Panchkula, September 16
The overloading of buses once again snuffed out a life when a BTech student fell from such a bus and was crushed to death here today.

The only son of a former Chandigarh police inspector, Hari Bhushan, 23-year-old Vishal Sethi, a resident of Mani Majra, had boarded the bus from the bus stand for his college, Devi Dayal Institute of Management and Engineering, at Barwala.

Panchkula, September 16
The fatal accident of today is not an isolated case in Panchkula when a student has lost his life due to overloading or negligence on part of the bus crew.

Besides the incident where five students were killed at Barwala last year, a 24-year-old student, Manjit Kaur, was killed and 60 students of Braham Rishi College of Education, Pinjore, were injured in a bus accident a few months ago.

The bus was carrying 75-80 persons, including students and teachers of the college. On November 17, Anil, a 19-year-old resident of Sector 25, was crushed to death after falling from a bus on the Zirakpur-Panchkula road. Earlier on February 8 last year, Narinder Singh (22), a resident of Dera Bassi, was killed when a Haryana Roadways bus hit his motorcycle at the Sector 8 and Sector 17 roundabout.

Chandigarh, September 16
No autorickshaw at the Tribune Chowk was willing to drive this correspondent to Sector 17 on a metered drive this morning. One asked for Rs 60, another Rs 70 and the third only Rs 40.

Not exactly in the domain of public transport, autorickshaws and cabs are a major mode of transportation for a large number of commuters everyday. About 700 autorickshaws ply on city roads, besides those coming from Panchkula and Mohali. Over 70 per cent of the autorickshaws do not use meters and a considerable number don’t even have it.

“They don’t use meters and charge whatever deal they can strike with passengers. Outsiders travelling to the city are usually the most harassed,” a commuter said.

It is the same with private cabs. Taking a ride to the airport from Sector 10 could cost above Rs 250.

Commuters are facing problems with the cab service on call. Priya, a software programmer, said: “Earlier, the service was very quick. Yesterday, I waited for more than 30 minutes in my office for the cab to arrive.”

Only two major players - Mega and Indus- are left in the field. Easy Cabs has wound up its service and Mico cabs is a very small company. Several commuters pointed out delay, particularly in evenings. Arvind Kumar, manager, Mega cabs, said the traffic had increased and they would be going in for more vehicles.

Vandana Disodia at the State Transport Authority said they were aware about certain lacunae in the auto services and carry out drives regularly. The old autos might be phased out soon. The latest autos have electronic meters and “we will ensure the apparatus is utilised”, she said.

Chandigarh, September 16
In a step towards economising expenditure, the UT administration has denied permission to Dr Raj Bahadur, principal of the GMCH, Sector 32, to visit Canada, sources said here today.

It was supposed to be an academic visit. The decision was taken after a communication from the Centre recently to reduce government expenditure in all possible areas.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary and the Finance Secretary would be flying to New Delhi in economy class. According to the entitlement, both officers would earlier generally travel by the executive class.

A senior official said the administration was introducing several steps towards reducing official expenditure.

Chandigarh, September 16
Two more cases of H1N1 influenza were reported here today, including another student of Bhawan Vidyalaya, Sector 27.

Besides, two students are suspected to have swine flu. With seven students of Bhawan Vidyalaya having tested positive for swine flu, the school has been closed for about a week.

Much to the relief of parents, DPS has also declared holiday till September 28. While some say this is because of the swine flu, the authorities say that it the scheduled Dasehra holidays.

The UT nodal officer for swine flu, HC Gera, said: “This time it’s a student of Class IX-C and a resident of Sector 4, Panchkula, who has swine flu. The Panchkula authorities had been informed and advised to take necessary steps to quarantine the affected student’s family.” The students suspected with swine flu were in Class X.

Another 21-year-old youth, who had tested positive for H1N1 influenza, was from Mohali and the health authorities of Mohali had been informed about the patient, Gera said.

BSNL 3G services come to city
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 16
The much awaited 3G mobile services were today launched in Chandigarh. The service will also be launched in Ropar and Patiala within one month.

This was stated by Chief General Manager, Punjab telecom circle, PK Paliwal while launching the service here. With today’s launch, the service has now become available in 16 cities of the Punjab telecom circle. The BSNL has already sold 2,500 3G connections in Punjab.

With the launch of this service, BSNL mobile subscribers will be able to get wireless data transfer speed of 2 mbps, telecast of television channels, high resolution picture and video downloading and video conferencing. Subscribers can also see movies on demand on their mobile phones. Real-time movies can be watched at just Rs 40 per movie.

Paliwal said, “We are planning to connect 25 district courts and jails through video conferencing. We have already extended the service to four jails in the state.”

Chandigarh, September 16
The hedge and fence policy formulated about two years ago by the local municipal corporation for keeping a check on encroachments on the roads by residents has failed to achieve desired results most of them, particularly those living in the posh northern sectors, continue to illegally occupy the public land in the name of beautifying the areas around their residences.

The extent of such a blatant violation could be seen in Sector 9 where one of the residents while beautifying the adjoining land near his residence has blocked the area where the postal department had put one of its letterboxes for the general public.

Random survey conducted by The Tribune in the posh northern sectors revealed that the ‘bigwigs’ staying in these areas are flouting the policy at will. On V6 roads in Sectors 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15 most of the residents have converted the roadside pavements into green belts for beautifying the front portion of their houses. They have even constructed cement structures in the lawns that were supposed to be left vacant for the pedestrians’ use and for the parking of the vehicles.

As per the policy the residents were required to obtain a license for raising the hedge up to two-feet high and 10-feet away from the kerbs for V-5 roads and two-feet high and six-feet away from the kerbs for V-6 roads. No hedges or fences were allowed on V-1, V-2, V-3 and V-4 roads. Those violating the policy were to be punished or fined as per the bylaws. Whereas the hedge policy clearly mentions that the residents could only beautify the municipal land adjoining their homes by growing grass. Parking of the vehicles was allowed in that area.

Residents in Sector 9 complained that during evening hours it leads to chaos in internal roads as most of the vehicles are parked on the roadside, which blocks the free movement of the vehicles. They further grumbled that almost all owners of corner houses have erected tall hedges due to which there are blind corners in each lane.

Due to this, the four-wheeler and two-wheeler drivers cannot see the vehicles approaching from the other side, resulting in serious accidents. Also, these house owners have erected iron wires in such a way that the government land has been encroached upon. Even the green belts have not been spared. In Sector 8, opposite house Nos. 659 to 665, there is a facility of internal parking, which has been encroached upon, by the residents for parking their vehicles and planting trees. In other sectors, too, the parks are being used for parking vehicles.

Similarly in Sectors 34, 35, 36, 44, 45 and 47 the residents were using the green belts developed by the corporation for parking their vehicles and the pavements allocated by the authorities for parking have been converted into green belts.

The policy was framed after the corporation received numerous complaints regarding parking problem and increase in accidents on the V5 and V6 roads in the residential areas. This was due to the fact that the residents had erected illegal hedges, barbed wire fences, iron grills in front and by the side of their houses covering road reservation area in contraction of the Chandigarh (Control and Regulation of Hedge and Fences) Bylaws, 1971.

When contacted, Municipal Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria admitted that such violations were going on and they were serving notices to the violators.

Chandigarh, September 16
The long wait of the allottees of the Sector 63 housing scheme of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) for the floor-wise draw of lots is set to end.

With the Ministry of Environment and Forests likely to grant the environmental clearance to the mega housing project in a few days the allottees can hope for final draw in November or December, sources said. The preliminary draw of lots for the flats was held on July 30, 2008.

Chief Executive Officer of the Chandigarh Housing Board Sandeep Kumar during his recent visit to New Delhi is reported to have taken up the matter with the Central Government for seeking environmental clearance.

In fact, the delay in the draw of lots had earned the board, the construction arm of the Chandigarh administration, a lot of negative publicity. At the time of the launch of the scheme, the Punjab government had staked claim over a chunk of land that adjoins Mohali.

Then there were problems with the UT Architecture Department that reportedly objected to the layout plan and “faulty design” of the flats under various categories. These were giving more coverage of the floor area ratio for constructing more than the required flats, leaving less space between different blocks and absence of the greenbelt. Besides, several openings on the V-3 road were another irritant, as only one opening was allowed under the rules.

Due to the objections raised by the department, the board was forced to revise the layout plan. However, in the backdrop of the land dispute with Punjab, the board was apparently forced to increase the floors to six (ground floor plus five storey) instead of the advertised four.

The officials said since a lot of time had already been wasted in “formalities” the board would get going regarding the final draw of lots in the right earnest after getting the environmental clearance.

Chandigarh, September 16
Mayor Kamlesh has directed MC Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria to submit a report within two days to her on the queries raised in the special house meeting convened to discuss the issue of garbage processing plant on August 28.

In a letter to Dr Sunkaria today, she stated that she had asked him at the house meeting to give the status report on action taken against a show-cause notice issued to the Jaypee Group in April.

“If the authorities had not withdrawn the notice then what action had been taken against the company for violating the MOU?” she said.

She also asked for the report of the UT pollution control committee submitted to the administration regarding emanating of stench from the plant.

In the communiqué, Kamlesh blamed the MC Commissioner for delay in submission of report on queries by the executive authorities.

The Mayor said the onus of delay in convening the special house meeting, which was supposed to have been convened within a week as announced by her in the last special house meeting on garbage plant, was on Dr Sunkaria.

Talking to the TNS, Kamlesh said it was strange that even after over two weeks of the last special house meeting, the Commissioner had failed to reply to the queries raised in the house about the garbage plant.

The last special house meeting had to be postponed by the Mayor, as Congress councillor and sanitation committee chairman Chander Mukhi Sharma, who had prepared the report on garbage processing plant, had failed to produced it at the meeting.

He had sent a letter to the house that the councillors should not discuss the report on the plant till the executive body of the corporation took action against the show-cause notice issued to the Jaypee Group and also till the report of the central pollution control committee was finalised.

This led to furore in the house as several councillors, especially those belonging to the BJP and nominated councillors, accused Chander Mukhi Sharma and Mayor Kamlesh of politicising the issue.

Chandigarh, September 16
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) SK Jain has been promoted to the rank Additional Director-Director of Police (ADGP).

According to sources, the promotion of the 1980-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre had been due for quite some time. He would continue to be posted at Chandigarh, the sources added.

Chandigarh, September 16
High drama prevailed when a local human rights activist, Arvind Thakur, and his supporters mobbed TV actress Mona Singh at an event in Sector 36 here today.

The actress had come to interact with children and mediapersons during a free dental check-up camp organised by a toothpaste company for under-privileged children.

However, the activist, who had earlier filed a case in a local court pertaining to Mona Singh and CEO, Colors channel, for hurting religious sentiments during a TV show, “Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena”, in October, 2008, reached the venue along with his supporters before the actress had arrived.

The event, which was supposed to start at 11.30 am, was already delayed by an hour and the moment Mona landed there, she was mobbed by the activist and his supporters. They insisted on accepting the summons pertaining to the case.

However, she refused to do so and left the scene within minutes of arriving there.

The Punjab and Haryana High court had earlier quashed the petition filed against cricketer Harbhajan Singh for hurtling the religious sentiments of the Hindus by dressing up as Ravana in the dance realty show.

However, allowing Bhajji’s petition, Justice Grover had imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the human rights activist.

The High Court had also issued a notice of motion to complainant-respondents, advocate-cum-chairman of Global Human Rights Council Arvind Thakur and spokesperson for Punjab Vishwa Hindu Parishad Vinod Singh Bhardwaj.

Chandigarh, September 16
Air passengers in the city will soon be able to plan return journey between Chandigarh and Delhi the same day with Jet Airways coming up with two flights, one in the morning and another in the evening.

While the first Chandigarh-Delhi flight in the morning is set to start from October 1, the evening flight connecting the two cities is likely to begin by the end of this year.

The morning flight will drop passengers from Delhi at the Chandigarh airport around 9.30 am and leave for Delhi by 10.30 am. Similarly, the evening flight will drop passengers from Chandigarh at the Delhi airport around 8.30 pm.

The morning flights to be operational from October 1 are likely to see more passengers, thanks to the festival season approaching.

The move will prove to be a boon for corporates who have to shuttle between the cities for meetings.

Also with three flights connecting Chandigarh to Delhi, in the morning, afternoon and evening, passengers will have more room to plan trips especially during medical emergencies among others.

“If this works out, business travel from the city will be much more convenient,” said Kunal, a multinational employee and a regular flier from the city.

A jet official at the airport said: “New flights will increase connectivity of passengers in this region to Delhi, especially for long-haul travel. A lot of people from this region travel abroad regularly. We want to drop passengers at the Delhi airport comfortably around 11 or 11.30 am and before 9 pm in the evening as several international flights from the Delhi terminal take off in the afternoon and late at night. Also, passengers will get two to three hours to check in their baggage and board the flight.”

Currently, the airline is operating two flights at the Chandigarh terminal. The first flight in the morning connects Chandigarh to Mumbai and the other connects Chandigarh to Delhi in the afternoon.

Chandigarh, September 16
The city will have high-mast tower lights on all major roundabouts. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting held under the chairmanship Home Secretary here today.

It was also decided to provide trafficlights on priority on road dividing Sectors 24/25 near UIET gate, T-point between DLF and Infosys buildings, intersection between Sectors 38-A and 25-D and crossing of Sectors 49-A and 50-B & C; paint, repair and replace defective streetlights; and augment work on road dividers from Shanti Path to Vikas Marg.

It was decided to set up traffic engineering cell; synchronise trafficlights from Transport Chowk to Tribune Chowk; provide slip road at ISBT, Sector 43 chowk, and intersections in Industrial Area, Phase I; build road divider on Sukhna Path; widen Himalayan Marg; close intersections between Sectors 15/24, 35/43 and 34/44; provide complete trafficlights at Hallo Majra L-point; provide cycle tracks along Vikas Marg and free left turn on all crossings.

Mohali, September 16
The Mohali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has held AIKAT Institute of Allied Health Sciences, based here, guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice and directed it to refund to a student a fee of Rs 70,000 charged from her and also pay compensation of Rs 50,000.

The forum comprising BS Mehandiratta, Dr SS Dhaliwal and HK Ghuman said the institute was deficient in service, which resulted in mental and physical harassment to the complainant and wastage of her academic year.

It further ordered the institute to refund the fee amount of Rs 70,000 with interest thereon at 9 per cent per annum from the date of institution of this complaint (20.04.09) till the date of actual realisation. The compensation amount of Rs 50,000 was also to be given to the complainant within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order.

This amount shall also carry interest at the rate of 9 per cent from the date of the institution of the complaint till actual realisation. Another sum of Rs 3,000 was also awarded to the complainant as costs of litigation.

Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Chamkaur Sahib, told the court in her complaint that after going through an advertisement by the institute, she got her seat registered by paying a fee of Rs 5,000 in June, 2007, as a student of physiotherapy degree.

She was assured that the institute was affiliated with Vinayaka Mission University, Chennai. The institute charged an amount of Rs 70,000 from her as full and final instalment for the year 2007-08, but till the date of institution of the complaint, neither the university had reportedly taken any examination nor was any certificate of the course issued to her.

However, the institution had denied in the court that the complainant took admission with it for physiotherapy degree. It had stated that it was a duly authorised centre of the university. The receipt of tuition fee of Rs 70,000 from the complainant was admitted.

It had averred that the complainant had got herself enrolled/ registered with it for the two-year diploma course in physiotherapy and paid registration fee of Rs 5,000 for the same.

It was pleaded that the complainant herself had joined the diploma course in physiotherapy and vocational therapy conducted by Bharat Sewak Samaj (BSS), New Delhi, and completed the required formalities for the above said diploma. Denying any deficiency in service on its part, the institute had sought dismissal of the complaint with costs.

After hearing the counsels for both the parties and going through written arguments submitted by them, the forum was of the opinion that the complainant had got admission in the degree course of physiotherapy having a duration of four years and six months.

It appeared that things went wrong when the institute could not get the final affiliation with the university and made the students to shift to the diploma course of the BSS, which was an organisation of the Government of India.

Chandigarh, September 16
The UT administration’s pick-and-drop bus service for government school students, launched on trial basis, has already educed a huge resentment among schoolchildren over its tariff.

While the administration on its part has kept the rates “subsidised”- Rs 400 upto 5 km and Rs 450 above that, the students claim it to be an expensive affair.

Claiming that the service was meant to match CTU tariffs, the students accuse administration to have got into earning money like private players.

“We were looking forward to this service, as it was being professed as a substitute to the crowded CTU buses but now it seems that they are competing with the private players. In a CTU bus if it costs Rs 200 a month from Sector 17 to 35, then why would I pay Rs 400?” questioned a student of GMSSS, Sector 35.

“The tariff is only 50 rupees less than the private bus operators whose consumer bases doesn’t include government schoolchildren,” added another student of GMSSS, Sector 16.

A large number of city schools have students coming from rural backgrounds and they find the tariff expensive.

“We will approach the administration regarding this and request them to lower the rates,” said a student of GMSSS, Sector 32.

Chandigarh, September 16
After disclosure of research study on “blue movies” being conducted in the English department, Panjab University, by this correspondent, a few teachers and students have decided to retrieve their steps.

The PhD student, who had proposed the title, has now said on persuasion of his teachers that he would not like to continue work on the suggested thesis.

The statement has come after a majority of teachers in the department expressed their disapproval on the title and the viability of its study.

Earlier, at a pre-research degree committee meeting, which constituted the department teachers (before the RDC held on August 31) the topic was cleared. Later, when there was protest from a section of teachers who verified its content, the proposal was deferred at the RDC meeting and the student was supposed to submit his synopsis.

“Majority of teachers in the department are of the view that the research scholar should change his subject. It can be difficult for the supervisor and the student to sit together and discuss the contents of the movie during the research study.

Objection was raised in the RDC meeting as well. The faculty felt that it could turn out to be an embarrassing subject to research,” said Prof Shelly Walia, senior faculty, English department.

The chairperson of the department, Prof Rana Nayyar, said: “The student had been suggested changes in the title since most of the faculty members felt it was not an appropriate subject and it was conveyed to the student.”

Though the research guide refused that the movies of Catherine Breillat contained “inappropriate content”, the student today confirmed that he would discontinue his work on the subject. “I was just studying them from an objective perspective. On advice of my teachers, I will change my topic and I have not decided the new title yet,” said the student.

Chandigarh, September 16
The Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) today held a protest in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office today against the arrest of their party leader Simranjit Singh Dhillon.

He was arrested on charges of violence on campus a few days ago, before the student council elections were held.

The students had blocked the entrance of the building today. “Today one is arrested, tomorrow even if we are put behind the bars without any fault then what can we do?” questioned one of the protesters.

On intervention by the chief security officer Manoj Datta, the activists filed a complaint in the Vice-Chancellor’s office.

Chandigarh, September 16
The ongoing tussle between the management of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 29, and parents of the two expelled Class IX boys from the school is all set to reach the courtroom with parents of one of the boys serving a 15-day legal notice to the school authorities.

Earlier, the boys had gone missing after being seen in questionable circumstances with a girl classmate in the staff bathroom.

The notice terms the expulsion of Jaipraksh’s son as “unjust and unconstitutional,” demanding the boy’s readmission within next 15 days. Apart from several allegations against the school authorities, the notice questions the basis of the current education system and its failure to deal with such sensitive cases.

Meanwhile, the expulsion of the three students has revoked serious reactions from various councillors, educationists, teachers and students from the city.

The Kendriya Vidyalaya authorities say that the principal was empowered to take the “best decision she seemed fit”, keeping the report of the enquiry committee in mind.

Kendriya Vidyalaya centre head, Khabare said: “It is indeed an extreme step, but considering the gravity of the situation, a firm decision was also necessary.”

“A lot is expected from school authorities but what to do with such students? Post expulsion, the parents should have coordinated with the school authorities and to get admission in some other school. Instead, they have turned hostile. Even though the principal has also been asked to take action against school staff that failed to “properly” deal with the situation,” he added.

Sociology teacher Jyoti Seth, actively working with child rights comments: “According to child rights convention to which even India is a signatory to the UN, it is mentioned that situations like these should be dealt considering the best interest of the child. Nowhere does the expulsion reflect the best interest of the child.”

Another Class IX KV-29 student Prerna (name changed) said: “The instance is a bad dream that everyone in school is supposed to forget about. No teacher wants to discuss anything. They were for sure mistaken, but the second term exams are around the corner. I wonder which school will admit them. They should at least have been allowed to stay this year.”

Madhu Behl, principal of KBDAV, and CBSE councillor said: “Everyone deserves a chance. Some efforts for counselling both by the parents and the school authorities should have been made.”

Chandigarh, September 16
The Institute of Correctional Administration (ICA) will organise a seminar on “New dimensions of prison reforms” in collaboration with the department of law, Panjab University, on September 18 and 19.