NEIGHBOURHOOD

Billboards along NH-21 removed
Tribune news Service

Kharar, June 27
As many as 14 billboards on government land on the Chandigarh-Kharar road were removed today. Municipal council officials started removing the billboards at around 9 am and by 4 pm, the entire stretch had been cleared.

Most of the billboards had been put up by big project builders. Four billboards had been placed right at the entry point of Kharar from Kurali.

The Supreme Court had ordered a ban on hoardings in 1997, saying these were a traffic hazard. In 2004, Punjab and Haryana High Court had passed similar orders. Six billboards still remain on private land. The DC, Mohali, Rahul Bhandari, said these billboards would also be removed soon.

Head constable caught with woman, booked
Our Correspondent

Kalka, June 27
The residents of Khatik Mohalla, ward no. 4 in Kalka, are forced to live in unhygienic conditions for last many years. They are deprived of basic amenities due to the apathetic attitude of the local and district administration. Jamna Dass, district president of the BJP Harijan Morcha alleged that Khatik Mohalla, which is more than 250 years old, is totally in neglected state.

He added that neither the local administration nor the district administration had taken any initiative for the development of the ward.

The area, which is situated on both edges of Sukhna river, houses 10,000 people, including approximately 1,600 voters, said the residents. They resented that the sewerage of Ahata Lalari, Ahata Beni Prasad, Gandhi Chowk, Meat Market, and Handia Mohalla, Kalka, had been openly poured in the Sukhna, which had polluted the water of the river. About 10 lakh livestock had died after drinking this contaminated water.

The residents further alleged that the foul smell of sewerage on the Kalka - Tipra link road, which passes through Khatik Mohalla, and leakage of main drinking water pipeline passing through the sewerage line could spread some serious epidemic.

They said the street lights of the ward are out of order since last couple of months. The main bridge of the ward is also in dire need of repair.

The residents alleged that the local administration had partial attitude towards ward no. 4 as the municipal councillor belongs to the INLD.

Som Nath, nominated municipal councillor of the ward, told The Tribune that many memorandums regarding the condition of the ward have been submitted to the SDM, Kalka, and to secretary of the MC, but to no avail.

Patiala, June 27
To ensure industrial development in the state, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided to issue no objection certificates (NOC) to new units sooner.

Sources reveal that earlier, people desirous of setting up new industrial units had to wait for at least four months. However, the PPCB has set in place certain fresh guidelines that will ensure that new units get NOC certificates within 15 days to one month.

The decision was taken at a meeting of officials of the state industrial department and PPCB. Sources disclosed that the decision had been taken to ensure rapid industrialisation of the agrarian state of Punjab.

In the past few years, industrialists had been meeting government officials to air their grievances. This decision, sources reveal, is an offshoot of one such meeting of the industrialists and the government officials. The early issuance of NOCs to new industrial units was a key agenda of these meetings following which the PPCB authorities were instructed to come out with fresh guidelines to ensure that NOCs were given quickly.

Earlier, the PPCB had ensured that industrial units were to be given NOCs in four months. This was done because the officials had to satisfy themselves about the pollution angle of new industrial units. Sources reveal that if this decision is implemented in letter and spirit, the state will see rapid industrialisation.

Sources in the PPCB revealed that the board officials had almost agreed to the recommendations of the industry department officials over the early issuance of an NOC. 

Bassi Pathana, June 27
The development of the town completely depends upon the funds provided by the government because majority of the councils do not have their own sources of income. The ruling alliance candidates must be voted to power for the development of the district, as only they can get funds from the government. Chief parliamentary secretary, finance, Raj Khurana said this while addressing a series of election meetings for the municipal council election here.

He said the Congress had miserably failed to play the role of opposition and the party is not getting proper candidates to contest the election in majority of towns. He added that the UPA government had been unsuccessful to control inflation, which has crossed 11 per cent mark.

Lal Chand Jindal, president of district unit of the BJP, asserted that the SAD(B)-BJP combine would win majority of the seats in the municipal elections in the district. He said that the BJP had always raised the issues related to the urban section of society and was committed for development of the town. Rajiv Singla, Kulbhushun Malhotra, Mohan Lal Sappal, Surinder Babba and Raman Kumar also addressed these meetings.

Sidhwan (Fatehgarh Sahib), June 27
Panic gripped a large number of villages situated along the main Bhakhra line when a 30-ft channel damaged this afternoon.

The damage was first detected by some villagers working in the fields adjoining the river and the matter was brought to the notice of irrigation department officials who reached the spot.

This is an inter-state channel which caters to areas of Rajasthan and Haryana. The channel carries about 12,000 cusecs. Today it was 7 ft low with 9,000 cusecs.

A temporary repair work was going on till the filing of this report.

Villagers said this was not the first such incident. Earlier, too, such channel damages had been reported. The same patch that damaged today was temporarily repaired three months ago, said Sarabjit Singh, a farmer who owns land adjoining the river.

He said similar collapses could be seen near Meerpur and Chanarthal villages, adding that “whenever we talk to the officials concerned they say that these are old structures and such damages are normal".

The administration should adopt a proactive approach and the dilapidating walls should be repaired properly, villagers said.

The SE, drainage, D.S. Sandhu, said there were around 400 such patches in an area of 225 km. "We keep apprising the department of the immediate repairs,” he said.

The DIG, Patiala range, DC and SSP, besides senior officials of the irrigation department reached the spot. A temporary police post has been set up there.

Chandigarh, June 27
Chandigarh teams, in both men and women categories, moved into the quarter-finals of the 30th Senior National Softball Championship being played on the Panjab University campus here today.

In men section, the other quarter-finalists are defending champions Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Punjab, Chattisgarh, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are the other successful teams in women section.

Playing before the home ground, Pool C winners Chandigarh men outplayed pool D runners-up Orissa by 10-1. The match lasted three innings. Ravinder, Amit (2 each), Harish, Diwan, Rahul, Jitender and Sunny (1 each) were the scorers.

The winners of Pool A Punjab today defeated pool B runners-up Pudicherry by 19-0 in four innings. The winners took 7-0 lead in the first innings with Gaurav, Deepak and Vikas’s three home runs each. Love, Jagjit, Gurpreet, Harnek and Sidharth contributed two home runs each.

On the other hand, Goa lost to Pool D winners Jammu and Kashmir by 4-10. Rohit and Aman scored one home run each to give 2-0 lead to Jammu and Kashmir in the first innings. Madan and Pawan made one home run each as Jammu and Kashmir enhanced their lead to 4-0 at the end of second innings.

Chandresh and Sandesh opened Goa's account in the third innings. The fourth innings score was 4-1 in favour of Jammu and Kashmir. Padam, Varinder, Madan and Tasduq got one each for Jammu and Kashmir, while Lakshmi Kant scored one for Goa. Padam, Madan and Pawan scored one each in the fourth innings for Jammu and Kashmir, while Santosh reduced the margin for Goa.

The other results are as follow:

Pre-quarter-finals:

Men: Punjab bt Pudicherry 19-0, Andhra Pradesh bt Maharashtra 4-1, Kerala bt Uttar Pradesh 10-0, Himachal Pradesh bt Haryana 10-0, Chandigarh bt Orissa 9-1, Jammu and Kashmir bt Goa 10-4, Manipur bt Indian Oil Corporation 13-3.

Women: Chattisgarh bt Pudicherry 10-0, Chandigarh bt Haryana 10-0, Punjab bt Goa 24-1, Kerala bt Uttar Pradesh 10-0, Jammu and Kashmir bt West Bengal 8-4.

Chandigarh, June 27
Newly elected president of the Softball Association of India (SAI) Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi today firmly denied that there was any split in the association. Addressing media at a local hotel, Sodhi said he was unanimously elected president during the 37th annual general body meeting held at UT Guest House here on June 24. The representatives of 24 state associations participated in the meeting as well as the election.

“We not only intimated the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), but the concerned Asian bodies about our election,” said Sodhi, who is also president of the Chandigarh Olympic Association.

“We have informed the apex sports body of the country about the SAI elections, which were unanimous and conducted according to the guidelines of the constitution. Proper notices were given to all affiliated units. Immediately after the elections were conducted, I spoke to IOA secretary general Raja Randhir Singh and Dr Lalit Bhanot," Sodhi said.

Terming his rival Prem Singh Bajore a one-man-army, Sodhi said he had the support of all the state associations.

“Today, I am going to meet IOA authorities to apprise them of new developments in the association,” he said.

Bajore had claimed that executive committee of the SAI had been held in New Delhi the same day, when the elections and executive committee meeting had been held in Chandigarh.

Alleging that Bajore could not handle the association affairs properly, Sodhi said it was the reason that all state bodies came together and elected him, while Praveen Anaokar of Madhya Pradesh and Surat Singh Kalet of Himachal Pradesh were unanimously elected secretary general and treasurer, respectively.

Former SFI acting secretary Roop Lal Sharma, who is also secretary of Chandigarh Softball Association, is chairman of the SAI.

Rana Sodhi said the remaining office-bearers would be nominated after the Beijing Olympics.

Panchkula, June 27
High drama prevailed at Sector 11 market when the visitors to a fitness and health centre, objecting to the arrest of the director of the company, tried to block the traffic here today. The police said the centre was violating the drug and objectionable advertisement Act. The clients who were present on the spot, however, claimed that they got relief from their ailments after visiting the centre.

The protesters who later reached the office of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Sector 12 to register their protest were pacified by him.

In fact Ceragem, a company run by a foreign national Jinsung Gue from South Korea, had opened its centre in the market of Sector 11 two months ago. The company in its advertisements claimed that the patients suffering from blood pressure, arthritis and a few other ailments could be cured by the use of a machine. It even offered free demonstration of the machine and long queues of the patients could be seen at the centre seeking remedy to their diseases.

A Panchkula Civil Surgeon lodged a complaint with t]he local police alleging that the company was violating the Drug and Magic Remedies and Objectionable Advertisement Act, 1954. A team of health officials visited the centre and asked the company to suspend its business till the company procured permission from the health authorities in this regard.

The machines being used by the company were already banned in China and the USA, said the police.

The police during its investigation also arrested Jinsung’s partner Baldev Chand, a resident of Kangra, and two other employees of the company Bhupender and Karmdaik.

An amount of Rs 2,80,000 and a machine was also seized from the spot, said DSP Ram Chander Rathi.

Chandigarh, June 27
The police has arrested a munshi working in the water works department for allegedly raping a maid under the influence of liquor.

A case under Section 376 of the IPC has been registered against Satish Kapoor, a resident of Sector 20.

The victim alleged that on June 10, Satish forcibly took her to his room and raped her under the influence of liquor.

On June 25, she went to Delhi and told Sanjay, the agent who had helped her get the job.

Sanjay along with the victim came to the police station this morning and lodged a complaint against the accused.

The police arrested Satish after the medical examination of the victim confirmed that she had been raped.

Chandigarh, June 27
M.L. Kalra, assistant manager, State Bank of India, Sector 7, lodged a complaint with the police alleging that Dharam Singh, a resident of Sector 7-C, was caught red-handed while trying to break open an ATM of the bank in Sector 7 yesterday.

According to the police, the accused was under to the influence of liquor at the time of the incident.

Dharam Singh works with a private company.

J.R. Thakur, chief manager of bank, said the accused tried to break the ATM, following which the security guard raised the alarm.