Chandigarh, July 28
The fact-finding committee of the PGI constituted to probe the ‘lapses’ in the treatment resulting in Anupama’s death has found the overcrowding and unending rush of patients at the PGI’s Advanced Trauma Centre as the only reason for the tragedy.

“It is difficult to pinpoint the lapse on the part of an individual. The Advanced Trauma Centre is overcrowded resulting in delay in treatment to patients,” said PGI Director Prof Y K Chawla while sharing the findings of the committee at the board room of the PGI today.

When asked whether the PGI will order an inquiry by an independent agency, Dr Chwala said: “We can think over it.”

“We feel very sorry for the child who lost her life,” said Dr Chawla. There is huge rush of patients in the Trauma Centre. Anupama, who required surgery, was admitted to the Trauma Centre on July 17 and before her arrival, nine patients with similar serious injuries were in the queue, he said. Before her turn, the infection spread to other parts of her body leading to her death, said the PGI Director.

Anupama, the only child of her parents, fell from a CTU bus on July 17 while returning from school and her leg was crushed under the rear wheel of the bus. She was admitted to the PGI and her surgery was planned the same night. However, she was not operated upon. On July 19 night, when she was taken to the operation theatre, she was found unfit for the surgery. Next morning, she was found suffering from gas gangrene leading to amputation of her leg and ultimately her death on July 24. Anupama’s parents alleged that she died due to negligence of doctors at the PGI.

When asked whether the fact-finding committee had confirmed that Anupama’s wound was washed properly before her dressing on the first day and why was her dressing not changed during her stay at the hospital, Dr Chwala said he was not aware of this. Replying to a query that how the fact-finding committee could come to any conclusion without recording the statement of Anupama’s parents, Dr Chawla said: “We have to go more into the details and the family will be contacted.”

Chandigarh, July 28
Robbery was the motive behind the murder of Kailash Chand, who was shot dead at his shop in Sector 22 on July 26, while his brother and servant were seriously injured.

Out of three accused, the police has arrested two, identified as Sanchit Verma, a resident of Sector 22, and Nazir Khan of Sector 56. The third accused, identified as Rakesh, is still at large.

UT SSP Naunihal Singh said the accused were drug addicts and were known to each other for the past few years. The SSP said that Sanchit used to frequently visit Kailash’s shop for getting his mobile recharged. “Sanchit had noticed that Kailash used to wear a heavy gold chain and a silver kara. Moreover, he used to have a lot of cash at the end of the day following which they planned a robbery,” the SSP said.

Nazir Khan and Rakesh entered the shop and Sanchit waited for them outside the shop. One of the accused snatched the gold chain from Kailash. On this, Kailash’s brother Madan Lal jumped over the counter and caught hold the accused.

The SSP said that the other assailant stabbed Madan Lal with a knife on his back. “One of the accused then fired a shot on Kailash Chand’s chest and another shot on their servant Tilak Raj’s back from a country-made pistol,” the SSP added.

In his statement to the police, Nazir said Rakesh had shot at Kailash and Tilak Raj. However, police officials are still investigating. “Accused Rakesh was bitten by Madan Lal on his hand. Madan further threw the accused towards the window following which the he suffered injuries on his chest,” the SSP said.

During the course of investigations, it was revealed that the assailants robbed a gold chain a locket, a silver kara, mobile phones and some cash from Kailash Chand. The accused were caught with the help of mobile phone which fell from their pocket during the scuffle.

After committing the crime, the accused fled the spot. Nazir Khan escaped in a radio cab that was hired by Sanchit Verma.

Sanchit Verma and Nazir Khan were arrested from near the health centre chowk in Sector 22 and from the main road of milk colony, Dhanas, respectively, after being identified by the cab driver. The arrested accused were produced in a court today. Meanwhile, police parties have been sent to different places to arrest the third accused, Rakesh.

Mohali, July 28
Do not be surprised to see the absence of a traffic policeman on a majority of streets in the ‘model city’ Mohali. The traffic police and people ratio in the city is abominably low. To be precise: 1:15,000. The handful of traffic policemen who stand on streets have only a challan book as a tool to make people stick to rules.

Mohali has a population of over 2.5 lakh and around six-lakh four-wheelers. The traffic wing of the Mohali police has only 15 policemen to manage traffic in the entire town.

A senior police official admitted that having the traffic wing with such a paltry staff for the city like Mohali was not more than a formality. A few of these 15 traffic policemen, some are on leave at times, he added.

“With handful of policemen, we are unable to launch special drives against traffic violators. Mostly, officials are deputed on busy traffic signals,” said the official.

There are about 35 traffic light signals in the town and most of these signals remain non-functional most of the time. In the absence of any policeman, traffic chaos at such traffic signals is a common phenomenon. Similarly, traffic violations are also rampant in the city.

Talking to Tribune, Swarndeep Singh, Superintendent of Police (Traffic), said despite shortage of staff, the police was trying their level best to manage the traffic.

“Generally, we depute our staff at busy chowks to make the police presence felt. We have also asked the traffic in-charges in the entire district to send us their requirement so that we can forward our case to the higher authorities,” added Swarndeep Singh.

Chandigarh, July 28
The Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, Pawan Kumar Bansal, today handed over the possession letters of 602 flats to slum dwellers at Sector 49C, Chandigarh, today. These flats have been constructed by the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) under a slum rehabilitation scheme.

Speaking on the occasion, Bansal said more such schemes should be executed in the city to solve the problem of housing for slum dwellers. Adviser to the Administrator KK Sharma and Satya Gopal, Chairman, Chandigarh Housing Board, were also present on the occasion.

To provide a one-time solution to the problem of slum dwellers’ settlement, the Small Flat Scheme-2006 was introduced by the Chandigarh Administration. According to this scheme the beneficiaries will pay a licensing fee of Rs 800 per month for 20 years. Under this scheme 23,841 families have been identified in 18 colonies in the city during a comprehensive survey. Bio-metric system of identification was used in the survey and the whole record was digitised by the estate office. As many as 25,728 small flats have been planned under the scheme.

Chandigarh, July 28
Demanding that the obligation of taking permission for every small development work from the UT Administration should be done away with, Municipal Corporation Mayor Raj Bala Malik has requested the parliamentary committee to enhance the powers of the corporation so that it can spend funds according to its needs.

During a meeting with the committee headed by Tarik Anwar, the Mayor said owing to the delay in the allocation of the grant-in-aid to the corporation, small projects had been pending for long, leading to problems to the residents of the city. To avoid the lengthy process of taking permission for every action, the corporation should have the power to take decision on its own, the Mayor said.

Another issue which the MC delegation, comprising the Mayor, the Senior Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and officials of the corporation, took up with the committee was the delay in the transfer of land for a number of small projects. Referring to the issue of allocation of land for nine new boosters, the Mayor said the permission for allocating land for these boosters had been pending with the administration for more than a year. The delay has caused water shortage in a number of sectors this year, she added.

The committee instructed the officials of the Administration to sort the matter and speed up clearance for land allocation.

Meanwhile, the members of the committee visited the garbage processing plant at Dadumajra and tertiary treated water projects of the corporation.

Panchkula, July 28
The Panchkula police has got Jeevan Garg’s companion Satish on production warrants, who was arrested by the Zirakpur police sometime back, to inquire about the absconding developer.

Garg, MD of Royale Empire, is absconding after a number of complaints were received against him for duping people in Zirakpur and Panchkula.

We have got Satish on production warrants. The court has ordered remand till August 2. In fact, Satish was his companion and we have to inquire more about the whereabouts of Garg and his dealing, said Inspector Dharambeer Singh, in charge of economic offence wing (EOW).

It was yesterday when another complaint by a resident of Jind was given against Jeevan Garg in the economic offence wing. The victim, Ashwini Kumar Mittal, said he was duped of Rs 20 lakh by the former. According to sources in the police, Jeevan is currently in Dubai and they are coordinating with the Dubai police.

According to Inspector Dharambeer, Mittal in his complaint said Garg took Rs 20 lakh from him in installments and promised a flat in Peer Mushalla. Mittal had paid the amount in installments, but he was not provided the flat.

He also said the agreement was signed in Panchkula at Garg’s head office in Sector 9, Panchkula, following which the complaint was made.

The policemen investigated from the middlemen, too, in this case, who revealed that even they had been duped by Garg.

Mohali, July 28
The police is yet to register a case against SP, vigilance bureau, Amandeep Kaur, head constable Harminder Singh and three others in ETO Ranjit Singh’s suicide case.

Mohali SSP GS Bhullar said the police was yet to get the copy of order by the Mohali district court, in which special judge-cum-additional session judge Rajinder Aggarwal had directed the police to register an FIR against Amandeep Kaur, Harminder Singh, Rajinder Singh, Rajiv Sood and Paramjit Singh for framing ETO Ranjit Singh in a corruption case, which had led him to commit suicide in April 2011.

As soon as we get the copy of the orders, we would act accordingly, said Bhullar.

Notably, Ranjit Singh was arrested by the vigilance bureau in March last year on corruption charges, following which he had committed suicide the next month of his arrest. A high-level inquiry was conducted by IAS Mansavi Kumar and IPS Harpreet Singh Sidhu, following directions of the Punjab government. It was found in the inquiry that Sood and Rajinder Singh, both Ludhiana-based traders, were also involved in framing up Ranjit Singh.

The court had also issued a notice on July 11 to the SSP, Mohali, for not registering the FIR against the SP and other accused.

Mohali, July 28
A woman, identified as Sunita Sharma, of Kumbra village has complained to the police that certain relatives and residents of the village beat up her family and threw them out of their house and later her husband went missing.

In a letter to the SSP, Sunita Sharma said she along with her husband Baldev Krishan had complained to police officials after the attack, which took about six months ago, but no action was taken against the culprits.

She said later she left for the Amarnath Yatra, but on her return, she could not find her husband. She said she had looked for him all over, including hospitals and police stations, but to no avail.

She alleged that her family members were attacked in order to grab their house.

Sunita demanded an inquiry into the matter and registration of a case of murder against the suspects.

Chandigarh, July 28
A heady mix of beauty and creativity was the INIFD Designer Medley-12, the annual passing out fashion show of the Inter-National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), Chandigarh.

The show was a presentation of 17 collections, dreamt and executed by passing out INIFD student designers of BSc and advanced diploma programme in fashion design under the guidance of faculty.

All 17 collections characterised original style and exceptional craftsmanship of royal glimpse, zestful spirits and extravagant elegance.

Alok Kumar, DIG, Chandigarh Police, was the chief guest at the INIFD annual passing out fashion show and graced the occasion with his presence.

INIFD Designer Medley-12 displayed the unique and inimitable traditional and western outfits. Classy, stylish blazing looks of the head turning outfits were inspired by vivid themes, selected by the designer students after extensive research. The students created the designer collection, as an essential part of their curriculum, where all technicalities of designing and construction are taught in intricate details to prepare the students for the competitive fashion and design industry.

The show highlighted the best creative collections, taking inspiration from traditional and merging into global concepts. The fashionable evening saw an overwhelming response to the annual design presentation, which is defining fashion as an artistic appearance of the personality. The fashion show gave style ideas with sophisticated and contemporary collections, which has been a result of meticulous hard work and creative indulgence for the past six months.

Mohali, July 28
The Mohali District Congress Committee staged a dharna outside Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam office in protest against levying of taxes and power tariff hike. The protesters led by Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu blocked traffic and raised slogans against the Punjab government. A memorandum was later handed to the Deputy Commissioner by Congress leaders.

Addressing the gathering, Sidhu said the Punjab government was not fulfilling the promises made at the time of the elections. Additional burden was being put on the people of the state in the form of various taxes. While on one hand, people had to bear long power cuts, on the other, the government had rubbed salt into the wounds of the consumers by a steep hike in the power tariff.

The MLA said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had made tall claims before the elections saying that power would be surplus in the state by 2012, but the long and unannounced power cuts had belied such claims. The power shortage had hit every sector of society, including industry and agriculture.

The power tariff hike, he said, would lead to a rise in the prices of various commodities. MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said the SAD-BJP government had proved to be a failure on all fronts.

Bittu further said if no improvement was brought about in the power situation, the Congress would be compelled to hold protests at the village and block levels.

Chandigarh July 28
Even as fresh advertisement for the post of JBT and TGT teachers is expected by the first week of August, the recruitment policy of teachers in the UT, which has been under the scanner for last many years, is not headed towards any concrete changes.

If the infamous UT recruitment scam was not enough, the administration has now flouted the NCTE norms by allowing the candidates who qualified Punjab and Haryana eligibility test to take part in the recruitment of JBT teacher earlier this year.

As per the information, the shortfall of the teachers in government schools is looming large. Further, there is pressure of implementing the RTE Act, 2009, properly.

As per the recent proposal prepared by the UT education department, it needs more than 1,700 teachers including JBT teachers, principals and head teachers, if they have to maintain proper pupil-teacher ratio in government schools in Chandigarh. Along with the auxiliary staff, including lab attendants, librarians, computer instructors etc, the strength of the staff required goes above 2,500 posts.

At present the existing pupil-teacher ratio in Chandigarh is quite poor, especially in periphery schools. As per the Act, the government needs to maintain 1:30 ratio for primary level and 1:35 for upper level.

RTI activist Hemant Goswami, the main complainant in the infamous UT teacher’s recruitment scam, 2009, said that despite the fact that the deadline of the implementation of the RTE Act is approaching fast, the administration is too slow on the recruitment of the teachers in Chandigarh. The issue of regularisation of SSA teachers too has been delayed. “It is strange that when the government machinery works for its personal gain, all the approvals and sanctions come without any hassle. But when it comes to implementing policies for the benefit of the common man, it falls short, said Hemant.

HS Mamik, president of the Independent School Association, said, “I wish that the Chandigarh Administration follows a transparent policy in the recruitment of teachers so that the overall status of education in the UT improves. On the issue of implementation of RTE in private schools, he said, “We are ready to implement the Act as per the rules and regulation, but the point is that the government should step up efforts to improve its own condition first. Both the things should move parallel,” he said.

Talking to Deputy Director School Education Chanchal Singh about the recruitment of teachers for effective RTE implementation, he said that he can’t disclose much information since the proposal is under consideration.

Chandigarh,July 28
A day after three students fell from the building of Government High School, Sector 11, one of them, Ranjit Singh, who had sustained minor injuries, was discharged from the Government Hospital, Sector 16, on Saturday morning. Another student Rajesh, who suffered elbow displacement in the right arm, is likely to be discharged on Sunday.

However, Rakesh Kumar would take sometime in recovery since he sustained injuries in his upper left leg and jaw. Medical officials of the GMSH-16 said that the patient was currently under observation and was most likely to be operated on his thigh fracture on Monday. Thereafter a surgery on his broken jaw will be performed. It may take him three-four months to recover, said medical officials.

Principal of Government High School, Sector 11, Satpal Singh, said that the condition of Rakesh was stable today and he took some liquid meal. Rajesh Kumar was also to be discharged today but as he complained about some pain in the elbow, he was asked to stay for day or two more days. Meanwhile, as told by officials, the inspection of the school building was on and an initial inquiry report would be submitted soon.

Chandigarh, July 28
The DAV college managing committee held a meeting in Chandigarh on July 27 to finalise their candidates for the upcoming Panjab University Senate elections.

Sources said that in the meeting, held at DAV School, Sector 7, it was decided to field Satish Sharma, Director Colleges, DAV managing committee, from both combined faculty and graduate constituency in the Senate elections.

Sources said that Sharma would be fielded against heavy weight Ashok Goyal, a sitting Senator who had won the elections against Deepak Manmohan Singh in 2008 with a record margin of 33 votes.

Sharma has been contesting the Senate elections since 1988. In 2008, he contested elections from the principal constituency and won. However, his membership ceased in 2009 after he was transferred to DAV College, Amritsar, from DAV College, Jagraon.

Senate elections are held after every four years. The last elections were held in 2008.

Although, Sharma refused to comment over the issue, stating that he is not authorised to divulge any details, sources said that he has already started campaigning from the Chatrath Group.

Sources said that the DAV management has decided to field BC Joshan, principal, DAV College, Chandigarh, KN Kaul, principal, DAV College, Amritsar, and SK Arora, principal, DAV college, Abohar, from the Graduate Constituency. Earlier, the DAV management used to field three candidates from the graduate constituency, but this time they have fielded four candidates

Joshan who is a sitting Senator, was elected from the principal constituency. However, his retirement is due in 2015 following which the DAV management has decided to field him from the graduate constituency.

Puneet Bedi, principal of MCM DAV College, Chandigarh, and RK Mahajan, principal, DAV College, Dasuya, would be contesting from the principal constituency.

Senate elections of Panjab University will be held on September 23 and candidates in the foray are canvassing in full swing, leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters.

Chandigarh, July 28
A faculty development programme commenced at the Government College of Education, Sector 20, yesterday.

The first day witnessed a thought provoking lecture on ‘Managing Self for Greatness in Profession and Anand in Life’ by Prof YK Anand, Director, Curriculum Development, Sri Sai Group of Institutions. He reiterated on the need to understand the difference between work and role, thereby enhance one’s efficacy.

He said that role efficacy, which is a psychological aspect of role effectiveness, includes role making vs role taking, role centring vs role entering and role linking vs role shrinking.

“We should learn to manage individual resources and to optimise physical, emotional, intelligence and spiritual coefficients to achieve greatness in life,” Anand said.

The lecture was followed by a stimulating interactive session in which faculty members showed keen concern about various ethical issues prevalent in the society.

During the faculty development programme, lectures by eminent scholars, and faculty visits to institutions of national repute will be organised.