Seonk (Mohali), October 23
In blatant abuse of power and official machinery, a senior official of the Punjab forest department, KL Malhotra, is using the premises of the Seonk forest guesthouse here to prepare sweets for the forthcoming marriage of his son. The official is posted as Deputy Director in the department.

Officially, the guesthouse is to be used only for holding meetings and for the stay of official guests. The permission to use the premises is given by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

BC Bala, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, however, said he was not aware of any such activity. “I will have to look into it,” he said.

Misuse of the guesthouse premises apart, a vehicle of the forest department is being used to ferry the raw material for the sweets. “We are preparing panjiri for the marriage of sahib’s son. The sweets would be given along with invitation cards,” an employee of the forest department, who had been called from Patiala to perform “official duty”, said.

Enquiries reveal that more employees of the forest department had been arranged to prepare the sweets. When this correspondent visited the guesthouse today to ascertain the facts, it was found that after preparing several kilograms of panjiri, forest department employees were storing it in cauldrons in one of the rooms of the main guesthouse.

Chandigarh, October 23
Union minister for parliamentary affairs and water resources Pawan Bansal today rallied around senior Congressmen, allegedly at the receiving end of his bete noire UT administrator SF Rodrigues.

Beginning with former chairman of the market committee and councillor Devinder Singh Babla, who is on the run for his alleged role in the allotment of sheds in the Sector 26 Grain Market, Bansal came down heavily on Rodrigues for “treating the city like a personal fiefdom.”

False cases were foisted or sought to be foisted on the Mayor, Kamlesh, former Mayor Pardeep Chhabra, HS Lucky’s wife, Bhupinder Singh Badheri and Sheela Phool Singh. “Rodrigues missed no opportunity to target me, my close associates and even my relatives,” he alleged.

All these leaders, he claimed, earned Rodrigues ire as they took up the issue of public interest, which was apparently not liked by the administrator. Bansal also rubbished Rodrigues’ allegations that he opposed the introduction of the citizens’ charter in various departments of the Chandigarh administration.

“He (Rodrigues) relishes working with sycophants whom he can treat as a doormat,” a visibly agitated minister said at an interaction with the media, organised to refute allegations levelled by Rodrigues against Bansal and union minister Ambika Soni regarding irregularities in the allotment of land to DPS Society at Sector 40 here.

“For five years, good governance has been a casualty and the administration has been a theatre of the absurd and the art of chicanery has been made a science and tool of law,” Bansal said, claiming how other visitors to Raj Bhavan came out humiliated.

For the first time, Bansal came out openly against the administrator for his alleged role in “gifting away” land to large companies for setting up controversial mega projects.

Chandigarh, October 23
The long speculated repatriation of DPI (Schools) Samwartak Singh seems to have got the final nod today, with the Home Secretary recommending it to the Governor.

The action follows the submission of the police report in the cash-for-job scam, which has ruled out any criminal involvement of the DPI in the scam, but considers his being in touch with Jolly (the prime accused) inexplicable.

Sources said the administration, taking cognizance of the report, also demanded disciplinary action against the DPI for being in constant communication with Jolly.

Though the police failed to establish his direct involvement for want of “material evidence”, it has found no valid reason for him to be in touch with the accused. “We have decided to act against him because he has maligned the department’s image by being in contact with a person involved in such a major case. Both had exchanged numerous phones calls, which are more than required,” a senior official stated.

Though the DPI insisted that he was talking to Jolly in connection with some work pertaining to the tourism department, he could not prove it. All his powers were later withdrawn by the administration.

Chandigarh, October 23
Despite the local municipal corporation’s assurance to the administration to seriously think about imposing property tax and revision of the water tariff almost a week ago, both issues are missing from the agenda of the house meeting scheduled for October 30.

In the last joint review meeting of the administration and the corporation on the formalities required to be fulfilled for getting the subsidy of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar had asked the Mayor to take up the issues of taxes in the House soon.

It was also emphasised in the meeting that at least a minimal amount of tax should be levied on the residential property depending on the size of the plots. It was also suggested that the UT villages should be exempted from the taxes. Mayor Kamlesh stated that these issues would also be discussed in the meeting.

Similarly on the subject of the recovery of service charges for facilities like water supply, sewerage and sanitation to the people, it was decided that as the recovery is not at par with the expenditure incurred, revision in tariff is required in the prevailing system, which would help in reducing the deficit. The corporation suffers a loss of around one third of the total expenditure incurred in providing services, each year. However, it is able to recover only two third of the total expenditure. This year out of the total expenditure on services amounting to Rs 74 crores, only Rs 48 had been recovered.

Sources in the corporation revealed that both these agendas were being sent to the mayor for her approval, but she rejected them without giving any reason. Even the agenda for the installation of water meters in the villages and colonies were also sent to her, time and again, but all in vain.

Meanwhile, a letter from the local government on the complaint of the misbehavior of Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla is going to be tabled in the house.

In the letter, the administrator, Gen SF Rodrigues stated that the corporation, being an elected body, should maintain decorum in the house for its healthy functioning.

Besides this, amendment in byelaws of fish and poultry and construction of roads and paver blocks in various areas are also going to be discussed in the house. 

Chandigarh, October 23
“Flawed lifestyle is the real health hazard. It is important to make lifestyle changes in order to prevent various ailments like heart disease no matter how old or young you are,” said Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ambika Soni, who was the chief guest for the 11th Annual Conference of Paediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI), organised at Bhargava Auditorium of the PGI here today.

She stressed on making lifestyle changes as it help in controlling risk factors linked to the heart disease. “To achieve this goal, it is important to learn about key health measures,” she added. Dr KK Talwar, Director, PGIMER, gave the inaugural speech. Many renowned surgeons and eminent figures in the field of paediatric cardiac care from the country and abroad participated in the event.

The scientific programme began with a talk by Dr Krishna Kumar, who highlighted the importance of teamwork in the paediatric cardiac care. Among the panelists were Dr KS Iyer, Dr KS Murthy, Dr R Tandon and Dr Usha (USA). They laid stress on training and organisation of teamwork for optimising the outcome under an able leadership.

Various aspects pertaining to Tetralogy of Fallot, common and extremely dreadful diseases of children in which they are born blue were also discussed. Dr Pedro del Nido (USA), Dr Shivaprakash K (Mumbai) and Dr KS Murthy (Hyderabad) ponder upon various modalities. Surgical planning, treatment of difficult cases and methods for avoiding complications were also discussed. Delegates from all over the country discussed and shared their experiences.

Latest advances in imaging of congenital heart disease by 3-D echocardiography were also highlighted. Dr Anita Saxena, Dr Sivakumar K and Dr S Sivasankaran laid down its importance for pre-operative planning and in follow up of the patients. Dr Andrew Cook (UK) and Dr Girish Shirali (USA) correlated images and the structure of the heart in rare congenital heart ailments.

Modalities for diagnosing heart ailments in foetus were also discussed. Dr Edgar Jaeggi (USA), Dr Shardha Srinivasan (USA), Dr Balu Vaidyanathan and Dr S Radhakrishnan talked about diagnosing the abnormalities in the structure as well as the rhythm of the heart. This will help in providing early care to the newborn suffering from the heart disease.

An extensive talk was held on problems of pulmonary hypertension and its management in congenital heart diseases. The conventional strategies of treatment were compared with the new and experimental ones. The inaugural function started in the evening with Saraswati Vandana. Chairman Dr GD Puri welcomed the dignitaries. A cultural programme followed the inaugural function. Dr KM Cherian, who was the guest of honor, is an internationally acclaimed paediatric cardiac surgeon, who has been instrumental in changing the scenario of cardiac surgery in India. He has a large number of firsts to his credit, including the paediatric heart transplant. 

Chandigarh, October 23
The auspicious serene and melodious “Mangal Dhawni” on Shehnai by Shankar Bandhus of Benaras gharana marked the majestic start of the 32nd three-day Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan organised by the Indian National Theatre at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium here today.

Commencing their recital with melodious rendition of raga “Bhim Plasi” the Shehnai maestros, Sanjeev Shankar and Ashwani Shankar, remained in perfect sync during the reposeful “alaap”, “Jod Jhalla” and the compositions. They presented a spell binding “dhun” in raga “Mishar Khamaj” and the concluding but thrilling “thumri” in raga “Mishar Pilu”.

While both maestros are taking advanced knowledge of music from legendary Pandit Ravi Shanker the elder Sanjeev Shankar is adept at the western fusion forms having partnered with Grammy Award winning American band, Ozomalti.

Highly decorated young classical vocalist Manjusha Patil took the centre stage only to spell magic with soulful rendition of complex but captivating raga ‘Chhayanat”. She bared the melodic character of the raga with brilliance and consummate ease through brief “alaap” and two compositions. Another composition in raga “Bageshawri” in medium tempo (“Madhya lya”) enraptured the audience. She brought alive the mysticism of Kabir in a bhajan “ Mann lago yaar faqiri mein” before a scintillating rendering of “ Jaa mein tujh se nahi bolun in evergreen raga “Bhairavi”. Vinay Mishra and Paramjit Singh provided admirable accompaniment on harmonium and tabla, respectively.

Vocalist Vineeta Gupta, Lahore-based Sagar Veena maestro Noor Zehra and Sangeetacharya Vidyadhar Vyas will light up the second day of sammelan.

Mohali, October 23
Residents of Mohali are likely to face a substantial hike in water supply and sewerage charges as the department of local government has directed the municipal council to implement the revised water supply and sewerage tariff with immediate effect. The issue will be discussed at the general body meeting scheduled to be held on October 26.

A copy of the notification received by the civic body office stated that in partial modification of the notification dated July 29, 1994, the government had rationalised and revised the user charges/tax in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 62-A(2) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, (as amended in the year 1994) and a direction was given to all municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state vide notification dated May 2, 2003, to implement the revised water supply and sewerage tariff with immediate effect.

The revised charges of water supply recommended for domestic consumers for the year 2007-08 are Rs 3.80 per kilolitre per month. The flat rate recommended for 5 marla houses is Rs 100 per month per connection, Rs 105 for 5 marla and up to 10 marla and Rs 140 for above 10 marla but less than 1 kanal. The charges recommended for domestic sewer connections are Rs 70 up to 5 marla per connection per month, Rs 105 for 5 marla and up to 10 marla and Rs 140 for above 10 marla but less than one kanal.

Residents at present are paying Rs 1.80 per kilolitre per month for the supply of water and Rs 15 per seat per month as charges for sewer connections as per government letters dated November 22, 2000 and April 26, 2001.

Mohali, October 23
The cooperatives department has failed to provide information to the members of the Housefed Flat Sangarsh Committee, Sector 79, Mohali, about the payment of interest it had promised to pay on the amount deposited by the allottees for flats that were to be constructed by Housefed.

President of the committee Naresh Kumar Trehan said here today that a meeting was held in the office of the registrar, cooperatives department, in Chandigarh on October 1 where it was decided that Housefed would pay interest to allottees on money collected from them as payment for the super deluxe flats. The total amount collected by Housefed was around Rs 40 crore.

Panchkula, October 23
While the semi urban voters from Kalka have sent INLD candidate Pradeep Chaudhary to the Assembly with a huge margin of 21,187 votes, a majority of voters in villages of the Panchkula constituency also polled in favour of the party, indicating that Congress grip on its traditional vote bank in the rural areas had slackened.

Yograj Singh, INLD candidate from Panchkula, managed to get the maximum votes in the last four rounds where rural votes mattered. He polled maximum votes from Haripur, Devi Nagar, Nada, Moginand, Railly, Abhaypur and Kundi villages. The lead had shot up in the next round when he got 3,549 votes from Maankyan, Bunga, Tibbi, Khetpurali and Rattewali, creating a flutter in the Congress camp, which managed only 1,948 votes in the round.

In the penultimate round, the margin of Yograj Singh in villages was contained by Shashi Sharma of the HJC, when votes from the Barwala area were counted. He got 2,520 votes and the HJC candidate 2,191 votes, leaving the Congress candidate with 2,129 votes.

A similar trend was maintained by rural voters from Bataud, Bhagwan, Bharaili and Nawagaon who cast 1,321 votes in favour of Yograj Singh, over Congress candidate DK Bansal who got only 1,075 votes.

Even as the Congress managed to win the seat with the support of urban voters, the ruling party was trampled in several villages where its votes did not even touch the three-digit mark.

At Bana Madanpur, the Congress got only 70 votes while Yograj Singh polled 253 of the total 401 votes. Similarly, at Bunga village, the INLD got 409 votes and the Congress only 97.

Urban voters did it for Bansal, who took a lead of 12,260 over Yograj. At the polling station of the posh Sector 6, Yograj got only 13 votes and 210 went in the kitty of the Congress. At the other posh areas of Sector 2 and MDC (Sector 4), the Congress polled double the votes.

Chandigarh, October 23
With the first instalment out of the Rs 100-crore grant already in Panjab University’s kitty for research work, the university authorities are now planning to honour scientists who have been doing quality research during the past few years.

University scientists have published 6,102 research papers in the last 13 years relating to health sciences, medical sciences, social sciences, chemical sciences and physical sciences.

Figures reveal that despite the moderate pace of production of research work, the PU is ahead of two leading universities in the country in producing these papers, including University of Hyderabad (4,704 papers) and Delhi University (1,100 papers).

The data is available on a website for scholars - scorpus - which is often referred to by the scientists to compare work with their competitors.

The scientists are rated by the “H-Index” by the website, which is an indication of the quality work being produced since 1996. In general, “H-Index” above 10 is considered to be an excellent job.

A few scientists who secured “H-Index” of more than 10 in the PU include Prof RK Kohli, Prof RC Sobti Prof Bhasin, Prof Tapas Mukhopdhaya and Prof K Tankeshwar.

Taking note of the achievements of the scientists, Vice-Chancellor Prof RC Sobti said: “We are planning to honour the scientists who have been consistently doing us proud both at the national and the international level.”

The VC also emphasised the need for producing quality research work to make the best use of the grant received by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Mohali, October 23
Around 350 MBA and BBA students of Aryans Business School (ABS) and Aryans School of Management (ASM) today organised a candlelight peace march in Mohali. The march was organised to celebrate the United Nations Disarmament Week. Students displayed placards and raised the slogans. The UN Disarmament Week is celebrated from October 24 to October 30. Anshu Kataria, chairperson, Aryans Group of Institutes, while addressing the gathering said weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms were a big threat to humanity and peace.

He said the objective of the march was to make masses aware about the disarmament campaign by the United Nations. — TNS