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Back from Delhi, Bansal gets rousing welcome
Chandigarh, January 30 Former Mayors, Mr Subhash Chawla and Ms Anu Chathrath, the District Congress Committee (Rural) president, Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri, and Mr Pradeep Chabbra along with their supporters welcomed Mr Bansal at the Airport chowk. A number of women and residents of the Deep Complex welcomed the minister at Hallo Majra. Over 200 Congress workers led by Mayor, Mr Surinder Singh, Deputy Mayor, Mr H.S. Lucky and a former Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, welcomed the minister at the Tribune chowk. In spite of a large number of police personnel deployed to control the crowds and ensure a smooth flow of traffic, disruptions were witnessed for over an hour till Mr Bansal had entered the city. Interestingly, the city Congress chief, Mr B.B. Behl, and his supporters were conspicuous by their absence. The induction of Mr Bansal also put to rest all power games of one- upmanship in the city Congress. After Mr Bansal was allowed by the party high command to have his own supporters, Mr Surinder Singh and Mr H.S. Lucky, Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, his induction into the Union Council of Ministers has sidelined Mr Behl for some time now. It may be mentioned that Mr Bansal is the fourth person from Chandigarh, and the third Congress leader to be taken into the Union Council of Ministers. Mr Jagannath Kaushal, Mr Venod Sharma (both from the Congress, though Mr Sharma was a Rajya Sabha member) and Mr Harmohan Dhawan were others from the city to become Cabinet ministers. Meanwhile, Mr Tarlochan Singh Bittu, president of the Chandigarh Property Consultants Association, Mr Narinder Singh ‘International’, Traders Welfare, Sector 32 D, Market Welfare Association, Sector 22 D, the Commercial Tenant Association, Vyapar Sadan, and the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, have congratulated Mr Bansal on his induction into the Union Ministry. Mr N.S. Minhas, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, too, has congratulated Mr Bansal.
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Infant’s body eaten by stray dogs found
Panchkula, January 30 According to police officials who first reached the spot opposite House No 58, Sector 12, it was one Dr. Narinder Yadav, who noticed an unusually large number of dogs eating on something that looked like flesh today morning. “The infant’s body was being dragged away by dogs”, he is said to have told the police. Once he realised that the pack was feeding on the body of a new-born child, he raised an alarm and informed the police. People in the neighbourhood told the police that the place did not have any dead body at night and that someone must have thrown the child in the dead of the night or in the wee hours of the morning. Since there were so many dogs feeding on the flesh of the new born, it is estimated that it would not have taken the dogs very long to eat up the child up to the waist. Police party removed the body of the child around 8 am and took it for post-mortem examination to the General Hospital, Panchkula where a board to establish the sex of the infant. The incident has sent shock waves in the tri-city, while the police are still clueless and unable to respond to questions about the age and sex of the infant. But since the body was badly mutilated, nothing much could be ascertained. The board was also asked to find if the infant was alive or dead when it was thrown away. After the medical board failed to establish much, it decided to send the body of the infant to PGI at Rohtak for a forensic examination. Giving out details, Panchkula police said, “on receiving a phone call, we dispatched a team for the green belt in Sector 12. This team recovered the body, which appeared to be that of a new-born baby. It was in badly mutilated condition with lower parts of body badly damaged” The police officials said that the examination conducted at the General hospital indicated that the infant’s body could be that of a two-day-old boy. They further said that they were not ruling out the possibility of the infant having died of cold after having been left out in the open. The police has registered a case and is investigating. The matter has been brought to the notice of senior Haryana Government officials who are already grappling with the issue of declining female sex ratio in the state. Police officials said that they were working on several theories.
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Panchkula man held for impersonating as SP
Chandigarh, January 30 Working on a tip-off, a police team led by the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sector 36 police station, Inspector Ishwar Singh Mann, intercepted the accused near the Attawa Chowk around 8:30 pm yesterday. During preliminary questioning the
This confirmed the suspicion of the police and during sustained questioning the impostor identified himself as Rajnish Verma of the Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 4, Panchkula. He told the police that his father had retired from the Himachal Pradesh police as Inspector. About his occupation, he disclosed that he had been running a mess in a private engineering college near Banur. The police has registered a case under Section 170 of the IPC in this regard. He was remanded in judicial custody by a local court today.
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PU students allege unhygienic food in hostels
Chandigarh, January 30 According to Simardeep Singh Sidhu, the raids were conducted just before dinner time at three girls’ hostels — Kasturba Hall, Sarojini Hall and Lakshmi Bai Hall. “In all hostels it was found that food was being cooked in unhygienic conditions. There was no cleanliness and no control over the quality of material used to cook food.” he said. The students alleged that raw vegetables were being kept in the open where stray dogs and cats had free access to them. These were not properly washed before being cut and peeled. The flour was reported to have infected and so did the cereals stored in the dingy rooms outside the hostel mess. “Though the university has made it clear to the mess contractors that only Markfed brand items would be used, we have found unknown brands of oil being used for cooking. The university authorities have no control over what is happening in these hostels,” Sidhu alleged. The students added that they had procured samples of the food items and would be taking these to the Dean Students Welfare tomorrow and demand immediate action. Meanwhile, students of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) of the university today started a hunger strike against the detention of 28 students of the institute following shortage of lectures. The Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and the Punjab University Students Union (PUSU) have come out in full support of the agitating students. These students have now been asked to sit for classes again and repeat the past semester examination. Rupinderjit Singh Mann of PUSU said the university authorities allowed the students who were running short of lectures in the semester examinations in December 2005. He added that a memorandum had
SOPU leader Dalveer Singh Goldy said some of the detained students had got admission in management institutes and some had already cleared their GRE exam. Stating that all these students had cleared the examination of the past semester for which they have been detained, the protesting students added that they were not warned in time about the shortage of lectures.
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Ex-Korean minister calls for closer ties with India
Chandigarh, January 30 Delivering a talk on the “Korean Economy: Growth, Crisis and Reform and its implication to India” at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development here today, Mr Chung said that India should reform itself through “constructive destruction” for economic growth. “It is a painful experience, but necessary if you would like to enter an advanced society,” he said. The Korean parliamentarian said the Korean Economy had shown the co-existence of pre-modern, modern and post-modern patterns in the process of compressed economic growth, which was common to countries that adopted an unbalanced growth strategy. “Stages of India’s current economic growth are different from Korea’s, but it will be similar because pre-modern, modern and post-modern patterns can be found in India as it moves towards the next level of development,” he said. Mr Chung, who is a visiting professor to Peking and Remin universities in China, said was necessary for India to accumulate its national capacity to make political and social consensus. This, he added, may be closely related to moral standards, cultural background and national temperament. Delving into the Korean economic development process, he said after the Korean economy was integrated into the global economy following the Asian crisis in 1997, new industries emerged as growth engines. Other “pumps” that fuel Korean economy are the three vulnerable sectors comprising agriculture, a traditional market distribution system and small and medium enterprises, the wave of global economy and economic sentiments.
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Passing Thru
What brings you in the city?
My fiancée Maurits Hendricks has been appointed technical adviser of the Premier Hockey League, being held in the city. Being a former coach and umpire of the game, I could not resist myself to see the tournament and accompanied Maurits to the city. How do you compare Indian hockey with the European hockey? The playing style of Indian players is different from Europeans as the players here play fast game whereas in Europe, emphasis has been given on defensive tactics and corners conversion. I am also impressed with the large number of spectators, which have been coming daily to see the domestic tournament in spite of extreme cold weather. In European countries and even in my hometown Pretoria, a small number of spectators come to cheer the players. But here the scenario is totally different. Which is the other sport you like after hockey and who is your favourite sportsperson? Cricket comes next after hockey. My favourite sportsperson is Juan Escavve, the captain of Spanish hockey team. What attracts you the most in India? Apart from affable Indian people, I liked the Indian food very much and I want to come again and again here. — Akash Ghai
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Chandigarh Calling
Monkey business:
Heritage trees:
Military honours:
Loud music:
School diary:
Animal world:
Contributors: Vishal Gulati, Vijay Mohan, Arvind Katyal, Parbina Rashid, Sai R. Vaidyanathan & Nirupama Dutt
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Cong councillors have pre-session meeting
Chandigarh, January 30 The tomorrow council meeting has a few important items on its agenda, the most important being the transfer of 14 villages under the UT to the council. The UT Administration had given a three-month time, ending tomorrow, to the council to take a decision on the same. The Congress in its pre-session meeting today discussed the matter at length. According to sources, the councillors proposed that at the initial stage only four villages should be taken over by the council. A similar proposal is expected to be made at tomorrow’s meeting. The four villages are Palsora, Maloya, Kajehri and Halomajra. The councillors will also be asking for details of the financial burden on the council if the four villages are handed over to it and also of how much support the UT will give. According to a proposal sent by the UT, the land acquisition rights will remain with the Land Acquisition Officer of the UT while the villages will be handed over to the MC. However, according to sources, the councillors discussed and proposed that the MC should have the land-acquisition rights of these villages from the UT and a similar proposal will be made tomorrow.
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Sector 34 gurdwara library goes online
Chandigarh, January 30 Developed as part of the six-month industrial training project at the SLR Infotech, Sector 34, the “user-friendly” software gives information about the library at the click of the button and had been designed for the common man, Meenakshi Sapra, one of the students, told Chandigarh Tribune here today. In fact, the installation of the software at the gurdwara before a select gathering was a proud moment for the students and the faculty, led by SSIET chairman, Prof Avtar Singh. Besides the students, Prof Avtar Singh had a special word of praise for Mr Harminder Singh Chawla, Director of the SLR Infotech, for a allocating a useful project to the students. The efforts of the SLR faculty, including Mr Brijesh Sharma and Mr Yogesh, were also applauded by those present. An elated Kashika said it was the team work which saw them complete the project aimed at layman. Henu Kotia summed up the endeavour:” It is a team work for a noble cause never done before.” Shaily Munjal and Guncha Gupta were the other girls in the project. The head of the gurdwara managing committee, Maj Karnail Singh(Retd), hoped that the maintenance of the library would a “smooth affair” with its automation. Currently, the library is a virtual treasure trove of books on Sikhism with over 10,000 titles, about 25 newspapers, scores of journals and magazines besides audio and video cassettes and CDs.
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Workshop on self-help groups
Chandigarh, January 30 The training programme was held in collaboration with the Rural Development Department of Chandigarh Administration and was attended by managers of the different rural bank branches, besides Sarpanches of Gram Panchayats. Mr Amar Nath, Director, Rural Development, advised the Sarpanches to take advantage of different income generating schemes of the departments of the Chandigarh Administration. He specially emphasized on the creation of Self Help Groups of the poor and needy villagers, who want to generate their income. For creating Self Help Group, he sought the help of Sarpanches , so that the programme of SHGs proves to be a success. NABARD Chief General Manager, Mr A Ramanathan, explained in detail the purpose and objective of forming the Self Help Groups, the advantages which the members of the Self Help Groups could take, the working and constitution of the SHGs. He further said that various government departments were ready to help the rural people by arranging loans and subsidies, if they come forward by forming SHGs. He further asked the bankers and the sarpanches to identify the prospective beneficiaries in their village and the NABARD authorities will provide full cooperation and help in securing loans/subsidies to the SHGs. The NABARD authorities also arranged a presentation regarding the working and usefulness of the SHGs in the upliftment of economic standard of the rural people. The Sarpanches agreed to identify the beneficiaries. However, they requested that the NABARD authorities may also arrange such presentations in the villages in collaboration with rural bank branches and the Panchayat Department, so that a good impact is brought out on the beneficiaries for the success of the programme. Training camps would be held at the following villages as per schedule announced today: Khuda Lahora/Khuda Jassu (February 8), Khuda Alisher (February 15), Dadumajra (February 17) and Dhanas (February 24).
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The games that bureaucrats play
The Rashtriya Rifles, a force which was recommended to be disbanded by the Fifth Pay Commission, has bagged the maximum number of awards on Republic Day. Of the 16 Shaurya Chakras and 75 Sena Medals (Gallantry), it has won seven (including three posthumously and 39 (including 12 posthumously), respectively. This proves the effectiveness of this force in combating militancy in J&K and in the North-East.
The necessity of raising this force was felt in the early 90s when militancy in Punjab was at its peak. To release pressure of counterinsurgency duties from the Army, it was decided that 18 Rashtriya Rifles battalions with the Army manpower would be raised. But after raising six battalions in 1991, the government called a halt to further raising because of the pressure from “certain quarters” that suggested that instead of these battalions, more CRPF battalions should be raised. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Rifles deployed in Punjab proved their mettle in counterinsurgency operations. This gave enough reason to the late Gen B.C. Joshi (on taking over as Army Chief in 1993) to convince the government to enlarge this force to 36 battalions and today we have over 60 battalions. What was irking our bureaucrats all along was that the Army was increasing its strength substantially in the name of Rashtriya Rifles. Despite trying hard, they could not delink this force from the Army and put it under the Ministry of Home Affairs because of its Army manpower. Their last trick came in the shape of the Fifth Pay Commission’s laughable recommendation that the Rashtriya Rifles should be disbanded and the responsibility of internal security should be given to the CRPF.
Display of military might
Some people have started questioning the necessity of holding a military parade on January 26 for the past few years. India, barring France, perhaps is the only democracy that displays its military might on a day of national rejoicing. Are we doing this to tell our adversaries that we are militarily very strong or to restore confidence in the public about our military prowess? Today, there is nothing that remains hidden from the enemy, thanks to a major breakthrough in the information technology. As for the public, the knowledgeable people among them are well aware of our capabilities and weaknesses, but the man on the street, in any case, cannot tell a Bofors gun from a tank. It is time we gave a thought to doing away with this extravaganza year after year, which involves crores of rupees in moving military manpower and hardware from all over the country and then keeping them tied down to the Capital for about two months. Incidentally, according to a recent report, the public response to the parade has declined over the years. The most befitting manner of celebrating Republic Day would be to shift the focus to national rejoicing, reward the deserving for their extra-ordinary achievements, honour our brave soldiers for their gallant action and give special recognition to the honest people in the country.
Luring youth to defence
Exhibition of the armed forces equipment for the school and college students seems to be having the desired effect on them to join the defence forces. It has also been seen that the girls are showing equal, if not more, interest in these exhibitions. No wonder then that several girl students from Delhi University colleges are coming forward to join the Indian Air Force (IAF). This is because of the well-planned campaigning by the IAF in Delhi for the past two months. Encouraged by the good response, the IAF has decided to increase the Short Service Commission vacancies for both men and women by 20 per cent in the near future. If this kind of response continues to come from the student, then the shortage in the defence forces would be made up in the next few years. — Pritam Bhullar
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Mahatma Gandhi remembered
Panchkula, January 30 The officers, including the Superintendent of Police, Mr Balbir Singh, and the SDM, Panchkula, Mr Virender Dahiya, had assembled in the premises of the secretariat. They remembered the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters. The District Congress Committee, too, remembered the Father of Nation. “The Mahatma had motivated the youth to wage a relentless struggle to free India from the
Britishers. Many a youth had made supreme sacrifices to achieve Independence on August 15, 1947”, said Mr R. S. Chauhan, the Panchkula District Congress president, after paying tributes at a function.
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Children take out bicycle rally
Chandigarh, January 30 The students carried placards with messages like `Save Oil and Gas for a better Tomorrow’ and many more. The rally ended at the Sukhna Lake where they pledged to conserve oil and gas in their daily lives.
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Electricity employees hold protest
Chandigarh, January 30 Addressing the rally, Bhagmal Rana, general secretary of the Federation of UT employees and workers, alleged that their demands had been submitted to the administration many times. However, they were not being addressed or looked into. The employees are demanding the restoration of January 1, 1966 service conditions of UT employees, regularisation of daily wage and work charge workers, treating transferred employees from the UT administration to the MC as on deputation.
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Allopathic drugs seized during raids
Mohali, January 30 A team of officials, headed by Mr Pardeep Kumar, Drug Inspector, started raids from Baba Medical Store where stocks were inspected and photocopies of some documents taken. Later, the team raided two clinics from where drugs were seized. Mr Pardeep Kumar said that 15 types of allopathic drugs were seized from Bengali Clinic. He said the person running the clinic did not have the required degree and neither the licence on the basis of which he was doing his practice. The Drug Inspector said that 14 types of drugs were seized from New Bengali Clinic. Here, too, the person doing practice did not have the required degree or the licence. He was only a matriculate. He said at Baba Medical Store three bottles of corex syrup were found stocked but the chemist had the required documents. However, he had not maintained his record properly. Mr Pardeep Kumar said a complaint would be lodged with the authorities concerned after investigations were completed in this regard. He said the drive would be carried out throughout Ropar district on a regular basis to check the misuse of drugs.
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Sexual harassment allegations against CBSE officer
Chandigarh, January 30 Talking to Chandigarh Tribune over telephone from Delhi, NCW officials said the allegations had been made by the employees working in the same office against Mr Yadav. The officials added that the complaint was placed before the commission, which then passed orders to the Regional Officer to seek an action taken report. The orders demanded that the report be submitted on or before January 30. In addition to the above, the officials had also issued a notice to the Secretary, CBSE, New Delhi, to submit a report on the issue by February 15. Meanwhile, on being questioned about the complaint and the allegations against him, Mr Yadav refused to comment saying that “this was an internal matter of the office” and that he would reply only to the commission. The female staff at the Regional Office had earlier too complained of sexual harassment by Mr P.I. Sabu, the then Regional Officer, who was then transferred out.
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Fugitive arrested from PGI
Chandigarh, January 30
The police had been on his trail since then. Acting on a tip-off a police party conducted a raid in the PGI and swooped on Harjeet Singh, who has been taking treatment there. Harjeet Singh had escaped from the police custody in a dramatic fashion last year, when he was shifted to Civil Hospital, Nahan, after he complained of stomachache. Acting on his plan, his accomplices had reached the hospital premises. They had attacked the police party and got him freed in the process. It is learnt that Harjeet Singh was also wanted by the Haryana Police in two cases.
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Four held with 5 CPUs
Chandigarh, January 30 Giving details of the arrests, sources in the crime branch said acting on a tip-off the police managed to arrest the accused, all residents of the PGI, following arrests of two youths, who were also residents of the PGI, on January 28. The police has recovered two stolen scooters along with a TV and a music system. During interrogation, Sunny Paul and Ravinder Kumar, who were arrested on January 28, told the police about their other accomplices. The sources added that the accused arrested today has been identified as Sarabjit Singh, Pardeep, Amit and Anil. Their arrest led to the recovery of five CPUs stolen from various places in city. They had stolen three CPUs from Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 22 and another from a Sector 15 house. About the fifth CPU recovered from their possession, the police said Amit and Anil had stolen it from Sarabjit’s house. Giving details about the profile of the accused, the police said they all are drug addicts and had quit studies. The police said except Amit, who is a ward attendant, all others are unemployed. Driver held with stolen car:
Sources in the Sector 36 police station said working on a tip off, a police team arrested Sanjay Kumar, alias Raju, of Palampur and his accomplice Jaspreet Singh and allegedly recovered a stolen Indica car from their possession. They had put a fake number plate on the vehicle. During questioning, the accused disclosed that they had stolen the car from Sector 42 on January 23. The police has also recovered the original number plate of the vehicle. A case had been registered on the complaint of Jatinder Singh, the employer of Sanjay Kumar. Held for stealing:
In another incident, a pickpocket was caught red-handed from ISBT, Sector 17, by Rajesh Kumar of Maloya Colony yesterday. The accused, Daljit Singh of Sector 19 C, has been arrested. Gambling:
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Human trafficking accused arrested
Panchkula, January 30 However, the police has still not booked the accused, Daod Topu, on charges of trafficking, and instead registered a case of assault or criminal force to women, with intent to outrage her modesty, against him. The case has been registered on the complaint of an 18-year-old girl, who he had brought from Jharkhand and sold off as domestic help here. Daod has been arrested and will be produced in the court tomorrow.
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Retired bank employee’s body found
Panchkula, January 30
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Industrial exhibition from February 10
Mohali, January 30
He said that the aim of the exhibition was to make people aware of the products that were being produced in Mohali and also to give a boost to the small scale industrial units. It would also be an exclusive platform for launching new products. He said a large number of items including, special purpose machines, generator sets, transformers, motors, pumps, fasteners, oil seals, rubber goods, tools, sanitary fittings, sports and leather goods, stationery, air conditioners, auto and tractor parts etc would be displayed. Financial institutions like Small Industries Development Bank of India, State Bank of Patiala, Canara Bank etc would also be participating. Stalls had also been booked by communication sectors along with promoters of Fashion Technology park. Mr S.S. Sabharwal, chairman, exhibition committee, said this was the fourth exhibition being organised by MIA. More than 80 stalls had already been booked and it was expected that more than 100 participants from industrial units in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh would take part. He said the layout plan was revised twice seeing the response of the participants.
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Precocious papaya tree owner’s pride: Owner’s pride need not necessarily be inanimate objects. It can well be about the animate too as it is with Sanjay Ghai, a resident of Chandigarh’s Sector 21-C. He brought a papaya sapling and planted it in his garden. The tree less than a metre high and barely four months old already has 15 papayas on it. Ghai says, “I just put manure and watered the tree regularly and am surprised that it has borne fruit so early.” But he is certainly happy with all the attention that this precocious papaya tree is bringing him. Well, it has been a fruitful pursuit.
