Chandigarh, August 25
In another case of alleged negligence by the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH) staff, a 30-year-old woman and her baby died after the delivery at the hospital today.

The deceased’s family alleged that both the mother and the baby died 30 minutes after the delivery. However, the hospital staff claimed that the woman died following an epilepsy attack during the delivery. A resident of Mani Marja, Manju and her baby died around 5.15 pm.

Manju’s mother-in-law Mammo Devi, who accompanied her to the hospital, said: “Manju delivered the baby around 4.45 pm and I even saw the newborn. I asked Manju if she was fine. Before she could respond, the staff nurse pushed me out of the labour room. Within minutes, the guard informed me that both the mother and the baby were dead.”

“While they said that Manju suffered an epilepsy attack, they did not give us the reason for the baby’s death,” said Mammo Devi, with tears in her eyes.

The hospital authorities, however, claimed that Manju suffered an epilepsy attack during the delivery which led to the death of the child and the mother.

Manju’s family members said she was admitted to the hospital on Friday afternoon. “We do not know what the doctors did to our daughter-in-law that she and her baby died minutes after the delivery,” said Manju’s brother Anil.

Her husband, Pawan, who runs a meat shop in Zirakpur, demanded an inquiry into the incident. The family has submitted a written complaint to the police. Dr Soma, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, has been appointed as the head of the inquiry committee. On Friday, a five-day-old baby died at the hospital and the family had accused the hospital staff of negligence.

Chandigarh, August 25
Manju’s husband, Pawan Kumar, who shares the same name with his father-in-law, now has another thing in common with him. Following Manju’s death, he finds himself in the same situation as faced by his father-in-law some years ago.

Manju’s mother died 15 years ago, leaving the responsibility of raising four children, including Manju, on her father.

Manju’s two children, eight-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter will no longer be able to see happiness in their mother’s eye the next time they both fare well in their examinations. The responsibility of raising them well will now be on the shoulders of their father. Both children were close to their mother and used to share their school notes with her, said Manju’s husband Pawan Kumar. For Manju’s father, believing that she died of an epilepsy attack came as a shock. “I have raised her since her childhood. She never had any such problem or symptoms. She was a fit and healthy woman. Having delivered two children normally, she never appeared to be suffering from any such disorder,” he said.

Chandigarh, August 25
The proposed underground multilevel Metro station at Matka Chowk would be the main intersection of the North-South and the East-West corridors. The Matka Chowk station would be called the Metro junction and would be 24 metres below the ground level.

The Metro in the North-South corridor has been proposed at the upper level and the East-West corridor at a lower level. The entry and exit to the underground metro station have been proposed from five locations around the junction. The entry and exit points would have elevators, escalators and lifts.

To construct the junction, the cut-and-cover technique would be used. For this, authorities need to reconstruct a major part of Matka Chowk. In the DPR, the DMRC has projected that around 1.43 lakh passengers per day are expected in the North-South corridor in 2018, including 1 lakh passengers from Chandigarh and nearly 40,000 from Punjab.

Around 1.48 lakh passengers per day are expected in the East-West corridor in 2018, including 1 lakh passengers from Chandigarh, 14,645 from Punjab and around 40,804 passengers from Haryana.

The number of passengers on both the corridors has been assessed considering the population and the flow of people to the city.

Mohali, August 25
The police has arrested a woman with 520 grams of gold and diamond jewellery worth over Rs 15 lakh which she had allegedly stolen from a house at Manak Majra village two days ago.

The accused, identified as Sukhwinder Kaur, a resident of the same village, was on her way to Mohali to sell the booty when the police nabbed her this morning. She had stolen the jewellery from Jaswinder Singh’s house. Sukhwinder had been working in Jaswinder house as a maid for the past two years.

The police recovered the jewellery, including 12 bangles, four kadas, four necklaces, two chains, 10 pairs of earrings and nine rings from her possession.

Harjinder Singh, station house officer, Sohana, said the matter came to light when Jaswinder Singh checked the closet where he had put kept the jewellery of his wife and two daughters-in-laws.

“Jaswinder was planning to shift the jewellery in his bank locker. He named his maid in the complaint. We arrested the maid with the stolen items today,” said the SHO.

The police has registered a case under Section 381 of the IPC against Sukhwinder Kaur at the Shoana police station.

Chandigarh, August 25
After a series of snatching incidents in the city, incidents of miscreants breaking the windowpanes of cars to steal cash and valuables are on the rise.

Three incidents of cash and valuables being stolen from cars in Sectors 8 and 9 were reported within a matter of few hours on Saturday.

Miscreants managed to lay hands on Rs 1.43 lakhs after breaking the windowpane of a parked Mercedes car at Sector 9 when its owner went inside his restaurant. Taking advantage of the rain, the miscreants also took away a laptop and some documents from the car. Neeraj Sarna, SHO, Sector 3 police station, said Pavitar Singh Bajwa, owner of a restaurant in Sector 9, had parked his Mercedes in the parking when the miscreants managed to break the windowpane of the car.

They took away a bag containing cash, cheque book and some important documents.

“The accused took the advantage of heavy rain for breaking the windowpane of the car,” the SHO said.

The police is scrutinising the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the shops close to the parking to identify the accused.

In another incident, the windowpane of another car parked near the Sector 8 market was broken.

The miscreants took away a laptop from the car, owned by Rohit Negi, a resident of Mohali.

The police is suspecting the role of the same gang behind both the incidents. The police has registered separate cases.

On June 27, the windowpane of a BMW car was also smashed while it was parked in the Sector 35 market and a laptop, an I-pod and Rs 1.5 lakh was stolen from the car.

Chandigarh, August 25
The inquiry of the external committee, which has been constituted to probe Anupama’s death case at the PGIMER, is moving at a snail’s pace. While a month has passed since it was constituted, the committee has failed to move beyond the basic step of recording the statements of Anupama’s parents, the complainants.

The fact that the members have met only once ever since the committee was constituted on July 26 reflects the lackadaisical approach of the committee towards the inquiry.

It is pertinent to note that at the last two meetings of the committee, including the one scheduled for today, nobody other than the committee chairman turned up.

Dr SS Gill, chairman of the committee, also Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, Faridkot , said, “The inquiry proceedings had to be postponed today since the key members could not attend the meeting. While we summoned the medical superintendents for recording their statements today, we could not proceed.”

Dr Gill said Dr MC Mishra, Head of Department of General Surgery, AIIMS, and Dr Vipin Kaushal from Hospital Administration, PGI, the two key members, “were not present at today’s meeting.”

Anupama, a student of Government Model School Sector 18, died on July 25. She was admitted to the PGI on July 17 after her leg was crushed under the rear tyre of a CTU bus on her way back from the school.

At its last meeting on August 18, the external probe committee had withheld the inquiry seeking legal opinion following the decision of Anupama’s parents to move the Consumer Court against the PGI.

It was only three days ago that the committee resumed the inquiry. The committee was today supposed to question the doctors and other paramedical staff who were on duty on the day when Anupama died.

Her parents on August 14 had moved the UT Consumer Court against the PGI alleging negligence on the part of it in administering timely treatment to Anupama and also against the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU). The case will come up for hearing on August 29. 

Chandigarh, August 25
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is considering issuing outdated wireless sets to the inspectors of the enforcement department for better communication though they have already been equipped with mobile phones. At a meeting of the enforcement committee held here today, it was discussed that the wireless sets would be provided to the inspectors and sub-inspectors of the enforcement wing for better communication among them during anti-encroachment drives.

Gurcharan Dass Kalaa is the chairman of the enforcement committee.

According to the proposal, the department will purchase 14 wireless sets for sub-inspectors and two for inspectors of the enforcement wing.

Records of the corporation revealed that 12 years ago the department had discontinued the use of this technology as mobile phones were considered a better way of communication among the field staff. In 1998 and 1999, the enforcement inspectors used these wireless sets during field duties. Sources in the corporation said three months ago also this issue was raised at a departmental meeting which was opposed by the staff on the plea that they were better equipped with the mobile phones. The proposal was rejected then.

Besides, the corporation has decided to strengthen the enforcement wing by recruiting more staff.

Chandigarh, August 25
The consistent showers over the past two days have brought to light apathy of the city's premier healthcare institute, the PGIMER, towards the maintenance of its roads. The stagnant water on all the roads on the campus has not only added to the inconvenience of the patients but also turned into breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The roads leading towards the hostels and the New OPD have developed heavy cracks leading to the problem of waterlogging. While the authorities claim that they have carried out a major renovation of the hospital, the condition of the roads as well as the old buildings continue to be miserable.

The roads leading to the residential complex at the PGI and the swimming pool have become breeding ground for mosquitoes since the water accumulated on these over the past one week has not drained.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had sanctioned Rs 200 crore in September last year for the renovation of two buildings, the Research Block (Rs 150 crore) and Nehru Hospital (Rs 50 crore) as well as other infrastructural concerns. However, the work has not even been initiated till date.

Sources said the key cause for the lackadaisical approach of the Hospital Administration was the fact that the post of Superintending Hospital Engineer (SHE) always got allotted to an officer who came on deputation from other states.

While a new SHE joins in every three years, the post has been lying vacant for the past two weeks. The temporary charge has been given to Dr KLN Rao, Professor, Paediatrics Surgery.

Chandigarh, August 25
It seems the local municipal corporation is the least bothered about judicious use of public money. It has moved a proposal for the renovation of a dhobi ghat funds for which had already been allocated under a comprehensive plan. While in the budget of the corporation, Rs 1.5 crore has been approved for the modernisation of seven dhobi ghats at Sector 7, 15, 19, 20, 22, 27 and 32, at the last meeting of the finance and contract committee, a proposal was tabled by officials for the renovation of the dhobi ghat at Sector 32 at a cost of Rs 28 lakh.

On one hand the corporation has proposed renovating the Sector-32 dhobi ghat at a cost of Rs 28 lakh while on the other the execution of the project to modernise the seven dhobi ghats (to start with the Sector 7 dhobi ghat), approved by the chief architect, has been shelved on the plea that there are no funds available. According to the proposal, all the dhobi ghats will be equipped with automatic laundry equipment for washing, drying and ironing.

At the last meeting of the finance and contract committee, an objection was raised by Congress Councillor Pardeep Chhabra that when the corporation had approved a plan for the modernisation of all the dhobi ghats and funds were allocated for the same where was the need for moving a separate proposal to renovate the Sector-32 dhobi ghat. Responding to it, the Mayor had deferred the proposal and asked the officials to draft plans for the modernisation of all the dhobi ghats.

During the budget meeting in February last, the Mayor had assured that the work on the modernisation of the dhobi ghat of Sector 7 would be taken up on a priority basis and it would commence soon. But, the ground reality is that despite the allocation of Rs 1.5 crore in the budget for the project, the corporation does not have funds in its kitty to execute it. In fact, the records of the corporation revealed that since 2005, the corporation have been allocating Rs 1.5 crore in their budgets for the modernisation of all dhobi ghats without utilising it.

The MC plans to renovate all the traditional dhobi ghats as there were problems of water pollution, unhygienic conditions and wastage of water at these ghats. In 2008, the first modern dhobi ghat was constructed at Sector 15 where the residents can get their clothes washed at a nominal rate of Rs 20 per wash.

Chandigarh, August 25
Confusion over jurisdiction between two city police stations today saw a car driver scurrying for police help for more than three hours.

The incident took place at a stone’s throw from the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, when an auto-rickshaw coming from a wrong side hit a car.

It was only after several frantic calls to the Police Control Room (PCR) by the car driver that the confusion over jurisdiction of the police station was solved.

The car driver, Gaurav Bansal, a college student moving towards Sector 15 from Madhya Marg, said that an auto coming from wrong side hit his car in front of the GMSH.

Bansal immediately called the police and after around 30 minutes, a police team arrived from the Sector 3 police station and returned after having a look of the accident scene.

Surprised over the police not taking action, Bansal again called the police and a team from the Sector 17 police station arrived which also returned stating that the road was not under their jurisdiction. ”Failing to get my compliant redressed, I went home after two hours,” Bansal said.

It was around 1 pm when Bansal went back to the accident site the police party from the Sector 3 police station arrived and took his compliant.

”The police took around 3 hours to settle down their jurisdiction issue and register my complaint,” he said.

The complainant, who failed to note down the registration number of the auto, said if the police had arrived on time, the auto driver would have been nabbed. “I have now urged the police to view the footage of the CCTV camera installed at the hospital gate,” he said.

SHO of the Sector 3 police station inspector Neeraj Sarna admitted that the compliant had to face inconvenience. The ASI who went to the accident spot is new in the police station and he had confusion over the jurisdiction. ”On getting the call again, the police party was sent on the spot and the complaint was registered,” the SHO said.

A case against unknown auto driver has been registered and an inquiry has been initiated.

Chandigarh, August 25
Back in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir, life has yet not moved beyond desolate realities of violence and tension. When about 25 inhabitants of this remote district reached the City Beautiful today, as a part of the Operation Sadbhavna of the Indian Army, they could not stop their stoic eyes to experience the green pastures of modern India. For many, it was even brighter than their green meadows.

It is an eye-opening experience to see how development has taken place in various parts of the country, said 90-year-old Mohammad Basir, who was a part of the group, comprised Maulvis, Gujjars and Bakarwal (local nomadic tribe) and other natives.

The aim of the tour, organised by the Rashtriya Rifle, was to give the local inhabitants a brief exposure about the life being led by people in other parts of the country and strengthened a bond between them and rest of India.

“While peace is coming back in our valley, we are still struggling for basic amenities,” said 55-year-old Jon Mohammad. He said, “There is still a lot of unemployment in our area, followed by other problems.”

Another visitor, Mohammad Fazil (55), said they would go back with a positive frame and would tell the local authorities to speed up development works.

While their concerns remained wide and open, they also found enjoying their day, as they visited Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake and Zoological Garden.

In evening, they visited a shopping mall, which took them by surprise. An Army officer escorting them said most of them saw elevators for the first time.

According to him, the tour would instill a sense of awareness, harmony and a feeling of national integration among the people of these areas.

Chandigarh, August 25
The family of Pradeep, who allegedly committed suicide at his paramour’s residence at Kajheri yesterday, has raised questions on the police investigations, as they alleged that Pradeep has been murdered and the police is trying to shield the accused, Seema. They also alleged that no one commits suicide wearing only undergarments. Pradeep was in a live-in relationship with Seema.

It was yesterday morning that 28-year-old Pradeep allegedly committed suicide after hanging himself from the ceiling fan at his paramour’s residence in Kajheri. The victim, a resident of Sector 24, Chandigarh, is survived by his wife Poonam and two children. He was rushed to the Government Medical Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, Chandigarh, but was declared brought dead.

“The police is not listening to us. We asked them to investigate about how bhaiya was killed, but they said the case is almost closed, as the post-mortem revealed strangulation. Why would bhaiya commit suicide in his undergarments?” asked Pinky, sister-in-law of the deceased.

She further added, “We won’t keep quite like this. If not murder, they will have to register the case of abetment to suicide.”

The post-mortem report revealed that it was death due to strangulation.

When contacted, Sub-Inspector Jaspal Singh, in charge of Sector-61 police post, said, “The post-mortem clearly shows that it is death due to strangulation. We investigated the matter with Seema who told us that Pradeep was not being allowed by the family to enter his own house because of which he was upset and took this step.”

Chandigarh, August 25
Arrive Safe, an NGO on road safety, Chandigarh Traffic Police and employees of Hella India Limited participated in a social initiative “Drive smart drive safe”.

More than 400 volunteers participated in the walkathon and gathered at the Sector-17 Plaza. The motive of the walk was to make people aware of road safety and its associated aspects. This was for the first time that a walkathon was orgnanised to spread awareness about road safety.

People were sensitised to basic safety rules to be followed on road. A street play “Halla Bol” was also organised that covered issues like use of safety belts, drunken driving, speeding and benefits of lane driving.

Chandigarh, August 25
The UT Education Department has taken an initiative to train the government schools students for the next year's National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), which is being conducted by the NCERT every year.

About 500 students have been selected from all the government schools, which will be trained twice a week in a one-hour special class after the school. They will be taught subjects like mental and analytical aptitude besides other subjects.

The number includes five toppers of the eight class of each school who are divided into 20 groups. The classes of each group will be held in a school, which is approachable to every one. Interestingly, students of PEC University has been roped in to train these students.

Surinder Dhayia, Director, State Education Institute, said the objective of the NTSE is to identify students, who had the potential to excel in their future academic endeavours. The successful students, called NTSE Scholars, Would receive financial support and scholarships from the NCERT till the time they continued their studies, he added. "But student from government schools hardly clear these exams and private school students who steal the show. So the programme is aimed at enabling the government students to appear and clear the test," Dhayia said.

Bikram Rana, State Liasoning Officer for NSS, Chandigarh, said that they had about 300 volunteers in the PEC University, who would be used on rotational basis to teach in each cluster for the programme.

As it is learnt, class X students are eligible to appear for the NTSE from this year. Earlier, class VIII students used to appear for the test.

This test will be conducted in two stages .First stage will be conducted at state and union territory level and the selected students will appear for the final stage, which will be conducted at national level.

Chandigarh, August 25
Although the Panjab University student elections are yet to be announced, the student organisations have geared-up for the election campaigning here. To earn the support of new students all the student parties visited all boys' hostels during the fresher party here today.

As soon the fresher party at all the eight boys' hostels began, the parties started visiting all the eight hostels to seek votes for the upcoming student elections.

Panjab University Student Union (PUSU) leader, Sumit Gokhlaney, said his party had visited the hostels to welcome the new students and to address their problems. "We want all representatives of the party to meet new student," he added.

Manoi Lubana, campus president of Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), stated they had also went to the hostels and will keep contact with the new and old students.

"This is the best time to meet the new students and ask about their problems," he added.

One of the student leaders said "The student organisations never missed such functions as all students in hostels attend these function, which makes it easy for the organisations to meet them at a single place."

The fresher party at girls' hostel will be held on Sunday, however, this time no boy student will be allowed to enter hostel premises for campaigning.

The student elections are expected to be held in the first week of September as the university has recommended tentative dates and waiting for the UT Administration's final approval.

Chandigarh, August 25
Neerja Jain, an english lecturer at Government Model Sr Sec School, Sector 16, Chandigarh, has been selected for a Fulbright fellowship by the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Fulbright Commission.

As a participant from India in the International Leaders in Education Program (IELP), Jain will be placed for five months from January 2013 - May 2013 in a school of education of a university there. She will work with a group of other educators, selected from all over the world.

As part of the fellowship, she will have the opportunity to take university classes and seminars, share and discuss teaching's best practices with colleagues from around the world.

Neerja is a State and national awardee and is also the secretary of the Chandigarh chapter of English Language Teachers Association of India (ELTAI) .This will be her second stint in a US university. In 2007, she had gone on a Fulbright scholarship to University of California for a professional development programme.

Panchkula, August 25
The Choi Kwang Do Federation Of India (CFI) will organise a two-week training programme for the students of CCET, Sector 26. The training will be held from August 27 to September 9 (4:30-5.30 pm).

The experts will provide self-defence training to the students. More than 50 students of the college will participate in the tourney. — TNS