by the PEC students and the PU result branch authorities are rude to the students instead of extending a helping hand. It has been learnt that in past too, on certain occasions the DMC's (detailed marks card) were dispatched late by the PU authorities and many students were deprived of filing revaluation applications. It is a serious matter which needs immediate attention of the VC and result branch at PU and necessary instructions be issued to PU result branch to expedite detailed mark card (DMCs) and pending results of all PEC branches. Since after 15th May, the college (PEC) will be closed for summer break and the students will not be able to see their results and those who are willing to improve their score will not be able to file revaluation forms. Col P. Parthasarthy,
Rose Garden in a shambles I
am a resident of Chandigarh. As all other city residents, I too am proud to be a Chandigarian. The other day we took our four American guests to the city's pride — the famous Rose Garden — and were surprised to see the pathetic condition of the pool and the dancing fountain installed there. The Tribune, being people's newspaper, I request you to take up the matter with the concerned authorities. I am giving some facts that need prompt attention: a. The pool is full of mud b. The beautiful mosaic tiles, worth lakh of rupees, are as good as waste, as you cannot see the floor design. c. The dancing fountain's 25 per cent nozzles are not functioning properly, same is the case with lights. d. Due to dirty conditions, it distracts tourists and gives bad image to the city. e. We were ashamed when one of our guests asked us that was there nobody responsible or cleaning this beautiful pool. He even took one photograph of the dirty pool. f. That is why I'm writing to you or someday the city beautiful might be called as dirty city. Vikas Gupta,
Time to decongest city traffic Traffic problem (both congestion and parking) in Chandigarh is becoming serious day by day and calls for urgent solutions. Le Corbusier adopted the best pattern of layout i.e. grid pattern, to ensure smooth and equi-table flow of traffic. However, he could not imagine in the wildest of his dreams that the city one day would be circumscribed by haphazard growth and finally hemmed between two big townships i.e. Panchkula and Mohali. What has finally emerged physically after 50 years is one big monstrous city having three name i.e. Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali ruled by three administrative governments. Chandigarh of Le Corbusier now exists at the central core and bears the maximum onslaughts of heavy traffic inflows and outflows. Rich people 50 per cent whom own one or more cars inhabit all three township and Zirakpur. The three cities are not mutually exclusive. Large numbers of people live in Panchkula and Mohali and work in the city and vice versa and generates lot of to and fro traffic. Other townships like Pinjore, Kalka, Kharar and Ropar too have grown as satellite towns and send a large number of daily commuters to the city to generate additional traffic. The net effect of this gravitational pull is the generation of traffic to an extent that city roads are unable to take. The situation would become critical in the next five years when all sectors of Panchkula and Mohali are inhabited. The Administration seems to be aware of the problem but does not spell out the future plans. Now we cannot design an ideal system such that all people stop using their personal transport and make use of the public transport. Even in the best system some people will always use their personal vehicles firstly because of the status symbol and secondly it cannot drop you at the door-step of your destination. Whatever system is designed it must be the combined project of Haryana, Punjab and UT governments. I suggest following different short term and long-term pragmatic and result-oriented alternatives. Construction of elevated metro system over a distance of 35 km connecting Panchkula, Mohali, Chandigarh (touching Sector 17, PGI, Secretariat, Tribune Chow and Zirakpur) will definitely bring tremendous relief on surface roads. About 60 per cent office goers will definitely travel by the new system. Even during daytime most people will make use of this system. But the, present day cost of this system will be whooping Rs 5,000 crore and I do not think that three states would opt for it. If the Government of Punjab, Haryana and UT administration put their heads together and provide semi deluxe buses in sufficient number during morning and evening rush hours at subsidised freight of Rs 5 per person, then most people will prefer to travel by these buses than by personal transport resulting in considerable decongestion in traffic flow on the main roads. Private agency can be easily roped in for this purpose. To compensate for this loss in the freight, these agencies can be given other earning routes during non-rush hours. (6 to 8 a.m., 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The main source of traffic congestion is the crossings at the short distances of 1/2 mile and 3/8 mile. Instead of providing heavy and costly fly-overs, we can provide light and economical two tier fly-overs across various crossings for the smooth movement of light vehicles (cars and two wheelers). Since 80 per cent vehicles fall in this category, the main cause of traffic congestion at crossing would be mitigated. The cost of such light fly-overs will not be more than Rs 7 to 8 crore. We can provide an elevated track of 35 km connecting Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali (2 lane tracks on the two sides of the road) for light vehicles along busy routes with slip roads for linking with the surface road. The present day cost of this track would be Rs 15 crore per km. Once 80 per cent vehicles are segregated the traffic volume on surface roads would be significantly reduced. The three states can definitely pool their resources to the extent of Rs 525 crore to solve this problem permanently. If Chandigarh is divided into two districts, the number of people coming to Sector 17 court offices will be greatly reduced. Haryana government has shifted many of its offices to Panchkula. Punjab government has not done the same to shift its offices to Mohali, accordingly Punjab government should be persuaded to do so. R.N. Malik,
No camping site I as a journalist have been travelling all over India for the past three months. During my visit to Chandigarh I met an elderly Sikh gentleman, Mr Narinder Singh of 3409, Sector 37-D. He helped in finding my way through the city and getting an appropriate accommodation. In Chandigarh tourists are not treated well. For instance, there is no camping site even
though a place has been earmarked on the map. Christoph Pichler,
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Slimming workshop at Press Club
Chandigarh, June 19 Experts from the VLCC delivered lectures on beauty packages, latest trends and talked about various techniques of weight loss. A demonstration on light makeup for summer was also given. Nearly 70 persons attended the workshop. The experts also answered a lot of queries on the occasion. Mrs Shobha Suri, Zonal Manager of the VLCC, said, “We are offering huge discounts to the members of the club on various packages too”.
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Sector 33-A streets in darkness
Chandigarh, June 19
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Birender meets Press today
Chandigarh, June 19
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One hurt in clash
Mohali, June 19 Budh Singh has been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. The
police said a case would be registered tomorrow after the receipt of
Budh Singh’s medical report. Two injured:
According to the police, one
person was discharged after being given first aid, while the other was
admitted to a local hospital. The driver of the truck sped away after
the accident.
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5 company petrol stations open today
Chandigarh, June 19 The pumps, which will not go on strike are CITCO, Sector 9, BP, Sector 21. IBP, Sector 33; IOC, Sectors 22 and 56. The association is going on strike in response to the nationwide strike call given by the Federation of All India Petroleum Dealers to press their demand for increasing dealers’ commission. In the neighbouring townships also, the petrol pumps owned by companies will be open. The state-level coordinator of Punjab, Mr S.K. Sharma, has in an official note stated that besides the company-owned and company-operated retail outlets, those operated by government agencies like the Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation, the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation will continue working. Their main demands pertain to an increase in the dealers’ commission and the temperature variation allowance. The association president, Col H.S. Kapoor (retd) said the commission should be increased to 5 per cent from 1.27 per cent at present. The rate of commission in the country was lowest as compared to other nations. He added that the temperature variation allowance should also be increased. Even in countries like Pakistan and Thailand the commission rate was over 5 per cent. Meanwhile, the federation is also planning an indefinite strike if their demands are not accepted. They are also demanding that the agreement, it signed with various oil companies in 2001 should also be implemented and that there should be a common price policy for petrol.
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