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Auction of school sites called off
Chandigarh, September 12 The reserve price of the sites had been fixed between Rs 3.18 crore and Rs 14 crore, depending upon the size of the sites. Members of the Association of Private Educational Institutions raised slogans against the move by the Chandigarh Administration to auction seven school sites for primary and middle level. After registering protest over the exorbitant reserve price, the participants walked out of the venue of the auction at Shivalik Hotel, Sector 17, here. An effort by the Assistant Estate Officer, Mr Amit Talwar, to offer the sites at the reserve price in the limited auction did not attract any response from the bidders. Mr R.K. Rao, Estate Officer, said the auction had been called off in the wake of no takers. The development would be reviewed by the authorities, he said. Talking to The Tribune, Mrs Sushma Manrai, general secretary of the association of Private Educational Institutions, said putting the auction under the hammer was a wrong decision. The sites should be allotted as had been done in the past. Preference should have been given to the schools which had been running from residential
premises. The reserve price for a primary school site in Milkman Colony was fixed at Rs 5.87 crore. In 2002 and 2003 school sites were offered for Rs 900 per sq yard after reducing it from Rs 1800 per sq yard. Alleging that rules were bent to suit "influential" persons, the association pointed out that the sites were allotted much below the market rates. " If the administration now says that it has fixed the rates as per the prices of land, where was this logic while allotting sites to the bigwigs? The rule would be bent again in future to favour the well-connected persons", said Ms Manraj. Mr H.S. Mamik, an educationist, said it was unfair on the part of the administration to auction the sites.
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"Sedative" gang on the prowl
Chandigarh, September 12 In two separate incidents which occurred on Saturday and Sunday night, six unidentified persons were admitted to the Sector 16 General Hospital in unconscious condition. Both incidents took place in the vicinity of the Sector 17 ISBT late in the night. The local police has so far not registered any case in this connection. When contacted, police officials steered clear of the matter, maintaining that these people were found "drunk" and were rushed to hospital. They had left the hospital after gaining consciousness without informing anyone. However, sources in the police said three unidentified youngsters in their late twenties who appeared to be Nepalese, were found lying in an unconscious state near the Sector 17 ISBT on Sunday night. Four empty bags were found near them and they were rushed to hospital. The youngsters were probably robbed of their belongings after being drugged. Similarly, sources in the hospital said on Saturday night three persons were brought unconscious. The sources said the victims were given detoxification treatment. The victims were brought to the hospital by policemen. The in charge of the General Hospital police post did not have any record of the victims. He said they only maintained record of those directly brought to the hospital. The in charge of the Sector 17, ISBT, Sub-Inspector Pargat Singh, admitted three persons were hospitalised in an unconscious state on Sunday night. Regarding the reasons for not initiating any action, he maintained ,"the victims told us that the incident took place in Bharatgarh in Ropar district. We have contacted the SSP , Ropar." About the Saturday incident, cops said it was a case of excessive drinking, not robbery. All three of them had left the hospital without informing anyone the following morning on regaining consciousness. On September 1, a Sector 52 resident, Mr Jatinder Kumar, was allegedly duped of Rs 15,000 and a mobile phone by two well-dressed women after administering intoxicants. The incident occurred in the busy Sector 22 market. The women had asked the victim to help them out in putting some boxes in their Qualis SUV. In this case also, no headway has been made so far. In this case the victim found himself dumped in the Sector 52 area. He was admitted to hospital by his family and a case was registered on September 3. In another such incident, a Sector 45 resident, Sunita, along with her two daughters was reportedly kidnapped and robbed of gold ornaments and other belongings after being drugged by two unidentified women outside a clinic in Sector 47 on September 7. She told the police that the women had approached her with a piece of paper, following which she fell unconscious. She later found herself near the Sector 26 Grain Market while her six-month-old daughter was found from Ram Darbar.
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New govt college for B.Com students
Chandigarh, September 12 The new college will start functioning from the old DEO Office Building, near Main Market, Sector 19-B. The administration will soon take up the matter of its affiliation with Panjab University at the earliest. A formal approval has been granted by the office of the UT Administrator for the proposal, which forms a part of the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-2007). The administration will make an “urgent” arrangement of Rs 10 lakh by curtailing the plan expenditure. The session will start with two units of B.Com classes and one unit of bachelor of business administration classes. The B.Com classes will have two units of 70 students each and the BBA batch will have 40 students. The college is expected to complete the formality of admission before September 29, which is the last date of admission in the Department of Correspondence courses without any late fee. Reliable sources said starting the college was a good proposal. However, the administration would have to work against time in getting the affiliation. The faculty and the infrastructure at the college imparting education was of paramount importance before the university grants affiliation. The administration was expected to finalise the faculty before August 31.
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Woman, youth killed in different mishaps
Chandigarh, September 12 She was on her way back home from Sector 23 along with her daughter, Maninder Kaur, when the mishap took place at around 10:15pm. Maninder Kaur was driving the scooter while Lakhwinder was on the pillion. Lakhwinder Kaur reportedly died on the spot due to head injuries while her daughter was seriously hurt. She was rushed to the Sector 16 General Hospital, said a police official in the Sector 26 police station. The police is yet to establish the identity of the Maruti car owner involved in the accident. The police has registered a case of causing death due to rash and negligent driving on a complaint by Head constable Jagdev Singh. In another incident, 25-year-old Ravinder Singh, a Sector 7 resident, was killed when his Kinetic Honda scooter was hit by a mini truck at the Sector 7 and 8 roundabout this afternoon. The truck (CHW-7370) hit the scooter from the rear. Its driver fled after the accident. The police has registered a case on a complaint by the victim's brother, Inderpal Singh, who was on another vehicle. Inderpal told the police that his brother had just taken a turn towards the Sukhna Lake when the truck hit him from the rear. He sustained head injuries, which proved fatal. Ravinder, who worked in a private company, was rushed to the PGI, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The police has registered a case of causing death due to rash and negligent driving under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code. Later in the evening, the police managed to arrest the truck diver, Hans Raj, a resident of Kharar, and impounded the truck. The truck belonged to the Chandigarh Administration's electricity wing.
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Restructuring of Customs, Central Excise Commissionerate on cards
Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 12 A keen golfer, he was given important assignments in Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai and Delhi. He has been given the task of increasing revenue collection from the Chandigarh Zone to Rs 2,600 crore from Rs 2,200 crore last year. During 2005-2006, the Chandigarh Zone collected Rs 1,275 crore from central excise, Rs 400 crore from customs duty and Rs 512 crore as service tax. Another officer to join the Chandigarh Zone is Mr Rajiv Bhatia. He has taken over as Commissioner, Jalandhar, against a vacant post. Interestingly, the area of operation may have shrunk, necessitating the restructuring of the commissionerate. For example, the entire textile industry of Amritsar is now outside the purview of central excise. Similarly, the Jalandhar Commissioner, who used to look after Jammu and Kashmir, has a much smaller area of operation now. Jammu and Kashmir has its own range with a Commissioner in Jammu. "Yes, we may have to restructure our commissionerate," says Mr Sra. The workload in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal has increased but revenue collection may not increase proportionately. The Union Government recently decided to extend the sunset clause for economic benefits given to hilly states by three years. Not only that. Even the collection of central excise from soft drink bottling plants in the region has dropped following the eruption of a controversy over the presence of pesticides in soft drinks. For example, one bottling company could market only 15.50 lakh crates of soft drinks in July this year against 20 lakh during the same period last year. Another reason for the drop in revenue has been the cut in duty on soft drinks from 24 per cent to 16 per cent.
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School buses continue to violate HC orders
Chandigarh, September 12 A survey over a period of one week is enough to reveal that buses not even painted in yellow are still ferrying students. Besides this, bus conductors are either missing or not wearing uniform, especially during the morning hours. To top it all, several vehicles are still not carrying "well-equipped" first-aid boxes. A tourist bus in red with a "carriage permit" painted across the windshield in bold letters is being used to carry students to a school in Sector 27. The bus, with the driver and conductor both dressed in casuals, passes through Sector 18 each morning. Another school is using a multi-utility vehicle for carrying students. This is not all. The conductors of at least two buses carrying students to a school in Sector 26 are always sans uniform. The buses can be spotted in the area around Sector 38. Taking a stern note of the increasing number of traffic violations by the school buses in the city, the Chandigarh Police in the first week of August had asked the school authorities to ensure within a month complete compliance of traffic rules and regulations by the school buses. The reasons for the directives are not hard to see. Just a fortnight before setting the deadline, the men in white had challaned over 300 school buses for traffic violations. Most challans, issued to the school bus drivers, were for not wearing uniform with their nameplates and for not keeping first-aid boxes. The other offences included absence of a board specifying the route, colour code and registration
numberplate. Sources in the police headquarters agree that the offences are in violation of the directions issued by the then Punjab and Haryana High Court Judges, Mr Justice Swatenter Kumar and Mr Justice Sat Pal, in a civil writ petition number 7639 of 1995. The matter is popularly known as the traffic regulation and pollution control case. Quoting the High Court orders, the sources assert that the Judges had directed that "all school buses shall carry first-aid boxes duly containing the minimum requisite of medical items". It was also directed that the buses would not "exceed the speed of 50 km per hour". The Judges had also ruled that the school's name should be properly displayed, along with the route and the timing. Moreover, "the authorities concerned should prefer that all school buses are yellow ". This condition, the Judges had added, could be introduced gradually, "but compliance must be ensured within a reasonable time". The Judges had said the drivers should have a minimum of five years' experience and should not have been
challaned for over three times for "jumping red lights, improper parking and unauthorised lane-changing", besides being challaned for causing death due to negligent driving. The drivers and conductors were also asked to wear "proper uniform with nameplates". Furthermore, it was mandatory for them to attend refresher courses conducted by the state transport authorities. Earmarking of "proper bus stop" for halting the buses on the main road as well as inner roads was also ordered. |
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HUDA dispatches registration cards
Panchkula, September 12 While registration cards have been dispatched to the addresses of the applicants, the list showing the registration numbers issued to them will be put on the HUDA website www.huda.nic.in by 11 am on September 14. All lists pertaining to the registration numbers are available under the “news” link on the website. “We had invited objections, if any, from the applicants of the reserved category. They are under process and being dealt with,” an officer said. Sources in HUDA added that the cases of oustees would also be taken up on September 14 after the scrutiny of their applications was complete. Meanwhile, a large number of applicants of the general category thronged the HUDA office in Sector 6 to sort out discrepancies in their registration cards. Employees of the department had their hands full as the number of applicants seeking clarifications grew by the hour. During the scrutiny of the applicants of the reserved category plots, a large number of shortcomings of required documents were found. The office has issued nearly 9000 notices to applicants asking them to complete their documents. Further, the officials of the Estate Office also entertained the applicants of the reserved category relating to the defence/ex-servicemen, para-military, and dependants of Haryana police personnel killed in encounter, who had applied for a lower category as per their eligibility. HUDA has announced the draw for 538 plots in Sector 27 and Sector 28 on September 17 and 18, respectively. A total of three lakh applications have been received by the office.
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Cycle Tourism campaign flagged off
Chandigarh, September 12 It has been pointed out that there is a big demand for cycles, particularly among European tourists, which led to the introduction of the Cycle Tourism campaign. The Administration will be providing bicycles to the tourists on a rental basis. It has been pointed out that the cycles will be available at Tourist Information Office of the Inter-State Bus Terminus, Sector 17. The Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) will also be adding at least 12 modern cycles for this purpose. The cycles, likely to be introduced within a week, are expected to be on a par with international styles and standards. The cycles will be available on a daily rental of Rs 100, while half-day charge of Rs 50 will be for the tourist who wants to take a look at the city at his/her own pace. The security charges will be Rs 500. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Krishna Mohan termed it as a good step “which will go a long way to promote city among the foreign tourists”. A number of foreign tourists and students participated in the flagging-off
ceremony. Tourists from Japan, South Africa, Columbia, Hungry and Israel participated in the rally from Rose Garden to Sukhna Lake. Director Tourism Vivek Atray and Deputy Commissioner, R.K. Rao were also present on the occasion.
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Huge demand for skilled workers in New Zealand
Chandigarh, September 12 While information technology, business management and engineering are the most in demand, there is also an increase in interest in subjects like hospitality and tourism. "The trend has been changing for the past three years, students are now becoming more adventurous and are exploring the fields like horticulture and designing etc," he informed. "The New Zealand Government is encouraging students to apply for research and do their Ph D in fields as diverse as earthquake engineering, forestry, Biotechnology and Nano Technology etc. The fees are also much less for such courses," informed Mr Vaughan. Students can work for up to 20 hours a week. International students undertaking a course of 12 months or more may apply to work full time over the summer holidays while students graduating from a two-three year diploma, degree or postgraduate qualification will be eligible for a six-month open graduate job search work permit. "There is a huge demand for skilled workforce in New Zealand and lot of Indians are currently contributing to the burgeoning New Zealand economy," stated Mr Vaughan. Institutions in New Zealand offer various courses from Business Studies, Engineering, IT and Computing, Food and Dairy Technology, Plant Science and Horticulture, Hospitality and Hotel Management, Nursing, Viticulture, Forestry, Sports Management and many more. Representatives from about 25 educational institutions across New Zealand took part in the education fair today. They counselled parents and students aspiring to study in New Zealand.
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Welfare society seeks CBI probe
Chandigarh, September 12 In the complaint forwarded to the Home Secretary, the society has alleged that certain facts had been concealed by the Assistant Registrar, Mr S.K. Bansal, Superintendent (Inspector), Ms Deepa Vishishtha, Sub Inspector and Mr Amarjit Singh, (Inspector) Administrator of the Pink Rose Cooperative HB First Society. Executive members of the society have alleged that they had been suffering due to misrepresentation of facts by certain office-bearers of the previous management done in connivance with officials of the Cooperative Department. Earlier an inquiry conducted by the Chandigarh Administrator had revealed that non-allottee members had been included in to the voters’ list including five IAS officers of the Punjab cadre. It has been pointed out that the post of the Assistant Registrar cannot be held by an employee of a cooperative society. Mr Sangwan is an employee of Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank Ltd, Chandigarh, which is like a cooperative society controlled under the bylaws and rule by the Registrar, Cooperative Societies. “On the basis of the complaint, the Home Secretary has sought report from the office of Registrar, Cooperative Societies”, said one of the executive members.
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DC tells officials to attend anti-foeticide camps
Mohali, September 12 He said though it was difficult to change the mindset of the people in a short span of time, it was necessary to carry on efforts in the larger interest of society. He said with the cooperation of senior officials and subject experts such camps could be made more effective. The Deputy Commissioner told officials from the Education Department to keep an eye on the quality of food being provided to school children as part of mid-day meal. He said pension amount should be distributed to beneficiaries in the minimum possible time. He further said that the work of laying and strengthening link roads should be completed by October 31. Expressing concern over the shortage of staff at the Civil Hospital in Lalru, he directed the Civil Surgeon to make efforts to provide the required staff . He said that national health schemes should be implemented with sincerity.
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Kashmiri Pandits thank CM
Panchkula, September 12 At a meeting of the executive body at Shiv Temple, Sector 9, the general secretary of the Sabha, Mr I.K.Kaul, thanked the CM for issuing migration certificates to members of the community living in Panchkula. He hoped that the implementation of the cash assistance and rehabilitation programme would start soon.
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Pensioners’ body upset with govt
Chandigarh, September 12 In a press note, Mr S.P. Kakar, general secretary of the local unit of the association, said the government had turned a blind eye towards their demands, which include increase in medical allowance up to Rs 500 per month, increase of half per cent in the basic pension for every six months for those who retired after putting in 33 years of service (as per the Fourth Pay Commission), grant of 15 per cent old-age allowance on the completion of 80 years (as in case of MLAs who are getting this benefit), and 5 per cent hike in the DA. Mr Kakar said that a charter of demands had already been submitted to the government but nothing had been done so far. The association has demanded that its demands should be fulfilled before the forthcoming festivals.
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Woman sustains burn injuries
Chandigarh, September 12 The police said the victim, Meena, sustained 100 per cent burn injuries. Her husband, Rajinder, was at home when the incident took place. After hearing her cries, he rushed to her help and doused the flames by pouring water on her. She was rushed to the PGI here, where her condition was stated to be critical.
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Poor gas supply irks residents
Dera Bassi, September 12
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Advocate held for cheating bank
Chandigarh, September 12 In another incident, a local woman in connivance with a Ludhiana-based Sikh priest allegedly duped her NRI landlady by fraudulently selling her house by acquiring a power of attorney (POA). Giving details of the first case sources in the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Chandigarh police said advocate Gurdev Singh of Zirakpur was arrested today following the registration of a criminal case of cheating. He had allegedly taken a loan of Rs 5.60 lakh from the Sector 35-based HDFC Bank in 2004 by mortgaging a plot located in Zirakpur. He had agreed to pay back the sum in 180 instalments, but did not pay a single instalment. Not only this, he later fraudulently sold his plot to someone else without the knowledge of the bank. When the matter came to light, the manager of the bank lodged a complaint against him. In the second case Ms Damanjit Kaur and her mother Attar Kaur, both NRIs settled in England, lodged a complaint with the police alleging that their tenant, Kamla, along with a Sikh priest, Himmat Singh of Ludhiana, fraudulently sold their 10 marla house in Sector 21. It was alleged that the mother-daughter duo had a dispute with Kamla about vacating the house. Meanwhile, Himmat Singh met Attar Kaur in England during his religious tour and convinced the elderly woman that he could get her house vacated through his high-profile links. He thus acquired the POA from Attar Kaur and came back to India. The police said Himmat Singh later connived with Kamla to sell the house by using the POA. He had also managed to take Rs 21 lakh from the mother-daughter-duo by saying that he needed the money to vacate the house. He along with Kamla sold the house for about Rs 1.50 crore to an advocate. A police team has been dispatched to Ludhiana to nab the suspect.
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Three held for betting
Chandigarh, September 12 The accused were 50-year-old Rakesh Kumar Gupta of Sector 7, Panchkula, 40-year-old Kamal Kishore of Dera Sahib Mohalla, Mani Majra, and Yashpal of Subash Nagar, also of Mani Majra. The police seized nine mobile phones from their possession. A case of cheating and criminal conspiracy under Sections 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13, 4 and 67 of the Gambling Act has been registered against them.
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Proclaimed-offender couple arrested
Chandigarh, September 12 Four cases of cheating and violating the Immigration Act had been registered against the couple at the Sector 17 and Sector 19 police stations. The couple had duped several persons to the tune of lakhs while operating from their office, Klair Tour and Travels, in Sector 22 here.
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Zirakpur, September 12 According to a complaint lodged by Mr Saudagar Singh, a resident of Nabha village, the tractor-trailer hit the scooter driven by Lakhwinder when he was taking a turn on September 8. Lakhwinder was seriously injured and admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. He succumbed to his injuries the next day. A case under Sections 279,304-A and 427 of the IPC has been registered. — TNS
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Man held with 130 gm of opium
Chandigarh, September 12 House burgled:
Theft in Sec 15 house:
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Bhartiya Udyog Rattan for Ind-Swift
Chandigarh, September 12 The company was awarded for its “outstanding contribution to society and national development”. The award was conferred by the Education Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Vasant Puake. The award was received by Mr O.P. Thapliyal, Head, Human Resources, who received the award on behalf of Ind- Swift. The NHRDO is a social and charitable organisation, working for national development. The others who were awarded were Sushmita Sen and Manmaujee (actors), Mr Raj Kumar (coordinator, Hindustan Prachar Sabha), Dr Rohidas Waghmare (joint coordinator, World Bank Project), Mr Suresh Sharma (memory guru) and Mr Dinesh Vohra (motivator).
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