Chandigarh, November 24
The Mani Majra Farmers’ Welfare and Environment Protection Society in association with the Society for Prevention of Crime and Corruption conducted a public interaction and fact-evaluation meeting on corruption in real estate dealings in Chandigarh and forcible acquisition of land of farmers in the name of development here today.

A group of eminent citizens, businessmen, farmers and social activists gathered at Chandigarh Press Club to discuss rampant corruption in the city and violation of the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 by paying low compensation.

The group highlighted the detailed breakup of loss to public exchequer of over Rs 20,000 crore through the scam in real estate dealings in the city. The group appreciated the courage and conviction of UT adviser Pradip Mehra to stand up against UT administrator S.F. Rodrigues and highlight corruption worth Rs 2,000 crore in the Medicity project.

Elaborating on the issue, social activist Hemant Goswami mentioned that how after opposing the ill-conceived projects of the administrator, Mehra was victimised and a slander campaign was initiated against him by the Chandigarh administration.

M.N. Sharma, the first Indian architect of Chandigarh, rued that a planned city like Chandigarh had been destroyed by arbitrary decisions of administrators and other executives who knew nothing about architecture or urban planning. Justice A.S. Bains questioned the very basis of governance of a city/state through a Governor. “Nowhere in the world does this system of governance through an unelected representative exist. Such a system was akin to the erstwhile British system of sending its governor-generals to colonies under its control. People must have a say in all policies affecting them. In the present scenario there was no accountability and transparency in the system of governance in city,” said Justice Bains.

Brig Harwant Singh (retd) said corruption in the city had reached new heights, something that could be fatal for the democracy. Sarangpur sarpanch Sadhu Singh highlighted how farmers were displaced and their lands grabbed by the land mafia and builders through the government for paltry sums, which was actually less than one per cent of the market price.

Achhar Singh of Kishangarh village claimed that it took them 30 years to develop the land on which the IT park had now come up. The government in 1950s had promised that the land would never be acquired and remain a green area. However, the present administrator in association with certain land mafia and builders was determined to grab the land.

Angrez Singh of the Pind Bachao Committee said most of the time farmers in Chandigarh had to pay more by way of court fee and legal charges than the compensation they received from the administration. Mani Majra Farmers’ Welfare and Environment Protection Society president H.S. Johl rued that in spite of the central government being apprised of the atrocities, no action had yet been taken against the administrator.

He added that names of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi were being exploited by associating the land-grabbing activities like IT park, Education City with their names.

Mohali, November 24
After giving Rs 1.50 crore as compensation for an acre for acquisition of around 300 acres at Jeheorehi village for the international airport, the land acquisition collector has recommended a rate of Rs 1.25 crore per acre for the price of land in the periphery of Mohali.

Chunks of land at Chila, Manauli and Sohana villages are being acquired by GMADA for various projects.

The proposed rates were discussed during a meeting of the price fixation committee held under the chairmanship of the Mohali deputy commissioner, Rahul Bhandhari.

Balbir Singh Sidhu, Kharar MLA, and Ropar MP Sukhdev Singh Libra said while the government had given Rs 1.50 crore for the airport land, the rates at Chila and Manauli villages were between Rs 1.75 crore and Rs 2 crore. Private companies had also purchased land in these villages for residential purposes.

It was also pointed out during the meeting that the Akali-led government had been promising farmers that they would get compensation on the basis of the current market rates.

Sources said as per the standing order, the collector rate, market rate and land rate were studied before fixing the rates. The market rates were not between Rs 1.75 an acre and Rs 2 crore an acre. After discussion, the committee has in a communication to the secretary, housing and urban development, recommended that the rate of land at Sohana should be around Rs 1.25 crore an acre. For Chila and Manauli villages, the recommended rate is Rs 1.25 crore an acre and Rs 90 lakh an acre. A solatium of 30 per cent would have to be added to the final compensation to landowners.

The committee also took up the matter of the acquisition of around 220 acres at Sohana, Landhran and Lakhnour villages. However, the land acquisition collector of GMADA pointed out that since the land was covered under the land-pooling scheme, the issue could not be taken up at the price fixation committee.

Chandigarh, November 24
From now on, going to an examination hall at Panjab University with a cell phone would tantamount to using unfair means. This was decided at a meeting of the syndicate here today.

Earlier, students could keep their cell phones switched off inside the examination hall, but now even the possession of a phone would not be allowed and if found carrying one, the student would be punished in accordance with the rules.

In the matter pertaining to the embezzlement of unaccounted funds to the tune of Rs 5.69 lakh in the department of chemical engineering and technology four years ago, the syndics authorised the vice-chancellor to constitute a new committee to frame guidelines to deal with such issues in future. They observed that the earlier report submitted by Prof R.K. Kohli was not exhaustive.

The syndics also approved three MoUs between the university and the Centre for Geo-informatics, Salzburg University, Austria, the CSIO and the ONGC.

They also approved the imposition of fine on DD Jain Memorial College for Women, Ludhiana, and Mata Ganga Khalsa College for Girls, Kotton (Ludhiana), for the late submission of applications for the continuation of honours classes at the undergraduate level.

Regarding the change of qualifications for the posts of lecturer in physical education to be appointed in colleges of education for teaching, physical education, health and physical education have been approved as subjects. Also, it was decided that if candidates with the pre-requisite higher qualifications were not available, candidates with relaxed qualifications could be appointed on a temporary basis.

The syndics also recommended the assignment of faculties to the newly constituted senate members and these would be approved at a meeting on December 6.

The proposal to allow the guest faculty to teach for 48 hours per week for a token honorarium of Rs 500 per session at the UBS, regional centre, Ludhiana, was also okayed. Eleven guest faculty members for the b-school were also approved.

Chandigarh, November 24
The growing incidents of the use of fake registration number plates on vehicles by criminals from neighbouring states are giving sleepless nights to the police as the probe into such cases usually hits a dead-end in the absence of registration number.

Though the police cracked cases like the sensational kidnapping and rape of a German tourist and the arrest of an engineering student involved in a snatching incident in which fake number plates were used, it admits that the chances of criminals going scot free are higher.

The interrogation of Anwar, a student at a private college in Kharar, who was arrested last week, revealed that he used a fake registration plate on a stolen motorcycle to commit the crime with his accomplice, Rahul.

Both Anwar and Rahul belong to affluent families and had come to the city for fun and committed the crime to make “easy bucks”, the police said.

The motorcycle was stolen from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh on November 10. Rahul managed to give the slip to the police on November 17, inspector Anokh Singh, SHO of the Sector 36 police station, said. Anwar also got bail. The police said the involvement of the accused in other cases could not be ruled out.

According to the investigating officer, ASI Jaspal Singh, the accused put a fake number using a marker and they had no documents. The police checked with the registration authority in Ludhiana and learnt that the number was allotted to a Ludhiana resident. They also informed that they did not have any motorcycle registered in their office bearing the particular engine and chassis numbers provided by the UT police.

“At this, we got suspicious that there was something more to it. We contacted Hero Honda agencies in the tricity as well as Punjab and Haryana and learnt that no motorcycle with these numbers had been sold. We also contacted distributors based in Faridabad, Hardwar and Dehradun and learnt that a motorcycle with similar description was dispatched to a Mandi-based dealer, who further told us about the buyer. We got to know then that the motorcycle had been stolen,” Jaspal Singh said.

Panchkula, November 24
While the police teams remained busy in investigating into all aspects of the rape incident at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, reported yesterday, the superintendent of police, Sandeep Khirwar said the arrests in the case could be made anytime.

“We are confident of solving the case and make arrests by tomorrow,” said Khirwar.

The police was investigating the case from all angles as the complainant had stated that she had been raped in the broad daylight at busy hours in the hospital, which makes it difficult to perpetrate such type of crimes at these places, said Khirwar. He added that the police, without doubting any of her allegations, was probing the case and it was expected that all the facts would be clear by tomorrow.

Earlier, the police got the statement of victim recorder under Section 164 of the CrPC.

The complainant, wife of an airman staying at TBRL complex, near Ramgarh, in her statement to the police, alleged that she was at the hospital around 12.30 pm yesterday for the physiotherapy of her shoulder, when Naik Hottam Singh, the ward incharge, with the connivance of Naik Iftikhar Khan, a nursing attendant, raped her in the dining hall. The 39-year-old woman, further alleged that another person, known to be Raj, filmed the rape.

As the dining hall is used by the patients and their attendants, it was not easy that the crime would have gone unnoticed.

Earlier, the SP visited the spot and inquired from the staff about the timings and the presence of accused at the time of incident. Moreover, a team of forensic experts from Ambala also visited the spot and collected the samples.

Chandigarh, November 24
With a majority of streetlights on city roads being out of order, it has become a nightmare for residents to venture out at night. The situation is particularly bad in southern sectors. Drivers and pedestrians virtually grope in the dark, as most streetlights remain out of order sometimes for weeks together.

For the past several days, driving on a section of the highway passing through the southern sectors has become a nightmare. Accidents are commonplace there.

Thanks to the apathy of the municipal corporation and the Chandigarh administration, most streetlights on the city’s main roads are non-functional. This is also a cause for worry for the Chandigarh police.

Admitting that there had been deterioration in the maintenance of streetlights since the formation of the civic body in 1996, sources in the corporation blamed it on the shortage of staff in the electricity wing.

“Streetlights in my sector remained out of order for most part of last year,” complained a resident of Sector 50.

Driving had become a risky affair during night, as most drivers drove their vehicles on high beam. There seems to be no system in place in the civic body to check if streetlights have been maintained properly and are in the working condition. The corporation pays a substantial amount to the electricity department of the administration towards billing and service charges.

Some feeder pillars have not been maintained properly and expensive equipment like stabilisers, timer switches and TPN switches have either not been installed or stolen, leading to the malfunctioning of the streetlighting system.

While residents fret over the situation, little has been done by the corporation, which is entrusted with the maintenance of streetlights.

All efforts of councillors and residents to draw the attention of the corporation to the problem have fallen on deaf ears.

President of the Resident Welfare Forum, Sector 51, rued that streetlights had been non-functional for the past over six months in his sector.

Zirakpur, November 24
Loud music and bursting of crackers till late night is harassing the residents of Zirakpur. In the ongoing season of marriages, banquet halls and marriage palaces are witnessing heavy rush. In Zirakpur, around 20-25 marriage palaces are located. Mostly, the banquet halls are near to the populated areas of the town and cause noise pollution till late night.

The residents are helpless due to apathy of the local administration in checking the noise pollution beyond the prescribed time.

The continuing menace of noise pollution is causing disturbance to students, who are preparing for board exams, and is also affecting aged and ailing people.

Randhir Thakur, a resident of Baltana, says his house is near to a marriage palace, and loud music till late night disturbs his son’s study.

“We have complained to the local police so many times, but they are asking for the written complaint against the marriage palace,” he adds. A banquet-hall owner in Zirakpur, on condition of anonymity, says: “This is the season of our earning and it is difficult to stop people from playing music after 10pm.”

He adds, “We are helpless sometimes, because the party people are not in condition to be requested to stop the music.” Derabassi SDM Sohan Lal Bhumbak says when residents come to his office seeking permission for the use of loudspeakers, it is given only till 10 pm.

He adds that the matter regarding the violation of permission is in his knowledge, further steps will be taken against the violators. 

Chandigarh, November 24
The martyrdom of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was observed at city gurdwaras today. Nagar kirtans were organised in various parts of the city.

Processions were led by Panj Piaras. Devotees in large numbers thronged gurdwaras to pay obeisance and seek blessings.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Singh and their martyrdom is a solemn occasion to remember the teachings and sacrifices of the Gurus. It is a day to rededicate oneself to the ideals of equality, brotherhood and compassion as preached by Guru Tegh Bahadur.

The Guru is remembered as a man who championed the right of religious freedom. Kashmiri pandits had approached the Guru and requested to protect their honour and faith. The Guru heard their woes and agreed to resist the nefarious act of forcible conversion by peaceful means. Thereafter, the Guru made the supreme sacrifice for the freedom of religion.

Panchkula, November 24
Prof R. K. Ratho, head, department of virology, has been nominated from India to the council of the International Society for the Infectious Diseases (ISID) for a period of 6 years.

Matt Richel, writing in the New York Times, believes that bloggers everywhere are on the verge of a nervous breakdown or a heart attack (points at mega blogger Om Malik who suffered a heart attack about 10 months ago and blamed in part the stress from trying to keep his blog GIGAOM.com updated) or probably even death (referring to Russell Shaw).

Matt indicated that blogging could be considered a high-stress job. Citing long work hours and the need to always be online to get the latest scoop, the article says that publishing daily on the web can be the cause of numerous health problems. The claims are sensational, and raise some important questions that bloggers need to answer.

There is a boom of social networking websites on the Internet. The newer social networking sites like orkut and myspace not only help in building contacts, but also gives additional privileges like uploading pictures and earning through blogging.

A majority of people who surf Internet frequently are members of at least one social networking websites either for fun, or to build contacts or for promotion of their own online business or for monetizing blogs. Some bloggers spend several hours in a day to update their blogs as well as on reading & commenting other bloggers’ posts. As a result of this activity bloggers get very much acquainted with each other’s style of writing, thoughts, likes, dislikes, profession & other personal aspects.

Blogging is also a stress buster activity because when we are writing about any topic, we are ventilating our thoughts from our brain. That way, we are relieving our brain. Some people write about their experiences in their personal diaries at the end of the day. This way they feel relaxed after writing. Blogging is a wonderful thing for computer-savvy persons to relieve their stresses.

Kathrynvercillo.com gives us some basic tips that the average blogger can use to reduce their daily stress:

n Set normal work hours: The biggest cause of blogging stress seems to come from the fact that bloggers are never NOT at work. They’re always on their computers, always researching the latest news for their blogs and always reading up on blogging information. Just like with any other job, doing it too much is going to cause you to burn out. You need to set some basic working hours for yourself and try to stick with them as much as possible. The hours themselves don’t matter. What matters is that you set them, stick with them and make sure that you take some time off.

n Take tech-free days: When I say that bloggers need to take time off, I mean that they need to get away from all technology for at least one full day each week. That means that you turn off the computer. You don’t use your mobile phone to update things via Twitter. You choose some form of mental escape that isn’t the television. The first few times that you do this, it may actually be more stressful to you but once you get in the habit of really taking some downtime, you’ll be glad that you did. Your body will thank you for it. And so will the earth!

n Get organized: A whole lot of blogging stress can be reduced if you’re organized about your work. This includes everything from getting your work space cleaned up to creating a business plan for your blog. The more clearly you’ve delineated what needs to be done, the more efficiently you’ll be able to do it and the less stress you’ll expose yourself to.

n Eat right: Most of the bloggers and at-home writers that I know fail to take basic proper care of themselves. This is particularly true when it comes to food. Either they forget to eat throughout the day because they’re tied to their computers or they munch all day long on bad snacks because they’re home and therefore they can. Make sure that you take time to eat good full meals throughout the day. If you’re body is healthy, it handles stress better.

n Socialize with other bloggers: Blogging stress is exacerbated by the fact that you probably sit at home, on your own, stewing in your own brain. Sometimes, you just need to vent about things in order to relax. And who is better at understanding that than another blogger. Don’t use social networks and forums as your sole source of doing this, though. Believe it or not, people really need human interaction. Join or start a group for bloggers in your area and meet with them a few times a month to chill things out in your life.

n Blog about what you love: Many bloggers end up writing about topic areas that they like but don’t love. If you are going to immerse yourself in a topic day in and day out, you’d better love it. If you don’t, the idea of going to work is going to be stressful for you even if that work is done in your own home.

n Take a moment each day to focus on why you love blogging: Many bloggers wake up, grab their cup of coffee and dig into their work. By taking just a few moments each morning to reflect on what you love about blogging, you can really boost your own ability to appreciate what you’re doing with your time. Those few moments might just save your life.

n Listen to your own needs: Your body and mind will tell you when the stress is getting to you. Pay attention to yourself in order to make sure that you’re not letting the stress of blogging get to you.

anilM is an editor with Instablogs.com

anilm@instablogs.com <mailto:anilm@instablogs.com>

Chandigarh, November 24
Finally relief comes to 21 out of total 58 teachers who retired on October 31 following the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order in the form of re-employment as the Panjab University authorities have accepted their applications for the re-employment. This was approved at the syndicate meeting held today.

According to sources, the issue was also discussed at lengths in the house. Earlier, the authorities have issued orders to the retired teachers desirous of seeking re-employment that their re-employment is subject to their vacating official residence.

However, the orders were in contradiction of earlier orders of the syndicate wherein it was decided that two months time be given to those who want to seek the re-employment. The syndicate members were agitated on the notice issued by the university authorities.

Clearing the confusion and putting all questions to rest, the syndicate clarified that all those teachers seeking the re-employment will have to vacate the houses by December 31, 2008, as decided earlier by the syndicate.

According to rules, under rule 8 at page 127 of PU calendar volume III, 2005, with the modification that one would be re-employed for a period of one-year w.e.f the date of joining on contract basis, on fixed emoluments equivalent to last pay drawn minus the pension to be worked out on full service both in the case of teachers opting for pension or CPF. Salary for this purpose means pay plus allowances excluding house rent allowance.

Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed the petitions of the enhancement of retirement age from 60 to 62 years on October 31 and the university had offered all 58 retired teachers to join under the re-employment scheme of the university. 

Chandigarh, November 24
A 13-member Bulgarian dance troupe, Folklore Formation Fountain, gave a mesmerising dance performance at Ryan International School, Sector 49 here today. The performance was part of a jubilant programme aimed to amalgamate Punjabi culture.

The troupe established in 1993 by Vanya Peshkova, comprised of students and teachers from different schools of Bulgaria and has already performed in Ryan International School, Patiala, and plans to perform in New Delhi and Ludhiana too.

The troupe members visited various tourist spots, including religious places like the ISKCON temple and the Sector 34 Gurudwara.

A group of Ryan students were also with the group. The guests are staying with several students’ families in the city. According to Poonam Sharma, principal of the school, “This festival provided an opportunity for a cultural exchange. The festival aims to get the young hearts together to tie the knot of camaraderie, unity and tranquility through dance, drama and workshops.”

Mohali, November 24
Nine students of Indo-Global Colleges were shortlisted by Dabur India Ltd during a campus placement drive for mechanical engineering students organised on the college premises.

The students selected in group discussion appeared for personal and technical interviews. The shortlisted candidates will have to undergo six months pre-placement training.

Placement drive: ICICI Prudential (Priority Circle) visited the Sukhmani College for career counselling. A seminar and a placement drive was also organised for MBA students. Over 100 students participated and six were shortlisted.

Conference: The Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, Mohali, organised the “Fourth national conference: managing innovations in business enterprises” on the institute’s premises. J.S. Bedi, chairman, GJ-IMT, Chandra Mohan, Anil Kumar, executive director, Shreyans Industries Ltd., Ludhiana, and Raj Kumar Kapoor, senior consultant, power, energy and infrastructure, New Delhi, were among those present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, November 24
Kirandeep of St. Solder’s International School bagged first position in C category (Class IX to XII) of the poster-making competition organised by Jat sabha on the eve of birthday of Deen Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram at Sector 27 A.

In category B (Class VI to VIII) Chandani, student of GMHS, Sector 26 stood first while the first prize in A category (Class III to V) went to Jaspinder Kaur of GMHS.