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Mishap derails passengers’ plans
Chandigarh, October 28 The derailment of the train, which left the local railway station at 1.10 am, not only disrupted the Chandigarh-bound trains but a number of Delhi-bound trains, including the Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi
and the Himalayan Queen, as well. Jasmine Randhawa, a resident of Sector 8, said she had been waiting at the platform to receive her daughter Avninder Kaur, who along with her one-year-old boy was to arrive in the Himalayan Queen at 10.27 am. I was worried about her well being after I came to know that the train had been diverted. I had to return home only to come back at 5 pm.” Passengers who arrived late in the evening
complained that the railways had not made any arrangement for alternative mode of transportation to reach their destination on time. Satish Kumar, a government employee travelling in the Unchahar Express, said he was to join
work this morning after celebrating Diwali with his family. “After I learned that the train had been diverted, I had to approach my seniors
for leave, as the train could reach the city only in the evening,” said Kumar. Officials in the Ambala division said the train was moving at a slow speed after crossing Sonepat on the busy Ambala-Delhi section when three compartments jumped off the track, resulting in the derailment on the busy section around 5.43 am. The derailment took place around 60 km from Delhi, the official said. Due to the derailment, a number of long-haul trains running on the Amritsar-Delhi section were also affected. Officials at the Chandigarh railway station said the Unchahar Express, scheduled to arrive at 10.15 am, arrived at 4.45 pm, while the Himalayan Queen arrived at 5.05 pm, almost five hours late against its scheduled time of 10.27 am. Similarly, the super-fast Shatabdi Express from Delhi arrived at 5.50 pm, against its scheduled time of 11.05 am, late by almost six and half hours. All Chandigarh-bound trains were diverted to the Narwana-Kurukshetra-Ambala section, the official added.
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BSNL, pvt cellular operators’ standoff ends
Chandigarh, October 28 Residents in the tricity and its periphery heaved a sigh of relief as the services were restored this morning two days after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had on October 25 directed the state-owned BSNL to restore the 48-hour deadline to the BSNL and to submit the report by today. Though services between Reliance Telecom and Tata Indicom resumed about three weeks ago, with the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) issuing an interim order in favour of private operators, services between the BSNL and all other major players, including Airtel and Vodafone, remained cut off. Notably, private operators owe the BSNL, which has been facing financial problems of late due to loss in market share, over Rs 1,800 crore as carriage charges. Mobile termination and telecom carrier charges are part of the revenue-sharing norm that comes under regulations on interconnectivity among operators for carrying calls of one network through others, which has been instrumental in the growth of the industry and reduction in call tariffs. According to the TRAI's Interconnect Usage Charges Regulations, 2009, a private operator needs to pay 35 paise/min to terminate a call in the BSNL fixed line network. On the other hand, the state-run telecom major is required to pay only 20 paise/min for its network calls terminating in the cellular network of private mobile operators. An official said all connections of all service providers had been restored. Airtel, Idea and Vodafone Services in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra had been restored. Despite repeated attempts, BSNL General Manager Naresh Kumar could not be contacted on his cell phone to elicit his views.
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Panchkula, Mohali had a raucous Diwali this time
Panchkula/Mohali, October 28 The noise pollution data of the two towns, released by the respective state pollution control boards, indicates that residents at the two places not only defied the ban of bursting crackers after 10 pm but also ignored various concerted public awareness campaigns against the use of firecrackers. Comparing the two towns, the noise level on Diwali night in Panchkula reached 91.2 decibels, more than double the permissible limit of 45 decibels, while it was 63.9 decibels in the commercial areas of Mohali. The data collected by a team consisting of assistant environment engineers Virender Singh Punia and Kamaljeet Singh of the Haryana Pollution Control Board revealed that the noise level due to the bursting of crackers in the town at 10 pm touched as high as 91.2 decibels in Sector 11. The Haryana pollution board officials collected noise level samples for three days from October 25 to 27 in Sector 11 and Sector 7. In Sector 7, the noise level of 87.9, the highest average of the day, was detected at 10.30 pm. The noise level, however, witnessed a mild decline compared to last year. On Diwali last year, the maximum noise level in Sector 7 was registered at 90.4 decibels. Similarly in Sector 10, adjoining Sector 11, the maximum noise level was 96.5 decibels last year. No samples were collected from Sector 11 last year. Doctors at the PGI said any noise above 90 decibels was extremely harmful, as it could severely damage the ears. The louder the noise, the shorter the time required to cause damage. The Factories Act, 1948, mentions that continuous exposure to noise up to 90 decibels should not be allowed beyond eight hours per day. An exposure of 115 decibel noise level should be allowed only for 15 minutes if health damage has to be prevented. The permissible limit of noise in residential areas is 45 decibels, while in the commercial areas and peace zones, noise up to 55 decibels and 40 decibels is allowed, respectively. In Mohali, the Punjab Pollution Control Board officials found that noise level in the sensitive zone near Fortis Hospital was 54 decibels and in commercial area of phase 7, the decibel level was 63.9. Similarly, the noise level in the residential area of phase 7 was 52.9 decibels.
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RLA scam may run into crores
Chandigarh, October 28 Sharma has recommended the transfer of the staff concerned and putting up a systematic audit procedure to check bungling of funds meant for state exchequer. Saying that if properly inquired, the scam could run into crores, Sharma said here today that an audit officer should be appointed and all
transactions in recent years be checked to fix responsibility. The lack of accountability and the casual approach of the staff concerned were responsible for the scam at the RLA. There was no reconciliation of accounts in the department, which was mandatory under rules. Rules were flouted by certain officials. Under rules, officials concerned had to reconcile accounts every month to tally the amount being deposited with the amount collected by the RLA.
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Healthyway’s Sec-42 basement sealed
Chandigarh, October 28 Ravinder Sharma, chief inspector, misuse and enforcement, said the estate office had issued several notices to the company, asking them to shut the pantry, but it failed to do so. Officials further said the basement also had furniture, along with tables and chairs in a row, like a makeshift office. As per rules, running a pantry or an office in the basement of the building was illegal, the officials said. The UT police had earlier sealed the company’s office following several cases against owner Amit Kakkar for allegedly providing fake documents for visa in lieu of money. All cases were presently under investigation.
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Eco City nets Rs 4,500-crore earnest money
Mohali, October 28 Though officially GMADA officials stated that the earnest money collected by the banks was being daily crediteed in the authority’s account in phases, sources said the maximum applications had been received for 100 sq yard and 200 sq yard plots. By rough estimates, the number of applications varied between 1.25 lakh and 1.50 lakh as many applications were received in the last five days. Another 3,700 persons had applied online. The response for Eco City, with around 1.25 lakh applications against 840 plots, was much more than 3 lakh applications received by GMADA for 4,000 plots at Aerocity. Compared to Aerocity, where any Indian citizen could apply, only Punjab and Chandigarh residents were eligible to apply at Eco City.
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The road not to be taken
Chandigarh, October 28 This is the story of a majority of residents of the village. They are not using this road to avoid any accident. A number of accidents have occurred as vehicles have slipped on this road. Schoolchildren have a tough time commuting on this road. It is difficult for residents to commute in the areas which have been dug up. Visitors in vehicles have a bumpy ride as roads have potholes. Cyclists and pedestrians are the worst hit. More than two years ago, the MC had dug up the road encircling Dadu Majra village for laying water pipes, but the road had not been repaired till date. A number of representations had been given by residents to the authorities for early repairs of this road, but in vain. Area councillor Kamlesh said work would be allotted to a contractor soon as it had been approved by the House. Residents alleged that MC officials were giving false assurances for the past two years and making excuses like recarpeting could not be undertaken during the monsoon. As per information procured under the RTI Act in 2010, the authorities had assured them that repairs would be completed by the end of the year. But interestingly, work of recarpeting of road had not yet started. MC officials pointed out that they had failed to commence the work till date as there was encroachment on areas adjoining the road.
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Poor facilities have society residents miffed
Chandigarh, October 28 “The Administration had mooted single-meter supply of water to the societies and the managing committees were to take care of supply distribution and pay consolidated consumption bills to the department concerned. This was opposed and the public health department agreed to release water connections to individual flats on the representation of the council in 2008,” he said. “The Administration would have earned a meagre revenue for a single connection depending on the size of the connection, but now it is earning a lot by way of meter rentals of Rs 20 from each such connection. But the supply of water is rarely sufficient. Water needs to be pumped by the societies to overhead tanks, causing a burden of electricity charges for doing so. In contrast, the corporation has been supplying water to the housing board complexes right up to the overhead tank and it also bears the cost for doing so. This is an act of discrimination,” council members said. Societies have to erect their own substation for the distribution and supply of electricity to residents. The department releases individual connection to each flat owner and charges fixed rentals. The procedure says that the societies shall maintain the substation themselves for five years till the department takes it over. “The societies spend lakhs of rupees to erect this facility, pay all charges and securities to the department and avail of the supply of energy only up to the gate of the societies,” they complained. As if this was not enough, the societies also had to set up streetlights on their own and pay commercial charges to the department to run the facility,” they added. Society residents claimed that had to bear at least Rs 300 extra to avail of the facilities that were common and free to other housing board sectors in the city.
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Close shave for bus passengers
Panchkula, October 28 The bus had left Panchkula at 12.30 pm and was overloaded with passengers, many of whom were sitting on its roof. Eyewitnesses said when the bus reached a resort on the way to Morni, a young couple on a scooter took a wrong turn and suddenly came in front of the bus. The driver swerved the bus to avoid a collision, but lost control. The bus then skid towards the gorge. The passengers immediately alighted from the bus and had a narrow escape. No passenger was injured.
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Hookah bar raided
Panchkula, October 28 Two nicotine samples were seized from the spot. The bar has also been served notice for selling nicotine without licence. With this, the total number of such bars raided in Panchkula has touched 10. Following the directives of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state government had constituted a task force at all districts of the state. Commissioner Dr Rakesh Gupta, Food and Drugs Authority, had ordered all drug control officials to conduct such raids in their respective districts. The Deputy Commissioner heads the task force in each district. Any product containing nicotine needs to be sold and manufactured under a valid drug licence under the provision of the Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940. The department has also asked all inspected outlets to present the record of purchase and sale of nicotine. A legal action would be initiated against the defaulters after examining the test reports issued by the laboratory, he further added.
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DCP for coordination between police, prosecutors
Panchkula, October 28 Sources said it had been stated that investigating officers should meet with the public prosecutors on a weekly basis. It was further stated that investigating officers would keep the area Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) updated about latest development in any case and ACPs would then update the Panchkula DCP about the case status, the sources added. A senior police official said non-appearances of cops in the trial court and lack of coordination with public prosecutor was the main reason behind the acquittal of criminals. “We are trying to sort out the differences, which will ultimately help in increasing the conviction rate,” he added. When contacted, Panchkula DCP Maneesh Chaudhary said there were clear-cut instructions from the Haryana DGP that the duty of police officers did not end after arresting accused, ensuring conviction was also part of their duty.
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Valuables ‘go missing’ from State Bank of India locker
Chandigarh, October 28 Sood said on Thursday he received a call from a bank official inquiring about the valuables that were kept in the locker. Sood added that his mother also received a call, but she refused to divulge the details. He said on visiting the bank, he found the valuables missing from the bank’s locker. “I immediately informed the SBI employees and reported the matter to the police,” he added. The police said it had received the complaint and an inquiry had been initiated.
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Consumer court slaps Rs 10,000 fine on SBI
Chandigarh, October 28 District forum comprising PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota observed that undisputedly the opposite party has redressed the grievances of the complainant after filing of the complaint, therefore, the complainant is certainly entitled for compensation for mental agony. The complainant averred that he had availed the services of the bank through primary credit card and duly paid the amount through cheque drawn on the SBI after the opposite party dispatched the bill for the services in May 2010. He said he was shocked to find the monthly statement, wherein the amount of Rs 5764.32 was reflected. He informed the bank about the irregularity and the primary Credit Card which was cut into half and returned the said card to the bank. The bank also charged some financial charges and late fee of Rs.350. He tendered an amount of Rs 9934.85, which was debited, from his account on June 30, 2010. He said even though amount of Rs 5765 stood debited from his account he received a letter from the bank about the outstanding amount. The counsel for the SBI admitted that cheque amount was debited from complainant’s account on May 26, 2010 but due to unavailability of correct card number, it was in suspense account. It was pleaded that amounts due were not paid to the bank by the due and payable date and hence overdue and late payment charges were payable. It has been further stated that opposite party has given the benefit as per one time settlement and the amounts as demanded have been reversed. The grievance of the complainant has been redressed as the credit card account of the complainant has already been zeroised and the requisite no due certificate has already been issued. The account of the complainant has already been closed as settled.
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Pi Scholastics penalised Rs 10,000
Chandigarh, October 28 The complainant, Alisha Nagpal, said she took admission at the institute for tuition and coaching classes in physics (10+2) and deposited Rs 33,090. The opposite party assured her that she, along with other students, would be taught in batches of 20-25 students. She joined coaching classes, but found coaching being given in a hall to about 250 students. She lodged a protest with the opposite party, but instead of redressing her problem, they allegedly misbehaved with her. She requested the opposite party to refund the fee, but in vain. The opposite party failed to present itself to contest the case. District forum-I, comprising president PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjir Kaur Sahota, observed that discontinuing of the class without intimation to the students amounted to deficiency in service. The institute had also failed to render the promised service to the complainant due its own difficulties. The allegations made in the complaint were not rebutted. The forum directed the opposite party to refund the deposited fee of Rs 33,090 within one month to the complainant, failing which the opposite party would be liable to pay interest of 18 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the complaint till realisation.
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Insurance company directed to refund Rs 6 lakh
Chandigarh, October 28 The insurance company was also directed to pay a compensation of Rs 30,000 to the complainant, besides Rs 10,000 as costs of litigation. The district forum comprising of president PD Goel and, members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota, observed, “Admittedly, the theft of the vehicle has been taken place during the currency of the insurance policy and the vehicle in question has not been traced so far. So, the opposite party is under its legal obligation to reimburse the insured declared value (IDV) of the vehicle irrespective of the fact that the vehicle was being run in violation of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.” The complainant had averred that his Scorpio, which was insured with the opposite party for an IDV of Rs 6 lakh was stolen on October 8, 2007, and a case was registered on November 1 and due information was also given to the insurance company. After the police issued the untraced report, he filed all formalities for settling his claim. However, despite completing all formalities, the opposite party did not settle the claim. The SP, Chandigarh, filed reply by way of affidavit, stating therein that the information regarding recovery of the vehicles was on the website of the National Crime Research Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi, and the UT Police has no role to play in maintaining such reports, which are exclusively maintained by NCRB. It is further pleaded that the report of MHC, police station Kharar, on October 30, 2009 stated that the vehicle in question has not yet been recovered. This fact was brought into the notice of NCRB which has rectified its website. The senior SP, Mohali, also filed an affidavit stating therein that the vehicle could not be traced and ultimately an untraced report was prepared and submitted in the court on October 18, 2008. It has further been replied that the anomaly has been created on account of the mistake in the information available on the website of NCRB.
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It’s a dry spell ahead
Chandigarh, October 28 Met department officials said the minimum temperature in the region had touched 13 degrees Celsius, the lowest this year in the region, resulting in colder nights. However, there would be no change in the day temperature in the next few weeks. There was no major change in the night and day temperatures as compared to the last year, as the mercury had dipped to around 14 degrees Celsius. The weather department has predicted gradual decline in the night temperature, which would lead to colder winters. Surinder Paul, an official of the met department, Chandigarh, said there would be no major change in the day and night temperatures. However, he added that the region would experience dry weather in the next two to three weeks. He said it was likely to take a couple of weeks to forecast exactly about winters. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature on Friday was recorded at 29.1 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 13 degrees Celsius on Thursday night. “The sky would remain clear tomorrow and no major change was expected in the maximum and minimum temperatures,” official said.
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Six fresh cases of dengue reported
Chandigarh, October 28 In addition to Sectors 20 and 40, fresh cases were reported from villages like Burail, Kajheri and slum areas of Mauli Jagran and Colony No. 5.
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Grandiose start to sangeet smaroh
Chandigarh, October 28 Popularly known as Gundecha bandhus, the maestros opened up the recital with an exposition of raga jaijaiwanti with reposeful alaap melting into a melodious slow-paced composition “Ek samay Radhika sur banaye”. The duo, perfectly in sync, bared the melody of raga shivranjani in captivating composition “Sandhya sanjivani” and more flowed from their repertoire. Chief guest SC Choudhary released the Acharya Brahaspati Granth and conferred Acharya Brahaspati Sangeet Sewa Samman on Gundecha bandhus. Earlier young virtuoso Neha Mishra commenced the programme with the rendition of raga puriya dhaneshari delineating its alaap, bol baant, taans before presenting “Saanjh bhayi” in vilambat lya and ek tal with another fast paced “Mile din raina”. She concluded her recital with Mirabai bhajan in raga shivranjani. Acclaimed vocalist Vidushi Sulochana Barhasapti and young Kumari Shradha will perform tomorrow.
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Recruitment drive carried out
Mohali, October 28
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chandigarh Scan On a call given by the All-India State Bank Officers’ Federation, bankers held a protest here on Friday in preparation for the all-India strike on November 8 and 9. Addressing agitating officials, MK Virmani, general secretary of the State Bank of India Officers’ Association, Chandigarh circle, condemned the management on its casual approach towards the long-pending issues. Invited
A human rights activist and chairperson of the Global Human Rights Council (GHRC), Arvind Thakur has been invited to deliver a special lecture at the Central Detective Training School, Sector 36, here on the topic “Custodial interrogation: Dos and don’ts”.
Exhibition
The National Cactus and Succulent Society of India will hold an exhibition of cactus and other succulent plants at the Punjab Kala Bhavan on October 29 and 30. The exhibition will be inaugurated by SS Dhillon, Financial Commissioner and principal secretary, departments of town and country planning and urban estates, Government of India. About 700 plants would be displayed.
Infantry Day
MOHALI Scan
A state-level rally was held by employees of PHSC at the main gate of PHSC (HQ), Mohali, on Friday for pressing their demands of granting regular pay scales and regularisation of services. The employees have been agitated for the same and condemned the attitude of the government towards their demands. The employees also took out a protest march and raised slogans against the Punjab government and Chief Minister. The rally was addressed by office-bearers of the district-level union, Arvinder (Jalandhar), Rajni Sharma (Patiala), Sudhir Mittal (Bathinda) and Inder Preet Singh (Ferozepur), who also condemned the poor approach of the state government to the genuine demands of PHSC and demanded that the employees should be given regular pay scales and their services be regularised. The association has taken unanimous decision for continuing the strike and pressing their demands against the government. Awarded
Professor Jagjit Singh Dhaliwal of National Dental College and Hospital, Dera Bassi, has been awarded the International Fellowship for Young Bio-Medical Scientists by the Indian Council of Medical Research for 2011-2012. Dr Dhaliwal will spend six months of clinical training in oral implantology at McGill University, faculty of dentistry, Montreal, Canada. After the completion of his training, he will be applying his expertise to strengthen and develop the clinical and
research facilities of the dental college.
PANCHKULA Scan Eminent social worker RK Tindwal on Friday called upon the people to imbibe the qualities of Lord Vishwakarma so that the country could usher in technical expertise. Tindwal was addressing the gathering during the Vishwakarma Diwas celebrations organised by the Jangid Brahman Sabha. Students were also honoured on the occasion, who had excelled in various fields, including sports, education and quiz. — Tribune Reporters
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GCG-42 eves win laurels
Chandigarh, October 28 The students bagged five first positions in quiz, cartooning, poem recitation and mimicry, seven second prizes in on-the-spot painting competition, group bhajan, group singing (Indian), ghazal, percussion, folk instruments and group dance and eight third position in clay modelling, photography, folk song, non-percussion, Indian orchestra, debate and giddha. — TNS
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Dignity and nostalgia marked the Infantry Day celebrations at the Western Command headquarters at Chandi Mandir near here. A solemn wreath laying ceremony was conducted at the Veer Smriti to pay respect to soldiers, who laid down their lives. This was followed by a special sainik sammelan, which was addressed by Maj-Gen Neeraj Bali, in charge, administration of Western Command headquarters. A social evening will be organised at the Khetrapal Officers’ Institute, Chandi Mandir, where serving infantry officers got an opportunity to interact with their predecessors, infantry veterans, living in and around Chandigarh.
