|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
CRPF instructor killed, 3 hurt as grenade goes off
Panchkula, September 16 A faulty fuse in the grenade is suspected to be the cause of the incident. The deceased has been identified as 47-year-old Sita Ram, a resident of Rampur in UP. He was an instructor while the others were recruits undergoing induction training. The injured personnel have been admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh and have been identified as Mahi Pal, Ravi Mohan and Madan Lal Saini. All of them were based at the CRPF Group Centre in Pinjore. According to sources, the incident occurred at about 11.30 am when a group of recruits were being trained in the procedure of lobbing grenades. The grenade had a four-second fuse and is generally hurled at a target 30-35 feet away. In this case, sources said the grenade exploded in the air almost immediately after the pin was pulled. The grenade, which was lobbed by a recruit, exploded just a few feet away. Senior CRPF officers as well as the local civil administration officials, including the SDM, rushed to the site of the incident. CRPF officers said a court of inquiry would be conducted.
Past incidents
October 2, 2003: Two Army men killed when a mortar shell was being broken for brass in old Panchkula June 26, 2007: Four members of a family, including three children, from Raipur Rani in Panchkula died in shell blast March 13, 2008: Three CRPF personnel killed and 11 seriously injured in a similar incident May 2, 2008: An ITBP man killed and nine seriously injured when a hand grenade went off prematurely September 13, 2009: Two boys and a youth killed while 12 others, including two women, were injured in an explosion at Ambedkar Colony in Sector 21 April 23, 2010: Two persons injured after a live shell exploded at Kharak Mangoli village
|
|
GMADA reverts to old payment mode for plots
Mohali, September 16 Instead, the authority has been categorically asked to stick to the previous practice of asking for payment of the cost of a plot in six installments, spread over three years. The volte face comes before the minutes of GMADA’s executive committee could be signed by its chairman, SC Agrawal, who is also Punjab chief secretary. “The new decision means that, like in the case of Aerocity, speculators would have a free run to control and jack up prices of plots and force end users to pay more for the properties”, said an official. Though no GMADA official was available for comment on the reasons for reverting to the old practice, sources said the decision had reportedly been taken after deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal intervened in the matter. According to the revised decision, ten per cent of the plot cost has to be paid in the form of earnest money with another 20 per cent to be paid within 30 days from the date of issuing the letter of intent. Of the balance 70 per cent cost, 65 per cent would have to be paid in six installments spread over three years and the remaining 5 per cent will be charged at the time of issuing the allotment letter. “Only the payment schedule has been altered for the benefit of the common man”, said another official. However, the remaining terms and conditions remain the same. For the first time the applications would also be received online and the draw of lots would be held on November 30.
About-face at eleventh hr
Authority reverts to payment schedule through installments 30% (including 10% earnest money) to be paid within 30 days after LoI is issued Remaining 65% of plot cost to be paid in 6 monthly installments Plot size No. of plots (sq yd) 100 200 200 200 300 100 400 120 500 120
|
|
GMCH refuses to deliver 2nd child
Chandigarh, September 16 And, surprisingly, this norm, which has been prevalent for quite some time, has no sanction from the UT health department with even health secretary Ram Niwas terming it “illegal” and saying no one could be denied healthcare in any government run hospital. It may sound strange and be contrary to the ethics of the medical profession as well as the government’s motto of providing healthcare to all, but the hospital apparently has a self imposed rule of not allowing second childbirth deliveries. This shocker comes at a time when the central government is spending crores of rupees on promoting institutional deliveries by making it free, including providing transport to expectant mothers at all state run hospitals. GMCH-32 was in fact the first hospital in the city to start free child deliveries under the scheme promoted by the central government, but it has an “unwritten” rule of refusing cases of all second normal childbirth deliveries. However, if one has the right connections, circumventing this informal norm, like many others, is not difficult and a woman can have a second delivery at the hospital. Sources close to the hospital’s gynecology department confirmed the latter had been following the one child norm for normal deliveries for a long time. The gynecology ward’s doctors attributed this to being “overburdened”. “Though we conduct checkups we advise mothers expecting their second normal child to go to Government Multispecialty Hospital in Sector 16 or the Community Health Centre in Sector 22”, they said. A young mother said she was clearly told by the gynecologist who did a checkup on her that she would have to go elsewhere. When contacted, Dr Vipin Kaushal, hospital’s medical superintendent, said in order to have doctors available for complicated cases the hospital advised second time mothers, who had a normal delivery for their first child, to go other hospitals. “We conduct antenatal checkups, but since we’ve a periphery load and can’t say “no” to complicated cases we’ve no option but to advise second time mothers to go to other government hospitals”, he added. “The ‘one child only’ norm is illegal and I’ll initiate action on the matter”, Niwas told the Chandigarh Tribune. List of successful candidates for posts okayed
|
|
PU student expelled from hostel, fined Rs 25,000
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 16 Sahil, who was suspended two days ago following a mail from Saksham’s father, was held guilty by the anti-ragging sub-committee which even ordered the withholding/withdrawing of any scholarship/fellowship or similar benefits being availed by Sahil in addition to debarring him from appearing in a house test and representing the institution in any regional, national or international meet, tournament, and youth festival, etc. The committee said it had taken complaints and statements of both parties into account before taking the decision. “We observed that the complainant informed his father about his seniors’ acts out of fear and panic. Reacting to it, his father sent an email to the department concern, requesting it to step up vigil to prevent such criminal activities to avoid harassment of first year students,” the official statement read. According to sources, the boy’s father had through three emails taken a U- turn on his complaint, asking the university to revoke the suspension of Sahil and not give this case a “priority” to register an FIR or seal the boy’s hostel room. “But the statement given to the committee was sufficient to declare Sahil guilty of ragging though it was not grave. He has been punished as per the UGC norms,” a committee member stated.
|
Shatabdi, Himalayan Queen late by 3 hrs
Chandigarh, September 16 The Himalayan Queen and the Shatabdi, which were supposed to touch the platform around 10.27 am and 11.05 am, arrived at 2.05 pm and 2.27 pm, respectively. According to railway sources, an overhead wire got damaged after a tree fell on it during heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that lashed the Karnal region in the wee hours today, disrupting the rail traffic for over two and half hours. The sources added that the Lucknow-Chandigarh Unchahar Express arrived at its scheduled time as it crossed the area just
few minutes before the incident. The Shatabdi was further delayed as the Jammu Tawi Express running ahead of the superfast train also came to a halt near Karnal, the sources added. Station superintendent Parveen Kumar said the rail traffic on the affected section was restored at 11.45 am after the overhead electrical maintenance staff and the EMU maintenance staff arrived at the scene. However, the rest of the trains arrived on time. At the Chandigarh railway station, relatives were seen waiting for their near and dear ones, who were to arrive in the two trains. “I have been waiting here since 11 am and don’t know when the train will arrive,” stated a harried bank official, who was waiting for the arrival of the Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi. Meanwhile, passengers on board the Shatabdi said they were held up near Panipat for over three hours and their train was allowed passage only after the fault was rectified. “We were scared initially as we had little information of what had happened,” stated Sunil Sharma, who arrived from Delhi.
|
|
Amritsar-city Duronto Express loses steam
Chandigarh, September 16 An analysis of the number of passengers who have travelled in the train from the city during the past three days suggests that the numbers have gone down to one-fourth the numbers — 550 to 600 — seen in the first week of its launch on August 24. The ban on booking of current tickets for the train by the authorities is being cited as the main reason for the decline in the numbers. With the winter season ahead, the number is likely to go down further, as the train arrives in the holy city of Amritsar late in the evening. The minimum temperature touches 0 °C in Amritsar and people will prefer travelling in airconditioned buses run by private operators during winter. Also, the increase in snatching incidents in Amritsar during late-night hours has also forced people to travel by bus to reach their destination early. In spite of running into losses due to lack of passengers opting for the Duronto Express, the railway authorities are not willing to take up the demand of increasing the number of stoppages on the route. People in Chandigarh and its adjoining areas like Mohali have been demanding permanent stoppages at Jalandhar, Phagwara, Ludhiana and Mohali in order to draw more passengers. There has been no major decline in the number of passengers boarding the train from Amritsar, however, as on an average, 250 persons travel to the city on the train every day. The railways has not been able to attract passengers from the city in spite of offering special facilities like option of purchasing tickets directly from current reservation counters. The train, with two AC coaches and 12 non-AC chair car coaches, has a capacity of over 1,400 passengers.
|
|
More trouble amid respite for DSP Ghirra
Chandigarh, September 16 In a reply filed by the CBI on Ghirra’s application to allow her to operate her bank accounts, the CBI maintained that apart from the corruption case that she is facing, the CBI is gathering evidence to file a disproportionate assets case against her. CBI’s counsel PK Dogra informed the court that the CBI was gathering evidence and would soon submit a report in the court. Meanwhile, the CBI court allowed Ghirra and her family to conditionally operate four accounts — including Ghirra’s salary and pension accounts and her mother and son’s account. The court allowed the operation of accounts on transactions made after July 24 (when Ghirra was arrested). The CBI had sealed her accounts after Ghirra’s arrest. Ghirra had recently moved an application seeking permission to operate her accounts, as she needed money to sustain her family. The CBI had arrested Ghirra for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a property dealer, KK Malhotra, on July 24. In this matter, the CBI had registered a case against Ghirra for graft. Two more cases were registered against her at the police station-11 under the arms and excise Acts after the CBI allegedly recovered unused bullets and illegally stored liquor bottle boxes from her Sector-15 house during search. The CBI had recovered a 32-bore German revolver and a double-barrel gun kept in an iron trunk at her house. They had also recovered over 1,200 cartridges from her residence. On August 23, DSP Ghirra had got bail in the Arms Act case. On August 20, the special CBI court granted her bail against a surety of Rs 2 lakh as bail bonds in the corruption case. Earlier on August 12, the UT district court had granted bail to Ghirra in the excise Act case.
|
|
Tired of stench, Dadu Majra residents block dumper trucks
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 16 The protest that lasted two hours ended after MC’s Additional Commissioner arrived at the scene to pacify the agitated residents. The residents have called off their protest till Monday, asking the MC to sort out the issue or face a similar protest. This is the third time in past three months when area residents have staged a protest over the stench emanating from the unprocessed garbage. The rain had led to misery in the area with water accumulating at the waste ground. The residents complained that due to the recent rain, the stench emanating from the garbage had also increased. Mohamad Salim Khan, a Sector-25 resident who was part of the protest, said the stench had made their lives miserable for the past several years but the authorities had failed to address the problem. “We had staged a protest earlier too and stopped the dumping of garbage at the ground for over six months. It was later decided to dump at least two trucks of sand along with medicines over one truck of garbage dumped to control the stench. However, nothing seems to have been done,” Khan said. The residents claimed that the UT administration should take up the issue on a priority basis or else it could lead to skin diseases and breathing problems. Resident Welfare Association, Dadu Majra, president Rajesh Kalia said the problem had been persisting for the past few years and the condition worsened after rain. The stench was unbearable and was more prominent during morning and evening hours. “People avoid coming to the area due to the stench and we have been forced to live in such conditions. It poses a serious health hazard,” Kalia said. Area councillor Kamlesh said the problem had got worse and residents were demanding the shifting of the dumping ground. “The garbage processing plant has also failed to serve its purpose, as the problem remains unresolved,” Kamlesh said. Additional Commissioner Sunil Bhatia later arrived at the scene and assured the residents of taking necessary action. “We have already pressed JCB machines to drain out the water accumulated in the dumping ground due to heavy rain. It had resulted in the stench. Also, anti-mosquito spray would be carried out in Dadu Majra on alternate days during the next 15 days,” Bhatia said. The residents have set a two-day deadline for the MC to act, failing which they would intensify their protest and prevent trucks from dumping garbage at the site.
|
|
Reply sought from DC, hotel body
Chandigarh, September 16 They had relied upon an RTI query from the Registrar of Societies, which had stated that the HRAC had not filed the mandatory annual statement of accounts and the annual election returns for the past 15 years. The petitioners have prayed for declaring the association as “defunct” and removing it from the rolls of the registered societies. tns
|
|
Campaigning ends on high pitch
Mohali, September 16 In a representation to the Election Commission, he demanded that Hardeep be debarred and disqualified for contesting SGPC elections. He had been sentenced to a three-year jail term, which he served. He said the commission had assured him that it would look into the complaint. Replying to his statement, Hardeep said he would file a legal case against his opponent as facts about the case had bee distorted. He further said his sentence had been pardoned by the then Governor. He added that his opponent was silent about SAD candidates facing criminal and corruption charges in various courts. Supporters of Hardeep alleged that personnel from the Phase-XI police station rounded them up while they were distributing pamphlets at Phase XI, allegedly at the behest of the ruling group. On the other hand, SAD candidates JP Singh and Parmjit Kaur Landran alleged that their hoarding, banners and posters in the constituency were torn by supporters of the rivals. Cong charges false and baseless, says Makkar Addressing a press conference, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar charged Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh and Punjab’s Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal with levelling false and baseless allegations about misuse of SGPC funds. Addressing a press conference here, Makkar said the Congress was levelling the allegations just to give benefit to its agents fielded in SGPC elections. He said Rs 100-crore fixed deposit in the name of Darbar Sahib was in banks and the SGPC had given more than Rs 66 crore to Guru Granth Sahib University in the previous two years. Lashing out at DSGMC chief Parmjit Singh Sarna, he said Sarna was a trusted ally of the Congress and had established various trusts to run different institution of the DSGMC. SAD candidates today wound up their campaign by taking out a tractor rally in different parts of Mohali as well as in rural areas of the district, canvassing for their candidates. Led By SAD joint secretary NK Sharma, the candidates started from Gurdwara Singh Saheedan at Sohana and passed through various areas in the town. All preparations made: DC Mohali Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said all preparations had been made for SGPC elections, to be held for four seats in the district. There were two seats in Mohali and one each in Kharar and Dera Bassi. He said there were 196 polling stations, adding that 938 employees and 37 supervisors had been deputed on election duty. There were a total of 1,25,521 voters in the district. Of these, 58,111 were men and 67,410 women. He said 1,052 policemen had been deputed to maintain law and order, adding that there were 24 ultra-sensitive and 94 sensitive booths in the district.
|
|
Meter box catches fire
Zirakpur, September 16 The fire was doused by residents. They went to the Baltana electricity complaint centre, but nobody was present there. They switched off power supply from the transformer. Zirakpur XEN HS Oberoi said they would file a police complaint as they suspected that anti-social elements were trying to damage power meters. Officials claimed that power consumption had increased by 20 per cent and revenue between 35 per cent and 40 per cent with the installation of joint electricity meter boxes in the area.
|
|
Plight of goldmine workers highlighted
Chandigarh, September 16 Shabdeesh, the play depicts the sordid story of the poor working class mainly the goldmine workers, exploited by the royal monarch. The play moves gradually under the able direction of Anita Shabdeesh to bare the fact that how confused academicians, religious patriarchs, social leaders, too, are employed to shield the king even though the common people try to break away from the repression. These workers lament that the gold extracted by them goes in the treasury of the king who worships the English monarch and punishes the worker who extracts the gold from the mines for him. The workers have been uprooted from their villages and rehabilitated in newly developed colonies where they feel suffocated. In spite of being cut off their roots, they still want to live, and this becomes a cause of concern and fear for the king of Yaskshapuri. Gary Waraich, Ranjeevan Singh Anita Sabdeesh, Jaswinder Singh, Aneetameet played the lead roles. The festival will conclude tomorrow with the staging of two plays “Baba Bolda Hai” and “Mitti Da Mull” written and directed by Gursharan Singh. Meanwhile, Rang Darpan theatre group, Patiala, in collaboration with NZCC staged a Hindi play “Choohe” at Kalagram today. The play originally written by Sahitya Akademi awardee Moti Lal Kemu and adapted in Hindi by Shashi Shekhar was replete with incisive humour and wit but with a didactic purpose. The group had dedicated the performance to thespian Gursharan Singh who turned 82 today.
|
|
chandigarh
Mohinder is new Punjab accountant general
Mohinder Singh has taken over as Principal Accountant General (Audit), Punjab and Chandigarh. He has replaced S Murugiah A 1983 batch IA&AS officer. Mohinder Singh has held various assignments in his 28 years of service. He has held the assignments as Accountant General (A&E), Haryana, Chandigarh and Principal Director of Audit, North East Frontier Railway, Guwahati. Before his present assignment, he was working as the director in the Board of Haryana Power Generation Corporation, Panchkula. ‘Sanchayika Day’ celebrated The Directorate of Small Savings, the UT administration and the National Savings Institute celebrated “Sanchayika Day” at Government Model High School, Sector 36-D, here today. DPI (Schools) Sandeep Hans was the chief guest. Rajiv Sagar, director of the institute, said an amount of Rs 50.56 lakh was collected through the sanchayika scheme during 2010-11. The scheme was functioning
in 17 UT schools in which 9,826 students were enrolled. Stage set for SGPC poll All arrangements for the SGPC elections for one seat of Chandigarh to be held on September 18, 2011, have been completed. As per guidelines issued by the Gurdwara Election Commission, only Keshadhari Sikhs whose names are in the voter list can cast vote. Non-Keshadhari will not be allowed to vote, even if his/her name appears in the electoral roll. All registered Keshadhari voters are requested to bring their identity proof at the time of polling. As many as 28 polling stations have been set up in Union Territory, Chandigarh. Adequate police/security arrangements have been made by the UT SSP in and around all polling stations for the peaceful conduct of elections. The polling timings are from 8 am to 4 pm. Protest by Cong activists The Chandigarh Youth Congress, along with the Colony Cell, staged a protest at the food and supplies department in Sector 17 against SDM Kavle V Parashuram, who had allegedly slapped a resident of Maloya during a demolition drive recently. Led by Gurpreet Singh Gabi, president, Youth Congress, hundreds of workers demanded a strict action against the erring official for his “uncalled for and unjustified behaviour”. Senior Congress leaders, including Pardeep Chhabra, Pawan Sharma, Subhash Chawla, also condemned the SDM’s behaviour saying such behaviour from an IAS officer was unacceptable. Protest against hike in petrol prices Interactive session More than 30 members of the Rotary Inner Wheel Club today attended an interactive session on “Common Health Problems of the Elderly” organised by Fortis Hospital, Mohali, today. Dr A S Bawa, Dr Pardaman Singh, Dr Seema Wadhwa, and Dr Parvinder Chawla addressed members of the club and discussed various health issues.
Anti-encroachment drive In a special anti-encroachment drive, the municipal corporation challaned 60 defaulters and lifted 45 cars, five two-wheelers, three three-wheelers, 10 dumped vehicles from the Sector 38 motor market today. Complaints regarding the dumped vehicles on roadsides of the market poured in from members of the market associations. The drive was carried out under the supervision of Additional Commissioner Lalit Siwach and assisted by enforcement inspector Kashmira Singh, along with supporting staff of the MC’s enforcement wing. Cut fruits destroyed The municipal corporation today carried out a special drive to check the sale of cut fruits. The drive was conducted at Hallo Majra village and various parts of Mani Majra by the staff of MOH wing. Cut fruits weighing approximately 200kg, 12 crates of aerated water bottles, 40kg of tikki and samosas, 25kg sugarcane and 10 slabs of ice were seized and destroyed by the enforcement staff.
mohali
Placement drive Placements season has begun at Rayat-Bahra Group of Institutions with major IT giants CSC (Computer Science Corporation) giving students an
opportunity to start their career. Addressing media persons today, joint managing director of Rayat-Bahra Group Sandeep Kaura said the target was to achieve placement for 1,675 students. ‘Early diagnosis can help remove tumours’ “For any healthcare system to be successful, it must have effective cancer screening programmes as early diagnosis can result in endoscopic removal of pre-cancerous tumours and save precious human lives,” stated Dr Keith R Hine, consultant physician and gastroenterologist, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals while addressing doctors during a CME at Fortis Hospital. Dr Hines spoke on ‘pre-cancer syndromes of colon and rectum’ and ‘misunderstandings in the management of ulcerative colitis’. Extension lecture The department of applied sciences of Quest Group of Institutions organised an extension lecture for students on “Laser and Fibre Optics”. Dr Bir Bikram Singh, who is an emeritus professor of physics in Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib, and also a winner of Young Scientist award, addressed students. Ozone Day observed Students and faculty members of the science department, Government College, SAS Nagar, Phase VI, Mohali, observed International Day of Ozone Preservation. Dr Kumkum Kohli, principal of the college, spoke on new and renewable energy resources, while the faculty members and students gave valuable tips on energy conservation. Freshers’ party To inculcate a sense of belongingness and to promote a culture of camaraderie, trust and harmony among the new batch of students of 2011, Punjab Group of Colleges, Chunni Kalan, welcomed freshers by organising JAZZBA-2011, a fresher’s party. Kuljeet Kaur and Amandeep Singh from Punjab Business School and Ranjeet Kaur and Kulveer Singh from PITE were crowned Mr and Miss Fresher.
panchkula
VK Kapoor has been elected president of the House Owners Welfare Association, Sector 17, while Vijay Sharma became general secretary of the association.
—
|
PU student council declares poll expenditure
Chandigarh, September 16 The council members have made a sheer mockery of Lyngdoh committee recommendations by claiming to have spent meagre amounts on tea and hand-made posters. President Pushpinder Sharma spent Rs 3,200, vice-president Simrat Kaur Jauhal spent Rs 2,300, secretary Harmeet Singh spent Rs 3,700 and joint secretary Gaurav spent Rs 4,800. While only the secretary has submitted the bills, none of the candidates have written a line on tents that were erected for almost 10 days and luxurious cars, which donned the campus for 15 days. “Their declarations will be assessed on Monday,” said AS Ahluwalia, Dean, student welfare. “The police had calculated poll expenditure on the basis of bills of estimates for tents, getting material and photographs photocopied and printed, videography of a number of vehicles. None of the student parties had furnished any details of the amount spent on food and beverages, either on their tents or on holding special parties outside the campus, but PU seems to have turned a blind eye to the violations. We had submitted our report but now it’s their responsibility to act. We have asked them to have observers from next year and have a day-to-day audit,” said a senior police official.
|
|||||
|
Cancellation of supplier’s contract mooted
Panchkula, September 16 Confed had even failed to supply material to schools regularly. It was only last month that teachers at Sarthak Government Integrated Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 12-A, had complained about the inferior quality of wheat being supplied for midday meal. A sample of wheat, which was sent to a laboratory in Chandigarh on August 29, had failed test. — TNS
|
|||||
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
According to sources, the senior divisional commercial manager, Ferozepur, in a communiqué to the Railway Division Ambala had banned unreserved current bookings from September 12, resulting in a further decline in the number of passengers travelling from the city. As a result, the railways is suffering a loss of lakhs of rupees every day, the sources say.
Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) today staged a protest against the hike in petrol prices on the Chandigarh-Panchkula highway. While addressing workers various leaders came down heavily on the “anti-people” policies of the Congress-led UPA government. The speakers urged the government to rollback the prices.
Office-bearers elected