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Anger explodes against DC
Panchkula, August 26 While a majority of the markets today remained closed in protest against the DC’s “whimsical” decision, questions are also being raised at the “haste” step by Yadav to conduct the auction of the parking lots within 24 hours of issuing an advertisement in newspapers. What is surprising is that officials of both the MC and HUDA have distanced themselves from this decision and the auctions terming it as “the DC’s baby”. Both of them, however, washing their hands off the controversy and passed buck on other. While estate officer of HUDA S S Saini said the MC had to take care of the parking lots in the markets as all sectors had been transferred to it, MC executive officer OP Sihag said the parking lots of the markets were still with HUDA and it was their responsibility. Both, however, parried the question over the decision of Yadav to handover the parkings to the Red Cross. Meanwhile, the anger of the shopkeepers spilled on the streets as they resorted to blocking traffic at Sector 7 and 18 roundabout. They also raised slogans against the administration and disputed the DC’s claims that imposition of the fee would “discipline” drivers and make the parking lots less chaotic. “The DC should learn lessons from Chandigarh where the parking lots are in a mess despite the fee”, said a shopkeeper, claiming that the DC had “overstepped” and “encroached” upon the MC’s work. “If any fee has to be imposed, it should be either by the MC or HUDA who are responsible for the upkeep of public land in the city,” said Gian Chand Gupta, national executive member of the BJP Traders Cell. Senior Citizen Associaton chief S K Nayyar said had the money was with the Panchkula MC, it could have been spent on the welfare of locals under the supervision of public representatives. Now, nobody would be accountable for the appropriation of money pooled by all residents of the town through the parking charges, he added. Interestingly, the Red Cross charter defines the organisation’s role as care taker of health and relief operations during calamities.
Illegal
Hemant Goswami of the Burning Brain Society, an NGO, which exposed the irregularities worth crores of rupees in several Red Cross Societies of Punjab, termed the handing over of parking lots for revenue generation to the Red Cross illegal. “The action of the administration was legally incorrect,” he said. “The Red Cross has been formed under the Red Cross Act and it cannot violate its charter while performing duties assigned to it,” he said. Further, it could not impose any tax to generate money,” he added.
DC relents
The shopkeepers, however, opened their shops in the evening after Panchkula DC assured them to give a relook on the issue. The shopkeepers, who staged a protest march till mini secretariat and met Yadav, are demanding the withdrawal of the paid parking. Yadav, however, asked them to wait till tomorrow afternoon before he consult with his officials and the state government.
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Garment brands shut shops in Sec 17
Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 26 In a development that bodes ill for the city's economy, at least five garment brands have shut shop in the sector recently giving sleepless nights to the landlords and MNCs. "High rentals, increasing overhead costs and decreasing profits have made business a difficult proposition in the heart of the city," a top official of an MNC told The Tribune. Sector 17 hit the headlines in 2007 for emerging as the favourite spot of the MNCs and major corporates in the backdrop of one of the highest rentals in North India. At that time, rentals in the piazza area were quoted to be Rs 500-700 per square feet and major brands considered it to be the prestige issue to have a store in the piazza area. However, that soon became the thing of the past with a large number of these ventures turning out to be "unviable". While certain brands disappeared from the central area, others shifted to the cheaper yet strategic locations such as the Chandigarh-Kalka, Mani Majra, and the non-piazza area in Sector 17. "In the present tough recessionary period, it has become difficult to operate from a high rental area like Sector 17. With the garment and footwear industries passing through a recessionary period, most major brands were looking for cheap alternative locations in the city and satellite towns of Panchkula and Mohali," JPS Kalra, general secretary of the Traders Association, Sector 17, said.In fact, in recent time, franchisee and minimum guarantee concepts are losing out to revenue-sharing model in Sector 17. While under the franchisee and minimum guarantee agreements, landlords were not expected to invest much in the business the revenue-sharing model expected both parties — landlord and companies — to invest in the business. Sources said those taking flight from Sector 17 mainly comprised the stores operating either under the minimum guarantee or the franschisee agreements. With the cut-throat competition in the garment industry, it is becoming virtually impossible to offer minimum guarantees amounting to lakhs of rupees to the retailers.
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Security goes off track at rly station
Chandigarh, August 26 Going by meagre security arrangements at the railway station, if anything was to happen on the lines of Tuesday’s firing incident at the Ludhiana railway station that left one dead and two injured, it’s for anybody to imagine the consequences. Even after proclaiming that the railway station would be made “safer” post Delhi blasts and Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks, security arrangements here remain far from adequate with multiple unmanned entry and exit points making it an easy target for anti-social elements, including terrorists. Even as LED screens and 13 LCD TV screens worth lakhs are being put up for public entertainment, security still fails to feature on the priority list of the railway authorities. Entrance guardless Surprisingly, there were no security personnel present at the main entry and exit gates when a Tribune team visited the station today. The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) are jointly responsible for the security arrangements at the station. Surprisingly, most people don’t even pass the metal detector and just enter the station casually. To top it all, there is no provision for baggage checking. No separate counter or any female cop for checking of women passengers was visible at the station. Station superintendent RK Dutta said, “The security staff is present when trains like the Shatabdi Express arrive. Normally, there is hardly any crowd at the station, so the security leaves the entrance. They have to perform other tasks too. So sticking around at one place the whole day is pointless.” VIP entrance no different Just a few steps towards the left and one can easily see how deserted the VIP entrance is. No extra vigil can be seen at this so-called VIP entrance. There is no security guard, no metal detectors and no ticket checking provision at the VIP entrance. The VIP entrance is more vulnerable than the main entrance, which at least has a GRP post in front of it.‘The blind third eye’ The CCTV cameras installed at the railway station are still not 100 per cent functional. At present, 28 CCTV cameras that have been installed at the station stand useless with the control room lacking power backup. After the control room was put in place, barring the first week or so when the system was functional 24X7, the system is functional just for four-five hours a day. The monitoring under electronic surveillance has to be taken care of by the railway police, but still the charge has not been handed over to it. “Some small electric and engineering faults were hampering timely functioning of the cameras. This will be addressed within a week,” said Dutta. Panchkula-side entrance There is no security at this terminal too. One can fairly imagine how easy it is for any mischievous element to enter the station from this entrance. Forget security, there is not even a routine security checking point at this end of the station. When contacted, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, HK Jaggi said, “The CCTV cameras will soon be functional. I will get all the security issues addressed and checked at the earliest.”
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Drunken driver rams truck into house
Chandigarh, August 26 They rushed out and were shocked to see a truck crashed into the boundary wall of the house. The wall was demolished with the impact. However, the truck driver, who was apparently in an inebriated condition, escaped with minor bruises. Balbir called the police, which took the driver along with them after taking a written complaint from him. The SHO of the Sector 34 police station, when contacted, expressed ignorance about the incident. In another incident, a 40-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run accident case after a speeding car rammed into his bicycle on the road near Sectors 16 and 17 rotary late last night.The police said the victim, Soban Singh of Sector 27, was on his way back home after finishing work at a confectionary shop in Sector 23 when the mishap occurred. He was rushed to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, where he was declared dead on arrival. He is survived by his wife and there daughters. A case has
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Babla gets relief
Chandigarh, August 26 The court of District and Sessions judge K K Garg stayed the execution of non-bailable warrants against the Congress councillor issued by a lower court yesterday. The warrants were issued against him after the police had moved an application in the court. The councillor also moved an anticipatory bail plea which would come up for hearing in court on September 7. Meanwhile an elated Babla claimed that he was never absconding but was around.
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UT fixes Sept 4 for PU polls
Chandigarh, August 26 According to administration officials, the date had got a go ahead a few days back only, but university officials chose to delay the declaration. According to sources in the university, it’s the yesterday’s incident, which had propelled the declaration. Meanwhile, campaigning by various students’ groups was at its peak today. While the SOPU staged an impressive car rally with a fleet of around 350 cars, PUSU members protested against the arrest of their president Simranjit Dhillon and other party members saying that they were falsely framed by the police, who were hand in glove with the SOPU. They demanded the university’s intervention in getting them released immediately. On the other hand, INSO activists condemned the yesterday’s incidence and protested against the university transforming into a breeding ground for criminal activities.
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Conclave to promote region as IT hub from Sept 3
Chandigarh, August 26 The IT conclave will promote Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana as IT industry hub. The event will be inaugurated by the Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator and shall see participation by some of the leading names in the industry, including MD of Hero Cycles Sunil K Munjal, vice-chairman of Bharti Airtel Rakesh Bharti Mittal, president of NASSCOM Som Mittal, chairman of NASSCOM, president and CEO of GENPACT India Private Limited Pramod Bhasin, chairman of TiE/Indian Angel Network Saurabh Srivastava. The first day will be led by NASSCOM, the theme being “Transforming region: Harnessing technology for inclusive growth”. The Indian Angel Network and the TiE, Chandigarh, would focus on opportunities in the region to “unleash entrepreneurship” on day 2. Industry experts, tech gurus, government leaders and bureaucrats will discuss and deliberate upon on a range of issues, including emerging macroeconomics, demographic, social, business and technology trends which are likely to alter the landscape of global business and society. There will also be a workshop for budding entrepreneurs “Are you passionate about your idea?” The conference will also focus on how new technologies are changing the IT industry and the opportunities they present. Technology as a business enabler is fundamental to strategic decision-making and the adoption of a new model is feasible only if there is real value. The e-Revolution will also showcase examples from NASSCOM’s EMERGE 50, an initiative that identified 50 emerging companies that are in the process of redefining the benchmark of excellence for the next generation of SMEs, companies succeeding in emerging/domestic markets.
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CWC to survey Himalayan water resources
Chandigarh, August 26 Satellite remote sensing techniques will be used to map and analyse the water resources and thereafter prepare an atlas. Monitoring of these lakes and water bodies will be done on a monthly basis from June to October for a period of five years. The project has been initiated under its ongoing “Snowmelt Run-off Forecasting in Himalayan River Basins” programme. The field data collection under this programme is being extended and the proposed activities include forecasting in the basins of Chenab, Beas, Yamuna, Ganga and Sutlej. Data will be collected through inputs from remote sensing as well as continuing field observations at existing and proposed new observatories. Remote sensing has also been used by the CWC to estimate sedimentation in reservoirs and for creation of watershed maps and geographic information system under different schemes. While the remote sensing of sedimentation in two reservoirs has been complete, studies of four more have been under progress. Under the 11th Five Year Plan, 100 reservoirs have to be surveyed through remote sensing. Out of these, 25 reservoirs will be surveyed by the Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre in Jodhpur. Meanwhile, as part of its flood forecasting and inflow forecasting programme, the CWC has proposed to install telemetry system in 222 stations along different river basins. Telemetry system will give an early warning on the quantum of water likely to be received at various dam sites and flood prone populated areas, enabling them to take suitable reservoir regulation action. During flood season, the CWC issues on an average over 6,000 forecasts every year.
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Pvt buses hardly reach city
Mohali, August 26 “They fleece passengers on the pretext of dropping them to Chandigarh. But their final halt is at Mohali, as the UT has banned their entry,” said Dr Jagmohan Singh Sarao, a human rights activist. Highlighting the issue, he said after dropping the passengers at Mohali, the passengers were forced to make their own arrangements to reach their destinations in Chandigarh. Recently, an Amritsar-based tour operator, Chowdary Travels, had booked pilgrims to travel in a bus of Maharaja Travels. Though the passengers were charged Rs 300 each for the journey between Amritsar and Chandigarh, they were dropped at Mohali and told to make their own arrangements to reach Chandigarh. Dr Sarao said the travel agents at Mohali and other destinations in Punjab were fleecing the passengers by giving wrong information about the destinations. The human rights body has urged the Chandigarh Administration and the Punjab transport department to sit across the table and sort out the issue in public interest. The body has also urged the SSP, Mohali, to provide a police assistance booth at the Phase 3A market, the venue at which the bus operators lift and drop the passengers. The transport department has also been urged to provide a mechanism so that the passengers can lodge their complaint. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has also been asked to provide connectivity to the Phase 3A market so that the passengers from Chandigarh can reach easily.
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Ph-I jhuggi dwellers get 2-day time
Mohali , August 26 The drive, which was to be launched in the morning, failed to take off as the duty magistrate was busy with an important work. The enforcement team, along with heavy police force, reached the encroachment area around 1 p.m. only to be greeted by a large number of migrants, who said they would not allow GMADA to remove jhuggis from the area. The jhuggi dwellers had gathered since morning to stop GMADA to remove their hutments. Sangram Singh said they had been living in the area for the past 35 years and could not be removed. If GMADA tried to use any force, it would have to take the responsibility of any mishap that took place during the drive. He said they were ready to vacate the area if the authorities concerned gave them an alternative site. The jhuggi dwellers asked GMADA to give them 15-day time to vacate the area but the officials concerned gave them two-day time to remove their belongings before the drive could be carried out. They said they had not been informed about the drive in advance but the GMADA officials said the information was given to them on Friday. There are about 45 jhuggis in Phase I and the occupants have even approached a court. It is reported that one of the reasons why GMADA had to call off the demolition drive was that it had not been given adequate women police force.
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Sentenced for 3 months, in jail for 12 yrs
Chandigarh, August 26 To make the matter worse, deportation to Pakistan is still some distance away and when it comes to the Punjab police, the cops simply restrict their action to informing the additional Director-General of Police (intelligence). His only hope now lies with the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which today asked the top brass of the Central government to notify it of the current situation. As a petition filed by World Rights Protection Council through chairman-cum-advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal for his release and deportation to Pakistan came up for hearing, an affidavit by Chheharta Superintendent of Police Narinder Singh was placed on record. He stated that Sharif, a Pak national, had been apprehended near the international border under suspicious circumstances without passport. An FIR dated April 12, 1997, under the provisions of the Indian Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act at the Gharinda police station against him. After the conclusion of the trial, the court of additional judicial magistrate (first class) on July 17, 1997, convicted and sentenced him to three-month imprisonment. But even after the completion of the sentence, he had not been allowed to go and had been kept in the “internees camp” at the Amritsar central jail. He had been currently awaiting repatriation or deportation to his native country, Narinder asserted. After going through the contents of the affidavit, Justice KC Puri found the whole thing obviously shocking and asked the secretary in the Union External Affairs Ministry and Secretary Home, to file affidavits giving details of the matter. The case now stands adjourned to the September 22. In its petition, the Human Rights Organisation had asserted that the information on his detention had been provided by Sharif himself through a letter received on February 16.
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Traffic to ease up outside rly station
Chandigarh, August 26 Better-managed traffic is expected with the coming up of a separate lane in front of the station that would help deviate vehicular traffic and limit it almost 10-15 feet away from the station entrance. Space left between the lane and the station’s staircases would now just be a walking space for passengers to facilitate easy movement in and out of the station, devoid of the regular chaos created by vehicles. The lane will be accompanied by a footpath, which would make it easy for passengers to enter the station. The lane, once constructed, would heavily ease the unruly traffic that one usually comes across near the station’s entrance, more so, during the arrival of trains, like the Shatabdi, the Unchahar and the Sadbhavna Express. Station superintendent RK Dutta said, “The construction should be completed in a couple of weeks. The new lane will provide a separate passage for autos, cars and scooters as well. The space in front of the station will now just be for those on foot, so that they can enter and exit the station premises with ease.The new construction will also avoid a congested look of the station entrance,” he added. Unruly traffic at the station’s entrance has been a regular feature of the railway station. Also, the problem of taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw owners, troubling passengers by endlessly approaching them at the station entrance, had been a concern for the railway police for long now. “With this lane, some systematisation is expected to occur, as now, no one would be allowed ahead of the lane for securing passengers,” said Dutta. However, how ideally are the plans followed by the regular passengers and the taxi and auto-rickshaw owners, can only be seen in the days to come. Right now, the railway station entrance is all set for a neater and clearer look. An IRCTC cafeteria is also being planned at the left side of the railway station near all ATMs. The six-by-eight cafeteria was also expected to be complete in the next couple of weeks, said
Dutta.
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Lengthy process benefits NRI couple
Ramanjit Singh Sidhu Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 26 Interestingly, the couple had managed to get police clearance certificates (PCC) once again even as an inquiry had been underway in the CID Wing of the Chandigarh police regarding their fraudulently getting PCC earlier. Much to the dismay of the complainant in the case, Ravneet Singh of Sector 11, the police, after spending about 10 months on the matter, has now finally come to the conclusion that the matter is “time-barred” and they could not take its cognisance. Ravneet, while crying foul, alleged that the delay had benefited the accused. He was having a property dispute with the accused, Guravtar Singh and his wife Gurpreet Kaur of Sector 11. The couple is now in Canada. There were several criminal cases pending against the couple in Punjab. Ravneet said he had lodged a complaint with the police and the Regional Passport Office (RPO) on October 26, last year, after he came to know about the misdeed of the couple. Demanding a legal action against the accused, he sought cancellations of their passports as well as the PCC. The DSP (CID) conducted an inquiry and submitted his report to the UT SSP on May 19 holding the couple guilty of concealing facts and misguiding the police regarding the criminal cases to obtain the PCC and the passports. UT SSP SS Srivastva said, “The case is time barred now. It’s been a long time since the occurrence of the crime. As per the provisions in the law and in the Criminal Procedure Code, we could not take cognisance of it under Section 12 of the Passport Act. However, we will recommend the case to the regional passport office, which could initiate proceedings under Section 10 of the Passport Act”. Disputing the SSP’s claims Ravneet maintained, “The time limit begins when the crime is detected and I came to know about it in October last year and filed the complaint. Whatever delay was caused was at the police’s end.”
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MC House meet tomorrow
Chandigarh, August 26 The House will discuss threadbare the functioning of the plant and suggest improvements to control foul smell emanating from it. Sources revealed that the issues, which are going to be taken up in the meeting, include steps taken by the Jaypee group of control foul smell around the site. “If the company claims that the plant is functioning properly, then why it is not processing the amount of garbage as per the MoU,” said a MC official, adding that the House would also discuss how the company was burning RDF in the plant when there was no provision of it in the MoU. Sources said that the authorities had received complaints from the company that the garbage, which was being received in the plant, was not according to agreement. The House will discuss how the company is requesting the MC to send segregated garbage to the plant, while according to the MoU, the company was to do this job on their own.
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Stock limit of edibles enhanced
Chandigarh, August 26 The agreement was reached at a meeting attended by the Deputy Commissioner, Director, Food and Supplies, and representatives of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal. The current stock limit for retailers in Chandigarh for rice, pulses and edible oil is four quintal, 10 quintal and five quintal, respectively. Earlier, hundreds of grocery retailers of Chandigarh gathered outside the Estate Office building in protest, but later dispersed peacefully after the decision. — TNS
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Talwar armed forces’ consultant
Chandigarh, August 26 Dr Talwar has significantly contributed in the field of clinical and research activities. He has been credited with initiating the technique of endo myocardial biopsy at AIIMS and has used it extensively to study various tropical heart muscle diseases and documented the occurrence of inflammatory myocarditis in Takayasu Arteritis resulting in heart failure. This unique contribution has earned him the membership of the Scientific Council of Cardio Myopathies, World Health Federation and Asian Region of Global Physicians Network on Myocarditis and related disorders and Fellow of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences. Other achievements are multi-site pacing system for heart failure is also recognized as one of the pioneers in electrophysiology, pacemaker and heart failure. He has published more than 240 articles and 270 abstracts in national and international journals.
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Workshop for small, medium enterprises
Chandigarh, August 26 Presiding over the session, Rakesh Verma, managing director, Punjab InfoTech, said the SMEs had crucial role to play in the economy of the country and in order to scale up and meet the global competition, they must use IT in their units. Lack of awareness about the use of IT by the SMEs was the major issue that the participants expressed. The eRevolution, 2009, is being held at the Hotel Taj on September 3 and 4.
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SOPU holds rally, hockey sticks seized
Chandigarh, August 26 According to sources, during a meeting held with UT senior standing counsel, PU officials, DSW and DUI not only discussed the implications of the yesterday’s incident and apt course of action but also sought advice on the need of any further action in regard of the two PUSU members, Simranjit Dhillon and Gurjeet, who were arrested yesterday and sent to the police remand today. Though the meeting reportedly remained inconclusive, it will be held again in a couple of days. “The members of the PUSU have started demanding the university’s intervention in getting them released, who according to them were falsely framed by the other party and on the other hand, the university is facing extreme pressure for taking strict action against the culprit so a legal advice was sort primarily on the issue,” revealed an official. Other than this aspect, the university has also failed to take any concrete steps to combat the possibility of any such incidents. The SOPU organised a massive rally today, which had hundreds of outsiders and several hockey sticks were also recovered from the cars, there was no checking of the identity cards or anything. Though a checking was done in hostels last night, the outsiders who had been known to be troublemakers in the past were let off with small fines. Meanwhile, two law students, Param Preet Singh and Jasdeep Singh, were booked under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC as a sword was recovered from their car last night at gate number 2.
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Convent school wins city finals
Ambala, August 26 The winning team will now compete with the winners from other 74 schools in the semifinals. Kendriya Vidyalaya 1 and Delhi Public School, Yamuna Nagar, emerged as the first and second runners-up, respectively, during the Ambala City finals of the national quiz. Around 252 students from 42 schools participated from Ambala, out of which six schools competed in the city finals. These include Army Public School, Ambala Cantonment, Gandhi Memorial National Public School, Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, Delhi Public School, Yamuna Nagar, Indian Public School and Convent of Jesus and Mary School. A series of quiz competitions are being organised in 3,000 schools across 75 cities divided into four zones- North, South, East and West. The Limca Book of Records Quiz, 2009, is open to all students from classes VIII to XII. The series has been classified into three stages, namely inter-school, semifinals and national finals, from April to December 2009.
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Young scientist award for PGI student
Chandigarh, August 26 According to a press note issued by the PGI administration, two of his research papers have been selected for presentation at the “2nd European Congress of Immunology” to be held in Berlin, Germany, from September 13 to 16. The awards were decided on the basis of the quality of the research work being presented. The award comprises a cash amount of Euro 750 (Rs 50,000 approx). The congress is held once every three years and is one of the biggest and most prestigious events in the field of immunology. More than 3,500 immunologists from around the globe will present their research work at the congress. He is currently working on the “Role of Innate Immune responses in HIV infected individuals” for his Ph.D. thesis. Besides that, his research interests include “Cancer Immunology” and “Molecular Immunology of Infectious Diseases”.
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Gambian secy meets VC for MoU
Chandigarh, August 26 The delegates called for collaboration and help in all areas of teaching, research and administration of their university, which was set up in 1999.
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