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City continues to shiver
Chandigarh, January 4 The maximum temperature fell by six degrees, recording a chilly 11°C while the 6.8°C was the minimum temperature recorded in the city. The met office stated that the fog would continue for the next couple of days. “A vicious weather circle is responsible for the prevailing weather conditions. The day temperature is not rising because of the presence of fog Foggy conditions are the outcome of the prevailing cold weather conditions,” a met official said. Even as the cold wave intensified further in the city and people chose to stay in their homes, wrapped in quilts, it was just another day for school children who went to their classes unmindful of the cold, cycling or waiting at bus stops. While attendance in schools continued to be thin, offices, too, recorded poor attendance. The worst hit were the homeless who spent the day and night warming themselves around bonfires, doing little business and fighting to keep the chill at bay. Taking shelter in corridors and wrapped in blankets, they spent the day just sitting around with friends. At the three hospitals, PGIMER, General Hospital, Sector 16, and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, attendants of patients braved the inclement weather as they sat in the open, awaiting a call from inside the emergency where their near and dear ones were admitted. According to information available, while foggy mornings and misty evenings will persist, the sky will remain party cloudy and obscure due to the fog.
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PEC to increase seats
Chandigarh, January 4 It has been proposed that the number of seats be increased from 385 in various engineering courses to 483 and only those students who have secured a minimum of 60 per cent marks in the qualifying examination (class 12th examination) will be eligible for admissions. The increase in number of seats is being done to ensure that no seats are left vacant after the second counselling for admissions are over. An increase in the number of seats would allow for attrition during the course of admissions. The agenda for the meeting goes on to give details of the number of drop-out cases in the various engineering courses based on which the increase in the number of seats has been proposed. At least three seats have been proposed to be increased in aeronautical engineering, 25 in civil engineering, five in computer science engineering, 15 in electrical engineering, five in electronics and information technology, 15 in mechanical engineering, 15 in metallurgical and 10 in production engineering. PEC has also proposed changes in the eligibility criteria for admissions to these courses. Only those students who have secured a minimum of 60 per cent marks in the qualifying examination would be eligible for admissions. Besides only those candidates who have passed the qualifying examination in the current or preceding year would be eligible for admission. Earlier, there was no specific percentage limit to the qualifying examination and students who had appeared in the examination years ago could also appear for the entrance exam. The entrance test for admission to these courses in PEC is the AIEEE conducted by the CBSE in which the candidate must secure 15 per cent marks to qualify for admission. Panjab University here had recently adopted the 60 per cent limit clause for admissions to its engineering college and affiliated colleges. However, the university had not adopted the second change regarding the year when the qualifying exam was cleared.
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UT, states to plan growth on periphery
Chandigarh, January 4 The sub-group constituted by the UT Administrator’s Advisory Council has recommended that a high-level coordination committee should be constituted with participation from the neighbouring states to finalise a plan to stop the haphazard growth in the periphery. It has been felt that any growth in the periphery has a direct impact on the life and infrastructrural requirements in the city. A planned growth will provide an opportunity to the states concerned for providing high-class facilities that can be significant in the growth of their areas. The sub-committee has underlined the “dire necessity” of providing efficient communication and transportation system in the city which should effectively connect the satellite towns of Mohali and Panchkula. It is also felt that an elevated road system, along with additional fly-over, wherever required, for rapid movement of traffic by road needs “urgent attention”. It will also facilitate traffic coming from outside the city. The city will seek cooperation from the adjoining states for a planned and regulated growth of planned industrial townships, including Dera Bassi, Baddi and Barwala, besides others to be finalised by the state governments. It has been pointed out that provision of physical and social infrastructure by the states of Punjab, Haryana and HP needs to be upgraded so that the pressure on the UT is reduced. The administration is also considering work on a bypass for Pinjore-Kalka-Parwanoo on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway. The administration is also studying the feasibility of a bypass from the Chandigarh-Ambala highway to connect the Chandigarh–Ludhiana highway. It is also relevant to mention here that the UT Administration has already initiated an action plan to tie up with the neighbouring states for promoting tourism in the entire region. Besides showcasing the city potential, the UT is making concentrated efforts to attract more tourists by presenting a package for touring the entire region with information regarding staying, eating and sightseeing. In order to make the tourist package more interesting and feasible, the administration is working out an action plan with the tourism departments of the states concerned.
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Killer vehicles continue to ply
Chandigarh, January 4 The entire emphasis of the Chandigarh Police at the moment is to educate people about road safety features like ‘wearing seat belts and helmets’, avoiding drinking while driving. But there are instances where the offender is as much at risk of causing harm to himself as to passersby. Slow moving traffic like a rickshaw carrying pipes (see picture) can cause fatal injuries to people on the road. Any number of vehicles can be seen everyday where rickshaws, carts, etc carrying ‘saria’, glass and other hazardous material, and moving on the wrong sides of the road. So many accidents caused by the slow-moving vehicles go unreported. The city roads have already achieved the highest vehicular density in the country and the road traffic is going from bad to worse. Digging of the roads for widening them in an unplanned manner has added to traffic chaos and congestion at many spots. The vehicle density in the city has already crossed one vehicle per 1.7 persons and the growth in vehicular traffic has surpassed the increase in human population. Last year’s report on ‘State of Environment of Chandigarh - 2004’ said while the population in the city had increased a little over three time from 1971 to 2001, the vehicle population during the same period had shot up by 42 times. Last year the city had over 5 lakh vehicles for a population of about nine lakh, the figures have gone up substantially this year. It is hoped that mono-rail project of the Chandigarh Administration, when implemented, will go a long way in curbing road accidents. So far, it is the lack of proper public transport system which is said to be the largest single factor for the high number of vehicular density in the city. The major traffic bottlenecks where vehicular traffic moves at a snail’s pace include Transport Chowk, Piccadilly Cinema Chowk, Tribune round about, Sector 26 Grain Market intersection, Railway Station traffic lights on the Madhya Marg, the Iron Market in Sector 29, etc. The city roads have not proved any safer. The year 2005 claimed 127 lives and 398 people were injured as compared to 147 deaths and 296 injuries in 2004. The year 2003 claimed 139 lives while 306 were injured. It is estimated that on an average two lives are lost in the city every
week.
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Blamed for theft, cops trace dead mishap victim’s mobile
Chandigarh, January 4 Unlucky for her, the UT Police traced the mobile phone from its unique identification number, when it was put in use by her son. The police arrested the woman and her son yesterday and claimed to have recovered the stolen the mobile The UT DSP (East), Mr Vijay Pal Singh, said that on November 10, last year Neeraj Chauhan (25) had met with an accident near the Telephone Exchange, Mani Majra after his motor cycle got entangled with an astray tyre, pushed by some children on the road while playing. Suffering from thalassemia Neeraj fell unconscious and was shifted to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Rishi Chauhan, the victim’s brother in his complaint to the police alleged that a gold chain and a mobile phone of Neeraj worth Rs 25,000 had gone missing. A report was also carried by a vernacular newspaper that the cops, who had rushed the victim to the hospital, had stolen the victim’s belongings. Following this an inquiry was marked to the DSP (East) and a case of theft had been registered in the Mani Majra police station. The DSP said the police then contacted the mobile phone operators and gave them the IMEI number of the stolen mobile phone set. It was found out that the mobile phone set was being used by Slamudeen of Pinjore in Haryana. The police had then nabbed him. During the preliminary questioning he told the police that Bachani, his mother had given him the mobile phone, which she had picked from accident spot. A widow working with a private doctor in Chandigarh, Bachani told Chandigarh Tribune that she saw the mobile phone lying near the victim and picked it up. She was on her way home in an auto-rickshaw and the accident occurred before them. They stopped to help and the victim and the passengers travelling in the rickshaw tried to stop some vehicle to rush the victim to the hospital. Meanwhile, the police had reached the spot and took the victim to the hospital. She asserted that she did not steal the gold chain. They were produced before a local court today, which remanded them in police custody till Friday, said the police.
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PUDA to develop vacant spaces
Mohali, January 4 Sources say that house owners and others who have been using vacant land outside their boundary walls for personal purposes will have to give up a 6 ft stretch along the road for use after development for parking of vehicles. This portion could also be used by pedestrians. To begin with, PUDA would carry out the development work in three sectors on a trial basis. These areas are Sectors 55 (Phase I), 56 (Phase VI) and 57. The work would initially be carried out on the C-roads but later extended to other roads as well. It is estimated that a sum of more than Rs 50 lakh would be spent on this work in each phase. According to sources, PUDA would be asking residents to vacate 6 ft of land along the road and the vacated area would be provided with interlocking paver with about 3 inches of thickness. The trees and road gullies falling on the vacated area would not be removed. This developed area could be used for parking cars so that the 12 ft wide metalled portion of the C-road remained free for traffic. Sources said the Divisional Town Planner, Mr Gurpreet Singh, had provided the layout plans for every sector in this regard. A proposed layout plan to widen roads, other than the C-roads, had also been provided. A committee was constituted by the Chief Administrator, Mr A.S. Chhatwal, at a meeting held on December 23 to work out the feasibility, time period and cost required for widening of roads in Sector 57 and 69. The committee was asked to submit a report within 30 days. The Additional Chief Administrator, Mr Yashvir Mahajan, was made the chairman of the committee. Other members of the committee are Mr Sohan Singh and Mr Tarlochan Singh, PUDA Superintending Engineers in charge of different areas, Mr Gurpreet Singh, DTP, and Mr Tarsem Singh Rai, Municipal Engineer of the civic body. A proposal in connection with widening of other roads in town was also being studied. PUDA Divisional Engineers concerned have been asked to explore the possibility of widening other roads and submit their reports. It is learnt that residents of the town had met PUDA authorities in connection with problems being faced by them. Residents had pointed out that number of cars in the town had increased manifold over the years. A number of residents parked their vehicles on roads which obstructed free flow of traffic.
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CHB team demolishes illegal constructions
Chandigarh, January 4 The team accompanied by a pair of JCBs demolished illegal walls constructed on the government land. Certain portion of floors in front of houses were also demolished. The team arrived at around 11 a.m. and the demolition drive carried on till about 4 p.m. “We have demolished only the illegal structures and not charged any fines for the irregularity because there is no provision in the rule books”, an official said. The official said that majority of the constructions under question today had come up recently and the drive was a usual routine which was carried out after the number of irregularities had piled up. There were minor protests which did not have any significant impact on the drive because of ample police deployment on the occasion.
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Passport instruction booklets in Punjabi, Hindi soon
Chandigarh, January 4 The City’s passport office would be the second office in the country to make their services more people-friendly by translating the instructions in the national and regional language. Kolkata did the same a few months ago. The passport form costs Rs 10 and has the instructions printed on it only in English. More than two lakh people applied for a passport last year and were issued the same. The number is expected to rise by a few thousands this year. Applicants from the region not well versed in English end up paying as much as Rs 200 per application for getting it filled correctly by so-called agents and touts. These booklets, Arvind Kumar, Regional Passport Officer hopes, will change that. “It is a people-friendly move which will help the applicants.” Interestingly the passport office though doing the translation work will not have to spend on these booklets as they will be sponsored by the advertisers. While the work for the booklets in Hindi is almost complete, the work for the Punjabi booklets is on. The booklets will be available for free in the passport office itself and will also be available with the authorised agents. Applicants purchasing the form from the passport office will get the booklet along with the form, while the others can pick it up from there. Meanwhile a new passport application form too is in the pipleline and is expected to be out by the middle of this year. The new passport form will be more practical and will do away with the unrequired information and will also have a few additions.
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Reservation sought for visually handicapped
Chandigarh, January 4 In a statement issued by the general secretaries of Haryana and Punjab Branch Jage Ram and Rajesh Mohan, respectively, stated that officials of the Social Security Department of the Haryana Government had assured them that a meeting would be held to address their long pending demands, while the Director of the Social Security Department of the Punjab Government RS Laddarh at a meeting with the NFB members assured them that a departmental-level committee would be constituted to look into their demands. Members of the federation also stated that if the Punjab and Haryana Governments would not honour their commitment with the federation they would resume
their agitation from January 22. In order to observe the Luis Braille Day a function was simultaneously held along with rally in which Braille states and other devices were distributed to 100 persons by Prof Jage Ram, general secretary, NFB Haryana and Prof Rajesh Mohan, general secretary, NFB Punjab.
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Long queues for kerosene
Chandigarh, January 4 Those standing in the queue alleged that they were not getting the LPG for the last few days. Mr Mangat Singh from Sector 38 alleged that he had been repeatedly coming to take the supply but in vain. His grievance was supported by Surjit Singh, Naresh Kumar, Hukam Singh, Amit Kumar and Suresh Goswami standing in the queue. The District Food and Supplies Officer, Mr Amar Nath, denied that there was any shortage of the kerosene in the city. He said he had not received any complaint in this regard so far.
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Governor meets Republic Day contingent
Chandigarh, January 4 This contingent of 180 young artistes from Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and other neighbouring areas will leave for the New Delhi tomorrow. The North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) has imparted them training in different performing arts. Children from slums of the city also form part of this cultural troupe. The contingent gave a colourful performance, displaying traditional composite culture and great ethos of the region. Ms Jean Rodrigues distributed sweets among the children. Mr R.T. Jindal, Director, North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), said out of 180 members of the contingent, 80 children were from Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh.
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Gurpurb greetings from Rodrigues
Chandigarh, January 4 In his message on the eve of this auspicious occasion, General Rodrigues said Guru Gobind Singh, a saint-soldier, symbolised the virtues of truth, righteousness and universal brotherhood. He was a great warrior and launched a crusade against social injustice and tyranny of the rulers of those times. General Rodrigues said Guru Gobind Singh’s teachings and philosophy was still relevant. He appealed to the people to re-dedicate themselves to the ideals and goals set out by the great Guru and to celebrate his Parkash Utsav in a spirit of social harmony, equality and well-being of the people.
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Order on verification of servants
Chandigarh, January 4 Those violating the orders would be booked under Section 188 of the IPC. In a separate order, the DC has also made the verification of paying guests, students pursuing various orders or patients undergoing treatment mandatory. The administration had also observed that immoral activities were being carried out under the garb of paying guests (PG) home. Now the landlords who rent out their places to PG have to submit details of their tenants. The administration has also banned carrying of firearms. All the above orders shall remain effective from January 6, to February 4, 2006.
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SMS information facility
Chandigarh, January 4 Mr Lalit Sharma, advisor to the UT Administrator, launched the service at the Sector 9, Police Headquarters. The user has to type SVP in the massage box of the mobile phone for passport verification status followed by seven-digit file number allotted by the regional passport office and the year of filing of the complaint in the next four digits. To enquire about the status of complaint the user has to type SPW followed by four digits for the year of filing of complaint and five digit of the complaint number of the public window. In both the cases massages should be sent to 8888.
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Illegal hoardings removed
Chandigarh, January 4 According to officials, the hoardings removed were the ones which were bigger than the ground floor hoardings. The drive to remove the hoardings began at 10 am and carried on till 5 pm. The hoardings of Bajaj Alliance, Sify, Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Tata Indicom, Tress Lounge were among the few removed, said the officials. A few hoardings had been removed earlier also but they had been put back. The officials said notices had been served to them to remove the hoardings, however, they had not removed them thus the action was taken.
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Sena to oppose temple demolition
Mohali, January 4 Mr Gupta who visited the area said that the mandir was a historical shrine and was built on land donated for this purpose. If need be a massive protest would also be launched. The criticised the government for not taking any action against people who had encroached government land.
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Mobile phone company manager held, alleges bias
Chandigarh, January 4 A spokesman for the UT police said taking note of the allegations levelled by the manager, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Satish Chandra, has entrusted the investigation of the case to a special crime investigation cell. The investigation team would be headed by the SSP, Headquarters, Mr Vivek Gogia. The manager, Mr Rakesh Michael, of Mohali, claimed that the advocate and his son, instead of returning the facts pertaining to his divorce case, beat him up before calling the police to their house in Sector 21, Chandigarh, on Monday night. He said he could not have been booked for trespassing as he was only visiting his lawyer’s house. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune at the Sector 19 police station, Mr Michael said: “As the advocate has his office at his residence, there was no other place for me to meet him.” The SHO of the Sector 19 police station, Inspector Ram Gopal, said a case of trespassing, criminal intimidation had been registered under Sections 452, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against Mr Michael. The complainant was the advocate’s son, Mr Vikas Bali, who had alleged that Mr Michael had threatened them and barged into his house. The SHO said on January 2 Mr Michael went to Mr R.P. Bali’s residence. Mr Michael had hired Bali’s services for a divorce case and on that day he had gone there to show a notice, served on him by his in-laws. The in-laws of Mr Michael claimed in the notice that they had spent Rs 8 lakh on the marriage of their daughter to which Mr Michael objected to maintaining that it was a love marriage. In the meantime, Mr Bali allegedly told Mr Michael that he was tightfisted and even made fuss over making payments to him. Following this they had a heated argument and Mr Michael left the place saying that Mr Bali was taking sides with his in-laws. Mr Michael reportedly came back later and asked Mr Bali to return the facts of the case. He alleged the advocate and his son, did not return the facts and manhandled him before pushing him out of their house. He alleged that he had paid more than Rs 80,000 to Mr Bali, who kept on demanding for more. He has alleged that the police has played a biased role and succumbed under pressure of a certain high-profile Punjab police officer. The police called him to the police station saying that they wanted to record his statement, but arrested him, he added. On the other hand, a senior police officer denied being working under pressure in the case.
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Storming of police post: three held
Chandigarh, January 4 Sources in the Mani Majra police post said Ranjit Singh, Rajpal, alias Gagu and Om Prakash were arrested from the city following a tip off. They would be produced before a local court tomorrow, said
the sources. A case of rioting, causing hurt and criminal intimidation under the various provisions of the IPC against Sham Lal Gharwi, president of Chandigarh Sweepers Union, his brother Gagu, along with Om Prakash Saini, Dalbir Lokender and Babbu on a complaint lodged by Mr Parvesh Kumar of Mauli Complex in Mani Majra. The rest of the accused are still at large, said the police. It was alleged that the accused broke Parvesh Kumar’s leg besides severely injuring his family members, including some women. Constable Dharminder Kumar, who had tried to control the assailants, suffered a blow on
his head.
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4-year-old girl raped
Mohali, January 4 A complaint in
this regard was made to the police by the father of the child, Santosh
Kumar, today. The complainant alleged that Ram Alaud, a rickshaw
puller, living near his house took the girl to his house last night.
There he allegedly raped the child. The crime came to the notice of
the father when the child came back home crying. She told her father
about the incident. Ram Alaud reportedly fled after committing the
alleged rape. The police has registered a case under Sections 376 and
511 of the IPC in this regard.
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2 held for stealing engine parts
Mohali, January 4 According to the police, the arrested persons were Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Kumbra village, and Jasveer Singh, a resident of Safipur village. It is alleged that both persons used to steal engine parts from the Swaraj Engines factory. As many as nine parts were recovered from them. The theft had come to the notice of factory officials who handed over both the persons to the police. A case under Sections 380 and 34 of IPC was registered against them. Mr Jaswinder Singh, in charge of the police post in Phase XI, is investigating the matter.
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CRRID to organise match-making business event
Chandigarh, January 4 Asian and European companies specialising in embedded software and hardware technologies will have face-to-face business meetings based upon match-making of company profiles during the International Trade Fair scheduled to be held in Germany on February 14 and 15. At these meetings, 50 pre-selected companies from Europe and 20 from India and Thailand will participate that will have an opportunity to negotiate directly. CRRID will identify and select seven Indian companies. The match-making activities would lead to collaborations, joint ventures, research and development, foreign direct investment and sales in the areas of information technology, telecommunication, process automation, hardware application,
software and services.
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Record sales collection at Mountview
Chandigarh, January 4 The hotel witnessed total sales of Rs 15.40 crore till December, 2005, against the highest figure of Rs 13 crore recorded in the previous year. The figure is impressive in the context of the prediction of “very tough competition” that the hotel was likely to have faced from Hotel Taj that was inaugurated in June. Mr R.P. Singla, general manager of the hotel, said, “The hotel recorded sales figures of Rs 8.11 crore for room service against Rs 6.55 crore for the same period in the last financial year. The receipts for food items rose from Rs 4.28 crore to Rs 5.29 crore during the same period.”
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Team from IT firm meets Admn officers
Chandigarh, January 4 The companies, coming up under the quota of the “Built to Suit” sites at the IT park, include Amadeus, Microtek, FCS, IDS, Alchemist and Virsa. The visiting delegation from different companies was informed about the single-window system at the park which had been specially established to overcome the procedural wrangling outsiders faced at a new place. Information regarding building plans, architectural sanctions and related issues can be had at a common venue. Mr Sandhu informed the visiting team that the administration would directly attend to problems faced by them during the entire setting up of their projects. The meeting was also attended by Mr R.K. Rao, Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vivek Atray, Director of Information Technology, Chief Architect and the president of the STPI.
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