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High drama at Central Club
Chandigarh, September 21 As soon as the officials started their drive to vacate the club after orders from a local court, club members, including women, started opposing the drive. As a majority of those present in the club were senior citizens, the officials immediately stopped the drive and held discussions with the office-bearers of the club. Finally, the officials, including ADC Mahavir Kaushik, Assistant Estate Officer (AEO) Rahul Gupta and Joint Secretary (Finance) SK Setia, decided that the management of the Central Club would give a written representation to the UT Administration. After that they would discuss the matter with their senior officials, following which the future course of action would be decided. However, uncertainty prevailed over the next course of action as officials of the UT Administration were tightlipped over the schedule for implementing the eviction orders. Members present at the club alleged that the officials of the estate office deliberately reached the club during evening hours to execute the orders since they knew that Saturday and Sunday are holidays and club members would not be able to approach the court for a stay. Moreover, they alleged that according to rules, the officials could not execute the orders after sunset. SK Setia, Joint Secretary (Finance), said the orders were passed on September 13 and they reached the club to execute the court
orders. On the allegations that they could not execute the orders after sunset, Setia said they reached the club at 5.30 pm and the rule existed only for residential properties. The Central Club was not a residential property. President of the club Vinod Talwar said they had sought time from the UT Administration and had also called a meeting of the members tomorrow to decide the future course of action. A retired IAS officer and member of the club, SK Garg, said the Administration should have given some reasonable time before implementing the court orders. Major JS Sekhri (retd) said they had now called a meeting of the club members at 12 noon tomorrow to seek suggestions on how to deal with the situation.
A peep into the past
Drive ‘ill-timed’ As officials of the estate office had to return empty-handed after a two-hour-long exercise, eyebrows are being raised over the timing of the drive. An official said since several senior citizens were members of the club, it would not have been a sensible step to forcibly evict them as that could have lead to serious trouble. The official said on condition of anonymity that the drive should have been carried out in the morning.
senior citizens come to spend quality time in the club. where will they go if the club is vacated?
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Technical snag hits work at railway counters
Panchkula, September 21 Hundreds of passengers visiting the railway station to get their tickets booked had to return empty-handed as the computers in many reservation counters were out of order. For the past four days, computers in all six reservation counters on the Chandigarh side of the station and in one counter on the Panchkula side were out of order due to a technical fault. As a result, thousands of visitors had to go through a harrowing time. The snag was rectified this evening. Till then, only one counter on the Panchkula side was working. There are eight reservation counters at the railway station - two on the Panchkula side and six on the Chandigarh side. Station Superintendent Praveen Kumar said, “There was a problem with the computer monitors. I had written to the authorities in Delhi. I know people faced a problem. There was a technical fault because of which computers stopped working.” “I had come to get my ticket reservation done. I went to all counters and found clerks cracking jokes there. When I asked them why the
counters were closed, they said the computers were not functioning,” said Abdul Sattar, a resident of Sector 29-D, Chandigarh. He said, "I was not even allowed to lodge a complaint with the authorities there." Vishal Singh, who is physically challenged and a resident of Sector 12, Panchkula, said, “I had difficulty in climbing the steep stairs and crossing the bridge to go to the counter on the Panchkula side of the station. There are no separate queues for the elderly and the physically challenged. I had a harrowing time standing in the rush for hours together.” “I wanted to leave for Delhi urgently as my daughter was unwell. However, I had to wait for hours together at the Panchkula counter since the other reservation counters were not working,” said Rhea Singh.
Tough time
Being physically challenged, I had difficulty in climbing the steep stairs and crossing the bridge to go to the counter on the Panchkula side of the station. There are no separate queues for the elderly and the physically challenged. I had a harrowing time standing in the rush for hours
together Officialspeak
There was a problem with the computer monitors. I had written to the authorities in Delhi regarding this. I know people faced a problem. There was a technical fault because of which computers stopped
working
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Chaos at free parking lots
Chandigarh, September 21 Tarun Sharma, a visitor to Sector 17, said after entering the free parking lot, he faced great difficulty in finding a place to park his vehicle. "It is better to pay a nominal parking fee and enjoy good services than to face such kind of harassment. I was left with no option but to park my vehicle in a passage, creating hindrance for other vehicles," he said. During a visit to parking lots in Sectors 17, 19, 20, 22, 34 and 35 during peak hours, a large number of vehicles can be seen parked on roadsides as no parking space is available in the parking areas. As a result, the traffic police often challans vehicle owners "for no fault of theirs". In many parking lots, vehicles are often parked on the fire zone lane. The municipal corporation has demarcated a yellow lane for firefighting vehicles and parking of vehicles in this passage is prohibited. Shruti Negi, who came to the Sukhna Lake with her friends, ended up spending half an hour waiting for a motorist, who had parked his vehicle behind her car. "Until parking lots are allotted to a contractor, the MC authorities should deploy temporary staff in the parking areas to manage traffic," she said. Interestingly, when contractors were managing these paid parking lots, the traffic police was often seen challaning vehicles parked outside these parking areas. However, now that these are no more paid parking lots, the police doesn't seem to be bother.
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Illegal Pg
Mohali, September 21 In a high-level meeting, headed by GMADA’s Chief Administrator AK Sinha, the district authorities have reached a decision to regulate the PG business within 15 days. The meeting was also attended by Mohali Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam and SP (city) Swarndeep Singh. “Those who are running PG accommodations have to register themselves within the stipulated time period or we shall close them down,” said Sinha adding that the action against the offenders would also included resumption of the buildings and hefty fines. He added that he has constituted special teams of his staff to deal with the menace. “I will also punish my staff if they fail to comply the orders”, said Sinha. When pointed out towards the ambiguity in the definitions of PG accommodation and a tenant under the rules, Sinha said the administration was clear on the issue. He also said that they have lists of those who are running the business illegally in the city. According to GMADA’s survey, there are as many as 221 paying guest accommodations in the town while another survey of the district administration pointed out the number of such accommodations over 400. So far only eight residents have registered themselves with the GMADA. Notably, GMADA had framed a policy on the issue in 2008. “We are not against paying guest business but we are certainly aiming at regulating it,” said Sinha.
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Less than 50% children are fully vaccinated: Experts
Chandigarh, September 21 Every year, a number of children die suffering from diseases, which could have been averted if they were vaccinated. Experts said despite having free-of-cost government-run programmes, which are also easily accessible, children are falling prey of deadly diseases. Speaking to media-persons, Prof Sunit Singhi, Head of the Advanced Pediatrics Centre, said this new initiative is to expand the teaching and educational activities of the Centre, so that even a layman learns about the need of vaccination. One of the speakers said the public needs to know that the government supply vaccines are of extremely high quality and very safe. The government provides vaccines for six major childhood infectious diseases, which can be fatal or can lead to disability. These are tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, polio, whooping cough and tetanus. On the topic of newer vaccines, the expert pediatricians explained that the government is considering introduction of Hepatitis B vaccine and Hib vaccines in a phased manner. Hepatitis B is a well-known disease affecting the liver and can result in serious complications over a period of years. Hib is bacterial infection that can cause a type of pneumonia and meningitis in young children. Interacting with a team of Anganwadi workers, Dr Bhavneet Bharti, Health Education expert at the Advanced Pediatrics Centre, said there are many new vaccines available in the market. There vaccines have similar in effectiveness as that to the ones provided by the government. However, these vaccines are available at a very high cost; many people cannot afford that.
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PGI urologist eligible for top GMCH post
Chandigarh, September 21 The UPSC has submitted papers in this regard at the tribunal here today. Dr SK Singh's eligibility has been reconsidered by the commission and it has been decided to call him for the Selection Committee Meeting or personal talk on the date as may be fixed by the commission along with other eligible candidates in terms of the orders of the CAT passed on August 13, stated the letter submitted by the UPSC before the tribunal. Dr SK Singh, claiming to be the only eligible candidate from the PGI for the post, had challenged the UPSC decision in CAT for not inviting him for the interview. After hearing, the tribunal on August 9 had directed the UPSC to allow him to appear in the interview. It was last year that the UT Administration had invited applications for the post, as the tenure of incumbent Dr Raj Bahadur was to be over in February this year. In response to the advertisement, nine doctors, including five from GMCH, had applied for the post. The UT Administration, however, did not forward the name of Dr Singh to the UPSC for consideration and he did not get invite for the interview. Following this, the urologist moved the tribunal seeking that he should be declared as eligible for the post. That time the interview was scheduled to be held on August 16. Later, five other doctors, including Dr AK Attri, Dr Atul Sachdeva, Dr SK Garg, Dr Ram Singh and Dr Anju Huria, also filed a petition on August 13 in the tribunal seeking clarity on the eligibility criteria for the post. The next hearing on the case has been fixed as October 11.
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Quashing of disturbed area tag Rajinder Nagarkoti /TNS
Chandigarh, September 21 The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed the disturbed area notification which was issued by the UT Administration in 1983. It was in 1989 during the tenure of KPS Gill that the post of UT SSP was given to Punjab Cadre officers. SS Saini, present Punjab DGP, was the first UT SSP on deputation from the Punjab cadre. KPS Gill, who was in the city on a personal visit, said that decision to appoint Chandigarh SSP from Punjab cadre officers had nothing to do with the disturbed area status. He said that post was given to Punjab as part of the arrangement to have 60:40 ratio of officers from Punjab and Haryana on deputation in Chandigarh Administration. At present there is peaceful environment in Chandigarh.
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Cycle rally organised on World Peace Day
Chandigarh, September 21 The star attraction of the day remained the IYPF Peace Ambassador, Bernie Meyer, an American national who dresses, walks and talks like Mahatma Gandhi. Gallantry award winner Sunil Sharma also took part in the rally dressed as Ravana. They both pedalled from SD College to Saupin’s School and back. Guriqbal Singh Dhillon, president of SD Students Union said that during IYPF 2012, besides exchange of ideas, four major themes - climate change, respect of others, combating inequalities and HIV - will be in focus. Sharing his ideas, Prof Anirudh Joshi, general secretary, GSD College managing body, said that such programmes help youngsters get involved in community service and make a difference. “Such efforts also energise those who are already engaged with good causes, helping people realise they are not alone in their endeavour,” Joshi said. Santosh Kumar, director, Department of Environment, Science and Technology, and Conservator of Forests, was the chief guest on the occasion.
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2-day CME on nuclear medicines to begin today
Chandigarh, September 21 As a part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of PGIMER, Chandigarh, Department of Nuclear Medicine is organising a CME programme on Therapeutic Applications of Nuclear Medicine. The participants will share their valuable knowledge and will interact with the delegates. This programme will provide detailed coverage of the different topics related to therapeutic applications of Nuclear Medicine. It would provide a platform to learn from the experience of the experts of the country in this already established area with newer developments that has taken place recently. It will be a useful platform for sharing ideas and knowledge related to most recent developments and information in the field, said Professor BR Mittal, Head of the Nuclear Medicine and PET department of the institute.
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Training camp for farmers
Mohali, September 21 Dr Parminder Singh, the Chief Agricultural Officer, said the experts from PAUwould visit the camp to provide technical knowhow on ‘rabi’ crop. ––TNS
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Theatre festival opens with Seema Biswas’ solo act
Chandigarh, September 21 Based on a story written by Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore, Biswas’ insightful performance brought alive the traumatic world of widows. Through monologue and soliloquy, Kadambari, the the play of a female character, portrays the crisis of death and life. The play begins with Kadambari, assumed dead by her in-laws, being left to burn at the crematorium. As she gradually regains consciousness, she has to make several attempts to convenience people that she is not a ghost. Ultimately, she has to die to prove that she was alive. The performance employed many stage props to enhance the mood of the play. The play was adapted by Geetanjali Shree and directed by Anuradha Kapur.
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Primary school without drinking water, toilets
Mohali, September 21 Reason: Whenever it rains, the school is shut down as it is located along the bank of a seasonal rivulet. With no other route to the school, its students, between the ages of 5 to 12 years, have to cross the rivulet to get to the school, putting their lives at risk. The school, which caters to over four villages, has 26 students and two teachers. "Often the flow of the water is very heavy. What's more dangerous is that the water level in the choe sometimes suddenly rises," said Ajmer Singh, a resident of the village, adding that the rivulet also enters the school premises sometimes. "Time and again our children cannot go to school for over a week or more," said another resident. Adding insult to injury, the school has no arrangements to provide safe drinking water. It draws unclean water from an old well. The Chief Judicial Magistrate cum Secretary of District Legal Services Authority, Gopal Arora, who visited the school recently, said he was shocked to see the pathetic conditions there. "We are planning to start 'Literacy Clubs' in the school but it lacks basic infrastructure. It does not have toilets, drinking water facility, benches and fans. Even the mid-day meal here is being prepared with the water from the well, which is unfit for consumption," said Gopal Arora. He added that the residents of the village complained to him and he has prepared a report on the issue. He sent the report to the state government today through Mohali Deputy Commissioner and Chief Secretary, Punjab. "In case no action is taken on the report, then there is a provision of filing Social Cause Litigation," said Arora adding that he has also put forward the case to the State Legal Services Authority, Punjab for action. On the other hand, the residents said that they have complained several times to the authorities concerned but no action has ever been taken. "Is this the work of the District Legal Authority?" asked the residents.
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Chandigarh scan
Sameer Goel, chairman, CII Chandigarh Council, applauded the policy announcements made by the union government allowing FDI multi-brand retail and aviation sectors. He observed: “Undoubtedly, the policy announcement has gladdened the hearts of all of us in the industry. These reforms have the potential to be a game-changer as far as the growth of the retail sector is concerned. The entry of big international players in this field will help regulate inflationary trends in food and commodity prices and eliminate intermediaries, leading to better procurement prices for farmers and other suppliers. The announcement and quick notification of FDI in retail shows commitment of the union government towards reforms.” Two-day seminar A two-day-long sixth international conference on 'Challenges in Human Resource Management' began at the Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences. Over 300 delegates from different states of India and countries like USA, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal, Afghanistan, Yaman, Nigeria and Bhutan are participating in the conference. While inaugurating the conference, chief guest Partap Aggarwal, founder director, IDS, appreciated the initiative of the institute saying that the theme of the conference was very important in the context of the fast changing global scenario. Chairman of Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes Dr Zora Singh emphasised the role of the human resource in the success of an organisation. World Peace Day
To commemorate World Peace Day, students along with staff of Aanchal International School, Sec 41 D, Chandigarh, gathered in the Sector 17 Plaza today for a symbolic march. Around 100 students from the school were informed about the importance of the day. Principal Manju Sood said that the idea was to spread the message of peace and brotherhood to all people. Meanwhile, Anee’s Senior Secondary School, Mohali and Kharar organised a seminar on World Peace Day.A Competition of painting was also held on the school premises.
Inaugurated
Municipal corporation mayor Raj Bala Malik inaugurated the newly installed fountain in the Sector 56 green belt here today. Darshan Kumar Garg, senior deputy mayor and area councillor and other officials of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh were also present on the occasion. The total cost of the fountain is around 9.5 lakh and it has five duck design fountains. The agency which has installed the fountain will watch and maintenance it for a period of six years at a cost of Rs 8 lakh.
Support for Anu Chatrath
In the meeting of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee held today in Congress Bhavan under the chairmanship of BB Behl, president, CTCC, a unanimous decision was taken to declare support to Anu Chatrath in the forthcoming Panjab University Senate elections from registered graduates constituency. The election will be held on September 23, 2012.
Students shine
The students of Global College of Engineering, Abhipur, near Chandigarh have bagged top 10 positions in the final examinations of Punjab Technical University. Ankush Norwal of BTech Civil Engineering, is placed first in the university merit list. Amit Kumar, Navdeep Singh, and Adil Mushtaq bagged the second, third and fourth positions respectively.
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated
Army Institute of Law, Mohali celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with fervour. Chairman of the institute Maj Gen S K Manchanda, principal Dr Tejinder Kaur, registrar Col P S Sandhu and placement officer Lt Col (Dr) J S Sandhu wished the faculty, administrative staff and students on the occasion. The event ended with immersion of the idol.
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Govt colleges get two days for exams
Chandigarh, September 21 All the government colleges in the city have been asked to schedule the September exams for all the courses in two day time. The exams would be scheduled on different dates in the colleges starting from the coming week. DHE Ajoy Sharma said that the aim behind the move is to save the teaching days which gets wasted due to long examination schedule. However, the decision has led to unrest among students who say that they would be burdened with exams held continuously in two days. All the undergraduate courses have minimum five subjects and the students will have to appear for exams in all the subjects in two days. "I would be really stressed if I had to appear for two exams in a single day. This would also certainly affect my performance," said a student. However, one of the principals said that the move would definitely help in saving time which could be utilised for teaching. "Earlier exams used to stretch for around a week and the students would start missing classes a week before. Students even skip classes after the exams are over, disturbing the academic session," he said. A proposal was also moved by the DHE suggesting that the September and December exams held in all Panjab University (PU) affiliated colleges can be replaced by class quizzes, assignments and presentations. This would save a lot of time and would help in meeting the minimum requirement of 180 teaching days in an academic year which is under consideration by the PU. The decision to hold the exams in two days was also taken by the DHE in a bid to save teaching days. The proposal stated that the existing pattern of internal assessment in colleges is based on in-house exams being conducted in September and December. But the long schedule of exams leads to a loss of around 30 teaching days. This time can be saved with the alternative assessment system. The September exams are of minimum 30 marks each, depending upon the course
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PU to decide on allowing PhD in colleges
Chandigarh, September 21 PU Syndicate member Dinesh Talwar had raised a point that college teachers are as competent as the PU faculty and they should also have the right to guide PhD students for research work. Talwar had demanded that any teacher who holds a PhD degree, whether teaching in PU affiliated colleges or its regional centres, should have the right to guide PhD students. "When there are no such criteria of research centre at the PU, how can the colleges be asked to have the status of research centre?" Talwar said. The university recently had decided that from 2013, students will be able to pursue MPhil in colleges. It was also decided that students will have the benefit of doing a six-month research work for PhD in the college instead of the university, as is required at present, for which the college needs the status of a research centre for offering these facilities. In a Syndicate meeting held on September 8, the house had approved that the issue be referred back to the concerned committee. Interestingly, despite the house deciding to review its decision, one of the sitting Senate members, who is again contesting the elections from the college teachers' constituency, had informed the college teachers that the house has approved the proposal.
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PUTA files complaint against Ankur School, Nilaya Day Care Centre
Chandigarh, September 21 PUTA president Mohammed Khalid said that they have been receiving complaints about the lack of transparency in the functioning of both these institutions. “While the members of the Ankur School management are handpicked, the management of the day care centre is virtually non-existent. Last year, wards of some faculty members and other employees of the university were denied admission to the Ankur School and PUTA had to intervene to resolve the issue. It was only after this incident that the university actively pursued and got the school recognised with the Chandigarh Administration." The representation mentions that since these are public institutions and deal with the children of the university faculty and employees, there is a need to run them professionally. “The functioning of these institutions should be totally transparent and not left to the whims and fancies of a few individuals. There is need for greater transparency in the management of the affairs of Ankur School and Nilaya Day-care centre,” PUTA stated. The association has also demanded that the managing committees of these institutions should be reconstituted and representatives of PUTA and non-teaching employees union should be made member of the management of both these institutions.
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The site of the Central Club was originally allotted for a community centre to the Plot Holders Association in 1961 for five years with a token rent of Rs 25 per annum. The site was leased out to the Central Club in 1975 and a fresh deed was executed on March 24, 1975. The rent from 1974 to 1982 was Rs 975 per annum and from 1982 to 1989, it was enhanced to Rs 1,267 per annum. Later, it was enhanced to Rs 15,504 per annum and then to Rs 19,009 per annum. 
To our shock, officials of the UT Administration came with a large police force to throw us out of the club, which is one of the oldest clubs in the city
Besides me and my husband, our two children, who are now settled in Dubai, are also members of the club. The club was a place of enjoyment for us
Members celebrate their festivals in the club. It will be very painful for every member if the Administration gets it vacated
Senior citizens come to the club to play cards and to spend some quality moments with each other. If the Administration gets the club vacated, where will the senior citizens go?
The club has around 1,500 members, of whom a majority are in the age group of 70 to 90 years. The Administration should consider their plea
