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Haryana to set up IT corridor in Panchkula
Chandigarh, July 14 Even as Punjab and Chandigarh tried to woo the IT giants by projecting the projects already undertaken by them to emerge as IT destinations, Haryana Principal Secretary (IT) P.K. Chaudhary said Panchkula was rather being developed as a major Technology City with a SEZ status. He added that they were also working out the modalities to develop an Express Highway around Delhi's Ring Road. Giving details of the location, he said it would initially be spread over an area of 250 acres overlooking the golf course next to Ghaggar river with Shivalik range in the backdrop. In fact, it would be joining Chandigarh’s technology park and was expected to attract companies for nano-technology, bio-technology, etc. "In another two or three years, the area will expand to 1000 acres," he said. He added that the technology city will have adequate living, entertainment and shopping facilities. The entire project would be undertaken with private-public partnership. Highlighting the growth of NCR region, he said excellent infrastructure and pro-active environment had helped MNCs to set up units in Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida. The focus of the state would now be on developing Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula as "a tri-city IT destination for the purposes of investment by MNCs and other IT companies". Claiming that the environment was investor friendly, he said the state was willing to set up more and more parks but was unable to accommodate the requests of all companies. While the state already has two food parks, two more are on the anvil. Earlier, Mr B.R. Bajaj, Principal Secretary ( IT), Punjab, said government was becoming IT savvy with local area networking (LAN) in the Civil Secretariat and other offices. Besides this, the empowered committee on mega projects has been sanctioning projects over Rs 100 crore. He added that the thrust of the government was to provide the benefits of IT at the grassroot levels by developing human resources through IT education in schools. Mr Subodh Aggarwal (Punjab's Secretary IT) reiterated that the state was not doling out enough financial incentives to lure investment in the region due to financial constraints. But was providing business friendly environment for real estate and urban development, ensuing private participation in the process. For Chandigarh, the conclave on IT beginning from tomorrow could not have been organised at a better time. Expected to attract major IT projects with huge investments, it comes at a time when the city is all set to launch its twin projects — Information Technology Park and Technology Habitat spread over an area of about 600 acre. Besides this, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status for IT in Chandigarh has already been approved by the Union Government. The establishment of SEZ is likely to lead to private sector investment and foreign direct investment (FDI), besides attracting investible surplus capital to this region. It is also expected to encourage public-private partnership in infrastructure and industry. Chandigarh's IT Director Vivek Atray says the conference is going to be a huge success with over 250 registrations. "The booking is full. There will not be any spot registration," he says. ‘‘Chandigarh is today being looked upon at as the best IT destination by the people around the world”, said Mr Atray. Their proactive policy had attracted much more investments than expected. As a result, even NASSCOM considered Chandigarh a serious contender, along with Thiruvanathapuram, Mysore, Jaipur and Nasik. Highlighting the importance of BPOs, he said nationally, ITES/BPO segment accounted for 30 per cent of the total ITES exports from India in 2004-2004. ITES and BPO exports are expected to be $ 7.3 billion in 2005-2006. Mr S. K. Sandhu, UT Finance Secretary, said already a special committee to harness IT development had been created with the representatives from Punjab, Haryana and UT to meet the aspirations of a region growing as an IT destination. He informed the gathering about various initiatives taken by the Administration and informed that basic objective had been to simplify and rationalise the governance process. Meanwhile, NASSCOM chief, Mr Kiran Karnik, arrived in the city late in the evening and would be chairing Friday's inaugural session of the biggest IT conference, first of its kind North of Delhi. Organised by NASSCOM, the conclave has been divided into five plenary sessions and will focus on "IT-ITES: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges". Kiran Karnik and HFCL Chairman Mahendra Nahata will be the key speakers. The last session on "the International Perspective on Indian Investment" will be attended by the trade commissioners from Canada, France and the UK.
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Naya Gaon residents expect better infrastructure Chandigarh, July 14 Already, property rates have been jacked up at least 30 per cent, with most property dealers adopting a wait-and-watch policy. “Once the NAC is actually constituted, land rates will rise further. After reading in the newspapers that the high court has lifted the stay, the number of customers coming to buy land have increased manifolds,” said a property dealer. The high court has also made numerous residents of the locality happy. They hope the Punjab Government would now do something to improve infrastructure of the area. “Come here when it is raining. It is difficult to walk on the streets. There is no drainage system. I hope the government will improve civic conditions here,” said Mr Harish Kumar, a resident. The high court had yesterday vacated the stay imposed by it on the November 2001 notification of the Punjab regarding the constitution of NAC. The areas that will form part of the NAC are the villages of Karoran, Nadha and Kansal. Incidentally, property prices had also risen sharply in November 2001 when the NAC proposal had been mooted. But, the high court stay had meant that the joy of property dealers was short-lived. “But we hope the government will do something before any further court intervention, if any,” says Mr Arjun Singh, ex-sarpanch, Kansal. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, General Secretary Parvinder Singh, while hailing the High Court order said that he was hopeful Punjab Government would take steps to improve infrastructure and civic condition in the areas falling in the Notified Area Committee. Meanwhile, the meeting called by Minister for Animal Husbandry Jagmohan Singh Kang, in whose Assembly constituency the area falls for today was postponed at the last meeting. It will be held tomorrow now.
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Lobbying on for post of local Cong chief Chandigarh, July 14 While the present incumbent, Mr BB Bahl, is making last-ditch efforts to retain the coveted post, the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, is making all-out efforts to get one of his confidants — Mr Ram Pal Sharma and Mr Subhash Chawla — installed at the post. Party sources said the ball was now in the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi’s, court. And with the appointment of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief yesterday, the appointment of the CTCC chief was a matter of days. Recently, the Pawan Bansal faction had managed to get a majority in the Territorial Congress Committee (TCC) appointed by the high command. It was widely believed that after the formation of the TCC and the appointments of the 25 block presidents, the ouster of Mr Bahl was a forgone conclusion. However, the joy of the Bansal group was
short-lived as Mr Bahl is strongly backed by the Union Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. On the other hand, Mr Bansal is considered close to senior leaders like Ms Ambika Soni and AICC general secretary and in charge of Chandigarh, Mr Janardhan Dwivedi. In
fact, efforts by certain senior AICC leaders to effect a “compromise” between Mr Bahl and Bansal seem to have come to a naught. And with the Union Cabinet expansion round the round corner, it is widely believed that Mr
Bansal, a senior MP, might find a place in it. As part of the compromise formula, the high command might offer Mr Bansal a Cabinet berth and retain Mr Bahl as the CTCC chief, thus placating both the factions. However, Mr Bahl’s detractors argued that it would be an uphill task for him to carry the party organisation, packed with Bansal supporters, with him in the run-up to the Municipal Corporation of
Chandigarh (MCC) elections next year. They argued that the party needed a grassroot leaders to lead the party in the election and Mr Sharma and Mr Chawla fitted the bill. On the flip side, Mr Bahl had demonstrated his ability to lead the party even in the wake of strong opposition from local leaders. And the Manish Tewari and Venod Sharma factions of the CTCC also do not have any problem working with him.
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Contract system for paid parking flawed Chandigarh, July 14 Due to lacunae in the system of awarding paid parking contracts, a number of contractors in the past gave up the contract mid-way. To run the system smoothly, enlistment of the contractors should be made mandatory. In the paid parking system introduced till date, the municipal corporation has not followed the system of enlistment of the contractors. As a result, contractors who can manage the system professionally are not being hired. Sources in the corporation say that the most affected parking lots have been the CMC parking, Anand Cinema parking and the Bank Square parking in Sector 17, causing loss of revenue to the corporation. The contractors have left mid-way either due to loss of revenue or lack of ability to professionally manage the parking lots. To run such paid parking lots, the corporation has to either deploy private security guards or employ its own staff leading to a drastic drop in the revenue. A classic example has been the paid parking in front of the district courts in Sector 17. Since there is little space for further expansion of paid parkings in Sectors 8, 9, 22 and 35, the corporation should go for temporary parking lots adjoining the existing parking lots. In the case of Sector 35, the facing open space in Sector 34 could be used for the purpose. The two parking lots could be connected through sub-ways. The Administration could decide that on certain days in a month, no vehicle should be permitted in the parking areas. The restrictions could be by way of levying a toll on vehicles with less than two persons to encourage car pooling.
Panel recommendations
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Solution to flooding problem in sight Panchkula, July 14 Today, the President of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat, Mr Narinder Sharma, held a meeting with the Panchkula Municipal Council President, Mr Tarun Bhandari, to find an amicable solution to the issue. Though the issue has been taken up at various levels between the governments of Punjab and Haryana, no solution has yet been found. Mr Bhandari said that his counterpart in Zirakpur had agreed to give a proper channel for the nullah to flow through its area. “A meeting of officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, the Panchkula district administration and representatives of the two local bodies will be held shortly to formally sort out the
issue. They even agreed to construct a retaining wall along the nullah to prevent flooding of the land alongside,” he said. The entire rain water in Panchkula flows down through three seasonal rivulets to Industrial Area and Sector 19 here. The outflow of water from the township is through three places in the neighbouring areas of Punjab, which have now been usurped by colonisers and marriage palace owners in Zirakpur. Since the water cannot find an outlet, the water pressure not only damages the buildings constructed on this land reclaimed on the natural course of the
nullahs, but also floods the low-lying areas like Sector 19 and Industrial Area, falling near the
nullahs. A few years ago, the storm water would drain out in the nullah flowing behind Industrial Area. Most of the natural course of the nullah has been usurped and Harmilap Nagar stands on this land. From here, the nullah reaches the Punjab and Haryana boundary, near Shagun Hotel, where the outflow is now blocked. The second outflow of water from the township is also blocked by a coloniser, who has built apartments on the natural course near the railway line on the Zirakpur-Panchkula highway. The third outflow of storm water from Panchkula has been blocked by a marriage palace near the ganda nullah in Dhakauli village.
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‘Anti-staff’ policies of JCT Ltd to be discussed Mohali, July 14 In a press note released here today, the JCT Electronics Mazdoor Sangh president, Mr Kuldeep Singh, said that an open invitation was given to JCT employees for the meeting to discuss the moves that the management could allegedly take to put employees into trouble. He said that the cases going on in tribunals were allegedly being overlooked and no efforts were being made to clear the pending dues, including gratuity and provident fund of some employees who had retired. Mr Kuldeep Singh said that out of about 200 employees called back to work after lifting the lock out by the JCT management, most of them were shifted to the Baroda unit in Gujarat. The rest were also allegedly being pressurised to go to Baroda as it was not certain when the local unit would start production. He said that workers were losing hope that the unit would start functioning. He said that the agreement that had taken place between the JCT management and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha in the presence of the local Labour Commissioner was being allegedly thrown to the winds and the Labour Commissioner, Punjab Labour Secretary, Punjab, and the state government had become silent spectators. The lockout was lifted after 11 months and about 15 per cent of the employees who were taken back on work were being allegedly sent to Baroda. The power and water connections for the local unit had not been got restored yet.
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‘Bring guilty MC officials to book’ Panchkula, July 14 These Councillors said that with allegations being levelled against the Council, it was casting the Council and its Councillors in poor light. They demanded that the guilty Councillors and MC officials should be brought to book. It may be noted that the alleged bungling of funds by the committees formed by MC for maintenance of parks has been reported. The Urban Development Department, too, has ordered an inquiry into the matter. It is alleged that while no money was spent on the development or upkeep of parks, this was siphoned off by the
committee members in collusion with certain Municipal Councillors, who were heading these committees. Though the public parks in the township were
transferred to Municipal Council, the latter had no staff for their upkeep. Thus, it was decided to form committees of residents to maintain the parks after Municipal Council paid them some money. However, the committee members have now been accused of using the money to develop their personal gardens at home.
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Chandigarh Press Club
expedition team reaches city Chandigarh, July 14 The expedition crossed numerous passes, including Tanglang La and Chang La (2nd and 3rd highest motorable passes in the world, respectively), enroute to the lake. The expedition was at one point stranded for 25 hours at Khangral, 65 km short of Kargil, following a landslide caused by a cloudburst on their way back to the city. The team had to return via Srinagar due to the poor state of the Manali-Leh National Highway. The team, led by Adventure Committee chairman Sukhvir Singh, comprised Pritam Singh Rupal, Manmohan Singh, Swadesh Talwar, Tejinder Sehgal, Vishal Gulati, Paramvir Singh Bains, Umesh Ghrera, Pankaj Vasudeva, Pardeep Dhull, Dr Joginder Singh, Arun Naithani, Amarnath Vashisht, Pankaj Sharma, Rohit Avasthi, and Narinder Singh.
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SBP staff stages protest Patiala, July 14 The employees were agitating against the policy of bank management to close down extension counters, adequate recruitment of staff and not implementing the promotion test from sub staff to clerical staff. While addressing the rally, Mr Gurbax Singh, Assistant General Secretary of All India State Bank of Patiala, employees federation demanded immediate meeting at the head office level. Mr K.K. Sehgal, joint
secretary of federation said that there was a shortage of security staff at branches. He urged the employees to remain prepared against the anti-employee “attitude” of the bank management and prepare themselves for a massive dharna at head office on July 20. The rally was also addressed by Mr Shushma Gupta, vice-president and Mr Yadwindra Gupta, treasurer of the union.
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Panchkula gets third funeral van Panchkula, July 14 The van was dedicated for service by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Brijendra Singh, here. It may be noted that there are just two funeral vans in the township — one provided for by the district administration and another by an NGO — the Aggarwal Sabha. This van can be hired on the following numbers:- 93160-09502 and (0172) 2573833. A group of local philanthropists had established the Panchkula Welfare Trust in May 1999.
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Woman hospitalised with burn injuries Panchkula, July 14 According to sources, boiling mustared oil fell on her accidentally when she was in the kitchen. The family members rushed her to the General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. She was later referred to the PGI after her health deteriorated. The police has started investigating the matter.
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Truck driver electrocuted Panchkula, July 14 The truck helper, however, escaped unhurt as he managed to jump from the truck. The body of the truck driver, Ved Pal Singh, who is a resident of Jind, was sent to the General Hospital, Sector 6, for postmortem.
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Fast trains sought
Chandigarh, July 14 He said in this connection, the PHD chamber advocates upgradation of the local airport into an international airport. Mr Bali also underlined the need for more fast trains to the city.
TNS
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Trolleys donated Chandigarh, July 14
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4 vehicles stolen; servant decamps with Rs 80,000 Chandigarh, July 14 Mr Vipan Pal Singh Sandhu of Phase III-B-2 lodged a complaint to the police alleging that his Hyundai accent car (PB-65-C-1012) was stolen from NAC Mani Majra. Mr Inderjit Singh, a resident of sector 46-C reported to the police that his LML Vespa Scooter (CH-03-D-8242) was stolen from his residence on Tuesday night. Similarly, Mr Randeep Singh of Dadu Majra Colony filed a complaint to the police alleging that his Bajaj Caliber motorcycle (CH-03-K-7850) was stolen from park in Sector 36 during day time. In another incident Mr Rajan Kumar of Sector 38 reported to the police that his motor cycle (CH-03-S-8258) was stolen from near Electricity Office in Sector 40. Four separate cases of theft have been registered in the various police stations in the city. About the burglary incident, the sources in the police said Mr Kamaljit Singh of Sector 36-B lodged a complaint alleging that Inderjit Singh of Dera Bassi, who was working as a servant at his residence decamped with Rs 80,000, a gold ring and a gold chain on Tuesday. A case has been registered in this regard. In a separate incident, Ahmed Gani, a resident Janta Colony, Sector 25, was arrested from Sector 11 and PGI dividing road for allegedly indulging in gambling last evening. The police recovered Rs 450 from his possession and registered a case under Gambling Act.
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Man duped of ornaments Chandigarh, July 14 Electrician Jatinder Kumar was standing near the Sector 28 petrol station yesterday when a stranger approached him. He offered Jatinder 10 times the amount he staked. Made him drop the gold ornaments in a bag and left the place after slapping him, said the police. Meanwhile, the police today registered a case against the accused. It all started in the evening. Jatinder was returning to his house in Mani Majra when the stranger asked him the way to “apni mandi”. After striking conversation with Jatinder, the thug started playing upon human greed for more. He encouraged him to play a game of lottery with just Rs 10. Asked Jatinder to pull out a slip out of the sling he was carrying. The first slip earned him Rs 20. Second attempt doubled the amount. In third attempt, Jatinder had Rs 120 in his hands. As they were playing, another person approached them. Describing himself as an acquaintance of the thug, he asked Jatinder to go in for something big. Ignoring Jatinder’s protests of not having much money in his pocket, they asked him to put the gold ornaments worth Rs 10,000 in the sling. As soon as the ornaments disappeared in the sling, the thug gave him a slap and disappeared from the spot.
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Case of negligent driving registered Chandigarh, July 14 Mr Tarun Kumar Ghai, in whose house, the victim, Manju (40) was working as a maid servant, told the Chandigarh Tribune today that they were trying to reach a compromise with the parents of Pallavi, the accused woman. He added that the accident took place on Tuesday afternoon, when Pallavi’s car hit the cycle of Manju from rear. Manju fell on the road and sustained multiple injuries. Soon, people gathered at the spot and informed the police about the accident. Later, Manju was shifted to the General Hospital, Sector 16. Mr Ghai said they demanded Rs 1.5 lakh as a compensation for Manju, as she would not be able to work for two years due to the grievous injuries. He said, she sustained serious injuries on both her knees, besides, severe head injuries and a broken jaw. However, the parents of Pallavi, who are running a group of companies, were reluctant to pay the money and only offered Rs 15,000 as compensation. Mr Ghai terming it was a small amount. He added that more than Rs 15,000 would be spent on her treatment in the hospital and other medical expenses.
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No cheers for CITCO hotels Chandigarh, July 14 A senior official said out of more than 100 rooms occupied in the hotel, a majority had been booked in the names of participants of the IT conference. The top CITCO hotels in the city, including Hotel Mount View and Shivalik View, witnessed, however, a poor opening to guest bookings for the IT conference. The number of bookings were much below expected in view of the mega IT event in the region. Mr R.P. Singla, General Manager of Hotel Mount View, said the place had not more than five entries of guests who will be participating in the IT conference. He said, “I have no prior information but there will be more entries tomorrow or the day after. Another possibility is that top guns of the industry might just land on the day they are supposed to participate in the conference and might head back the same day.” A front desk official at the hotel Shivalik View said, “there is no separate or special record of the guests expected to participate in the conference.”
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