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UT depts squabble over rural building bylaws
Chandigarh, November 22 Concerned at the haphazard growth, the rural development department, in a strongly-worded letter to the advisor to the UT administrator Pradip Mehra, has apprised him of what it called the urban planning department’s “callous attitude” in dealing with the matter. Rural development & ‘panchayats’ secretary Mohanjeet Singh alleged a lot of illegal and haphazard construction was going on in the UT villages, which had been the concern of his department. “But unfortunately, in spite of our department’s best efforts, the urban planning department doesn’t appear to be interested in drawing up the building bylaws for these villages,” the letter said. “Such an uncooperative, indifferent and insensitive attitude adopted by the department is delaying action on haphazard and illegal construction in UT villages,” the letter asserted. The note further alleged that since the issue had been lying pending with the UT architecture department for a month his indicated the issue had a low priority for both the urban planning and architecture departments. It may be mentioned here that to regulate construction activity within the ‘lal dora’ limits of UT villages, the rural development department had proposed the village ‘gram panchayats’ pass a general order under section 35 of the ‘Panchayati Raj’ Act, 1994 as applicable to the union territory of Chandigarh. The draft of the general order to be issued by the ‘gram panchayats’ for regulating construction activity in their jurisdiction was prepared and sent to the chief architect. The latter proposed some amendments in the draft and the rural development department further submitted its views on the suggested amendments. After the exercise of corrections and additions, the rural development department proposed to get the same vetted from the law department by referring the same through the urban planning secretary. Later the draft vetted by the law department was referred
to the chief architect as per legal opinion. However, the case is still pending with the urban planning department despite the fact that its officials have visited the former department to expedite the case and have also pursued the matter with the chief architect. “No heed is being paid to the department’s requests and the publication and implementation of the building bylaws in the UT’s rural areas is getting delayed”, the rural development department’s letter Meanwhile, Mohanjeet stated, “Once the building bylaws for UT villages are formulated we’ll come down heavily on those who are on the wrong side of
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‘Jinxed’ finance dept has no head
Chandigarh, November 22 Even after three days, the UT Administration is yet to give additional charge of the department to any secretary-level officer. The Finance Secretary is the third most important bureaucrat in the administration after the UT Adviser and the Home Secretary. Sanjay Kumar proceeded on leave on Friday. Though today was a working day, the departments headed by Sanjay Kumar, especially the finance department, are yet to be officially given to other senior officers. Since the Finance Secretary has a major role to play in the acquisition of land for development projects and is the Chief Administrator, Capitol Project, the working of the post is always under a scanner. After controversies over mega projects, nobody wants to head the department even for a short term, official sources said. However, official sources said until the repatriation of the officer to his parent state of Punjab, the UT Administration might go in for a stop-gap arrangement by allocating various departments to secretary-level officers. Instead of the traditional system of the Home Secretary looking after the departments held by the Finance Secretary in case of absence from duty, the portfolios held by the Finance Secretary will be distributed among other officers, a senior official said. Besides Home Secretary Ram Niwas, other secretary-level in the administration are DK Tiwari, Managing Director, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation, Mohanjeet Singh, Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board; and Roshan Sunkaria, MC Commissioner. The other option is the immediate repatriation of Sanjay Kumar after approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs. While the term of Sanjay Kumar ends on January 12, 2011, the administration will request the Central Government to clear the name of his successor, VK Singh.
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CLTA city lad’s learning ground
Chandigarh, November 22 Somdev and Sanam secured India’s third successive men’s doubles crown with an energy-sapping 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-8 victory in the final. Twentytwo-year-old Sanam had trained at the CLTA till 2003, under his coach and former CLTA director Kawaljit Singh, before being selected by the All India Tennis Association in 2003. Elated at his achievement, Kawaljit Singh said: “Sanam had a very good hand. I had advised his mother to send him to a college in the US so that he could get more exposure.” Sanam had joined Lake Club and later shifted to the CLTA where he got training for three years. He shifted to New Delhi in 2003 and moved to the US in 2007 after getting admission to the University of Virginia. Sanam began playing tennis at the age of eight. Roopa Singh, his mother, said the whole family supported him to take sports as a career.
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Village can’t charge vehicle ‘entry tax’
Chandigarh, November 22 After a petition filed in the public interest on the issue came up for hearing before Punjab & Haryana High Court chief justice Mukul Mudgal and justice Ranjan Gogoi, the administration stated: “The ‘gram parvesh’ tax has been withdrawn with effect from October 26, 2010”. The petitioner, Jaswant Singh of Daria village in Chandigarh, had earlier challenged the validity of the tax on the ground that its imposition was in utter violation of article 243H of the
Indian constitution, saying approval of the competent authority was not obtained by the village’s ‘gram panchayat’ before the imposition. Additionally, it was argued that the imposition of such a tax did not fall in the ambit of the ‘gram panchayat’ as per section 88 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, as applicable to Chandigarh. Alleging “high-handedness”, the petitioner demanded a probe into the scandal since collection of the illegal tax had been going on under the administration’s nose despite advice by the UT director of rural development & ‘panchayats’. The petitioner said in his letter dated May 19, he had asked the Daria ‘gram panchayat’ to refrain from collecting the tax. Taking up the petition, the bench ruled: “In this view of the matter the grievance raised regarding imposition of the said tax stand redressed”. The bench added counsel for the petitioner had prayed for directing the UT administration and other respondents to conduct a thorough probe “as to under what circumstances and under whose patronization/connivance has the ‘gram parvesh’ tax in Daria village been imposed/collected in broad daylight without any check resulting into causing losses of lakhs of rupees to the public exchequer and to take necessary action to bring the culprits to book”. The bench concluded: “In our view this prayer cannot be granted by this court while exercising jurisdiction under article 226 of the constitution of India. Faced with this situation counsel for the petitioner seeks leave of this court to agitate this issue on the administrative side. With the liberty this petition stands disposed of”.
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High Drama at Police HQ
Chandigarh, November 22 Mona alleged that her father-in-law Kamal Kishore, mother-in-law Janak Dulari, and sister-in-law Veena made her consume some poisonous substance. She also accused her father-in-law of forcing her into a physical relationship with him. However, the police said
After returning from there, she had an altercation at home and went to the police station after consuming some
intoxicant. She collapsed there,
too, and was rushed to the hospital, from where she was discharged.She did not level any allegations against her husband who runs a
grocery store in Manimajra.
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Bhajan, skit mark youth fest end
Panchkula, November 22 DAV Public School, Sector 3, Kurukshetra, bagged the second position, while DAV Public School, Pundri, got the third place in the devotional songs event. DAV managing committee secretary Mohan Lal while appreciating the efforts put by the school principal and staff to make the event a success said, “The way the event has brought students closer from all parts of the country, we feel its relevance is achieved. This was the most appropriate place to organise such a function and to carry home the message of Bhagvada Gita” Young students also showcased their talent in the field of acting and music as well. The students from 13 zones gave mesmerising performances in folk dances of various states. The thought-provoking skits kept the audience spellbound. In Hindi debate and declamation contests, the students presented their views enthusiastically. The other competitions included devotional bhajan, shabad, patriotic songs, light vocal (solo) and classical vocal Indian. Brief results: Skit: Laka Jagat Narain, DAV Model School, Jalandhar, secured the first position, whereas DAV Public School, Kota, and DAV Public School, Sec-3, Kurukshetra, secured the second and third place, respectively. Patriotic song: DAV Centenary Public School, Fatehabad, bagged the first place, while DAV Public School, Bhatgaon, and DAV, Asansol, got the second and third position, respectively. Hindi declamation contest: DAV Public School, Rajendra Nagar, Sahibabad, Gaziabad, secured the first position, while SB DAV Vasant Vihar, Delhi, and DAV Public School, Lawrence Road, Amritsar, got the second and third position, respectively. Sanskrit declamation contest: SL DAV Public School, Khagaria, got the first position, while Rajinder Nagar Police DAV Public School, Amritsar, and SPM DAV Public School, Gangoh, Saharanpur, bagged the second and third place, respectively.
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Body donation catching on
With two bodies received at the anatomy department of the PGI last week, the number of such donors has touched 18 this year, which is double the last year’s figure of nine. The hospital received the bodies of Gurdit Singh and Rajinder Singh, residents of Sector 49 A, and 18 A, respectively. The PGI is enthused by the gesture of individuals or their relatives for pledging or donating bodies. “The department is grateful to the family and admires for this noble gesture,” said Dr Daisy Sahni, head, anatomy department, PGI. This is in contrast to 2004, when the PGI received its first cadaver in 20 years. The number of people pledging their bodies has also reached 365 this year. In fact, residents of the city and its neighbouring areas have joined hands by shedding their inhibitions and dismissing myths surrounding body donation, she said. Surprisingly, a majority of people pledging their bodies include the elderly, who otherwise are considered orthodox and conservative. It seems people have started overcoming their apprehensions about not being able to attain salvation for not being cremated with rituals. And, perhaps this has contributed to the steady progress of organ and body donation in the city. While just one cadaver was donated to the PGI in 2004, the number trebled in 2006-07 and again doubled in 2007-08 to six. People coming forward for body donation belong to all strata of society, including poor, rich, young as well as old and even illiterate. While Gurdit Singh was inspired by his 15-year-old granddaughter Harmanpreet Kaur, who pledged her body before she died of thalassaemia in 2006, Reeta Mairikrux, a 70-year-old domestic help with a Sector 36-based family, pledged her body on July 14 after she came across a report on television regarding body donation by Jyoti Basu, West Bengal’s former Chief Minister. Besides the Marxist patriarch, renowned Punjabi writer Santokh Singh Dhir, who died on February 8, had also donated his body. Similarly, general secretary of the Senior Citizen Association, Chandigarh, Surjeet Kaur (70), and association member Kulbir Singh (63) pledged their bodies to the PGI’s anatomy department two months ago. Awareness among masses over the humanitarian cause has been a major reason behind the increase in the popularity of body donation, added Dr Daisy.
How are bodies utilised
The bodies of people who die of natural death are used for research and study purposes, while the cadavers of brain-dead people are used for organ transplant. Only eyes, kidneys and liver of a brain dead persons can be used for transplant.
Helplines
The body along with a death certificate/ declaration of death certificate can be transported within 3-5 hours of the person’s death to the department of anatomy, PGIMER, Chandigarh, (or to any other nearby medical college/institute). Helpline numbers: 0172-2755201/ 2755202 (9 am to 5 pm); 0172-2706478/ 9914208202 (after 5 pm); emergency reception: 0172-2746018/2756565 (24 hours).
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Complainant Satisfaction
Chandigarh, November 22 Sources in the police said on an average, the PCR received 160 to 190 calls every day pertaining to road accidents, street quarrels, noise pollution and other miscellaneous spots. The police has started the system of approaching every caller to get their feedback about the response of the policemen, their attitude and the action taken on the information. “Though a majority of callers expressed satisfaction over the response of the police, there were instances where they were not satisfied. We have deputed an inspector-rank officer to personally contact such people to get their views and suggestions to improve our functioning,” said DSP (PCR and communication) Roshan Lal. In the past four days, they have approached 25 persons and a detailed report has been prepared of the views expressed by callers and their reason for dissatisfaction with the police working. “The report is submitted to the UT SSP every day, who take action against the policemen who fail to perform their duties. In cases where the police action was not possible due to legal constraints, the complainants are advised to approach other authorities for redressal of their grievances,” the DSP said. On Saturday, the PCR received 188 calls from across the city. Out of these, 152 callers were satisfied with the police working, while 12 expressed dissatisfaction. As many as 28 persons did not attend the calls or their phones were switched off. Only two persons appreciated the police response.
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Failure to provide info under RTI Act
Chandigarh, November 22 The order came on an application of Subhash Nirankari, who retired as private secretary from the PGI in December last year. In his application, Nirankari alleged that though the PGI refused to provide him with information on the pretext that the file concerned was not traceable, it did not take any action against the persons responsible for it. Subhash worked as a PA in the PGI in 1997 when he was arrested for his involvement in workers’ union activities. The authorities put him under deemed suspension and a criminal case was lodged against him. “While the criminal case was dismissed in the court, my suspension and charge-sheet were revoked by the then PGI Director, SK Sharma, in 2001 and an information in writing was passed on to me,” claimed Subhash. Though the Director issued instructions in this regard in the file, the Deputy Director (administration) did not issue formal orders in this regard, he alleged. Consequently, he was not only deprived of compensation for the monetary loss suffered by him during the suspension period, his promotion benefits due since 1992 were also diluted, alleged Nirankari. To challenge this, when the complainant demanded the copy of his leave and posting file containing the orders of Dr SK Sharma, he was told that the file was untraceable, he said. Following this, an application was filed before the CIC, which directed the PGI authorities to file an affidavit in this regard so that further action could be taken, said Nirankari.
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2 offenders lose driver’s licence for 3 months
Chandigarh, November 22 The violators were booked six times for various traffic rules violations during the past four years. The police said Pardeep Kumar, a resident of Ram Darbar, Phase II, had been booked six times from September 23, 2006 to June 14, this year, for various traffic offences. Similarly, Rahul Sharma, a resident of Sector 20 B, was booked six times for various traffic rules violations from October 15, 2006 to August 14, this year. The RLA has debarred them from holding a driver’s licence for three months starting November 12. The traffic police has requested city residents to give information about such habitual offenders on its toll-free helpline (1073). The police will verify the information of such violators with their computerised records and initiate action. So far, the police has recommended 278 cases to the RLA for suspension of driver’s licences and the RLA has awarded punishment to 222 habitual offenders.
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Beopar mandal functionaries elevated
Chandigarh, November 22 Diwakar Sahoonja, president of the CBM, has been appointed national vice-president of the AIUBM, while Charanjiv Singh, CBM chairman, has been appointed patron of the national body. Anil Vohra, general secretary, will be the secretary of the AIUBM. CBM secretary (administration) Kailash Jain will be the organising secretary of the apex traders’ body. Sat Pal Gupta, Gursharan Batra Subash Narang, Naresh Mahajan and Purshotam Mahajan, all senior functionaries of the CBM, have been included in the national executive of AIUBM.
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New Lake, old story
Chandigarh, November 22 With residents virtually vandalising the picnic spot for performing rituals on the Chhat Puja recently, the lake has started stinking. Polythene bags, garlands and earthen lamps float freely in the lake giving it a shabby look. The fountain at the lake, a major attraction for visitors, has also not been spared as the leftover puja material dots the area around the fountain in the middle of the lake. Sources say after major religious functions, the water of the entire lake is supposed to be drained out. However, after the recent Chhat Puja, the water body has apparently not been drained, leading to the stink. While the devout vandalise the lake with impunity, regular visitors are aghast at what they call the lop-sided vision of the Chandigarh administration in allowing religious ceremonies at the lake. “Given its surroundings, the sprawling lake is an ideal place for a morning stroll. However, the stink in the backdrop of litter in the lake is unbearable,” says Seema Sharma, a housewife living in the adjoining Sector 42. Demanding a ban on the performance of religious ceremonies and bathing at the lake, DK Singh, a resident of Sector 50, asserts that this is against the very purpose of the creation of the water body for residents of the southern belt. The lake was inaugurated by former Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator SF Rodrigues on October 29, 2008, in a bid to provide entertainment spots in the southern sectors. However, in its wisdom or lack of it, the administration allowed religious ceremonies during such festivals. Earlier, the Chandigarh administration ran into trouble with the municipal corporation after the latter raised a bill of Rs 1.78 lakh for pumping of water from the corporation’s tubewell. A senior official of the administration promised that the maintenance of the lake would immediately be streamlined. In fact, littering in the lake exposed civic sense among residents of the city, he said, giving a warning to offenders.
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Raid on food joint, 3 LPG cylinders seized
Chandigarh, November 22 Acting on a complaint against Food Corner in Sector 32 D, a team led by joint director, food and civil supplies department-cum-SDM (South) Vinod P Kavle raided the shop and found three domestic cylinders being used for commercial purposes. The cylinders were seized during the operation. A case was registered with the UT police against joint owner Ajay Kumar
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Bank staff call off strike
Chandigarh, November 22
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Garbage Dumping Mess
Mohali, November 22 The sanitation contract for the year 2009-10 started on November 26 last year and will now expire on November 25. The proposal of giving the work on contract for another year was taken up at the general house meeting held on September 23, but was held back after councillors of the opposition group protested alleging that estimates for development works of their wards had not been included in the agenda. Since then no meeting was held. According to sources, executive officer of the council Amna Kumar Goyal had written a letter to president Rajinder Singh Rana on November 16 requesting him to call the meeting urgently so that proposal for giving the sanitation work on contract could be cleared. He had stated that the proposal had to be cleared at the earliest, as the contract was expiring on November 25, failing which unhygienic conditions could spread in the town. In order to improve the state of sanitation in Mohali, the municipal council had proposed to spend a sum of nearly Rs 2.75 crore and divided the work into two parts before giving it on contract for another year. The council has now proposed to divide the work into two parts-cleaning the town, including the curb channels, and dumping the garbage from collection points. While the civic body has proposed to spend about Rs 2.23 crore on the cleaning part, a sum of more than Rs 50 lakh has been estimated to be spent on dumping garbage. The town has been divided into four zones for cleaning purposes. Zone I consists of Phases I, II, III, IV and VI, Zone II comprises Phases III-A, III-B1, III-B2, VII and VIII, Zone III will have Phases IX to XI , Sector 48-C and Industrial Area Phase IX. Sectors 70, 71, Phase V and Industrial Area Phases VII and VIII will fall under Zone IV. Residents have been complaining about unhygienic conditions near garbage dumping points because of overflowing bins and the failure of sanitation contractors to clean the localities on a daily basis. The municipal councillors have also been making a hue and cry about the state of sanitation in the town at almost every monthly meeting of the council, but not much improvement was brought about, despite the work being allotted to contractors with stricter terms and conditions.
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Little respite from stench for residents
Panchkula, November 22 The garbage is currently being dumped at a site in Sector 23, which is being opposed by residents living in sectors across the Ghaggar. Some residents had earlier blocked vans and tractor-trailers ferrying garbage to the site and let these go only after assurances from the authorities that site would be shifted soon. Demanding the shifting of the garbage site to some other uninhabited area of the district, residents said garbage got scattered all over the area whenever winds lashed the region. The residents further rued that it was subsequent to their representation to the HPCB that it wrote to the MC, yet the latter had not even responded to the same. TS Ahlawat, a resident of Sector 25, said heaps of rotting garbage were set afire in the morning everyday and the smoke thus arising from it not only blinded motorists but also posed a serious health risk to residents, especially the elderly. He said they had repeatedly held demonstrations and protests, and informed the administration in this context, yet nothing had been done to shift the dumping ground. However, MC executive officer KK Jain said he had deployed staff to ensure that garbage was not burnt, as it would further spread harmful gases and stink in the nearby residential areas. He said he had directed the staff to put earth on the garbage that was being dumped in large pits in the area. According to sources, MC and Haryana Urban Development Authority officials had held a meeting in this regard on November 9 to identify the land for the dumping of garbage, keeping in view the increase in population in the area. The district administration is awaiting clearance from the ministry of environment for setting up a garbage treatment plant at Jheuriwala village but the same has hit the roadblock as village residents have protested against the move. Meanwhile, the MC has already identified six sites in the city where garbage collection centres will be set up. These include Sectors 2, 12, 10, Azad Colony, Rajeev Colony and Indira Colony. These centres will have six to eight feet high walls on all sides to avoid littering of garbage.
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1 killed in mishap
Mohali, November 22 According to the police, Manpreet Singh (19), a resident of Tangori village, sustained serious injuries when a speeding Tata Safari collided with his motorcycle, which was parked on a roadside. He was immediately rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, where he succumbed to his injuries. The police said Manpreet’s uncle Gurdhyan Singh was riding the motorcycle, while he was riding pillion. Gurdhyan had parked the bike on the roadside when the incident occurred. A case under Sections 279, 304 A and 427 of the IPC has been registered. Arrested
Panchkula: A police team from Maharashtra raided a house in Sector 15 late last night and arrested Anju whose husband was involved in a fraud case. According to the police, Anju’s husband Vinod had embezzled with crores of rupees in Maharashtra and deposited the amount in his wife’s savings account. The police said various cases of fraud had already been registered at various police stations in Maharashtra. However, after receiving a tip-off, Vinod absconded from the city. But his wife was arrested in view of the large amount of money deposited in her savings account.
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Farmers should go in for dairy farming
Mohali, November 22 Sharma, who was addressing a gathering at a two-day animal wealth and milking contest held at Chapparchiri village, said such contests encouraged farmers to adopt dairy farming. He said the Punjab government organised such contests at the district, sub-division and state levels and winners were honoured with cash incentives. Efforts were being made to encourage dairy farming so that unemployed youth could also go in for self-employment. He said four mobile vans would be provided in the district for the welfare of animals. Dispensaries would also get the required infrastructure, he added.
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Chemist succumbs to injuries
Zirakpur, November 22 Investigating official said now a case under Section 302 of the IPC was registered against the two unidentified persons. Earlier, the police had registered a case under Section 307. The police official said the incident took place on November 1 when the unidentified miscreants reached the shop and asked the shopkeeper for a medicine. When Ravinder Singh turned, the accused shot at him, the official added. The police official said the case had been registered on the complaint of Ravinder Singh, who had alleged that he had property disputes with Kuljit Singh, a Zirakpur-based property dealer and Barnala builders. The victim suspected that they might had sent the unidentified miscreants to kill him, as the case was pending in the court, the police official added. The body of the deceased has been handed over to his family after conducting a postmortem. Zirakpur SHO Yogi Raj stated that investigations were in the process.
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Wedding Season: Commuters at the receiving end
Zirakpur, November 22 A substantial number of marriage palaces lack adequate parking space. Despite the administration banning parking of vehicles outside marriage palaces, one can see a large number of these parked along the roadside. According to an estimate, more than 300 marriages will be solemnised in the coming week. Owners of marriage palaces claimed that they had made adequate arrangements for the parking facility and also took vacant lands along their banquet halls on rent or lease. Those having banquets halls on the Zirakpur-Panchkula road alleged that the ongoing four-laning of the Zirakpur-Kalka highway had hit their business. A visit to the area revealed that traffic on the Zirakpur-Panchkula highway moved at a snail’s pace, courtesy wedding season. Serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on the Zirakpur-Dhakoli and Zirakpur-Panchkula roads. However, no traffic jam was reported on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway. “Earlier, I had planned to book a banquet hall in Zirakpur, but now I have changed the plan,” said Saurabh Anand, a resident of Sector 44, Chandigarh. Last month, SDM Dera Bassi Puneet Goyal held a meeting with owners of marriage palaces and asked them to follow all prescribed norms. Goyal stated that a five-member committee comprising a traffic in charge, a Station House Officer, a duty magistrate, a fire officer and a doctor will conduct surprise checks at marriage palaces. He said strict action would be taken against violators. Mohali DSP (traffic) Darshan Singh Mann claimed that the police personnel had been deployed on the Zirakpur-Patiala and Zirakpur-Kalka highways. He said a crane, a PCR and a team of four cops, including two traffic cops, would man traffic on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway.
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Students take out rally
Zirakpur, November 22 Students challaned violators and appealed to them to obey traffic rules while driving. Traffic inspector Devinder Singh said the increase in vehicular traffic had also led to a rise in the graph of road mishaps and causalities. Violators had cost several innocent persons their lives, he added. He apprised students about traffic signals and asked them to abide by traffic rules, as a majority of accidents happened due to the violation of traffic norms.
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Raw material shortage hits projects
Chandigarh, November 22 Records of the MC show that the re-carpeting of roads and construction of community centres has been delayed due to non-availability of raw material. The deadline for the re-carpeting work in Industrial Area, Phase II, was rescheduled by the authorities twice as the contractor was unable to start work. Similarly, the road widening projects in Sectors 7, 9, 11, 27, 30, 37, 45, 47 and 48, Industrial Area (Phase I) and Mani Majra have been hampered as contractors are facing acute shortage of raw material. Even the projects of community centres for Sectors 28, 29, 37 and 48 are also facing similar fate. Officials said since contractors were complaining about non-availability of raw material, the authorities were considering to relax the deadline. To minimise their loss, the contractors are trying to either delay work or surrender the contracts. They are even ready to forgo pending payments. A few contractors tried to keep the projects running by using poor quality alternatives for sand and gravel. Mud mixed with black sand mined from certain parts of Haryana is being used by some contractors. Congress councillor Jatinder Bhatia said re-carpeting work in Sector 47 had been discontinued by the contractor last one month. Complaining about the pending work on the community centre of Sector 48, he said the bookings had been suspended for the last six months. MC Chief Engineer SS Bidda, however, stated that delay in the completion of projects was not due to a shortage of raw material. No bidding for fresh projects The status report of projects, tabled in the recent finance and contract committee meeting, says that the contract of works, including seven public health projects, 13 paver blocks and two community centres, had not been allotted as no contractor had made a bid for it due to shortage of raw material
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Ghazal soiree enthrals audience
Panchkula, November 22 HE Jagannath Pahadia, Haryana Governor, Justice Jitender Chuhan, besides acclaimed Bollywood actors Farooq Sheikh and Jaspal Bhatti performed at the book release function, who added a special charm to the otherwise impressive literary musical programme organised under the aegis of Din Bhar and Dare Club. Speaking at the occasion, Jagannath Pahadia observed that poets like Sahil endowed with a real vision and originality of thought can create awakening among the masses through their creative writings. The poets and writers had substantially contributed in the freedom struggle, he recalled. Farook Sheikh, the guest of honour, hailed Sahil’s poetry immaculately replete with profundity of thought, greater depth of feeling, delicacy of phrase and covering the entire spectrum of human emotions has an appeal or message of socio-cultural relevance. He defined the “Shayer, shaayer and shayri” in its wider perspective, while lauding Sahil’s prominence as a poet of the masses capable of conveying a complex thought in a simple paradigm of magical couplets. Sahil read out his latest thought-provoking poem, “Kagaz”, much to the delight of audience. Acclaimed ghazal maestro Vinod Sehgal took the centre stage to light up the musical concert veritably titled “Zindagi aa paas kuchh batein karen” based on the poetry of Sahil with a ghazal “Be sabab ashq bahaane ki jaroota kya hai”. He brought alive the depth of emotion as well as the lyrical beauty of the ghazals like “Aap ne aisa bhi maseeha dekha hai kya” or “Yeh jo uljhi huyee si Zindagi” and many more. Debashish Dhar, Sahil and Parveen Rathi articulated the melody meter. Earlier Prof Vivek Ranga commenced with the theme amidst applause by the intrusive listeners notwithstanding the delayed start of the recital. He presented more ghazals in his mellifluous voice ably accompanied by Vevel Sharma, Munish Sachdeva, Alreem Khan and Suresh Nayak on instruments.
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Kalka, Pinjore residentsseek fresh elections
Panchkula, November 22 Referring to the state government issued notification merging Kalka and Pinjore in the Panchkula municipal corporation on March 17, he said not only the urban area but 42 panchayats were subsequently made part of the corporation. Bansal added that 42 panchayats that were included in the corporation consisted of 56 villages. He said the High Court held that merging of the urban area - municipal councils of Panchkula, Pinjore and Kalka - was in violation of the Constitution of India and that the inclusion of 42 panchayats was also contrary and violative of the provisions of the Constitution as well as the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act. He demanded that fresh election of sarpanches, panches, Kalka MC and members of zila parishad and panchayat samitis be conducted after making fresh demarcation of constitution and rotation of reservation of seats.
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AIEEE on April 24
Chandigarh, November 22 The sale of information bulletin will start from December 15 this year. The CBSE also revealed that the facility of submission of online application started from September 23 this year. It is for the first time that the CBSE has made the facility available for appearing in online examination for 1 lakh candidates on first come and first served basis in the selected 20 cities with a capacity of 5,000 per city. The
detailed inform
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‘Strengthen education system for higher literacy percentage’
Chandigarh, November 22 Punjab education minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan was the chief guest.While speaking on the occasion, Sekhwan said in view of rapid changes, which technological advancement had brought about in the education system, infrastructure development, corporate network and economic growth in Punjab had been restructured to move ahead with time. He said his priority would be to further strengthen the education system in the state to achieve higher literacy percentage and also to upgrade and improve the existing curriculum in the state to make it more job-oriented. He suggested CMA to organise an interface of the academia, corporate world and government to understand each other needs and requirements. He also outlined the steps being taken by the Punjab government for training the youth to make them employable. On this occasion, the minister also released the vision of CMA. CMA president Gulshan Sharma while making a multi-media presentation said CMA had initiated many steps to bring awareness amongst students of business schools and other institutions about the skills, which they needed to develop for enabling them to get employment as per their own capabilities. He said other steps taken by CMA was to go around various educational institutions within the 40-km radius of Chandigarh to motivate youth and to instill in them the positive outlook and life management skills to help them pursue higher studies and career of their choice. He said the skills development programme of the CMA would culminate into a programme “Shaping young minds" in February, where celebrities and successful corporate personalities will come and talk about their experiences for achieving success.
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PU Notes CHANDIGARH: Eminent scientist, Dr Krishan Lal, former director, National Physical Laboratory, and Prof SV Kesar, professor emeritus (chemistry) of Panjab University, were honoured by Panjab University Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti for their distinguished services in their respective fields today. Dr Krishan Lal was here to deliver a lecture under the “distinguished lecture series” organised by Panjab University. The scientist spoke on “Fascinating world of crystals: New challenges”. Dr Krishan Lal explained the scientific understanding of diamond and structure of other crystals. He said the crystals played an important role in the discovery of X-ray diffraction, a major landmark in modern science. The lecture was organised by Prof AS Ahluwalia, dean faculty of science, and was attended by a large number of students and faculty members. Workshop
Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Prof RC Sobti, will inaugurate the national workshop on “Climate change and its impact on water resources - Adaptation issues” at the ICSSR Complex tomorrow, a press release said here today. Som Pal, former member, Planning Commission of India, will be the chief guest. Dinesh Pande, director (exploration), ONGC, and Dr SC Dhiman, chairman, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), are also participating in the workshop. The two-day workshop being organised jointly by the Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, PU, and Global Hydro geological Solutions, New Delhi, will witness more than 25 geoscientists, engineers and environmentalists from reputed universities, research institutes and government organisations. The department of geology will also have its alumni meet on the occasion. The recitation of “Akhand Path” began at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Bhawan, which is under construction on Panjab University campus here today, as a prelude to the bhawan’s inauguration on November 24, the martyrdom day of the great Guru. Panjab University Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti and senior faculty and staff members paid obeisance. The bhog of “Akhand Paath” will take place on Wednesday. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will inaugurate the bhawan around afternoon. 7 students selected
In the first round of placements at Panjab University, Infogain, an IT company, visited the department of computer science and applications. Students took a written test. Human resource and technical interviews were held. Offer letters were given to seven students. Placement drive
PEC University of Technology held a placement drive. Aricent Technologies visited the campus. MCA, BTech and MTech students took the test. Manish Goyal, placement representative, department of computer science and applications, PU, said students of the department felt encouraged by signs of better placements this season. —
TNS
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From Schools Mohali: Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Mohali, held its annual function. Junior school students presented Ganesh Vandana, while seniors presented Saraswati Vandana to mark beginning of the function. Students from nursery to Class IV presented varied hues of India highlighting unity in diversity. “School Chale Hum” laid emphasis on education for all. The medley of songs, dances and plays continued with the senior section setting the stage on fire with its fusion dance performance, while “Barso re Megha” talked about the importance of monsoon in India. Colourful peacock dance, dandiya and qawwali added zing to the mood. Gurpurb celebrated
Smart Wonders School, Sector 71, Mohali, celebrated Gurupurb. During a special assembly, teachers presented shabad kirtan. Students were reminded of the message of sanctity, faith, trust, honesty, karam and kirit, which forms the core of Guru Nanak’s message to the world. The programme concluded with distribution of prasad. — TNS
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Chandigarh, November 22
