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Student stabbed to death
Ambala, June 5 According to information, around six youths attacked him with sharp-edged weapons when he was going to the bus stand to leave for Kurukshetra. The assailants were on motorbikes and attacked him with knives. Narmail Singh sustained serious injuries on his chest and other parts of the body. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital at Ambala Cantt, where doctors declared him brought dead. Nirmal Singh, the deceased's brother, said when he reached the spot, he found his brother lying in a pool of blood. He said he chased the assailants with the help of some passersby, but they managed to flee. He said he had disclosed the identity of the accused to the police. The deceased's father, Sahab Singh, said his son was gentle and obedient and never indulged in any fight. Residents of Ghasitpur expressed their anger over his murder and condemned the law and order situation in the area. Deputy Commissioner of Police Simardeep Singh visited the hospital to console the family of the victim and said the assailants would be arrested soon. The SHO of Parao police station, Ajaib Singh, said a case of murder had been registered against five persons. He said the exact cause of the murder would be revealed after investigation, but it seemed to be case of some old rivalry between students groups.
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Khushpreet’s kin say no to Rs 3-lakh relief
Chandigarh, June 5 Two months have elapsed since a cheque for Rs 3 lakh was handed over to the child’s father at their house in Burail village in Sector 45. But the family has not deposited the cheque as a mark of protest. “A patwari came to our house two months ago and gave us the cheque. We told him we do not want it since money will not bring back our child. We desire justice from the police and the Administration, not money. As the patwari was under obligation, we took the cheque, but have not encashed it,” said Lakhbir Singh, Khushpreet’s father. “The negligent police officers are still on duty. Merely stopping their increments does not mean justice to us. We do not want any compensation from the police or the Administration. We have suffered enough and our innocent child was killed due to the negligence of the police. We demand that these officers should be dealt with sternly,” he said. Advocate Arvind Thakur, who fought the case in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said after a year-long battle with the Administration, the cheque had finally been given to the family and orders in this regard were received from the NHRC today. “The NHRC has considered the matter. The amount of interim relief as recommended by the commission has been paid to the next of kin of the deceased. Departmental action has also been taken against the three delinquent police officers. No further action is called for. The compliance report is taken on record and the case is closed,” said the NHRC in the order.
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Plants at lake to get water from horticulture dept
Chandigarh, June 5
An official of the UT Administration said the horticulture department had pressed four water tankers into service from today. Employees of the department would water the plants every afternoon. The official said though the present system of watering the plants by directly motoring out water from the lake would also continue, but as the water level had gone down, the authorities had decided to draw less water from the lake. Every day, eight pipes of water were used to water the plants from 12 noon to 4 pm.
But visitors complained that the new area was very far from the original area and it was difficult to cross the distance of around 800 metres to reach the watchtower.
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Diminutive map only adds to confusion
Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 5 The intention behind the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order was to generate awareness among residents whether their houses and property fall under the Sukhna catchment area. But the map published in the newspapers today does not serve any purpose and seems to be a mere formality. Sunder Singh, a resident of Khuda Ali Sher, said nobody in the UT Administration was giving clear answers whether his land fell in the catchment area. Echoing similar views, Narayan Singh Mehta, another resident, said he had a house in Khuda Ali Sher, but he was still not aware whether his house was in the catchment area. To create awareness among the public, the Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Alok Singh had observed: "The Administration shall give wide publicity to the catchment areas as depicted in the map prepared by the Survey of India and adopted by the UT Administration so that the general public is made aware that no construction is permitted in the area." Residents in the area of Khuda Ali Sher, Kaimbwala and Kansal (in Punjab) villages had been taking the plea that their houses did not fall in the catchment area. Admitting the fault, Land Acquisition Officer Tilak Raj said they would now publicise a larger size of the map. Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh said he had not seen the published map in newspapers, but assured that they would create awareness among residents about the catchment area. The apex court had on May 22 made it clear that the Administration would not demolish any construction that had come up till May 21. It had further ruled that no further construction would be allowed to come up in the catchment area till further orders. On May 14, the High Court had directed Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to demolish "without notice" any construction being carried out in the catchment area despite a stay ordered by the High Court on March 14 last.
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Scheduled power cuts in city now
Chandigarh, June 5 A senior official of the UT Administration said they were compiling a data to check areas facing more overloading problems. On the basis of the data, they would prepare a schedule for the power cuts. The duration of power cuts will be more in areas with more problems of overloading. Southern sectors are witnessing long unscheduled cuts. The Administration has not been informing residents in advance about the cuts, making it difficult for them to go about their daily business. Ramesh Jaswal, a resident of Sector 48, said though they had to deal with power cuts, if they were scheduled, they could be able to manage it better. Saurabh Shama, a resident of Sector 44, said the authorities should impose power cuts of equal duration in the entire city.
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Mock drill in Feb next
Chandigarh, June 5 The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will conduct the exercise with the help of the UT Administration and the governments of Punjab and Haryana. A similar exercise will be conducted in a number of areas in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as well. The Geological Survey of India has identified the tricity and surrounding areas as earthquake-prone and categorised the zone high-hazard, under 9-10 intensity. NDMA chairman Shashidhar Reddy said it would be the first-of-its-kind mock drill in the country after Delhi. They would create a number of simulated situations, like collapse of flyovers and residential buildings, cracks in buildings and damage to hospitals due to an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale, after which strategies would be finalised to deal with such a situation, he added. Reddy said the main objectives were to generate greater public awareness about the vulnerability of the tricity to disasters, with specific emphasis on earthquakes, and steps to be taken by the people to save themselves and their families. He further said the NDMA would spread awareness about the fact that building collapse and injuries killed and not earthquakes. Emphasis would be on constructing safe buildings, Reddy said, adding that the Punjab government had allotted 50 acres in Ludhiana for stationing a battalion of the National Disaster Response Force permanently. With six tremors shaking the region in one year, residents of the tricity had been realising the implications of being prone to earthquakes.
States also to take part
Epicentre & intensity
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Statements of five recorded
Chandigarh, June 5 Mudassar Nazar said some residents of Habbakaddal village asked him to make a compact disc of the MMS. Habibullah Shalla and Bashir Ahmed, residents of Habbakaddal village, said a MMS was being circulated. Taxi drivers Shakeel Ahmed and Mushtaq Ahmed also deposed in court. — TNS
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Police on high alert
DSP (Operations) Jagbir Singh said the force had been put on high alert and all important places would be checked. Police personnel conduct a check at the Inter-State Bus Terminus in Sector 43 of Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan
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Head constable dies of injuries
Chandigarh, June 5 He was posted at the 61 police post. He was returning home on a scooter when a speeding unidentified vehicle hit him. — TNS
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Venus to trek across Sun today
Chandigarh, June 5 The event on Wednesday will be the last opportunity to witness the transit of Venus this century. The next transit of Venus will occur in 2117. Dr Sandeep Sahijpal of Panjab University's physics department said Venus would appear as a tiny dark spot, that would be one-30th the size of the solar disc. "The transit should not be confused with sun spots, that are also visible on the solar disc at present. It will take approximately eight hours for Venus to pass the solar disc. The transit will be visible in India only after sunrise," he said. Astrologer Madan Gupta Spatu said the transit offered astronomers the chance to "test run" such events. It provided an opportunity to astrologers to study the influence of such a transit on human life and on the Earth because not much study had been carried out, he said. It was advised that proper precautions be taken for observing the transit. Do not look at the Sun directly without a suitable solar filter as it could cause permanent blindness. A proper solar filter should be used with a telescope, binoculars or the naked eyes. The best way to watch the transit would be to project the solar disc image from the telescope or binoculars on a screen kept at a comparatively dark place.
Time to observe xn
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Impose house tax: Admn
Chandigarh, June 5 Officials referred to the imposition of house tax in Haryana and asked the Mayor to table it in the House. She refused to take up the issue in the House, saying the House had unanimously rejected the imposition of house tax and the revision of property tax in April. The MC Commissioner took up the issue of approving land for the installation of seven boosters. The Adviser told the Commissioner that land would be approved soon. — TNS
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Car set afire at Sector 32
Chandigarh, June 5 Harjeet Singh, owner of the shop, said he objected to some miscreants answering nature's call at a vacant plot near his shop last afternoon. A heated scuffle ensued and he received injuries, he added. The police got their medical examination conducted at a hospital. Later at night, a car parked at his shop was set afire. He called the police control room and the staff with a fire brigade doused the flames. Harjeet Singh alleged that he gave a complaint to the police in this regard, but no action was taken. The Sector-34 police station SHO, inspector Kirpal Singh, said they were inquiring the matter and a case would be registered soon.
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Councillor says no to study tour
Chandigarh, June 5 Heaps of garbage were lying in the area and he was putting in efforts to lift garbage, but officials were ignoring sanitation, he said. There was water shortage and residents were facing low water pressure, he added. He preferred to utilise money in providing basic amenities to residents, he observed. — TNS
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FOSWAC gets just assurances
Chandigarh, June 5 The 12-point agenda, which was taken up today by representatives of the FOSWAC with the MC Commissioner, still stood as such. Cleanliness of back lanes For the last three years, representatives of Sectors 16, 18 and 21 had been complaining that service lanes were being used for throwing garbage and 'malba' as there was no specific policy of the MC for regular cleaning or fining on defaulters. Two years ago, the UT Administration had directed the MC to take up the cleaning of the lanes on a priority basis, but nothing had been done. Then MC chief engineer SK Bansal had assured the House that they were framing a policy regarding the use of service lanes in various sectors. Menace of stray dogs In the last two days, 10 residents of Sector 48 taking a morning walk at a park were bitten by stray dogs. Sector-48 RWA general secretary Kulbhushan Kanwar complained that the issue had been taken up, but no action had been taken. The stray dog menace had afflicted the whole city and the MC was not doing anything. In the last three FOSWAC meetings, the issue was taken up. Officials concerned had stated that necessary steps would be taken, but no fruitful result had emerged. Water shortage and
low pressure Every summer, RWAs took up the issue of water shortage and low water pressure, especially on upper floors. Officials with the department concerned always assured them that the problem would be resolved the following year, after boosters were installed. The proposal to instal boosters was lying in cold storage as the Administration had not accorded approval to land. The MC Commissioner tried to soothe enraged representatives by assuring them that water pressure would improve. Garbage collection A number of projects for improving the garbage-collection system were launched and scrapped by the authorities. As a pilot project, a contractor was recently hired by the MC to collect garbage from Sector 22, but later, it was scrapped after the protest by private door-to-door garbage-collection workers and the authorities had not come up with any new scheme. When FOSWAC took up the issue, the MC Commissioner assured the delegation that steps would be taken.
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Environmentalists favour CFLs, mum on disposal
Chandigarh, June 5 Dr Satnam Singh of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology accepted that the government had not made any arrangements for the disposal of CFLs. He said this while interacting with mediapersons at the PGI. He said besides promoting the use of CFLs, state governments should make fool-proof arrangements for disposal. He said the states should come up with a policy so that energy savers could not turn into environmental threats. He said hundreds of discarded CFLs were lying unattended at garbage dumps, releasing poisonous material into the environment. CFL bulbs and tubes contained mercury, which was highly toxic and could cause serious health problems like damage to the nervous system, kidneys and liver, he said. The Panjab University dean, Dr AS Ahluwalia, said the public was not unaware about the health hazards from CFLs. In the absence of a proper CFL-disposal policy, public dumped those in domestic bins. He said the UT Administration had implemented the e-waste policy, but there were no clear directions on CFL disposal. He said paver blocks adversely affected the green cover and the seepage of water into the ground, resulting in the lowering of underground water level. He said it had been scientifically proved that such concrete structures spoilt the eco-system of the soil and the heat around plantation affected it. Other experts stressed the installation of rainwater harvesting in buildings to improve groundwater level.
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VC’S Term not extended
New Delhi, June 5 “No such orders have been issued. The incumbent V-C is to retire in July. There is still a lot of time before he retires. Stakeholders should wait for authoritative orders in this respect,” sources in the Chancellor’s office said. The Chancellor office is examining the reply of HRD Ministry which had clarified that the UGC Regulations in respect of the appointment of faculty and V-C apply to Panjab University. The issue remains unsettled as of now. The Tribune had reported the Ministry’s clarification to the Chancellor in this respect. If the UGC Regulations are to apply to PU, the selection committee for the selection of PU V-C must have a nominee each of the Chancellor, the UGC and the University Executive Committee. The panel the Chancellor had earlier set up did not have such representation.
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Go-green campaign draws lukewarm response
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 5 Although a few PU officials participated in the cycle rally on campus earlier in the morning to mark the World Environment Day, however, later during the day everybody preferred to move around on foot. Even the PU faculty members residing in the campus were seen driving down to the departments in their vehicles. Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti was seen pedalling in the campus during the day, while Registrar AK Bhandari, DSW AS Ahluwalia, Dean College Development Council (DCDC) Naval Kishore opted to walk. The situation was same with the non-teaching employees of the university who also preferred to move around in their vehicles. Although the university provided bus service to encourage faculty members avoid using their vehicles, there were even no-takers for the service. Sobti’s efforts to introduce bicycles on campus have always failed to draw response. In 2007 fifteen bicycles were donated to the PU among the top-brass. However these bicycles are lying unused. The decision to observe the first Monday of every month as a vehicle-free day had also failed to gather momentum. It turned out to be another announcement that failed before it could take-off. To promote cycling among the students, the PU had even decided to offer interest-free loan to students for purchasing cycles. However, not even a single student availed the facility.
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Former DPI transferred 29 teachers days before his exit
Chandigarh, June 5 The UT education department had framed a transfer policy in March this year and sought preferences from all the teachers for transfers and rationalisation of staff, and had even put the DEO office on job to asses and submit the data. However, it went ahead with alleged 'secret' transfers against vacant posts days before Hans' exit and announced that he was relieved of his charge. According to the department's official records, 29 teachers of different subjects were transferred to various schools on May 18 and surprisingly the orders were dispatched on May 19 which being a Saturday was a holiday. The orders however surfaced only on May 25 when Sandeep Hans left the department. The act, which has once against brought to fore the rampant favouritism in the department, has left the teaching fraternity fuming. "Why have we all not got a fair chance? I wish to be transferred to a school near my residence as my child is just one year old. I have mentioned it in my preference as their was a vacant post, but the department has secretly sent one of its favourites there. The authorities should cite the reason of the urgency behind singling out these 29 teachers and giving them their preferred schools. What is more disturbing is the fact that the outgoing DPI signed transfer orders against all norms of propriety," said one of the teachers. "They have recently transferred a teacher in my school. Though there was a post vacant, now it has come under surplus staff category. And being the one with the longer stay duration, I will be moved out of the school while the new one, who is the department's favourite, will continue here. This is unjust to us all. Such transfers should have been done only after the rationalisation of the staff," said a science teacher. While all efforts to contact DEO Ram Kumar proved futile, an official of his office revealed, "Even we were clueless about transfers. It all happened in the DPI office. On our part we are still working on the rationalisation data and transfer preferences.”
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Online hostel admission fails to take-off
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 5
With the increase in number of courses and more students applying for admission, the demand for hostels on campus has risen manifold over the last few years. To streamline the process and add to make it transparent for ensuring that only genuine students get admission in hostels, the university had planned to make admissions online from the coming academic session. Dean Student Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia said that the admissions would be done manually. Students, after purchasing the forms, would have to submit it with their concerned department which would prepare a merit list and the final list. “Due to various reasons, the admission will not be held online. There were few things that still need to be worked out,” the DSW added. All the departments have limited seats in different hostels which have been divided according to the availability of rooms. The PU had earlier planned that students will be applying online, and the applications, department admission details, position in the merit list and hostel status will be accessible to all. A candidate would also have the facility to check the status of his application through website. According to the PU officials there would be no-fee hike in the hostel fee in the coming session.
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PU appoints new hostel wardens
Chandigarh, June 5 Among girls hostels, Kuljeet Kaur Brar of USOL has been given the charge of Hostel No-6, while Prabhdip Brar from the University Institute of Fashion Technology has been given the charge of the Working Womens Hostel. — TNS
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Girls outdo boys in Class XII exams
Sanjay Bumbroo Tribune News Service
Panchkula, June 5 About 78.33 per cent girls managed to clear the exam against only 54.73 per cent boys. However, the results declared by the Haryana board this year have shown a downward trend as the pass percentage has gone down from 71.08 per cent to 66.93 per cent. Out of the total 3,341 students who appeared in the exams in the four blocks of the district, 2,220 students passed. Declaring the results, Deputy District Education Officer (Secondary) Sujata Rana announced that Surbhi Gupta, a student of Government Girls Senior Secondary School Barwala, stood first in the district in the non-medical stream securing 92.2 per cent. She is also an overall topper in the district with 461 marks out of 500. Her classmate Sushma secured the second position with 91.2 per cent while Leena Garg of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Kalka, got the third position with 90.8 per cent. In arts, Abhilash of GMSSS, Sector 20, secured the first position with 89 per cent while Monika of Government Senior Secondary School in Paarwala village secured the second position with 88.4 per cent. Pratibha Sharma of GSSS, Pinjore, got the third position with 85 per cent.
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Daily wager’s daughter defies odds
Panchkula, June 5 Her father Balwinder Singh said Sushma was a hard working girl and always stood first in class. He said despite financial constraints, he would try to help his daughter in achieving her aim.
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Patwari's daughter shines
Surbhi, who topped in the non-medical stream with 92.2 per cent, said she had appeared in the entrance test for admission to BSc in Panjab University. She said she studied for about 10 to 12 hours every day and wanted to become an IAS officer.
She gave credit to her teachers for motivating her to study hard. She said her father, Sham Sundar, a patwari, and her mother Reeta also supported her by not asking her to contribute in the household chores.
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Meanwhile, CITCO employees shifted four "shikaras" to a new boating area near the watchtower. The boating facility would be made operational from Wednesday.
Chandigarh, June 5
The university, as it has been doing in previous years, would be allotting hostel rooms on the basis of merit.