Chandigarh, January 9
High drama was witnessed in the court today when Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla was brought there after production warrants were issued against him yesterday. He had moved an application to surrender and the prosecution had expressed its inability to take him in police custody yesterday.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshul Berry sent him to judicial custody until January 22 in the case pertaining to the recruitment of the auction recorder, Rajesh Chauhan, allegedly on the basis of fake certificates.

Babla, lodged at Burail Jail in connection with the illegal allotment of shed case till January 15, was produced in court by the police.

The UT senior standing counsel, Anupam Gupta, had moved an application on behalf of the police, expressing inability to take Babla into custody. The application maintained that as the police was contemplating to challenge the orders of this court in the High Court regarding his surrender application, it was unable to take him into custody.

Meanwhile, the prosecution has decided to challenge both orders of the court in the HC -- one allowing his application to surrender yesterday and another of sending him to judicial custody till January 22, which was passed today.

Babla’s bail plea in the illegal allotment of shed case was slated to come up for arguments before the court today, which he withdrew. Earlier during the day, Babla moved an application in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, JS Sidhu, who issued warrants to produce Babla before his court on January 12. Babla had filed an application offering to surrender in the vigilance case against him. 

Panchkula, January 9
Timely action by the police helped foil the attempt to kidnap an 18-year-old girl and it managed to arrest three of the four accused within a couple of hours at Kalka today.

The SP, Manish Chaudhary, said the victim was under shock and not in a state to give any statement. However, it seemed that a rape attempt had been made in the car.

The accused have been identified as Vikram Kumar Chaudhary of New Rattan Nagar, Jalandhar, Madan Yadav of Saharangpur and Sumit, whose antecedents could not be confirmed. The fourth accused, Sushil, however, managed to escape.

All the accused were stated to be under the influence of liquor and could not speak. According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place around 6.30 pm when the girl, a resident of Broad Gauge Railway Colony, was returning home. When she neared the Pinjore-Kalka highway, some men waiting in the car dragged her inside and sped away.

Since it was dark, the number plate of the car was not visible, the eyewitnesses said. The police dispatched around a dozen parties in various directions and the SP supervised the search operation.

Enquiries at the Parwanoo barrier confirmed that the suspects had crossed over to Himachal and the Solan police was alerted. When the accused realised that they were being chased by the police, they tried to speed up the car, resulting in an accident.

The car neared Dharampur and on seeing the police naka, the accused took a sharp turn, ramming the car into a truck. All the accused were injured. The police took them to hospital, from where one of them was referred to the PGI.

However, the girl escaped with minor injuries. The SP said the car was reeking of liquor and an iron rod was also found in the car.

The father of the girl reportedly sells peanuts. This was the second such incident in the town during the past fortnight. On December 23, a minor girl of Tipra Railway Colony, who was allegedly gangraped, was rescued by the police from the captivity of her tormentors. The victim told the police that she had gone to the railway station for some work when the accused forcibly took her with them and raped her for three days.

Chandigarh, January 9
In a major jolt to the conversion policy in the Industrial Area here, at least two industrialists have stopped the payment of the conversion fee while cheques of five others have bounced.

The list of defaulters includes a leading automobile outlet and a confectionery. The administration is planning to lodge an FIR against the two industrialists who have stopped their payments. The details of the non-payment (running into crores) are being worked out. The final amount would include 18 per cent interest due on the default in payment.

Confirming the development, Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar said: “The construction at the sites concerned would be stopped immediately and action would be initiated under the relevant provisions against the deafulters.”

In another case, an industrialist had issued cheques in the name of the Chandigarh Housing Board, which was the nodal agency initially. Later, the estate office took over, but changes in the pay cheques were not made by the industrialist.

Also, over Rs 500 crore has been collected under the conversion policy. More than 125 persons had applied for conversion and about 55 went to court, saying that they were being overcharged.

Chander Verma, chairman of the Chandigarh Converted Industrial Plot Owners Association, remarked: “Initially the money charged for conversion was to be used for the development of the Industrial Area, but later the entire money was transferred to the corpus of the Centre.”

At the same time, industrialists are peeved because the administration has not provided any matching grant for facilities in infrastructure, including electricity, roads and sewerage, as envisaged in the original plan.

Verma said: “We deserved a better moratorium in payment for a matching development of the area as promised when the policy was launched. In Mohali, the government has allowed free conversion to plots measuring more than 5 acres. Greater FAR has also been allowed and there is relaxation in the height of buildings.”

Mohali, January 9
The shortage of potable water in Mohali’s peripheral villages has caught the attention of the Punjab Human Rights Commission.

Acting on a complaint filed by Dr Jasdeepak Singh Kambala regarding the shortage of potable water in Dharamgarh, Cheurheri, Papri, Chilla, Chachoamjra and Kambala due to apathy of the water supply wing of the Punjab public health department, the Commission while registering a case has sought a report from the State Government and the Deputy Commissioner, Mohali, by February 23.

In the complaint it was highlighted that there was resentment among villagers over poor supply of potable water. It has been alleged that the motors fitted in government 
water tanks were of low horsepower and were lying non-operational for want of repair.

The issue had also been highlighted in these columns wherein it had been revealed that a water storage tank in Kandala village is awaiting electricity connection since 2006. And the yellow water from hand pumps was unfit for drinking.

A former MLA, Bir Devinder, had laid the foundation stone of the waterworks meant to feed Kandala and Cheurheri villages.

At Papri village, supply lines have been laid but supply has not been started. Another neighbouring village, Chila, is getting water from Mauli village as the land meant for the water storage facility could not be acquired. “The water supply comes for half an hour and the situation is worse in summers,” said Dr Jasdeepak Singh.

Regarding the quality of water from hand pumps, the villagers said due to sewage mixing with seasonal rivulets flowing through the villages, the hand pump water had been contaminated.

Chandigarh, January 9
The longest foggy weather in the last six years and chilly winds continued in the city for the past 24 hours, forcing residents to remain indoors.

Dense fog continued to envelop the city even as the maximum temperature rose to 9.5 degree Celsius, with the cold wave abating a little.

Today’s temperature was 11 degrees Celsius below the normal average for this time of the year. On the other hand, the minimum temperature recorded was 6.2 degree Celsius, which was within normal range.

This meant that the difference between the early morning temperatures had been little, making residents feel the cold even more than before.

The chill forced people indoors and sit near blowers and heaters. Shopkeepers reported low sales as shoppers did not move out.

Places selling non-vegetarian food, soups, ‘jalebis’, ‘pakoras’ and ‘samosas’ made brisk sale. A supplier of mutton, fish and chicken said sales were high this time of the year, but the chilly weather had added to the upswing.

Foggy conditions would continue for two more days. Fog disrupted road and air traffic all over the region, including the city, where the morning visibility was 100 metres. All flights bound for the city were cancelled.

The director of the local meteorological office, Chattar Singh, said overcast conditions were not clouds, but fog, which lifted up to a few hundred metres and remained static, giving the feeling of clouds to the naked eye.

The present conditions would persist for the next 48 hours, he predicted. He said there were chances that there would be rain in the city by January 13, which would decrease the density of fog.

Chandigarh, January 9
To enlighten young competitive minds, students of GMCH-32 are once again organising the mock test for medical aspirants of the tricity on January 17.

“This one-day mock test-cum-counselling-cum medical exhibition has evolved as a priceless tool to guide over 5,000 aspirants in the tricity,” said Dr GP Thami, organising secretary, Euphoria 2010.

He said the students of GMCH-32 who had themselves faced the exam would conduct the mock test. The panel of experts from Helix Institute will provide answers and explanation. This test not only helps in revision, but also helps in time management and is also a big stress buster in such tense situation.

Giving details about the test, he said it was scheduled on January 17 and was divided into three modules. While, module one will be for Class VI to VIII students and will be based on the NTSE/STSE pattern.

The subjects for this test are mathematics, general science, social studies and aptitude, the module two would be for the students of Class IX and X. This will be based on the Olympiad pattern. The subjects for this test are science, mathematics and mental ability. Module three is based on the pattern of competitive exams and is meant for the students of Classes XI, XII and XII passed.

There would be two separate sets of papers for medical and engineering aspirants.

Talking to mediapersons here, senior students informed that the forms for this mock test were available at boys’ hostel GMCH-32, Chandigarh, schools, leading tuition centres, book stores and on-the spot also.

The results would be declared within a week on their official website. The answers to the questions will be available at the website as well as on the notice board outside the examination hall.

The students excelling in these tests would be rewarded cash prizes and certificate. Also a detailed counselling session would be held regarding time management and on how to attempt the question paper.

In order to generate curiosity among the competitive students, a medical exhibition will also be organised, which would expose them to the world of medicine.

Chandigarh, January 9
A delegation of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal today submitted a memorandum to the Finance Secretary opposing the Chandigarh Administration’s move to allow parking of tourist buses in parking areas of markets of southern sectors of the city.

The already congested markets of these sectors cannot sustain heavy vehicles and it not only lead to inconvenience but will also be a cause of conflict between attendants of buses and shopkeepers/market association, a press note said. The delegation will soon meet the Mayor and municipal corporation commissioner regarding the issue.

President Charanjiv Singh appealed to the Finance Secretary to develop special parking areas for the buses in the city.

He also suggested that the Sector-17 bus stand can be temporarily utilised for this purpose. — TNS

Chandigarh, January 9
The second advertisement for the posts of Registrar and Controller of examinations on January 5 (Advt no. 1/2010) by Panjab University, even before the procedure of interviews could be completed, has initiated a fresh row in the case with question now being raised on the intentions behind the move.

Earlier, through the advertisement (Advt no.6/2009), the university had invited applications for the same posts, besides others and the process had reached the screening stage too.

While the earlier applicants are yet to be interviewed, a fresh advertisement has now been released for the posts of registrar, dean college development council, controller of examination, associate dean, deputy registrar, etc mentioning that the earlier applicants need not apply again.

A senior functionary of the university defended the move and said the advertisement had been released again since the details of experience and other qualifications were not mentioned in the earlier advertisement.

However, there are certain fellows in the university who are seeing a hidden motive behind the release of the new advertisement and have questioned the status of the earlier process of short listing candidates based on last advertisement.

Some other fellows point out that the teachers who are holding the additional charges or other teachers are not ready to take up posts and most of them have not applied since their career as a teacher gets affected.

“The pay scale of teachers are better and the salary offered by the university for these posts is too less. The teachers would rather choose to go to the corporate than take up these posts. Moreover, good managers are not ready to come to the university because of lack of facilities. One of the solutions could be to the recruit young teachers at the assistant registrar-level and groom them for these posts,” said a functionary holding one such charge.

While there is serious discussion about the fresh advertisement among the Senate and Syndicate members in the university and concern is being raised by all quarters, no one is willing to be quoted.

“The re-advertisement of the posts just to re-define the experience and qualifications makes no sense. If that is the case, it calls for an explanation from university authorities and in case the advertisement has come out before the earlier procedure is completed, it is a matter of grave concern,” added a fellow.

Despite repeated efforts, the Vice- Chancellor Prof RC Sobti could not be contacted.

Chandigarh, January 9
In the elections of deans and secretaries of the faculties today at Panjab University, there was a tie between Prof Pam Rajput and Prof RK Sharma in arts election, with both candidates getting 52 votes each.

While some fellows were of the opinion that it was an indication of friends turning foes due to the indecisive attitude of the authorities on several issues, including the teacher’s evaluation, now the two professors would serve for six months each.

Meanwhile, Prof M Shakeel Khan was elected the faculty of languages and Prof Dinesh Gupta was elected as dean, faculty of business management and commerce, and Prof Keshav Malhotra, as secretary.

In the elections of faculty of education, Jasbir Kaur Chahal was elected dean and Dr SS Randhawa was elected the secretary.

Prof VK Rattan and Dr Seema Kapoor were elected as dean and secretaries for engineering and technology, respectively.

In science, Prof AS Ahluwalia was elected as the dean. Dr Gurpreet Kaur and Harpreet Kaur were elected dean and secretaries of design and fine arts, respectively. Besides, Prof Karan Vasisht and Prof OP Katare were elected dean and secretaries of pharmaceutical science.