NEIGHBOURHOOD

Dissent against Patiala Mayor
Over 20 councillors boycott general house meeting
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 28
The Patiala municipal corporation appears to be in a bind after it sold off its Sanauri Adda garbage dump site to the Improvement Trust. The latter, which has now floated tenders for the sale of the garbage dumped there, has said once all the refuse is removed from the site it would not allow more of it to be to be thrown there.

Sources close to the municipal corporation said after the Improvement Trust purchased the site it decided to develop a commercial-cum-residential complex in the area. The trust has made it clear henceforth it would not allow the MC to dump garbage here, as the area would be developed for residential purposes.

However, MC commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said the corporation had sold off only part of the Sanauri Adda garbage dump site to the Improvement Trust. He said the dump was spread over 13 acres of land and half of this had been transferred to the trust. “There was a proposal to set up another garbage dump in Dialpura village where a piece of ‘shamlat’ land had been identified, and now only a bridge of the Patiala Nadi had to be provided to develop this site”, he added.

He said once the Dialpura dump became operational, garbage from the city would first be transported to Dialpura from where it would then be carted away to the solid waste disposal plant that the corporation plans to set up.

He further said the MC had decided to set up a solid waste treatment plant at a cost of Rs 40 crore. “Hectic efforts are on to find a suitable site for the plant”, he added.

The sources said the corporation had initially mooted a proposal to locate the plant at Ghagga, a town near Patran, as there was a chunk of land available there. However, the plan has been shelved and other options are now being explored. “220 metric tonnes of garbage is generated in Patiala everyday”, Narang said.

Patiala, October 28
The Patiala Municipal Corporation has decided to regularise unauthorised colonies in the city after payment of 75 per cent of the development charges.

The decision was taken at the general house meeting of the MC held under the chairmanship of Mayor Ajitpal Singh Kohli here yesterday. The meeting decided to adopt a decision of the Punjab Local Bodies Department to provide a major relief to the illegal colonies. It is expected that the decision will also be a revenue generator for the MC.

The meeting decided that the scheme of payment of land use charges in the scheme areas would also be extended to the non-scheme areas on the same rate as applicable in case of scheme areas.

With a view to generate additional income, the MC has decided to regularise illegal basements in showrooms as had been done by the MCs of Ludhiana and Amritsar.

The owners will have to pay the prescribed fee for the purpose. The MC also decided to put on hold the project for setting up of a solid waste treatment plant. It was earlier decided that the MC would set up a solid waste treatment plant at Ghagga near Patran, but following objections by residents of the area, it was decided to look for another site. The MC has decided to put the project of hold till an alternate site is selected for the purpose.

Patiala, October 28
Nine couples tied the nuptial knot at a mass wedding ceremony organised by Sant Hardev Singh Lulonwale at Nirmal Dera, Namadian village, today.

Besides religious preachers, hundreds of devotees took part in the ceremony.

Organised as part of the annual celebration, the mass wedding had couples from various castes. The weddings were held in a traditional manner.

Parents, relatives and friends of the brides and bridegrooms also joined the ceremony. Breakfast and lunch was served to guests. The couples took vows in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib.

Sant Hardev Singh said the marriages were held every year as many parents could not get their children married because of lack of money.

Ropar, October 28
Farmers and scientists should work together to ensure progress in the field of agriculture, said adviser to Chief Minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema while addressing a gathering at farmers’ training camp here yesterday.

He appreciated the efforts of the organisers in imparting latest agriculture know-how to farmers. He appealed to farmers not to burn paddy stubble as it was dangerous for the health of the soil.

Anandpur Sahib MLA Sant Ajit Singh also addressed the farmers. He said the government was committed to providing power and proper irrigation facilities to farmers.

Joint director of agriculture department Dr Nirankar Singh said farmers would be given fertilisers through societies and a subsidy of Rs 500 per quintal would also be extended.

Chief agriculture officer Balwinder Singh Sohal emphasised the need for organic farming.

Prominent among those present included Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti, SDM Anandita Mishra, assistant commissioner Rupanjali, DSP Bhupinder Singh Thind and Improvement Trust chairman Dr RS Parmar.

Patiala, October 28
Thapar University, Patiala, is organising Aranya' 09, techno-management festival, from October 29 to 31 on the university campus here.

The fest will include events in the form of competitions from all disciplines of engineering and management.

This time around 10,000 students are expected from 500 colleges all over the country and abroad.

Several international participants will be the part of the event like biz plan. Technical events from field of robotics, aero-modelling, hacking and biotechnology continue to be a big draw in the festival.

Apart from the technical events, there are various events like paintball, shaurya gatha, immolation (online gaming), vedanta- an event especially for school students.

The fest will be inaugurated on October 29, followed by performance by Nasha, a band from Delhi, and DJ Saanjh. October 30 will witness stars from the movie “Tum mile” (starring Emraan Hashmi and Soha Ali Khan) followed by scintillating performance by Mohit Chauhan of “Yeh dooriyan” fame. On October 31, Dr Kumar Vishwas of "Koi deewana kehta hai" fame will tickle the funny bone of the audience.

Patiala, October 28
The three-day Punjabi University Inter-Zonal Youth Festival got off to a colourful and vibrant start at the Punjabi University campus here yesterday.

While inaugurating the festival, Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jaspal Singh, reiterated his commitment to extend maximum facilities to the students excelling and brining laurels to the university in various type of youth activities.

Punjabi University, he said, was all set to function as a nodal agency for the promotion of Punjabi art and culture through various means and on all fronts within and outside the country.

In his welcome address, director Youth Welfare, Dr Satish Kumar Verma, disclosed that of the 12,000 competitors from 173 colleges affiliated with the university, only 1,200 have qualified to vie for top honours in the inter-zonal competition.

These participants include the winners of first and second positions from six zones i.e. Sangrur, Patiala, Mansa, Bathinda, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib in 30 events.

The first position holders in the inter-zonal competition will compete with their counterparts from other universities in the north zone and all-India inter-university competitions to be held at Kurukshetra and Rohtak Universities, respectively, he said.

The festival started with the spine-tingling and gripping event of giddha at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hall with local Khalsa College clinching the first position. A team from Sri Guru Harkrishan College settled in the remote village of Phallewal Khurd, Mandi Ahmedgarh, Sangrur district, won the second position with Multani Mal Modi College, Patiala, and Cordia College for Co-education, Sangol, settling for the third and fourth positions, respectively. Simranjeet from Mansa was declared the best giddha dancer.

Patiala, October 28
As many as 69 primary and 80 secondary schools in the district will get facelift under the Sarv Sikha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme.

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh said over Rs 7 lakh has been approved under SSA and out of it around Rs 3 lakh has been received as first installment.

Besides constructing rooms in 69 primary and 80 secondary schools, 45 primary schools will be upgraded and two new primary schools will be set up in the district.

DC also informed that BEd and JBT teachers, who have got placement under the SSA would get Rs 16,000 and Rs 14,000 respectively.

Fatehgarh Sahib, October 28
Fire extinguishers provided to various schools of the district by the government have been gathering dust for the past three years, as teachers and students are unaware of its use or upkeep.

The extinguishers were provided to all village schools and were installed in especially those schools where food was prepared as part of midday-meal scheme to avert any fire tragedy.

A visit to schools of the district revealed that most of the extinguishers had not even been installed at proper places, as required under the guildelines.

Teachers, school principal and children were unaware of its use and simply nodded in the negative when questioned about the use and purpose of keeping these extinguishers in their schools.

“We have not been given training in using firefighting equipment. We have never been informed either by the fire department or the education department about the use of fire extinguishers,” said a section of teachers in various schools.

Officials of the education department said lakhs of rupees had been spent on the purchase and installation of fire extinguishers in the district but these had been gathering dust.

They said some of the extinguishers must have been damaged due to mishandling and improper care.

Even private school officials were told to keep fire extinguishers and training was made necessary for teachers and schoolchildren but nothing had been done.

District education officer (elementary) Surinder Singh said the firefighting equipment was purchased before his joining.

He expressed helplessness over the use of fire extinguishers or training to teachers and children.

However, he assured of raising the issue at its monthly meeting. He said schoolteachers and principals of all schools would be informed about their use.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Manch (Khamano block) chairperson Manjit Kaur has demanded that all teachers and schoolchildren be trained by the government to deal with any tragedy.

They must be trained to use firefighting equipment to avert any tragedy in schools, she said.

Panchkula, October 28
A local court today framed rape charges against a Haryana excise and taxation officer, Pradeep Sharma, who had allegedly contracted a second marriage while keeping both wives in the dark about his marital status.

After having a child with his second wife Sharma denied having had any relationship with her. However, on March 9, the police, in a report submitted with the Punjab & Haryana High Court, claimed the DNA test report had confirmed he was the father of the child from his second wife.

Last year on November 28 a Sector 20 resident filed a complaint against Sharma, who is posted at Karnal, alleging the latter had married her four years ago and had a child with her. In her complaint she said when she found he was already married and had two children from his first wife, she went to him and refused to accept him as her husband.

The complainant also submitted photographs and bank passbooks to substantiate her allegations.

The police had at that time registered a case of rape against Sharma. However, later - on June 25 - it had filed a charge sheet against the accused before the local court under sections 495 (concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Section 376 IPC was dropped.

On October 14 a lower court of Panchkula issued nonbailable warrants against Sharma following which he surrendered at the court of district & sessions judge SP Singh yesterday and was sent to Ambala jail.

Today, while hearing the case, justice Singh framed charges of rape against the accused. In a similar development the court granted him bail against a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

Chandigarh, October 28
In an attempt to tighten the noose around petty criminals in slums, the Chandigarh Police is sending decoy customers to arrest black marketeers, liquor smugglers and gamblers.

The in charge of the Sector 49 police post told TNS that acting on a secret information, they laid a trap to nab miscreants involved in the black marketing of the LPG. A decoy customer was sent to two persons, Chunni Lal and Sant Bahadur, in Colony No 5.

The accused were known for transfering gas from a cylinder to another and then sell the underweight cylinders on the black market, charging Rs 400 each. They were nabbed, while selling a LPG cylinder for Rs 400. The police seized six half-filled cylinders from them.

A case under attempt to cheating under the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act has been registered against them.

The police said they had arrested several persons for quarrelling and booked them under preventive measures in the last few weeks. The police had registered two cases under the Gambling Act and two under the Excise Act.

The police has been conducting continuous search operations in the colony which is a safe haven for petty criminals.

Chandigarh, October 28
Semi-finalists have been spotted in the Chandigarh Football Association Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy for Under-15 boys football tournament being played at the Sector 17 football stadium.

In the quarter-final matches played today, St Stephen’s School defeated Ryan International School, Sector 49, by 2-0; Chandigarh Police Football Academy routed Mount Carmel, Sector 47, by 3-0; DAV Senior Secondary, Sector 8, handed out a 3-0 drubbing to Saupin’s School, Sector 32, and St John’s School, Sector 26, got the better of St Kabir School, Sector 26, by 4-2 in the tie-breaker session after a goalless regulation period.

Though Ryan International made their exit, they were not disgraced. They defended their goal with all their might and attacked their rivals’ territory whenever they got opportunities. However, luck deserted them today.

Before conceding two quick goals, Ryan Internationals had launched two powerful attacks. After getting a cross from the right flank, Piyus Dhingra unleashed a powerful shot which hit the crosspiece. Another golden opportunity Ryan International had was when Arshjot’s rising drive struck the pole and the ball went out.

St Stephen’s School undoubtedly had more ball control and wasted a number of good chances to score. Jimmy and Wong were their main culprits as they either shot over the bar or straight into the waiting hands of Ryan International goalkeeper.

St Stephen’s School opened their account in the 55th minute. Wong sent a measured flag kick into the box and an alert Jasbir headed in smartly. Maintaining their pressure, St Stephen’s School struck again two minutes later. This time Bikramjit floated a centre and Jimmy punched into goal.

The Chandigarh Police Football Academy continued to give impressive display as they blanked Mount Carmel of Sector 47 by 3-0 and qualified for semi-final. Gurdarshan Singh excelled by scoring in the 11th and 55th minutes. Lovepreet netted in the 55th minute.

DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, defeated Saupin’s School, Sector 32, by 3-0. Manish scored their first goal in the 20th minute when his shot was deflected into the goal after hitting a defender. Eight minutes later, Omnayak gently directed the ball into the goal from close and Jitender completed the winners’ tally in the 40th minute.

In the last quarterfinal match, St John’s School edged out St Kabir School by 4-2. The 60-minute regulation period ended in a goalless draw. Just before the half time, St John’s had a golden chance to forge ahead when a combined move between Mehraj and Krishan was foiled by Kabir goalkeeper Gautam who parried a drive by Krishna for a corner.

In the tie-breaker session, St John’s converted their penalties through Sarfraz, Krishna, Varinder Thapa and Chander Mohan. For St Kabir School, Shivam and Archit Shukla converted their spot kicks. Shubhinder and Dashmesh wasted their tries.

Chandigarh, October 28
Tanvi Bhargava, a student of St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, and a junior international player, is among the 44 probables chosen by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) for the national coaching camp for girls’ under-16.

Announcing this here today, Rakesh Bakshi, secretary, Chandigarh Football Association (CFA), said 10 players were from Manipur, six from Orissa, four from Pondicherry, three each from Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Haryana, two each from West Bengal, Uttrakhand, Goa, Assam and Maharashtra, and one each from Punjab, Chandigarh, Bihar, Kerala and Gujarat.

These probables were selected during the recently concluded 6th Sub-Junior Girls National Football Championship in Haldwani (Uttrakhand), he added.

Bakshi said AIFF general secretary Alberto Colcao had directed him to inform the selected players to arrange their passport and birth certificates.

He said the federation had asked the secretaries to send the date of birth certificates of the selected probables immediately and added that the AIFF would soon decide the dates of the camp and the venue very soon.

The CFA secretary said those invited to the national camp include: Sanatombi Devi, GK, M Chingkheinganbi Devi, Rebika Oinam, Maipakpi Chanu, Romi Devi, P Bijeta Devi, D Grace, M Binarani Devi (Manipur), Parbarti Kujur, Kaushalya Barik, Subhaprava Rout, Sarojini Tirkby, S Tikina Sambal, GK, Sonali Oram (Orissa), S Radha, GK, K Sumithra, M Varalakshmi, N Rathika (Pondicherry), Veerpal (Punjab), A Indhrani, P Suganya, M Nandhini (Tamil Nadu), Suman Orano, GK, Pratima Kumari, Sushika Kumari (Jharkhand), Gita Das, Jyotsana Patra (West Bengal), Raksha Pawar, Ankita Rawat (Uttrakhand), Sonia, Anuradha, Kavita Devi (Haryana), Tanvi Bhargava (Chandigarh), Prerna Praveen (Bihar), Josline Maria D’Souza, GK, Salma Fernandes (Goa), Fwima Brahma, Tagar Khanikar (Assam), Nikhila T (Kerala), Bharna Jadeja (Gujarat), Kunashini Parekh and Natasha Sanjay Merchant (Maharashtra).

Chandigarh, October 28
Defenders Deepak Devrani and midfielder Bikramjit Singh of the Chandigarh Football and Hockey (CFH) Academy have been selected to represent the Indian team in group C of the AFC U-19 qualification round to be held in Iraq from November 5 to 15.

The players, along with six officials, will leave Mumbai to join other members of the team for Dubai on Saturday night for a training tour prior to their AFC under-19 qualification round in Iraq. The Indian team has been preparing for the AFC U-19 qualification round at AIFF Training Centre in Goa under the guidance of India’s youth coach Colm Joseph Toal.

India has been drawn alongside Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia in Group C.

The team -- Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Jagroop Singh, Shaikh Mohd Razakh; Defenders: Abhishek Das, Vishal Kumar Ravindra Kumar, Deepak Devrani, Inderpreet Singh, Daniel Albert Vales, Souvik Ghosh, Lalrozama Fanai, Akshay Vimal Kumar Mall; Midfielders: Jonychand S Thounaojam, Milan Singh Ongnam, Bikramjit Singh, Shilton Sydbey D’Silva, Malsawmkima Chhangte, Amit Bisht, Lalrindika Ralte, Thirthankar Sarkar; Forwards: Jeje Lalpeklua, Manandeep, Holi Charan Narzary, Malsawmfela.

The officials who would accompany the team include coach Colm Joseph Toal, asst coaches Narayana Menon VA and Syed Sabir Pasha, goalkeeper coach Tanumoy Basu and Chandru Jayaraman and Ankur Dutta, physiotherapist and manager, respectively.

Chandigarh, October 28
SCD Government College, Ludhiana, beat ILR Government College, Dhudike, by 4-2 in the Panjab University Inter-College Hockey (Men) A Division Tournament held at hockey stadium, Sector 42, here today.

Taranpreet scored the first goal in the 2nd minute of the play as SCD Ludhiana players started the offensive against their opponents from the start of the game. Amritpal of ILR Dhudike was the only player who equalled the score in the first 15 minutes.

However, the SCD, while continuing their aggressive game, scored another goal in the 23rd minute of the first half through Malkiat Singh. Even though the ILR players tried to make many moves, their attempts were foiled by the valiant SCD players.

After the start of the second half, Sangram Singh scored another goal for the SCD team in the 58th minute and finally Malkiat Singh scored another goal in the 60th minute taking his individual score to two goals. After this the ILR team became defensive and did not allow their opponents to score anymore goal in the next 30 minutes of the game.

In another match SGGS College Chandigarh beat GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar, by 2-0.

Chandigarh, October 28
More than 300 players from Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have staked their claims for the top honours in the 7th Manav Mangal Open Table Tennis Tournament, which begins tomorrow at Manav Mangal Smart School in Sector 64, Phase X, Mohali.

Announcing this here today, Sanjay Sardana, director, Manav Mangal Group of Schools, said the tournament was being organised to promote the talent of players and to provide them with a platform to compete on a larger scale. The tournament has been generating tremendous response amongst players earlier. Sardana said the competitions would be held for cadet boys and girls (U-12), sub-junior boys and girls (U-14), junior boys and girls (U-17), youth boys and girls (U-20) and men and women.

Mohali District Table Tennis Association secretary Rajeev Kaushal has been appointed as technical director and the tournament will be played under the rules and regulations of the Table Tennis Federation of India. There will be four prizes for each group and the winners would be awarded cash prizes. For outstation players, accommodation has been arranged in Kisan Bhawan.

Chandigarh, October 28
Twelve-year-old Zoravar Singh Thiara is an emerging star on the horse-riding circuit, as he has won a silver medal in dressage at F`ed`eration Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Challenge Dressage, an international equestrian championship, which concluded in New Delhi recently.

Young Zoravar gave his performance on his horses Prowler and Rebellion in the Junior Preliminary category aged 12-15 and qualified for the event by four days.

Earlier, a qualifying event was held, in which 40 participants were selected in all categories and the maximum competition was in the junior’s category in which Zoravar had participated.

Zoravar got 60.36 per cent in the preliminary dressage test, which interestingly was the highest result in the seniors’ preliminary category, however, he missed the gold by a whisker, which he attributed to mistakes made by him in the test on the ground.

The equestrian event had the best riders from all over the country and an international jury comprising of judges from European countries judged all events.

The event gives a player regional and world rankings in dressage and leads up to the FEI World Cup.

Zoravar benefited by attending a clinic organised by the visiting foreign judges which was held for winners on the next day of the main event, wherein they gave the perspective and expectations of international judges and how to improve the game to manage these expectations.

Since Zoravar has started his training with Maj JS Ahluwalia, who is an Arjuna Awardee and Asian Games winner, he has gained a lot in his riding skills.

Maj Ahluwalia, at present is based in Germany and visits India once in every month. Dr Amit Bhattacharya, sports psychologist, is helping Zoravar with mental strengthening to improve his concentration and other mental skills.

Zoravar said he was preparing his horses for FEI World Challenge Show Jumping 2010 and added that preparations were afoot to get ready for the 2014 Youth Olympics and Asain Games.