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Chaos ruled city roads during PM’s visit
Chandigarh, November 9 The situation was hardly better on the roads running parallel to the Madhya Marg as a large number of commuters took alternative routes to their destinations. The worse affected were the office goers. Some of them reached their work places late by almost half an hour in the morning due to the blocks. Even the shoppers had to walk those extra yards as the cops prevented them from leaving behind their vehicles in some of the parking lots on the Madhya Marg. As a result, the business remained sluggish for most of the shopkeepers during the morning hours. It all started at about 9. 20 am. Even before the Prime Minister’s cavalcade left the civil airport here for reaching the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) in Sector 19, the police blocked the link roads, with the help of rickshaws at some places. For his visit, special security arrangements had been made by the Chandigarh Police. Everywhere you looked a sea of khakhi flowed with cops armed with automatics and semi-automatics all around. Sources in the police headquarters said 600 cops, including snipers belonging to the operation cell of the Chandigarh Police, along with para-military personnel, had been deployed for maintaining vigil all along the route taken by the Prime Minister’s convoy. They stopped every “suspicious-looking person”, even the ones cycling down the road. The cops also stopped autorickshaws. The passengers were frisked, and their luggage was subjected to thorough scrutiny. The story was hardly any different at the two inter-state bus terminuses in Sector 17 and 43. The passengers boarding buses were thoroughly frisked. Their bags and baggage was also searched. Special checks were also carried at the Railway Station, hotels, motels, guest houses and even dhabas, all over the city. The checks continued till the Prime Minister left the city at about 12.40 pm. Earlier during the day, some of the teachers from Punjab, protesting in Sector 17, accused the cops of harassing them. The teachers claimed that police personnel surrounded their tent even before sunrise and prevented them from carrying out their protest due to the Prime Minister’s visit.
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Tough time for cops in city of VIPs
Chandigarh, November 9 Though senior police officers are maintaining strict silence over the issue, sources in the police headquarters say that more government employees have been assaulted so far this year than in entire 2004. Last year just 14 public servants had to bear the brunt. Giving details sources say that a substantial number of the victims were traffic policemen injured while discharging their duties. Quoting an example, sources say that only last month a cop sustained serious injuries after he tried to stop an erring driver on the road dividing Sector 15 and 16. He was rushed to a hospital where the doctors diagnosed a broken leg, besides other injuries. The sources add that policing in Chandigarh has never been easy due to the presence of so many VIPs and their wards in the city. “Every second driver you stop is related either to a senior Punjab Police functionary, or some bureaucrat in the UT Administration. If neither of the two, he is related to some politician in Haryana,” rues a traffic police constable on the condition of anonymity. The constable adds that some of them not only misbehave but go upto the extent of threatening the cops with dire consequences if they do not give them the way. The constable claims that only recently a VIP brat nearly rammed into him in an attempt to avoid being caught for jumping red lights on the busy Chandigarh-Panchkula highway. “Instead of showing any remorse, he started
abusing and threatening me,” the constable recalls, adding that the driver within minutes mustered support in his favour by calling a senior government officer to the spot after making several phone calls. Flashing a sarcastic smile, he refuses to tell you the outcome of the case. The sources add that the cops, taking a serious view of the matter, have now decided to use cameras more extensively. “The intention is to make sure that the erring drivers do not get off the hook without paying for their mistakes,” the sources assert. They add that the traffic wing of the Chandigarh Police has already acquired six digital cameras, besides three state-of-the-art handycams to capture photographic evidence against the assaulters and violators.
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Another suspected dengue case at PGI
Chandigarh, November 9 According to doctors, the suspected case, Ramchandra, (32) of Hallo Majra had been suffering from fever for the past few days. Besides, his nose was also bleeding. the travel history of the patient revealed that he had travelled to Hoshiarpur recently. While reports of Shruti, the Sector 38 West resident, are still awaited, the sample of the new case has been sent for diagnosis. With the arrival of the new suspect, the number of dengue cases in the city has risen to two. Meanwhile, after the news of the new dengue suspect reached UT health officials, a survey team was immediately sent to Hallo Majra. According to Dr H.C. Gera, anti-malaria officer, team members enquired about Ramchandra’s fever history and other details. Dr Gera however, said Ramchandra was not a resident of Chandigarh and worked in an industrial unit in Hoshiarpur and was admitted to the emergency wing today where the officials visited him. According to UT Health Department officials about two dozen female aedes larvae have been found by the team of the anti-malaria department during in past five months.
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Punjab Police acts villain in love story; local cops to rescue
Chandigarh, November 9 Apprehending the worse, the groom’s mother called up the local police. As a result, the cops from Punjab had to return empty-handed, disappointed. Sources in the local police said the cops here had registered a daily diary report and were looking into the matter. The drama started in the early morning. The cops, accompanied by the bride’s father, reached the house on the pretext of solving the matter. They asked the groom’s mother to allow them to meet the couple so that the bride’s father could give his blessing to them and put an end to the controversy. The father even went up to the extent of saying that he would help the couple in getting their marriage registered. The groom’s mother then informed them that the boy had gone to Mohali for some work. They started asking for the address. The mother offered to accompany them. But the sight of Punjab Police personnel aroused her suspicion. Rushing inside, she bolted the room from inside before dialling 100. Acting swiftly, the local police reached the spot to find Punjab Police cops standing outside the house. Questioning revealed that no case had been registered by the Punjab Police against the couple. They tried to justify their presence by saying that they had simply accompanied the bride’s father for bringing the matter to a logical conclusion. They vehemently denied the allegations of being in the city to abduct the couple. The neighbours gathered around the spot as the drama continued for almost an hour. Sources in the local police said Sanjeev Arora, the groom was working as a private electrician in Pathankot and the bride Shikha was working in a private bank. Both become friends and got married about two years ago without informing their parents. Shikha reportedly went missing on November 2 and Sanjeev was also not available at his local address. Their disappearance invoked suspicion in Shikha’s parents mind. Her father, Joginder Mohan, then lodged a complaint with the police in Pathankot.
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Youth ends life in guesthouse
Chandigarh, November 9 In his suicide note, Jai Parkash reportedly stated that he was responsible for his own death and no one should be blamed for it. Giving details, the sources in the local police said Jai Parkash had checked in the Sector 17 guesthouse yesterday. The staff got suspicious after they did not see him for over 24 hours. They informed the police after repeated knocks failed to evoke any response. A senior police officer said inquest proceedings had been initiated in the matter under Section 174 of the CrPC.
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Mohali civic body moots Singapore-style sanitation
Mohali, November 9 The Singapore pattern has been studied and necessary changes suggested to give the proposed system an “Indian touch”. The proposal is going to be discussed with the higher authorities very soon after which it will be put up in the General House meeting for discussion. The town will present a cleaner look once the system is adopted and residents will be freed from the foul smell of garbage as all garbage dumping points located in various parts of the town will be eliminated. Under the proposed system door-to-door collection of garbage will be done by a contractor which will be dumped straight at the main garbage dumping site located outside the town. Under the new system, every houseowner will have to make a marginal payment to the contractor for lifting garbage. The council authorities are a little apprehensive whether the residents will cooperate in this regard or not. The contract for the work will be given only to a contractor who possesses the required infrastructure and has the necessary expertise in the field of sanitation. The main problem that a civic body faces in any town is the lifting of garbage. To overcome this problem, the contractor will be made payment according to the quantity of garbage he lifts from the town under the proposed plan. A weighing bridge will be installed near the dumping site to record the number of tonnes of garbage lifted by the contractor. Mr Amarjit Singh Sekhon, Executive Officer of the council, who has studied the Singapore pattern of sanitation, told Chandigarh Tribune that every houseowner would have to pay Rs 25 per month to the contractor for lifting garbage from his doorstep while the rate proposed for booths was Rs 50 and for showrooms Rs 150. The amount to be collected from marriage palaces and hotels would be worked out on the basis of the quantity of their garbage. Mr Sekhon said in Singapore residents stocked their garbage in polythene bags which was lifted by a contractor. “As the cost factor involved under this system is a bit high, we are not sure whether residents here will agree to this aspect. We will change the system according to our needs,” he said, adding that sweeping of roads was done mechanically there and under the plan the council would also like to adopt a similar method. He said places like Hyderabad, Jaipur and Surat had already adopted the Singapore pattern by making some changes that suited their requirement. He said he would discuss the new proposal with the Director, Local Government, Punjab, in a day or two. Talking about an earlier proposal which the civic body had to adopt in connection with sanitation, Mr Kulwant Singh, president, said it could not make any headway as a six-member team of councillors could not visit Jaipur to study the system there due to lack of coordination. He said he had now asked Mr Sekhon to look into the matter.
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Oppn opposed to proposed MC draft
Mohali, November 9 Mr Manjit Singh Sethi, Mrs Harbans Kaur, Mr Manmohan Singh Lang, Mr Amrik Singh and Mrs Manmohan Kaur said here today the council president, Mr Kulwant Singh, had allegedly tried to influence officials of the Department of Local Government at the time when the proposed draft was being prepared. They said that earlier wards were divided into five parts, which would not only adversely affect development work but also residents would find it difficult to meet the councillor in connection with their problems. The length of many proposed wards was up to 2,000 yards with a width of only 200 yards. They alleged that wards of the opposition councils were deliberately got reserved in the proposed draft so that they could not fight elections from that area. Mr Harinder Pal Singh Billa, former president of the council and member of the Delimitation Board, said he failed to understand what criteria had been adopted by officials concerned in the proposed draft as the continuity of wards was badly affected. He said he would strontly oppose the draft at meeting of the board scheduled for November 11. Mrs Manmohan Kaur, who has won the municipal elections twice and is member of the board, said her ward (No. 5) had now been got reserved for a BC candidate even though the majority of people belonging to Backward Classes lived in
Phase VII. She said members of the board were not consulted before preparing the proposed draft. The councillors said if the proposed draft was not set right by the authorities concerned, then they might have to move the court.
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Solar energy to light Kajheri
Solar energy has emerged as the most effective alternative means of streetlight in the city and surrounding villages over the past couple of years. Except minor problems, the lights have emerged as a very effective means of replacing the supply through the normal power lines saving on finances and power. Kaimbwala has 80 streetlights. “Except for minor problems, the project has been a successful one”, a senior official said. Sarangpur has 60 solar streetlights, Mauli Jagran 30 and Maloya 20. Such lights have also been installed in certain institutions in the city, including the Government Colleges for Girls, Sector 11 and Sector 42, Government Home Science College, Sector 10, the Regional Institute of Corporate Management, Sector 32, waterworks in Sectors 32 and 39, dumping ground and BBMB offices. Kajheri will have 40 streetlights. The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee is associated with the project implementation. A senior official said, “We only help in the installation of the project. The system is subsequently handed over to panchayats or institutions”. Streetlights on the road diving Sectors 21 and 22 are currently being looked after by the company which installed the lights. The charge will shortly be handed over to the Chandigarh Administration. The committee members make a regular check of the lights and the beneficiaries (sarpanch of the village and the officer concerned) sign the register. A single installation costs approximately Rs 25,000. The components include battery, solar panel lights and the pole. Sunlight is converted into electrical energy and stored during the daytime and it can work even if the sun is not shining very brightly. A battery charged lasts around eight hours and needs a replacement after about four years. The official said following the installation, the effectiveness of the lighting system depended on its maintenance.
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Watch out! Snatchers on the prowl
Chandigarh, November 9 In September alone, as many as 110 theft cases were reported to the police from different parts of the city. Otherwise, over 1,086 theft cases were registered by the police under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code from January till September this year. Taking a serious view of the theft cases, the Chandigarh Police is asking the residents to adopt necessary precautionary measures. The men-in-khaki are basically requesting the people to inform the beat officer in case they leave the station, besides getting the antecedents of their servants verified. They are also encouraging the residents to adopt street dogs for guarding the houses in their absence. “The very sight of a dog sitting in the patio is a deterrent,” sources insist. The police is also asking the residents not to use mobile phones while trotting down unlit streets. The residents have also been warned against “acting like heroes” in case they are confronted by a thief. The police has decided to deploy men in markets and other sensitive places to check incidents of snatching. Claiming that the problem is worse than it appears, they say that the statistics do not reveal the real picture because in a large number of cases residents simply do not report the matter to the police, “particularly if the theft is petty in nature”. Quoting an example, the sources say that theft of handbags and purses from cars and other vehicles has increased several times during the recent months. But in so many cases, the victims simply refuse to call up the police. The matter is reported to the cops only if mobile phones, or documents like registration certificates or driving licences are stolen. “Thieves managed to take away my handbag containing Rs 500 after opening the front door of my car in all probability with the help of a scale,” says college student Sheena Singh. “But I did not report the matter to the police”. The reason behind her silence, she says, is not “very difficult” to analyse.”We all know money is hard to recover. Otherwise also, no one likes to get himself involved in legal formalities. I am sure the cops would have asked me to drive down to the courtroom for identifying my handbag even if it was recovered”.
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Mohali may become a fashion hub
Chandigarh, November 9 He was delivering the keynote address on the concluding session of Fashion Knowledge Forum-2005 here today. The region, he said, had the required capital, manufacturing facilities, connectivity and the skill set to cater to the emerging design market. The need of the hour is to produce fashion products of international standards to make the presence of Indian fashion brands felt in global markets. Mr Vaghela said, “India has a rich ancient fashion conscious culture. We must take a cue from these ancient concepts to prepare clothes and other products for the international market for export purposes.” The upcoming park would not only attract domestic dealers but also foreign investors. It would also generate direct and indirect employment for the educated youth of Punjab, besides the village artisans and rural women folk. If the organisers of the park seek SEZ status for the park, he would help them in finally taking up the matter with the Union Ministry of Commerce, which deals with all SEZ cases to help promote exports, the minister said. The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the National Institute of Design (NID) will also provide the required assistance. Referring to the rich heritage of India, Mr Vaghela said fashion was now a new concept for, the Indian culture was ancient and religious monuments at Khajuraho and Konarak exhibited various art forms in its barest forms. The country is fast emerging as a hub of creative talent and the Business School of Fashion within the park will help tap the creative skills of the younger generation, he added. Stressing on the need to increase exports, the minister said the government has introduced many export-oriented schemes for this sector such as Integrated Textile Park Scheme (ITPS), Technology Upgaradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC), withdrawal of CENVAT and Customs duty reduced to a token 5 per cent. Though 100 parks have been approved under the Integrated Textile Park Scheme, five would be coming up in various parts of the country in the next year and a half. One of these may be in the North. Under the Integrated Handloom Training Project (IHTP) Scheme for upgrading the skills of weavers, sanctions to cover 16,540 beneficiaries were issued during 2004-05 as compared to 10,000 beneficiares in the previous year, he adeed. For development handloom clusters and to build their capacity to meet challenges of the global competition under the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Scheme, 20 handloom clusters have been identified across the country involving an investment of over Rs 40 crore for the purpose. He said that “now it is up to the exporters to take benefits from all these schemes by providing quality product at competitive prices to the importers and help achieve the export target.” The minister also said that after the dismantling of quota regime, the textile industry was heading well in the right direction to achieve its export target in the specific period as India was the best destination for importers after China.
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Panel dwells on fashion, women empowerment
Chandigarh, November 9 Stressing the need for empowering more women, she advocated empowerment through centralisation and integration of the unorganised sector, which is the largest employer of women in the country. “The nation’s prestige should be measured in terms of how women are treated, but the current status calls for more concerted efforts on part of the government as well as private sector,” she felt. “More than 94 per cent of working women are self-employed beyond the boundary of the organised sector and are deprived of the basic social security umbrella that they badly need,” said Ms Jaitley. “Money gives mobility to women, which encourages them to come out of the confines of their homes and take entrepreneurship, leading to their participation in society’s decision-making process. This would lead to true empowerment,” she added. If workers were to empower themselves and increase their bargaining power, the only viable strategy was one of increasing local employment opportunities, said Carmen Fernandez, head designer, Sewa, an NGO working for self-employment. “Embroidery skills and fair wages is what we promise women artisans,” she said. She highlighted the role played by women at the grassroots level as skilled artisans in the Indian design industry. The USP was the exquisite embroidery and the artistic skills of the artisans in embellishing garments and home furnishings. “We have entered into a collaboration with Fab India for embellishing a collection of theirs with the traditional embroidery of Kutch and Patan. The orders for the same have been received and we have started working on it,” said Ms Fernandes. “For retail store ‘Shoppers Stop’, we have done a small collection comprising four styles in ‘kurtis’ and short ‘kurtas’, she said. Personally she believes “there should be newness in what one does. It should come straight from the heart and done with sincerity”. This would definitely show in your work, she added. With globalisation, liberalisation and other economic changes, there were both new opportunities as well as threats to some traditional areas of employment, but there was a need to focus on women’s effective progress through economic and social empowerment, she said. Emphasising on the rich Indian heritage and traditional art, she called upon the designers to be innovators than imitators. Dr Aarti Kawlra, project consultant for the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, talked about how TeNet was using the existing ICT infrastructure established by n-logue through its Chiraag network of villages, to enhance income generation. IT kiosks had been set up in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra to provide self-employment to women. “The exercise will be undertaken in the northern states but it may take a while. Big designers will also offer their services and knowledge to rural artisans if they stay connected with them.” CEO, Fashion Technology Park, Jagjit Singh Kochar said: “We propose to help the Indian fashion and design industry achieve a global powerhouse status. The Fashion Knowledge Forum-2005, conceptualised by the Business School of Fashion is our first step in the direction and we will encourage more such forums in the near future,” he said.
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Journalists’ directory by Jan
Chandigarh, November 9 A decision to this effect was taken by the executive committee of the association at a meeting here today. According to association general secretary Avtar Singh, in addition to all mediapersons of Chandigarh, the proposed directory will include names of members of the media fraternity of Panchkula and Mohali. The directory will also list the contact particulars of major media establishments and public relations organisations, both in the government and private sectors, as well as useful informaton about important institutions in the City Beautiful. All media-related organisations will also be listed in the proposed directory. The association has requested all mediapersons, media establishments and media-related associations to send contact particulars, including name, address, phone numbers and email addresses, to directory editor Rajinder Dhawan or to the association general secretary.
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Awareness camp for SCs/BCs tomorrow
Chandigarh, November 9 The programme will address issues regarding the scheme of grant of loans under national corporations on liberal terms and condition to establish their own business and to give financial aid to the unemployed youths to start their earning and training in various trades-cutting and tailoring, stenography, in English, Hindi and Punjabi, driving course and computer course for the Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes & Minorities and dependants of safai karamcharis. In addition, the application form of widow pension, old-age pension, senior citizen card, national benefit scheme of Rs 10,000, besides others, will also be distributed. The doctor and patwari will also be made available in the awareness camps for the convenience of the public.
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14 employees of enforcement wing repatriated
Chandigarh, November 9 The SDO (Buildings) has been transferred for dereliction of duty. At least three draftsmen have been suspended, as against the prescribed norm of three years, they had stayed for more than 15
years. — TNS
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Narayanan’s death mourned
Mohali, November 9 According to a press note issued by president of the samajam Benny Thomas today, Dr Narayanan was the first President of India from Kerala. He hailed from a simple and poor family in Uzhavoor, Kottayam district. He had been elected consecutively from the Ottappalam constituency and had never been defeated from there.
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Account holder gets money back
Mohali, November 9 Mr I.S. Shan, vice-president of the groups, said here today that the amount had been wrongly debited by a private bank from the account of Mr B.S. Sandhu. He said the group took up the case with the bank concerned and even the Reserve Bank of India was intimated in this regard.
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Bank donates Rs 50,000 towards PM’s fund
Chandigarh, November 9 The contribution has been made in response to an appeal made by The Tribune seeking financial assistance for those affected by the massive earthquake in Kashmir recently.
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Meet-the-Press
Chandigarh, November 9
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Man duped of 547 boxes of apples
Chandigarh, November 9 Mr Mahinder Singh of Link Roadways in Grain Market, Sector 26, lodged a complaint with the police that he had booked a truck load of apples for Andhra Pradesh on October 23. However, Gurcharan Singh, the owner of the truck (HR-63-8698), and his driver, Mahinder Singh Channi, neither reached Andhra Pradesh nor did they inform him about their whereabouts. He told the police that there were 547 boxes of apples in the truck. A case has been registered. The SHO of the Sector 26 police station said the investigation revealed that the truck’s registration number was fake.
Held for stealing
mobile phone
A Mohali resident was arrested on the allegations of stealing a mobile on Tuesday. Sources in the police said Mr Kamal of Sector 45 had lodged a complaint on October 19 that Davinder Singh of Phase 3B-I had stolen his mobile phone in Sector 22. The police also claimed to have recovered the stolen cellphone from the latter.
Car stolen
Mr Rajinder Sharma of RCS Enclave in Sector 49 reported to the police that his Maruti Car (CH-01-P-8118) was stolen from a parking lot of Shashtri Market in Sector 22. A case of theft has been registered in this regard.
2 hurt in mishaps
A scooterist, Ms Santosh of Sector 22 suffered injuries when a motorcyclist (CH-03-N-4181) allegedly hit her scooter in Sector 22-D on Tuesday. He was rushed to the General Hospital, Sector 16. In another incident, a cyclist, Ms Uma of Mani Majra, lodged a complaint with the police that a Santro car (HR-02-J-8231) allegedly hit her cycle near tubewell in Sector 26 on Tuesday. She sustained injuries in the accident and was admitted to the General Hospital. Two cases of rash and negligent driving have been registered in this regard.
Dowry case
Ms Nidhi Gupta of Badheri village complained to the police that her husband Brijesh Gupta and in-laws, all residents New Housing Colony, Panipat, were harassing and maltreating her for not bringing adequate dowry. A case has been registered.
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Bakery worker stabs fellow
Chandigarh, November 9 Giving details, sources in the Sector 11 police station said 30-year-old Santosh Bahadur, hailing from Nepal, was allegedly stabbed by Govind. Both of them were working at the Sector 16-based Laxmi Bakery. A case of attempt to murder has been registered on the basis of a statement given by Rakesh Sharma, son of the bakery owner. The police said the suspect stabbed the victim at around 6 a.m. when the latter was going to open the shop. The victim sustained injuries on his head, neck and other parts of the body. Some passersby rushed him to the hospital. The sources said the victim was critically injured. The complainant told the police that the duo had a quarrel sometime back, after which they were not on talking terms. Santosh was working in the bakery for the past more than 18 years, while Govind had joined recently. Both of them usually had squabbles over the distribution of work. The police said the owner of the bakery had not informed it about the antecedents of the workers.
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Man found dead
Chandigarh, November 9 The police while ruling out any foul play behind the death said there were no injuries marks on the body. Giving details sources at the Manimajra police station said the deceased had been identified as Gulab Singh. He was working as a painter in a workshop. The body was found lying under a tree near the shop. The police received the information and shifted the body to the Sector 16 General Hospital. Shopkeepers told the police that Gulab Singh was living alone and they did not know about his family. They told the police that the deceased was a heavy drinker and used to sleep near the shop. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Criminal Penal Code.
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Two held for supplying underweight cylinders
Chandigarh, November 9 On a tip-off the police apprehended Bablu Pal and Anil Kumar, both residents of the Charan Singh Colony, Mauli Jagran, from Sector 38. The accused, working for Sector 37 based City Gas Service, were allegedly transferring gas from full cylinders to empty ones with the help of an instrument in their three-wheeler. The crime branch officials accompanied by a Food and Supply Inspector got the cylinders examined by experts. Out of the 25 cylinders seven were found underweight. The police impounded the cylinders along with the three-wheeler.
— OC
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Chandigarh, November 9