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Close shave for kids
Chandigarh, February 23 While the SUV driver, Vinod Aggarwal, who was on his way back home after dropping his children to a school, blamed the “overloaded” auto-rickshaw for the same, the police insisted that the auto had only six students, all of whom were injured. The students, meanwhile, insisted that they were nine in number. The accident took place around 8 am when the two vehicles collided at the T-point near St Kabir School. According to onlookers, both drivers were in a hurry and the car was apparently over-speeding. While Mohameed Akmal, Shifar, Nandani, Mohamed Hadar and Kaushalaya, who received minor injuries, were treated at the GMSH, Sector 16, Samama, who lost left an ear lobe, was rushed to the PGIMER and will be operated upon tomorrow. The incident is second this month, as a schoolgirl was killed after falling from an auto-rickshaw she was travelling in on February 9. Later a Case under Sections 279, 337 IPC has been registered in the sector 26 Police station. The accused was arrested and was later bailed out.
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Woman gets life term for husband’s murder
Chandigarh, February 23 The incident occurred on September 15, 2010, when Maheshwari (30) informed her landlord that her husband had committed suicide, following which he informed the police. However, the police suspected foul play and investigations revealed that he was actually murdered by Maheshwari owing to strained relations. Maheshwari was arrested for murder under Section 302 of the IPC. The victim was employed with a Mohali catering service as waiter while his wife worked as a domestic help. The couple
The prosecution stated that the couple developed strained relations owing to Govind’s wayward ways. He used to spend all the money on drinking. As Govind was drunk, he fell asleep. Maheshwari tied his hands with a rope and then hit him with a stick. She then pressed hard on his neck with the stick till he died. Their children were away for tuition when the incident occurred.
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GMCH-32 doctor charged with negligence
Chandigarh, February 23 The blunder was discovered today, over a month after the delivery, when the woman, Priyanka Tripathi, came to the hospital complaining continuous bleeding. Her physical examination revealed the presence of some “foreign object” in the vagina and when it was removed, the doctor realised that a piece of gauge (approximately 2 inch long and 1 inch in diameter) had been “erroneously” left behind at the time of the delivery. “I was shocked when the doctor told me that a piece of gauge was present in my vagina,” said a rattled Priyanka, wondering how such negligence could take place in a government hospital of such repute. Her husband, DM Tripathi, an employee of the Indian Railways, said ever since the delivery, her wife had been feeling slightly uncomfortable and her bleeding didn’t stop. “This is our first child and we didn’t know what was happening. We didn’t suspect anything amiss with the bleeding as some elders in the family claimed that this could happen in some cases,” he said. Tripathi said since the doctors had advised them to come for a check-up after six weeks, they decided to wait. “I couldn’t ever imagine that there could have been negligence like this,” he said. During the check-up, my wife told the doctor about the bleeding, but it was only after a physical examination that the gauge was discovered. When contacted, Dr Poonam, officiating incharge of the gynecology department, said that the matter had been brought to her notice and she was “inquiring” into it. However, Tripathi claimed that the doctors had “admitted” to their mistake. He said the doctors were conducting a vaginal swab test for ascertaining the possibilities of some infection and the report was expected on Monday. Tripathi said he subsequently approached the hospital’s Director-Principal, Dr Raj Bahadur, and lodged a formal complaint. Dr Bahadur was not available for comments.
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Traffic awareness campaign makes little impact
Chandigarh, February 23 The police has, over the past one month, organised an exhaustive campaign to involve and make city students aware of traffic norms. While this campaign might have got it publicity, it has apparently failed to make any diffrence on ground, with ever-increasing number of accidents, caused primarily due to negligence and over-speeding. “The police is doing its best to check the problem of rising accidents. Seminars and exhibitions are not only organised to target the college or school students, but there is also deployment of traffics marshals in every sector to add weight to our campaign,” said Vijay Kumar, DSP (traffic).
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WWICS bank accounts sealed
Chandigarh, February 23 The company had reportedly informed the police only about one account, while the remaining five were detected during the investigation. What, may, however perturb the owners more is the fact that after grilling the staff officials, the SIT will now probe the role of VIP independent directors attached with the firm. According to the company website, celebrated names were linked with the firm.
While company officials claim them to be honorary members, primarily as advisors, the police shall probe this claim. “What has a former VC, a renowned scientist, got to say in immigration issues? We will be seeing the terms of associations of these luminaries with the company and will also try to find how were these big names used to lure clients,” revealed a source. The company’s official spokesperson said they had alredy joined the investigation and been cooperating since day 1. “All queries have been duly taken up and further ones will be dealt with accordingly. We have nothing to say about our independent directors till any information is sought by the police,” said the official. The company has requested the police to reopen the sealed accounts to ensure that clients and vendors with already issued cheques do not suffer. The SIT has, meanwhile, recived over 10 complaints against the company which are under investigation now.
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Haryana’s no to proposed unified police command
Chandigarh, February 23 It was to be constituted for investigating the cases of serious nature, including murder and kidnapping. The State of Haryana told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it was ready for joint investigations, but not a joint command. Punjab Deputy Secretary, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Om Parkash Bhatia, on February 10, said the force could comprise police officers from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. He also suggested that the command or the committee could comprise SSPs of Punjab, Haryana and UT. The senior-most SSP could be heading it. The affidavit further suggested that the command could meet once a month on a fixed date. The meeting could be advanced if required by the circumstances. The affidavit came on a petition filed in public interest for a CBI probe into the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old boy Khushpreet. The petition has been filed by the World Human Rights Protection Council through chairperson-cum-advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal. The petitioner is also demanding strict action against the errant Chandigarh police officers, allegedly responsible for Khushpreet’s death. Khushpreet was kidnapped on December 21, 2010, from Burail. He was later found brutally murdered on January 5 in Mohali, hardly 2 km from his house. After protests, the Chandigarh administration had ordered a magisterial probe. His family had returned the compensation offered by the UT Administration. Seeking a CBI probe into the case, Lakhanpal submitted the police had failed miserably to solve the case. Apparently dissatisfied with the probe report, Lakhanpal sought directions to register a criminal case under section 304-A of the IPC on the allegations of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the errant police officers. The petitioner also sought directions to the UT Administration to come up with a special cell to deal with similar situations and employ specially trained policemen.
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‘Clarify for info’
Chandigarh, February 23 In a letter sent by Independent School Association president HS Mamik, the schools asked DPI(S) Sandeep Hans to clarify their duties mandated under the RTE Act before seeking any information. Mamik asked all member-schools to await the education department’s action regarding the clarification, following which the schools would providing all the information that had been sought. “What is the use of seeking details of admission strength when the department is unfit to get admissions done. This information-seeking drama is an eyewash to hide its anomalies. Get us the money and children from the neighbourhood and then we will give all answers,” said a school principal.
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Grand finale to music and dance festival
Chandigarh, February 23 The mega-event, organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, and the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi, featured over 100 artistes from all over India. An immaculate presentation of the play ‘Boshtomi’ in Bangla, directed by Soumitra Basu of the Rabindra Bharti University, provided the grand finale to the festival. Today’s programme commenced with ‘Yatra Shapam’, choreographed by Evoor S Rajendran Pillay, in Kathakali and based on Tagore’s poem ‘Kacha-O-Devyani’. The audience relished the dance spectacle ‘Vasanta Jagrata’ by Kathak guru Shobha Koser, who gave an adroit dance performance. Rabindra sangeet exponent Ira Mukherjee, supported by Anuradaha Sen and Bhaskar Das, mesmerised the audience with the rendition of Rabindra sangeet yesterday. ‘Esraj’ maestro Shekhar Kanti Kar Gupta played the Bangla folk tune ‘Gram chhara oye’ before Boul sangeet exponent Purna Chandra Das took centrestage. His disciple-sons Dibeyendu Das and Aligan Das impressed. The troupe was at their best with ‘Golle malle’ and ‘Manoka mathaye’, replete with mysticism and folklore. Tagore’s popular play ‘Daakghar’ was staged by Jammu, an amateur theatre group, under the direction of Mushtaq Kak.
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Rupinder’s garden adjudged best
Chandigarh, February 23 In the large garden category, the first prize was given to the Institute of Microbial Technology. While the roundabout near Hotle Shivalikview maintained by CITCO was adjudged the best maintained roundabout, the prize for the best college campus went to Director, Regional Institute of Coop Management, Sector 32.
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Police issues ‘wrong’ challan
Chandigarh, February 23 Advocate Ajay Sood has stated in the complaint that the police was harassing him as the Police Complaint Authority had decided a case in his favour last year. While the police officers concerned are facing an inquiry, the advocate has alleged undue harassment. “My wife Babita Sood was issued a challan slip on the basis of footage on the CCTV cameras. The vehicle mentioned in the challan slip is CH 01 AF 2968. Interestingly, the vehicle is not owned by my wife and is in the name of some other person. The above conduct shows that the police personnel are harassing the complainant,” said advocate Ajay Sood in the complaint. When contacted, DSP (Traffic) Vijay Kumar said they were looking into the matter.
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DC’s report to be examined
Chandigarh, February 23 “If the patch is included in the UT area, all the drawings and the base map of the proposed Mater Plan would be changed,” said Sumit Kaur, UT Chief Architect. The issue of the disputed patch being an important one, clarity on it was must before going ahead, she added. The development would result in further delay in the release of the Master Plan. The decision on a thorough examination of the DC’s report was taken at a recent meeting of the Master Planning Committee. Sumit Kaur said they have planned only for 114 sq km (the area does not include the disputed patch) under the proposed Master Plan. “The disputed patch falls in the eco-sensitive zone and if it (the forest area) comes under the UT area, several things have to be taken in consideration,” said Sumit Kaur, adding that all the aspects of the Heritage Report would also be added to the proposed Master Plan. Notably, the DC office had requested the Home Department for legal opinion on the status of the disputed patch, which was in possession of the UT but falls under the revenue jurisdiction of Punjab and Haryana. The land in question was transferred to the UT on March 15, 1963, but was outside the 114-sq km of the revenue records of the Union Territory.
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MC for improving sanitation
Chandigarh, February 23 The committee approved the budget estimates of Rs 467.69 crore under the Plan Head and Rs 345.09 crore under the Non-plan Head for 2012-13. To execute the schemes of the proposed plan, the budgetary support in the shape of grant in aid of Rs 439.99 crore is anticipated from the Chandigarh Administration during the next fiscal which shall now be deliberated by the House of the corporation at its next meeting The meeting, which was presided over by Raj Bala Malik, Mayor, and Prerna Puri, Commissioner, was attended by Pardeep Chhabra, Subhash Chawla, Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Harjinder Kaur besides other officers of the corporation. While Rs 118.46 has been recommended by the committee for spending on the improvement of roads, parking lots and infrastructure, a sum of Rs 50 crore has been sought for the augmentation of the water supply schemes. Similarly, an expenditure of Rs 52.15 crore has been recommended for the solid waste management and animal husbandry. A sum of Rs 23.90 crore and Rs 22.51 crore has been recommended for providing primary health care and primary education, respectively, to the city residents.
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Ex-Mayor injured by stray dogs
Chandigarh, February 23 Councillor and former Mayor Harjider Kaur was seriously injured when three stray dogs attacked her late in the evening in Sector 34 here yesterday. It was the birthday of former Mayor yesterday and she was returning home in Sector 35 after paying obeisance at the gurdwara in Sector 34 when three stray dogs charged at her near the All India Radio building, injuring her. She was taken to Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, from where she was discharged after providing her treatment. Earlier on January 1, the son of Harjinder was attacked by stray dogs near her house. The former Mayor said the stray dog menace had not been tackled effectively, as the corporation has failed to implement the dog bylaws enacted four years ago in 2007. Neither any dog pond to keep such dogs was set up in the city nor any survey regarding the stray dogs was conducted so that their population could be controlled with proper planning, she added. After the incident, the finance and contract committee, however, at its meeting today, recommended to launch a public awareness campaign regarding first-aid to dog bite victims.
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Employees hold protest
Chandigarh, February 23 “We are demanding the implementation of the complete Punjab scales and rules for the UT employees,” said Rajinder, leader of the committee. — TNS
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Design competition for golf course
Mohali, February 23 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of GMADA, held here on Saturday. The approval in principle to the proposal was given by the authorities concerned. Only those architects who had earlier designed such projects would be allowed to take part. Sources said that a stretch of land, measuring 7.5 acres, had been reserved in the Golf Academy for the apartments and it was estimated that between 200 to 250 high class apartments would soon be constructed. GMADA would be auctioning the apartments after the work is completed and hopes to earn about Rs 2.50 crore from each unit. GMADA is coming up with a golf academy of international standards in Sector 65 and work is likely to be completed in about two months. Spread over an area of 16 acres, the Golf Academy was proposed with an aim of promoting sports in the northern region. More than Rs 1 crore is being spent on it. GMADA had earlier hired the services of expert golf course architects and planners for designing and planning the landscape while expressions of interests were invited from the contractors and consultants with prior experience.
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Signature campaign begins at college
Chandigarh, February 23 Kabir Khan, consultant with the Punjab ombudsman’s office in Pakistan, was the chief guest. College principal Jyoti Khanna welcomed the guests. She said the Gandhian philosophy of live and let live was the mantra for peace and sustainable development and India and Pakistan, as neighbours, needed to stay and grow together. Giving information about the initiative, Yuvsatta coordinator Pramod Sharma said there was an urgent need to implement a visa-on-arrival programme for young students and senior citizens of India and Pakistan. With this, common misconceptions and myths about each other could be replaced with a culture of hospitality and friendship, which was a characteristic of this part of South Asia, he said. They had started this signature campaign and intended to collect 10,000 signatures from the city for a relaxed visa regime, which would be sent to the Prime Minister, he added. Kabir Khan said civil society in general and the youth in particular had been demanding space for intervention in the process of normalisation of the relationship between India and Pakistan. Peace at the borders and no war or bloodshed was the first demand, he said. The next demand was a commitment by both governments that nuclear buttons would never be pressed, he added. The final demand would be an assurance by all governments that South Asia and eventually, the entire world would be nuclear-free, he further said. He added that the situation in both countries had undergone a sea change and people were no longer willing to be mute witness to their futures being written, unwritten and destroyed by the governments of the two countries. “They are not hesitant to stand up to be counted. They are determined to make the world a safe place for their children to grow up,” he stated.
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Hands-on practical exposure marks Day 4 of workshop
Chandigarh, February 23 Delivering a lecture on fixed dose combination drugs, Dr Sumedh Gaikwad of Themis spoke on the scrutiny of fixed drug combination drug applications, which were released into the market after approval or after changes by the Central Drugs Standard and Control Organisation. He spoke about various application procedures to be followed during approval. He spoke on documents needed to be submitted for clearance. “To conduct clinical trials in India, one must follow Schedule Y of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which mandates following the Indian GCP, drafted in 2001 by the Drug Controller General of India, and ICMR guidelines for biomedical research,” he said. Prof PP Khosla from Meerut delivered a lecture on quality of life in clinical trials. He spoke on the improvement in the lives of patients going through trials. He explained that there were various tools and techniques with the help of which excellent information about patients could be obtained. Arapan Datta of Pfizer delivered a lecture on clinical trial data management. He discussed the importance on various data handling procedures in drug development and requirements of various drug regulatory agencies. Dr Samir Malhotra of the host department spoke on issues related to clinical trials of biologic drugs. Biologic drugs were produced through biologic processes, he said.
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RTI applicant not ‘consumer’: Forum
Panchkula, February 23 It is worth mentioning here that on February 13, the Mohali consumer forum had held that an RTI applicant is a consumer. The Bench of the forum, speaking through its member, SP Singh, said, “It is a settled principle of law that where there is a separate remedy under a special Act, the jurisdiction of the Consumer Forum is barred. The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a social welfare legislation and is a special law under Section 41 of the Indian Penal Code, as far as the penalties provided under Section 20 of the Act are concerned.” The order reads, “The Consumer Forum, which have been constituted under the Consumer Protection Act are not expected to encroach upon the functions of the central public information officers or that of the state public information officer, designated by the Public Authority, under Section 5 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Rather, every such Central or State Public Information Officer shall deal with requests from persons seeking information and render reasonable assistance to the persons seeking such information.” “As a sequel to our above discussion, we have no hesitation in holding that the present complainant does not fall into the category of a “consumer” as defined in section 2(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and the complaint filed by him before the Consumer Forum is not at all maintainable.” Order further reads. In one of the cases, the complainant, SK Mittal, a resident of Sector 12, Panchkula, had sought an information from the HMT, Pinjore, by making an application on June 29, 2011 under the RTI and had paid Rs 30 with the application. But the respondent had refused to provide him the requisite information. The respondent had submitted that the central information officer had been superannuated and new incumbent has got the charge only on August 16, 2011 and on the very same day he had provided information. In case, the complainant was not satisfied with the reply, he should have filed the appeal as provided under the Right to Information Act before the Central Information Commission, New Delhi, said information officer, HMT, Pinjore.
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Uprooted bus shelter not fixed for six months
Zirakpur, February 23 The council has spent lakhs of rupees for the two temporary bus stops on the both the sides of the Zirakpur-Ambala highway and laid pavers. But the sites were encroached upon by tempos, trucks and other vehicles. The commuters lamented that the council had not only removed the shelter but also failed to set it up for their convenience. They were demanding that the council should install the shelter on priority basis. Sources said, in August, 2011, the council had planned to shift the local bus stop situated from its original location near the Paras Down Square on the Zirakpur-Kalka highway. The reason behind the move was that the bus stop near traffic police booth was creating a traffic bottleneck, resulting in jams lasting for long. Sources said even the council had selected two sites for the construction of temporary bus stops on either side of the Chandigarh-Zirakpur road. They had spent a huge amount of money on it but the sites were encroached upon by the tempos, private buses, trucks and other vehicles. Dheeraj, a resident of Panchkula says, “It is difficult to wait for the buses at the local bus stop in the open.” He added that the concerned authorities should set up the shelter as the summer season is nearing and it would be impossible for the people to wait for in open. Talking to the Zirakpur Municipal Council Executive Officer, Paramjit Singh, about the shelter, he said that the council had floated the tender but it got delayed due to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. He claimed that the bus shelter would be installed after the election process is over and tenders would be floated again.
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Chandigarh scan
A total of 173 NCC cadets and NSS volunteers donated blood during a camp at Government College, Sector 11, on Thursday. The camp was inaugurated by Brig Satish Kumar, Commander of the Chandigarh NCC group. College principal JS Raghu was present. IBS briefing
The IBS (ICFAI group) selection briefing opened to a long list of queries from students. A total of 150 students attended the briefing over three days. The queries ranged from questions about the IBS as an institute to management as a field of study. Most students asked questions about on-campus placement.
Doc awarded
Dr Pankaj Nepal, junior resident, department of radiodiagnosis, was awarded Dr SK Agrawal Best Paper Award (second prize in oral scientific paper presentation) during the recently concluded SAARC congress of radiology. More than 800 delegates attended the event, organised by the Radiological Society of SAARC Countries at Dharan in Nepal.
Visit to NASA
Nine students of classes VIII and IX of Dikshant International School, along with their director Mitul Dikshit, have been invited to the 31st Annual International Space Development Conference organised by NASA in Washington DC from May 24 to 28. They will present their project ‘Space colony on Mars’ on life-support systems in space colonies.
Saplings planted
Devotees of the Sant Nirankari Mission celebrated ‘Guru Pooja Diwas’. Cleanliness and sapling plantation campaigns were undertaken at the Government College in Phase VI and the police station at Phase VIII. —
Tribune Reporters
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Students protest fee hike
Panchkula, February 23 Requesting anonymity, the students said that when they had taken admission, the college authorities had told them that they would have to pay Rs 1.40 lakh per annum. But now they have hiked it to Rs 1.70 per annum. They alleged that the college authorities did not provide them the right details at the time of admission. Meanwhile, when contacted Moti Lal Jindal, chairman of the institute, he said that they have changed the fee structure on the directions issued by the Dental Council of India. The course fee would remain the same as Rs 7 lakh. But the duration of the course had been reduced from five years to four years which has resulted in hike in per annum fee structure. He denied of any false promises at the time of admission.
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Mega job fest at MCMDAV tomorrow
Chandigarh, February 23 The job fest will be an opportunity for the students to learn from the insights of experts and inculcate qualities and are imperative to professional aggrandisement. Officials have said various companies from different fields will participate in the job fest. SBI Life, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI, ING Vysya, Dell, Karox Technologies and HCL are some of the prominent names that will attend the event. College principal Puneet Bedi has said she is hopeful of the success of the endeavour to enhance the overall persona of students and assist them in the pursuit of their career objectives.
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