Chandigarh, June 22
With the aim to promote institutional childbirth delivery in slums, the UT administration has proposed a scheme, called ‘Aanchal’, under public-private partnership in which a pregnant woman can have a “cashless” delivery at certain private nursing homes adjoining the city’s slums and underserved areas identified by officials.

Confirming the move, UT special health secretary Ajoy Sharma said as the institutional delivery rate in slum areas was low (71.3 per cent) as compared to urban areas (97.7 per cent), the administration had decided to launch this "novel" scheme under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Giving details he said an amount of Rs 2,500 would be paid by UT health services to the nursing homes identified for each delivery they carry out. A budget of Rs 1.25 crore, calculated on 4,500 births per year, has been set aside for the scheme. The slums that will be covered under the scheme include Colony Nos 4 and 5, Adarsh Colony and Nehru Colony.

The process of identifying the private nursing homes is on and likely to be completed within a week, administration officials said.

According to NRHM officials, health indicators in the city’s slum areas were very poor in comparison to urban sectors, even as 30 per cent of the union territory’s population (400,000) lives in slums. About 28.7 per cent of child deliveries in slums were done at home and not assisted by a skilled birth attendant (nurse, midwife or doctor), compared to 21.8 and 2.3 per cent in rural and urban areas, respectively.

According to figures compiled for NRHM’s programme implementation plan for 2010-11, infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR) were also poor in Chandigarh. However, the city’s IMR was lower (28) as compared to India (53) in 2007-08 but rose from 27 to 28 in 2008-09. Similarly, MMR increased from 38 in 2007-08 to 44 in 2008-09.

Panchkula, June 22
Five people were lost their lives in a road accident near the Ramgarh Fort after a Maruti Omni van collided head-on with a pickup truck on the Panchkula-Barwala road (NH 73) this morning. The impact of the collision was such that the van was completely crushed. The driver of the pickup fled leaving his vehicle behind at the scene. The Chandimandir police has registered a case against him.

All those injured in the accident were rushed to General Hospital, Sector 6, where four of them were declared brought dead. Of these four victims who died on the spot only two could be identified - Joginder Singh, 40, and his daughter Sakshi, 7. The driver of the Omni van and an old person who was seriously hurt have yet to be unidentified. The fifth fatality (also unidentified), who was referred by hospital doctors to PGI, Chandigarh, was declared brought dead there.

Three people including Joginder’s wife, Madhu, his relative, Geeta, and Amarnath, a mason were injured in the mishap and were admitted to the General Hospital, while two others, including Joginder’s 4-year old son, Aditya, was referred to PGI.

Mohan, Madhu’s uncle, told reporters Joginder’s family members had come to Kalka to attend the ‘bhog’ ceremony of his wife. He

said they boarded the Omni van for Ambala cantonment from where they were to board the Superfast Express for Meerut, their native place. He added the van was carrying four other passengers who were also headed for Ambala.

Mohan said Joginder had been working as a vegetable vendor and had three children. He added another son of the victim, whose name he did not disclose, had been admitted to PGI.

Chandigarh, June 22
Rumours of a “terrorist attack” at Shalimar hotel located in the densely populated area of Burail village here trigged panic late tonight with the residents claiming that they had seen armed youths riding on motorbikes coming from the hotel side.

A posse of armed personnel of the Chandigarh police, including its various wings and a CRPF team, reached the spot and cordoned off the area within minutes. The police has ruled out possibility of any terrorist attack after conducting the preliminary inquiries.

According to the eyewitnesses, four youths, including one sporting a turban, were seen riding on two motorbikes. They were carrying firearms in their hands.

“We have found two shells of bullet of .32 bore weapon on the hotel premises. The area was minutely examined,” DSP (South) Vijay Kumar said.

A waiter in the hotel said he went to a room occupied by four youths from Bathinda since June 20 after hearing some commotion over there. He saw them hurling objects on a group of boys. However, the youths fled the spot, he added.

The police found blood spots in the room and a blood stained nail cutter, which was so far the only object, seemingly used in the crime. The DSP said they would procure the details of the boys staying in the hotel and would also examine the CCTV footage to identify them.

Chandigarh, June 22
A dust storm accompanied by light rain and a minor hailstorm brought much-needed relief to residents this afternoon from the sizzling temperatures and humidity under which the city had been reeling during the past ten days.

After weathering the sweltering heat over a week, people enjoyed a pleasant evening as rain, accompanied by strong winds and hailstorm, cooled vast swathes of the region.

A dust storm also lashed adjoining Punjab and Haryana, providing respite from the torrid heat at many places even though Amritsar and Hisar recorded maximum temperatures of over 45 degrees Celsius.

The sudden occurrence of hailstorm, however, brought the mercury down but many areas in the city went without power. According to reports several localities were hit hard as power could not be restored even till late in the evening.

The hailstorm led to the development of a snag in transformers and other electrical equipment, which further pushed many areas into darkness. Though locals complained about the power outages the coolness in the weather gave them relief. Hoardings, banners and boards either got uprooted or else were torn into pieces.

The storm also caused widespread havoc in the city. The intensity of the winds was so strong many trees were uprooted across the city.

Meanwhile, the mercury showed a significant drop and the maximum temperature recorded was 39.2 degrees C compared to 41.5 degrees yesterday, about two degrees lower than on Monday. However, the minimum temperature stood at 32 degrees.

The humidity level was recorded at 58 per cent. According to the weather office, the city recorded 3.8 mm of rainfall. However, it said "there is nothing unusual about the rain at this time of the year."

The Met has forecast a partly cloudy sky with possibility of rain and thunderstorm accompanied by a squall in some areas of the city tomorrow. It also said the maximum temperature on Wednesday is expected to be 41 degrees C and is likely to hover around the late 30s during the next 48 hours.

Mohali/Zirakpur/Dera Bassi, June 22
Strong winds disrupted the normal life and caused damage to property in Dera Bassi. Besides, the hailstorm also affected the area and caused loss to the vegetable crop. According to information, a person was killed due to wall collapse during the hailstorm.

Satbir Singh of Mubarkpur village was killed as a wall collapsed on the Pandwala road during the storm. Another person was injured during the storm due to wall collapse in Dera Bassi.

A truck overturned on the railway overbridge with the strong winds. The RF tower of Winsome Yarn Ltd on the Barwala road was also damaged in the storm.

In an absence of drainage system at Zirakpur, the rainy water entered the houses at Sada Shiv Complex at Baltana and damaged the household goods.

The worst affected areas in Baltana were Vikas Nagar, Saini Vihar and Ekta Vihar where deep potholes were filled with rainwater, causing inconvenience to commuters. In Pabhat main bazaar, Pabhat village road and the godown road were affected.

The power supply also remained erratic at Dhakoli, Baltana, Harmilap Nagar and surrounding villages for more than four hours.

While some residents complained of low voltage, which forced them to sit in dim lights, high voltage in some areas led to burning of electrical equipments. In Mohali, dust storm resulted in two-hour power failure. Soon after the storm started, a tree in Phase II fell on the power line. The power could be restored by 7 pm only. As a preventive measure, the power supply was switched off by the electricity department.

Chandigarh, June 22
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum today sentenced Des Raj Rana, principal, Institute of Para Medical Sciences, Sector 38, and his son Ajay Rana to two-year imprisonment for not paying Rs 50,000, along with refund of fee, to complainants.

The complainants, Neha Sharma, Mamta Rani, Subodh Nadda and Mahesh Goyal had lodged a complaint with the consumer forum that they had taken admission to different diploma courses in the institute after depositing Rs 5,000 as fee.

The duration of the course was two years and accordingly the total admission fee, including monthly fee and examination fee, deposited by each of them was Rs 48,000.

It was stated that after spending nearly full duration of the courses, the complainants came to know through a newspaper that they had been cheated and the institute was not recognised. The complainant had even filed a criminal complaint against them.

The forum asked the respondents to refund the fees to all complainants. Besides, a penalty of Rs 50,000 was imposed on them.

However, the institute failed to pay the compensation to the respondents.

Chandigarh, June 22
Residents of Maloya village staged a protest in front of the police post in their area, accusing the police of not recovering stolen items from three persons arrested in a theft case.

Irate members of a community assembled in front of the police post and raised slogans, accusing the police of shielding the accused.

Maloya post in charge, sub-inspector Baldev Kumar, refuted allegations that the accused were being shielded. They were produced in a local court, which remanded them in police custody.

The complainant in the case, Ujagar Singh, had reported the theft of jewellery, Rs 2 lakh, a DVD player and an LCD from his residence on June 20.

He told the police that his neighbour had noticed Sonu of Dadu Majra coming out of his residence in the wee hours when the theft was committed.

He claimed that his DVD player and LCD were recovered from Sonu’s house when he, along with others, went there, but the cash and jewellery could not be found.

The matter was reported to the police, which arrested Sonu, whose interrogation led to the arrest of his two accomplices, Vinod and Manoj.

The police said a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused, who were drug addicts, involved in several criminal activities.

Ujagar alleged that even as Sonu had confessed to have given the money to his mother, the police had failed to recover it.

Chandigarh, June 22
Municipal corporation (MC) officials have again given a ‘lollipop’ to councillors from MC villages and slums, saying their pending development works will be taken on a priority basis.

Councillors feel that the assurance has been handed out on several occasions. In a meeting held here today under the chairmanship of officiating MC Commissioner PK Sharma, officers promised this to councillors from villages and slums.

Councillors raised an objection in the meeting that why estimates of new works were being prepared by officials when the projects already approved by the House a year ago for the villages had not been taken up yet by departments concerned.

A majority of the councillors pointed out that there was huge encroachment in their areas, due to which road-widening projects were lying pending for the last between six and eight months.

Complaining about the non-availability of streetlights on the internal roads of villages, councillors pointed out that they kept taking up this issue with officers at various platforms, but nothing had been done till date.

Referring to the allotment of works to private contractors in their respective wards, councillors remarked that a number of times, contractor left the work relating to paver blocks and road widening incomplete, but no action was taken against them by the authorities.

Talking about the sorry state affairs of sanitation in villages and slums, councillors brought to the notice of MC officials that the monsoon were approaching, but not much had been done by the department concerned for tackling it effectively.

BJP councillor Ram Lal raised the issue of the incomplete cremation ground at his ward Hallo Majra, which was pending for the last five months.

The officers gave the plea that no contractor was willing to take up this work and so, they were not able to complete it on time. The councillor asked why the department could not do it at its level instead of allotting it to a private contractor.

Mohali, June 22
After Aerocity urban estate, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) would set up a 1,500-acre mega industrial park to the east of Mohali city. The park would be located near the area acquired for the Aerocity project and would basically cater to the needs of the upcoming international airport. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Chandigarh. The CM also gave in principle approval to launch local bus service within Mohali.

The GMADA has been asked to tie up with the PRTC to chalk out the modalities for running the local bus service in Mohali on the pattern of Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

In the meeting held to review various ongoing projects in Mohali, the CM also approved setting up a modern fire station at a cost of Rs 15 crore.

The status of development projects in local planning areas of Mullanpur, SAS Nagar, Kharar, Banur, Dera Bassi and Zirakpur were also discussed.

Showing deep concern over the flow of polluted water from Chandigarh to Mohali through N-choe, the Chief Minister said he would soon take up this matter with the Chandigarh Administration. Underlining the need to conserve rain water, the CM directed GMADA to strictly enforce the scheme of rain water harvesting, especially in the upcoming residential as well as commercial pockets.

While reviewing the Aerocity project, he was informed by the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development that the new urban estate was being developed with all ultra-modern facilities. The prestigious project would also include facilities of hotels and convention hall, exhibition and exposition halls, aviation academy, logistics uses, offices for aircraft companies and aircraft catering and kitchens.

The Chief Minister also approved the construction of proposed hockey stadium in sports complex at Sector 63, along with an old age-cum-working women hostel in Sector 68, an amusement park-cum-hatt & five star hotel-cum-conventional centre in Sector 62, habitat centre (Sector 68), super speciality hospital and a common municipal waste facility for Mohali. The six-laning of 8-km Mullanpur-Siswan road was also discussed.

Chandigarh, June 22
In order to hone marksmanship skills of its personnel, the IAF is turning to firearms-training simulators. Termed Interactive Firearms Training Simulators (IFATS), these would offer a cost-effective, flexible and broad-based training means to IAF personnel, especially those associated with security and guard duties.

The IAF’s largest helicopter maintenance outfit, No.3 Base Repair Depot here, has become one of the first stations to procure the IFATS, with the system’s installation having been completed last month.

According to IAF officers, 15 units are being installed in batches of five each. The other IAF stations in this batch include Agra, Gwalior, Barnala and Chandinagar. The systems were procured from a private firm and the orders were placed in September 2008.

Besides weapon handling and marksmanship, IFATS also lays out a simulated scenario enabling shooters to respond to a hypothetical situation and shoot stationary or moving targets under varying circumstances, something not always possible on a firing range. This hones a shooter’s responses and also enables instructors to judge his abilities and aptitude. Sources said the IAF intended to procure as many as 50 IFATS during the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans, envisioning such training facilities to be available at all major stations.

This is part of the IAF’s programme to improve and modernise its security infrastructure.

Chandigarh, June 22
Parents of the students enrolled in aided and non-aided private colleges in UT are now facing the heat due to the increased fee in the colleges. Paying close to Rs 10,000 more this year for courses like Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in the private colleges is taking a toll on the parents’ pocket.

While the fee in arts and science courses has not increased significantly, the fee for self-financing courses and sought after courses like BCom have been raised by 20 per cent.

For instance, the fee for BBA course has increased from Rs 19,000 to Rs 31,000 annually and for BCom, the fee hike is from Rs 18,000 last year to Rs 22,000, along with certain “usual charges”, which have not been defined. It was left to the affiliated colleges to fix these charges.

The decision to raise the fee in the colleges was taken by the Panjab University Senate in December, 2009, following which a committee and then a sub-committee was formed to work out the modalities. The revised fee structure was sent to the colleges with extra charges like “usual charges” and “university charges”.

But the Senate’s notification proved to be a nightmare for the parents, who had no prior intimation about the fee hike. “I am a government employee and suddenly paying Rs 12,000 more this year for my daughters’ fee is extremely difficult,” said a parent.

“The fee of self-financing courses have hiked considerably and it is difficult for an ordinary parent to afford it. The sudden hike by the colleges without any prior intimation was a shock for the parents,” said Harjot Kaur, a parent of a DAV College student, Sector 10.

“The decision by the Senate cannot be revoked and this change in the fee structure was already pending from nine months since the increased salaries of teachers according to the new guidelines had to be paid,” said a Senate member, who preferred anonymity.

“While the colleges who receive aid from the Punjab government are charging a tuition fee of Rs 300, the tuition fee in the UT colleges is Rs 2,700 annually,” he added.

Chandigarh, June 22
The “reaction time” taken by Panjab University in matters concerning its affiliated colleges appears to be increasing with each passing day.

In the past, PU Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti had been conducting meetings with the university functionaries and employees of several administrative branches asking them to “improve” their coordination with other departments.

After the confusion on nomenclature of UT colleges and lack of coordination with the UT administration came to light, now in a latest row, the Punjab government has granted more seats in certain BEd colleges, to which PU is yet to give affiliation.

These colleges enjoyed provisional affiliation till last year and the Vice-Chancellor had formed several committees to inspect these colleges. But now, having received the permission to increase the number of seats, these colleges located in Punjab are unwilling to get them inspected.

On May 28, the Punjab government had written a letter to PU informing about this decision, but till date a reaction from the university is awaited. What is questionable is that neither did the Punjab government consult the respective universities who were responsible for affiliation to these colleges nor did Panjab University take any action in the matter? Dean College Development Council (DCDC), AK Bhandari, was not available for his comments.

When contacted, PU Registrar SS Bari said he had no comments on the case of allotment of seats to BEd colleges, however, he added, “I am not aware of any such move by the government, however, I will look into the case and check if there is some letter.”

Chandigarh, June 22
The much-hyped Panjab University help desk, which was to be set up among the help desks of student organisations, failed to take off today. However, the general enquiry counter of the university at the Aruna Ranjit Chandra Hall continued to be functional.

An initiative of the PU authorities to involve research scholars for managing the official help desk was aimed at preventing any untoward incident between rival parties.

Meanwhile, the campus was abuzz with activities and the students continued to gather at the help desks put up by the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), Panjab University Student Association (PUSU), HSA, NSUI, etc.

Members of the student organisations guided the students and their parents, who had come to seek information on various courses offered by the university. Such was the intensity of the competition among the student groups that the members of the student groups had been stopping the parents much before the help desks and were informing them about the admission process.

Despite rain, the student groups had set up their desks at the scheduled time and enthusiasm continued throughout the day.

Patiala, June 22
The two-day annual convention of the Student Organisation of India (SOI) under the leadership of state president Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna began at the Circuit House, Patiala, today amidst a large number of student leaders of the organisation. On the first day, the student leaders of seven districts attended the meeting and discussed various works done by the organisation in the previous year.

Talking to office-bearers, Raju Khanna informed that the organisation had decided to open new memberships from the next week in order to connect with more students. He instructed the student leaders to meet new students who were taking admissions in various colleges and universities and know their problems. He said the organisation was aimed at various development works and fighting against social evils.

Giving details of its previous drives “Healthy Youth Healthy Punjab” and “Each One Plant One”, he said SOI would continue to work for these goals. He said SOI workers would also go door-to-door in the state and make people aware of the development works being carried out by the SAD. Amit Singh Rathi threw light on the agendas of the meeting and asked its workers to work with dedication for strengthening SOI.