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Drivers leave Volvo bus midway
Chandigarh, July 31 The Volvo bus (DL-1PB-8055) of Haryana Roadways left the Inter-State Bus Terminus, Sector 17, at 2 pm. “At 2.15 pm, I got a call from my daughter that the bus had stopped on the main road opposite Canara Bank in Sector 34. The driver left the bus and just walked away. She told me that the bus had to wait for more than half an hour before another driver arrived and took control of the steering”, Col (retd) J.B. Singh, a local resident said. Ms Natasha, a senior manager in a British Company, told this correspondent: “Our bus had not even reached Dera Bassi when the new driver applied the brakes. Before we realised what was going on, the driver had vanished and we were once again left stranded.” Ms Natasha said: “We had to wait for another 30 minutes before another driver arrived. Travellers who had to get down for boarding their flights were the most harassed. It is a question of fixing responsibility for goof-ups in a public utility service”. “We had lost all hope completing the journey. We were scared of being dumped midway,” she added. Mr J.S. Sandhu, a Duty Inspector of the Haryana Roadways, said: “We are unaware of any unpleasant development at the moment. Haryana Roadways has given the driving contract to a private party. We will be able to give a statement tomorrow when the conductor of the bus reports back here.” Mr Sandhu explained that drivers often change midway. The biggest responsibility is to ensure that the bus do not get delayed at the destinations. “We will look into the matter and necessary action will be initiated against the defaulters”, he added. Mr Ravinder Kumar, conductor, said: “The situation arose because the driver on duty failed to report on the job. The new driver walked away at Sector 34. The driver who took the bus till Dera Bassi had informed us in advance. The arrangement for an alternative driver was already made”.
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2 try to sell NRI’s land by fraud, held
Chandigarh, July 31 Identified as Jaspal Singh, the accused told the prospective buyer that he was Dr Jatinder Singh and was currently visiting India to sell the property. Jaspal Singh was accompanied by one Varinder Singh of Sohana village near Mohali during the “deal”. The mannerisms of Jaspal Singh that in no way seemed to be that of an NRI did him in, and he was caught red handed. The documents he showed found out to be fake, said Mr Rohit Bajaj, an advocate and the legal adviser of Delhi-based coloniser, Pumma Realtors Private Limited. Mr Bajaj later informed the police about the incident, which arrested the duo. Mr Bajaj, while talking to Chandigarh Tribune,
said, “Jaspal Singh approached me in the company’s office in Sector 36 this morning with fake documents pertaining to the land, measuring 78 kanals and 6 marlas, situated in Dhol village in Mohali district and sought Rs 5 crore as advance for the same. While Dr Jatinder Singh is still in the UK and was reportedly in touch with the buyers till some time ago, Jaspal Singh told me that he was a resident of Vancouver in Canada, strengthening my suspicion about his credentials”. Mr Bajaj further said that one of the directors of his company had earlier met Dr Jatinder Singh in London. When Jaspal was asked about the authenticity of the documents, he produced a copy of a ration card, which was also found to be tampered with. Later he could not also produce any proof of his identity, and when Mr Bajaj was about to call the original owner in London over telephone, Jaspal Singh and his associate Varinder Singh admitted to their crime and the police was called. The SHO of the Sector 36 police station, Inspector Ishwar Singh Mann, said on the basis of a complaint filed by Mr Rohit Bajaj, a case of cheating, impersonation, forgery, criminal conspiracy along with other charges under various provisions of the IPC has been registered in this connection. He added that the police had yet to interrogate the accused for their involvement in other criminal activities. The SHO added that the police would also investigate the role of the property dealer, who was involved at some point of time in this matter.
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Aspiring ‘baddie’ is back home
Chandigarh, July 31 But 13-year-old Dinesh Godara, with eyes starved of dreams, had just three one-rupee coins and a distance of over 200 kilometres to cover. Instead of succumbing to the temptation of satisfying his appetite by eating that samosa, he saved the dough for calling up his parents in Sector 39 after reaching Chandigarh. Without ticket, he jumped on the home-bound train over five months after running away to Mumbai for displaying his flair before the arclights in the movies. For those of you unfamiliar with the initial part of his tale, dazzled by the glamour of the tinsel world, Godara left home on November 11 last, not to become a hero, but a ‘don’ in the movies. His logic was not so complicated. The protagonist was always chasing happiness while the ‘don’ played in money. In any case, Godara was of the firm opinion that he had the looks and the personality of a ‘baddie’. Back in Chandigarh, Godara simply called up his home from a phone booth at the railway station and told his father in a voice cracked with emotions that he was back. All this was just two months back. He has one message to convey to so many others like him. At home, you are nothing less than a hero in the flick of life, watched by your parents. But away from their protective seclusion, you are worse than a villain. Even rogues in the movies do not have to wash utensils for subsistence. That is exactly what Godara had to do practically all the days he was away from Chandigarh. “I had thought that the Rs 2,000 I had taken from home would last till eternity, at least till the big break, but I was wrong. Soon after reaching Mumbai via Delhi, I
found myself clinging to the last few rupees I had”, he says. In an attempt to replenish his resources, Godara had then left for Goa. Alone and on his own, he started earning his daily bread from the sweat of his brow by working at a hotel. Silent days rolled into lonely months till Godara realised that the work was so different from what he wanted to do. Once again, he embarked upon the journey to Mumbai. This time, he got tired of the enthusiasm and left for Delhi. “Till I reached Delhi, the thought of returning home did not cross my mind, maybe because I had travelled too far in distance and time. Once in Delhi, I heard the call of home so strongly that I decided to give up all pursuits and struggles. I am back to life from months of existence”, he says. Sitting at his middle-class home, Godara hates watching movies now. These days, most of his time is spent in studying books prescribed in the curriculum, instead of life’s journal.
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2 more cholera cases in city
Chandigarh, July 31 Admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, the patients are two-year-old Indal of Hallo Majra village and seven-year-old Samina of the fruit and vegetable market, Bardana Huts, Sector 26. Both cases have been investigated by members of the rapid response team and the nodal officer. Investigations reveal that the parents of Indal had shifted here from Lucknow recently. Special survey teams were deployed at both places for verification of chlorine contents and the sanitary conditions in and around the houses and areas affected. No traces of chlorine contents were found at Hallo Majra village when checked at several places. The
landlord of the house where a confirmed case of Cholera was detected at Hallo Majra had installed a motor pump on the water supply line.
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Motorcyclist killed in mishap
Chandigarh, July 31 Sources in the Sector 31 police station said the accident took place at around 7 pm when the victim was on his way back home. He has been identified as Raj Kumar of Sector 47. He sustained multiple injuries in the mishap and was shifted to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
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Changing face of City Beautiful
City Beautiful is definitely shedding its ‘just beautiful’ mantle and turning techno savvy, hip and happening. Yes, with the IT Park and Fashion Technology Park having come up, many changes are evident in the day-to-day facets of the citizens’ lives too. Like the commutation facilities getting more comfortable, especially with the launch of cab services, grid systems for city buses and the Volvo bus service. And not just that, but the city petrol pumps are also becoming hubs, to cater to the commuters’ different needs. No, we aren’t referring to the colas and kurkure packets stocked at various petrol pumps: These have been there for long. The recent additions are the hotshot food brands setting up shop at these pumps. So now, city residents can savour a crispy pizza at the Sector 28 petrol pump, drink coffee or even shop grocery and glossy magazines at the petrol pump in Sector 27. The day is not far when we’ll have sprawling shopping malls situated along with the petrol pumps, like those in the USA.
Forty winks
Whatever the changes be, one hopes that the Indian character of the old and new as well as the urban and rural going hand in hand never changes. From this picture that Tribune photographer Karam Singh has brought of the swanky new bus sheds on the city’s Madhya Marg, one sees how contraries can co-exist. On the seats in front of the big corporate hoarding, a rural visitor to the city catches his nap of forty winks. It makes for a charming snapshot and also tells us that in our leaps to modernization we should not forget the large population that lives without many privileges.
Auto menace
The ubiquitous auto-rikshaw has become somewhat of an unruly beast. Though it is perceived as an integral part of the public transport system and transports hundreds of commuters daily to their destinations, it also is a potential road hazard. Most auto drivers, unmindful of rear vehicles, slam on the brakes once they see passengers on the roadside. A number of autos are always bulging out with passengers. Both factors result in accidental deaths. Their contribution to the atmospheric pollution is not negligible. Throwing traffic rules to the winds is their habit. One is not averse to their plying but all desire from them — a safe drive without overloading and obeying traffic rules strictly.
Boston Brahmin
Mr R.K. Rana, district governor, Lions Club International District (321-F), has brought laurels to the city by participating and presenting papers on membership development with service to humanity at the international convention held recently in Boston (USA). Participants from more than 200 countries participated in the convention. Mr Rana was among the seven delegates who presented the papers. By profession, Mr Rana is an advocate in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. During his one-year tenure, he plans to cover nearly one lakh children under the child care project, conduct 10,000 cataract operations and collect 15,000 units of blood.
Women’s own
One of the bounties of the season of the rains, sawan, is the traditional festival of Teej. As of old, on this festival, married girls return to their parental homes to sing dance and make merry and enjoy the lost girlhood. The context has changed but various Teej festivals were held in the city and women enjoyed the feminine luxuries of henna on the palms and glass bangles on the wrists. There was soulful singing of forgotten sawan songs an of course the happy treat of kheer and purhe: the special food of the rainy season. Contributors: Anandita Gupta, Vishal Gulati, Tarundeep
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Decision on adoption of Punjab MC rules deferred
Chandigarh, July 31 On the issue of issuance of licences to motorised rehris, the Mayor suggested the formation of a five-member committee. The councillors raised objections to a few stipulations relating to the issue. They questioned the corporation’s authority to issue licences under the Motor Vehicle Act and the logic of having the age limit of 20 to 35 years. Mr P.C. Sanghi, a councillor, raised the issue of the appointment of the Accounts Officer (AO) of the corporation and demanded that it should be reconsidered. Since the corporation had not framed its own recruitment and service rules so far, it is proposed that the Punjab Municipal Corporation Services rules, 1978, may be adopted for the post of Account Officer of the corporation. The councillors, however, objected to adopting different rules for a post. Ms Kamla Sharma raised the issue of condition in slum areas and the spread of diseases there. She asked the Mayor about the steps taken by the corporation in this regard. Mr Surinder Singh, Mayor, asked her to place the issue on agenda for the next meeting. Besides, the augmentation of lighting from junctions 16 to 22 and 42 to 43 (PGI to Transport Chowk) on Madhya Marg, Chandigarh, the revised rough estimates for the construction of Shivalik Garden in pocket No. 7, Mani Majra, revised rough estimates for the construction of a truck parking slot at Sector 26, and a rough estimate for providing additional storm water drain for Karsan colony, Ram Darbar Industrial Area, Phase II, were discussed and passed.
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Many in race for MC chief’s post
Mohali, July 31 According to rules, the election of the Municipal Council chief is held within 15 days of the declaration of poll results. Although very few candidates reported by backed by the SAD-BJP combine made it to the new council yesterday, Congress leaders have declared that a councillor backed by their party would head the civic body. The names doing the rounds for the post of the Municipal Council president are of Mr Rishiv Jain and Mr Rajinder Singh Rana, who are close to Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu, president of the Mohali District Congress, and Mr Kuljit Singh Bedi, who belongs to the camp of Mrs Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, OSD to the Punjab Chief Minister. Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu, who is said to be close to the PPCC chief, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, said today that a meeting would be held and the final choice of the candidate for presidentship would be made by Mr Dullo. He claimed that more than 20 councillors elected yesterday had the support of Congress leaders in the elections. According to him, more than 16 of the elected councillors, all of whom fought as Independents, owed allegiance to him. They were Ms Kiran Bansal, Mr R.P.Sharma, Ms Gurpreet Kaur, Mr Rajinder Rana, Mr Gurnam Bindra Singh, Mr Rishiv Jain , Ms Raj Rani, Mr Gian Chand Aggarwal, Ms Kuldeep Kaur, Mr Suresh Kumar, Ms Usha Rani, Mr Kuljeet Aulakh, Ms Prabhjot Kaur Sodhi, Mr Harmanpreet Singh, Mr Gurjit Walia and Mr Amrik Singh Somal. Mr Sidhu said before proposing the name of a councillor for presidentship, views of these councillors ascertained and the issue would be settled by the PPCC Chief. Mrs Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, who is said to be leading another faction of the Congress in the town, also said out of the winning candidates more than 20 owed allegiance to the Congress. When asked why the Congress had not released a list of candidates it was going to support in the civic body elections, Mrs Garcha said there was very little time and the number of persons interested to contest the elections was big. As such, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo had given a free to hand to all of them. She said she would get the candidates together, including other like-minded councillors, and take them to the Punjab Chief Minister and the party president. Whatever decision was taken by the high command regarding the presidentship of the council would be acceptable. She, however, said she was not projecting anyone for the post of the council chief. Mr Bir Devinder Singh , Kharar MLA, who is an ex-officio member of the local body with a voting right, said the choice for the presidentship would be left to Punjab Chief Minister and Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo. He said the person chosen as president should be such who could translate the vision of the Punjab Chief Minster into a reality. He said a consensus would be reached so that the president was elected unanimously. Meanwhile, Mr Sidhu held a press conference here today to thank the residents of the town who had played a vital role in electing first - timers to the civic body. He said many young persons were elected who had great zeal to work for the welfare of the town. He said the result of civic body elections proved that democracy was held in high esteem. He said delimitation of wards for the elections was done in such a way so as to favour candidates of a particular group. But the verdict of the people played its role and many old faces were compelled to leave their berths in the council. Though Mr Sidhu claimed that more than 16 elected councillors owed allegiance to him, only 11 were present at the time of the press conference.
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Out for a duck in Mohali poll!
Mohali, July 31 Mrs Surinder Pal Kaur, a candidate contesting the elections from ward 23, got zero votes while another candidate, Mr Kulbir Singh, from the same ward, proved to be a shade better and managed to get 2 votes. There were five more candidates who performed a wee bit better. Ms Ishwar Kaur who contested from ward 12 got 7 votes while Ms Baljinder Kaur from ward 22 scored 11 votes. Mr Ravinder Singh Sodhi , who contested from ward 29, got 16 votes while Ms Charanjit Kaur from ward 20 was able to get 20 votes. Mr Rajiv Malik from ward 9 got only 18 votes. A candidate reported to be backed by the SAD was victorious in the municipal elections, securing the highest margin while a Congress-supported contestant won with the least number of votes. Mr Paramjit Singh Kahlon (ward 23) got 1, 478 votes, trouncing his nearest rival, Mr Gurinder Singh, by a margin of 1,040 votes. In the same ward, the councillor in the previous House of the civic body, Mr Manjit Singh, had earlier withdrawn from the contest. The poll results also showed that Ms Raj Rani (ward 19) won by a slender margin of 29 votes, defeating her nearest rival, Ms Ranjana, who polled 444 votes. Ms Raj Rani’s husband , Mr Rishiv Jain, in the adjoining ward (ward 20), however, fared a little better winning by 42 votes. His nearest rival, Mr Balwinder Singh, picked up 505 votes. Mr Bharat Bhushan Maini, who has won the elections for the third consecutive term, was declared elected by getting the second highest votes. He defeated his nearest rival, Mr Mohinder Chopra, by a margin of 1,028 votes. Mrs Amteshwar Kaur, who was a councillor in the previous term, was able to defeat her nearest rival by a margin of 783 votes, which were the third highest. Among the persons who won the poll by a slender margin were Mr Kuljit from ward 12 (45 votes), Mr Gurnam Bindra Singh from ward 15 (52 votes) and Ms Gurpreet Kaur from ward 7 (44 votes).
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UT signs pact with Power Grid Corpn
Chandigarh, July 31 The agreement was signed by the Finance-cum-Secretary Engineering, Mr S.K. Sandhu, and Executive Director, N.R. Chanda, on behalf of the PGCIL. Once the NLDC comes into existence, monitoring of all generating stations, transmission lines and load centres in the country will be possible at one location. The benefits of the NLDC include security and reliability of the grid, optimum power exchanges between regions, optimum utilisation of hydro and thermal resources, quick restoration of grid in case of a blackout and integrated operation of all regional grids. The UT will have all information online relating to availability of power data and surplus power available with different constituents. At present, there are State Level Load Despatch Centres (SLDCs) and Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs), which look after the work of the load despatch and other related activities.
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Soldiers must exercise their franchise
In a democratic country like India, power does not flow from the barrel of the gun but from your political clout. The armed forces have a large vote-bank of about 35 lakh, including their family members, but only 10 to 15 per cent of the
soldiers, sailors and airmen exercise their voting rights. This makes them a non-entity for the elected representatives of the country who do not bother to support their legitimate demands in Parliament.
The trend set during the Raj days that the defence personnel should not take interest in the political elections in the country still has a strong hold on the military mind. The result is that very few military men exercise their franchise. Various methods of voting have been tried out over the years but not much success has been achieved so far. Even voting at the place of posting has not cut much ice. In any case, the soldier’s constituency should be his home ground where he has to finally come and settle down after retirement. Since his interest lies there even during the service, it is the politician in his home constituency who should feel the importance of his vote. The armed forces must make full use of their large vote-bank, if they want to have a say in decision-making by the government in matters military.
Mohali deserves a polyclinic
On an average, the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) polyclinic in Sector 11, Chandigarh, is visited by 180 patients daily. It has been seen over the last few months that 50 per cent of these patients are from Mohali and its surrounding areas. The other 50 per cent are from Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and UP. The patients from out-stations come to this polyclinic for treatment in the empanelled hospitals. There is a strong case for opening a polyclinic at Mohali for two reasons: One, it has a large population of ex-servicemen. Two, it has become a district, which was fixed as a criterion to open 227 polyclinics in the country in 2003. The house in which the Chandigarh polyclinic is located is so small that the waiting patients cannot find any place to sit even in the premises of the building. Not to speak of its functioning, which is greatly hampered because of the paucity of space in the building. The plan to shift it to a bigger building has been hanging fire for more than a year now.
Immortalising the brave
The laying of wreath by Lieut-Gen Deepak Kapoor, GOC-in-C Northern Command at Dras War Memorial on July 26, to mark the Kargil “Vijay Diwas”, was a befitting tribute to the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save the honour of the country. It was also a reassurance to the widows and orphans of the martyrs that the Army had not forgotten them. Such functions were held by the Army at
several other places. Many states, barring Punjab and Haryana, also paid tributes to the fallen heroes. The soliders from these two states suffered a large number of casualties in the 1999 Kargil war. The least that they should have done was to pay tributes to their martyrs on this day. This reminds one of the saying “A nation that does not remember those who laid down their lives for it, cannot always remain a nation worth dying for”. The best way to immortalize the war heroes is to construct memorials in their honour and hold annual functions at these memorials to commemorate their sacrifices. —
Pritam Bhullar
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Tributes paid to Shaheed Udham Singh
Chandigarh, July 31 Mr Hooda, who paid tributes to the great patriot at a function organised at the office of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee here, said Shaheed Udham Singh sacrificed his life for the freedom of the country. The Haryana Minister of State for Tourism, Ms Kiran Chaudhary, the Congress MLA from Shahabad, Mr K.L.Sharma, and the working president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Dr Ram Prakash, also paid tributes to Shaheed Udham Singh.
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Farewell to Punjabi Tribune Editor
Chandigarh, July 31 Mr Bhullar was serving as the Editor from the past more than three years. While addressing a function in his honour at the Press Club, Mr Dalbir Singh, Deputy Editor, said Mr Bhullar was an epitome of patience, commitment and dedication. He said Mr Bhullar would often give colours to an assignment which many other journalists discarded saying they were “nothing”. The president of the Tribune Employees Union Mr Jagtar Singh Sidhu, applauded the role of Mr Bhullar in different offices he held during his service. He said Mr Bhullar never displeased his colleagues. Mr O.P.Arora, Additional General Manager, said Mr Bhullar was impressive in his first meeting. Mr A.J.Philip, Senior Associate Editor, said he had the privilege of handing over the appointment letter to Mr Bhullar. Mr Sham Singh, News Editor, said the term of Mr Bhullar saw a big financial gain for the Punjabi newspaper. Mr H.K.Dua, the Editor-in-Chief, was also present on the occasion.
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Punjabi Tribune Foreman retires
Chandigarh, July 31 Mr Singh was given a warm send off by his colleagues. A farewell party was also arranged in his honour. Mr O.P. Arora, Additional General Manager, The Tribune, lauded his services to the institution.
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Reviser retires
Chandigarh, July 31 Mr Naresh Kumar was given a warm send off by his colleagues. A farewell party was also arranged in his honour at Chandigarh Press Club. Mr A.J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, lauded his services to the institution.
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Man poses as buyer, goes off with vehicle
Chandigarh, July 31 Giving details of the case, the SHO of the Sector 39 police station, Inspector Naha Ram Kadiyan, said the incident took place at around 12 noon on Sunday. The complainant, Mr Dharam Pal, a mechanic and a resident of Sector 38, alleged that Hari Singh of Sector 41 approached him along with an unidentified man, saying that he wanted to purchase a motorcycle. Mr Dharam Pal Singh told the police that he showed a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle (CH-03-C-2095) to them and they took a test ride. The man agreed to pay Rs 31,000 for the vehicle and asked Mr Pal to allow him to show the motorcycle to his father before
buying it. The man went off with the vehicle. When he did not turn up for some time, Dharam Singh asked Hari Singh to contact the man, but the latter told him that he did not know the name and address of the man. Surprised, Mr Dharam Pal reported the matter to the police. The SHO said a case of breach of trust under Sections 406 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code was registered in this connection. On the role of Hari Singh in the case, he said during interrogation, he had expressed ignorance about the identity of the man, saying he had visited his tailoring shop three or four times. The man told him that he wanted to purchase a second-hand motorcycle following which he took him to Mr Dharam Pal. “Though it seems he is not known to the man, but he introduced him to the complainant, thus he is booked in the case. Efforts are on to trace the accused,” the SHO said.
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2 held for making fake ration cards
Chandigarh, July 31 According to the in charge, operations cell, Chandigarh Police, Inspector Vijay Kumar, Satbir Singh of Sector 15 and Sunil Kumar of Sector 27 were caught from near the Registration Office in Sector 17 this afternoon following a secret information. Inspector Kumar said a team of the operations cell had information that the accused, in connivance with the Assistant Food and Civil Supplies Officer, Shambu Nath, had been preparing fake ration cards.
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