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3 held for assault on GMCH doctor
Chandigarh, April 25 Irked over alleged manhandling of a senior resident by attendants of a patient, who was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state, all senior and junior residents went on strike. They abstained from duty all day and threatened to continue the stir till their security was ensured and the culprits brought to justice. And while they resolved the issue, patients suffered without their fault. It was only later during the day that the hospital authorities ordered consultant doctors to take charge of the situation. Until then, post-operative patients and several others kept lying in their beds, with fingers crossed. As for doctors, they were rallying for their friend, Dr Kamal, a senior resident in the Medicine Department, who invited trouble when he tried to investigate the history of a 22-year-old Burail girl, Simran. She was heavily sedated when brought to the hospital and is still recuperating at the PGI. Dr Sameer, a senior resident doctor who led the protest of about 150 doctors, said, “The girl reported a history of consumption of sedative. She even showed the doctor a strip of Alprax which she had consumed. When the doctor proceeded to know her history, the girl’s attendants objected to further investigation and management of the patient and entered into a scuffle, assaulting the doctor.” “The incident happened in medicine casualty where we attend to cases of medical, surgery and orthopaedic emergency. We are here for the service of the people, but that does not mean outsiders will enter our premises, threaten to shoot our colleague and escape scot free,” he added. The doctors demanded the registration of FIRs against three main accused. The FIRs were finally registered in the night, but much after patients had been put to inconvenience. Among those booked and arrested under Sections 186, 353 and 506 of the IPC are Simran’s fiance Rajbir Singh and his friends, Sucha Singh and Buta Singh. Confirming this to Chandigarh Tribune, SSP Gaurav Yadav said, “We take a very stern view of anyone who takes law into his own hands. Such an assault on a government servant on duty cannot be taken lying down. We have arrested the accused on the statement of the doctor concerned.” While doctors got the justice they wanted, wards of critically ill patients brought in from as far as Sangrur and Bhiwani spent the day running to other hospitals. Needless to say, they suffered harassment while shifting the patients to the PGI, the Sector 16 General Hospital and the Command Hospital. There were only two ambulances available while patients wanting immediate medical attention were too many. Mr C.L. Gupta, whose father-in-law was brought from Sangrur in a critical condition, was shocked at the
Mr Kashmir Lal had a similar story to tell. His wife was seriously ill and had to be shifted to the PGI, which was not expecting sudden rush. The suffering patients, incidentally, had no clue to the issue that had fomented the trouble. At the PGI, girl’s friends still had another version of the story to narrate. Her fiance Rajbir and her friend Mamta told the police personnel at the PGI post that the doctor had mishandled Simran when the problem started. Mamta said, “He opened her mouth so hard that it started bleeding. That was when she said she did not want to continue treatment. When we tried to shift her, the doctors interrupted us.” That was what complicated the issue. This later resulted in a brawl between doctors and Simran’s attendants. Other friends of Rajbir also said the same thing and added the doctors had abused them and called them “Scheduled Castes”. They have submitted a formal complaint regarding this to the police. The SSP said the complaint was being looked into.
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Cop’s husband cleared in manhole death case
Chandigarh, April 25 Though, clearing Gurnam in this case may have ended the eight- month-long investigations that subjected him to a series of interrogations, it will take a long time for his scars to heal. Sources said the police had almost completed its investigation. The clean chit has been given on the basis of reports of the brain-mapping test of Gurnam Singh, which was conducted in March this year in Gujarat. The report said he has not committed the crime. Before this, Gurnam Singh was subjected to a lie-detector test. The Central Forensic Science Lab (CFSL) said it was an accident. But this too did not help in reducing the ordeals of Gurnam Singh, who had to undergo several tests to prove his innocence. It is also pertinent to mention here that the family of Jaswinder Kaur had not level any allegations against Gurnam Singh for the death of their daughter. "Gurnam lost his pregnant wife and the unborn child in the accident. As if this was not enough, the MC employees pointed the needle of suspicion towards him and instead of taking action against the guilty for causing death due to negligence, the police summoned Gurnam to join investigations. He has not even had any time to mourn the death of his wife and child. Now that the forensic lab and the police has cleared his name, injustice caused to him cannot be undone, but exemplary punishment should be given to the guilty who misled the police into his case", said a close relative. Trauma that Gurnam Singh had to underwent could be judged from an instance when the psychologists, working with CFSL experts, had stated last year that he was in a state of "shock" thus they could not carry out his lie-detector test. They had even asked his attendants to console him.
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Nepal nationals in city react cautiously
Chandigarh, April 25 They seem happy that the developments will end protests and violence in Nepal that claimed several lives over the past year. Most of them want that Nepal should retain the institution of “kingship” irrespective of the nature of the government that comes into being. “We are happy that the restoration of the parliamentary form of government will end the turmoil and bloodshed, paving the way for transfer of power to the people. Though it is not yet clear what shape the promised constitution will assume, most Nepal nationals are against the abolishing of the monarchy system for religious reasons,” said Laxman Thapa, working in the city for a business house. “However, I am jubilant
Many Nepal nationals strongly oppose the role played by Maoists in instigating violence in the otherwise peaceful country, but are afraid of reprisal if they voiced their dissatisfaction openly against them. However, they support the restoration of democracy, adding that they are not yet sure if King Gyanendra will fulfil his commitment. Raj Bhadur Thapa, who works as a driver in the city and comes from a village about 50 km from Kathmandu, is a strong supporter of the monarch. He said, “I am happy that peace will be restored to Nepal, but I do not want the institution of monarchy to perish.” Another Nepal national, Renu Rana, who works with a local firm here, says she was so scared for her family which lives near Pokhra, but the announcement that the opposition parties have called off protests has come as a big relief. She distributed sweets among her friends and coworkers to share her happiness over the developments in Nepal. “We do not mind if the Maoists become a part of the mainstream politics, but before they are accepted as a political force, they should give up their arms. Nepal nationals are peace loving people and we do not want any bloodshed on our land,” she adds. Sita, another Nepal national, is also keeping a close watch on the situation in Nepal. “The events over the past 24 hours has given me a hope that the economy of Nepal will finally revive. Tourism that forms the backbone of the economy will slowly start picking up. But till this happens, we are keeping our fingers crossed because we cannot say what shape the events will take and what kind of a constitution will come into being,” she says. Many other Nepal nationals like Ganesh and Padam Bhadur are happy at the developments in Nepal, but they say it is no reason to be jubilant yet. “It is only with the passage of time that we will know if this peace is going to last,” they say.
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No extension to schools in residential areas
Chandigarh, April 25 The Administration has decided to run some government schools in double shifts to cope with the additional load. As many as 32 schools out of the 36 newly allotted sites by the Administration have become operational and will accommodate about 15,000 students. Two new government schools in Sector 38(W) and Sector 56 will be made operational in the current year to cater to the needs of children affected by the closure of residential schools and 20 additional classrooms in the existing schools will also be made operational in this year. There is a capacity for additional enrollment of 3000 students in various government schools. Since the educational infrastructure in Manimajra and rehabilitated and unauthorised colonies were inadequate, one year extension was granted to the schools in these areas. The press note said the Administration was bound by the directions of the high court to stop running of all private educational institutions which were not recognised or which did not fulfil the norms.
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Passing thru
What brings you to Chandigarh?
I am here to launch “Tata Paras” range of crop nutrients. Reaching the farmers from India’s most energy-efficient plants, the “Tata Paras” would help farmers reap consistent harvests year after year. How is this product different from other fertilisers? The “fortified fertiliser” amalgamates a range of nutrients and is designed for different soil conditions to maximise the crop yield. How do you react to the increased use of the bio-fertilisers in view of harmful effects of the chemical fertilisers? Bio-fertilisers can at best play a supplementary role in the agricultural economy. Since the soil needs replenishment at regular intervals, chemical fertilisers are the best bet for delivering the most-appropriate crops nutrient solutions to the Indian farmers. Tell us something about the expansion plans of the company. The Rs 3000-crore company has recently gone international with the acquisition partnership in Indo Maroc Phosphore (South Africa). The firm has also acquired the UK-based Brunner Mond Group making it the world’s third largest producer of soda ash with manufacturing locations in three continents. — Pradeep Sharma
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UT charged with flouting building bylaws on IT project
Chandigarh, April 25 A press conference with regard to the alleged irregularities in construction of the complex developed by DLF Infocity Developers was addressed by Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, president of the local unit of the Janata Dal(U), here today. Mr Bhardwaj demanded a CBI enquiry "into the gross irregularities committed by the DLF Infocity Developers, who set up their project near Chandigarh Technology Park." Also present on the venue was Mr Subhash Kataria of the Congress. Mr Bhardwaj was recently appointed as a member of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee. "I was flabbergasted to see a huge building at the site, functioning without approval and permission of the Pollution Control Committee. The clearance is mandatory before any construction". The venue under question " exhibits the magnified influence of DLF company on officials of the Chandigarh Administration and has flouted all rules and regulations to erect such a huge building. The building itself is in a low lying area prone to floods." "The said project of the DLF is said to be out of the Special Economic Zone of the IT Park. So it falls under the Periphery Control Act. Any building under the Act is subject to face demolition. When the poor in other areas of periphery have been dislodged by the administration, why not here?" asked Mr Bhardwaj . "The company has been allotted 12.4 acres of land at a throwaway price of Rs 33.82 crore. This is much lesser than the amount at which the administration auctioned another plot of five acres, recently(108 crores). Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Administration has clarified that "certain persons have tried to cast aspersions upon the process by which DLF Universal Limited was selected as the joint venture partner for the setting up of built space at Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park in 2003." Mr S.K.Sandhu, Finance Secretary, today said:"Both the timing and the content of the allegations are surprising and unjustified." Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park has been approved as per the master plan and the detailed urban plan of Chandigarh Administration. Three companies, including Ascendas (India) Pvt Ltd, Chennai, DLF, Universal Ltd, Gurgaon & L&T Infocity Ltd, Hyderabad, were shortlisted and asked to submit their financial bids by September 12, 2003. The sealed bids were opened in the presence of representatives of the three companies on the same date. The bid of DLF Universal Limited was Rs 11.31 crores which was the highest. Moreover, the environment clearance for the RGCTP was accorded by the Government of India in August, 2005, which was before the building was occupied. The GOI guidelines further provide for individual large buildings within such technology parks to take separate clearance, which is in process, Mr Sandhu added.
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22 godowns demolished near Daria, Mauli Jagran
Chandigarh, April 25 The drive was being carried out to clear 200 feet on both sides of the roads leading to Mauli Jagran and Makhan Majra. The already existing road forms part of the proposed route no.2, which will provide direct access to the IT Park from the Chandigarh Airport and the Ambala-Chandigarh highway. The route will also provide alternative link between the Chandigarh-Zirakpur road and Sector 16 of Panchkula. After the drive, officials of the LAO handed over possession of about 8.5 acres to the UT Engineering Department for the road. So far, about 70 acres of land has been cleared of encroachments. Today's drive was the third in the past one year to clear the structures on both sides of the proposed route no.2. Though godowns had come up in violation of the Periphery Act, owners had been demanding regularisation of their structures. The demolished structures housed godowns being used to store lubricants, cold drinks, cement, coal, steel and other type of consumer durables. Due to their location adjacent to the railway station, the godowns were being used to store freight being ferried by goods trains. In gross violation of the guidelines, owners of godown in Daria have stored raw material precariously close to the high-tension wire passing overhead. Officials in the electricity department said as per the rule, neither any construction could be raised or any material stored under the high tension line. It is learnt that the structures would be removed.
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Final notices to 150 plot holders
Chandigarh, April 25 The office said the owners of the plots were given time till March, 2006, and had been clearly told that no further extension would be given. But despite being given several opportunities, the allottes had failed to raise construction. Recently, the office conducted a survey of the vacant plots in the city. At least 151 plots, which were allotted between 1970 and 1980 were still lying vacant. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.K.Rao, confirmed that the resumption notice had been issued. The stipulated time for the completion of construction was three years in case of leasehold sites and five years in case of freehold allotments. The Section 8 A of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) 1952, provides the Estate Office to show cause the allottee for breaching the condition of sale.
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Monkey comes visiting NRI patient in PGI
Chandigarh, April 25 While the PGI may have successfully managed to stem the rampant monkey menace at the nstitute, having a monkey visiting a patient in the private ward on the fourth floor brought with it a wave of excitement, a flurry of activity as the nurses began frantically calling for security and a wee bit of threat from the unpredictable simian friend. An odd monkey who strayed into the balcony of the private ward found the opening of the bathroom window too tempting to resist and swung right into the bathroom of room number 40, occupied by an NRI patient being attended to by some of his foreigner friends. Hearing strange noises from the bathroom, one of the attendants decided to check and was surprised to see a monkey staring back at him. While each of them got up to have a peek at the escapades of the monkey in the bathroom, sources said they even tried taking "action pictures" of the simian as he pranced around the bathroom, clearly impressed with all the attention his moves were inviting. After the initial excitement was over, the nurses of the ward were called in to deal with the monkey. This led to yet another bout of animation as the staff took turns to visit the room, ensure the welfare of the patient and assess the gravity of the situation. Before long, they managed to get through to security and informed them of the presence of a monkey in one of the rooms. The monkey, too, seemed to have smelt their plan of action and dashed right out through the window and into the open, racing down the entire length of the balcony. At the end of the ward in the rest rooms of the staff, the monkey tried fiddling with yet another window pane but to no avail. Disappointed, he left the ward and premises to return to the comfort of the trees. Sources said that this was a freak incident and that there has been no sign of monkey business thriving at the institute since the services of two langurs was hired to keep them off the hospital's territory. "We haven't had any complaints of the monkey menace since the two langoors were hired about two years back. They have been an effective safeguard against the monkey and are routinely tied to a tree near the Emergency. They are made to go around the hospital and keep other areas off bounds for the monkeys as well," an official said.
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Bhandari loses confidence motion
Panchkula, April 25 Out of 31 MCs, 29 voted in favour of no-confidence motion and informed Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh, who is the administrator of the civic body. Seventeen MCs appeared before the DC while others faxed their vote against Bhandari. The MCs said that they have lost faith in him and would not be able to work with Bhandari. Ms Anita Aggarwal was the only MC who stood by Bhandari. The DC fixed May 11, the date of hearing on the issue. The DC also said the hearing would be conducted in the office of the Sub-divisional Magistrate at 3 pm. Mr Bhandari had earlier also lost the confidence motion in a meeting of MCs held on February 15. Allowing the petition filed by Mr Bhandari, a Division Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice H.S. Bedi had held that the meeting on February 15, where members voted out Mr Bhandari, was not as per the law. The Bench had also set aside the motion passed by the councillors.
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British Library gets new manager
Chandigarh, April 25 Coming from Bhopal where he was ensconced for four and a half years, Kumar is getting used to being enveloped in the city’s special brand of warmth and welcome. “Chandigarh is very different, very young and the affection here has been simply fabulous.” Twelve years with the British Council which included postings in Patna, Lucknow, Bhopal and now here, Kumar is very excited about the new move. With a Masters in psychology and library science, he certainly seems equipped to handle it all. His first day in office was marked by the launch of the library’s new initiative, ‘The Reading Voyage’, to enthuse young children to read. So where does he see the challenges? “This is not just a library, it is much more than that and here is where the actual challenge is. To keep growing, to bring in new innovative ideas and concepts and to meet the very high expectations is not a traditional role, it keeps you on your toes.” The need, according to him, is to identify what people want, to provide updated, accurate information whenever they want and all this through a process which is fast.
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PUDA tender forms to be available on web
Mohali, April 25 Under the new procedure tender forms and detailed notice inviting tenders (DNIT) are now available on the PUDA website. Prospective tenderers would be required to pay the cost of the tender form at the time of submitting the tender. Tender forms would also be made available at the single window service counter located in PUDA Bhavan in Sector 62 here. Work pertaining to issue of tender forms has been withdrawn from the offices of Superintending Engineers and Divisional Engineers in charge of various development works. The new procedure is expected to encourage response to PUDA’s tender notices published in the print media.
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Riot-hit dies in mishap
Mohali, April 25 Jagjit Singh met with an accident on the dividing road of Phase X and XI when he was coming back from Chandigarh on his autorickshaw. A collision had taken place between his vehicle and a truck. It is learnt that he could not avail the compensation amount at a camp held in Phase XI yesterday as some objection was raised in connection with his red card and he was making efforts to get the objection removed. He was assured that the compensation amount would he given to him after he got the objection cleared.
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Green belts to be removed
Mohali, April 25
As such the area would be converted either into parking lots or used for widening the roads wherever needed. It is learnt that shopkeepers of the Phase II market told the MLA that certain assurances he had given when he visited the area some years ago had so far not been fulfilled.
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Brar to be IT Director
Chandigarh, April 25 Other replacements in the UT Administration include Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI(Schools), Mr N.S. Brar, Assistant Estate Officer, Mr R.C. Sharma, Director, Public Relations, and Mr Vinay Singh, Printing and Stationery Controller. Mr Sharma retires next month. Mr Brar had a meeting with Mr Atray today with regard to his new posting, reliable sources said here.
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65-year-old man crushed under train
Panchkula, April 25 The body was sent to the Civil Hospital, Kalka, for a post-mortem examination. A case has been registered. Traffic on the road linking Mani Majra with Mansa Devi Complex had been disrupted for over an hour as scores of passers-by assembled at the spot.
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Draw of lots for flats today
Chandigarh, April 25 The draw pertains to flats in Sectors 49 and 38 (West). The scheme includes one-room flats. As many as 6741 applications have been received for 656 dwelling units.
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‘Hanuman’ dekho, Lanka jao
Chandigarh, April 25 All they have to do is answer a question asked during the film. Ten lucky families stand a chance to win a fully paid trip to Sri Lanka under a contest titled “Hanuman dekho, Lanka jao”.
TNS
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Doc couple held for causing miscarriage
Chandigarh, April 25 Sources in the Burail police post said the victim, Bimlesh, had gone to the Lovely Nursing Home of Dr Ajit Singh Grover and his wife Dr Kamlesh Kaur for a check up. The doctor couple allegedly operated upon her. During the surgery condition of the patient
deteriorated. They referred her to the Sector 16 Genera Hospital, where the doctors further sent her to the PGI. Her condition was said to be critical and she was not fit to record her statement. On a complaint of woman’s relatives the police booked the doctor couple under Section 313 of the IPC and Section 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy ACT. Incidentally, the couple had also been booked earlier after a woman had died allegedly due to their negligence, the police said. Bimlesh’s husband Surinder Singh is an electrician.
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14 held in raid on bar, granted bail
Chandigarh, April 25 Sources in the crime branch of the police said the raid was conducted late on Monday night on the basis of information that liquor was being served at the City Heart bar and restaurant. According to the orders of Deputy Commissioner, no commercial activity is allowed in the city, including the pubs and restaurants, between 1 am and 4 am. The police arrested owner of City Heart, Deepak Narang, and its manager Vijay Kumar along with three waiters Ravinder Berman, Shashi Bhushan and Paramjit. The other arrested persons are Vikas Sharma, Rajesh Garg, Sanjay Verma, Dinesh Sanwal, Umesh, Tek Ram, Rajpal Singh, Jiven Jyoti and Abhishek. They were today produced before a local court which released them on bail. The police has video graphed the entire raid, said sources.
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Boy ends life
Chandigarh, April 25 Sources in the Sector 39 police station said Gagandeep Singh was found hanging by his mother when she returned home from office. The victim’s father, Manjit Singh is a driver with a Punjab minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh. He told the police that Gagandeep was studying at Amritsar and was staying with his aunt there. He was to go to Amritsar today. The family also expressed ignorance about the reason behind the extreme step, said a police officer. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Cr PC in this regard. A post-mortem would be conducted tomorrow.
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Milkman crushed to death
Panchkula, April 25
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Industrialists hold rally
Chandigarh, April 25 The industrialists were led by Mr M.P.S. Chawla, president of the Chandigarh Industrial Association, and Mr Surinder Gupta, president of the Chamber of Chandigarh Industries. They said the resumption notices served on industrialists for the misuse of premises had led to panic among the owners of small industrial plots. They said the notices should be withdrawn as the Finance Secretary had given an assurance to them that no resumption notices would be given till the expiry of the conversion policy in September, 2007. The Deputy Commissioner has been requested to ensure that the units which are selling their own products should be exempted from any type of charges. The memorandum has been forwarded to the Finance Secretary. More than 200 units in the industrial area here are facing resumption for carrying out alterations on their respective plots without permission and not paying the conversion charges. The Land Acquisition Officer has served notices on them seeking explanation why “the lease of the site not be cancelled and 10 per cent premium of the site and ground rent not be forfeited.” A survey in 2003-04 had indicated that 45 per cent of the units in the industrial area had either closed down or had switched trade. It had also been pointed out that at least 163 units were running business “illegally”, which means not the business originally opted for by them. The industrialists said the administration had recently allowed conversion of trade for all commercial establishments in the city, except for the Industrial Area. Over the years a number of industries, particularly ancillary concerns and in certain other trades, had closed down. They have demanded trade conversion facility on the similar lines as in the city.
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