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Regular power cuts to hit city
Chandigarh, April 8 The Union Territory is facing a power cut of more than 20 MW daily which is being distributed equally among different sectors of the city. Reliable sources in the administration said the city was getting a reduced share of power supply. The reduction is the result of a cut in supply at the national level due to system breakdown in at least six different places, including Rihand and Sangrauli, besides other places. The UT is facing a cut of 23 MW against 500 MW in Delhi, sources said. Despite the cut, supply in the city will remain enviable compared to the neighbouring states. Mr Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Sector 38(West), said a surprise power-cut occurred in the afternoon. "I called the emergency number. I was told the electricity service will recommence at 3 pm. At 3:30 pm, I was told the supply will be restored by 4 pm. I was also told that we should be prepared for regular cuts now". Similar complaints were received from many other parts of the city, particularly the southern belt. Interestingly, the cuts have started at a time when the administration had promised 24-hour power supply to its citizens. A senior official said the biggest problem that the city faced was that it did not have a single power producing unit. Mr
S.K. SANDHU, secretary engineering, said, "The UT has no power generation of its own and is entirely dependent upon allocation from the BBMB and various central power projects. The UT needs 190 MW during peak hours." "In the last six months, the Centre has withdrawn 22.5 MW of power which was being received from the eastern grid. In addition to this, unallocated quota of 55-88 MW from the Central generating units has been curtailed to 0-66 MW. As a result, the availability of power in the UT is ranging between 80-140 MW against the peak demand of 186 MW,” Mr Sandhu said. "As the city is committed to ensured availability of power, it is overdrawing at the rate of Rs 5.70 per unit. The northern region load dispatch centre has time and again pestered the UT to restrict its demand, failing which, its supply would be cut-off. It has been decided to purchase 25 MW of additional power. The supply from the Nalagarh side remained affected yesterday. The administration requests the public to use the electricity judiciously", Mr Sandhu added. Mohali: Unannounced power cuts have started plaguing the town just a week before Mohali is to be officially launched as a new district by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh, here, on April 14. Residents said they were expecting an improvement in the provision of various facilities to the town, after being accorded the status of a district. But had instead started facing long power cuts even before the start of peak summer . These power cuts started yesterday but continued for the second day today . The supply of power was shut down to Phases I , II , III B1 , III B 2 , IV and V from 9 am to 1 pm, as employees of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) had to carry out maintenance work in these areas. It was restored around 1 pm but soon after, a shut down took place lasting more than two hours. The supply was restored at 5 pm, but to the annoyance of residents, it again got disrupted at 6 pm and was restored only after about half an hour.
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Order reserved in Pink housing society case
Chandigarh, April 8 The appeal was made to Mr Krishan Mohan after a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the operation of the orders passed by a former Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Ms Madvi Kataria, regarding the holding of the elections on the basis of the disputed voters’ list. Ms Kataria had passed the controversial order to hold elections on the basis of disputed voters’ list of May 14, 2003. The High Court had also directed Mr Krishan Mohan to decide on the appeal of the original allottees within two months. He heard the appeal yesterday, the last day of the two-month period given by the High Court. While reserving his orders on the appeal, he reportedly asked the office of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, to provide the approved membership list of May 7, 2003. The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) had cleared the approved list. After probing into the matter in 2003, the Chandigarh Administration had cancelled the membership of five Punjab-cadre IAS officers and a few influential persons, who had been wrongly made members of the society. The managing committee of the society was scrapped and an Administrator was appointed to run its affairs. Orders issued by a former Deputy Commissioner-cum-Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Mr Arun Kumar, had stated that the Pink Rose Cooperative Housing Society had wrongly made the IAS officers its members. An inquiry conducted by the Director, IT, Mr Vivek Atray, had found that a former Joint Secretary, Finance, Chandigarh Administration, Mr Dalip Kumar, Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Mr D.K. Tewari, Mr Hussan Lal and Mr Alok Sekhar had become members of the society and replaced people who had paid lakhs. The names of seven local residents, who had deposited between Rs 1.61 lakh and Rs 2.61 lakh each, had been deleted from the list of original allottees of the society. The inquiry was conducted to determine how the names of the IAS officers were included replacing the names of the original allottees. The original files were checked to verify whether the replacement of names was allowed and who had allowed it. The original allottees - Mr A.S. Kohli, Mr Raj Kumar Kaushal, Mr Kartar Singh, Mr Balraj Kaundal, Mr Madan Gopal Goyal, Mr Dev Raj Wadhawan and Mr Prem Puri - had been the members of the society for more than two decades. They had paid instalments and the initial cost of construction. Showing the receipts of payments and share certificates issued by the society, the original allottees said that they had been duped. They had also submitted affidavits to the Chandigarh Administration claiming that they had not sold or surrendered their shares and had not sought the transfer of their shares. Mr Madan Gopal Goyal also showed the proof of being elected to the executive committee of the society on March 25. In the renewed list, house number 257, Sector 16, which was the official address of Mr Dalip Kumar, former Joint Secretary, Finance, UT, had been mentioned as the residential address of two IAS officers. A flat in Sector 45-A had been mentioned as the address of another IAS officer. Yet another IAS officer had used a residential address in Sector 42, the official accommodation of the Punjab Government. Officials of the Chandigarh Administration had stated that a retired employee of the administration had lured the IAS officers into the society.
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Planners, policy makers in power sector
Chandigarh, April 8 The main issues under discussion were interconnection of power grids of SAARC countries, foreign direct investment of power sector development, clean development mechanism, open access, captive generation, role of regulations in power sector and other government initiatives. Approximately 25 delegates from South and Central Asia are attending the two-day seminar which includes 10 delegates from Pakistan, six from Bangladesh, three from Sri Lanka, four from Nepal and 150 from different parts of the country. Prof
S.C. Naik, president of the IEI, inaugurated the seminar. "It is well known that the per capita consumption of electricity is an established measure for determining the living standards of a nation. If India has to keep pace with the present times and for maintaining the 8 per cent growth in the GDP, the importance of developing the power sector as the infrastructure cannot be ignored", it was pointed out. The IEI is the largest multi-disciplinary professional body of engineers and with 15 engineering disciplines and over five lakhs members in India and abroad. Mr Sharat C. Mahajan, the chief organiser, said the seminar had made a special effort to include participants from the neighboring countries in the seminar on a very important subject for future growth. Capt Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, who was the chief guest and Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, Minister of
PWD (B and R), did not turn up for the inaugural session.
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New species of aquatic fungi discovered
Chandigarh, April 8 The fungi has been classified and named Pythium Khulbe Prasher et Sharma after the name of the discoverers who include Prof I.B. Prasher, an expert in the field credited with four more such discoveries. The fungi was found growing in an artificial pond in Panchkula by Professor Prasher and his team and tests are now on in the department to ascertain its bio-remedial and parasitical properties. “Aquatic fungi are not edible but have the unique ability to clean up polluted water bodies and some fungi also act as bio-control agents if they have parasitical properties. Such fungi feed on mosquito larvae and are being used to eradicate malaria across the world,” explained Professor Prasher. “Hemp seeds are used as bait to isolate these fungi from the water bodies they grow in. Some fungi grow in fresh water while others are found in polluted water. Once these are successfully incubated, these are purified and then classified. Many aquatic fungi are florescent but these are not. This is the latter variety,” said Professor Prasher, adding that the dried fungi had been deposited at the herbarium in the department. Besides, Professor
Prasher, the fungi is named after Nisha Sharma, his associate researcher, and the late Prof R.D Kulbhe who contributed to the study of water moulds of Uttaranchal and the surrounding areas. Known among the top three centres for the study of algae and fungi in India (the others are in Hydrabad and Nainital), the PU’s Department of Botany has a score of achievements in this field. “Our department has reported four other new aquatic fungi discoveries since 1998. These include Saprolegma Chandigarhensis and Achlya Chandigarhensis. As many as 12 varieties of aquatic fungi have been reported for the first time in India from here,” said Professor Prasher. The new discovery will be announced through a scientific paper due to be published in the Emerald Volume (55th) of the Panjab University Science Research Journal. The journal will be released in the coming fortnight. “Since 1960, workers from this area have reported over 300 species of non- aquatic fungi from the Himalayas as new to science and another 1100 higher fungi varieties (both edible and non edible) have been described by workers from here,” said Prof. I.S Dua, Editor of the journal.
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2 killed in accidents
Chandigarh, April 8 Giving details of the accident, sources in the Sector 17 police station said the victim has been identified as Roshan Lal Rana of Lalru. The mishap occurred when he was alighting from the CTU bus and the driver moved the bus before he could balance himself. He was crushed under the tyres of the bus and suffered serious head injuries, which later claimed his life. He was rushed to the General Hospital where the doctors declared him ‘brought dead’. The body was handed over to his family after the post-mortem examination. Meanwhile, the police has arrested the bus driver, Chanda, on the charges of causing death due to rash and negligent driving. In another incident, a pedestrian, Ms Nirmala of Shastri colony, Mani Majra, sustained injuries after being hit by an unidentified vehicle near the level crossing in Mani Majra on Friday. She was admitted to the PGI. The police has registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the unidentified driver. The victims in the accident that took place last night have been identified as 25-year-old Kamal Pal Singh and 65-year-old Med Pal of Faidan village. Kamal Pal succumbed to his injuries last night while Med Pal is still unconscious. The police said he was yet not fit to give his statement.
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Dutta at receiving end again
Chandigarh, April 8 A policeman in uniform walked into his room late last night and began questioning his friends about the paintings on the walls and the door. Convinced that Amit had “grown too big for his shoes”, he gave him a tight slap on the face. Not stopping at that, he hurled abuses on him and finally walked out of the room gloating over the “punitive” action he had taken. A constable accompanied the ASI concerned. The incident incited the students, who were present in Amit’s room last night, and though Amit refrained from retaliatory action, his friends ensured that he wrote a formal complaint. They all gave written testimonies in favour of Amit and explained how an “ASI indulged in the brazen display of power while seniors like hostel wardens K.S. Sahi and M.M. Rao watched”. Amit’s friends said, “The extent of teachers’ indifference is painful. We don’t know what to say. There was no question of involving the police in the matter when everything has been resolved between the Administrative Officer of the college and Amit”. Amit spent the last night at his junior’s house and till late this evening he had not planned where he would go. Poor and demoralised, he repeated the causes of his resentment against the authorities. “I have no intention of writing the final exam. In fact, the hostel never offered a congenial atmosphere to study and evolve”. Amit’s friends agreed saying, “The atmosphere here is too vitiated. We find it hard to concentrate”. As larger issues surfaced following a cop’s “uncalled for act” in the presence of seniors, the students gathered outside the hostel in support of Amit. They demanded a probe into the incident, which they said was “most unacceptable”. Even the Administrative Officer of the College, Mr S.K. Setia, said such an act should not have taken place. “We have already taken action against Amit. We don’t want him to be treated like a criminal. I have sent the complaint to the SHO of police station 3,” he said. Amit, however, said he had lost all hopes from the system.
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Challenges before Sikh Panth highlighted
Mohali, April 8 The issues that needed to be addressed included a standard English translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib by a panel of eminent Sikh scholars, and a systemic research on the Sikh philosophy and the Sikh history, the creation of a Sikh Education Fund (SEF) on the lines of Jewish Education Fund (JEF) to empower every Sikh child with the most powerful tool of education. He said the ISC would start an exclusive TV channel for the proper propagation of the Sikh philosophy, Sikh ethos and the Sikh way of life to save the Sikh youth from falling into apostasy, drugs and western promiscuity. The morning session was presided over by Dr S.S. Johl, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Punjab. Dr Johl, in his presidential address, remarked that Punjab should be protected from the influx of migratory labour, which was changing the demographic profile of the state. The government should come out with some regulations to protect Punjab like the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh. He said education must be made available to every Sikh child. Proper education could also help the Sikh youth in getting rid of drugs and other social evils. “A glass with alcoholic drink in the hands of a Sikh should look as odd and socially unacceptable as a cigarette.” He regretted that there was a total collapse of education at the school level in the rural sector. Rural education must be put on the rails. He emphasised the creation of an endowment fund for putting the education structure in the rural sector, especially science education on the rails. Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, a member of the SGPC, asked the ISC to raise its voice against political and religious downslide in the Sikh Panth. He suggested that the voluntary services of retired teachers and ex-servicemen of Punjab be utilised for implementing the ISC agenda. Several scholars read out their papers at the seminar, which was attended by delegates from various Sikh organisations such as the DSGMC, the Chief Khalsa Diwan and the Kendriya Singh Sabha. The seminar concluded with the vote of thanks by Lt-Gen Kartar Singh.
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Liquor prices likely to go up
Chandigarh, April 8 Addressing a press conference here today, this was stated by a group of license holders of vends in the city, under the new licensing policy, which replaced the auctioning this year. Mr Satpal, owner of a vend in Sector 38(west) and Mr Maninder Singh, partner in a group which owns 35 vends, said “we have not formed any formal organisation as yet, however, we will be announcing one shortly”. Mr Satpal said “The administration has reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 22 per cent to 4 per cent. This should mean cheap price for customers. Retail suppliers have increased the prices of supply to us. They have not given us the invoices under the new pricing; however, they have increased the prices saying that the new prices will soon be announced formally. Godfather which cost Rs 255 per case in the last financial year, now costs Rs 360; Thunderbolt costs Rs 364 per case against Rs 270 last year; the Stroh lager costs Rs 291 against Rs 255 per case last year; Havard 5000 costs Rs 365 against Rs 261 per case last year; and Stroh Strong costs Rs 407 against Rs 300 per case last year. Mr Maninder Singh said “the liquor companies could not increase prices without the permission of the Excise Commissioner. The permission had not been sought by the suppliers from the excise authorities in the case of UT. We want to lodge a protest in this regard. The ultimate burden is going to fall on the customer”. Mr Satpal said “The administration had got 83 crore under the auction. In the name of breaking the monopoly, the administration this time has managed to get only Rs 50 crore approximately which meant a loss of about Rs 35 crore. The unsold 58 vends need to be re-advertised under the VAT of 4 per cent scheme”. The vendors said the administration should step in immediately to check the price increase from the suppliers, or else the customers will have to bear the brunt.
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Strength of Army Dental Corps being
Chandigarh, April 8 "Every man in uniform is required to undergo regular oral check-up," he said. Besides service personnel, we also treat their family members, which means that we have one dentist for about 6,000 persons," he added, while speaking to media persons at the Command Military Dental Centre, Chandimandir. He is here on an inspection visit and also visited the Command Hospital, Headquarters Western Command and the PGI, Chandigarh. He said the ADC was collaborating with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Council for Medical Research to undertake research projects. "We have about 17 ongoing projects with the DRDO," he said. "The most recent success is the development of indigenous dental implants, which would replace imported material and thereby save costs," he added. He said technology for making these implants would be passed on to the industry and consequently these would also be available in the civilian market. General Paramjit Singh was also briefed about various functional and administrative aspects of the dental centre by its commandant, Brig K. Ravishankar. Earlier, a high-powered team detailed by the Director-General, Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS), inspected the dental centre for evaluation for the award of the DGAFMS trophy to the best dental centre. There are seven command military dental centers in the three services, besides various other dental units spread all across.
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SBI strike hits people hard
Chandigarh, April 8 The Federation of Small-Scale Industries, at its executive meeting, today threatened to shift their accounts from the SBI to other banks, if the strike was not withdrawn
immediately. The meeting passed a resolution requesting unions to call off the strike in the wake of hardships faced by common man. Mr Rajeev Gupta, General Secretary, alleged that the factory managements were unable to pay salaries to employees and meet other financial commitments. Moreover, the Punjab Bank Employees Federation, today urged the Central Government to concede to the demands of the employees. The public sector banks are united under the banner of the United Forum of Bank Unions, against any attempt by the government to resort to any repressive measures, Mr Davinder Singh and Mr Rajesh Sondhi, secretary and zonal secretary, said here. On the other hand, the members of the Joint Forum of SBI Employees and Officers, today held a rally at the Local Head Office in Sector 17. Addressing the rally, various speakers expressed anguish at the “irresponsible behaviour” of the Union Minister which was a stumbling block in the success of negotiations.
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MC plan on computerised parking has no takers
Chandigarh, April 8 A proposal regarding the same was proposed in last November’s house meeting of the MCC. According to the proposal, computerised parking would be introduced on a trial basis at one of the parking lots in Sector 17. Interestingly, a similar proposal was mooted about four years ago when two companies had even offered computerised parking on built operate and transfer basis (BoT) basis. However, there was fall in profit and the proposal by the companies was refused. According to officials at the MCC, the proposal has been on for the past few years itself, but nothing concrete has materialised. Now with the parking becoming big problem, the MCC is keen to find alternative solutions soon, computerised parking being one of them. However, some officials at the MCC are upset over the fact that while earlier the proposal by companies of BoT was let go due to profit margins, now there are no takers and the MCC has to invite tenders again.
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Arrest assailants: Anti-Terrorist Front
Ambala, April 8 Dr Shandilya told mediapersons today that Mr Gurnam Singh was shot at two days back by some persons, who wanted to take forcible possession of a piece of land in Ghel village. He said Mr Gurnam Singh had sustained serious injuries and was currently recuperating in the GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh. He said if no action was taken then members of the front would sit on a dharna outside the residence of the Haryana Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Chander Mohan.
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Coloniser clarifies
Chandigarh, April 8
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2 new cells of BJP formed
Chandigarh, April 8 Mr R.P. Malhotra has been appointed convener of ‘right to information’ cell and Yogacharya Roshan Lal Sharma has been appointed convener of ‘yoga training’ cell. In a press note issued here today, Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, president, BJP, Chandigarh, said with the creation of these two new cells, the number of total BJP cells has gone up to 27.
TNS
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Fiji Mayor visits alma mater
Chandigarh, April 8 He felt honoured to be back to his alma mater after a gap of about 25 years. He also appreciated the progress made by the college. He asked the students to pursue studies with a purpose.
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Beopar mandal criticises house tax policy
Panchkula, April 8 Mr Garg was addressing media persons after a meeting of the Panchkula Beopar Mandal in Sector 5, here today. He also claimed that a state-level committee has been constituted to facilitate traders. He also expressed his concern over various shops being run from different residential units in housing board colonies in Panchkula.
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Tribune Impact Our Correspondent
Chandigarh, April 8 Sources in the Sector 26 police station said a case of theft under Section 380 of the IPC had been registered in this regard. Mr Aayush Chopra, a BA II student, said the police today assured him of a “speedy action” on his complaint. The police had earlier registered a daily dairy report and refused to lodge an FIR in the case. Mr Chopra of Phase IX, Mohali, had alleged that his mobile phone was stolen from the examination hall in the Sector 26 Sri Guru Gobind Singh College on Friday. He further alleged that instead of registering a case of theft, the police had asked him to write in the application that his phone was misplaced.
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Croatia woos Bollywood, Indian tourists
Chandigarh, April 8 Launching the campaign here after flagging off a group of Indian tourists to his country, the Croatian Ambassador to India, Mr Dino Debeljuh, said the campaign would be launched in metro cities, including Delhi ,Chennai and Mumbai, in a big way. He said the mediterranean country with a population of 4.5 million received 9 million tourists every year, out of which only about 500 were Indians. "This figure from India is too low and we want that more tourists from the country should visit us. On an average, a tourist visiting Croatia spends about a week there. It is an indication that tourists fall in love with the place which has the combination of sun, snow and the best rock beaches in the world apart from pollution-free environment," he added. Commenting on the plans to invite Bollywood, Mr Debeljuh said, "we will provide them the best of facilities and concessions at rock bottom prices. Film producers can discover Switzerland at very cheap rates in Croatia." The best time to visit is from May to September," he said. Stressing that it was cost effective to shoot in Croatia, Mr Debeljuh informed that the famous Jackie Chan starrer "Armor of Man" was shot in the
country. "Dobro dosli Bollywood" (a Croatian phrase meaning welcome), he quipped. The Ambassador said Croatia was also very keen to increase bilateral trade which currently stood at $ 43 million. He said the Indian exports to his country were mainly cotton fabric while light engineering machinery was imported by India. Mr Naveen Sharma, author of a noted e-book on Croatia, described Croatia as "snow, sun and sea", which was waiting to be explored by the Bollywood and Indian
tourists. Besides, Croatia offered excellent business opportunities to the Indian businessmen.
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Mutilated notes exchanged
Chandigarh, April 8 Mr R.S. Kataria, Assistant General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Chandigarh, said that in order to create awareness among the public regarding the Clean Note Policy, the RBI, in association with commercial banks, had initiated a special drive for adjudicating mutilated, cut and torn notes programme in various cities and towns of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. He said that all public sector banks (both chest and non-chest branches) and designated branches (having currency chest) of private sector banks have been delegated powers to adjudicate mutilated and cut notes under the RBI rules.
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Japanese pharma firm opens division
Chandigarh, April 8 Stating that stress and living life in the fast lane was leading to increased incidence of infertility, Anuj Kapoor, Zonal Sales manager, said that the company would be provide treatment options to men and women at affordable prices.
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