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Insensitive cops add to burglary
victim’s woes
Chandigarh, August 8 Saurabh Dixit, area general manager of a Sector 17 based courier firm, said the theft in his house was detected at around 8 am today and the police was immediately informed about the incident. However, the investigating officials did not appear bothered to put the complainant’s stolen mobile phone on surveillance despite his repeated requests. Instead, till 1:10 pm, the policemen kept on
making changes in the victim’s complaint to make it a “perfect” document.
Fed up with their behaviour, Dixit at one point of time asked the cops to put his stolen cellphone on surveillance as this might help them in tracing the thieves. Unmoved by his plea, the policemen instead told him to provide the phone’s IMEI number, knowing pretty well the same could easily be obtained from the mobile service provider after getting the calls details. Till late in the afternoon Dixit was asked to write, overwrite and rewrite his complaint over and again to satisfy the cops. Dixit told TNS he had gone to his brother’s home in Sector 27 on Sunday night along with his wife and two children. His neighbour called him up in the morning informing him that the locks of his house were broken. He rushed home only to find it ransacked and informed the police. Soon a police team along with forensic experts and a dog squad arrived there and examined the crime scene. According to Dixit, six gold rings, two gold necklaces, four gold bangles, 10 gold earrings, a gold chain, four silver anklets, one silver plate and two silver bowls, a laptop, a mobile phone and Rs 2,000 had been stolen. He said the burglars had broken the locks of the safe and three doors of separate rooms to commit the theft. Later in the day Dixit was told his complaint had been registered and a copy of the FIR would be given to him tomorrow.
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PU proposes Sept 3, 4 as poll dates
Neha Miglani Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 8 Senior university officials stated that the admission process of the university would end on August 31 and the election would be held immediately after that. The student organisations have already begun campaigning for the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) election with September 3 as the deadline. The PU authorities, however, are tight-lipped about its communication with the UT police department and final selection of the poll date. Naval Kishore, Dean Students Welfare (DSW), said, “It is likely that the election are conducted in the first week of September.” Once the election dates are made public by the authorities, the student organisations are given a week for formal canvassing. On the campus, however, the parties have begun campaigning in the hostels and are interacting with first-year students. “We are preparing for the election, with September 3 as our deadline,” said Harsh Vardhan, SOPU presidential candidate. With aggressiveness and mud-slinging among rival student organisations picking up with each passing day on the campus, the university authorities have expressed their willingness and concern to wind up the election early. A few days ago, a minor scuffle between two major student parties on the campus, Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) and Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) was reported. This was preceded by a violent incident in Sector 11, where PUSU leader Udey Singh Wirring’s cars were set on fire by unidentified youths.
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HUDA in legal wrangle over Golf Club land
Panchkula, August 8 In case the petitioners’ claim is proved to be true it can cost HUDA hundreds of crores of rupees. When contacted, HUDA estate officer SS Saini, while denying the claim, said, “The Golf Club was set up on acquired land only. The demarcation of the revenue department cannot be considered flawed. Moreover, it was done in the absence of any HUDA official”, he added. HUDA had acquired 232 acres of land belonging to Devinagar village residents and its possession was also taken on June 20, 1989. This year, on March 15, many of the residents filed an application with the revenue department for demarcation of certain land. The residents claimed their land, measuring over 60 acres, was encroached upon by HUDA. They claimed the authority had set up the golf course on encroached land. Later on May 3 revenue department officials demarcated the land and submitted their report with the remarks that the said land reportedly belonging to the residents was under HUDA’s possession and that it was never acquired. Moreover, a golf course was set up on the said land. The report mentioned that HUDA officials were twice informed about the demarcation but they failed to join the exercise. In an answer to the query over the issue filed by Parmanand, an RTI activist, HUDA replied its officials could not join the demarcation exercise as they were busy attending litigation in courts on specified dates.
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Helpline gone, poor kids face reality
Chandigarh, August 8 His story is no different from a bunch of children getting tuition from the Palsora centre of the NGO Youth Technical Training Society. The children unanimously praised their teachers in conversation with this correspondent. “Our teachers here guided us, knowing that we came from troubled waters,” a girl said. Presently studying in Class XI at the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 18, Babita Rawat said, “The tuitions here were free. One ‘Sir’ who taught at a DAV College was very good. I scored 69 per cent in Class X, thanks to the tuitions at the centre.” She had joined the non-medical stream in Class XI and gave its credit to the teacher here for showing her the right path. The children taking vocational training at this NGO had been out on the road for a week. The municipal corporation had forcibly evicted the children studying here as the lease of the NGO had expired. Babita, who had recently paid Rs 40,000 to a private tutor, said, “We had never paid a penny to the Palsora centre. On visiting the private tutors, we have realised that education is so expensive.” Even Himanshu, whose father was in the Army, had spent Rs 90,000 on tuitions as he had joined the medical stream in Class XI. “My father is hardly at home and so, there is lack of guidance. The centre at Palsora came to my rescue. After getting tuitions from private persons, I have realised that education is commercial nowdays. The centre is closed now and it will be tough for children whose parents cannot afford tuition.” Another student at the centre, Preeti Pawar, who had taken up studies in fashion designing, was the daughter of a driver. She asserted, “I loved designing my wardrobe, but was not confident whether I would be successful in pursuing it or not. I scored 60 per cent in Class X, that helped in building my confidence.” A number of children at the centre had started stitching clothes to earn a living.
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Cops submit charge-sheet to CBI
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 8 The police had submitted the 256-page charge-sheet to the investigating agency, which was inquiring the case. Apart from the charge sheet, the CBI had sought some ‘crucial’ documents pertaining to the case. The scam was unearthed in September last, in which the name of the then UT DPI(S) Samwartak Singh came under the scanner. The then UT SP (City) Madur Verma had probed the matter and later gave a clean chit to Samwartak Singh, holding mastermind Jolly and Hardev Singh prime suspects in the case. The charge-sheet was filed against the duo as the police asserted that no evidence had come up against Samwartak during the probe. The police had filed the charge sheet in district courts in November last. The police had maintained that Samwartak admitted close links with Jolly, but was not involved in the scam. The mobile phone call details of the suspects revealed that the DPI(S) and Jolly had exchanged over 150 calls. The police had arrested Jolly and Hardev for demanding Rs 4.5 lakh from a woman for getting her recruited as a teacher. The investigation was handed over to the CBI after a Sector-47 resident moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
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Ex-servicemen pitch in
Anil Jerath Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 8 Interestingly, about 30 ex-servicemen volunteered to pack their bags to the flood-affected Leh area. Fifteen of them were selected by the defence establishments involved in the rescue mission, keeping in mind their physical capabilities and age. The ex-servicemen along with the Indian army personnel have also activated the latter’s disaster management cell for rescue operations on a war footing since the tragedy hit the cold desert mountainous region. While the priority of the army’s relief operations is on saving lives and property, the ex-servicemen will also provide succour to those affected with food, drinking water, medicines and other relief work. Meanwhile, three special service aircraft also carried 10 VSATs and a set of other BSNL equipment to Leh. This is being done to help restore mobile and telecom connectivity at the earliest, a defence spokesman stated. Apart from VSATs, two INMARSAT mobile phones have been sent to the Leh district administration for meeting immediate communication requirements.
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OPEN HOUSE
The point of discussion at the moment should not be restricted to blaming different quarters. Need of the hour is to make an integrated effort in improving the existing situation in the government hospitals and even dispensaries towards better patient attendance. The treatment needs to be the biggest priority over documentation in cases similar to Bulbul. Foremost and probably the most important requirement of the hour is working on the skills of staff in handling the patients. Language and even mannerism make a big difference when a patient is being attended to. Unfortunately, in our system, the background of the patient defines the language of the medical faculty. My point here is that being poor should not mean that they should not be spoken to nicely or made to understand their problems. Kamaljit Kaur, Phase XI, SAS Nagar, Mohali Check
population to check problem
I am surprised to see unethical reporting in the infant’s death case and the media seemed to sensationalising the issue rather than going to the crux of the problem. The person, who is not having a meager token money to get a registration card, wishes to have a fourth child despite the fact that all three children are surviving. Isn’t it strange that the person who cannot get a registration card for the birth of the child thinks whether he will be able to rear the child and get him or her all necessities of life or not? These people are the real culprits, who cannot make their both ends meet but go on increasing the burden of population. People like Chhotu and Bulbul are responsible for their misery. The media coverage is completely blaming the hospital authorities, whereas no one sees the doctors plight. The doctor-patient ratio is around 1:500 in GMSH-16 in one day. Such kind of incidents are not problems, rather, they are manifestations of larger problem of disproportionate population that has dwarfed entire resources. Dr Pankaj Madaan
Address
emergency first
A woman in labour pains reporting to the hospital should straight away be sent to the ward or the labour room for examination by duty staff nurse. The husband or attendant should be asked to complete the admission formalities later. Blood test if required, sample should be collected by the lab technician on duty from the ward itself. Dr (Col) MG Trehan
Build sufficient hospitals
In Mohali and Panchkula, both Punjab and Haryana post reorganisation in their eagerness to mint money created and sold more and more plots but did not bother to build sufficient number of dispensaries or hospitals for residents. Unable to bear exorbitant expenses in luxurious private hospitals in these cities, the residents are forced to get treatment in the hospitals of Chandigarh, thereby causing overcrowding and crippling of healthcare system in the city. It is time, the Human Rights Commissions of the adjoining states took cognisance of the failure in providing adequate medical facilities to their residents. SS Beniwal,
Sector 40, Chandigarh
Blame system, not docs
The recent death of an infant in GMSH, Sector 16, clearly shows the negligence on the part of the administrators. It is not fair to unduly include doctors in the blame game. In order to ensure that such shocking incidents do not recur in future, timings should be fixed for the gynaecology department, a working procedure worked for arrival, reception, treatment and follow-up of all patients. Coordination between staff and patients of GMSH-16 can be achieved only when both are willing to cooperate. Undoubtedly, cases like childbirth are of utmost priority. After all, it is a question of saving precious lives. Namrita,
Chandigarh
UT needs to take initiative
Having visited both government hospitals and PGI several times over the past couple of decades, my experience tells that these places are seen as the last resort by the population, not merely in the city but in neighbouring states as well.In the absence of any matching hospital in the neighbourhood, no one can deny the yeoman’s service being provided by the doctors in these places. While an educated person can think of a forced conversation with a doctor, an emergency for a common man is more like entering a point of indefinite exit. The doctors do not inform the accompanying members about the exact state of the patient. No solution is possible in looking for the guilty in the immediate case. The case has many sides to it. Not merely the doctors and attendants, the entire system needs an overhaul. Doctors and hospital staff are the easiest targets in the immediate case for the general public and media. However, an answer will have to be initiated by the planners. Meenakshi Dhanoa
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Spicy dream turns sour
Chandigarh, August 8 Started three years ago, the much-publicised project of the department’s Punjab circle of home delivery of spices from South India in this region has been dumped as it has failed to take off. Not only this, the department has shelved another ambitious project to deliver prasad from Tirupati to devotees living in Punjab. The failure of the spices’ scheme can be well judged from the fact that in these three years, the department has found only one customer. The miserable response that the scheme has generated is enough for justifying its closure, but what remains a mystery is why the scheme has bombed when it has the potential to do well and is a low-cost option for people who use the Internet to order spices and other products delivered through courier. As per initial plans, the department had decided to tie up with the Spice Board of India to supply quality products directly at the customers’ doorstep via speed post. The scheme was launched over a year after its conception in 2007, making one presume that the department had undertaken extensive research and worked out an effective marketing strategy to make it a success. But as things turn out now, it seems that the scheme had been launched in haste and without giving much thought to it. Even after the launch, the scheme had hardly been publicised and no effort was made to make the people aware of it, said insiders. While KL Khanna, Chief Post-Master General, Punjab circle, confirmed that the scheme had been stopped, he refused to go into the reasons for its failure. The insiders admitted that the announcement of the spices’ scheme was more of a publicity stunt and no serious effort had ever been made to make it a success. Sources said over the past year, certain officials in the department had informally collected feedback from customers on the reasons for the failure of the schemes and it turned out that not many people were aware of it. Another major reason for hesitation from people to go in for the scheme was that they wanted to be very sure of the source of the products, which the department had not even publicised. Officials maintained that people were not willing to chance on postal delivery of food or ingredients. “There was lack of trust in handling safe delivery of edible products,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. With a network of thousands of post offices spread all over Punjab and Chandigarh, the scheme could have been a success had proper work gone into it, said the officials. However, now, with curtains drawn on it, the department is unlikely to go into such commercial ventures, at least for some time.
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Lesson on ‘tackling’ UT traffic police
City-based four-wheeler trainers are not just imparting training on driving techniques to their customers, but also taking theory classes in which special focus is laid on how to deal with the Chandigarh traffic police personnel if you are caught violating rules while driving. Even if there is a naka ahead, students are trained how to sense it and what precautions one must take under such circumstances. City in graphic imagery
Ever since its inception in 1950, innumerable research papers, dissertations, articles have been written on the City Beautiful by Indian and foreign scholars. But strangely, nobody wrote a novel on Chandigarh. The First Friday Forum during its monthly interaction at Government College of Art, the other day, discovered a man-Prof Manjit Singh, who retired from Guru Ram Das School of Planning, Amritsar. After throwing light on his literary enterprise attempted in chaste Punjabi, he read out one chapter in a style of story-telling that left audience spell-bound. He narrated the history of Sukhna Choe [now Lake] from the late 17th century to the present time in a monologue that drew on India's marvellous mythology, mysticism, philosophy and spiritual tradition-all captured in graphic detail in a language which flowed as gracefully as the stream itself. It spanned many centuries since the time when Lord Shiva caught the sacred Ganga in his tresses to avoid any damage to the Mother Earth, alluding to the birth and disappearance of Saraswati, showing the brother-sister relationship between Sukhna and the river Ghaggar, and so forth. The audience termed this novel a novel idea of blending so many aspects of India’s great tradition into an engrossing story which would teach the coming generations something vital about India's glorious past. The facts of history and geography, while authenticating the narrative, deepened the enchantment of fiction manifold!
Regional proximity
Strange are the ways of officials of the UT administration. Even
though it’s natural to have favourites among one’s staff and subordinates depending on their abilities, efficiency, rapport, confidence and other factors, but it’s strange to have favourites among mediapersons that, too, on the basis of the state and regions they belong to. Well it may sound awkward but in reality the proximity factor among the officials is reigning supreme these days. In fact, this phenomenon has recently gained momentum among few officials in the light of the mega projects under the scanner of different investigating agencies, including the CVC and CBI. Not only do officials leak information on other officials to their “favourite” journalists, but also keep a tab on who is writing what on them and people around them.
Seems the proximity factor works both ways and the favourites and officials are making hay together while the sun shines.
Love for herbal tea
Apart from his non nonsense attitude, one more thing which is becoming a known trait of Director Higher Education Ajoy Sharma is his love for herbal tea. Be it a function, convocation or an official enquiry, he makes his preference clear to all. Recently, the DHE was at some college for an enquiry into a sexual harassment case. In due course, he asked for his favourite herbal tea. When principal of the college asked staff to arrange for it, he was told that someone had stolen tea sachets. Immediately, a search was launched and instead of harassment case, theft of tea sachets caught the attention of all. The entire college was on its toes till a teacher arranged for the sachets from a nearby general store.
Going the
Singapore way
With the shortage of space for further expansion of the developed part of Mohali, development agencies are exploring the idea of copying the Singapore model of recreating infrastructure in a more useful manner. The idea is to demolish old structures and replace it with modern and user structures like group housing and multi-level parking in commercial areas. By doing so there would be no requirement for additional infrastructure.
Spiritual
development
Haunted by a series of murders, suicides and protests by traders, SHO of the Industrial Area police station Dilsher Singh organised a havan at the police station on Saturday to ward off evils. The police station remained in news for the past several months for one reason or the other. Last week, junk dealers of the Industrial Area staged a protest outside the police station demanding immediate suspension of the SHO alleging torture of the fellowmen at the hands of the police. Though the tension was defused with the intervention of prominent persons, it was learnt that the senior police officials advised the SHO to organise a havan in order to keep the troubles at bay. Contributed by Aarti Kapur, Pradeep Sharma, Smriti Sharma Vasudeva, Sumedha Sharma, Ramanjit Singh Sidhu and Rajmeet Singh
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Mansa Devi shrine board reconstituted
Panchkula, August 8 The public nominees were included in the board following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a petition filed in public interest by an RTI activist RK Garg. Garg, in his petition, stated: “Haryana Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Act, 1991 was enacted around 18 years ago. The Act envisaged appointment of nine members from among public or devotees. However, the information obtained by the petitioner under the RTI Act revealed that the state government had failed to appoint nine nominated members so far from among devotees, including two women, with the result that all activities/meetings of the Board held so far were illegal.” Following the directions of the high court issued on June 30, the government has included Tej Pal Gupta, Sat Pal Garg, OP Singla and Pushpinder Goel, all residents of Panchkula. Two women nominated Salochana Ahuja of Sector 8, Chandigarh, and Santosh Sharma from Kalka were also included in the Board. Moti Lal Jindal of Heera Moti company from Chandigarh, Brahm Sarup Brahmchari of Jai Ram Ashram, Kurukshetra, and (retd) HCS officer Hoshiar Singh are also included in the list of non-official members. Besides, seven officials from state government were also included in the Board led by Chief Minister as chairman.
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Residents pool in money to face-lift park
Mohali, August 8 A classic example of the state of affairs was today seen at Sector 70 here when some residents got together to pool money for undertaking repair work at a public park here. According to sources, to lay concrete floors beneath the benches the residents approached GMADA’s horticulture officials for a year but all in vain. Ultimately, the residents pooled around Rs 8,000 and got the job done on their own. All, young and old, were happy as they would now be able to make proper use of the benches. There are several other parks in Mohali that need GMADA’s or municipal corporation’s attention. Members of the social awareness group got together to launch cleanliness drive in the park. The group also provided dustbins in the park and engaged a regular sweeper. Members of the group also announced to extend their campaign on green and clean campaign. Prof Pawan Kumar, Jarnail Singh, Hakim Singh, Uppal and chowkidar, Rameshwar Singh were honoured for their contribution. Chairman of the group Dr Daler Multani announced that the campaign would be extended to other parts of the town.
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Tributes paid to Major Shankla
Panchkula, August 8 For his brave action he was decorated posthumously with the Ashok Chakra. A wreath was laid at the memorial by Lt Gen Jasbir Singh, Chief of Staff, Northern Command and Colonel of Dogra Regiment. Floral tributes were also paid by other officers, veterans and civilian dignitaries. A guard of honour was presented by a contingent of 18 Dogra, the martyr's unit, while buglers sounded the Last Post followed by the Rouse. Major Shankla made the supreme sacrifice on this day in 1991, while commanding troops during counter-terrorist operations at Zafarwani village near Panjgam in the Valley. He had shown the highest quality of leadership and courage in the face of grave personal risk. Sepoy Swaran Singh was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra and Capt BJS Sandhu was awarded Shaurya Chakra for their actions during the operation. Besides, 18 Dogra earned five Sena Medals, two Army chief's commandations and one GOC-in-C's Commendation in the same operation. General Jasbir said it was an exemplary operation in which nine terrorists were killed, six injured and 22 apprehended. General Jasbir later interacted with Major Shankla's parents and other Dogra officers.
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Chandigarh Club becomes international
Chandigarh, August 8 Under this pact, members of both the clubs-Chandigarh Club and India Club, Dubai, can enjoy facilities at both the venues. Mukesh Bassi, president of Chandigarh Club, said they had signed an MoU in this regard with the management of Dubai club around 10 days back. “As most of the members of our club are affluent, they often visit foreign countries like Dubai,” said Bassi. The India Club is one of the reputed clubs of Dubai. Most of its members belong to the Indian community. Like other clubs, the foreign club offers various facilities, including luncheons, dining, bar, conference and get-together halls, swimming pool, squash courts, tennis courts, gymnasium, yoga and cricket. The Chandigarh Club is looking forward to tie-up with Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Charlotte City Club, New York (USA), and St Catharines Club, Ontario, Canada. “Talks are on with these clubs. Soon we will sign pacts with more clubs,” said Bassi.
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Afternoon showers lash city
Chandigarh, August 8 In some areas, heavy showers were witnessed, while in others it only drizzled. The Met department said it had recorded 2.7 mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm. The day temperature dipped to 35.3 degrees Celsius compared to yesterday’s 36 degrees and the minimum temperature decreased to 26.6 degrees C.
A number of people, meanwhile, thronged the Sukhna Lake and other public places to enjoy the pleasant weather. However, waterlogging caused traffic disruptions at major crossings in the evening. Some areas faced power cuts due to changed weather conditions. The weatherman has predicted partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain tomorrow with the maximum and minimum temperatures hovering around 34 and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.
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Abduction report keeps cops on toes
Chandigarh, August 8 Later the police found that the caller suspected that the woman did not want to go along with the youths and informed the police. The police reached the spot and began questioning bystanders, but no one said the girl was abducted. DSP (Crime) Satbir Singh said they had contacted the caller, a resident of Sector 68, Mohali, who maintained that he never said the girl was abducted. He said he saw that the girl was drunk and was being taken away by the youths. The DSP said they would take CCTV footage from the hotel where the girl was sitting and get the address of the owner of the Maruti Alto car (HR03L-1781) tomorrow to verify the incident.
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Patriotism echoes in verse
Chandigarh, August 8 The programme, organised under the aegis of Srijan- an institution for creativity, was sponsored by the UT cultural affairs. The highlight of the three-hour literary session was a seminar on “Kavya-Chetna”, a collection of Hindi poems written by various renowned poets of northern region. Srijan society had included about six poems of each of the 47 poets. While editing the collection, Dr DS Gupt has established a close dialogue between the reader and the poets and the reader do not have to run in search of different anthologies of different poets. Literary critic Chaman Lal Sharma, Dr Jagmohan Chopra, Dr Subhash Rastogi and others lauded the efforts of Srijan, which carved a new dimension in the history of Hindi literature of the City Beautiful. Besides their own version regarding their creative pursuit, the book includes the photographs and their bio-data.
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The death of a child in GMSH, Sector 16, due to medical negligence recently was shocking. While, a common man expressed his shock on hearing and reading about the incident, regular visitors to the government hospitals witness similar scenes in routine. Maybe by choice or maybe because of circumstances the public going to the government hospitals often blames itself for making a wrong choice by coming here during the emergency.
