Chandigarh, October 21
In an unprecedented decision, Vivek High School, Sector 38, has sentenced 16 Class XII students to mandatory community service on the school campus after reducing their suspension from three months to five weeks.

The students facing suspension since the first week of October for posting abusive comments against a maths teacher on Facebook will be allowed to join school after November 12.

Following this, they will be required to spend six hours with differently-abled students being taught in the school. The hours have to be completed within one month of their rejoining the school. They have also been asked to prepare an essay and give a Power

Point presentation on the merits and demerits of Internet at the morning assembly. The group will also be responsible for updating and decorating school display boards according to specified themes for the next one month.

The decision came after a meeting of parents and the school faculty wherein the latter insisted on a concrete measure in lieu of the relaxation of suspension. “We reduced the suspension period due to the forthcoming board exams, but teachers wanted to take some concrete steps to teach them a lesson. The service will be done on the school campus only,” said school director HS Mamik.

“The decision was taken in consensus with parents who realised the gravity of the offence. We are also worried about the future of these students who have to appear for the board exams. Besides, the dignity of teachers is also at stake. So we have adopted a middle path,” said one of the teachers.

Chandigarh, October 21
The UT Administration seems to have put lives of hundreds of two-wheelers to risk due to sheer lack of foresight apart from causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters.

The death of a 32-year-old housewife, Meena Thakur, who was riding pillion on a scooter following a collision with a bus probably effected by an uneven road yesterday, has brought this issue to fore.

Even though the police has said that it cannot definitely attribute the accident to the uneven road in the absence of CCTV footage, it, however, maintained that this was one of the contributory factors to the incident. For over

three months, re-carpeting of two major traffic junctions - the Kisan Bhawan roundabout and the Sector 16 cricket stadium roundabouts - has been in progress with no definitive deadline.

Two-wheelers, in particular, have been at risk ever since the UT Administration began laying mastic asphalt sheets as part of a recarpeting exercise around these two junctions. This unfinished exercise has caused a 2-3 inch differential between the original road and the new lining, causing a sizable bump for two-wheelers, in particular, to negotiate. The asphalt sheets are considered necessary as these are projected to strengthen these junctions as they cater to the heaviest traffic in the city, including long-distance buses.

While Administration officials are citing technical glitches as the reason for the delay in the timely completion of the work, this could have been avoided had the work been either completed before or begun well after the monsoon season.

A senior official, elaborating on the technical hiccups, stated that since both these junctions are the busiest and cater to all long-route buses and connect to commuters going to Mohali, the traffic police has only allowed us to work at night. But the biggest hurdle is that the laying of mastic asphalt sheets can be done with a mini-plant at the site. There are presently two mini-plants allotted to each junction. But the capacity of the plant to produce enough sheets covering the entire area is much less than the total area to be covered.

Moreover, the roads were scratched from all four sides before the laying of the sheets. That was done before monsoon. Later, the sheets could not be laid due to moisture content left after the rains.

The cost involved in finishing both junctions is Rs 70 lakh each.

Chandigarh, October 21
The use of a “toy pistol” to threaten a city resident following an incident of road rage near Kiran Cinema in Sector 22 here late last night landed three youths behind bars.

Sources in the police said the accused had been identified as Abhishek Balli and Sandeep Kashyap, both residents of Sector 27, and Deepak Kumar, a resident of Sector 20-A. Their fathers are commission agents in the Sector 26 grain market here.

The in charge of the Sector 22 police post, Sub-Inspector Jaspal Singh Bhullar, said the incident occurred near Kiran Cinema, where Harpreet Singh, a resident of Sector 15-A, was waiting for traffic signal to turn green in his Car (CH-01-AA-5123). The youths travelling in another car (CH-03-C-4309) were behind him. They began honking horns to him to give them way at the signal. However, Harpreet only moved ahead when the signal turned green.

Infuriated at this, the trio intercepted Harpreet’s car and picked up a quarrel with him. They hurled abuses at him and created a scene on the road. During the commotion, one of the youths told his accomplice to pull out a pistol and shoot him.

At this, the police was informed about the incident, which reached there and rounded up the youths.

Bhullar said during the investigation, it was found that the pistol was in fact a cigarette lighter. “As they had used it to threaten someone with dire consequences, we slapped the Arms Act against them,” Bhullar said. The police has registered a case for wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and common intention has been registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

The accused were today produced before a local court, which remanded them to judicial custody.

Chandigarh, October 21
The putrid smell emanating from the biomedical waste piled up at the refusal collection point near Nehru Hospital has become a bane for PGI employees using the adjacent area for parking their vehicles. According to sources, not all the bags of waste collected from the hospital were being lifted as the hospital’s incinerator had developed a snag and was operating partially.

However, a PGI spokeswoman, Manju Wadwalkar, when contacted denied waste from the hospital was piling up. “All the bags of waste items are being lifted and the hospital’s incinerator is working properly”, she claimed.

On the other hand, during a visit to the scene, it was found hundreds of bags full of biomedical waste were lying inside the collection

centre from where they were supposed to be taken to the incinerator set up at a distance in a desolate area. No only was the intolerable stench from these bags making it difficult for any one to stand in the area for even a minute, but it could also be felt across the PGI boundary wall on the road dividing Sectors 11 and 12.

A security guard standing at the scene, who confirmed insecticides and pesticides had been sprayed in the area to quell the stench in the area, said “things aren’t as bad as they were earlier”.

The biomedical waste being stored there include, blood, flesh, and other hazardous material. The waste is collected from different wards and operation theatres of the hospital by sweepers and other staff before being packed into different coloured bags according to the nature of the waste and then stored at the collection centre before being taken to the incinerator.

According to experts such waste should be removed within two days to prevent it from posing a health hazard to residents of nearby areas.

Chandigarh, October 21
The UT administration's exercise to educate sweets manufacturers on maintaining hygiene and safety standards has not gone down well with the latter.

The 40-minute meeting held at the Deputy Commissioner office was attended by over 50 sweets manufacturers, including retailers and wholesalers, who termed it as a "one-way street". Sweets manufacturers alleged that the officials never gave them a chance to put their side of the story.

Moreover, the order of ADC, PS Shergill to put over 15 guidelines in place within 48 hours is impossible, said members of the sweets manufactures association. "What the officials want in 48 hours is practically impossible. We have urged them to give us at least 10 days after Diwali, but they refused," said members of the Wholesale Sweets Manufacturers' Association in unison.

"We are ready to adhere to all guidelines provided we are given sufficient time. Given the sizes of our factories and the ongoing festival season, we cannot shut our factories now to get it all done," said one of the sweets manufactures.

The ADC had on October 18 raided the premises of three wholesale sweet manufactures along with his team had seized over 7,000 kg of sweets after they found that it was prepared under unhygienic conditions and reportedly spurious.

Shergill has asked these sweets manufacturers to follow over 15 guidelines, including getting the walls repainted and fixing tiles up to seven feet on the premises, have cemented floors, keeping rat traps, change the lighting on the premises besides others. The ADC had said that the team of officials would again visit the premises to check whether everything had been put in place. If these guidelines were not adhered to, the manufacturers would be paying heavy penalties this time and would be liable for criminal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The members also demanded written guidelines from the officials to follow, which they claimed were not given to them.

Panchkula, October 21
Concerned over the increasing incidences of dog bites, the district administration is trying to get rid of stray dogs from the town and its periphery. For this, it has finalised an agency that has offered to sterilise stray dogs at the rate of Rs 270 per animal.

The agency will be responsible for sterilisation and carrying out anti-rabies vaccination of stray dogs in the town. Sterilised dogs will be marked with red ink for identification.

When the project gets under way, the corporation hopes to contain the population of stray dogs and the menace caused by them.

Executive officer KK Jain, while talking to The Tribune here today, said as compared to the rates prevalent in Chandigarh, those to be charged by the agency were lower.

He said the UT was currently paying Rs 1,600 for sterilisation of five dogs, while the same job would cost Rs 1,350 in Panchkula.

The name of the agency has been finalised and the file has been forwarded to Deputy Commissioner Ashima Brar for final approval.

Jain said there were around 5,000 stray dogs in the town. The ears of sterilised stray dogs would be marked so that they could be identified in future.

Earlier, some NGOs and a Resident Welfare Association had come forward to sterilise dogs, but it did not work out as it involved huge investment besides regular monitoring of dogs.

On stray cattle menace during late-night hours, which posed danger to commuters, Jain said the administration had earlier contacted the owners of a gaushala in Mubarikpur for the lifting of stray cattle from the town during night.

However, that too did not work as many animals had perished at the gaushala due to consumption of polythene bags earlier.

The EO said now one of the agencies had come forward with a proposal to set up a gaushala near the town and the administration was looking for a suitable land in this regard.

He said once the administration was able to identify the land, the town would get rid of the menace of stray cattle.

Chandigarh, October 21
The enforcement department of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation challaned 108 shopkeepers during an anti-encroachment drive held today at Sadar and rehri market, Sector 19.

Chandigarh, October 21
The Chandigarh Police observed the Police Commemoration Day at the Sector 17 police station here this morning to pay homage to those who laid down their lives in counter-insurgency operations.

The commemoration parade was held at the home guards ground near the Sector 17 police station. Contingents of the Chandigarh Police and the Punjab Police participated in the parade and paid homage by reversing arms.

The day is observed on October 21 since 1959 when a small contingent of the police was attacked by Chinese troops in which 10 jawans were killed.

UT SSP (Headquarters) Alok Kumar read out the names of 797 officials and Jawans who lost their lives on duty during the preceding year from September 1, 2009, to August 31, this year. The SSU (Headquarters) lauded the sacrifice of martyrs and paid homage to them by laying wreath on the memorial.

Panchkula: The Haryana government has sanctioned Rs 300 crore for providing housing to policemen in various parts of the state.

Addressing police personnel at a state-level Commemoration Day parade at Police Lines in Moginand village, near here, today, Director General of Police RS Dalal said the state government had decided to provide government accommodation to policemen at the place of their posting.

Dalal said the government had also decided to recruit around 20,000 policemen in four years in the state.

He said computerisation of the police department was on and he wanted every policeman to become computer-savvy.

The DGP while commending the supreme sacrifice made by constable Suresh Kumar while chasing robbers near Yavnika Park, Sector-5, Panchkula, said the martyr had sacrificed his life bravely and established a great tradition of sacrifice and courage for police personnel. A smiriti parade led by Parade Commander DSP Ram Chander Rathi was also organised.

Patiala: The Commemoration Day parade was organised at the Police Lines here this morning.

Senior police officers, including Patiala range IG Paramjit Singh Gill, DIG Jatinder Jain and SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill attended the function and paid tributes to the policemen who laid down their lives while protecting the unity and integrity of the country.

Gill said: “This day gives an opportunity to remember all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives to ensure that we could live in peace.”

Lauding the role of the Punjab Police force in fighting the battle to end terrorism in the state, the IG said it was the committed approach of the police that helped curb militancy.

He expressed concern at the growing inclination of youth in the state towards drug addiction.

Mohali, October 21
Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) declined to take over the newly constructed extended block of the Mohali Civil Hospital after its chairman found shortcomings in the work during an inspection carried out today. The new block was to be handed over to the hospital authorities on August 31.

Among the shortcomings noticed in the building were broken tiles in the OPD block, cracks in the floor, broken latches and unfinished floor work. Drawbacks were also noticed in the public health and electrical works.

PHSC chairman Jasjit Singh Thiara told The Tribune that the “work was not up to the mark and incomplete”. He said he had told the contractor concerned to remove all shortcomings before handing over the building to the hospital.

Though the new building has officially not been handed over, a de-addiction centre and a dialysis unit had been set up in this block. The second floor of the new building is at present being occupied temporarily by the office of the civil surgeon and new beds bought for the 32-bedded wing of the new block are lying stacked in verandahs.

Apart from the inordinate delay in the handing over of the new block, which will bring better facilities to patients, the hospital suffers from other serious problems. The old block gets irregular power supply despite a hotline connection and the supply of water is inadequate, which has hit the functioning of the health facility.

As the hospital faces water shortage, doctors on night duty are compelled to bring bottles of water with them for washing hands. The overhead tanks get empty by the end of the day because of inadequate capacity.

Dr Manraj Singh, who will be in charge of the dialysis unit in the new building, said a trial run had been carried out but the unit would become functional only when it got uninterrupted power and water supply. The problem was brought to the notice of the engineering wing of the corporation and the executive engineer concerned had given an assurance to solve it.

Chandigarh, October 21
A joint drive by sanitary inspectors of the Municipal Corporation, food inspectors of health department and inspectors from food and supplies department, Chandigarh administration, under the supervision of sub-divisional magistrate (South) Kavle Vinod P was conducted to enforce the ban on polythene bags in the south sub-division.

During the course of checking, polythene bags weighing 75 kg were seized and 20 domestic gas cylinders were impounded from dhabas and restaurants in Burail village, Sector 45.

The impounded cylinders were handed over to staff of the Indian Oil agency for further necessary action. Such drives will be carried out in the future as well for proper enforcement of the ban on the polythene bags.

The UT administration has imposed a complete ban on the use and sale of polythene bags in the city with effect from October 2, 2008.

The notification in this regard was issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for banning use, storage, import, selling transportation and disposal of polythene and plastic carry bags by any person in the city.

Chandigarh, October 21
The Chandigarh Administration has focused on public transport in its transport policy for Chandigarh in the backdrop of the city having the highest vehicular density in the country.

In fact, that was the consensus at the brainstorming session of UT officials on the transport policy held here today under the chairmanship of Pradip Mehra, Adviser to the UT Administrator. With chaos ruling city roads it has become obvious to focus on public transport, including the proposed metro system.

With parking woes and traffic chaos ruling the roost, at the meeting it was felt that there was a need to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to ease traffic for the convenience of the commuters. The need to increase the circulation areas of roundabouts and widening the roads was emphasised upon and it was also proposed that the use of private vehicles in the city should be discouraged.

The Chandigarh Administration had already decided to substantially hike the registration charges on vehicles being registered in the city, particularly for the luxury cars, to discourage use of private vehicles. The city is already bursting at seams with over seven -lakh registered vehicles.

Similarly, all three-wheelers are being shifted from diesel/petrol to LPG to make commuting faster and environment friendly. The need to make transports like autos and taxis affordable for common man also forms an integral part of the transport policy.

It may be recalled that among the solutions to traffic congestion offered by RITES included a large network of medium-level mass transport system such as bus rapid transit (BRT) to cover areas beyond the metro network and overloaded corridors.

Sources said as part of the multi-pronged strategy more parking areas would be developed. Besides, coordinated efforts between the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh (MCC) to tackle the traffic chaos will be expedited.

Mohali, October 21
Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) officials have suspended a subject matter expert, Ram Lubhaya, in connection with a case relating to publication of two million textbooks on computer science that were based on the old syllabus.

Lubhaya had reportedly failed to intimate the board’s academics director and other officials concerned about the instructions he had received from CDAC, Mohali on December 19, 2009 for not publishing the textbooks till the subject’s syllabus for classes 6 through 10 was revised.

PSEB chairman Dalbir Singh Dhillon was not available for comments. A board spokesman said a committee had been set up to go through the CD before any further action was taken. Printing of the textbooks for the second syllabus had been stopped, he added.

The issue came to light last Tuesday when board officials received the CD of the new syllabus along with a letter from CDAC referring to its December 19 letter. The officials found the subject expert had not brought the letter on record as a result of which the textbooks based on the old syllabus costing Rs 5 crore were published.

Incidentally, the first semester examinations according to the old syllabus have already been conducted in September and did not point out the anomaly.

Sources close to the board said Lubhaya had been made a “scapegoat” as he was an expert of vocational subjects. He had been given the charge on behalf of Gurtej Singh, who is presently handling computerisation work. “Certain board officials are trying to target the academics director. Who received the CDAC’s letter and how was it not placed on record? The responsibility has to be fixed”, said a PSEB official.

Panchkula, October 21
A fresher party was organised at BRS Dental College and Hospital where the second and third year postgraduate (MDS) students welcomed the new entrants. The party began with a ramp show followed by questions-answers round.

Dr Mohit Dawan, department of prosthodontics, and Dr Karan Deep Toor were crowned Mr Fresher and Ms Fresher, respectively.

The students had performed group dances and bhangra. Some students and staff members showcased their talents in the form of songs, poetry and jokes.

The gathering was addressed by college chairman Anoop Garg and college principal, Dr Sanjay Kalra, shared some words of wisdom and welcomed the freshers.