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Nayagaon NAC clears hurdle
Mohali, February 28 The exemption under Section 11 was the only hitch in granting powers to the executive officer of the NAC who had been twiddling thumbs in his office for the past one year. The plan prepared by the Singapore-based Jurong company on a priority basis, however, does not allow any construction or non-agricultural activity in areas locked under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900. This means the NAC would be effective only for the area falling in Kansal. Since the entire area in Karoran and Nadah villages is locked under the PLPA, construction would not be allowed there. The plan further lays down that the area available here and there in the already built-up area should be used for parks, open spaces, schools, educational institutions health facilities and community facilities. This, the plan suggests should be done by the NAC. In addition, existing roads have been proposed to be widened to 60 ft to improve accessibility. Two new roads of 60 ft width have also been proposed. The Jurong company which is laying down the master plan for the Greater Mohali area was then contacted to generate a part regional plan for Nayagaon on priority. While granting exemption, sources pointed out that the housing department has in no unclear terms stated that about 360 acres of Kansal out of the total area of 2108.02 acres under the NAC is free from forest laws. The executive officer of the Nayagaon NAC will now pass building plans for construction in Kansal but not in Karoran and Nadah. EO Jagjit Singh Shahi said he was yet to receive a letter to this effect from the department of local bodies.
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Art student runs amuck
Chandigarh, February 28 Armed with wooden blocks and bricks, Amit Datta stormed the campus for an hour this morning, smashing glass showcases along the college foyer gallery. He then entered the computer section, where a class was in progress. He ordered evacuation and brought down the window panes. Datta had in 2006 indulged in a similar affray. At that time he had burnt artworks he had created over the years. “No one wants to see original works. Everyone wants imitations,” Amit had told The Tribune at the time; he was let off with a warning, his grudges left unaddressed. He was back today, initiating his protest from the principal’s office, where shattered glass pieces told the tale of dreams of a promising student gone awry. For him, marching naked on campus was the ultimate protest against denial of degree for over two years. “I am sick of the system. No one is ready to listen. They are a bunch of deaf men, who feign ignorance. But I am not deaf or dumb. I can see and feel…”Amit told The Tribune at the Sector 3 police station, where he was booked for obscenity and affray. The case was registered on the complaint of principal Brahm Prakash, who said the delay in degrees was on the part of Panjab University. “Amit has a history of strange behaviour. Some of our faculty is also provoking him. I tried to resolve the issue with Amit, but he just won’t listen,” he said. Amit is far from satisfied with the reply. “They’ve not held a convocation for us, nor have they organised the annual advertising exhibition in which applied art students get a chance to showcase their talent. Who will hire us in the absence of a degree and professional profile,” he asked, his voice breaking with pain. The college authorities had last year recommended stern action against Amit. In a letter to the Sector 3 police station, the then administrative officer of the college had mentioned: “A medical may be conducted to find out whether he is to be sent to a mental asylum…” Perhaps the authorities should have tried listening to their student or counselling him. He would then not have issued this warming today: “If they don’t come around, they will suffer….”
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MC forms cell to tackle bee menace
Chandigarh, February 28 Though the civic body, today responded with the constitution of a separate cell to tackle the bee menace with the onset of summers, the PGI is yet to get its act together. With beehives at several places at the PGI, including the advanced paediatric centre, the research block and at the rear of Nehru Hospital, the threat from attacking bees persists. Employees of the medical officer of health (MOH) had “shooed away” bees from the PGI campus on February 20. But the lack of follow-up resulted in yesterday’s incident. Rubbishing medical negligence charges, PGI spokesperson Manju Wadhwalkar claimed that the “hypersensitive” reaction had proved fatal for Bhandari. She ruled out carlessness on the part ofdoctors. “The incident occurred outside the emergency and he was properly attended to,” she said. PGI doctors said Bhandari died on account of a rare allergy reaction caused by bee sting. The body reacts to the sting with producing a substance called histamine, which controls the physiological functions of the body. “Low blood pressure and breathing problems due to overproduction of histamine proved fatal for Bhandari,” the doctors explained. But former mayor and cousin of the deceased, Anu Chatrath, maintained that the PGI and the MCC could not absolve themselves of the responsibility as several incidents of bee attack had been reported from the PGI campus in the past. “We have no permanent solution to the honey bee menace. When we shoo away the bees from one place they make a hive at another, ”a civic body official said.
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3 cops booked for harassing woman
Mohali, February 28 SSP Ranbir Singh Khatra said the woman was seen near Dara Studios in Phase VI by a PCR team who left her at the civil hospital. She remained admitted in
the hospital for two days but failed to make a complaint to doctors attending on her. The SSP said that she had met the ADGP ( Law and Order) who directed the local police to look into the matter. The statement of the woman was recorded and a case registered. He said there was no ASI by the name of Bhupinder Singh in Mohali. An identification parade of police personnel posted at the Balongi police post and Phase I police station was carried out but the
complainant failed to identify any personnel. He said the matter was under investigation. If any policeman was found involved in the case, action would be taken against him.
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Councillor’s husband ‘roughs up’ engineer
Panchkula, February 28 The matter came to light when protesting against the alleged manhandling, Thakur Lal Sharma, municipal engineer, and employees of civic body staged a dharna here today. The employees later in the afternoon raised slogans against the councillor and demanded action. They handed over a memorandum to the deputy commissioner. Sharma, in a complaint lodged with the police and executive officer of the municipal committee, alleged that Nanha threatened to kill him when he was inspecting the work being carried out at Maheshpur village. The engineer further alleged that Nanha manhandled him and used abusive language when he asked the contractor to stop the work as it was not according to the guidelines issued to him. The employees said they would resort to agitation from Monday in case no action was taken against Nanha. However, Nanha, denying the allegations, said these were politically motivated. Seema Chaudhary, the municipal committee president, said it was the duty of the municipal engineer to keep a check on the works being carried out by the committee. I also visited the spot after Sharma complained to me and found that the work was not according to the guidelines of the committee.
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Local BJP slams rail budget; demands more trains
Chandigarh, February 28 There is also no provision in the railway budget for the Chandigarh-Baddi rail link (which Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh government have been seeking) or the completion of Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link, Jain said, in a joint press conference with Kamla Sharma, president, Chandigarh unit of the BJP. Referring to the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link which was sanctioned when the BJP was in power at the centre in 1999, Jain said no progress had taken place since. “We had in our tenure completed the 29 km Chandigarh-Morinda link. Thereafter, the project was literally abandoned. Even the present budget has no provisions for completion of the project,” Jain said, adding that there was a greater demand for trains to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, North-East and South India, none of which had been sanctioned. The BJP leader said even the ‘Garib Rath’ from Chandigarh to Jaipur, would serve little purpose as it will run thrice a week. “The local BJP unit demands from the centre trains to Baddi, Hardwar and another delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi,” Jain said, also asking for the construction of an over-bridge on the railway crossing near Modern Housing Complex, Manimajra and Vikas Nagar-Mauli Jagran near Darua. Listing deficiencies in the Chandigarh railway station, Jain said it was during the BJP tenure that the station’s capacity was enhanced from two to six lines. The centre, he said, had done nothing for Chandigarh which has contributed immensely in the form of taxes to the central pool, being a revenue surplus state. “We will analyze the situation after the union budget is passed tomorrow and will list out our demands,” Jain said. Meanwhile, Kamla Sharma said the local unit of BJP will hold a dharna to protest against the hike in RTI fee, by the Chandigarh administration, on March 1. Later on March 9, the BJP will host a workers’ conference to celebrate the BJP’s victories in Himachal and Punjab. Himachal Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and national BJP secretary Balbir Punj will attend the conference. About the dharna on March 1, Jain said, “UT administration is afraid to divulge information and has therefore raised RTI fees. We demand an urgent rollback”. In the dharna, BJP workers will also protest against the growing crime incidence in Chandigarh, particularly against women. “If a woman is not safe in the high-security zone where two Governors, two Chief Ministers live, we can well imagine what the state of security in the city is. It’s sad that the union home ministry has not taken up the matter of the alleged rape of a woman in an area close to Haryana Raj Bhawan,” Satya Pal Jain said.
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Guru’s weapons to be showcased
Chandigarh, February 28 The holy yatra started its journey from Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, Nanded, on Simran Divas. The yatra has covered more than 10 cities of India since November 15, 2007, while traversing Maharashtra, MP, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The Nagar Kirtan will enter the city via the Transport chowk on March 1 at 7 pm. It will be received by the mayor and Pawan Bansal, MP at the Sector 19 Gurdwara Sahib. On March 2, the nagar kirtan will start from Sector 8 gurdwara at 7 am and will pass through Sector 7,19,20, 21, 22, 23, 15, 38,40,37, 36, 35 and conclude at the Sector 34 gurdwara followed by a kirtan darbar from 7 pm at the ground opposite Gurdwara Sahib, Sector 34. A laser show, gatka competitions and atishbazi, etc will be held on March 2 evening. On March 3, the Nagar Kirtan will start from gurdwara Sector 34 and pass through Sector 33-46-45 and will then enter SAS Nagar at YPS Chowk at 11 am.
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IGP offers sops to cops
Chandigarh, February 28
The IGP emphasised the need of prompt registration of cases where cognizable offence is made out and advised the force to perform its duty with dedication and honesty. He warned that strict action would be taken against those indulging in corruption and illegal practices. He asked his men to be polite while dealing with the public.
Jain stated that soon A-level and O-level computer courses for police families would be started from June this year. He added that annual medical check-up camps for police personnel would start from March onwards and the police hospital would be provided a computer to keep a patient’s history and the treatment given to them. Besides this, medical awareness camps would be held in police colonies.
The sabha was attended by 750 officer and jawans of the force, including home guard volunteers. The IGP said steps were being taken for the welfare of jawans and loans worth Rs 66 lakh would be distributed by the end of this month.
Besides this, 204 police quarters were being constructed at Dhanas CAP Complex in the first phase. Later, 684 new houses would also be constructed. He said the sabha would be held in every six months.
The UT SSP S.S. Srivastva, DIG headquarters Vivek Gogia, SSP Traffic A.S. Ahlawat attended the
gathering.
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Now, pay your kid‘s fee at sampark centre
Chandigarh, February 28 The scheme will help schools maintain better record pertaining to students, faculty and staff, examination, curriculum and fee and it would also make direct access to related data easier. The fee which will be deposited at sampark centres will be collected by the relevant bank and same would be credited to the government treasury. This initiative would be started from schools starting from Class IX. The first phase of this initiative will start from April with the commencing of new session.
Department of Education will provide necessary hardware to all schools. SQL Star would provide their Star CAS software free of cost for this project.
BOT operator will maintain MIS for every service at the sampark centres. Sampark centres will operate from 8 am to 8 pm. Department of IT will provide aid for implementing this proposal. There are 102 government schools with approximately 1,20,000 students studying in them and nothing is charged from students till Class VIII and a nominal amount is charged from students of higher classes.
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From March 3-6, taps will run dry
Chandigarh, February 28 On March 3 and 4, residents will undergo inconvenience due to low pressure of water supply, which will remain suspended for a couple of hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. On March 5, the water supply will be suspended during the morning
hours. The supply will be normal from 6 pm to 9 pm. On March 6, the supply will be suspended from 10 am to 1pm and will be normal after 12 pm on March 6.
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LPG filling stations duping customers
Rising petrol prices have compelled people to think about alternative fuel. Chandigarh is the only city in the north which has LPG filling stations. As LPG is cheaper than petrol, people are getting government authorised LPG kits installed. But these filling stations taking advantage of their monopoly are cheating customers by filling less gas. These stations fill 30 per cent less gas than what is shown by the meter. The concerned authorities should take appropriate measures to save consumers from this devious act by these filling stations. Rupinderjeet Pandwala, Dera Bassi 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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National conference on IT begins
Mohali, February 28 Delivering the inaugural address, Vivek Attray, director, Public Relations, Chandigarh, highlighted that IT has increased the capacity of the industry, weather it is manufacturing or services, since it eliminates the redundant human factor that causes delays and inconsistencies. He urged the institute to provide extensive IT training to students so that they can effectively contribute towards economic development of the country in general and the region in particular. He applauded the SAS Institute for organising the conference and doing yeoman service in the field of imparting quality education. Col Karamjit Singh, director of the institute, welcomed the invitees and delegates from the industry and educational institutions. Dr J S Dhaliwal, chairman of the institute, while introducing the conference theme, brought out that the global spending on IT-related services is growing at a massive pace and is likely to touch 1964 billion US dollars by 2009. The IT contribution to Indian exports will be about 60 per cent and is likely to contribute 8 per cent to the GDP of the country. IT sector is also likely to generate 2.2 million direct jobs. India has become the sought-after destination for global delivery of IT services-abundant talent, cost advantage, quality and information security, world-class industry infrastructure and conducive regulation. ITATI 2008 has been classified in four technical sessions focusing on research findings in various fields, including data mining, detecting control flow errors, intrusion detection system, simulation modelling, e-learning, geometric techniques and role of IT in pushing the country to the pinnacle of economic leadership in the decades to come. The conference was attended by eminent personalities from the field of education and research and also from the IT Industry. The researchers and IT professionals presented papers on topics pertaining to the theme of the conference. They highlighted the various aspects of advantages of IT and how it has been instrumental in transforming India. Vikram Hans, president, Chandigarh Management Association, emphasised upon the need of taking IT education to rural India.
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Baljeet crowned Miss Elegant
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 28 Meanwhile, department of chemistry, DAV College, Sector-10, organised a farewell for the batch of masters in science in which Deepak Thukral got Mr Chemistry title and Vipula was Miss Chemistry. PRIZE DISTRIBUTION: Four hundred and fifteen students were today given prizes at the annual prize distribution function held at MCM DAV College, Sector 36. Justice Vijyendra Jain, Chief Justice Panjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, was the chief guest on the occasion and Justice Pramod Kohli, Justice Bahri, vice-president, DAV Colleges Managing Committee, Vijay Sabharwal, secretary DAV College Managing Committee and K.K. Garg, District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, were the guests of honour. Tanya Abrol was given college colour for international acclaim for her performance in Yash Raj film ‘Chak De.’ RELIEF: With an aim to provide relief to teachers, the education department has decided to organise various competitions in the end of March. According to DPI(S) these competitions will be based on academic, culture and sports. The winners will be awarded with a laptop, cash prize of Rs. 10,000 and books/music instrument. APPOINTED: S.K. Setia, DPI(S), has been appointed as chairman of the advisory committee of School Games Federation of India (SGFI) at a meeting held in New Delhi. P.S. Brar an official of the sports department in the office of DEO, Chandigarh, was also appointed as a member in the finance committee, whereas Prem Puri, retired sports coordinator of education department, has been appointed as advisor to the SGFI. SEMINAR: The Dharitri Paryavaran club of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 44-B, organised a seminar on bio-technology in collaboration with department of science and technology, Chandigarh. Dr Rajesh Biswas, head of department of zoology, Home Science College, Sector 10, and Dr Kakoli, head of the biotechnology department, DAV College, Sector 10, were the resource persons. Prizes for essay writing and poster-making competitions were also distributed. FEST: As a part of the extracurricular activities, the biotechnology department of Government College, Sector 11, in collaboration with the department of science and technology, Chandigarh, organised Inter-college biotech fest “Biosizzler”. K.C. Sharma, vice-president, Haryana Kala Parishad, was the chief guest on the occasion. The principal Dr A.L. Gauba appreciated the efforts of the biotechnology department and congratulated the winners.
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Competitions mark National Science Day
Tribune News Service
Mohali, February 28 CELEBRATED: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) celebrated National Science Day. The demonstration was related to telemedicine technologies, cyber security, bio medical, black box for automobiles, telecommunication and various other latest trends of information technologies. COMPETITIONS: Swami Vivekanand College of Education (SVCE) celebrated National Science Day. The programme included A paper- reading contest, model-making competition and a quiz contest, in which about 100 students participated. APPEAL: Speaking during the celebrations of National Science Day at CEC Landran, Satnam Singh Sandhu, chairman, and Rashpal Singh Dhaliwal, president, appealed to the state government to give importance to technical education. PLACEMENT: As many as 102 students from Shaheed Udham Singh College of Engineering and Technology (SUSCET), Tangori, have been handsomely placed with top blue-chip companies of the country. This was stated here today by Sukhwinder Sidhu, chairman, SUSCET. ATHLETIC MEET: An annual athletic meet was organised at the GGS Polytechnic, Kharar. Group director GGSCMT, Kharar, was the chief guest on the occasion. The meet began with drill by the college students. A number of on-the-field events were organised today. Placement: Reliance money held a joint campus recruitment drive at GGSCMT, Kharar. As many as 80 students from different colleges of the region took part in this drive. The company had come to pick students from MBA for the post of sales executives. Finally 40 students were shortlisted and final announcement will be made within a week’s time, the company representatives assured. INTERACTIVE SESSION: Dr I.T. Business School, near Banur, on Tuesday had an interactive session on mutual fund by guest speakers Tarun Arora, Regional Manager Principal PNB Mutual Funds. He explained that it is pooling of funds which gives the investors an opportunity to have complete diversification of their investment. Funds are allocated and managed by fund analysts, fund manager and team analyst officers.
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MCM staff hold protest
Chandigarh, February 28 The function was presided over by Justice Vijender Jain, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Employees held placards, later, they presented a memorandum to the chief guest. President of the union Prof Uma Joshi said the employees would continue the struggle till their demands were met. She further stated that the DPI (C) and the vice chancellor of Panjab University had time and again written to the two DAV colleges in the city to provide the benefits of leave encashment as well provident fund on total salary to the employees. Lately, the director of the higher education had also written to the colleges that their grants would be withheld if they failed to provide information under the RTI Act, she added.
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Principals submit demands to
DPI(S)
Chandigarh, February 28 According to sources, it was earlier decided that the seniority of principals would be based on merit but principal association has rejected this proposal and demanded that the promotion of lecturers to the post of principals should be on seniority basis. Moreover, national awards should be given to government school teachers also. Mohan Lal, general secretary of the association, said, “By doing so the department has violated national policy of education as its own rules are against government school heads and principals.” He also appealed that promotion committee meeting relating to promotions of lecturers to principals, should be held immediately and the officiating principals should be regularised. DPI(S) assured the association leaders that their demands will be considered and will be sent to the education secretary for final decisions.
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Govt teachers to get awards
Chandigarh, February 28 According to Mohan Lal, general secretary of the School Heads’ Association, government school faculty should be given national awards as faculty from private schools get national awards through the CBSE.
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Beant Case Swati Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 28 Each time a vehicle is required, the UT administration requisitions a vehicle from one of its departments on a short-term basis. Even the recommendations of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the CBI, the agency which probed the assassination, in this regard have been ignored. The two bullet-proof cars with the Chandigarh police are invariably with VIPs visiting the city. In a letter to the UT home secretary, the registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had in November 2007 requested that a round-the-clock security be provided to the judge. Subsequently, the home secretary wrote to the centre, stating that two bullet-proof cars with the UT police were used for ‘Z’ security to VIPs. It mentioned that at a meeting held on September 3, 2007, the security threat to the judge was reviewed and the security given to him found satisfactory. The letter pointed out that the security of the judge had been suitably augmented when he was to pronounce the judgement in the Beant Singh case on feedback by the intelligence agencies. The demand for the bullet-proof car was declined by the centre. The IGP of Chandigarh also wrote to the DGP of Punjab on the matter, requesting that the latter provided a bullet-proof car and an escort vehicle with commandos to the judge. The judge has not been provided the car so far.
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Accused sent to police remand
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 28 As per the prosecution, accused Ajay Singh, along with about 20 persons, had allegedly assaulted a Kharar-based lawyer Anil Chopra. Ajay Singh had to repay Rs 20,000 to advocate Anil Chopra which the accused had been avoiding for the past about two years. Anil Chopra, along with other lawyers, had gone to the accused to collect the cheque. Anil alleged that the accused, after handing over the cheque, had called Anil again, saying that he could collect the amount in cash which is ready with him and return the cheque. When Anil Chopra again approached the accused, he was attacked by a group of people, including the accused after heated arguments. Senior lawyers present in the court room assured the court that they were present in the court only to support Anil Chopra and would maintain decorum of the court. The accused and his friends present on the court premises feared that the lawyers might manhandle the accused as he was produced before the court. But contrary to apprehensions, the brief proceedings passed peacefully. The police while seeking the police remand had pleaded that as per the complainant the accused was accompanied by other persons who were yet to be identified. The accused was provided legal aid by the court. The close associates of the accused present on the court premises maintained that there was an altercation between the two parties but the police acting under pressure registered a case against only one party.
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Accused gets police remand in paper-leak case
Chandigarh, February 28 Dahiya was arrested by the Delhi Police a week ago for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Police Sub-Inspectors' recruitment paper-leak case. He has been accused of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Requesting for his custodial interrogations, the UT police maintained that
information regarding names of the other accused involved and the beneficiaries were to be discovered.
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