Chandigarh, December 20
In a please-all move that raised many eyebrows, an emergency meeting of the Panjab University regulation committee, half-an-hour before the Senate meeting, not only resolved to increase the retirement age of teachers, but also increase the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor from three to five years. The resolution will now be sent to the MHRD for approval.

Though the committee in its last resolution passed on November 16 resolved to increase the retirement age of teachers, there was no mention about the increase of the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure. However, the same found its way in the committee’s resolution today, which it claimed to be a “mere reiteration” of a resolve passed in February.

Sources say that it was in today’s Syndicate that one of the Syndics requested the House to include the extension of the VC’s term in the regulation committee’s resolution. While the Syndic, Rabindernath Sharma, said it would include the amendment to the Act which was the prerogative of Parliament, the concerned Syndic said it was the need of the hour as the PU was on its way to becoming a central university.

The Syndicate not only allowed the conduct of the regulation committee, but even empowered it to put forth its proposal to the Senate on behalf of the Syndicate.

The resolution, which was put forth after lunch hour, “took the House by surprise”. Demanding a justification on the sudden meeting, fellow Ashok Goyal said: “This is a sheer mockery of the PU calendar. We had a meeting of the committee in February to increase the retirement age from 60 to 65 years. The issue was also cleared by the Senate. The committee meets against and repeats the resolution. Just half-an-hour before the Senate they decide on it again. Does our calendar allow repeated meetings of a committee to reiterate its decisions? Can a committee bring a resolve to the Senate on behalf of the Syndicate?”

The Vice-Chancellor said he was accused of creating obstructions in increasing the retirement age by not sending proposals to the MHRD and hence, he had called for the meeting in November to restart the process.

Goyals’s archrival and regulation committee chairman, GK Chatrath, said everything had been done in line with the calender and for the welfare of teachers.

Asked about the extension of the VC’s term, he said: “Nothing will happen until Parliament amends the law.”

Chandigarh, December 20
Even three months after its decision, the social welfare department of the UT Administration has failed to appoint a full-time doctor, a nurse and a sports teacher at the controversial shelter home, Snehalaya. Even the decision to provide a dispensary with a stock of routine medicines remains unimplemented, much to the discomfort of the inmates.

In these three months, the department has also not initiated any repair work in the building and windowpanes remain broken, exposing the inmates to the cold wave. The Tribune had carried a series of stories (September 24, 25 and 26), highlighting the pathetic conditions at Snehalaya, but nothing has changed.

Social Welfare Director Varsha Khangwal admitted that repair had not been undertaken, but claimed that it would begin soon as the engineering department had cleared the proposal only last week. She said the appointment of a doctor had been delayed as the administration was finalising the required qualifications for the post.

Insiders said the situation at Snehalaya remained the same, if not worse, and problems continued to plague its functioning. To date, there are no medicines and doctors who have been visiting the home on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have become frustrated as their repeated requests to the administration for providing requisite medicines have fallen on deaf ears.

“We had asked for medicines related to skin infection and cold, but nothing has been made available,” said a doctor who recently went there for a visit. He also said they carried some medicines with them, but there was no stock for emergency.

Responding to this, Khangwal said she would have to check as the department had provided Rs 10,000 for the purpose.

The apathy of the department is also evident as the lone landline at Snehalaya has been lying out of order for three months. “The condition of block A and B remains the same -- broken windows, missing taps and loose electricity wires ,” said an insider.

Panchkula, December 20
Residents of villages around Barwala, who had sustained injuries in more than half-a-dozen wild encounters with a panther during the past week, heaved a sigh of relief when the five-year-old cat was captured by wildlife officials at Rehod village here today.

The panther had strayed in the lower reaches of the Morni hills because of the biting cold in the higher hills. The animal was sighted at different places in the vicinity of the Barwala area.

There were reports of cattle belonging to village residents falling prey to the panther. Forest areas of Morni and adjoining Himachal Pradesh are home to panthers. The chill seems to have forced the panthers to the plains, resulting in a confrontation with the human population.

A former sarpanch of Rehod village, Subhash Sharma, said the number of complaints against the panther attacks had gone up during the past couple of days. “We then decided to lay a trap. We got the news about the animal being caged during the wee hours of this morning and informed the wildlife officials immediately.”

The panther was administered a tranquiliser and it became unconscious. It was then transferred to a “caged vehicle”. It was taken to the Chhatbir Zoo at Banur in Mohali district where the panther was handed over to veterinarians for treatment.

Villagers from the adjoining areas rushed to the spot to see the panther which had terrorised them. Divisional Wildlife Officer RK Sharma also visited the spot and took a detailed report on the spotting of panthers in the area. Sharma said the panther was a male and had been kept at the zoo for treatment. After the panther recovers, it would be set free in the forest areas of Morni.

Chandigarh, December 20
With over 80 per cent agenda comprising faculty affairs and Syndicate elections on December 21, the first-ever ‘video recorded’ Senate of Panjab University left teachers all smiles.

The teachers not only got a nod for the long-pending CAS promotions, but even formal approval for increasing the retirement age from 60 to 65 years. What came as an added brownie for aspiring teachers is that that PU has also declared non-NET qualified PhD candidates eligible for applying for the post of assistant professor.

Having clearly transformed into an open house for teachers, the Senate members left no stone unturned to woo the teaching fraternity.

Senator DPS Randhawa, however, objected to the enhancement saying it would lead to unemployment.

“ By increasing the age we will delay the rightful employment of youngsters by five years which over the period would affect us only,” he said.

Representatives of the non-teaching staff also raised objection to the rejection of Senator Parbhjit’s proposal to increase the their retirement age.

Interestingly, as foreseen the Senate was also the most ‘peaceful’ as compared to last two ones with the Senate members scuttling cautious around the issues which had in the past put the house on fire.

The meeting also made the alignments for tomorrow’s Syndicate elections quite clear.

Spats

l The entire Senate went in an uproar over the VC preponing the Senate from December 26 to December 20 after coming under pressure from some Senators. While Sobti said he had got representations about Jor Mela in Punjab, the Chatrath group accused him of giving in to the pressure of rivals belonging to the Ashok Goyal group.

l When the PU Senate passed the appointment of AK Bhandari, Syndic Ashok Goyal said he was not allowed to speak on the issue despite repeated requests. “You don’t allow me to speak here now don’t stop me to speak outside,” he said.

l Irate over not being provided the concurrent agenda and supporting documents, Ashok Goyal objected to the special Syndicate held in morning.

l Answering to a question of Anu Chatrath, VC RC Sobti got furious and threatened, “Don’t force me to open my mouth”. This left former Mayor fuming, who had asked him to act as per the specified dignity of his chair.

Chandigarh, December 20
The brigade of new faces that will soon take over the charge of the city for the next five years wants to come up with a new vision that will help in the development of the city. They also hope to resolve the existing problems.

Davesh Moudgil, Ward No. 22

Davesh Moudgil, a BJP candidate who won from Ward No. 22, said he would introduce a concept in his ward to involve the public in decision-making related to development in the ward.

“The ward development fund would be spent on the work that would be on the priority list of residents.

I would ensure their participation in all the decisions related to the ward,” he said.

Congress candidate Satish Kainth, who won from Ward No. 20, said his priority would be to get the rehabilitation scheme of Colony No. 4 implemented. “I would also focus on strengthening medical services in my ward. There is not even a single dispensary in Sector 29,” he said.

Darshan S Garg, Ward No. 11

Darshan Singh Garg, a Congress councillor who won the elections from Ward No. 11, said his priority would be to get all the pending development works completed.

“There is a long list of work that would be taken up, including parks and parking problem at Palsora village, besides getting houses constructed outside ‘lal dora’ which falls within the purview of the UT Administration and not the municipal corporation, regularised,” he said.

A fresh face introduced by the BJP from Ward No. 4, Asha Jaiswal, said she did not want to wait for a single day and would meet residents of her ward to get an insight on what they want. “Living up to the status of City Beautiful, I would ensure my ward also gets a similar status,” she said.

Asha Jaiswal, Ward No. 4

The re-elected councillors also promise to come up with a new strategy for the development of their wards. Congress councillor from Ward No. 7, who won the elections from Ward No. 13, Harpool Chand Kalyan, said his focus would be to attract the attention of the MC as well the Administration towards the neglected southern sectors. “The local issues of these sectors pertaining to housing societies will be taken up immediately,” he said.

SAD councillor Harjinder Kaur said her priority would be to get the citizen charter implemented at the earliest and providing residents with online assistance. “The focus will be on providing basic amenities to people and maintaining transparency in the functioning of the MC,” she said. She would also strive to get back the status of the clean and green city which the MC won in 2007.

Chandigarh, December 20
While there are many bigwigs and heavyweights who failed to make-it again to the MC house, there are few who managed to repeat their success. The lucky ones attributed their success to the work done by them in their wards and trust shown by the electorates.

Pardeep Chhabra, Ward No. 2 and Harpool C Kalyan, Ward No. 7

SAD candidate Harjinder Kaur made history by winning for the fourth time from Ward No 15. Kaur who will be the most experienced councillor in the house said that her winning mantra turned out to be her hard work, honesty and dedication shown to the electorates. “Fifteen-years ago, when I became a councillor from the ward, the area was no less then a village, especially Sector 44, however, the picture has drastically changed now. The credit of my win, when many other senior leaders of all the parties lost, goes to the trust the voters have shown in me. The voters have elected me so that I take the development work ahead”, Kaur said.

Congress leader Pardeep Chhabra who was a sitting councillor from Ward No 2 and made a hatrick by winning these elections said that the development in the ward carried in the last 10 years had created a space in the hearts of voters who were confident that he would not let the development work come to an end. “I was always in touch with my voters that helped me in winning their faith. Meanwhile, my personal reputation also played a major role in my victory”, Chhabra said.

Gurcharan S Kalaa, Ward No. 25

Another sitting Congress Councillor from, Ward No 7 Harpool Chand Kalyan, who won the elections from Ward No 13, said it was a tough walk for him to win the seat as the Congress had never won the election from 13.“My mantra for success is uniting all party workers in the area and local leaders of various organisations, with their support I managed to win the elections”, Kalyan said.

He further added that the development carried out in Maloya, his previous ward, acted was an advantage in convincing the voters to vote for him.

BJP rebel Gurcharan Singh Kalaa, sitting councillo,r who won the elections as an independent candidate from Ward No 25, said that the work done by him in his ward led to his victory. “I had contested the elections on the basis of the work done by me in the ward which helped me win the elections even though I contested independently”, Kalaa said.

Kalaa got elected as the MC councillor for the third time in a row from the same ward.

Rajesh Gupta of BJP, who was the sitting councillor from Ward No.16, and won the elections again from the ward also gives credit of his success to the development work carried out by him in the ward. 

Chandigarh, December 20
Keeping in line with the younger look of the elected Municipal Corporation, the House could also see more young faces if the UT Administration approves the list of nominated councillors under consideration.

Saurabh Joshi, Gurbax Rawat and Davesh Moudgil are the youngest faces of the elected house, this term. The 29-year-old Ashwini Bagahnia and the 21-yea-old Mohammad Wasim Akram have put in their applications seeking appointment to the coveted House. Besides these two youngsters, the list has names of certain more interesting applicants from different walks of life.

Akram, a resident of Sector 32, has chalked out his ambition in helping people from the backward class. Ashwini has already commenced his journey in educating the poor children.

Ashwini, a commerce postgraduate, claimed that he had been doing social work since his college days. “I was the president of SD Social Club in my college, which used to initiate several drives- cleanliness, awareness and education-- in the slums of the city,” said Ashwini also claimed to have been associated with the UT Administration in social causes through Partnership-Initiative Programme for the past few years.

Akram, a student of M.Com (first year) at Panjab University, here, said that he was a member of three organisations, which he claimed, had been engaged in uplifting of minorities here. Akram belongs to a middle-class family and feels that more and more youngsters should come forward for such key posts and also should join politics to bring about change.

Puja Ghai, a resident of Sector 22, said that she wanted to work for specially challanged people. “My own son is a special child and I know the difficulties, being faced by such children. Though I am already engaged in my social work, particularly for special children, I wanted to be a nominated councillor so that I can do my job in a better way,” said Puja. She runs an NGO ‘Samarth’ and also was a state awardee in 2008.

Another aspirant Prem Shammi, who lives in a small house in Sector 22, and is the president of the North India SC/ST Welfare Association, said that he wanted to work against social evils like dowry and drugs. Shammi, who has applied for the first time for the seat, claimed that his association worked for uplifting of scheduled class and backward class.

Dadu Majra Colony resident Raj Kumar ‘Hamdard’ has similar aim to work for the betterment of the ‘Dalit samaj’. “Being a head of an association related to ‘Dalit samaj’ I am aware of the problems and other difficulties being faced by our people,” said Hamdard, who is the national director of Bhartiya Balmiki Dharam Samaj. Hamdard, who retired last year as the district mandi officer, claimed that he was a publisher of several books.

67-year-old Satish Chander Sharma, a resident of Sector 50, who is also the general secretary of Chandigarh Social Welfare Council has applied for the nominated councillors’ seat. He said in order to fight with the system one needs a platform.

Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi, who is a pediatrician and the president of the Chandigarh chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that he applied for the nominated councillor’s seat, as there is lot to do in health sector in the city. Besides, he said that his international exposure with the WHO would help the MC is many other ways.

Panchkula, December 20
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has dismissed a complaint against a dentist after the complainant, Ram Kumar, a resident of Baltana, Zirakpur, proved to fail his allegations here yesterday. In his complaint, Ram Kumar said Dr Anuradha Gupta conducted the root canal of his left and right jaws on upper and lower side in September, 2009, at Anuradha Dental and Surgical Centre, Sector 12, Panchkula.

In order to mint money, the doctor had done the root canal of his eight teeth, although he was having pain only in four teeth, he alleged. The complainant said he had paid Rs 16,000 for the procedure. Soon after the root canal, the complainant’s teeth started paining. A report prepared by a committee of the PGI, Chandigarh, in this regard, however, found no deficiency in service on the part of the dentist.

Dismissing the case, the forum comprising Ashok Kumar Jain, president and member SP Singh said, “In the present case, the opposite party had performed her duties as a dental surgeon.

The allegation, which is easy to make against a doctor, but difficult to prove has not been proved by the complainant by adducing any medical evidence,” the forum observed. 

Chandigarh, December 20
The UT Administration terminated as many as nine officials, all contractual employees, whose names were allegedly figured in the embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 5.60 lakh in the Registration and Licensing Authority office, here.

These officials, who were hired by the UT Red Cross Society, had been put under suspension in the first week of November following unearthing of the scam.

These employees had been engaged at the RLA office as data entry operators when it was detected that the amount in question, concerning as many as 11 transactions, was not deposited in the treasury as per rules and regulations.

In order to find out the exact amount of embezzlement of funds in the RLA, a special audit of the accounts of the department has already begun while another regular inquiry by one-member committee, consisting CL Lakhanpal, a retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre,, is yet to be initiated. The UT Police has also been investigating in the scam following registration of an FIR against 10 officials under Sections 409 and 420 of the IPC at Sector 17 Police Station on November 9 in this connection.

Meanwhile, the terminated employees reached the RLA office along with their family members this evening and lodged protest against their termination orders.

Chandigarh, December 20
The late running of major trains in the region due to the intense fog continued for the second day today with Shatabdi Express, which was scheduled to arrive at 11am, arrived late by about one hour and 30 minutes. Speed restriction has also caused inconvenience to passengers, stranded for hours at the railway station here.

Trains like 12311 Howrah-Kalka Mail, scheduled to arrive at 3.05 am, was delayed by about 13 hours and 30 minutes. Himalayan Queen (14095) also arrived late by about one hour and 30 minutes.

Station Superintendent Parveen Kumar said the 12231 Lucknow-Chandigarh Express, scheduled to arrive at 9.55 am, was late by about five hours and arrived at 2.55 pm. He said evening Shatabdi scheduled to arrive at 8.40 pm was also to arrive late by about one hours and 30 minutes. He said the dense fog on the way was forcing to slow down the train causing further delay.

The near and dear ones of the passengers scheduled to arrive in these trains could be seen awaiting for the arrival of therespective trains. Men could be seen roaming in front of the enquiry office to get the latest update on train timings.

Chandigarh, December 20
More than 50-sponsored foreign medical students from Nepal will now be able to get medical facilities in Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) at a cost of around Rs 325 per month. The decision was taken in the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) meeting, which was attended by Union Health Secretary (GOI), PK Pradhan.

Confirming the move, a senior doctor of the PGI, said that earlier this facility was only available at AIIMS. However, this is not mandatory for students. Presently, senior residents, junior residents and nursing students get medical facility from the institute.

Talking to mediapersons before the SFC meeting, Pradhan said that “the PGI is of national importance and our focus is to provide best health facilities in the institute. As the institute is celebrating the golden jubilee next year, we are planning to draw “blueprint for the future” and develop the institute with the international standard, said Pradhan.

He said that we have already received the proposal for “heart transplantation” and will expand the neurology department too. He said, “we can not increase the faculty at the PGI as per patient load. But we can strengthen the district hospitals in form of creating new departments and develop “referral mechanism” so less number of patients are referred to the PGI,” said Pradhan.

He said instead of increasing the faculty at the PGI, the ministry was focusing to develop proper system at the district-level hospitals. He said even the cabinet had cleared the National Council of Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill that allowed doctors who held the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) status to work in India. They could also join the medical college as a faculty. The aim was primarily to reduce the country’s acute doctor shortage. India has one doctor for 1,953 people, or a density of 0.5 doctors per 1,000. The Planning Commission says the country is short of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental surgeons. He said, “We expect the Bill to come up in Parliament next week”. 

Panchkula, December 20
Twenty months after the mysterious death of an Australian NRI, Davinder Singh, the Panchkula police is now going to close the investigation into the case by terming it a case of suicide.

After checking forensic examination reports and cracking e-mail IDs of Davinder Singh, the Panchkula police has termed it a case of ‘suicide’ and not ‘murder’.

The body of the 30-year-old NRI was found hanging from a tree in Morni hills.

This is the second time that the Panchkula police is closing the case.

The forensic examination report from Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Madhuban, Karnal, has indicated that the cause of death was suicide. Besides, the police has also failed to gather any vital information after cracking the two mail IDs of Davinder Singh.

Last year as well, the Panchkula police had closed the case, terming it as suicide. But family members did not accept the report and moved an application before the top officials of Haryana police. Finally, Haryana IG directed the Panchkula police to register a murder case and re-investigate the matter.

On the direction of senior officials, the Panchkula police on December 2, 2010, had converted it into a murder case and had lodged a fresh FIR against unknown persons under Section 302 of the IPC.

Thereafter, cops had cracked the mail IDs of the NRI. The police had also recorded the statements of family members.

The body of the 30-year-old NRI was found hanging from a tree in Morni on March 24. The police had recovered an abandoned Maruti car (HR-70-A-2370) near the spot. Davinder's family members had claimed that he was murdered.