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Forest land violations to be probed
Chandigarh, October 11
He said after reading of the repeated violations on the forest land, he had constituted a high empowered committee under the chairmanship of Mr Kuldeep Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF). The committee has been asked to report back on the matter within two months. “All violations will be taken seriously”, said the minister. Recently, The Tribune had highlighted the violation on forest land in Karoran village by a Patiala-based businessman and another violation by a law officer of Punjab Government in Perch village, along the road leading to the Perch dam. In both cases, construction activity was in progress on forest land, protected under various provisions of the forest protection laws. The private forest land protected under various Sections of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, prohibits any kind of quarrying, uprooting and cutting of trees, and changing the use of land. Permission to change the land use can be given only by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Under the relevant provisions of the Indian Forest Act, the forest officers are empowered to arrest the violator and impound any vehicle being used to level the forest land. Mr Joshan said the area of the violation lies along Patiali ki Rao choe between Gurdwara Akalgarh and Forest Hills Resort on the left side of Nayagaon to the Tanda-Karoran road. Around 1.5 acres has been broken by using a tractor in an attempt to change the land use. A crate wire retaining wall has been constructed to divert the flow of water and protect the land belonging to owners from erosion due to water flowing in the choe during rainy season, the minister said.
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Now, option to self-certify building plan
Chandigarh, October 11 However, the existing procedure of getting the sanction of building plans from the Estate Office will also remain effective. The scheme, which has been drafted in consultation with the representatives of the Architects Association of Chandigarh, will be reviewed after three months to study its repercussions. As envisioned by Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), UT Administrator, the scheme has been drafted to simplify the time-consuming and cumbersome procedure of getting the building plans approved by the applicants. Under the scheme, owners of residential buildings have to submit an application along with all forms and documents to the Estate Officer. Building plans, signed individually and by a registered architect, registered structural engineer and licensed plumber are also required to be submitted. The applicant is required to deposit processing fee along with the application at the rate of Re 1 per square feet of the plot area. The fee will be non-refundable and non-transferable. If no objection is received within 30 days from the receipt of the application, the applicant can erect or re-erect the building by giving a week’s notice to the Estate Office. In case of any objections communicated within 30 days from the date of the receipt of the application, the applicant will be allowed to resubmit the building plan after attending to the objections within one year of the date of receipt of the objection order. In case of any change in the ownership of the residential property or change of architect or structural engineer or plumber during the construction period, the same has to be intimated to the Estate Officer through registered post within seven days of such change. Further construction has to be undertaken only after the new owner or architect or structural engineer or plumber, as the case may be, takes responsibility that the work will be executed according to the building plans submitted earlier. When the construction work reaches at plinth level, the supervising architect will have to inform the Estate Officer on a prescribed progress certificate. If a building is not completed within five years from the date of securing permission of erection or re-erection or within last date of construction, which ever is earlier, the secured permission will lapse. The occupation certificate will be given within 30 days from the date of receipt of valid application for permission to occupy the building along with the requisite forms and documents. In case the occupation certificate is not issued within 30 days from the date of receipt of the valid completion report, the occupation certificate will be deemed to have been issued.
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Two arrested for constable’s murder
Chandigarh, October 11 Claiming to have solved the blind murder case of 38-year-old Constable Gurdev Singh with the arrest of two youngsters, the Punjab Police said the accused handed over the phone to an electrician to change its body. He, in turn, succumbed to the temptation of calling up the girl, leading to the breakthrough. The constable’s mauled body was found near Banur in Patiala district on October 7. Giving details, Station House Officer (SHO) of Banur police station Paramjit Singh said 18-year-old Harjant Singh of Motemajra village and 19-year-old Sucha Singh of Dharamgarh village committed the crime with robbery in mind. Besides Rs 220, they also took the victim’s mobile. They were taken into custody from Banur last evening. After destroying the
SIM card, the same was handed over to a friend-cum-mobile-repairman Rajinder Singh for changing the outer case. For him, the temptation of calling up the girl, listed as Geeta in the phone book, was too great to resist. Geeta, the niece of Constable Gurdev Singh, told her family about the blank calls she was receiving on her mobile. They brought the matter to the notice of the Banur police, which subsequently traced the Public Call office (PCO) in Banur from where the calls were made. The PCO operator told the police that Rajinder made the call and Rajinder ultimately lead the police to the accused. The accused during preliminary questioning told the police that they killed Gurdev Singh and taken away his mobile phone and money. The investigating officer of the case, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jagdish Singh, while reconstructing the events that took place on the fateful night said Gurdev Singh posted in the VIP security for the Chief Ministers conclave in Chandigarh, left
for home at around 6 pm in Chandigarh. He reportedly purchased a bottle of liquor from Chandigarh and had drinks on the way. By the time he reached near Banur he was totally drunk and was unable to ride his scooter. To make matter worse his scooter developed a snag and he was making efforts to start it. He further added that it was around 11.30 pm both accused were on their way back home on their motorcycle after watching a Ramlila. They saw Gurdev Singh struggling to start his scooter and Gurdev Singh reportedly signalled them to stop and sought their help. Finding Gurdev Singh unable to ride the scooter, Harjant Singh asked him to sit pillion on his motor cycle and Sucha Singh followed them on Gurdev Singh’s scooter. On the way Harjant and Gurdev Singh had an altercation over some issue, which led to a quarrel. To which Harjant stopped the motor cycle and they exchanged fisticuffs. Later Sucha Singh also joined in and they smashed Gurdev Singh’s head with a baton they found lying near the spot. They inflicted six injuries on his head, which proved fatal. They were today produced before Rajpura court which remanded them to two days of police custody.
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Clerk jumps to death
from 4th floor
Chandigarh, October 11 In a separate incident, a 50-year-old man was found dead at his Sector 43 residence this evening. Sources in the police said the listless body of Satpal, a clerk in the office of Regional Director National Savings Schemes was found in the building this afternoon. He was rushed to the PGI, where he was declared dead on arrival. The police said the family of the deceased ruled out any foul play behind the death. Satpal, a resident of Sector 45, is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. About the man found dead in the Sector 43 house, the sources in the police said Pathar Masih was noticed lying on the floor outside the entry door of his residence this evening. A neighbour, when found that Masih was not responding to his calls, informed the police. The police shifted the body to the Sector 16 General Hospital. The police added that Masih was living alone in the house. His neighbours said that he was alcoholic. He had been dismissed from his job and was booked in several cheating cases. He had divorced his wife long ago. His wife was working as a staff nurse in the Sector 16 government dispensary, said the police.
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Drug resistance to TB, malaria poses
Chandigarh, October 11 Disclosing this, Dr Altaf A. Lal, the U.S. Embassy Health Attaché, said both the countries were actively working in collaboration with each other to check the growing affliction to disease across the world. The United States was providing substantial funding (US $ 15 billion for HIV AIDS) and India was one of the recipient countries, he said. In addition, Dr Lal said the United States provided one-third funding for Global Fund for Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. This funding was providing aid to patients globally who suffered from malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. India currently has 5.1 million AIDS patients and about 2 million cases of malaria reported annually (About 95 per cent of the population of the country is in the malaria endemic areas). While the number of malaria cases has come down, cases of HIV have gone up substantially and are expected to touch 20 to 25 million by 2010 at the current rate of increase. "The partnership between India and the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the Department of Health and Human Service's (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) under the aegis of WHO led to the elimination of polio from India", Dr Lal said, while adding that by working together, India and the US were developing new knowledge and technology, besides using existing tools to reduce and eliminate diseases from across the world. He said with a collaborative effort and guidance the world could fight disease together. Sri Lanka, he said, had done extremely well in the area of maternal and child health with infant and child mortality rates going down commendably. In India, Kerala too has emerged as a front-runner in curbing infant mortality and morbidity. The experiences of these two places needed to be replicated in other parts of India as well as other countries to improve women and child health, Dr Lal suggested. He disclosed that "India and the United States are actively working in biomedical research and public health programs". He further stated that the "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) has eight bilateral working groups on important health research areas". Dr Lal and a team of the National Institutes of Health was in Chandigarh recently to participate in a health conclave held at the PGI to discuss issues for the prevention and control of disease in women and children. Several other health concerns are being discussed by experts from India and the Unites States of America, he said. "Globally health has become a priority issue and nations are focusing on the knowledge and tools available globally to control and prevent disease, both infectious and chronic. There is more emphasis now on focused research to produce new and improved drugs and vaccines for tomorrow". Dr Lal feels that disease can be eliminated by using existing tools of control and prevention as well as through the private-private and public-private partnership in the development and implementation of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines. He is an exponent for promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in infectious disease research and public health programs at the academic, government, NGO, and public sector levels. His is responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for generation of innovations and Indo-US partnerships in biomedical research and public health.
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Chandigarh Police overburdened
Chandigarh, October 11 The sources in the Police Headquarters say the Chandigarh police is actually left with little time for day-to-day policing, including investigation of criminal cases, due to all this VIP movement, combined with dharnas and rallies. The sources add that as a result of heavy load on the force, senior police functionaries had sought an increase in the strength of police station staff, besides reorganisation of the traffic force. Going into the background, the sources say the proposal for increasing the strength of officers and men was forwarded to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 1995. In February last year, again a proposal was forwarded to the ministry seeking the sanction of 1,081 posts at different police stations, besides 450 personnel for the traffic force. A team comprising senior officers from the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) had visited the city police stations and special units for assessing the staff requirement. Even they recommended the sanction of 870 additional posts for the police stations, besides another 143 for the traffic wing of the Chandigarh police. They further recommended the strengthening of the police control room. The sources add that the proposals are still pending with the ministry. Giving details of the “off-beat duties”, the sources say last year till December 342 rallies were held in the city and 818 dharnas were staged. This was not all. The police had to escort 163 processions, besides taking care of the law and order situation during 32 anti-encroachment drives. It had to use force for dispersing the crowd in a majority of 45 kundi-connection removal operations held in slums and colonies. Policemen had to be deployed for ensuring a smooth conduct of 235 examinations and 23 elections, besides taking care of 116 strikes, along with 131 demonstrations. A senior officer adds that besides dharnas and rallies, the cops have to investigate over 3,500 cases registered under the category of the Indian Penal Code and special laws.
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CHB clears scheme for flats
Chandigarh, October 11 Reliable sources said another scheme for 96 one-room flats was also cleared. The board also cleared the project for construction of a new Intensive Care Centre of the PGIMER. Employees of the CHB will get a Divali gift of Rs 1500, each, the sources added.
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Passing Thru
What brings you to the city?
I am here with a team of doctors from Australia who are practising Chinese traditional form of medicine there. We have visited many nursing training colleges here to generate awareness about this ancient medicinal form. The team is led by Dr L Wong who is a world-renowned practitioner of this form of medicine. How did you find our nursing institutes? I found that nursing institutes in Punjab do not follow very strict rules as far as rules and regulations are concerned. In Australia, we do not allow an institute to even advertise for students till the entire infrastructure is complete and ready for use. Here there is a lot of laxity. Do you think the Australian system can be applied here for better results? Yes definitely. Firstly, nursing institutes should be allowed to open only after they follow strict rules. Then these institutes should be audited every three years like it happens there. And I mean not just a financial audit, but a complete checking of the college and only then renew their licence. — Chitleen K Sethi
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Relief, rescue operations pick up momentum
Chandigarh, October 11 According to sources at 12 Wing here, two IL-76 heavy lift aircraft carried out two shuttles each between Adampur near Jalandhar and Srinagar today, airlifting about 30 tonnes of load in each sortie. Two shuttles were also flown by these aircraft yesterday. Five An-32 aircraft from the Chandigarh Air Force Station flew two sorties each from Ambala to Srinagar today, ferrying about 5,000 kg of relief material each time. Besides, two AN-32s are undertaking sorties between New Delhi and Srinagar exclusively to ferry medical supplies. This is the largest number of sorties to be undertaken by the IAF since the relief operations began two days ago. Two IL-76s and two An-32s have also been placed on the standby for tomorrow by 12 Wing. About 100 tonnes of load is expected to be airlifted from Adampur tomorrow. In addition, aircraft from squadrons and helicopter units based at others stations are also actively involved in rescue and relief operations. Officers said the aircraft were airlifting tents, blankets and other items required for relief camps. The entire load airlifted today was that made available by various state governments. Adampur and Ambala are being used to launch sorties as it is convenient for respective state government to off-load supplies rather than to transport them all the way to Chandigarh. Meanwhile, an IL-76 from the transport squadron at Nagpur has been tasked to ferry relief material to Pakistan as a goodwill gesture by the Indian Government. The aircraft was flown to Palam airfield in Delhi today morning for loading and was awaiting final clearance to get airborne.
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Major-Gen Narinder Singh cremated
Chandigarh, October 11 Wreaths were laid on the behalf of the GOC-in-C, Western Command, and Regiment and Col 8 Light Cavalry by Capt A. Aggarwal. The ADG (West) Chandigarh, DIG KJS Cheema laid a wreath on the behalf of the Border Security Force where the General had served as IG Operations. Having held the key appointment of Director-General, Military Operations, during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, Gen Narinder Singh was described as an “upright man supporting the cause of the righteous” by friends. “In the past five years, even though some health problem was always niggling at him, he remained very active till the last. He was always present to share the joys and sorrows of friends. He was there when anybody in his circle needed him,” Lt-Gen G.S. Kler, president of the Cavalry Officers Association, said. Major Gen Narinder Singh was the patron of the organisation. He is survived by his wife, Ms Gian Kaur, who could not make it to the cremation ground on account of poor health, and two sons. His youngest brother, Air Cmde SS Dhillon, said, “He was not yet ready to go. His health was fine. He spent his evening with the family as usual. We are just too shocked.” Closely associated with a number of human rights and education-related organisations led by retired Army officers, his colleagues said he would be missed at meetings and functions.
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Sector 26 college girl succumbs to injuries
Chandigarh, October 11 The student, Sharda, was admitted to the PGI after a car rammed into the motorcycle she was sitting pillion on last week. The rider sustained minor injuries. A case of endangering human life due to rash and negligent act was, subsequently, registered by the police. Giving details of the accident, fellow students said the car driver, in a bid to escape from the spot, dragged her along for quite some distance, resulting in severe injuries. An eerie silence prevailed in the Sector 26 college where she was studying in BA final year as the information about her death started sinking in. The sources in the police added that the victim’s body was handed over to the family after the postmortem examination was conducted. Meanwhile, a survey of the road revealed that the Chandigarh Police has failed to learn its lesson, apparently. Though men-in-white could be seen deployed on the road, intensified patrolling and regular
challaning were not being carried. As a result, youngsters could be seen giving two hoots to the traffic rules and regulations. Triple riding was a common feature on the road cutting through the “institutional area”. The fear of the cops was still the last thing on their minds as three youngsters on a single bike or a scooter zipped down the road, one after another. Even the presence of schoolchildren on the road was no deterrent as they negotiated the turns at high speeds.
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Victims of police brutality quizzed
Panchkula, October 11 The victims, in the presence of the Inspector- General of Police (CID), Mr P.V. Rathee, and the Superintendent of Police, Mr Balbir Singh, reiterated that they had been picked up on flimsy grounds and beaten up on the CIA Staff office premises. Yesterday, the police had recorded the statements of the mother and sister of Sumit whose case had been highlighted by a private television channel. The investigation is being done by DSP Manbir Singh. It was alleged that last Navratra, the police had picked up a minor from the nearby slum and beaten up to extract a confession for a theft. No FIR had been registered in the case and the incident had taken place during the last Navratra mela in April this year.
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Cong CMs’ conclave flop show: Jain
Chandigarh, October 11 Addressing a rally organised by the Labour Colony Cell of the BJP in Colony No. 5 here, Mr Jain alleged that the Congress-led UPA was following policies which were “anti-people and anti-employee”. The Congress, which sought votes in the name of “helping the poor”, seems to have forgotten its promises. The prices of the essential commodities, such as sugar, vegetables, cereals and wheat, had risen sharply hitting the common man hard, he added. The convener of the Labour Colony Cell of the BJP, Mr Megh Raj Verma, alleged that the Congress had betrayed the poor class as it was this class which had voted the party to power in the last parliamentary elections. Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, local BJP president, also spoke.
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CVM expels councillor Vijay Rana
Chandigarh, October 11 With this, the strength of the CVM in the 30-member House has gone down to one with Mr Jatinder Bhatia being the only party member. It may be recalled that in the 2001 MCC elections, the CVM, headed by a former Union Minister, Mr Harmohan Dhawan, had won three seats. While Mr D.S. Babla, husband of a councillor, Ms Harpreet Kaur Babla, who won on the CVM ticket, is a prominent Congressman, Mr Rana is also considered to be close to a section of the Congress.
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Hike in sewerage, water charges flayed
Mohali, October 11 Mr Amrik Singh Mohali, member of the working committee of the SAD, and Mr R.C. Jhingan, president of the BJP Mohali Mandal, said at a press conference here yesterday that an occupant of one kanal house, who consumed 150 kilolitres of water per month and had four toilet seats in the building used to pay Rs 330 per month as water and sewerage charges. But with the introduction of revised rates from August 1 he would have to pay Rs 960 per month, which was an increase of 300 per cent. They said before implementing new rates, the government should ensure regular supply of water with full pressure during supply hours and the quality of water also needed to be improved. The representatives said electronic meters being installed by the PSEB were running fast by almost 30 per cent. The government had decided to give free power to farmers and others but the burden in this regard should be borne by the government and not be put on consumers.
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Experts to mull over foreign policy, security Chandigarh, October 11 The experts, who have confirmed their participation in the two-day seminar being organised by the Forum on Integrated National Security, include Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis (retd), General V.P. Malik (retd), Vice-Admiral Premvir Das (retd), Mr Brahma Chellany (Centre for Policy Research) and Mr Vikram Sood (former Chief of RAW). Mr Prashant Sareen (former Director, Pakistan Studies), Maj-Gen Ashok Mehta (retd) and Mr S.K. Sharma, Member, National Security Adviser Board have also confirmed their
participation. The venue of the seminar will be the Sector 10 Government Museum and Art Gallery. It is the third seminar being organised by the Forum, says Mr P.C. Dogra, a former Director-General of Police, Punjab , and President of the Forum. According to Mr Dogra, some important issues to be discussed during the two-day seminar are foreign policy — highway to India’s destiny in the 21st century; and the international power game. The other main issues are strategic options for India; emerging dimensions of India’s maritime security; India’s troubled relations with neighbours; China’s peace moves towards India and India’s Pak policy — its security implications.
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Sugar quota for BPL families hiked
Chandigarh, October 11 A press note said all BPL card holders can draw their entitlement from the fair price shops. In case of any problem or complaint, the matter can be brought to the notice of the District Food and Supplies and Consumer Affairs Officer.
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Crime Round-Up Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 11 Regarding the theft in the Industrial Area unit, the sources in the police headquarters said the thieves entered the factory after finding their way through the tin roof. Last time also, the same modus operandi was adopted. Though senior police officers are tight-lipped, the sources admit that little was done by the cops to make the factory secure. They add that one person was arrested in connection with the previous theft. Although he had reportedly furnished the names of three alleged accomplices, the cops did nothing to take them in custody, the sources admit. Talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, factory owner Surinder Singh said though part of the goods stolen were recovered, the same were not handed over to them. Thieves strike house: In a separate case, Principal of Sector 11 Government College for Boys Palhad Aggarwal told the police that Rs 8,000, besides ornaments, were stolen from his house while he was out of station. A case has been registered.
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Student injured in clash
Mohali, October 11 According to information available, when the Class XII student left his school in the afternoon he was overpowered by some other students in his class and beaten up. The student got injured. The others fled from the area. The parents of the injured boy informed the police about the incident. Investigations are on.
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City edition of Yellow Pages launched
Chandigarh, October 11 According to the Director of the company, Ms Ved Nanda, the Yellow Pages business book helps in direct communication, thereby facilitating manufacturers to reach the potential buyers. The book, which has 400 categories, provides numbers of important helplines, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Central Government numbers, banks, insurance companies, advocates, architects, doctors, educational institutions, social organisation and other business related numbers as well. Information regarding various organisations and tourist places are also contained in this book, which is available at all leading book stores. Ms Nanda said they would be releasing another supplement titled, Chandigarh Child, on November 14. The book will be useful for the parents of new born babies and school going children.
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Ring tones go visual
Chandigarh, October 11 Launching the service, Mr Mukul Khanna, General Manager (Marketing), said the service was a personalised mobile video service where the subscriber would be alerted of an incoming call by a video clip instead of the traditional ring tone or merely a musical tone. The service will be available to both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. All the customers need to do to avail of the service is to download the video tone application on their handset from the GPRS portal www.spiceindia.com/wap. However, the application is handset dependent and will be installed only if the handset has the configuration to support it. The categories of video from which the subscribers can choose includes- Bollywood, fashion, cricket and sports. Each video download is charged at Rs 30, however, the download is free for a limited period of trial. Subscribers can also set as video tone any video that they already have in their handset and there will be no charges for the same.
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