Chandigarh, August 24
Couples running away from family and foes, after tying the knot with trouble, will soon find solace in the Sector 19 women empowerment centre here.For, the UT Administration has converted four rooms in the building as a temporary protection centre for the runaway couples. 

The administration is also ready to allocate a chunk of land for setting up a permanent protection centre; and also to adequate police protection. A “registrar” of marriages is also likely to visit them thrice a week at the centre in the near future.

As a bunch of petitions seeking justice for runaway couples came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court this morning, counsel for the UT Administration Sanjay Kaushal said the rooms are on the second floor of the building in Sector 19-B.

Taking on record his assertion, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari asserted in open court: “We hope that proximity of the place to the police station in Sector 19 would ensure security for the inmates.”

Chandigarh, August 24
After dragging its feet for almost three weeks, the UT administration has finally recommended initiation of disciplinary proceedings against a controversial doctor of Government Medical College & Hospital, Sector 32, BR Sharma, who had taken up employment at an Uttarakhand-based medical college as head of its forensics department while continuing with his job at GMCH.

The Tribune had broken the story headlined ‘This doctor has two government jobs!' on August 4 and subsequently a report on the matter was sent to the UT health department by GMCH director principal Dr Raj Bahadur. What is surprising is that the administration chose to sit on the file for this long despite the fact that Bahadur had clearly stated in his report that the evidence available apparently suggested that Sharma was doing two jobs.

Though Dr Sharma had categorically denied to The Tribune that he had ever taken up the job with Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Government Medical Science & Research Institute (VCSGGMS&RI), Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, what nailed his lie was the Medical Council of India declaration form of inspection. The form, dated June 21, 2010, which bore his photograph and showed him as head of the forensics department, was clear evidence that he had participated in the MCI inspection in the capacity of department head.

Besides the fact that Sharma’s name figured both on the GMCH and VCSGGMS&RI website, The Tribune was able to get access to his appointment order issued by the Uttarakhand government (nos 202/XXVIII (1)/2010-2009, dated February 22, 2010) and the letter from the institute’s principal allotting him government accommodation on its campus.

Sources close to the health department claimed though these documents went against Sharma and indicated he had violated various government norms and regulations, as a first step of disciplinary proceedings his explanation would be sought shortly. “This will be followed by an inquiry by a committee. The final action against him will have to be taken by the UT administrator since he’s a class I officer”, said an official.

Sources in GMCH revealed Sharma had sought voluntary retirement in April this year and the health department had recently approved his request. However, this is unlikely to affect the inquiry against him as he had allegedly violated rules while being in service.

Chandigarh, August 24
The police today released a photograph of the suspect who had duped several city residents through cloned ATM cards.The photograph was developed from a CCTV footage recovered from an ATM counter at Sector 49 here.

Officials of the crime branch will send the photograph to all the police stations of the city and adjoining areas. The police said the suspect appeared to be in his early 30s and was wearing a green cap.

In last two days, four people had filed complaints of fraudulent withdrawals of money from the State Bank of India automatic teller machines (ATM).

Chandigarh, August 24
UT government school principals were last night forced to burn midnight oil when the education department asked them to submit details of all contractual teachers hired since 1996 within a few hours.The principals received a communication from the department around 6 in the evening, seeking details of these teachers.

According to the communication, the principals were supposed to inform officials about the date of hiring, relieving, tenure of service and panel of recruitment of the teachers. The principals were asked to submit the details latest by 9 p.m. However, most of them were in their offices till midnight.

“We have failed to understand the need for this urgency. We had to rush back to schools to get offices opened and even called some staff members for help. The records were too vast, so I could not submit it by the deadline and was sitting in my office till midnight. We cannot understand what was it that couldn’t have waited till the next day,” said one of the principals.

The urgency attached to the task has raised many questions, which District Education Officer Chanchal Singh evaded, saying, “There was nothing urgent in it. They had been asked to submit the details long back, but they did not bother. So we had to pull the strings. We wanted details for updating our own records and there is nothing more to it.”

Sources, however, revealed that records were being sought after a delegation of contract teachers met the UT administration, alleging ignorance of their services while making regular appointments.

Chandigarh, August 24
Come 2011 and Chandigarhians will say goodbye to LPG cylinders for their kitchens following an assurance by the Union Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Gas to extend piped natural gas (PNG) facility to the city.

The assurance was given by Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora to local MP and Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Bansal recently.

Confirming the development, Bansal said the piped gas facility would go a long way in making the cooking gas availability “hassle-free” and would be a great convenience to the people.

At present, the main supply line is being laid in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Ludhiana, Punjab, through Ambala (Haryana). With Chandigarh being about 45 km from from this pipeline, Bansal is understood to have impressed upon the minister to extend the pipeline to Chandigarh which the latter had reportedly agreed. The deadline for completion is stated to be April 2011.

However, distribution pipelines connecting the mainline will have to be laid by Oil Marketing Companies for taking the PNG to every household. The laying of the pipelines could pose problem in certain congested areas of the city.

Sources said the experiment of supplying the PNG in certain states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi has been quite successful. Given the abundance of natural gas in the country, the Government of India wanted to replicate the success of these states in other states also.

In fact, the supply of PNG would benefit both government and consumers. As the PNG was 18-20 per cent cheaper than the subsidised LPG, the state exchequer would save on the subsidy given for the LPG cylinder. The consumer would not have to spend on buying the cylinder and would have to pay only for his consumption of PNG, which will be regulated through the meter regulator for various zones.

An overwhelming majority about 1.2 million population of Chandigarh uses LPG currently. Once the system of supplying PNG was put in place residents would have to surrender their LPG connections. However, if anybody still wants a separate LPG connection, he have to buy the cylinder at the market rates without any subsidy, the sources added.

Chandigarh, August 24
Next time you visit a karyana shop or a pan-vendor in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar or Rupnagar don’t be surprised if the vendor shows you a packet of condoms and asks you “sahib yeh bhi pack kar doon” (sir, should I pack this too). It shouldn’t even shock you if your vegetable vendor arrives at your doorstep in the morning with a packet of condoms in his basket along with ‘aloo’, ‘mattar’ & ‘gobi’.

All this might seem absurd but if figures are to be believed, the recent endeavour of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to sell condoms at non-traditional outlets i.e at vegetable kiosks, small-time karyana shops and even vendors selling bangles in Punjab and Haryana, has been a great success. The sales of condoms at such 11, 969 non-traditional outlets in five districts of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh recorded sales of a whopping 19.91 million pieces i.e each outlet selling over 1600 pieces in a year (2009-10).

The scheme, which was earlier introduced on an experimental basis in three districts of Haryana--Gurgaon, Faridabad and Bhiwani and two districts of Punjab-- Ludhiana and Bhatinda, is now being widened. While Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar and Rupnagar are being added in Punjab, the scheme will also be extended to Panipat.

Talking to The Tribune on phone, Arun R Gangadharan, State Programme Manager of Hindustan Latex Limited Life Care (HLLLC), an implementing agency of NACO, Delhi, said while the number of districts were being increased from 6 to 10, Bathinda was being dropped as the response from there had not been satisfactory. He said since the purpose of the scheme was to target areas where prevalence of HIV was high, the selection of the new districts was also based on the same criterion.

According to Punjab State AIDS Control Society,of the new districts, the prevalence of HIV positive cases in Jalandhar is highest at 7.69 per cent with 2,454 people of a total of 31,894 tested, were found to be positive. This is followed by Amritsar at 5.86 per cent (7168 positive of 1,22,226 tested), in Gurdaspur 3.83 percent (1077 positive out of 28096 tested) and Rupnagar 2.10 per cent (621 positive of 29,568 tested).

According to Gangadharan, Punjab recorded the highest sales of condoms through non-traditional outlets in the country where nearly 13.25 million condoms were sold at 4651 outlets in Ludhiana and Bathinda. In Haryana, the 6130 outlets sold about 5.04 million pieces and the UT recoded a sale of 1.62 million pieces through 1188 non-traditional outlets.

The apparent reason for the success, besides easy availability, is that people find it easier to approach vendors at such outlets rather than chemist shops.

Chandigarh, August 24
Girls at Panjab University are all set to make an impact in the upcoming students election.On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan here today, the female supporters of certain student organisations campaigned in girls’ hostels and a few of them even tied rakhis to the panel members of their respective parties.

According to student leaders of both Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), the election campaigning by girls in their respective hostels is at an all-time high this year.

Girls form a major portion of the vote bank and are the ones who actually come to vote on the election day.

Since the percentage of girls on the PU campus is higher, the student leaders are now aiming to grab their attention.

“Last year girls were ignored by most student parties despite the fact that they paly an important role. Our aim will be to meet as many freshers in girls’ hostels as possible before the election,” said SOPU leader Harshvardhan Singh.

Students leaders also claim that elections this year will witness an unprecedented increase in participation of girls.

“Girls are already participating in campaigning process in girls’ hostels and are showing great enthusiasm.

They are going in each room and are telling about the achievements of the party. Campaigning is on in full swing in all girls’ hostels,” said PUSU leader Simrandeep Dhillon.

Chandigarh, August 24
At last, elected representatives of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation have given their consent to table the agenda of hike water tariff by 10 per cent in general house meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

This was decided during a pre-house meeting of the Congress councillors chaired by Mayor Anu Chatrath here today.

As per the proposal, there will be an increase of 10 per cent in each slab fixed for urban residents, whereas there will be no change in the flat rate of Rs 150 for colonies and slums of the city. The industrial units will have to sell out Rs 4 more per kilolitre, educational institutions Rs 3 and government and semi-government offices Rs 2. The MC has also proposed a sewerage cess of Rs 5.

The Chandigarh administration had asked the MC to impose service charges and increase the water tariff so that the grant of around Rs 60 crore could be released under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM). Under the economic reforms, every corporation availing the grant has to impose a minimal house tax, service charges, increase water tariff and install water meters.

In the recent meeting of JNNURM chaired by Dr M Ramchandran, Secretary, urban development, MC officials were instructed to install water meters in the city and adjoining areas and rationalise the water tariff for timely releasing of grant for the projects going on under JNNRUM.

Chandigarh, August 24
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation plans to hike the penalty for violating the provisions of the Malba and Debris Bylaws, 2005.The MC house had constituted a malba bylaw committee under the chairmanship of nominated councillor Arshad Khan, which had recommended amendments in the existing norms. The proposal of this committee will be tabled in the general house meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

The committee proposed that if any owner or occupier of the construction site throws debris or construction material on the roadside, the MC will impose the fine of Rs 1,500 for the first time with directions to remove it within 72 hours.

If the violator does not remove the construction material within three days, the MC will impose a fine of Rs 5,000. If someone is caught dumping debris red-handed, the MC will impose a fine of Rs 10,000 and it will be added to the water bill of the violator.

The committee also suggested that three trucks should be allocated to the road divisions with labour for removing debris from construction sites by charging nominal fee.

Besides the proposal of amendments in the norms of community centres will also be tabled in the house meeting.

Chandigarh, August 24
Following controversies over the post of the SDO (buildings) in the past, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer has sought fresh names from the engineering department for the post.

Sources claim that for past few years, there have been controversies following allegations that the engineering department was repeating the names of the same persons for the post.

Insiders say that the SDO, who held the post prior to the present incumbent, was sent back to his parent department after the then Estate Officer, RK Rao, had received complaints against him.

Sources claim that even this time around, certain officials had proposed the same name and had even got the file approved by the Finance Secretary, who is also the head of the engineering department.

Insiders say that before the file could reach the adviser to the UT Administrator for a final approval, the Finance Secretary got a hint of the controversies surrounding the proposed name and he immediately withdrew the file. Not only this, he also reprimanded those officials who had ‘mislead’ him.

Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar said: “ The present incumbent has served his term and after that has expressed his wish to be sent back. We are looking for a suitable person to fill the post.”

It all started when the current SDO (buildings), K D Batra, expressed his wish to be repatriated to his parent department after a period of around three years. When the same name was proposed even this time around, the Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Brijendra Singh, clarified that a fresh group of SDOs would be invited from the engineering department for the post.

Sources say that till date, the UT engineering department has not been sending the names of regular SDOs or the senior-most SDOs for the post. Instead, this post has been seen as the one to get a backdoor promotion for many junior engineers in garb of current duty charge.

Senior officials say the names are frequently repeated as there are not many takers for this post. “Owing to the intervention of the Vigilance Bureau and the CBI in some cases in the past, none of the senior SDO wants to hold the post,” said an official of the estate office.

Chandigarh, August 24
A classic case of the unprofessional UT police surfaced recently, with the Juvenile Justice Board issuing bailable warrants against an inquiry officer who overlooked the fact that a minor should be booked under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The city police registered a case against the juvenile under the Indian Penal Court (IPC) in 2001 instead of booking him under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The defence lawyer moved an application in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Pritpal Singh to shift the case to the Juvenile Justice Board, which was allowed.

The case dates back to 2001, when the juvenile and his family were booked under Sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the IPC.

Taking up the case, the Juvenile Justice Board, headed by Paramjit Kaur, issued bailable warrants against inspector Malkeet Singh as he did not appear in court.

The cop was supposed to depose before the magistrate to record his statement. The hearing was adjourned to October 20.The complainant, Kanwaljit Singh, a relative, had got an FIR registered against the juvenile and his father, Janmit Singh, alleging assault.

Kanwaljit had alleged that the accused were trying to pull out the grill that had been erected by him in their joint property at Sector 11.

When Kanwaljit objected to it, he was allegedly beaten up by the juvenile and his family. The FIR specifically mentioned that the juvenile kept hitting him with his belt.

Not bothering about the age of the juvenile, the police wrongly booked him under the IPC. After the defence lawyer moved an application, the case was transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board on May 6.

Panchkula, August 24
Following the alleged negligence over the recent delivery of babies, General Hospital, Sector 6, has decided to instal CCTVs at the strategic points in the hospital to keep a tab on their patients.

A proposal is likely to be forwarded by the health authorities to the state government soon. The CCTVs would also help in future enquiries whenever the patients or their attendants complain about not being attended properly.

Civil Surgeon Rakesh Chaudhary said the aim was to keep a tab on the patients coming to the hospital. He said as soon as the patients in critical condition would arrive they would be taken care of by the doctors. This would also help in keeping a close watch on the pickpockets, who remain active in the OPD, he added.

Chaudhary has also issued directives to various health institutions in the district directing the staff to attend to labour patients immediately.

He said staff had been directed to register the indoor and outdoor labour patients in the delivery room itself so that the patients or their attendants don’t have to move up or down to get the patients registered.

He said they had also directed the authorities concerned to keep a record of the delivery cases and the treatment given to patients.

Chandigarh, August 24
David Lee, Vice-Chancellor, University of Northern Virginia, America (UNVA), visited the ICSSR complex in Panjab University to address students on “Global management education - Challenges and opportunities”. He was the keynote speaker and chief guest on the occasion.

Aryans Group of Colleges (AGC) organised this seminar, in which Ren Parekh, international marketing head, UNVA, also addressed MBA, BBA and BCA students of AGC.

Aryans Group chairman Anshu Kataria presided over the function. Interacting with the students, Lee said the whole world was affected due to the global meltdown. “After recession, the demand for management experts has increased. Taking a lesson from the recession, the organisations are in search of new and efficient managers. Good managers are need of the hour,” he added. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 24
Faculty members at the PGI have raised their voice against the order of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) regarding implementation of the revised scheme of promotion for PGI faculty members from January 12.

At a general body meeting of the Faculty Association of the PGI, held here today, it was decided that ministry’s orders were not acceptable to them and fresh orders for promotions should be issued from the date of implementation of the 6th Central Pay Commission, which was January 1, 2006.

Moreover, any interviews for selection of faculty should be held with the promotion of the entire faculty, demanded the association.

The association has formed a Joint Action Committee with members from various other institutes like AIIMS, New Delhi; NIMHANS, Bangalore; JIPMER, Pudicherry; NEIGRIHMS, Shillong. They all have planned to launch an agitation, including black badges, staged casual leaves and hunger strikes.

However, it would be ensured that the functioning of the institute was not disrupted and patients don’t suffer, said a press release.

The 6th Central Pay Commission has recommended faster promotions at each level to prevent stagnation, said the association.

The previous orders of the MOHFW state that the promotions for the PGI faculty members should be implemented from January 1, 2006.

However, this order has caused a lot of confusion and resentment among the faculty members, which could be detrimental for the institute as several faculty members have left the institute due to lack of promotions, said the release.

Besides, the PGI administration has called for fresh interviews without inviting the existing faculty members for their much awaited promotions. This could lead to chaos in the institute and could also force several faculty members to leave the institute, claimed the association.

Chandigarh, August 24
Residents of Kansal are up in arms against the Chandigarh police over inaction following the death of Sukhwinder and Harpreet, two residents of the village, in an accident last Tuesday. They were knocked down by a Honda Accord car being driven Sukhmani Brar.

Balkar Singh, Harpreet’s father, today handed over more than 250 petitions, addressed to UT Administrator Shivraj Patil by residents of Kansal village, to advocate HC Arora. Hundreds of other Kansal residents were signing petitions and residents of Chandigarh had come out in large numbers to join the campaign.

President of the RTI Activists Federation, Punjab, Arora today wrote to Patil to give an appointment to a delegation for presenting more than 1,000 petitions by citizens. The delegation would be led by Arora and Sushil Gupta, president of the Citizens Forum on Human Rights.

The petitions, drafted in Hindi, demanded an investigation into the conduct of SHO Mahavir Singh, inclusion of Section 304 of the IPC against Sukhmani in the FIR, grant of reasonable compensation to the families of the victims, a permanent policy on compensation to families of victims in such cases and notification of Section 304-A of the IPC as a non-bailable offence.

Meanwhile, residents of Kansal and Chandigarh decided to hold a peaceful protest at the Sukhna Lake at 5:30 pm tomorrow in support of their demands. They would organise a protest march and a candle-light homage to the victims. “Had Harpreet not died that evening, he would have been celebrating his birthday tomorrow,” said Arora.

Mohali, August 24
A day after being appointed as controller of examinations, an official of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) was removed from the post after employees held a rally demanding the withdrawal of the orders issued by the board authorities.

Om Parkash Soni was appointed controller of examinations on a temporary basis yesterday.

Gurdeep Singh Dhillon, president of the PSEB employees union, alleged that Soni had no experience as assistant secretary, deputy secretary or controller of examinations and as such his appointment was unjustified.

He further said Soni was made assistant secretary, deputy secretary, deputy director, joint secretary and now controller of examinations in one year and this move amounted to showing disrespect to other senior officials of the education board.

The union had threatened that if the orders were not withdrawn by 3 pm employees would resort to a strike and would intensify their agitation.

Chandigarh, August 24
Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU) announced its poll agenda during a press conference for the upcoming students’ council election here today.PUSU president Udey Singh Wirring said the aim was to empower the students.

He said effective working of the Central Placement Cell (CPC) of PU would be the main agenda with a special focus on departments such as UIAMS, UBS, MCA, UIET etc.

Wirring also said: “There is nothing hidden about the poor condition of the CPC in the past so we will make sure that we bring about reforms that benefit the students.”

Besides, getting a qualified and enthusiastic training and placement officer (TPO) in each department would be their primary motive.

Yet another poll agenda item would be hostel allocation, he added.

PUSU members said AC Joshi Library and all department libraries needed upgradation.