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Mayoral poll: Parties wooing ‘navratnas’
Chandigarh, December 25 The prospective candidates and the senior leaders of the three mainline political combinations, the Congress, the BJP-SAD alliance and the Chandigarh Vikas Manch (CVM), have started lobbying for the top posts. In the MCC elections, in a House of 25 members, the Congress has emerged as the single-largest party with 12 seats followed by the BJP-SAD eight and the CVM four seats. One seat has gone to the BSP. Since certain nominated councillors had already expressed their desire to back those candidates, whose priority is city's welfare, the parties are putting their best foot forward to nominate the candidates with a "clean image". As the support of the nominated members cannot be taken for granted, the parties are being extra-conscious to select the right candidates for the top posts. The “right candidate” assumes all the more importance for parties as the BJP-SAD alliance and the CVM had announced that they would stop the Congress candidates from being elected to the posts. In fact, the non-Congress parties had gone on record appealing to the nominated members to respect the “anti-Congress” mandate and vote for the Opposition candidates for the top posts. However, the Congress can draw relief from the fact that it had emerged as the single-largest party and was second-largest in another 12 wards.
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Car bursts into flames, driver has miraculous escape
Chandigarh, December 25 According to eyewitnesses, at around 2:40 pm they noticed a Maruti Esteem screeching to a halt in the middle of the road and its driver rushing out. Smoke and flames were billowing out of the front of the vehicle. The fire brigade reached the spot within minutes and they managed to keep the fire under control before it could cause any further damage. The car driver was identified as Amandeep Singh of Mohali.
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Celebration mania grips city
Chandigarh, December 25 Even the arcades and churches were garlanded with psychedelic lights, twinkling stars, glittering bells and cheerful balloons. As the residents came out to celebrate the day in a big way, the visitors had to struggle hard for finding place to leave behind their vehicles in jam-packed parking lots in Sector 17 and 19. The celebrations started
Traffic bottlenecks were witnessed on roads leading to churches as enthusiastic residents parked their vehicles along the roadside to pick up gifts from stalls set up alongside the footpath. Right from aromatic candles nicely wrapped in red ribbon, cutouts of Santa, along with stars, lights and other decorations to miniature Christmas trees, the aisles were lined with temptation. For the big day, the preparations had started well in advance with the sending of Christmas cards and the installation of a decorated tree at a prominent place in home. Now a firmly established tradition, the tree was first popularised by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert.
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Fluid samples taken from chemist shops
Patient given fungus-infested fluid dies Mr Varinder Chadha, a city-based businessman undergoing treatment for heart at the PGI since December 15, and was admitted to the CCU, breathed his last this evening. It was Mr Chadha who had to be administered a fungus-infested Intra-Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid at the PGI on Friday. His vigilant son, Mr Viney Chadha, a laboratory technician with the GMCH, had spotted an infected bottle of the dialysis fluid on Friday. Over 65 bottles of the dialysis fluid were administered to Mr Varinder Chadha.
Chandigarh, December 25 A team of the Health Department lead by a drug inspector visited the chemist shops in the PGI and took four samples. Two samples of the fluid, manufactured by a Jalandhar-based company, had already been taken from the main stockist of the liquid from Sector 17 on Saturday. The Health Department, interestingly, took samples of a Sector 17-based stockist of the product on the very next day of the occurrence of the incident, thus giving enough time to the company, the stockist and the distributors for withdrawing these items from the chemists. Moreover, the samples of the said fluid were taken on the fourth day
Turning a blind eye towards this “poison”, being sold at almost every chemist shop, the Health Department hardly gave a thought for intensifying the drive for conducting raids at the main shops located in Sectors 11, 15, 16, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and other sectors. Mr Gurdeep Singh, drug inspector with the UT Health Department, said that the sample could not be taken on Saturday and Sunday on account of holiday. Four samples were taken from the PGI chemist shops today. The samples would be sent to the Food and Drug Laboratory, Punjab, Sector 11, tomorrow. He said that the reports are expected shortly.
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Watch out
Ms Kulwant Kaur, president, Paragon Educational Society, SAS Nagar, will be in South Korea as part of a delegation visiting the Jeong Myung Girls Middle and High School and American Missionary Adventure Mokpo City, South Korea. The visit is part of mutual friendship and cultural exchange programme with the school. Ms Kulwant Kaur has served in the school as a teacher,
supervisor-cum-administrator and Principal.
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Mr Supreet Singh, proprietor of a Dubai-based communication and marketing solution company, Rare Fusion, is in the town. He is planning to venture into theme parties and designing featuring corporate garage sales, carnivals and having Bollywood masala. The city experienced his talent at Antidote held in Sector 26 discotheque on Sunday.
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Passing Thru
Tell us about IPRS?
IPRS stands for Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. It is a non-profit making body which came into existence on August 23, 1969. It is a representative of music directors or composers, lyricists, publishers of music, etc. It is registered as a copyright society under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957. How does this body works? Basically, this society issues licences for usage of music. It is the only copyright society in the country which is permitted to commence and carry on the words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. Who are the men who matter in its functioning? Some of the prominent ones include composers/ lyricists like O.P. Nayyar, Ravindra Jain, Gulshan Bawra, Javed Akhtar, Gurdass Mann, Babbu Mann and A.R. Rehman to name a few. We also serve the interest of our 1,400-plus members, including the legal heirs of legends like Naushad Ali, Sudhir Phadke, Shailendra, Shankar Jaikishan, S.D. Barman, R.D. Barman, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi, etc. How does the society generates funds? We collect
royalties from event organisers, hotels, restaurants, clubs, shopping plazas, showrooms, department stores, commercial banquets and even from clinics, nursing homes and discos, etc. The collected amount is spent on public performance of music for Indian and international music and distribute the amount as royalty among our writers, composers or publishers, etc. How do you remit for international music? The royalty on account of international music is remitted to foreign societies. We have direct reciprocal agreements with societies running in around 16 countries worldwide. — G. S. Paul
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I stopped at our city's busiest crossroad equipped with traffic lights and a countdown timer, which displayed the time left for the green light at 90 seconds. I was glad to notice some of the vehicles with their engines off, thanks to the wise drivers. They were not only saving the precious fuel but also reducing the contribution to the alarming global warming. However, there were many, who despite knowing that the traffic policemen ahead will not let them pass before their turn or without penalising them, did not put the engines of their vehicles off and instead kept pressing the accelerator. I think they either do not know the value of the fuel (not just monetary but its growing depletion) or they are ignorant of the much-debated and dreaded global warming. I hope they read the following lines and act thereupon: Our planet is getting warmer with every passing day. There are many reasons that lead to the Greenhouse Effect and one of the reasons is the emission of polluted effluents into the atmosphere. Best suggestion
In a Test match, there are 90 minimum overs to be bowled and in all there are 450 overs in 5 days. He opined that if the overs were bifurcated between the two sides i.e. 225 each (115 for the first innings and 110 for the second innings), no Test match will end in a “tie”. The suggestion was adjudged the “best of the day”.
Officials awarded
It was a proud moment for M/s Swaraj Mazda Ltd and M/s VMT Spinning Company when their officials won prestigious awards of “outstanding material manager” and “outstanding student”, respectively. The awards were given by the Chandigarh branch of the Indian Management of Materials Management during the celebrations of its 23rd annual day function at Kalagram, Mani Majra last week. The “outstanding material manager” award was conferred on Mr Y.K. Gautam, who is a mechanical engineer and is Senior Manager (Purchase) with M/s Swaraj Mazda Ltd. On the other hand the “outstanding student” award was clinched by Mr A.K. Aggarwal, Chief Manager (Commercial and Administration) with M/s VMT Spinning Company Ltd. Harbinder Singh, Rajiv Bhatia and Akash Ghai
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Bank accused of using fake cop, lawyer for recovery
Chandigarh, December 25 The credit card division of the ICICI Bank allegedly threatened a Sector 19 senior citizen with a fictitious arrest warrant to obtain a payment of Rs 14,300 on account of a default that never was. According to Mr Harinder Singh, he received a call from someone introducing himself as Balram Singh Yadav, a Sub- Inspector of the Delhi police's economic offences wing. The caller claimed that a court in Delhi had issued an arrest warrant against him and a party was being dispatched to arrest him. He also suggested that if he wanted to avoid the arrest, he should contact a
lawyer, Mr Munish Bhalla. Mr Harinder Singh contacted Mr Bhalla, who, while confirming that he was the ICICI bank's panel lawyer, said he had filed a suit for the recovery of Rs 14,300 against him. Mr Harinder Singh told Tribune News Service "the lawyer said he had got an arrest warrant issued and threatened to have me arrested unless the amount was paid immediately". "To avoid any complications, I told my son to deposit it with a local branch of the bank under protest. The bank was also informed that nothing was due and there was neither any occasion for any legal proceedings nor was any notice received from any court’’, he said. Later, the bank's credit card division in Sector 9 was shown documentation that supported his assertion that "no money had ever been due since July, 2005". Mr Harinder Singh said "the officials of the bank agreed that there appeared to have been an error on the part of the bank and no demand for the money ought to have been made". However, the bank failed to clarify when and where, if at all, they had filed any legal proceedings for the recovery. The Area Collection Manager (ACM) of the bank, Mr Deepak Sharma, while acknowledging that the matter fell in his domain, claimed ignorance. The Regional Manager at Chandigarh, Mr Naveen Sukhija, also denied any knowledge of the tactics used. Mr Harinder Singh's son, who approached the bank, said "the Regional Manager said it was possible that some persons might have obtained the customer's name, credit card number, phone number, the amount allegedly due and falsely represented to be a police officer and a lawyer, respectively, and benefited the bank by using the threat of arrest". He further said " the Regional Manager, however, could not explain why this might be the case or how the highly confidential and legally-protected client information was disclosed to strangers. It was only after spending nearly five hours trying to obtain information and after contacting Mr Sachin Khandelwal, the bank's Mumbai-based General Manager,that the bank issued a letter, saying that "the matter will be investigated". When contacted, the bank's spokesperson in Delhi, Ms Rakhi, could not offer any reasons for the alleged "impersonation and false invocation of court proceedings and arrest warrant. Mr C. Deshpande, the bank's Chief of Corporate Communications in Mumbai, “chose not to comment” on the "illegal methods" although he did say that an internal inquiry had been ordered and the money deposited by the client would be returned”, Mr Harinder Singh’s son said. Interestingly, both the phone numbers used by the "lawyer" and the "policeman" have been switched off eversince December 19 when the incident occurred. Meanwhile, Mr Harinder Singh has sent a complaint to the Chandigarh police through the SSP, Chandigarh.
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4-day youth leadership camp concludes
Mohali, December 25 Students in the age group 14-20 years, sponsored by different clubs of the district 3080, participated in the camp.The programme was aimed at developing leadership qualities and also to guide the students to choose their carrier as per their capability and interest. The inaugural session, held on December 22, was presided over by District Governor - 3080, Rotarian Dhian Chand, and Past Rotary International President, Raja Saboo, was the chief guest.
During these four days, eminent subject scholars and experts interacted with the students and delivered valuable talks. Attitude and public speaking was the subject touched by eminent TV anchor Surindra Seth and etiquette by Brig Z.S. Dhariwal. The ice-breaking session was conducted by Dr Geetanjli Bhatnagar, success that succeeds by Dr V.K. Chopra, while excellence and ethics in the vocation, was taken up by Mr Chander Mohan. Mr Pradeep Prakash from Delhi and golfer Irina Brar also addressed the participants. Members of Rotary Club, S.A.S Nagar, along with their families participated in the pot luck dinner on December 24. During the camp, yoga classes were held for
the participants in the morning.
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Selection process unfair, claim health workers
Chandigarh, December 25 They complained officials have been taking into consideration only those with diplomas, while other academic qualifications are ignored. They demanded officials consider academic records of the candidates in the selection process. They threatened to intensify their stir and also move court, if their demands are not met.
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Reservation in Army will spell disaster
“MERIT is the only criterion for recruitment to the defence forces. There is no reservation for any community. We are against the minority quota in defence forces”, said Army chief General J.J. Singh at the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, on December 15.
It has been seen that to enlarge their vote bank, certain politicians’ lobby for reservation in the Army before every election. Fortunately enough, the Army has been able to resist the idea of reservation so far. But since politics is a game of votes, one cannot say when the Generals will be made to bow before the mighty politicians to accept the latter’s “verdict”. Soon after the 1962 debacle, a minority community minister from Punjab approached the Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram and said his community had a grouse that it could not serve the country in the defence forces. He sent a note to the Army chief asking him to examine how the particular community could find representation in the Army. On examining the record from the historical section of the Ministry of Defence, it was discovered that a battalion raised from this particular group, had mutinied and killed all its officers during World War I. Notwithstanding this, the Army had to raise one company from this community in an infantry battalion due to the political pressure. Though opinions differ on this subject, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw says in his foreword to the book “Behind the Scene”: “May perdition fall on the heads of the perpetrators of such a crime-a crime it will be to the traditions of famous regiments, a crime to the nation”. This book was written by the late Major-Gen Joginder Singh.
A towering battalion
“If I were to pick one unit for a special task, it would be 1st Patiala”, said Field Marshal Lord William Slim after the Second World War. First Patiala now 15 Punjab (Patiala), which had been given the honour of serving the UN mission in Lebanon, has created a niche for itself in the military history. Raised on April 13, 1705, by Baba Alla Singh the founder of Patiala State, the battalion celebrated its tercentenary in April 2005. The unit has not only participated in all wars before and after the Independence but has also bagged a large array of gallantry awards in each. In World War II, the battalion successfully cut the Japanese lines of communication, thus halting their advance towards India. In the J&K operations in 1948, despite being ill-equipped and un-acclimatised, it achieved a resounding success and won eight Maha Vir Chakras (MVCs), 18 Vir Chakras (Vr Cs), 34 Mentioned in despatches and 42-C-in-C’s Commendation Cards. It also won the Battle Honour of “Zojila”. First Patiala’s record of winning eight MVCs in a single operation remains unbeaten by any other unit of the Indian Army till today. The late Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa had this to say about the unit: “I want to congratulate this magnificent battalion on the show put up in J&K. It was always a joy and morale booster to come and see your unit.”
In his book, “The Indian Army and The King’s Enemies 1900-1947”, what Chenevix Trench has tried to bring out is that the King’s enemies were not the enemies of India, yet the Indian soldier was deeply motivated to fight for the British unstintedly. He says: “The Indian soldier fought for the high esteem calling in
which the mercenary profession not only became an honourable one but even an enviable one”. That by motivating the Indian soldier and creating mutual trust in him, the British officer got the maximum out of him is something that our officer should draw a lesson from. All ills of today stem from lack of intimate bond between the officers and men. This bond needs to be recreated to lift the morale of the Army. — Pritam Bhullar
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Bulk milk coolers to keep bacteria away
Mohali, December 25 As part of this scheme, Punjab Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister, Mr. Jagmohan Singh Kang, inaugurated the bulk milk cooler installation in Nathamalpur, Chitamali, Saini Majra, Baroudi, Khera, Khizrabad, Shahpur and Manakpur Sharif villages in Majri Block of District SAS Nagar yesterday. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Kang exhorted the dairy farmers to avail of the facility of milk coolers in their respective villages in order to earn better price
of their milk from the Milkfed. He said that Milkfed would pay 30 paisa more per litre to dairy farmers depending upon the quality of milk. He added that so far 51 bulk milk coolers have already been installed in Ropar, Gurdaspur, Patiala and Ludhiana districts and 25 more are in the pipeline which will be installed soon. The Department of Dairy Development is also holding camps for creating mass awareness about importance of clean milk production as a part of which 11,670 dairy farmers have been trained, he said.
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Farmers to reject land compensation
award
Mohali, December 25 The general secretary of the committee, Mr B.S. Baidwan, said announcing the award tomorrow would amount to contempt of court as the decision on the review petition was pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Moreover, forcibly acquiring land of these villages even when the matter was in the court reflected the desperation of the Punjab Chief Minister and the anti-farmer policy of the
government. He said the Cabinet had announced a compensation amount of Rs 66 lakh per acre for the land of the four villages. But, the prevalent market price was about Rs 1.60 crore per acre. Mr Baljeet Singh Kumbra, press secretary, said the government’s plan of giving a four-marla plot for each acre as per the oustee quota was not in the interest of the farmers. He said the government could give residential plots under the land-pooling scheme in Sectors 88 and 89 as a part of the
compensation.
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Manveer hears residents' woes
Panchkula, December 25 She said though 75 per cent of the work had been completed and almost Rs 40 lakh had been spent on the sector's upliftment, yet some roads were still to be constructed or recarpeted, particularly those in front of the local primary school. The mounds of earth and sinking sand pose a grave danger to safety of everyone, especially children, the residents rued. Expressing concern, Ms Gill said the work on the said roads had been stopped due to paucity of funds and sanction of more funds was expected soon from the Deputy Commissioner. She informed that she had directed the contractor to be ready to complete the pending roads and other works of the sector and assured the work would start within four to five days. She was accompanied by MC officials, residents' welfare association office-bearers etc.
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Accident claims life
Chandigarh, December 25 The police has registered a case following a complaint lodged by victim’s son Rakesh Kumar Yadav, who was incidentally present on the spot. Rakesh, a salesman in a garment shop in Sector 17, told the police that he was waiting for his father after calling his day off. It was around 9.40 pm when he saw an auto-rickshaw coming from Matka Chowk side. Rakesh in his complaint reported that a speeding unidentified Tata Sumo, which was following the auto-rickshaw, rammed into it near the traffic lights. The auto-rickshaw was pushed off the road and rammed into an electricity pole before coming to halt. The occupant of the auto-rickshaw fell on the road and became unconscious. He went to his help and recognised the victim as his father. At the same time, the police reached the spot and shifted the victim to the PGI, where the doctors declared him brought dead. The body was handed over to the family after post-mortem. A case has been registered. In another mishap, a pedestrian, Shanker of Colony No. 4, suffered injuries after being hit by an unidentified scooter in Phase I, Industrial Area, late on Sunday night. He was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered.
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Student assaulted
Mohali, December 25 The FIR was registered on a complaint of Udey Singh, resident of Sector 35,Chandigarh, against Aman Multani, resident of Mohali, Balraj Randhawa and two other unknown persons. The accused persons allegedly beat up the complainant during the get-together on Saturday at Yadvindra Public School due to old enmity.
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Scooter stolen
Chandigarh, December 25 In another incident, Harpal Singh Rawal of Sector 22-D lodged a complaint with the police alleging that an attempt was made burgle his shop in Sector 24, on Sunday night. A case has been registered.
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US-based IT company to hire 100 professionals
Chandigarh, December 25 For the purpose, the organisation has already started the process of contacting educational institutes, placement agencies and consultants in this part of the region and other places. A communication in this regard has already been received by Banur-based Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology (SVIET) and other institutes. Giving
details, SVIET's Chief Executive Officer Man Mohan Garg says experts, including software developers and technical
leaders, will be placed in the company's offices at different locations across the USA. Talking to Tribune News Service over the phone from New Jersey, the company's Vice-President
(Sales), Mr Ramanjit Singh Multani, said the candidates would get an opportunity to work on cutting edge technology in the USA. In fact, the candidates would work on real-time project on Microsoft, J2EE Technologies and Data Base Administration before taking up the assignment in the USA. He added that the candidates should possess B.Tech, MCA, M.Sc.(IT) or B.E degree with experience ranging between one and five years. Along with basic knowledge and hands-on experience of Microsoft, J2EE and Data Base Administration with Oracle and Microsoft, the candidates should be willing to take up challenging assignments irrespective of location. Mr
Multani, who hails from Punjab, added: “The organisation is aggressively expanding its base in India
also. The driving force behind this expansion programme is the availability of dedicated and hardworking manpower along with good infrastructure and flexible work environment." As part of the expansion programme, the company president, Mr Satwinder Singh, would visit India in mid-January to further expand the company base in Chandigarh and Gurgaon. He was expected to interact with senior UT Administration functionaries for discussing the company's expansion in the city. The organisation already had an office in the city on space provided by the UT Administration in Panjab Engineering College. Elaborating on the company's operations, Mr Multani
said:" Outline Systems is a software development and services company dedicated to bridge communication gap between business and IT”. The company was into designing ways to fill the crevice between people with knowledge of business and professionals who understood how technology could be applied.
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Ajay Walia, a city resident employed with the Central Administrative Tribunal (Chandigarh Bench), was recently awarded with a bat autographed by renowned TV anchor Rajat Sharma. Ajay Walia participated in a telephonic contest, “Cricket India”, on NDTV in which he gave his opinion about avoiding the possibility of a “tie” in Test cricket. 
