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Administration objects to
railing in Sector 17
Chandigarh, January 5 The railing had been raised in violation of the Punjab Capital Project Act and without consulting the Chief Architect, said sources in the Administration. In the name of the beautification drive, lakhs of rupees are being spent on improving the basic amenities in the shopping area of Sector 17. As per the plan, around Rs 2 crore is being spent on the beautification. Of these 50 per cent of the funding will come from the Administration and around Rs 10 lakh from the MPLAD fund. “While erecting the railing, painted in blue and white, officials in the MC did not comprehend that the railing could prove to be hazardous for road users”, said an officer in the administration. A notice was expected to be served on the MC in the coming days. Objecting to the callous attitude by the MC, the Chief Architect has written to the Finance Secretary, who further wrote to the office of the District Commissioner to remove the railings. The Chief Architect had objected to the change in design of the railings. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr I.S.Sandhu , said a legal action would be taken. In the past, differences between the Administration and the MC had surfaced after separate development plans were prepared. It was the intervention by the Administration that a single development plan was prepared and it was being funded by the administration.
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Treated sewerage water for irrigation
Chandigarh, January 5 The Municipal Corporation will get approximately Rs 35 crores for machinery and allied services at Sewerage Treatment Plant, Diggian, (10MGD) which will also distribute tertiary treated water to various sectors in the city. The project when complete will take care of irrigation requirements of all green belts, gardens and also residential houses measuring one kanal. At least 80 per cent of the funds under the scheme will be made available under the NURM project by the Centre and the remaining 20 per cent share will be given by the Chandigarh Administration. The city boasts of a very fine cover of green belt and the burden of the water supply has grown proportionately to the growth of the residential area in the city. The corporation had prepared a detailed plan about the sewerage treatment plant of the city and submitted it to the Centre. Mr P.S. Aujla, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation said that the relevance of the sewerage treatment plant needed to be understood in the context of water use predicted for the future growth. “It has been worked out that by 2020 the city will be needing about 110 MGD of potable water. Currently, the city gets about 78 MGD of water. The city gives about 30 MGD water for irrigation purposes. When the treatment plant becomes functional, the potable water, currently being used for irrigation, can be used for the home purposes. The corporation also expects water supply soon from the Phase III of the Kajauli Water Works which was complete”, Mr Aujla added. A senior official of the corporation said that firstly the details of the project implementation needed to be worked out on ground level. Besides the plant, the corporation also has to work out an effective water distribution system and the supply line has to be distinctly different from the potable water supply. In a related development, the MC is setting up a sewerage treatment plant of 10 MGD near 3BRD and upgrading treatment plant at Diggian from 30 MGD to 45 MGD. The administration has also released its first installment of Rs 60 lakhs to the Punjab Health Department for initiating work on the replacement of pumping machinery at Kajauli which is located in Punjab state for water supply to the city.
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Custodial death: 3 cops suspended
Derabassi, January 5 According to sources, the suspended personnel are Jarnail Singh, SHO of the Patiala GRP Police Station, Gurdeep Singh and Baldev Singh, in charge and munshi of the Rajpura police post, respectively. Meanwhile, officials and the political leaders had a tough time in pacifying the irate residents of the village, who demanded the registration of a case under Sections 302 of the IPC and arrest of the accused. As a mark of protest, the kin of the deceased did not accept the body which was kept at the Maubarikpur police post last night. However, the body was taken following assurances from the administration and the political leaders this morning. A former Kakrali Sarpanch, Mr Ajaib Singh, and father of the deceased, Mr Charan Singh, alleged that Gurmail Singh was picked up by the GRP from the village on January 2. When they visited
Rajpura to meet Gurmail Singh, they were told that he had died, they alleged adding that he was brutally tortured by the police. Meanwhile, prominent among
those, who visited the village included, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, a former Punjab Finance Minister, Mr Deepinder Dhillon, Vice-Chairman of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation, the Dera Bassi SDM, Mr Narinder Sangha and the DSP, Mr Varinder Singh
Brar. They assured the villagers that justice would be done to the affected family.
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Sealed house ransacked, room gutted
Mohali, January 5 The one-kanal house of Mr Hardeep Singh in Phase III B 1 here had been sealed by Vigilance officials about three years ago in connection with the registration of graft cases. Mr Hardeep Singh is yet to be arrested. One bedroom of the house was gutted destroying almost all the items lying in the room. The flames were brought under control by employees of the local fire brigade who had to break a window pane to throw water on the fire. The intruders ransacked every room in the three-storeyed house and things could be
seen lying scattered everywhere. Almost every cupboard was emptied by the intruders while carrying out searches. Wash basins in the bathrooms were broken and taps were found missing. It is learnt that the police is working on different theories in this regard. It suspects that an attempt was made by someone to destroy some documents as partially burnt paper were seen lying in the room. According to another theory, the intruders, who committed theft, must have left some half burnt substance in the room which later caught fire. Police believes that three to four persons were involved in the crime. Mr Harsukhinder Singh Babi Badal, president of the local unit of the SAD, and nephew of the SAD chief, said that he suspected that some state agencies had ransacked the house and set it on fire to cover up the crime. He said the
house was under police protection and such an act only led to a breach of trust. Mr Kiranbir Singh Kang, vice-president of the youth wing of the all-India unit of SAD, said that items had been removed from the house in a big way and fire was set as a cover up. He demanded an inquiry from an independent agency. The fire brigade was called by neighbours who saw smoke emitting from the building this morning. The flames were soon brought under control as it was not a major fire though a lot of smoke had entered other rooms and soot had deposited on walls. Fire brigade officials could not say what led to the fire in the room. Short circuit was ruled out as the power supply to the building had been disconnected earlier by officials concerned. According to the police, the intruders entered the building from the top floor as locks put on the doors were found broken. The intruders must have spent days in carrying out the searches as items in every room of the house were scattered. Moreover, the theft had not been committed recently as dust particles could be seen lying on the scattered items. A dog squad was called but it failed to give any clues. A team of three officials from the forensic laboratory were called to lift finger prints from the house. The police has registered a case under Sections 457, 436 and 380 of the IPC in this regard.
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Ramdev's ‘wonder cures’ still popular
Chandigarh, January 5 While the government "investigates" the authenticity of the findings and Swami Ramdev denies the allegations, ayurvedic practitioners of the city seem to be staunchly behind the Swami and his medical potions. "Swami Ramdev deserves appreciation for reviving the interest in yoga and ayurveda. The revelations by CPI-M leader Brinda Karat seem part of a larger conspiracy to defame a man who has reached every Indian home," says Dr Madan Gulati, Deputy Director, Ayurveda, UT. Dismissing Ms Karat's allegations of the medicines being "non-vegetarian" as "ignorance", Dr Gulati adds, "Ayurveda is not a system of medicine for vegetarians alone. In fact, it is incomplete without the use of minerals and animal parts. Ayurvedic medicines contain herbs, minerals, shells and corals but there is no place for human bones". Vouching for Swami Ramdev, Dr Vikram Chauhan, a private practitioner, also terms Ms Karat's allegations as an attempt to scuttle his growing popularity. "Human bones are rich in calcium and phosphorus. There is absolutely no need for Swami Ramdev to resort to mixing bone powder in medicines since alternatives for calcium and phosphorus are easily available", Dr Chauhan maintains. He further adds, "If it is about animal parts, there are a number of medicines in allopathy like that for treatment of arthritis which use animal parts. We believe that he makes no false claims since there is documentation of every ayurvedic medicine". While Dr Naresh Mittal,
running his own clinic, gives a clean chit to the Swami, he explains, "There are two types of medicines in ayurveda -- the classical and the patent. The former one pertains to medicines which have come down from the founders of this system. The latter refers to medicines which are improvised. Both kinds require a licence wherein the actual medicine contents are stated before hand. Any violation is an attempt at hoodwinking the law". Clarifying on Swami Ramdev's claims of curing any kind of ailment, Dr Mittal says that ayurveda doesn't have a cure for everything. "A basic ailment can be cured but as it gets complicated, cure becomes more and more difficult. In my personal opinion, some of Swamiji's claims are exaggerated. Also, yoga works as a one-to-one treatment therapy. Every individual has a unique problem and people certainly can't be dealt in large groups", he adds. Meanwhile, at the medicine outlet in Mansa Devi Complex, it's business as usual. People are still thronging the place for the "wonder cures". "We were doing a business worth Rs 16,000 a day. It has come down to Rs 13,000 a day but this has nothing to do with the controversy. The fall in business is more due to the weather than due to Ms Karat", says outlet in charge, Mr Ajab Singh. The controversy rages on, the sales continue.
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Gurpurb
celebrated
with fervour
Panchkula January 5 Noted London-based raagi Gurdev Singh Seera recited Shaba of Kirtan at the Sector 15 gurdwara here. He threw light on the supreme sacrifices made by the Guru. Gurdwaras and many houses were illuminated in the city. People exchanged greetings and burst crackers on Parkash Utsav.
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140 donate blood on Gurpurb
Mohali, January 5 The camps were held on the premises of Gurdwara Amb Sahib, Phase 8, and Gurdwara Sacha Dhan, Phase 3B1, here. Teams from Blood Bank, GMCH, Sector 32, and Rotary Blood Resources Centre, Sector 37, Chandigarh, collected 140 units of blood. Mementos were given to the donors. According to Dr B.S
Chandhok, president of the club, with these two camps, the total number of blood donation camps held by the club during the past six months had gone up to 12. The target for the year was 15 camps. He said the next camp would be held in the third week of this month in collaboration with a multi-national company.
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Zirakpur limits likely to increase
Zirakpur, January 5 An order from the Department of Local Government of the Punjab Government has asked the Nagar Panchayat to send a “proposal for including those areas of Nabha and
Singhpura, which have potential for generating revenue and urbanisation, to the Punjab Government.” “Accordingly, the Nagar Panchayat is directed to consider the request of Nabha and Singhpura residents for inclusion in the municipal limits. The only objection of the Nagar Panchayat of not extending the Nagar Panchayat boundary towards these villages was on account of the fact that the gram panchayats of these villages had not formally requested it in this regard. This objection has now been met with as the objections were filed by sarpanches and panches representing the village panchayats,” the order said. However, the president of the Nagar Panchayat, Mr NK Sharma, parried questions on the inclusion of the villages in the civic
body. The representations received from the villages can be considered at a meeting of the Nagar Panchayat, he added. On the other hand, Mr Sodagar Singh and Mr Naresh Singh, members of the joint action committee (JAC), threatened that the committee would move the Punjab and Haryana High Court if the Nagar Panchayat failed to recommend the inclusion of the two villages in the municipal limits. On September 8, the department had issued a notification under the Punjab Municipal Act inviting objections to the inclusion of three
villages. The Panchayats of Nabha, Singhpura and Mr HS Brar, an advocate, had filed objections to the inclusion of the three villages. It was contended that Nabha with a distance of about 1 km from Zirakpur, stood a better chance of inclusion in the Nagar
Panchayat. The density of population, the revenue-generating potential and the percentage of the population engaged in non-agricultural vocations are the criteria, which were fulfilled by the village. The inclusion of Nabha also made economic sense as besides being on the Zirakpur-Patiala road, it had two petrol stations, Coca Cola and Tata Motors godowns, several brickilns and a pipe factory, which could generate revenue for the civic body. Similarly, Singhpura fulfilled all norms for the inclusion in the civic body, it was claimed. Moreover, sources said that the inclusion of Singhpura and Nabha in the Nagar Panchayat was a matter of time since they were on the
highways. The Punjab Urban Development
Authority(PUDA) was planning to acquire certain areas of these villages for the development of the Zirakpur Urban Estate and the setting up of the sewerage treatment
plant. The urban area proposed to be developed by PUDA and such other area, which has potential for urban development, will have to be included in the municipal limits, the sources added.
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For him expression is independent of medium
Chandigarh, January 5 Weber’s works, all in German, have been translated by Dr
A.L. Mehta, who earlier worked with the Department of German at Panjab University and who now heads the first centre for translation studies at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad. Weber and Mehta held a joint press conference in the city today. The conference was held in collaboration with the Embassy of Austria in India, Saar
Sansaar, the Indo- German Friendship Society and the Alliance Francaise here. “We are here for the reading of Weber’s latest novel “Lanz” which I have translated as “Ghar Ghar Mein Nazi” said Mehta adding that the book was about the Nazi past of Austria. Before penning
“Lanz”, which is Weber’s first novel, Weber had written a novella “Blind Book”. “It is a negative love story and deals with extramarital relationships. Before that I wrote a diary called “Paliano” in 2002. This I wrote in the town of Paliano in Italy,” said Weber. But what Weber found most satisfying is a three-act play titled “Rebels”. It was written five years ago. “Rebels is a play based on conversations of two old men who are sworn enemies and are now waiting for their death. I wrote the play in barely a week and since it was published as a book and later also enacted, it became a popular work,” said Weber. Weber’s first work “Night Play”, a compilation of eight stories in a countryside in the UK, was written in 1996. Deeply interested in the lives of famous men, he went on to produce films on the personalities he chose to write about. “More than focusing on the way these men achieved fame, I have chosen to write about men who lost the glory they had once seen in the later years of their lives. Mario Kemps, famous football player, is one such person,” said Weber. His book “Dear Fritz”, based on interviews with writer Fritz Habeck and the letters Fritz and Ernest Hemingway shared over the years, also became the base for a film on his life. “I made a film on Hermann Gail based on my essay on him which I titles “Bacon Hunter”. Making films is satisfying, but writing novels is most satisfying,” said Weber adding that films needed a lot of money to make. “For which one needs to look for people who share your passion for the personality you want to focus on,” he said. Working on his second novel titled “Veites Dream”, Weber has explored relationship between a father and a son. It is a gripping story of a son who thinks his father is worthless cop who prefers to write poetry than catch thieves. “His father is shot dead and the truth starts to tumble out. The man was actually a corrupt man dealing with smugglers. Faced with the truth, the son then writes the story of his father,” relates Weber. And for a film, Weber would like to work on the life of Bill Wyman, the bass player of the Rolling Stones. “I want to write a portrait of his and hopefully turn it into a film,” Weber said.
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Power cuts lead to chaos on roads
Chandigarh, January 5 Sector 17 was perhaps the most chaotic in the city on Thursday with most traffic intersections having no lights or traffic cops. The only point that was managed manually was the Press Chowk point. The worst were the crossing adjoining the State Bank of India, main building and the one leading to the Sector 17 market. Even the Transport Chowk witnessed chaos several times during the day. Each time the power broke down, there was a race among vehicle owners to get past the crossing. This even led to traffic jams. The situation seemed to improve in phases before slipping back to its chaotic state. A lot of inconvenience had been caused to commuters at the Sector 34/35/21/22 roundabout. The situation, however, remained under control today being a holiday. Many routine spots, where traffic policemen are usually seen deployed, did without them today, perhaps on account of Gurpurb.
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Army Chief’s concern over ‘inflated’ ACRs
Chandigarh, January 5 Revealing this, a circular issued by the Military Secretary's Branch to Army establishments recently states that such highly inflated and subjective assessment strains the management system and brings in subjective aberrations in the merit system based on confidential reports
(CRs). "It has been noted with concern by the Chief of Army Staff that despite issuing a number of instructions on the subject, an inflationary trend in reporting has continued unabated," the circular
(No.A/17151/MS-4 Coord) states. "This adversely effects officer cadre management, especially promotions and appointments to key appointments," the circular adds. A large number of CRs and unit assessment certificates continue to be received at the MS Branch with "Near Perfect Nine" or even "Perfect Nine" endorsements, the letter states. Nine is the highest level on an assessment scale of 1-9. Award of highly inflated assessments without a matching pen picture to include special achievement of the officer does not appear convincing, the circular states. Significantly, the circular states that inflationary trends are clearly perceptible for those officers who have either missed a promotion board or are facing one in the near future, thereby indicating the emergence of sympathy factor. "The extent of malady can be gauged from the fact that there have been 120 cases of expunctions and enforcements of inflated assessments carried out (by the MS Branch) between January and August, 2005," the circular reveals. A close analysis and security of the reporting pattern clearly highlights that the major source of inflationary reporting is at the Initiating Officer's (IO) level. "This is perhaps a pointer towards an unhealthy trend of expediency and lack of capability or intent to 'call a spade a spade' at the cost of objective and fair reporting. The tendency is detrimental to both individual and organisational interests," the circular adds. The circular has also directed Reviewing Officers
(ROs) and Senior ROs to show due objectivity while rendering their assessments and comments of the appraisal ability of the IO. In the interest of fairness and objectivity, after an ACR has been complied by an IO, it is forwarded to his superior officer in the chain of command (SRO) for his review and remarks. It is then sent to the next senior officer (SRO) for similar action.
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New Deputy DG, NCC, takes over
Chandigarh, January 5 An alumus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Armoured Regiment in 1971. He served as deputy commander of a highly sensitive brigade located on the Line of Control and then as Commander of a Rashtriya Rifles (RR) sector in Northern Jammu and Kashmir for which he was decorated with the Vishisht Seva Medal. Later, he commanded Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Sub Area followed by another with the RR as Deputy General Officer Commanding of the Rashtriya Rifles Force Headquarters in Doda. Brigadier Katoch is a postgraduate in defence studies from Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and has undergone the Senior Defence Management Course.
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‘Hanera te Parchhawa’ released
Mohali, January 5 “It has to be darkness, which leads us to the enlightenment in the life” is the message of the book which is a collection of about 50 poems and the writer claims that it helps in understanding life, clearing many doubts and helping face many of the problems one comes across in daily life. Dr Manik said he had shared a host of experiences in the book. He further added that as the name suggested, the book was about the sweet and sour events in one’s life. “There is always a ray of light in the darkness of disbelief in life,”' said Dr Manik. Dr Bal Krishan, director, Rayat College of Law, said, “The book was a motivator and encouraged everyone to adopt positive attitude towards life.” The book release was followed by the interaction between various Punjabi writers who attended the function. Dr K.C. Dubey, Station Director, All-India Radio, noted poet Dr Anoop Virj, Dr Amarjit Kanke and Dr Surinder Daweshwar were present on the occasion.
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Site not suitable for school: residents
Mohali, January 5 Residents said that the site was not suitable for a school as the area was surrounded by narrow C-roads from all sides. Moreover, the administration had banned the plying of school buses on C-roads to avoid accidents and congestion of vehicular traffic. But on the other hand PUDA was allotting school sites in such an area. Addressing mediapersons, the vice-president of the society, Mr B.S. Virk, said that after visiting the site in question the then Chief Administrator of PUDA had stayed the construction of the building till further orders. He said an appeal was filed in the court of Secretary, PUDA. The school management carried out digging work for doing construction even when no intimation in this regard was provided by authorities concerned to the society. He said that the school management had removed the metal grill put on one side of the park for
using the park area which would create problems for residents.
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Pre-marital counselling
Panchkula, January 5 According to Dr Anubhav, organising secretary of Virasat, the project has been launched after a thorough study keeping in mind the needs of the residents. Besides, personality development course has also been launched by the organisations, he added.
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Inconvenience due to dug up earth
Chandigarh, January 5 Dr D.S. Gupt, a resident of the locality, said “big mounds of earth have collected at different places in the entire area. Following the rain, the earth has spilled over to the city roads. It has even reached at the doorstep of the houses causing a great inconvenience to the residents.” Dr Gupt also said that “debris of the earth dug by the authorities for laying the underground sewers had also not been disposed properly.” Another resident pointed out that the Municipal Corporation should ensure that earth dug up by the telecommunication companies for laying the cables should be filled up and a certificate to this regard should be obtained from the authorities.
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Sun God blesses city
Chandigarh, January 5 Being a holiday today, city residents basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun while the homeless heaved a sigh of relief. No bonfires, no huddled figures dotting the corridors — the day turned out to be the bright and nice after a heavy morning fog. The Met office maintained that rain was unlikely in the next few days since the western disturbance was still located over north Pakistan and there was no cyclonic disturbance around the area. While stating that foggy nights and misty mornings would continue as a hangover to the rain early this month, officials said ground frost could also persist in the rural areas of Punjab and Haryana. “The prevalence of humidity and falling temperatures are resulting in fog,” a Met department official said.
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‘Ladla Driver’ on Doordarshan
Chandigarh, January 5 An official spokesman said the film, which was earlier formally released by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is a comedy and highlights the importance of driving licence and discourages such parents who try to get driving licence for their under-age children by using their influence. The film will also be screened in the Press Club at 8.30 p.m.
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Leaders mourn death of Kang’s mother
Chandigarh, January 5 Bhog of Akhand Path Sahib and kirtan will be held on January 7 at Gurdwara Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib, Sector-34-D, Chandigarh.
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2 held for rape of woman
Chandigarh, January 5 They had allegedly raped the woman at the residence of Mukesh in Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran, before dumping her in Makhan Majra. The police said her first husband, Jagdish, and his father, Chander, were found innocent during the investigation. The victim told the police that she was taken by Sunil to his Mauli Jagran house. After raping her, the accused tried to strangulate the woman, but she fell unconscious after being hit with a stone. The police said the accused had smashed the victim’s face with a heavy object and tried to strangulate her before leaving her in a semi-naked condition, believing she had died. There were bruises around her neck beside other injuries. She was taken to the Sector 32 Government Medical Collage and Hospital where she regained consciousness later in the day. A case of attempt to murder and outraging the modesty of a woman under Sections 307 and 354 of the IPC has been registered at the Industrial Area police station. Police assurance to industrialists On a complaint of the industrial association, the police seized the public address system which was being used to announce the strike call against non-payment of minimum wages by the industrialists. Mobile company manager gets bail The counsel of the victim pleaded before the Duty Magistrate that his client was being falsely implicated and since no recovery had to be made, bail should be granted to him. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Satish Chandra, has entrusted the investigations into the case to the special crime investigation cell. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has sought a fair inquiry into the entire issue. Workshop for rickshaw-pullers Remanded
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Minor’s rape: man held
Mohali, January 5 Ram Alaud, a rickshaw-puller, took the child to his house where he allegedly raped her. A complaint in this regard was made to the police yesterday by the father of the girl, Santosh Kumar.
— OC
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Work on housing project in Baddi starts
Chandigarh, January 5 The project, being executed by Mountview Group Housing Company (MGHC), entails a cost of Rs 100 crore and is expected to be completed in 18 months. Mr Rajesh Khullar, CEO of the MGHC, launched the scheme at the CII here today. Mr Harish Aggarwal, Director of the MGHC, said the project would provide state-of-the-art living infrastructure to all categories of industrial workers. Out of the total flats 8 per cent would be reserved for industrial workers from the economically weaker sections.
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