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From April 2, city takes global flight
Chandigarh, February 15 Sources in the Punjab government said a high-powered committee comprising representatives of the Airport Authority of India, customs and security agencies visited the terminal building on February 13 for an on-the-spot review of facilities. Though the government had announced that international air operations would begin from October this year, the AAI is keen that some international flights, including those of private airlines of the country, to West Asia and South Asia be started on an experimental basis beginning April. Now, when the high-powered committee has given the go-ahead, efforts are on to make sure that Chandigarh comes up on the international air map before Baisakhi. The new building at the airport is stated to be completed by January 2009. Talking to TNS, airport director Suneel Dutt said: “If all necessary and mandatory facilities are in place, international flights will take off.” “We are keen to start operations as soon as possible,”he said. Though the demand for upgrading Chandigarh as an international airport has been raised not only by the CII and the PHDCCI, it is also backed by the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Chandigarh administration. At present, the Chandigarh airport belongs to the Indian Air Force and the AAI only maintains a civil air terminal which has a capacity to cater to 200 passengers and apron to park two Airbus 320 and one ATR-72 aircraft. Depending upon transfer of land from the adjoining defence estate, the AAI wants that the apron area be expanded so as to accommodate a minimum of four Airbus (AB-321) aircraft. Approved plans for the Chandigarh terminal building will cater to 400 passengers at a time. To be completed in 15 months at an estimated cost of Rs 79.97 crore, the new modern building with an area of 12,150 square metrs will be air-conditioned with modern passenger-friendly facilities: Passenger boarding bridges with visual docking guidance system, escalators, elevators, inline baggage conveyor belts, CCTVs, FIDS and car parking facilities. The new civil enclave at Mohali will have facilities for an international terminal building with modular design to cater to 700 passengers with four passenger-boarding bridges, an apron for parking of three in contact and eight remote parking stands for wide-bodied jets, construction of three-link taxiways, parallel taxi track, cargo complex and hangers for flying club activities and runway extension, if required, subject to availability of land from the IAF. An international chartered flight from Chandigarh to Lahore was specially permitted during the last World Cup Cricket Tournament in India. The finalist teams, accompanied by the BCCI, ICC officials and media were flown in a special flight from Chandigarh to Lahore for the final match there. Kingfisher is keen to extend its operations to Chandigarh. At present, one of four regional airlines, MDLR, besides three private airlines -Jet, Simplifly Deccan and Jetlite - and the national flag carrier, Indian, operate in and out of Chandigarh. The Punjab cabinet has already approved acquisition of land for the Mohali international airport. Haryana has agreed to share the cost of land acquisition for the new international air terminal in Mohali as also the new terminal at
Chandigarh.
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UT outlay up by
Rs 130 cr
Chandigarh, February 15 Out of the budget, the plan budget — used in funding new and ongoing schemes — will have an outlay of Rs 304.65
crore.
When the budget for the ongoing year was presented, Rs 267 crore was under the plan outlay, Rs 835 crore non-plan head and Rs 315 crore under recoveries. However, the government of India revised the budget for Chandigarh in November last and increased it to Rs 1556 crore with plan being increased by Rs 50 crore and non-plan by Rs 66 crore. Administration officials say Rs 50 crore was a one-time grant for infrastructure in the industrial area. For the next year budget, the government of India has allowed an increase in the following: Rs 29.43 crore in education, Rs 11.18 crore in sports, Rs 29.36 crore for the Government Medical College and Hospital, Rs 13.60 crore in health, Rs 15 crore for the works of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Rs 23.55 crore for urban renewal mission schemes. Notably, for the capital outlay the ministry has allowed an increase of more than Rs 13 crore for work to be done by the administration taking it up from Rs 34.83 crore to Rs 47.28 crore. The capital outlay for the municipal corporation has been reduced from Rs 28.37 crore to Rs 13.25 crore.This is primarily because several roads will be transferred from the MC to the administration. Once again, Chandigarh will earn moré than it spends. Next year the revenue surplus will be Rs 577 crore. This means collection from sales tax, excise and others will be Rs 577 crore more than the spending.
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Dhanas resident murdered
Chandigarh, February 15 The body was noticed by passersby at 6 pm and the police
called. The body had an injury mark on the head. Bloodstains were noticed in the area near the
nullah. The clothes and shoes of the victim were found in a deserted area near the nullah. Naresh had gone missing last night and was last seen drinking at a vend in Milk Colony with unidentified persons. While the police is investigating the case, the needle of suspicion points at one Sonu, also a resident of Dhanas, who was seen with Naresh at the vend. Police sources said Sonu too had been missing since. SSP S.S Srivastava reached the spot and CFSL personnel were called for examination. A big crowd gathered at the scene. Raj Kumar, a friend of the victim, said Naresh was a lively person, very religious. Residents of the area were in a shock. Naresh is survived by his wife Santosh and two sons aged 10 and 12. A case of murder against unknown persons has been registered in the Sector 11police station.
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Mohali, P’kula Power-less
Chandigarh, February 15 Unscheduled cuts in Mohali have disrupted financial transactions in banks and hit essential services too. Residents of southern sectors of the UT have been facing unscheduled power cuts for the last one week due to a snag in the power distribution system. The worst-hit are residents of Mohali. Residents of Sectors 67 and 68 and Phases IX, X and XI are facing six to seven hours’ cut in a day. This is on account of laying of a transmission line from Sohana, explain away officials. In Phases 3A, 3B 1, 3B 2, IV and V, the cuts are up to five hours a day. An official of the Punjab State Electricity Board said the cuts were regulated by the controller and it was the outcome of acute power shortage in the region. Due to the power crisis, water supply has been hit at some places. No rain and reduced generation from hydro and thermal plants has put the entire North India in the grip of power crisis. In Panchkula, the power situation is not too good either.Residents have to face power cuts one hour each in the morning and evening. However, industry has to bear the brunt with daylong cuts. C.B. Goel, a former president of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said they were suffering huge losess due to the 10 - 12 hour cuts even though the electricity board had announced cuts for seven hours in a day.
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Computer giant recruits 550 engg students
Chandigarh, February 15 It has chosen 550 engineering students from 33 professional colleges in a single go, providing testimony of the region's emergence as hub of engineering and technical studies. This is, perhaps, the first time so many budding IT professionals have been chosen from this part of the region in a single recruitment drive. The selected Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and Masters of Computer Application (MCA) students of the 2009 batch belong to Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. They were selected in a placement drive undertaken at Chandigarh Engineering College (CEC) at Landran in Mohali by Satyam Computers, one of the top-ranking software companies in the country. The joint placement drive spread over a week saw the students undergo a demanding selection process. CEC chairman Satnam Singh Sandhu said the process included not only written tests, but also group discussions. The debate sessions were followed by technical and personal interviews conducted by a team of experts from the company. After carrying out the interviews, CEC president Rashpal Singh Dhaliwal said that the experts were impressed by the technical and other capabilities of the students belonging to this part of the region. He said the success rate was over 20 per cent during the drive, against about 10 per cent in general. Dhaliwal claimed that the country's top 10 companies and other leading IT organisations have regularly been picking students from the region. These organisations include: Infosys, Accenture, Convergys, Perot Systems, Honeywell, EDS Mphasis, Computer Science Corporation, Wipro Infotech, HCL Technologies, Tech-Mahindra, Tata Elxi, NIIT Technologies and Igate.
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Mohali to have state’s first 3-in-1 management institute
Mohali, February 15 He added that three top corporate companies of the country were getting together to set up this institute with the help of ISB, Hyderabad. “This will be the second campus of the institute in India,” he said. Revealing more plans for the township, the chief secretary said the Anil Ambani reliance group had also approached the Punjab government for land in or around Mohali for the establishment of an information technology (IT) and telecommunications institute here. “Punjab had missed out on the education revolution but it is still not too late. We are catching up with it fast,” he said. He also told the audience about the ‘Knowledge City’ being set up on over 3,000 acres in Mohali. “This will include national institutes of nano- technology, biotechnology and science education and research. The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) is already functioning from its transit campus in Chandigarh. The others are expected to start functioning from July this year,” he said. Other than this, a central university is also being planned for this area, he said. Giving the example of the first batch of students at IISER, the chief secretary pointed out that he had noticed that not a single student from the region had made it to the institute. “We have to encourage the study of science and mathematics in Punjab,” he said.
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Judicial complex likely by next Oct
Chandigarh, February 15 This was stated by counsel for the administration before a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court of Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia during the resumed hearing on a petition filed by the local District Bar Association. The Bench made it clear that the work should not suffer due to delay in administrative approval from any authority. The judges fixed February 28 as the next date of hearing in the matter. Assistant solicitor-general of India, Nirmaljit Kaur, said some funds could be released this year if the UT administration forwarded its “demand for expenditure”. SE Krishanjit Singh, along with the counsel for the administration, said the demand would be forwarded in two days. Due to paucity of space, lawyers are forced to sit in makeshift chambers. Besides this, there is hardly any space for litigants to carry out discussions on legal matters with
advocates. In its petition against the administration, the Union of India and other respondents, the District Bar Association had earlier sought directions for
expeditious release of funds for the construction of the complex.
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MC panel approves creation of division
Chandigarh, February 15 The meeting was held under the leadership of Pradeep Chhabra, mayor. The other items which got approval include rough cost estimate (RCE) for providing and laying of 5mm thick SDBC in various parkings in Sector 28 C&D, RCE for computerisation of records of Mani Majra, etimate for water works from Sector 12 to Khuda Lahora, purchase of high pressure breathing air compressor and revision of pay scales of WRDOs. Table agenda was also approved of new buildings of the community centre, Sector 27, on the latest pattern in addition to old buildings, construction of a new multi-storey community centre in addition to the existing structure in Sector 15 and implementation of animal birth control rules. Suggestion were given regarding paid parking, installation of CCTV cameras, construction of sign boards, maintenance and repairing of parking lots and the fine to be imposed in case of wrong parking. The corporation has decided to constitute a committee which will look into problems with regard to the paid
parking area.
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Snatchings
Chandigarh, February 15 Police sources said the meeting was attended by Sandeep
Khirwar, SSP, Panchkula, SPS Verma, SSP, Solan, Varinderpal Singh, SP (City),
Mohali, SS Randhawa, UT SP (Crime), Madur Verma, UT ASP (Central), ASP/Panchkula, DSP East, South and Lines of Chandigarh Police and inspector CIA
Chandigarh, Panchkula and Solan. The modus operandi of snatchers and future strategy to control this crime in the
tricity, besides other crimes like motor vehicle thefts, burglaries were discussed. Besides this, sharing of information, city seal plan and other law and order issues were discussed. It was decided to conduct a joint campaign against the snatchers and vehicle thieves and it was also decided that sending of information to the neighbouring district heads would be ensured. It was also decided to hold such meetings once in two months.
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2 injured in group clash in Bapu Dham Colony
Chandigarh, February 15 According to the police, two days ago, one Suleman, servant of Ashraf of the BDC, entered into a heated debate with his neighbours, Mukesh and Chandan, over some issue. Ashraf was out of station then. After coming back, Ashraf met Mukesh and Chandan and took up the issue with them. He told the other party that had he been there, he would have resolved the issue. However, an altercation broke up between them which took a violent turn. Sources in the police said as both the parties belonged to different religions, some miscreants fuelled the situation. The situation went out of control when both the parties began pelting each oher with stones. As a result, some persons suffered injuries. During the melee, Ashraf and one other person Gulfam suffered minor head injuries. The police was informed about the incident, which reached the spot with additional force and brought the warring parties to the police post amidst commotion. The drama went on for over two hours with both the parties levelling allegations at each other. The victims were rushed to the Sector 16 Government Multi Speciality Hospital from where they were discharged after first aid. The SHO of the Sector 26 police station, inspector Mani Ram Kadiyan, said as both the parties decided to resolve the issue, they did not lodge any complaint. However, the police has recorded a daily diary report in this regard.
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Refund Rs 75,000 fee, forum tells PU
Chandigarh, February 15 The forum asked the registrar and principal of the institute to refund Rs 75,000 out of Rs 1 lakh deposited by the complainant as fee. Out of the total fee deposited by the student, 25 per cent was cut for administrative work. The forum headed by L.R. Roojam stated: “The complainant is seeking refund as per terms and conditions contained in the brochure.” Ankita, a resident of Mani Majra, had taken admission in the BDS in 2006. On selection, she deposited a sum of Rs 1 lakh. The first counselling was conducted on July 11, 2006. The second counselling was conducted on August 25, 2006. Meanwhile, the complainant got admission in MBBS in Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi. She stated that she surrendered the seat in Panjab University on August 9, 2006. Replying to the petition,Panjab University said the petitioner was not a consumer and fee refund was not permissible as per the “Rules for Admission-2006”
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Signals celebrates raising day
Chandigarh, February 15 Later, a social gathering was organised for senior serving officers and retired officers. Signallers of the Western Command have also provided communication support to civil authorities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Delhi and Chandigarh during natural calamities.
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Central govt considering waiving farmers’ loans: MLA
Mohali, February 15 As such, the rally being held in Delhi by the SAD-BJP combine on February 26 was uncalled for because the matter related to the welfare of the state farmers was already under consideration of the central government. He said president of the Punjab unit of the Congress Rajinder Kaur Sidhu, who is also the president of the Mohali district unit of the Congress, said the Punjab government had hurriedly disposed of prime land measuring 9.96 acres in Sector 64 merely for Rs 464.15 crore. The fact that no bidder for the land had come from outside the state, proved that they were not interested to invest in Punjab. He said had the government waited for sometime and sold the land after the airport was functional in Mohali, the same stretch of land could have fetched about Rs 1,000 crore. The MLA said the government had done nothing to increase power production in Punjab. “When residents are facing power cuts in winter then one can well imagine what will happen in summers,” he said.
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Three injured in accident
Panchkula, February 15 The accident took place near a hospital in Sector 5. The three were rushed to the hospital from where they have been shifted to the PGI in a critical condition.
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Increase in frequency of train to Kerala
Mohali, February 15 President of the samajam Benny Thomas expressed the organisation’s gratification towards the extension and thanked the concerned authorities. He also stated that the samajam had been pursuing for this extension as part of one of its objectives ever since the train’s inception, taking into account the demands of passengers. He also expressed concerns about the ambiguity of converting some general compartments into 3AC/2nd ACs or 2nd sleeper classes for optimum utilisation of the train. This demand has been raised due to the reason that this train stops at very distant stations and as a result, most of the general compartments never get occupied by local passengers. He also highlighted issues like water scarcity, dirty compartments due to lack of cleanliness and defective compartments that require immediate attention of the concerned authorities.
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Dacoits loot mill; fire into air to escape mob
Panchkula, February 15 The police said the dacoits armed with two countrymade pistols entered Sanjay Roller Flour Mill at Abdullahpur Colony late last night. Accountant Bharat Kumar and another mill employee were sleeping inside while the cleaner of a truck parked outside the mill was sleeping in his vehicle. The dacoits held them at gunpoint and took away a bag containing Rs 40,000. Theyalso took away Rs 1,200 from the pocket of the accountant. Then they asked for the keys of the safe vault.When Bharat Ram denied knowledge about the keys, they tried to break it. Meanwhile, the cleaner in the truck raised an alarm following which residents of the colony assembled outside the mill and challenged the dacoits. Sensing trouble, the dacoits firing into the air to scare away the mob and fled. The police recovered an empty from the spot, said the DSP. The police has started investigations.
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Letters
Incidents of chain snatchings are rising with every passing day. A number of such incidents unreported.
I have a few suggestions to curb chain snatchings. A joint operation team of the tricity be constituted maintaining wireless network. Skillful policewomen in plain clothes should be deployed to act as baits to pounce upon snatchers. Cat-eye cameras be fitted temporarily and monitored at all secluded roads and lanes. Public or policemen who help to catch snatchers red-handedly be amply rewarded. Suresh Khosla,
Chandigarh
Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at news@tribuneindia.com or, write in, at: Letters, Chandigarh Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh – 160 030
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Government schools to wear new look
Chandigarh, February 15 A decision in this regard was taken today during a meeting of education department attended by vocational teachers and others. Boundary walls, nursery classes, principals’ office, medical rooms, visiting rooms, labs and staff rooms will be decorated with beautiful sceneries, tiling and attractive floors. Land-scaping of vacant spaces in schools and creations on the lines of Rock Garden from waste material will be done. Photographs of local monuments and tourist sites will also be put up in the schools. Meanwhile, with an objective to create awareness among students about AIDS and social evils, the UT education department, has decided to show documentaries and feature films to students every Saturday. This decision was taken at a meeting of heads and principals of schools today and will be implemented from beginning of the new session. According to the DPI (S), a special screening committee will be established to select the documentaries and feature films that will be shown in four different auditoriums at GMSSS-10, GMSSS-23, GGSSS-18 and GMHS-38. Films based on cultural heritage will also be shown.
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From Schools & Colleges
Chandigarh, February 15 Meanwhile, Spirit India, a student volunteers’ group of the college working to raise the patriotic quotient among youth, organised its anniversary celebrations on the college campus today. As a part of the last monthly meet of the session, the volunteers of this forum staged a street play ‘Jeevan hai anmol’ to sensitise the youth regarding the need to observe traffic rules and road safety. ANNUAL DAY: Foreign Students’ Association of Government College, Sector 11, celebrated its annual day today. The chief guest on the occasion was Dr Shelley Walia, dean foreign students, dean faculty of languages and international relations, PU. Foreign students showcased their talent in the form of a cultural programme. The function featured songs, dances and skits and reflected their unique cultures and sensibilities. VISIT: To tackle examination stress and related issues and to provide support and guidance to students, a team of experts from the NGO Disha- direction to India’s future visited St. Stephen’s School. The students were given tips through multimedia. Later an interactive session was held between students and experts and individualised counselling for specific problems was also handled. FAREWELL: A farewell party was organised today for the students of class XII of Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36. The school wore a festive look, all geared up to enjoy the big event. Students of Class XI performed enthralling dances on popular western and Punjabi numbers. Amitoj Singh and Inayat Sandhu were crowned as Mr and Miss Guru Nanak Public School, respectively. JOB FEST: The placement cell of MCM DAV College for Women held the annual mega-event ‘Maha Job Fest’, today. As many as 21 reputed professional units conducted their recruitment process through a series of written preliminary tests and personal interviews. Around 229 candidates were short-listed by the visiting companies and 102 candidates were offered jobs at the fest.
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PU Notes
Chandigarh, February 15 He drew comparison between western art and Indian art starting from the past to contemporary period. He used 35 slides to depict art and made observations that even a layperson could follow. DECLAMATION: The department of Hindi, PU, organised K.K. Grover/A.C. Bali declamation contest today at Gandhi Bhawan. Total 30 students from university departments, Chandigarh and Punjab colleges, participated in the contests. The winners of both the contests will be awarded during the annual convocation of the university. Professor Virendra Mehandiratta (retd) was chief guest in the K.K. Grover declamation contest while Prof Yash Gulati (retd) was chief guest in the A.C Bali declamation contest. The panel of judges included Dr Praveen Sharda, Dr Pankaj Malviya, Dr Neeru, Dr V.K. Singh, Dr Vasundhara Rehani, and Dr Maneesh Sharma. Interestingly girl students from different colleges of Ludhiana won five out of six prizes. DISCUSSION: ‘Ignite your spirits: a prerequisite for research’ was a key phrase echoed by the panellists at the panel discussion on ‘Research: An ideal interface between academia, industry and society’ organised on the final day of the Student Research Convention at PU, today. Prof Ashok Sahni, eminent geologist and Prof Emeritus, PU, set the ball rolling by extolling the students to be fearless, excited and satisfied. While establishing a link between community research and universities, Prof. S.L. Goel, formerly from the department of public administration, PU and former member of the UGC, stated that research work has its own enjoyment and ethical work brings in its own benefits of recognition. Recalling his interaction with various academicians and researchers, Paramjit Sahai, (IFS, retd), emphasised the need for a mindset for research, including the qualities of dedication and integrity. Dr. Sukhjeet Singh, senior vice-president, Panacea Biotech Ltd., stressed that, “All research has to be for society and it germinates from the universities which is picked up by the industry and subsequently the market.” Taking his cue from the Mahabharata, Dr. A. Pani, deputy director, AIU, highlighted the role of intelligentsia in creative work.
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From Schools & Colleges
Mohali, February 15 ESSAY WRITING: Yuvraj, a student of Anees School here, has won a prize in an essay writing competition organised by the Environment Protection Society. As many as 40 students from 16 schools participated in the competition. RECRUITMENT DRIVE: Econnoiseur, a Kolkatta-based company, held a recruitment drive at GGSCMT. A total number of 61 students from GGSCMT and Sukhmani Institutes participated in this drive. The process started with a pre-placement talk during which students were informed about the work culture of the company and its vision and expectations. A total number of 24 students were shortlisted after rounds of written tests and interviews. These students have been selected for the posts of software engineers and will be given a package of Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 2.6 lakh per annum. COMPETITION: Doaba College of Education organised an inter-college competition in educational skills on its campus. Dr Kirandeep Kaur, reader, department of education, Punjabi University, Patiala, was the chief guest. She called upon the students to cultivate moral values and to develop their educational skills to perfection. Principal of the college Dr Urmila Sharma welcomed the guest. MEDICAL CAMP: A medical camp organised by Cheema Medical Complex at Ashmah International School, Mohali, concluded here today with more than 200 children undergoing check-up. The camp was organised keeping in view the growing incidence of viral among children. Paediatricians from Cheema Medical Complex examined at least 236 students during the two-day camp. Doctors also provided tips on dos and don'ts related to viral.
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District Courts
Chandigarh, February 15 A meeting was held to enhance the security arrangements on the courts premises. The meeting comprised deputy commissioner R.K. Rao, SP Kishanjit Singh and officers from the chief engineer’s office and the chief architect’s office and district sessions judge K.K. Garg. Other than CCTV cameras, an X-ray machine may also be installed for screening the belongings of litigants. To streamline traffic, the traffic police would be permanently deployed in front of the gate parallel to the courts parking. The courts may also have a special guard-cum-security room.
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RLA invites applications for new series
Chandigarh, February 15 The applications should be submitted at the office of the Registering and Licensing Authority. The applicants would be informed about the allotment of numbers depending on the number of claimants on March 4. If required, an auction would be held on March 5 at the RLA office. —
TNS
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Kabir Puruskar: UT seeks nominations
Chandigarh, February 15 These would be forwarded to Ministry of Home Affairs and the awards will be announced on October 2. Three categories of awards have been decided, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively, along with citations. The objective behind the award is to commend acts of physical and moral courage and humanity exhibited by members of one community, caste or ethnic group in saving lives and properties of members of another community. |
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