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PU on wrong side of tax dept
No TDS carried out for two years
Anuja Jaiswal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
The Panjab University authorities could be heading for trouble with the income tax department for allegedly violating rules pertaining to TDS (tax deduction at source). If IT sources are to be believed, the PU authorities have not cut TDS from the salaries of several heads of department and payments made to various contractors for the past two years and its liabilities could run into several lakhs of rupees.

Officials of the IT department swooped on the PU this morning and started a detailed survey that is likely to continue over the weekend. Sources claimed that the survey could even “extend” till Tuesday because of Eid on Monday.

They said the department had acted on a tip off that the PU authorities had been ignoring the TDS with regard to payments made to HODs, contractors, canteen and messes. Admitting that the initial inquiries had indicated a serious lapse on the part of the registrar, who being the paying authority was responsible for the TDS, the sources said the liability of the PU authorities could be close to a crore of rupees.

They also claimed that as per rules, a deduction of 2 per cent towards the TDS from the privately run mess and canteen in the university is mandatory on the part of the registrar. “No TDS has been cut for the past two years,” a senior official stated.

Claiming that the registrar was “solely” responsible for cutting the TDS and depositing the same, IT officials said a notice would be issued if the allegations were true.

Additional Commissioner IT (TDS) Rajeshwar Yadav said the violations, if any, would be known only after the survey.

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Process to declare baba PO begins
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 18
The role of revenue officials for facilitating bogus land transactions at Dera Bassi for Baba Prithpal Singh, chairman of the Shiromani Sant Khalsa International Foundation who operated from Gurdwara Gur Sagar Sahib near Sukhna Lake has come under scanner.

On the basis of bogus general power of attorney (GPA), the baba and his “followers” reportedly sold chunks of land at Madopur village to a real estate company, ATS, and some individuals in 1996. In most cases, the owners of the land had not visited the village for long.

The police, during the course of investigating the case of a Rajpura resident, Paramjit Singh, who was allegedly duped of Rs 35 lakh by the baba, stumbled upon these startling facts.

They had sold off land owned by the father of an Additional Sessions Judge posted in Punjab. The investigating officer in the case has summoned the then patwari and tehsildar to explain their position in the case as the name of the genuine landowners was replaced with bogus names in the revenue record.

A confidant of the baba, DS Virdi, posed as Harbans Singh, father of the judge, and Paramjit Kaur, his follower, posed as Satwinder Kaur, a shareholder of the land. They got a bogus GPA of the land from Inderpal Singh, another follower. On the basis of the GPA, the land was sold to the ATS.

Inderpal accepted an advance of Rs 35 lakh from Paramjit Singh for the same chunk of land sold to the ATS. Talking to the Tribune, Paramjit Singh said the same land was sold to the ATS for around Rs 2 crore. The facts came to light when the police yesterday arrested Virdi and seized documents from him.

Investigating officer Raghbir Singh said Virdi had been remanded in judicial custody after one-day police remand. The police is also seeking production warrants for Inderpal, who is lodged at Burail Jail.

Raids were being conducted to nab the baba, his wife Charan Kamal Kaur and Paramjit Kaur. Investigations have revealed that most GPAs were registered at Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected the bail plea of the baba in a case of grabbing land of an NRI woman, registered by the Chandigarh police. The police has also initiated the process to declare him a proclaimed offender.

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Burail Jailbreak
4th witness also turns hostile
Smriti Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
The Burial jailbreak case involving the alleged assassins of former CM Beant Singh — Parmajit Bheora, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara — today took a turn when yet another witness turned hostile.

In what could be a severe blow to the police, the fourth witness, Samunder Lal, could not identify any of the accused in the special court being held at Burail Jail for the trial of the case.

Prior to this, three other witnesses had turned hostile.

Samunder stated that he did not know the accused and that the police had called him to the Sector 11 police station and had asked him to sign some documents.

Meanwhile, pictures taken by the police photographer, Karnail Singh, another witness in the case, could not be verified. Only two of the pictures were accepted, including the picture taken of the main gate and the one of barrack number 8.

Also, the allegation of the police that the then jail superintendent, DS Rana, Deputy Superintendents DS sandhu and VM Gill, Assistant Superintendent PS Rana, barrack in charge Inder Singh and constable Nishan Singh had helped the accused by allowing them to hang curtains on the barrack windows, which helped them dig the tunnel, fell flat when the pictures, which were taken immediately after the incident, were produced in court and they depicted that there were no curtains.

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Power set to cost more
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Power tariff hike is on the cards in the city. Taking a cue from neighbouring Punjab, the Chandigarh administration has set the process of hiking power tariff in motion by inviting bids for hiring a consultant for doing a feasibility study.

In fact, once the selected consultant, who has applied for conducting the study, submitted its report to the administration, the consumers-— both domestic and commercial-— can expect a hike in power tariff by next year.

As many as five firms have applied for consultant’s job to the administration.

Confirming the move, UT Chief Engineer Surinder Pal said the consultant would be finalised soon and its report sent to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC). The Centre has constituted the JERC to decide the tariff structure of the Union Territories.

On the rationale to hike power tariff, officials highlighted that power tariff hike was “long overdue” as it was last revised in 2005.

Under the 2005 tariff order, the rates were Rs 1.5 per unit for the first 150 units, with Rs 2.9 per unit being levied on the consumption of subsequent units.

Similarly, for commercial usage the rate was Rs 3.36 per unit. Besides, certain other charges like electricity duty and fixed charges were also levied on consumers.

Power tariff is still one of the lowest in the Chandigarh particularly as compared to neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.

A view in the administration was that the tariff should be at least comparable with the neighbouring states in the backdrop of the fact the power supply position was much better in the city.

After recent tariff order of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), the tariff had been hiked to Rs 2.82 per unit for up to 100 units in Punjab. The highest tariff for domestic users was Rs 4.52 per unit. For industrial sector, the tariff varied between Rs 3.92 per unit to Rs 4.33.

In case of Panchkula, the domestic rate was Rs 2.63 per unit, while the commercial rate was Rs 4.28 per unit.

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Road Rage
Principal Secy’s son beaten up
Ramanjit Singh Sidhu
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
The son of a senior Punjab bureaucrat was left with a perforated ear membrane in an incident of road rage in the city last night. The incident reportedly took place around 8.30 pm on the road separating Sectors 4 and 9 when a group of youngsters travelling in two cars attacked the 25-year-old son of DS Guru, Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister.

Highly placed sources in the police said no action had been taken yet as none of the “parties” involved in the fracas had lodged a formal complaint. However, sources at the GMSH-16, where the youth was taken after his ear began bleeding, claimed that a medico-legal case had been made.

They said the victim, Sandeep Singh, had acute pain in the ear and the ear membrane was perforated. He reportedly said his car was intercepted by two cars and the occupants of the cars were apparently annoyed with him for not giving them way. They pulled him out of the car and thrashed him. He sustained serious internal injury in the ear.

According to an ENT specialist, a patient loses hearing due to a severe blow in the case of traumatic perforation, which also causes pain and bleeding.

The police is, however, tightlipped about the case. Police sources said both parties were negotiating and termed it as a minor altercation.

DSP (Central) Jagbir Singh said they had not received any formal complaint. The incidents of road rage are rising in the city. Last year, 21-year-old Nitin Bansal was allegedly stabbed to death by a youth in such an incident.

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Vita booths don’t heed DC orders
Continue to sell local made ice creams at Mansa Devi Temple
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 18
The efforts of the Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board to provide best of quality products to devotees at the premises seems to have gone futile as the shopkeepers in the area have been found flouting the norms blatantly.

While the sale of ‘prasad’ packed under unhygienic conditions was highlighted in a section of press a couple of days ago, two outlets set up by the Haryana Dairy Development Board to sell Vita products have been selling ice cream prepared by a local manufacturer.

Even a warning against it by the Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, to the salespersons on these counters fell on deaf ears.

On a visit to these booths set up near the main entrance of the temple it was noticed that salespersons prefer to offer the ice creams made by local manufacturer despite displaying the posters of Vita kulfi.

The sale of such products was unabated despite the fact that Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Yadav yesterday visited the shops set up at the premises and particularly asked the salespersons at Vita booths to discontinue the sale of such products as these were not allowed by the shrine board.

In 2005, Vita -- a milk products venture of the Haryana Dairy Development Board -- had been assigned to provide prasad items with an aim to supply good quality products to devotees at the Sri Mata Mansa Devi shrine.

An MoU was signed between Sri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board for the purpose and the space was provided at a highly subsidised rate for setting up the booths. The sale of such products, however, not only defeated the purpose behind setting up the two booths, it has dented the sale of products of a government venture.

The reason behind the practice adopted by the franchisee of booths was not hard to know as the kulfi manufactured by local manufacturer was being sold at a price of Rs 15 against Rs 12 for Vita kulfi even as local kulfi was cheaper in the wholesale market.

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Now, prisons to be tourist spots
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
You may soon find prisons arresting your attention with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) coming out with plan of promoting “prison tourism” in the country.

If you have been to the cellular jail “inalienably linked to the long and glorious struggle of revolutionary freedom movement fought on the mainland”, you have already visited one such place.

The MHA now plans to promote more such prisons across the country. MHA’s joint secretary NS Kalsi believes prisons, which saw the incarceration of freedom fighters across the country during the struggle for Indian Independence, could make captivating tourist spots.

In Chandigarh, for the inaugural function of a two-day national seminar on “New dimensions of prison reforms”, Kalsi does not give many details. He simply said, “One cannot allow the tourists’ interests to be detained in the central and district jails for security and other obvious reasons, but the ones that housed the freedom fighters can indeed be thrown open to the public.”

Kalsi’s assertion comes soon after Himachal Pradesh came out with the idea of promoting “graveyard tourism”. It also follows Punjab’s attempts to cure its ailing tourism industry by introducing health tourism.

The prison tourism plans, however, has many more takers and appreciators. Chandigarh’s Home Secretary Ram Niwas said the prisons present an “enigma” and “mystique”. So naturally, there has been a curious affinity to have a peep at the life behind bars. Niwas asserts he also went to the cellular jail to see a cell where a freedom fighter languished for 20 years.

Niwas said allowing the youth to visit the central, district and sub-jails could have another benefit. The life behind the prison walls could actually take the youth away from “illegal and unlawful activities”, he claimed.

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Swine Flu
Health officials review strategy
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
In the wake of the detection of positive swine flu cases from two schools — Bhawan Vidyalaya Sector-27 and Delhi Public School Sector-40 — the UT health department convened a meeting to review the strategy for curbing H1N1 influenza.

A meeting was chaired by Home-cum-Health Secretary Ram Niwas. The Health Secretary advised all leading coaching institutes in the city to adhere to guidelines of the government as well as the health department for not allowing students to attend such coaching classes if anyone had flu-like symptoms.

Coaching institutes have been asked to ensure effective implementation of the guidelines of ministry of health and family welfare.

Parents have also been advised to be more vigilant in sending their children to schools if they had flu-like symptoms.

He said the government guidelines should be strictly adhered to. It would help enhance surveillance of such cases effectively and break the cycle of infection.

The schools are required to reschedule the examination after the holiday break.

The principals have been asked to ensure that results of examination/house test/unit test should not affect students who do not appear in such exams because of flu-like illness.

The Health Secretary also reviewed the situation of H1N1 cases in different hospitals.

The nodal officer for swine flu said over 2,300 patients had been screened in the city, out of whom 212 were suspected cases while 29 were detected positive for H1N1.

Out of 29 H1N1 positive cases, 26 patients had been treated and completely cured.

The remaining three positive cases were being treating in hospitals and were stable.

No death due to swine flu had been reported in the city, it was added. The Health Secretary appreciated the efforts made by different hospitals with regard to treatment of positive cases detected in isolation wards.

With the coming festival season, persons with flu-like illness have been advised to stay home and not to visit crowded places.

Also with the change of weather, the use of ayurvedic medicines for the management of common flu-like conditions was of utmost importance.

4 more suspected cases reported

Four more suspected cases of swine flu, including a PGI doctor and three students from various schools, were admitted to city hospitals here today. The PGI doctor and his daughter, who had been quarantined after one of his family members, a student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, tested positive for H1N1, were admitted with flu-like symptoms. The other suspected patients included students of class IX of DPS and class XII of Bhavan Vidyalaya. The samples had been sent to the PGI laboratory for test, said HC Gera, UT nodal officer for swine flu.

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Hedge Bylaw Violation-III
Southern sectors worst hit
Aarti Kapur
Tribune News Service


(Top) A swing installed on land adjoining a house in Sector 36;
A fenced public land in Sector 34, Chandigarh. Tribune photos: S Chandan 

Chandigarh, September 18
Roads in southern sectors are getting narrower by the day, thanks to encroachment by residents on government land adjoining their houses.

Road berms have virtually disappeared, as residents have encroached upon government land in front of their houses. Angle iron, hedges, barbed fencing and concrete structures dot roadsides in most sectors.

Some residents have grabbed MC land by landscaping the area while others have planted saplings right on the edges of the road.

Most owners of corner houses have erected hedges and others have raised concrete structures, making the area accident-prone and forcing motorists to negotiate blind curves.

Motorists also find it hard to use these roads, as a number of vehicles remain parked on them at any given time.

A resident of Sector 36 has gone to the extent of converting the adjoining area of his house into a park, installing swings for children and raising concrete structure for relaxation.

Residents in Sector 35 allege that the authorities have done nothing to remove encroachments in spite of repeated representations.

Even during anti-encroachment drives during re-carpeting of roads in these sub-sectors, only half-hearted efforts are made to remove these.

They add that in the absence of footpath, pedestrians often fall victim to accidents.

Residents in Sector 34 rue that people have been facing parking blues on internal roads due to encroachment on berms.

With no monitoring of encroachment by the corporation authorities, people even misuse the MC land for constructing garages, say residents.

Despite the decision of the MC to levy penal charges on dumping of construction material on public places and roads, people have been openly dumping construction material thus obstructing the smooth flow of traffic.

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Few takers for rly ticket booking counter at Phase I
Our Correspondent

Mohali, September 18
The railway ticket booking counter at the Phase I post office here has failed to attract many prospective travellers since its inauguration less than two months ago.

The counter, which is manned by a postal official, gets hardly an average of 15 customers daily even though it is the only such counter in the town, the other booking facility being at the railway station in Phase XI.

The computer at the post office counter sometimes fails to link up with the railway booking system leading to inconvenience to customers. The facility was not functional on September 16 and 17. Even today there was a link-up failure and booking was done only for an hour from 9 am though the link got established later in the day.

Sukhbir Singh, a resident, complained that on September 5 he went to the post office for booking a ticket and was told that the system was not functional though a complaint had been made by the post office and a mechanic was expected soon. He said he then had to go all the way to the railway station in Phase XI to get the reservation done.

The post office, which already faces staff shortage, has to arrange an official to man the counter because the Railways has not provided any staff for the purpose. Customers making reservations at the Phase I counter have to pay a little extra for the facility as compared to the rates at the railway station. For the second class the counter charges are Rs 15 per ticket, for three tier AC and AC chair car Rs 20 and for two-tier AC and first class Rs 30. An additional sum of Rs 10 is charged for ticket cancellation.

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Failed Public Transport-IV
Car pool, better traffic signals viable solutions
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Car pool is the most effective means of handling the burgeoning traffic on city roads, feels Prof Harish Bhatia, a transportation consultant and former teacher at Punjab Engineering College.

However, Neha Malhotra, an HR manager, says: “The city should go in for the Singapore model of heavy taxes on every subsequent purchase of car by an individual.”

Professor Bhatia had a few years ago submitted a project on “Integrated Bus Service” in the city. He argues that metro does not suit the current requirements of the city because of a smaller area span. The current bus service on the grid in the city is lopsided and does not serve the purpose.

Dr Gurinder Bhatia, a chest specialist, says: “An average household has more than one vehicle in the city. The numbers are increasing every day. If the matter is left unaddressed, traffic may soon be the biggest problem for city commuters.”

Pradeep Chhabra, a former Mayor, says: “The metro project is huge and is likely to take at least 10 years before completion. The administration will have to work out solutions to handle the burgeoning traffic before that happens. One big respite for commuters will be underpasses planned at different road junctions all over the city.

Professor Bhatia adds: “The city will have to improve connectivity with adjoining Panchkula. At the moment, the only passage through the Madhya Marg is too narrow and leads to unnecessary snarl-ups.”

Mini buses on internal roads of sectors, which may connect to the bus service on the main grid, are the only viable option, he suggests.

Jagsher Singh, a car driver, feels: “One immediate respite that drivers expect on city roads is an integrated light system on traffic signals. It is not uniform on all roads. Our experience, even while travelling in bigger cities, shows that driving at an average speed of 40 km per hour between traffic signals gives a free passage at the next signal. There seems to be a lack of coordination between subsequent traffic signals in the city.”

Parking problem is adding to crowding of roads, particularly in the southern sectors.

“The city design as envisaged in the master plan went out of hand during the later stages. The city was planned only for a population of around five lakh. In the same direction, houses in the northern sectors are big and have ample space for parking while a number of areas in the southern sectors have plenty of cars but no parking space at all.”

(Concluded)

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STA secy to replace DPI?
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Though the police is yet to confirm the alleged role of DPI (S) Samwartak Singh in the cash-for-job scam, the administration is contemplating to shift his charge to STA secretary Vandana Disodia.

While both Vandana Disodia and Home Secretary Ram Niwas refused to confirm anything, sources said the proposal to make her the new DPI had already been mooted.

“The decision is irrespective of whether Samwaratak Singh is found guilty. It is being taken to put a full stop to this controversy. Samwartak is being removed from this office,” a senior official said.

He shall continue to be Director, Tourism, till the police submits an enquiry report and if he is found guilty, the administration plans to repatriate him immediately.

Meanwhile, after reviewing his replies, the police found ambiguities in his previous version, but has ruled out any further interrogation. “We will conclude our investigations at the earliest and submit a report by the weekend,” SP Madhur Verma said.

“Samwartak has filed his replies and given all necessary documents to us. He has referred to an external agency in reply to one of the questions about the leakage of the list of candidates so we will be looking into the matter. There is discrepancy in what he said earlier and what he is writing now, but we are looking into all this,” an official said.

According to unconfirmed reports, one of the accused may turn approver as he is claiming to have been falsely implicated by the others.

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Assembly Poll
No papers filed on 1st day
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 18
Not even a single nomination was filed on the first day of the filing of the nominations for the forthcoming assembly elections here today.

While the SDM, the assistant returning officer, kept waiting for the candidates, no one turned up to file the papers till 3 pm, the closing time. Though no reason was cited by local leaders in line for ticket from various parties, a Congress leader said it may be due to “shraadhs”.

As the nominations are to be filed till September 25, there was no urgency on the part of leaders and most of them would like to file the papers during the Navratras, starting from tomorrow. It was the same at the newly carved constituency of Kalka. No one had reached the SDM’s office to file the papers today.

Yograj INLD man from P’kula?

The INLD has taken lead and announced the name of its candidate, Pradeep Chaudhary, from the Kalka constituency. According to sources close to the INLD high command, the name of Yograj Singh,father of cricketer Yuvraj Singh, has been finalised by the party for fielding him from Panchkula and the announcement would be made within a couple of days.

Yograj Singh confirmed that he was in touch with INLD leaders over the issue. However, he refused to comment on his candidature from Panchkula. He said he would not be able to confirm anything until tomorrow.

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IT survey yields Rs 8.5 crore
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
The survey conducted by the income tax authorities on four premises owned by Bansal General Pvt Ltd on Wednesday yielded Rs 8.5 crore to the department.

While Rs 3.5 crore in undisclosed income for 2009-10 has been surrendered by the owner of Bansal General Pvt Ltd, the remaining pertains to wrongly claimed income under Section 80 IC and the penalty thereon.

AK Kaushal, Commissioner Income Tax -I, said Bansal General Pvt Ltd, which manufactures electric transformers, has wrongly been claiming deductions under Section 80 IC since 2007-08.

Finding cornered by the IT sleuths, the owner, Pawan Kumar Bansal, approached the officials during the surveys and surrendered Rs 3.5 crore in undisclosed income, said officials of the department.

IT teams led by Ajay Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner, Range IV, carried out the survey.

The survey was conducted on three premises of Bansals at Nalagarh, Kurali and Sector 38, besides another premises in Chandigarh.

The sleuths seized several incriminating documents indicating huge tax evasion by the manufacturer.

Sources said the survey was conducted on the basis of a tip-off regarding discrepancies in the accounts and audit report.

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Allotment Row
HC notice of motion for Oct 5
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Less than a week after a local court dismissed the bail petition of municipal councillor Davinder Singh Babla, Justice Rajesh Bindal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion for October 5.

During the preliminary hearing, senior advocate RS Ghai on Babla’s behalf asserted that the allotment had actually been made by a three-member committee, comprising the petitioner, a BJP member and a sub-divisional magistrate.

The petitioner had, however, been singled out. Acting on a complaint of Suraj Parkash Ahuja, a shop owner in the grain market, the police had booked the councillor-cum-former chairman of market committee, along with Rakesh Saini, president of the Grain Market Arhtiya Association, on August 19, for allegedly allotting space in the market to 10 ineligible persons.

During the argument before the trial court, senior standing counsel for UT administration Anupam Gupta had asserted that the case was only the tip of the iceberg; and his custodial interrogation was required, as such his bail petition should be dismissed.

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Markets to be filmed for encroachment
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Representatives of the Beopar Mandal attended an enforcement committee meeting of the municipal corporation under the chairmanship of MPS Chawla to remove the encroachments in marketplaces held today.

The mandal representatives suggested steps against encroachment by rehri-fariwalas in markets. They also requested allocation of time to shopkeepers for loading and unloading their goods.

The committee members asked them to ensure that workers of shopkeepers should park their cycles in parking areas and not in verandas, public passages and car parking areas.

During the meeting, it was decided to issue uniform to labour working for the enforcement wing.

The committee decided to purchase two motor cycles for the use of inspectors and video and still cameras for the enforcement wing.

The video filming of markets will be done till 10 pm under the direct supervision of the higher authority concerned of the municipal corporation.

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Move to amend Prisons Act
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Nearly 115 years after it came into force, the Ministry of Home Affairs has initiated the move to bring amendments to the Prisons Act of 1894. MHA’s joint secretary NS Kalsi said even if two states agree on the issue, they would go ahead with the amendment.

Kalsi said the need for carrying out the amendments was being felt since long; and had been brought to the fore in its reports by committees set up from time to time. Even the judicial verdicts have talked about the amendment.

In an interview with The Tribune soon after the inaugural function, Kalsi said in their attempt to cut down on the problem of over-crowding in jails, they have recommended to all states to go in for “community service” as a possible alternative to imprisonment for petty offences.

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Another student falls from bus; injured
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 18
Close on the heels of fatal fall of a student from a roadways bus on Wednesday, a student got injured when he fell while boarding a bus her today. The injured was admitted to a general hospital in Sector 6.

It was in the afternoon when Ayush, a Class X student of Jainendra Public School, Sector 1, had boarded a bus at Majri chowk in Panchkula for bus stand. The Haryana Roadways bus, which came from Barwala side, took passengers at Majri Chowk but the driver suddenly started the bus before all passengers could board the bus and it was that time when Ayush fell down and got injured.

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102 units of blood collected
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
A blood donation camp was organised at Doaba Institute of Engineering and Technology (DIET), Kharar, in collaboration with Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector-16, Chandigarh.

Gurnam Kaur, principal of Guru Nanak Public School was the chief guest.

According to Dr Saroj Aggarwal, in charge of blood bank, 102 units of blood were collected in the camp.

Director of Doaba Institute of Engineering and Technology Manjit Singh appealed to the voluntary, social and non-governmental organisations to come forward.

He said Doaba Group of Educational Institutions was involved in such noble ventures to promote various social causes and uplift the under privileged sections of the society.

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Buy furniture from jail factory, govt offices told
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
All government offices, schools and colleges have been directed to purchase furniture from the factory at the Burail Jail.

Local purchase of furniture would be allowed only if the jail factory was unable to make a particular product.

The directions were issued during a visit of Home Secretary Ram Niwas to the jail recently. He inspected the jail factory and discussed the problems of inmates.

Earlier, AIG Jails-cum-Jail Superintendent NPS Randhawa told the Home Secretary that there was lack of work because of non-availability of orders from the schools, colleges and other government offices.

There were 454 undertrials, 215 convicts and four condemned prisoners lodged in the jail.

The jail kitchen was also inspected.

The official directed the jail authorities to organise regular yoga camps and allied activities with the help of Patanjali Yog and the Art of Living.

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DTO gives last chance to traffic offenders
Our Correspondent

Mohali, September 18
As a number of traffic offenders have failed to pay their challan amounts, the District Transport Office has decided to give one last chance to them to do so at a special camp being organised here on October 4.

District Transport Officer Karan Singh said here today that those who failed to avail themselves of the facility would be issued summons under the law.

He said the RTOs concerned would be approached later to know whether offenders who had failed to deposit the challan amount had been issued duplicate documents. If it was found that wrong affidavits had been given by the offenders, legal action would be taken against them.

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EDUCATION
 

From Schools & Colleges
Students made aware of traffic rules
Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 18
A traffic awareness programme was organised at Shivalik Public School here today.

Inspector Devinder Singh, in charge traffic cell, Mohali police, explained traffic rules through charts and diagrams to students of the school.

He said such awareness programmes were being conducted in various schools as part of education campaign.

Talent hunt

A talent hunt competition was organised in Government College, Mohali.

The first participant for the event was Manish Kumar, followed by Rajesh Kumar, Ishar Singh, Manpreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh who succeeded in creating a spiritual atmosphere through their soulful voices.

Training programme

AICTE sponsored five-day summer school and a faculty training programme jointly organised by National Institute of Technical Teachers Training & Research, Chandigarh, and Indo Global Colleges, Abhipur, concluded at the college here today.

Over 102 faculty members from various engineering and management institutes made themselves aware of the importance of effective curriculum implementation in pursuit of excellence in technical education.

The programme was inaugurated by Dr Parijat De, director of National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research, Chandigarh.

R Panickar, director of Indo Global Colleges, spoke on the importance of understanding the students better and on enhanced student interface with industry. Chairman of Indo Global Colleges, Shri Sukhdev Kumar Singla congratulated the organisers for conducting the programme and assured several such development programmes to enhance quality education.

Campus placement

An Army team headed by Brig B Chopra conducted campus placement and job interviews at Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering & Technology, (Derabassi) for the preliminary selection of candidates under University Entry Scheme (UES)-19.

Over 75 students without backlog from the final year and pre-final year participated. An overwhelming response from girl students was also seen.

Brig Chopra highlighted the rigorous selection procedure and the role of technical cadre officers for the corps of engineers, signals and EME. The team evaluated the candidates through group discussions followed by personal interview to shortlist them for merit position on all-India basis to be called for SSB interviews.

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Self-service doesn’t enthuse PU boarders
Neha Miglani
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18
Panjab University’s decision to discontinue with the catering facility and introduce “self-service” in girls’ hostel has irked students.

Nearly 50 girls of Hostel No. 7 today submitted a memorandum to DSW Naval Kishore, expressing their displeasure on the introduction of self-service in hostels.

“The move has evoked a wide-spread resentment among girls in Hostel No.s 1 and 7, where it has been introduced. Those girls who are baptised, Sikhs and follow Jainism are particularly unhappy, since this will hurt their religious sentiments,” said Shelly Khurana, a student.

Girls stressed that this move would lead to “long waiting queues” in the hostel mess and degradation of services.

“The response of the new service, introduced in our hostel, is poor. In case of boys, even the room catering facility is available,” rued Jaspreet, another student of Hostel No. 7.

Complaining that such a move will ruin the “comfortable atmosphere” of the hostel, the girls condemned the move. “This is a strange rule which was never heard in hostels before. We have to stand with utensils in queues now,” said Neelam, a U.I.E.T. student who is pursuing her ME degree.

The authorities, however, confirmed that such a proposal was in the pipeline and indicated that it would be implemented soon in all hostels.

“We will implement self-service soon in all hostels. If any girl has any problem, she will be adjusted and we will fully take care of any issue that comes to our notice,” said Nishta Jaswal, DSW (women).

However, all attempts to take Naval Kishore’s version failed.

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