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Potholed roads, no streetlights, stray cattle — welcome to Panchkula
Panchkula, January 18 Barring the external roads dividing two sectors, the other roads are hardly cleaned by workers and streetlights on these roads remain off. Driving is a tricky affair, thanks to the deep potholes. Though substantial improvement has been made in the sanitation and streetlight maintenance during the past fortnight, it is restricted to certain pockets. Till date, roads in Industrial Area have not been repaired even once because the MC and HUDA are at loggerheads, with MC demanding that HUDA should have repaired the roads before transferring its maintenance to them. Stray cattle can be seen everywhere, causing many road accidents. All this in spite of the fact that residents of the town are paying over Rs 3 crore as house tax to the MC, while a similar amount is being paid by the district administration as dues from stamp duty collection. The MC earns over Rs 1 crore as interest on its fixed deposits and as licence fee. But in spite of this, Rs 7 crore in hand for development, the MC seems to have failed in its objective. Thanks to certain self-proclaimed "conscientious citizens", inquiries have been instituted on almost all development works done by the MC during the past two years. Six inquiries related to installation of swings and benches; civil works in public parks; removal of congress grass, on park maintenance committees, against sanitation contractor and streetlight contractor have been initiated by the Department of Urban Development and Vigilance Bureau, Haryana. Even as the inquiries are on, the Department of Urban Development has stopped payments worth Rs 2.30 crore to all contractors. As a result, no contractors are willing to take up any development work in the township. "The MC has thrice floated tenders for various development works like recarpeting of roads and development of parks, but no contractors have come forward to take up the work," said Mr C.B.Goel, Councillor from Sector 7, here. With a staff strength of just 34, which includes 10 sweepers and 15 firemen (out of a sanctioned strength of 104 persons), the MC on its own cannot take up any development work. It has no technical staff. The only work that the MC handles is fire fighting, but the staff in the Fire Station, too, is much less than its sanctioned strength of 47. As a result, Panchkula is at the mercy of Chandigarh in case of a major fire. The MC president, Mr Tarun Bhandari, denied that the civic amenities had deteriorated. "For 10 months, from October, 2004, to June, 2005, we had no money to carry on the development work. When, we got the money, it was monsoons, and we could not carry out road repairs or other development works. We carried out development works in October and
November and spent Rs 1. 50 crore, and will again float tenders for 80 civil works next week," he said.
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Police gets clues in drugging case
Chandigarh, January 18 Sources said the victim, Mr Rajesh Dhawan and his wife, Ms Radha, have been discharged from the Sector 16 General Hospital. The police has sent samples for examination to a laboratory. These will be matched with the food served to the victims by the accused. The police recorded the statements of the Dhawans after they recovered from delirious state. They reportedly gave vital clues to the police. The police, however, refused to divulge details. Meanwhile, the police is making a sketch of the accused on the basis of information provided by the couple.
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Jewellery design course launched
Chandigarh, January 18 A venture of the Anopchand Tilokchand Jewellers, a similar course is also being offered at 36 other centres of NIFD nationwide. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Nitin said the jewellery design institute would connect the students directly with the industry. Ritu Kochhar said the region so far did not have any jewellery design institute of repute and the opening of the ATR institute has fulfilled this need. The ATR Institute of Jewellery Design’s, Chandigarh centre, NIFD, will work on a wide range of products, ranging from traditional and bulky pieces to contemporary, wacky and delicate ornaments. The courses to be offered include a six month course on basic jewellery design and technology, one year course in advance jewellery design and technology and a 45-day certificate programme in
techniques of jewellery
retailing.
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BIS books city firm
Chandigarh, December 18 At Chandigarh, M/S Weld Electrodes Enterprises was found manufacturing covered electrodes for arc welding under the brand name “Sigma Special”. Substantial quantity of material with BIS standard marks and packing material were seized. During a raid at M/S Saraswati Electrical, Rajpura, the BIS officials found the unit manufacturing PVC insulated cables with fake ISI marks under the brand “Priya” and “Ukay”. Over 40 rolls of fake packaging material were also seized. Patiala’s M/S Vikal Mineral Food (P) Limited had substantial stock of packaged natural mineral water with the brand names “Tanya’s”, “Total’s” bearing the ISI marks even though the company did not have any license to do so. In another raid on M/S Jagota Metal Works at Jalandhar, 34 gate valves with fake BIS makings were seized. These had the brand name “Jee” and “Jagota”. At Ambala, M/S Standard Cable Industry was found misusing ISI mark on PVC insulated heavy duty cables. A drum of cables and 98 bundles of conduits having brand name “Poly Kartik” were seized. Manufacturers of these brands have been booked under the BIS Act. If proved guilty, they would be liable to be punished with imprisonment up to one year and a fine of Rs 50,000.
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Skyline of the city in for a change
Chandigarh, January 18 Confirming the development, Mr Amar Nath, Chief Executive Officer of the CHB, said the board was also working on another high-rise (10-storeyed) housing scheme for the UT employees and certain more schemes were likely to follow. It is worth mentioning that the Administration these days is running a series of advertisements in English dailies seeking “Expression of Interest” for “state of the art 11-storeyed building in Sector 17”. The proposed building will be a shopping mall. Interestingly, the 11-storeyed building in Sector 17 is provided in the master plan of Le Corbusier, architect of Chandigarh. Mr Amar Nath said the CHB had invited ‘Expression of Interest’ from all over the country. As many as 63 parties responded to the advertisement following which the CHB shortlisted 26 architects. Nine parties submitted the design and the CHB has selected one of the qualifying architects. The name needs a formal approval from the Administration. The shortlisting of the architect and other details of the scheme were worked out by a special committee with Mr Amar Nath in the chair. The members included Ms Renu Saigal, Chief Architect, Principals of the College of Architecture and the Chitkara Institute of Engineering and Technology and a former Chief Architect and a former Town Planner of the city. The Chief Executive Officer said the decision to increase the height of the building had been taken following a detailed discussion with the experts from different fields. A senior official of the board said, “Increase in height of buildings will not mean over crowding of the habitable area. All housing schemes are governed by the norms laid by the Department of Town Planning. The density of population as regards every scheme is laid down, the floor area ratio (1.5 in Chandigarh) is specified and the allowed coverage of ground area keeping in mind the greenbelt is also clearly spelt out.” It was also pointed out that high-rise buildings would need extra facilities that would mean ensuring 24-hour power supply. An effective power back-up was likely to be provided. Taller buildings would mean more area for green space in a housing society that could be utilised for providing additional facilities, including greenbelt and parks.
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‘Plan-2021’ Admn’s new growth mantra
Chandigarh, January 18 This was revealed by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.K. Rao, during an interactive session organised by the CII Chandigarh Council here today. He informed the participants about other initiatives being taken by the Chandigarh Administration in the fields of governance, health care and slum management. While admitting gaps in the existing policy of ‘industrial land conversion’, Mr Rao allayed the fears of industry representatives and assured them of earmarking sites in such a way that both industrial and commercial activities could coexist. He appreciated and expressed his openness for the issues raised by the CII Chandigarh Council pertaining to industrial and economic development of the city. He also acknowledged the need for having a regular interface with industry to be partners in progress. Mr Krishan Goyal, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council, said they had always been supportive of various development-oriented initiatives of the Chandigarh Administration, be it Chandigarh Technology Park, development of rural tourism, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, environment protection, implementation of VAT, or social development. “The industry would welcome more proactive and customer-friendly policies from the administration so as to enhance competitiveness,” he said. The issues raised in the meeting included conversion of land use in industrial area, industrial infrastructure development, development of Sector 34 subcity center, transfer of industrial sheds, VAT Act, liquor policy, power, etc. CII Chandigarh Council also submitted a detailed memorandum on various issues to the Deputy Commissioner.
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Priest booked on abduction charge
Chandigarh, January 18 Sources at the industrial area police station said Pt Vasudev Ojha of Colony No. 4 had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that Pt. Om Prakash of the same locality had abducted his wife, Sheela on January 11. Pt Ojha had in his complaint earlier alleged that his wife, mother of two children, had eloped with Om Prakash on January 11. He further told the police that Om Prakash was his friend and used to visit his house.
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Creating awareness about AIDS, diabetes
Chandigarh, January 18 “We have our chapters everywhere in the world, similar to those of Rotary International, instilling a culture of service among the PIOs worldwide and making GOPIO an international service organisation,” says Mr Inder Singh, President of the
organisation. “There are over 22 million PIOs all over the globe. We have 40 chapters in 22 countries. To achieve our goal of serving the humanity, we have now Business, Cultural, Academic, Philanthropic, Human Rights and Health Services Councils. One of the key members of our Human Rights Council, for example, is the Law Minister of Trinidad and Tobago,” says Mr Inder Singh, who after retiring from active business in 1999, has been voluntarily working for GOPIO. “One of the projects we took up a couple of years ago was to get recognition for Mr Dalip Singh Saund, the first-ever Asian to be elected to the US Congress. We wanted that the Indian Government should have honoured him posthumously at the Pravasi Bharati Divas. We organised a special function to commemorate 45th anniversary of his election to the Congress,” reveals Mr Inder Singh, who has
settled in California. Mr Inder Singh had moved to the United States in 1968 after giving up his job as an Accounts Officer in the Punjab Finance Department. Working as a Computer Manager, he rose to own a company till he retired in 1999. “It was in 1989 that GOPIO came into being when we organised our first-ever Pravasi Bharati Divas in New York where PIOs from 22 nations attended. India was represented at the conference by the then Railway Minister, Mr Madhav Rao Scindia, and Dr Karan Singh. It was at this convention that the demand of dual citizenship was raised for the first time,” says
Mr Singh. “The idea was to provide global network to PIOs. Between 2004 and 2005, we organised five conferences, including two in Belgium. We have been fighting for various problems faced by the PIOs all over the globe. The foremost of these has been human rights violations. GOPIO was the first to campaign against “dot buster” (bindi) and “rag head” (turban) gangs,”
claims Mr Singh. “GOPIO was also the first one to come in support of Mr Mahendra Chaudhary when there was a coup against him in Fiji. Not only that we also put up a strong front after an attempt was made to frame an eminent PIO holding a key political position in Trinidad and Tobago. It is why today we have the largest following in smaller countries like Fiji, Trinidad and
Tobago and Guyana etc.,” he said. Mr Inder Singh appreciates grant of dual citizenship to PIOs of 16 countries but says that PIOs of other countries want grant of instant visa on arrival at any Indian port of entry. “The biggest relief offered by the grant of overseas citizenship is the end of woes after getting first visa,” he says, revealing that this time also GOPIO passed several resolutions which were sent to the Government of India at the Pravasi Bharati
Divas in Hyderabad early this month.
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Vaidyanathan invites suggestions on draft report
Chandigarh, January 18 In a press release issued here today, NABARD has said that the draft proposal has been submitted to the Union Finance Ministry, on December 29, and is now placed on the public domain, on the websites of the Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and NABARD. Because of the deteriorating health of rural cooperative credit institutions, the Government of India had appointed a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Prof. Vaidyanathan, in August, 2004, to suggest an implementable action plan for their revival. The committee had submitted its report on Short Term Cooperative Credit Structure in February, 2005. After all state governments had arrived at a consensus, a revised package amounting to Rs13,596 crore had been recommended. The package has already received the Cabinet approval. It is expected that the process of implementation of the package will take off shortly. It may be noted that after the submission of report on Short Term Cooperatives, the Government of India had entrusted the work of assessing the plans and performance of co-operative Agricultural Rural Development Banks or Land Development Banks and other major components in the overall system.
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Draw of lots held for CHB flats
Chandigarh, January 18 The draw of lots was conducted for 96 flats in the one bedroom and the same number of dwelling units in the two bedroom categories. These did not include the remaining flats reserved for the outsees. The draw started around 11 a.m. under the chairmanship of Mr S.N.Sahai, the chairman. The entire process was recorded on video to ensure transparency. The number of aspirants for the flats in the draw were nearly double the number of flats available. The remaining had been eliminated in the preliminary draw held on December 28, 2005.
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MC to remeasure Durga nursery’s land
Chandigarh, January 18 A decision to this effect was taken today by the committee formed by the Municipal Corporation to look into the issue of excess land acquired by the Durga Das Nursery. The issue to have the Municipal Corporation’s land vacated by the Durga Das Nursery was first raised in the December meeting of the MC House. It was, however, found in the meeting that the MC was not even aware of how much land had been encroached upon by the Durga Das Nursery. The Durga Das Nursery is situated on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road and is based on 5.1 acres of land, 2 acres of which have been taken on rent from the MC. It may be mentioned here that the MC has been fighting a legal battle for the past few years for this land. It, however, kept losing the cases and the Supreme court finally ordered a stay on it. The Supreme Court has now accepted a petition filed by the MC on this issue. The next meeting of the committee, informed sources, would be held in the first week of February where a decision on the amount of penality to be imposed on Durga Das Nursery would also be discussed.
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Fog envelops city
Chandigarh, January 18 The local Meteorological Department attributed the fog to the snowfall in the upper climes of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. “Snow in the hills causes the moisture level in the plains to rise. This result in fog. Since J and K and Himachal Pradesh have received a fresh spell of snowfall, the humidity levels in the plains have shot up considerably. This has led to suspended droplets in the form of fog,” the Deputy Director, Mr Surinder Pal, maintained. Though the western disturbance is still located over central Pakistan, the Met office maintained that the weather would open up once it rained. Though light showers in the city could not be ruled out for tomorrow, another cloudy day is on the cards.
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‘Phone tapping’ by police: lawyer questioned
Chandigarh, January 18 Sources in the crime branch said that Arvind Thakur was questioned for about two hours by the police officers. However, police officers, investigating the case, refused to divulge the details of the questioning. Mr Thakur said he was questioned by the police so as to drag him unnecessarily in the case. He added that he had brought the letter to the notice of the UT administration before going to media. It may be recalled that the controversy erupted after Mr Thakur reportedly received a letter allegedly issued by the Department of Chandigarh Telecommunication seeking a payment of Rs 13,000 from the UT Police for providing ‘phone records’ of two judicial officers and four city based-lawyers including Mr Thakur. Taking note of the letter UT Police had registered a case of forgery and criminal conspiracy in this connection on January 10 and also termed the letter as “forged”.
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40 hoardings removed
Chandigarh, January 18 According to officials, the hoardings removed were the ones which were bigger than the assigned size by the MC. Around 40 hoardings were removed by the MC. A few hoardings had been removed earlier also but they had been put back. The officials said notices had been served on them to remove the hoardings. However, they had not removed them thus the action was taken. The drive was led by Parvinder Dhingra, OSD to the Chief Engineer. The officials said this drive would continue over the coming days.
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Protest against PUDA
Mohali, January 18 Mr Sukhdev Singh Saini, general secretary of the union, said workers from the different areas of the state participated in the protest. He said relay fast and rally was organised here on November 22 and 23 against the policies of the Chief Administrator (CA) of PUDA who had failed to concede to the demands of the workers. He said if the CA failed to hold a meeting with them the agitation would be intensified. The future course of action in this regard would be decided at a state-level convention being held on February 8. The demands of the union include regularisation of the services of 54 daily wage workers who had been working under PUDA for the past 16 years, calling back of workers from the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and regularising their services, release of allowances that had been stopped, giving promotion to class III and IV employees and putting an end to privatisation.
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Action sought on shifting of Punwire furniture
Mohali, January 18 Mr Shahid Ahmed, president of the union, said at a press conference here today that land, building, furniture and fixtures of Punwire, located in plot no B-77, Phase VII, were purchased by a private company against which the union had filed an SLP in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had then ordered a status quo in the matter. He alleged that some furniture and other material from B-77 was secretly removed on January 12 and shifted to the Punwire unit located on plot no B-58 in the area.
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Irate villagers block Burj-Kotian link road
Panchkula, January 18 Led by Sarpanch Dharam Pal, the villagers alleged that the road had not been repaired for past several years. Everyday around 700 to 750 trucks carrying riverbed material, pass through this road. As a result, the road is in a dilapidated condition. “We have given numerous representations to the government to repair the road, but to no avail,” they
alleged. A fortnight ago, the villagers had blocked the road over the issue and the government officials had assured that the road repair would be carried out within a fortnight. “After the administration failed to meet the deadline, we decided to launch the stir,” said Pala Ram. A posse of cops led by DSP Manbir Singh, the SDM Panchkula, Mr Verender Dahiya and the SDM Kalka, Mr Maheshwar Sharma, rushed to the spot. Only after they assured that the road repair would be taken up within three days that the irate villagers lifted the
blockade.
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Protest by SBoP staff
Chandigarh, January 18
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11 held for rioting
Chandigarh, January 18 According to police sources, both families entered into a heated argument over an issue of erecting of a gate. The squabble turned violent and both parties resorted to stone pelting and attacked each other with iron rods. The injured, admitted to the hospital, were identified as Bala Devi, her son Baljinder Singh and her sister Seema Devi. The doctors attending to them stated that they were out of danger. However, the injured belonging to the other party were discharged after administering first aid from a Manimajra-based health centre.
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One booked for selling leased booth
Chandigarh, January 18 Giving details of the cheating case, sources at the Sector 17 police station said a case of misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust and cheating has been registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code against Ram Lal of Bapu Dham Colony on the complaint lodged by the UT Assistant Estate Officer. It was alleged that the accused had been allotted a booth in Sector 27 on lease for 15 years. Ram Lal, the accused, fraudulently sold the same to another person. Liquor seized Motorcycle stolen Gambling Two cases under the Gambling Act has been registered.
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Youth dupes shopkeeper
Mohali, January 18 Mr Manpreet Singh alleged that the youth came to his shop on Saturday and made purchases worth about Rs 3,500. He offered his credit card in connection with the payments but the machine rejected the card. He then asked the shopkeeper to send his servant along with him so that he could make payments after withdrawing money from an ATM. Instead of going to a bank the youth took the servant to Sector 69. He parked his car outside a house and asked the servant to collect the money from his mother who was inside the house. When the servant moved out of the car the youth drove away.
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Talking to The Tribune here today, Mr Inder Singh said a model project on HIV was being started in Hyderabad where some eminent members of the Health services Council of the Organisation, besides extending all help and expertise, would be personally involved in tackling the spread of HIV in the country.
