Zirakpur, December 4
Just a few hours after the tragic incident of two persons being burnt alive when their car collided with the oil tank of a truck near the Zirakpur sales tax barrier here last late night, Ashok Kumar, an onlooker, died and two cops were injured after they were hit by a speeding Maruti car at the same spot.

SSP, Mohali, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, DSP Dera Bassi JS Khaira along with other police officials and mediapersons, who were also standing there, had a miraculous escape. Among the injured was the private security officer (PSO) of the SSP.

Sandeep, a resident of Partial, who was going back to Patiala along with his family after attending a marriage in Chandigarh, was driving the Maruti car. Due to the absence of street-lighting or any warning sign, the car driver could not see persons standing along the road and bumped into them. He probably panicked on seeing police presence there.

Ashok Kumar, a resident of Sector 50, Chandigarh, had moments before, parked his car a few metres away and had come to enquire about the incident. After being rushed to the GMCH, Sector 32, Ashok Kumar died today.

Since the incident took place on the Chandigarh side, the car driver was arrested and bailed out under Section 304-A of the IPC.

SSP, Mohali, GPS Bhullar, said he had reached Zirakpur to visit the accident spot, where a car had collided with the truck. The incident took place around 1 am, where SSP Mohali was talking to family member of the burn victims. The police had barred the entry of vehicles from the Chandigarh side, but a speeding white Maruti entered the area and failed to notice the people on road. The driver lost his balance and rammed the vehicle into the group.

The injured cops are Gunman Karamjit Singh and PSO Sukhvinder Singh. They were admitted to the GMCH-32 Chandigarh.

Police officials on the spot stated that a major tragedy was averted as JCB machines were busy cleaning the road. The Maruti car had a gas kit and if it had rammed into the JCB machine, a major tragedy could have taken place.

Zirakpur, December 4
It seems the Mohali police and the local administration have not learnt any lesson from the yesterday’s tragic incident in which two persons were burnt alive when the Honda City car they were travelling in hit the oil tank of a multi-axle trailer taking a U-turn through an illegal turning on the Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway.

The authorities concerned failed to take any measure to close the illegal median at entry point of Zirakpur near the sales tax barrier.

A visit to the spot revealed that trucks were crossing the median putting at risk their as well as commuters lives in danger. Traffic cops at the spot were mere spectators as they failed to take action against the errant truck drivers. A number of trucks parked on the roadside at the sales tax barrier also cause traffic congestion.

In the absence of any blinker, indicators and streetlights, minor accidents are a routine affair on the stretch.

SSP, Mohali, GPS Bhullar said they had already written to the Mohali DC and the Excise and Taxation Department to provide parking facility for trucks to take the U-turn. The entry point too needs to be widened. “Since most of the trucks don’t have permits to enter Chandigarh, they need space to take the U-turn,” he added.

Dera Bassi DSP JS Khaira said the issue of illegal thoroughfare near the sales tax barrier had repeatedly been taken up with the authorities concerned. He said he had already written to the Mohali SSP for removing the sale tax barrier.

Chandigarh, December 5
The non-functional instrument landing system (ILS) at Chandigarh airport affected all flights today, leaving thousands of passengers harassed. In the absence of this system, used for safe landing of flights during bad weather or fog, no flight reportedly either departed or arrived at the airport due to poor visibility leading to total chaos and confusion.

The ILS, the only one at the airport, has nor been functioning for a very long time.

While all efforts to contact the airport authorities proved futile, a senior official of one of the airlines revealed: “We required a visibility of around 2,800 meters; however, all that we had was 150 meters. No flight departed from here today. Also, many flights that were scheduled to land could not do so and after circling the airport for about an hour went back with the irate passengers being sent to their destinations by road.”

“All this is happening just because the airport doesn’t have a functioning ILS. Every time we speak to authorities they say it can only be done next year. We wonder how we will manage this winter. We are suffering for their fault and when the passengers create a hue and cry we cut a sorry figure,” said another airline official.

It may be noted the ILS has been nonfunctional for months now and as per the earlier versions of the airport authorities the current ILS is an outdated technology. They claimed to have already requested the immediate replacement to senior officials.

Meanwhile, the chaos resulted in great inconvenience for those headed for Mumbai or Calcutta as they could not board their connecting flights. However, what irked them the most was the attitude of the airport authorities.

“Its okay if their ILS is not working but shouldn’t they have informed us when we arrived at the airport? We kept on waiting for hours and running from one desk to another, but nobody helped. The private airline staff seemed quite clueless themselves and, as usual, nobody from the airport authorities did or say anything,” said a passenger.

“I had to reach Mumbai for a SAFMA meet and my flight was scheduled for 1:00 pm. I reached the airport by 11 pm and was quite surprised to find lax security checks and arrangements. To my shock the flight didn’t arrive till 3:30 pm. Nobody told us what had happened or bothered to help us out.”

Panchkula, December 4
Unleashing their fury, snatchers struck in the town again today and made a woman their target. The victim, identitified as Kirti Bajaj, was returning home in Sector 15 when three snatchers on a bike snatched her purse hanging on the handle of her moving Activa scooter. In the process, Kirti fell, fracturing her right leg.

According to Kirti, she was returning home from the market in the evening and when she was nearing her home (No. 1370 A), one of the three youths riding the bike pounced upon her bag.

She fell and the slings of the bag got entangled in the handle of the two-wheeler. The snatchers kept on pulling her along with the scooter for a few yards till the slings of bag were broken, she said.

The bag contained Rs 3,000 and documents, she said. On Tuesday, two bikers had snatched the purse of a woman in Sector 4 in the afternoon.

Mohali, December 4
With its population steadily expanding, Mohali’s water requirement will vastly increase in the coming years. However, plans for augmenting water supply have received a setback after the work of laying two pipelines from the Kajauli waterworks under Phases V and VI of the project got embroiled in a controversy.

This has resulted in a further delay in execution of the ambitious water project drawn up about six years ago.

While the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) wants the pipeline in Phases V and VI should be laid exclusively for Mohali, the Chandigarh Administration wants to provide only 5 million gallons a day (mgd) of water from the two proposed pipelines. This would be on the same pattern that had been adopted in the case of the earlier four phases.

The prestigious project had already been hanging fire for the past six years as GMADA had not bothered to place it on the priority list. Now, with the UT administration staking its claim on the two water pipelines, the project’s execution is likely to get delayed still further.

At a meeting chaired by the principal secretary, department of local government, Punjab, regarding the Kajauli scheme on October 1, the GMADA chief administrator informed that the “land for transmission mains from Kajauli was acquired by the Punjab government and two-third of its cost was shared by the UT administration with the rest by the Punjab government”.

Punjab was getting 10 mgd of water out of the 80 mgd being supplied to Chandigarh from the Bhakra main line from the four phases, which had been executed earlier. The CA pointed out at the meeting that the “fifth and sixth phase of the pipeline will be exclusively for Punjab and UT will have no share of water in these pipelines”.

However, UT chief engineer SK Bansal stated the “sharing pattern from the Kajauli waterworks between different beneficiary states was decided at the meeting held on July 6, 1983 at the home minister’s office in North Block, New Delhi, and that holds good even today”.

Accordingly, 10 mgd of water was being given to the Punjab government out of a total of 80 mgd at present and, as such, Bansal contested the GMADA chief administrator’s claim.

He further informed that “The UT administration has prepared an estimate under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for laying more pipelines and sharing of water shall be as per agreement”.

The GMADA chief administrator said JNNURM would not fund the acquisition of the land required for the water works and arrangement of funds had to be decided.

The UT chief engineer said a meeting was later held under the chairmanship of the Punjab chief secretary at which the matter was discussed.

However, he added the issue regarding the water sharing pattern from the two proposed pipelines remained unresolved, though it was clear the pipelines would be laid by the Chandigarh administration.

A scheme to provide 20 mgd of canal water to Mohali through an independent line from the Kajauli waterworks under Phase V to meet the requirement of the growing town was prepared by PUDA (now GMADA) in 2003.

However, the project failed to make any headway as it was not given the required importance by the authorities concerned.

Panchkula, December 4
Known as a wonder prodigy of exceptional musical genius in music circles, Panchkula girl, Tejaswani, though mentally challenged is admired as the ablest of all by music lovers and connoisseurs in India, especially in the Bollywood.

Awards galore for the melodious singer par excellence was a routine matter, but Tejaswani felt at the top of the world, as President Pratibha Patil bestowed her with the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities-2009 yesterday at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi.

Though the award carried a certificate of honour, memento and cash prize of Rs 50,000, but the sympathetic and blessed adulation of the President declaring her the role model mattered the most, added Harsh Sharma, who toiled hard to see Tejaswani at the epitome of popularity.

This is for the first time that such a child from the tricity got the Presidential honour in her category.

“Thanks to the media, people know us as proud parents of Tejaswani,” echoed both Harsh and Sunil Sharma.

Music came to her rescue when the diseases made her almost lifeless. Tejaswani remembers by heart and can sing over 500 musical compositions, including filmy songs, ghazals and complex classical bandishes to perfection with consummate ease.

Not complacent, she attended five classes daily under music maestros Pandit Yashpaul, Pandit Bhim Sen Sharma and Varinder Bachan. Her album of devotional songs is awaiting release.

Chandigarh, December 4
The Chandigarh Beopar Mandal held its first award function at Hotel Taj here today. UT Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar was the chief guest on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, he welcomed the initiative taken by the beopar mandal of recognising people who have been contributing to the society, the trade and the city.

He urged the beopar mandal to make it an annual feature. He also said that gradually the awards would become one of the prestigious awards of the region.

Addressing the gathering, he said the administration would cater to the genuine demands of the beopar mandal. He pressed for partnership for the regularisation of parking, advertising and CCTV camera instalments in city markets.

The best market award for outstanding maintenance of the upkeep and cleanliness including landscaping, best market award for maintenance of systematic parking of vehicles in the market, award for excellence in trade and individual retailers were given on the occasion. 

Chandigarh, December 4
The Chandigarh Administration has released the compensation amount for 92 victims of the 1984 Sikh riots, residing in the city.

Home Secretary Ram Niwas said, “We have got a formal communication from the Centre to this effect and I have instructed the office of the Deputy Commissioner to speed up the office procedure and hand out the cheques to the deserving parties at the earliest.”

The Home Secretary clarified that the amount was approximately Rs 2 lakh in a majority of the cases with certain minor differences.

It is worth mentioning that a majority of the riot victims in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana have received their compensation amounts already.

The administration plans to check the list thoroughly to ensure that the relief seekers had not sought compensation from any other state earlier.

A show-cause notice has been issued to the errant depot holder. The show-cause notices have already been issued to six depot holders of Colony No 5 and five fair price shop holders of Colony No 4, Industrial Area, Phase I, Chandigarh, for irregularities in distribution of essential commodities.

Chandigarh, December 4
There is poor professionalism in theatre, television and movies in India, said Ramanvir Grewal, a graduate from East 15 Acting School, Essex, one of the 21 recognised schools in United Kingdom.

“Basically, we only carry out services to NRIs in the name of Bollywood films. The television plays are an apology to quality work and theatre here does not financially help artistes. Thus, I will go back to England this month,” he said.

Ramanvir Grewal did his Masters in English from Panjab University before joining the three-year course at Essex in London. I have done a play with theatre group Abhinet before I decided to join acting.

“I had gone to UK on a tourist visa and tried my hand at acting before I joined Essex. The acting schools there are professional,” he said.

“My area of interest is political theatre and I performed in ‘destiny’, a play based on political developments in UK in 70s,” Ramanvir said.

Chandigarh, December 4
It was a day ruled by music, fun and rhythm as Euro Kids preschool celebrated its annual musical extravaganza - Song and Rhyme Day - on school campuses in the city (Sectors 18 and 37) and in Panchkula (Sectors 9 and 12-A) here today.

It was a delight to listen to sweet songs and rhymes, taking the audience back to their childhood. The school wore a bridal look with dexterous decorations. The students sang “Mama darling, papa darling” and melodious Hindi numbers including “Chodo kal ki batein” and “Ek chhoti kashti”. Addressing the gathering, principal Mona Verma said: “ Songs and rhymes help a lot in introducing and appreciating music. Children are encouraged to perform on stage this helps build their self-confidence and social connectivity.”

Panchkula, December 4
Saint Soldier’s School wore a festive look, as its annual day was celebrated with great fervour here. Additional Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sangwan, Panchkula, was the chief guest. The celebrations began with a fantastic field show followed by the art and science exhibitions and an enthralling stage show.

An excellent display of different asanas by students captivated the audience. Attired in bright colourful dresses, the students of junior wing presented a carnival showing wonderful gifts of Mother Nature and their favourite cartoon characters. The audience was spellbound watching the spectacular display of courage and concentration by taekwondo students. The stage show commenced with Indian classical orchestra followed by a beautifully enacted play, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, by tiny tots, who stepped on to the stage beaming with joy and spread their radiance and surprised one and all by their wonderful acting skills.

A mime highlighting corruption prevailing in present society also enthralled the audience. The academic and sports achievers were also awarded on this day. The celebrations came to an end with the thrilling performance of hip-hop dance, which rocked the stage.

Zirakpur, December 4
The on-the-spot power billing scheme of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which was introduced here a few months ago, has not solved the electricity bill related problems of Zirakpur residents, as they were facing inconvenience.

The residents of Zirakpur alleged that they were not getting the bills on time and they had to come at the PSEB centre to collect their bills.

A visit to the PSEB centre revealed that the residents had hard time to get their bills. They stated that the spot billing machine had generated the bills of only those customers whose data had been fed in the machines.

However, PSEB officials ensured them of an earliest solution to their problems and the bills would be distributed on the priority basis.

Chandigarh, December 4
In a decision that may bring trouble for those faculty members of Panjab University who have not been teaching for the requisite work-hours till now, a three-member committee has been formed by Vice-Chancellor of RC Sobti to conduct a detailed academic audit of the university.

The committee, which has been formed under the chairmanship of SK Sharma, and consists of SS Kumar and MR Khurana, has been asked to submit a comprehensive report by December 20.

In what is being viewed as a reply to the press releases issued by the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) on the shortage of faculty for the past few days, the PU authorities have decided to scrutinise the whole situation and fill the seats according to the needs of the university.

The committee would furnish complete details of the workload of teachers in various departments of the PU, analysing whether it is in agreement with the UGC norms.

Questions such as how many teaching posts are there and what is the workload, what is the time table of each teacher and work hours and how many more seats need to be filled according to the instructions of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, will be answered in the report.

“Earlier, in 2001, the MHRD had directed us not to recruit any teachers, but later it was amended in 2004, stating that the seats may be filled as per needs. The committee will submit the report to the VC on December 20 and accordingly, the seats would be filled,” informed Prof Naval Kishore, Dean Student Welfare.

While the teachers association has been claiming that there is a dire shortage of staff, as per the data collected by them, facts also reveal that there are more than six departments in the varsity, which have several faculty members, but hardly any students enrolled. This was stated in a detailed financial audit conducted by the varsity earlier.

Moreover, some of the departments were also found out to be a burden on the PU’s financial assets, as the students are no longer interested in the courses, yet the faculty continues to draw salaries.

“According to the UGC norms professors, readers and lecturers are supposed to take 18, 16 and 14 lectures, respectively, in a week. Whether this is being implemented, will be checked by the committee and steps will be taken accordingly,” added Prof Naval Kishore.